Chapter 27 - The Rising Tide
"Run!" Daniel yelled, scooping Leo into his arms and pulling Julian by the hand.
The roar of rushing water began as a distant rumble, vibrating through the stone floor beneath their boots. Within seconds, the sound intensified into a deafening roar as thousands of gallons of icy mountain runoff surged from the spillway grates at the far end of the corridor.
Julian led the way, his small frame darting through the maze of metal catwalks and rusted machinery. "The sluice gate is past the generators! But it has an electronic lock!"
Water burst through the intake vents behind them, a black, violent torrent hitting the concrete floor with brutal force. It surged around Daniel’s ankles, bone-numbing and freezing, threatening to sweep them off their feet.
Daniel hoisted Julian onto his shoulders alongside Leo, fighting against the mounting current. The water rose to his knees, then to his waist. The sheer weight of the flow pushed him against the rusted steel railings of the walkway.
"Hold on to each other!" Daniel shouted over the roar of the deluge. "Do not let go!"
Leo clamped his arms around Julian’s chest, the two identical boys clinging to one another in the freezing darkness as Daniel pushed forward against the freezing tide.
Ahead, a heavy cast-iron hatch marked *EMERGENCY OUTFLOW* was sealed shut, water already spraying through its rubber gaskets. Beside it, a red terminal flashed: *KEYCARD REQUIRED.*
Daniel reached the door, the water now pressing against his chest. His fingers were numb; his muscles burned with exhaustion. He looked at the electronic pad. He didn't have a keycard.
"The bracelet!" Julian suddenly screamed into Daniel’s ear. "The clasp has a magnetic bypass! Arthur used it to open the nursery!"
Daniel didn't question it. He grabbed Julian’s left arm, violently wrenching the silver hospital bracelet until the metal clasp snapped. He slammed the silver band against the scanner's sensor.
For two agonizing seconds, nothing happened. The water reached Daniel’s neck, the suction threatening to drag him under the walkway.
*BEEP.*
The light turned green. The heavy hydraulic locking pins disengaged with a dull *clunk*.
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Daniel threw his entire weight against the iron door, shoving it outward against the current. The sudden vacuum of the outflow channel caught them, pulling all three of them into the dark, rushing vortex of the drainage pipe.
***
