Treen stepped off the stairs and entered an area with dim, orange lights like the tunnel. It appeared to be an underground parking garage, with dozens of Black SUV’s parked atop a marble surface. Surrounded by the rugged guts of the mountain, she stared at steep ramp that probably led back to the tunnel and hoped that no vehicles would come rolling down it.
As Treen walked past the last of the vehicles, the marble surface turned to rocks and dirt. She weaved between forklifts, bulldozers, and hoards of construction equipment, until she found a dark area to rest in. She moved behind a barrier of chalky cement bags to hide, groaning when she hauled a bag off the top to sit on.
She pulled off her headband. She put her scraped up face in her scraped hands to cover her eyes. She thought of her family and friends and what Lance might’ve done to them. At that moment, she crawled to her knees and bowed her head.
“God, I know you’re watching all of this and thank you for taking me this far. Lord, I need you to help me finish this and save my family. I can’t do it without you...”
After her prayer, Treen sipped her Hildon water and stayed positive. The fact that she’d made it inside the tunnel and was still alive to think about it was remarkable — and what a grand entrance it was! Shainy would’ve been proud of the wild flight, but not so happy about the helicopter’s demise.
A short time later, Treen stood and fastened her headband. However, as she pulled on her jacket, her arm froze in the sleeve; she listened to the erratic footsteps headed her way. Had the Ecnals found her?
No. It couldn’t be the Ecnals. Androids don’t breath heavily and yell “Owww!” when they trip over construction equipment. However, Treen did know someone that might, and the ‘Owww’ sounded just like him. She switched on the flashlight. The beam streaked through the dust and lit up his battered face.
“Russell!”
Treen ran over to him. Russell tried to reach out and embrace her, but collapsed at her feet instead. He wasn’t unconscious — just exhausted.
Treen dragged him behind the cement bags, then took the bottle of Hildon from her pack. When Russell saw the water, he sprang up and snatched it from her hand. He didn’t stop gulping until Treen eased the bottle away to show him it was empty.
“Once you’ve caught your breath, I’m dying to know how you escaped,” she whispered.
“Likewise,” he groaned, lying on the bags. “Didn’t know you could fly a helicopter. Treen, you gotta promise me something.”
“What is it?”
“Next time you fire that flare gun, could you, make sure I’m not around. I barely made it out of that truck...”
Treen wanted Russell to rest a little longer, but the sound of distant engines wouldn’t allow it. She hurried to put on her pack, grabbed his hand, then jogged away from the cement.
Mr. Blue must’ve had a thing for stainless steel panels and maze like hallways. Although the area beneath the tunnel was far from complete, the next area they entered resembled the Grevelton factory — only much bigger. Treen didn’t want to get lost in the corridor puzzle, but the headlights behind them had quickly crisscrossed through the construction obstacles and moved closer. She led Russell into the hallways, determined to remember the way out.
“What was that?” she said, stopping after an object clanged beneath her feet. Russell reached down to the chalky surface and picked up a shield. When he turned it around, Treen snatched it away.
“This license plate, it’s from my mothers car — they’re here!”
“Yes!”
“Look at those tire tracks,” she said, aiming the light on the powdery surface, “Maybe they’ll lead us to the car and we can drive back into the tunnel.
“But we ain’t got a key.”
“I have a spare.”
“Can I drive?”
“No — ”
Bap! Bap! Bap!
“Come on!” Treen shouted, ducking the bullets. She snatched Russell’s hand then fled down the corridor, her eyes fixed on the tire tracks.
Treen and Russell banged heads more than once and were forced to take a detour from the tire trail when more Ecnal guards appeared. Treen blazed around another corner where the tire tracks had resumed; in the distance, she could see that the path was a dead end — a dead end with the rear of her mothers white PT Cruiser facing her!
The Ecnals rounded the corner shooting. Treen and Russell zigzagged the rest of the way until they’d reached the Cruiser and jumped inside.
“Do you know how to drive?” asked Russell, nervously looking over his shoulder.
“Yes,” she said, trembling the key into the ignition. “Backwards?”
“Can’t be harder than flying that helicopter,” she said, starting the engine. When the bullets shattered the rear glass, she shifted in reverse, turned her head towards the rear, then pressed the gas pedal. The back end rose slightly but the vehicle didn’t move. Puzzled, Treen looked over at Russell, who reached down, pressed the button, then lowered the handbrake.
She exhaled. “Thanks.”
Treen stomped the pedal again and this time, the Cruiser shot backwards. Sparks flew as she swerved and clipped the walls. The approaching Ecnals continued to fire, but had nowhere to run in a hallway that the Cruiser barely fit in. One by one, Treen mowed the droids down. FLUMP-FLUMP-FLUMP-FLUMP!
Russell ducked in his seat when the Ecnals charging from the front, fired at the windshield. Treen pressed even harder on the gas and continued to ricochet off the walls until she’d reached the end of the corridor.
Finally, Treen backed out of the hallway and the Cruiser looked as if it’d been spit from a trash compactor. However, the scores of bullet holes and dents weren’t enough to stop her from speeding out of the maze and back into the construction area.