Chapter 17 - The Door Between Them
"Don't leave them," Mara said.
Clara looked at the closing doors. Marcus had helped hold a gun on her. Victoria had tried to kill them all. Neither fact made watching them crushed acceptable.
She grabbed a floor jack from the service cart and pushed it beneath the gap. Jonas hit the manual stop. The doors juddered, then held a few inches apart.
"Move!" Clara shouted.
Marcus crawled through first, dragging a bleeding leg. Victoria refused his hand until falling debris made the decision for her. Evelyn pulled her out by the coat. Jonas followed, coughing, and the jack gave way behind him.
"You should have left me," Victoria said, furious.
"You're going to answer for what you did," Clara replied. "Alive."
They wheeled Elena to the independent recovery bay. Evelyn connected the backup power and called Ortiz with the ward's location. Mara stayed beside her mother while Clara ran to check Nell.
The E-13 cylinder was still operating, but the ward temperature was climbing. Nell's eyes followed her through the glass.
"Don't open it," Nell said through the speaker. "I can't breathe without the machine yet."
"We're getting medics."
"I know." Nell managed a small smile. "I heard the phone call."
Clara pressed her palm to the glass. Nell lifted hers to meet it on the other side.
When Clara returned to the recovery bay, Elena's eyes were open.
Her lips barely moved, but Clara heard the words.
"My girls?"
"We're here," Mara said, crying. "Both of us."
Elena looked from one face to the other. A tear ran into her hair.
"I knew you would find each other."
A sharp tone cut through the room. The archive display showed its transmission attempt.
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Someone had severed the line to the outside world.
