As the countdown hit sixty seconds, the floor tilted. The sirens shifted from a low groan to a piercing shriek. Elara didn't wait for a reply. She stepped onto the narrow catwalk suspended over the humming reactor. The heat was an physical weight, searing her lungs, but she kept her eyes fixed on the small, steel hatch on the far side.
She knew the rule of the Red Zone better than anyone: the only way out is through.
Kael stared at the searing white light. "That’s suicide. The radiation alone—"
"We aren't looking for a vent, Kael," Elara said, her voice echoing with a calm that she didn't feel. She pointed to the massive, glowing core of the reactor ahead. The heat shimmered, distorting the air like a desert mirage. "The blueprints showed a maintenance conduit behind the cooling rods. It’s the only path left."
"Three minutes, Commander," Kael whispered, his hands shaking as he bypassed the final security gate. "If we don't find the emergency vent, this level becomes a vacuum."
"Is better than certain death here," she interrupted. She grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to meet her eyes. "In this place, the only way back to the surface is to go deeper into the heart of it. We don't survive by hiding. We survive by pushing through the fire."