The floor dropped another few inches.
Ethan caught the edge of the corridor with both hands while Mara clung to his jacket. Across the widening gap Fortea pulled Erena against the wall and Halden grabbed a pipe protruding from the stone.
Fargrave disappeared from sight.
"Seth!"
"I'm here!"
His voice came from somewhere below.
Ethan looked down.
Seth had landed on a lower platform buried beneath the collapsing passage. Dust rolled around him as pieces of stone crashed onto the metal floor.
"I'm fine!" Seth shouted.
Fargrave's voice followed.
"Don't move!"
Ethan looked toward the darkness.
"That's becoming a really bad habit of yours."
A second crack split the corridor.
The remaining section of floor tilted.
Ethan released his grip and dropped.
He landed beside Seth hard enough to knock the air from his lungs.
Mara followed.
Fortea and Erena jumped after them.
Halden came last.
Fargrave remained above.
"Ethan!"
"We're alive!"
The gap between the upper corridor and the lower platform widened.
Fargrave looked down at them.
"You need to keep moving."
Ethan stood.
"Why?"
Fargrave looked behind himself.
His expression changed.
"Because I don't think I am alone anymore."
A shadow moved behind him.
Fargrave turned.
The corridor went dark.
Then the floor above collapsed completely.
Stone slammed into the platform.
Ethan raised his arm to shield his face.
When the dust settled, Fargrave was gone.
Mara coughed.
"Did he fall?"
Seth stared at the rubble.
"No."
Ethan looked at him.
"How do you know?"
"He moved."
"Where?"
Seth pointed toward a narrow opening beneath the platform.
"That way."
Halden walked toward it.
"There is an old service tunnel."
Ethan looked at him.
"Of course there is."
Halden ignored the remark.
"The original facility had emergency routes throughout the mountain."
Fortea looked around.
"Then why didn't the researchers use them?"
Halden hesitated.
"They did."
"Where did they go?"
"They never came back."
That stopped everyone.
Ethan looked at the tunnel.
"Great."
Seth stepped inside.
Ethan followed.
The tunnel was barely wide enough for two people. Old pipes ran along the ceiling and condensation dripped steadily onto the floor.
Their footsteps echoed.
Mara stayed between Ethan and Fortea.
For several minutes nobody spoke.
Then Ethan said, "How far does this go?"
Halden answered from behind him.
"Outside the original facility."
"How far?"
"Three kilometers."
Mara groaned.
"Three kilometers through this?"
Halden nodded.
"Assuming the route hasn't collapsed."
Ethan glanced back.
"That's not exactly reassuring."
"It's not meant to be."
They continued.
The further they went, the older the tunnel became.
Modern cables disappeared.
Rust replaced steel.
Eventually even the emergency lights stopped working.
Ethan switched on his flashlight.
The beam revealed faded writing on the wall.
VEERT AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH STATION — 1958
Mara stopped.
"1958?"
Halden nodded.
"That was before the college."
Erena studied the writing.
"Then why call it Veert?"
Halden looked at her.
"Because the land already had that name."
Fortea frowned.
"What was here before the college?"
Halden did not answer.
Ethan turned.
"Professor."
Halden sighed.
"Forest."
"That's it?"
"Forest and a small research station."
"Researching what?"
Halden looked ahead.
"Plants."
Mara frowned.
"Plants?"
"Botanical adaptation."
Seth stopped walking.
"Blood Lily."
Halden looked at him.
"Eventually."
Seth's eyes narrowed.
"What came first?"
Halden hesitated.
"Another species."
"Which one?"
Halden looked toward the dark tunnel.
"I don't know."
Seth studied him.
"You do."
"I know what the records said."
"Then tell me."
Halden's voice dropped.
"The records called it an unknown climbing organism."
Ethan looked at him.
"And?"
"It grew around the crystal."
A heavy silence followed.
Fortea whispered, "The crystal was here first."
Halden nodded.
"Yes."
They continued.
The tunnel suddenly opened into a small underground room.
A rusted metal door stood on the opposite wall.
Beside it was a control panel.
Halden approached.
"This should lead outside."
He wiped dust from the panel.
The screen flickered.
A single message appeared.
ACCESS DENIED.
Halden stared.
"That's impossible."
Ethan stepped closer.
"Why?"
"Because this route predates the security system."
Seth looked at the screen.
A second message appeared.
DONOVAN ACCESS REQUIRED.
Everyone turned toward him.
Ethan sighed.
"Of course."
Seth placed his hand against the panel.
Nothing happened.
He tried again.
The screen remained red.
Erena approached.
"Move."
Seth stepped aside.
She placed her hand against the panel.
The display turned white.
TWIN AUTHENTICATION REQUIRED.
Fortea stared at the screen.
"No."
Erena looked at her.
"We don't have a choice."
Fortea shook her head.
"You know what happens when we connect."
"We aren't connecting to the crystal."
"You don't know that."
Erena stepped closer.
"I know more than you think."
Fortea looked at Ethan.
He said nothing.
The building shook again.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Mara looked upward.
"We're running out of time."
Fortea closed her eyes.
Then she placed her hand beside Erena's.
The panel flashed.
AUTHENTICATION ACCEPTED.
The door opened.
Cold mountain air rushed into the room.
Everyone stared.
Beyond the doorway was a forest.
Not the Point Veert campus.
The actual mountain.
Rain fell through the trees.
Ethan stepped outside.
For the first time in hours, he could see the sky.
Mara followed.
She took a deep breath.
"Fresh air."
Ethan looked toward the mountain slope.
"We need to find somewhere safe."
Fargrave suddenly emerged from the tunnel.
Everyone turned.
His clothes were torn.
His face was streaked with dust.
He stopped when he saw the open doorway.
"You're leaving."
Ethan raised his weapon.
"You're coming with us."
Fargrave laughed once.
"No."
"Why?"
Fargrave looked back into the tunnel.
"Because someone needs to stay."
Seth stepped closer.
"Who?"
Fargrave looked directly at him.
"The person who opened the network."
Seth's expression hardened.
"You said it wasn't you."
"It wasn't."
"Then who?"
Fargrave looked toward Erena.
She froze.
Fortea noticed.
"Erena?"
Erena stared at Fargrave.
He spoke quietly.
"You know."
Erena shook her head.
"No."
"You've always known."
Fortea looked at her sister.
"What is he talking about?"
Erena said nothing.
Fargrave stepped backward.
"The system didn't wake because Seth entered the chamber."
Seth stared at him.
"Then why?"
Fargrave looked at Erena.
"Because she finally came home."
The door slammed shut.
Ethan rushed forward.
The control panel went black.
Fortea grabbed Erena.
"What did you do?"
Erena pulled free.
"I don't know."
The mountain shook.
Far below them, something enormous moved beneath the earth.
Seth turned toward the forest.
His new sense reacted instantly.
Malice.
Not from a person.
Not from a creature.
From the mountain itself.
He whispered, "We're not out."
Ethan looked at him.
"What?"
Seth stared into the trees.
"The network followed us."
A faint white glow appeared between the trunks.
Then another.
Then dozens.
The forest began lighting up.