Chapter 55: The Final Line

"GO! GO! GO!"

Jackson’s voice echoed down the spiral staircase. He was firing blindly behind him to cover the retreat.

"Move!" he grabbed Sebastian’s collar, dragging the limping old man down the steps. Luke followed, sliding down the railing, blood dripping from his arm.

They stumbled into the vault cavern.

"Alex! Close the Blast Door!" Jackson screamed, his chest heaving.

Alex hit the red button on his laptop.

CLANG!

A thick wall of titanium and steel slammed shut, sealing the entrance just as bullets sparked against the stone frame.

The room fell into a heavy, terrifying silence.

"Jackson!" Serenity dropped her gun and rushed to him.

He was a mess. His shirt was torn, soaked in sweat and fresh blood. The bandage on his shoulder was gone, replaced by a raw, open wound.

"I failed," Jackson leaned against the wall, sliding down to the floor. He looked at Serenity with devastating sorrow. "I couldn't hold them. They are setting up the plasma cutters. This door... it will hold for maybe ten minutes."

"You didn't fail," Serenity knelt in front of him, tearing a strip from her silk robe to bind his wound. "You bought us time."

"For what?" Jackson coughed. "To die together in a hole?"

"No," Serenity gripped his face. "To wait for her."

She pointed at the tank. The countdown was at 00:05:00. Five minutes left.

"Jackson, Arthur isn't just greedy," Serenity whispered quickly. "We watched Margaret’s logs. Arthur exposed himself to the radioactive element in the mines. He’s sick. He thinks he can become a god with the serum in your mother’s blood."

"A god?" Jackson let out a weak, bitter laugh. "He's just a mad dog."

ZZZZZT!

A bright orange spark pierced through the blast door. The tip of a plasma cutter appeared, glowing hot like the sun. They were cutting the lock.

"They are coming," Sebastian loaded his last bullet into his revolver. "It was an honor serving you, My Prince."

Jackson looked at his family. Alex was holding Mia’s hand in the corner, shielding her eyes. Serenity was holding the pistol with white knuckles.

"Alex," Jackson called out softly. "Come here."

Alex walked over, his eyes filled with tears but refusing to cry.

"When that door opens," Jackson took the keys to the secret escape tunnel (which was collapsed, but Alex didn't know) from his pocket. "You take your sister and Mom, and you run to the back ventilation shaft. You are the man of the house now."

"No!" Alex hugged him. "I'm not leaving you!"

"Listen to me!"

CRASH!

A massive chunk of the metal door fell inward. Smoke poured in.

Shadows of armed men appeared in the hole.

"Secure the assets! Kill the resistance!" The commander's voice ordered.

Jackson struggled to stand up, raising his gun with shaking hands. "Get behind me!"

But before the first soldier could step through...

HISS..........

A loud, hydraulic release sound drowned out the gunfire.

The Cryogenic Pod opened.

The blue liquid drained away rapidly. Steam filled the center of the room.

The soldiers stopped. Jackson stopped. Everyone stared at the pod.

A pale hand reached out from the steam and gripped the edge of the tank.

The woman inside gasped, inhaling air for the first time in twenty years.

Margaret Sterling opened her eyes. They weren't confused. They weren't scared. They were glowing with a faint, iridescent violet light.

She looked at the soldiers invading her sanctuary. She looked at her grown-up son bleeding on the floor.

She stepped out of the pod.

"Who dares," Margaret's voice was soft, yet it resonated in everyone's skull like thunder. "Who dares wake the Queen?"