The Safe Zone - Ascension (Book 4)

Chapter 2: Into the Lion's Den

Lena:

The world narrowed into a single point of focus—Ethan.

He was right there, suspended in that damned pod, wires, and tubes threaded into his skin, his body limp as though the life had been drained from him. My fingers moved frantically over the control panel, my heart hammering so loud in my chest that it drowned out everything else. Carter's warnings, the hiss of the soldiers closing in—all of it faded into a distant roar.

There was only one thought in my mind: Get him out.

The panel flickered, unresponsive, and I cursed under my breath, slamming my fist against it. The damn thing was ancient, its screen cracked and covered in layers of dust, but there had to be a way to override it. I just needed more time. More—

"Lena!" Carter's voice cut through the haze, sharp and commanding, and I snapped my head up, my breath catching in my throat.

The Directive soldiers were closing in fast, their sleek black armor gleaming under the dim lights of the stronghold, their rifles raised, aimed directly at us. They moved with terrifying precision, like shadows, their footsteps silent, their faces hidden behind those soulless helmets. At least a dozen of them, maybe more, their figures blurring into the room's darkness.

And they were too close. Too damn close.

Carter stood between me and the approaching soldiers, his body tense, his rifle trained on the nearest one, but I could see the calculation in his eyes. He was measuring the distance, the odds, and I knew what he was thinking. We were outnumbered, outgunned, and trapped.

But we weren't leaving, not without Ethan.

"Get behind me," Carter ordered, his voice low but firm. He didn't look back, but I could hear the strain in his tone. "We can't fight them off, not all of them. We need a way out."

I gritted my teeth, my hands trembling as I turned back to the control panel, desperate to make it work. I couldn't lose him again. I couldn't. Not after everything we'd been through, after everything I'd sacrificed to find him. He was right here. I wasn't going to leave him.

The control panel beeped softly, the screen flickering to life briefly before going dark again. The error message blinked at me, taunting.

Access Denied.

"No, no, no!" I slammed my fist against the panel, frustration boiling over, my vision blurring with rage and desperation.

Behind me, Carter fired the first shot.

The sharp crack of the rifle echoed through the room, followed by the answering burst of gunfire from the Directive soldiers. The air filled with the acrid smell of burning metal and gunpowder as bullets ricocheted off the walls, sparks flying. I ducked, my heart racing, the sound of the firefight crashing against me like a wave, but I couldn't stop. I couldn't.

I had to get him out.

I reached for the emergency release mechanism on the pod's side, my fingers slick with sweat as I yanked it. The metal groaned, but nothing happened. The pod stayed sealed, the glass unyielding, as though mocking my efforts.

"Damn it!" I screamed, my voice cracking, and I slammed my fist against the glass.

Ethan's face—pale, sunken, and too still—stared back at me through the thick layer of glass, his eyes closed, his body motionless. He looked so fragile, so breakable, like a ghost of the man I once knew.

But I couldn't let myself think that way. Not now. Not here.

"Lena, MOVE!" Carter's voice was rough and strained, and I turned just in time to see him hurl himself behind one of the heavy metal consoles as the soldiers fired another volley of shots. The walls behind me exploded in a shower of sparks and debris, and I barely had time to duck behind the pod as the bullets tore through the air, a high-pitched whine ringing in my ears.