Page 48 of Hollow Trace

Scout shrugged. “But it’s better than where we came from.”

He blew out a heated breath, praying the entire bridge didn’t collapse as soon as he got a few feet away, then started walking. The metal groaned, the platform tilting slightly when the entire structure shifted, sliding sideways a fraction. He grabbed the rail, glanced at the hundred-foot drop beneath him, then continued over, jumping off the last few feet.

He took up sentry, waving Scout and Brea over.

Scout helped Brea onto the platform, still bracing some of Brea’s weight as they slowly crossed. Rust rained down from beneath, more eerie groans and rattles breaking the restless quiet.

Scout got within several feet of the end, when she stopped, eyes wide, head snapping to the grated metal floor. Her mouth pressed into a fine line, one hand fisting around the railing before she looked at him. “Quinn, catch her.”

Brea jerked ahead as Scout shoved her from behind, grabbing each railing, looking as if she was trying to distribute her weight better as the back end of the catwalk dropped a foot. Rocks cleaved off the side of the gorge, tumbling into the darkness, the echoed impact ringing through the cave.

Quinn snatched Brea out of mid-air before she crashed face first onto the stone just as that far side of the catwalk gave way, dropping into the abyss. “Scout!”

A deafening screech pierced the shadows, dust and water spraying out of the rift as the ground shook from a massive collision. Quinn placed Brea on her ass, then dove toward the edge, staring down into the fissure. The bridge hung by a set of cables on his side of the opening, slowly rocking back and forth, each sway preceded by a torturous creak.

Scout clung to one side, arms wrapped around the railing, boots kicking at the grated metal, trying to find purchase. She pulled herself up a foot only to slide back down when the entire frame shifted, one of the cables already fraying.

Quinn yanked off his belt, cinched it around one of the remaining anchors, then climbed over the edge, using the extra length to drop within a few feet of her head. He reached out, wiggling his fingers, willing her closer. “Grab my hand.”

Scout repositioned her hold, cursing when that cable separated more, swinging what was left of the catwalk farther away. More creaks echoed off the rocks, each twang from the cable counting down to when it finally broke.

Quinn wedged his foot higher, tried to lengthen his reach. “Scout. Baby, you gotta grab my hand.”

She closed her eyes, took a breath, then heaved herself up, one hand locking around a metal cross beam, the other stretching toward Quinn. Their fingers touched, Quinn curling his in an effort to tug her closer, as a spray of gunfire ripped through the tunnel.

Quinn shouted for Brea to get down as Scout twisted, got her Sig in her hand, returning a stream of trigger pulls. The report boomed through the cavern, shaking the walls, kicking up a vibration that shook through the metal. The anchors groaned, more rock sloughing off beneath them, and Quinn knew, it was only a matter of seconds before the entire rig dropped to the bottom of the gorge.

One last push, and he stretched a few more inches, praying the damn belt wouldn’t slip free. “Now, baby. We’re out of time.”

Scout fired one more flurry of brass then threw herself at him, kicking the metal framing as she extended her arm, hit his wrist. Quinn locked his fingers around her, both of them swinging back into the rock just as the cable snapped, tilting the bridge on a forty-five before it let loose, cartwheeling off the side, smashing onto the jagged bottom with a massive explosion of metal and rock.

Quinn held tight, eyeing the other side as Scout found a few handholds, dragged herself up and over the lip before extending her hand and hauling Quinn up. He crested the side, crawling across the slick stone just as Scout unleashed more gunfire, the casings sizzling as they hit the ground. Grunts and shouts rose from the shadows, followed by a worrying silence settling over the chamber.

Their cue to move.

Scout pushed onto her knees, still scoping the other side as Quinn checked Brea, ensured she hadn’t gotten hit. Calling Scout’s name, he surged to his feet, taking Brea with him before making a break for the next tunnel. Scout backed up behind him, emptying what was left in her mag, then clicking in a new one, burning through half of it until they were clear.

Quinn kept moving, following those swinging lights, finally emerging into a massive, cavernous room carved from the bedrock. The air vibrated, that distant hum rising into a dull, mechanical roar.

Scout stopped, scanning the room, eyes narrowed, chest heaving. “Looks like this is some kind of control room. Diesel generators. Storage vats pumping coolant to her in-house lab. High-voltage transformer banks.”

Quinn loosened his grip on Brea, started searching for another tunnel or doorway. “Not the place we want to get caught in if people start shooting. One stray bullet could set it off.”

“More like just a spark. Smells like there might be a slow leak.” She reached into one of her pouches, grabbed a neck gaiter and slipped over Brea’s head, covering her mouth. “We need a way out.”

“Working on it…”

He jogged ahead, scouring every wall, praying he hadn’t led them into a dead end, when he spotted a heavy steel service door next to some stacked liquid nitrogen tanks, like the ones Scout had used back in the warehouse. “Over here.”

Scout helped Brea trip her way across the chamber, eyeing the thick metal. “I don’t suppose it’s open?”

He hit a button and the door hinged open, revealing a dark, narrow tunnel disappearing deeper into the complex. “I’m not sure if this is a blessing or a curse, but beggars and all.”

Scout shouldered up beside him, one arm still wrapped around Brea’s waist. “I can’t be sure, but if my internal compass is still working, I think this joins up with the east wing.”

“I’ll trust your gut any day, baby. And it beats staying here. After you⁠—”

A high-pitched alarm cut him off, shrieking through the room in loud, rhythmic pulses, that same crimson glow strobing from cage-mounted lights on the walls. A heavy, grinding rumble sounded in the rock ceiling, a layer of rock dust falling from a half-covered slot above them. Quinn reacted, shoving Scout and Brea through the door, stepping to follow when a grooved steel fire shutter dropped like a guillotine from above, slamming into the stone floor with an earth-shaking boom.