Julian Vance didn’t wait to catch his breath.
The damp brick floor of Sub-Basement Service Conduit #04-B echoed under his boots as the imploding courthouse thundered behind them. Ten yards ahead, at the eastern end of the utility tunnel, stood the cast-iron boundary archway marking the 1924 Surveyed Foundation Threshold of Starlight 24-Hour Mart #04.
Overhead, through the thick glass sidewalk prisms set into the curb line, the blue and red neon tubes of the store sign buzzed like electric bees. Their clean glow washed away the sickly green rot of the underground chambers.
“Run!” Julian shouted, grabbing Clara’s hand. “Get inside the store’s foundation perimeter before the rear culvert seals!”
They sprinted down the brick conduit in three seconds.
Behind them, Elena and Dr. Corvo ran shoulder to shoulder, their heavy equipment bags sloshing with condensation.
Mac brought up the rear, his prosthetic left arm cocked at his chest, his steel-toed boots pounding the bricks with the heavy rhythm of a pile driver. Lin Mei clutched the titanium transcript spool tight against her ribs, her head down against the rushing draft.
Julian reached the cast-iron foundation archway of Store #04.
