CHAPTER 213 — THE MONSTER THEY BUILT
The silence lasted only three seconds.
Then the floor beneath them shook.
Not a vibration this time.
An impact.
Something enormous slammed into the lower maintenance level hard enough to make the old infrastructure scream around them. Rust fell from the ceiling in thick clouds while the emergency lights overhead flickered violently between red and darkness.
Elena instinctively grabbed the nearest support rail to steady herself.
Marcus staggered backward from the ancient terminal, his face drained of color.
"It reached the upper levels already."
Another impact thundered upward beneath them.
Closer.
The footsteps were no longer distant now.
They were directly below the floor.
Adrian's expression hardened instantly as he looked toward the maintenance corridor descending deeper underground.
"We move."
Nobody argued.
