Chapter 14 - The Button Below

Water covered Claire's borrowed boots in seconds.

She snatched Ellie onto a maintenance platform and pulled the inhaler from the girl's hand. "Two puffs. In, hold, out."

Ellie obeyed, trying not to cry. The room shuddered as the pumps started. Water surged against the walls.

"Can you swim?" Claire asked.

"In a pool. Not in here."

"Then we're not swimming. We're getting the door open."

Claire pulled at the chain across the exit. It was thick, new, and locked. A bolt cutter lay on a shelf six feet away, beyond a flooded gap. She reached for it and nearly slipped.

Her earpiece crackled. Nina's voice sounded far away.

"Claire? Your signal dropped. Where are you?"

"Pump room, east warehouse! We're locked in. Water's coming fast!"

"I'm calling the fire department. Stay on."

"Tell them there's a child!"

Ellie pointed high above the pipes. "Mom. The red box."

Across the room, a red emergency-stop switch stood behind a guardrail, just out of reach from the platform. A warning beside it read PRESS TO SHUT DOWN PUMPS.

"That's it," Claire said.

She boosted Ellie onto her shoulders. The girl gripped a hanging cable and swung one foot onto the narrow rail.

"It's too far," Ellie said.

"Look at me. Not the water."

Ellie looked down at her mother.

"Remember when you taught me to ride my bike?" Claire asked. "You said I shouldn't let go."

"I said I'd tell you before I did."

"I'm telling you now. You've got this."

Ellie stretched, fingertips brushing the red switch. Claire raised herself on her toes, fighting the pull of the water. Ellie slapped the button.

The pumps groaned. The rushing water slowed, then stopped.

A second alarm sounded somewhere above them. Claire laughed and sobbed at the same time. Ellie slid into her arms.

"Movie-star brave," Ellie whispered.

"No," Claire said. "Ellie brave."

Metal screamed on the other side of the chained door. A cutting tool bit through the lock. Lena appeared in the opening with a firefighter behind her.

"Come on!" she yelled.

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Claire lifted Ellie into the firefighter's arms. She was one step from safety when the floor behind them jolted. Through the steam, Ethan's voice rose from the hallway.

"Claire! Get out! Pike's coming back!"