Chapter 10 - The Descent
The small room erupted into chaos. Evelyn grabbed Lily, while Clara grabbed heavy iron lanterns off the table and hurled them at the recovery security guards. One lamp shattered against a guard’s face, spraying oil and igniting a burst of flame across the dry wooden floorboards.
"To the lower levels!" Evelyn cried.
They scrambled down the narrow spiral staircase as smoke began to pour from the top room. Behind them, Richard was screaming in rage, orders echoing down the stone cylinder.
"Don't shoot the girl! Get the locket! Kill the man!"
Julian brought up the rear, swinging the iron poker furiously at the first guard who tried to push through the smoke down the stairs. The heavy iron struck the guard's collarbone, sending him tumbling backward into his partner, blocking the narrow staircase for a crucial few seconds.
"Clara! Is there another way out?" Julian shouted as they reached the second floor landing.
"The old coal chute!" Evelyn yelled, leading them into a small side room filled with rusted machinery. "It leads out to the sea cave below the rocks! It's how the keepers brought supplies up during storms!"
The chute was a narrow, steep iron slide covered in decades of rust and grime, dropping sixty feet down into the dark, roaring cavern beneath the cliff.
"It’s too steep!" Clara said, looking down into the pitch-black abyss.
"It’s our only chance!" Evelyn said. She looked at Lily. "Sweetie, jump on my lap. Hold your breath when we reach the bottom!"
Evelyn didn't wait. She grabbed Lily, sat at the edge of the metal chute, and slid down into the darkness. Their screams faded into the thunder of the crashing waves below.
"Go, Clara!" Julian urged, checking his back as heavy footsteps slammed down the stairs toward them.
May you like
Clara looked at Julian. "Together."
They jumped onto the chute together just as Richard kicked open the door to the room, pistol raised.
