Chapter 26 - Subterranean Fire
The blast from Anton's fight had ruptured an underground high-pressure gas main running along the lower corridor. A deep, rumbling hiss echoed through the ventilation shafts, carrying the pungent stench of raw methane.
Julian pressed a rebreather mask to his face, descending into the maintenance shafts of Sub-level Three. The temperature was rising rapidly; warning sirens blared across the entire facility as automated safety systems began locking down individual bulkheads to contain the fire hazard.
*"Sector 3 sealing in sixty seconds,"* an automated voice droned.
Julian ran. Every pounding step sent spikes of agony through his shattered ribs, but he ignored the pain. Pain was merely electrical signals. Pain did not matter. Only the timer mattered. *01:30:00.*
As he reached the crossway toward the main missile silo, he found three blast doors already halfway closed, sliding downward like guillotine blades. Behind the doors stood a squad of six heavy gunners preparing a defensive ambush.
Julian pulled a phosphorus grenade from his chest rig, pulled the pin with his teeth, and hurled it through the narrowing gap under the closing door.
May you like
The grenade detonated with blinding, searing fury. The methane gas in the corridor ignited in a rolling wave of blue and orange fire. Julian threw himself into a side maintenance pipe just as the explosion ripped through the bulkhead, blasting the heavy steel door off its tracks and vaporizing the ambushers in an instant inferno.
Julian crawled out of the pipe into the smoke-filled corridor, his tactical gear scorched, his face blackened with soot. Through the roaring flames, he saw the final heavy titanium gate marked with the sign: **SILO CORE — AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.**
