The Typhon Project

Chapter Twenty-Four: The Escape

My heart lurched at having to leave Dean behind. What would they do to him when they discovered I'd gone? He was a friend. Now he was my hero. If I could find help on the outside, I'd have to figure a way to get him out of here too.

Outside the dormitory, I pressed my back against the wall and scanned the eves and surrounding buildings for cameras. Where they were? I had no idea. All I could do is run for the fence as fast as I could and hope for the best. I planned a route, staying off the paths and skirting the circles of light cast by the pathway lamps.

After hauling in a deep breath, I sprinted toward the fence. I pushed my legs faster and faster, any moment expecting a Typhon soldier to leap from the shadows. The dew on the grass wetted my shoes as my feet thumped over the lawn. The fence loomed ahead. A silvery net in the moonlight. Almost there!

My heart thudded and my pulse raged. I glanced over my shoulder to see if I was being followed. No one.

I reached the fence, turned right and dashed toward the Tesla Coil. As I pumped my arms, Dad's watch reflected the moonlight. My thoughts raced, tumbling over one another, like puzzle pieces flying together of their own accord. Dad. Images glowed in my thoughts—Mom and I in the bunker that last time. She'd said that he'd wanted me to have his watch and that he'd put it in the mail, addressed to me, the day before he died.

Then, the tiny piece of paper inside—the drawing of the compass with the needle pointing south. Dad knew. Dad knew the magnetic field had flipped, which meant he had to have known that someone was tampering with it to cancel it out.

Was his plane crash truly an accident? Or had he discovered the alien invasion? Is that why he sent me his watch—to warn me?

A moment of searching the lawn between the coil and the fence and I found the hatch, peeled it open, and descended into the darkness below.

# # #

Every step inside the tunnel carried me farther from The Farm. Anger swelled at the name. It was a farm. They were farming former humans, humans they'd sullied with their alien DNA.

Tunnel lights flashed passed me. I lengthened my stride. I needed to get to the house and find Jace. But what were the chances he'd be there again? And what would I do if he wasn't there? I had no idea.

When I reached the ladder leading up to the neighborhood, I slowly climbed to street level. I had to be careful. Typhon soldiers could be on the prowl. I lifted the manhole cover just enough to peek out at the street. I searched for any sign of movement. The street seemed empty, but anything could be hiding in the shadows. I watched and listened. The wind whistled through window screens. My heart throbbed as I waited. I'd just have to make a run for it.

I lifted the manhole higher and eyed the house on the right I'd visited before. About to slide the heavy lid completely aside, movement on my left caught my attention.

A Typhon soldier marched from the side of one of the houses, his rifle strap slung over his shoulder. He stepped onto the house's front walk and his boots thumped on the pavement. I lowered the manhole within a centimeter of being closed, just open enough for me to keep an eye on those huge, heavy boots. They walked down the street a couple of houses, then circled around the back and disappeared.

Was he the only one here or were there others?

Minutes of wind whooshing and my pulse speeding passed. Finally, the boots reappeared and made their way farther down the street. A few more houses down, he turned down another front walk. I readied myself.

As he vanished into the darkness beside the house, I lifted the manhole cover and climbed out, then eased it closed—slowly, carefully, silently. I ran for the familiar house. In the street, I was exposed. I waited for shouts or gunshots. At the side of the house, I threw myself into the shadows and pressed myself against the siding. I peered around the side and watched the house where I'd last seen the Typhon Soldier. Within seconds he emerged.

I waited for him to find the next house to inspect, then I hurried for the door. Depressing the lever, the door clicked open. I stepped inside and close the door behind me. My breathing coming in gasps, I slid down the door to the floor. My head between my knees, I attempted to get my breathing under control. Please, please let me find Jace. Returning to The Farm was not an option.

I sat still and listened, hoping the house was devoid of soldiers. As soon as I was steady enough to walk. I strode to the kitchen, avoiding windows to ensure the soldier on the street wouldn't see me. The kitchen hadn't changed since I'd been here last. And no Jace.

I searched upstairs, standing in reverence in the doorway to the baby's room for a long moment. Still, no Jace.

I needed to think. How did he get in here? I didn't remember hearing a door opening and closing and last time I was here, he remained in the house after I left. What was it about this house that he kept coming back to? Of course, I kept coming back for sentimental reasons, but was that his reason? He told me not to come back here. If he was just randomly passing through searching for food, why would it matter if I returned to this particular house. Once he'd raided its supplies, it would be of no further use to him.

Unless it served some other purpose.

I located the basement steps. This place had to have solar flare shelter like my house had. I searched the basement. Inside the furnace room, I found what I was looking for—a heavy door, standard for solar flare shelters. I pressed the button to open the hatch, but it didn't budge. Of course, no electricity.

I opened the panel under the switch to access the hand crank. I expected it to stick after being so long out of use, but I had no trouble turning it. Cranking the wheel, I watched the door shift open, darkness beyond it. With it open just enough to squeeze my body through, I stepped inside. Cautiously, I descended the steep stairs into the shelter.