Chapter 5 - DOOR SEVENPavel ordered everyone back.
The rescued prisoners crowded into the room.
The officers formed a line.
But Stefan wasn't watching the corridor.
He was staring at Lidia.
"You told me you'd destroyed it."
Lidia shook her head.
"I tried."
"You lied."
"I was protecting you."
"From whom?"
"From yourself."
Stefan stepped toward her.
"You left me here for eleven years."
Lidia's face collapsed.
"I visited you."
"With meat."
"Yes."
"Every day."
"Yes."
Ovidiu finally understood.
The sixty kilos weren't for the prisoners.
They were for something deeper.
Something hidden beneath them.
"Why so much?" he asked.
Lidia looked at him.
"Because there were twelve people."
"And?"
"Because there were thirty-six more."
Pavel stared.
"Where?"
Lidia pointed downward.
"Below Door Seven."
The floor shook.
A steel panel opened automatically.
A staircase appeared.
Pavel stared.
"This wasn't on the plans."
Stefan laughed.
"Nothing here is on the plans."
They descended.
The air became colder.
At the bottom stood a massive underground chamber.
Rows of refrigerated containers lined the walls.
Inside each one was a body.
Some were alive.
Some weren't.
Every container had a name.
Every name was crossed out except one.
ADRIAN VOSS.
Pavel stopped.
"Who's Adrian Voss?"
Lidia answered:
"Your former chief."
Pavel's face went pale.
The man had died eight years earlier.
Heart attack.
But his container wasn't empty.
Inside lay a man in his sixties.
Connected to tubes.
Alive.
Pavel stepped closer.
The man's eyes opened.
"Inspector Pavel."
Pavel stumbled backward.
"That's impossible."
Adrian smiled.
"It always is, until you see it."
Then the alarm began.
A red light flashed.
A mechanical voice echoed:
"PURGE SEQUENCE INITIATED."
Stefan grabbed Pavel.
"We have three minutes."
"Until what?"
"The lower levels flood."
"With what?"
May you like
Stefan looked at the floor.
"Fuel."
