Rich Under Their Hate: The Social Status System
The roar of the crowd was getting louder, the sound of boots echoing in the shaft above.
"Either we open this door and kill the machine," Chalida said, her finger tightening on the trigger, "or we die knowing we built the end of the world."
She pulled the trigger. The gunshot was deafening, the sound trapped in the small, concrete space. The vault keypad sparked, sputtered, and turned black. The massive steel bolts groaned, the sound of heavy machinery waking up from a long, digital sleep.