Chapter 19 - Blood on the Bulkhead
Gunfire erupted down the industrial catwalk as three private military contractors stormed into the laboratory sector.
Daniel leaned out from behind an iron pillar, firing controlled three-round bursts. The first two mercenaries collapsed with chest wounds, their weapons clattering against the grating. Daniel ducked as high-caliber rounds shredded the control consoles beside him, sending showers of electrical sparks into the air.
Behind him, Claire was furiously hammering commands into the life pod’s terminal. The hydraulic hiss of the life pod sealing echoed through the chamber.
"Daniel, the pod is primed!" Claire yelled over the deafening alarms. "Come inside! We can squeeze into the cargo space! We can survive the ascent!"
"The launch clamp must be released manually from the exterior terminal!" Daniel shouted back, firing his remaining rounds to suppress the advancing shooters. "The override burned out when Hayes triggered the scuttle! Someone has to stay outside and pull the mechanical lever!"
Claire’s breath hitched in agonizing realization.
"I love you, Claire," Daniel said, turning to look at his wife and his precious daughter through the thick reinforced glass of the pod door.
Lily pressed her tiny palm against the glass, her face contorted in frantic sobs. "Daddy! Daddy, come in! Don't let the water take you!"
Daniel smiled through the blood dripping down his temple, pressing his own palm against the glass against hers. "Daddy will always find you, Lily-bug. Remember that. The water isn't scary anymore."
Daniel slammed the exterior lock button, sealing the heavy hatch permanently from the outside.
He sprinted through incoming fire, a bullet grazing his shoulder, and threw his entire body weight against the manual hydraulic release lever.
With a massive hiss of pressurized steam, the life pod disengaged from the docking cradle, shooting upward through the moonpool vertical shaft toward the open surface of the Atlantic.
Daniel collapsed against the control console, blood pooling on the steel floor, watching the pod vanish into the dark water above.
A slow, heavy footstep echoed down the gantry.
May you like
Tom Hayes stepped through the smoke, dressed in tactical armor, a loaded .45 caliber pistol pointed directly at Daniel’s forehead.
***
