Chapter 17 · Sublevel Zero

"You can't hold that forever." Iris's voice cuts through the shriek of metal grinding against metal.

I don't answer. My hands are locked around the security gate, keeping it jammed three inches off the floor. The edge is hot enough to smell like burning, and yeah, that's my skin.

"Cade, let go."

"Not yet."

"The hydraulics are going to—"

"I said not yet."

She's on her knees beside me, one hand braced on my shoulder. The sublevel corridor behind us is dark except for the red emergency strips running the length of the walls. No exit signs. No windows. Just concrete and that hum I've been hearing since Loop 19, the one that sounds like a server farm the size of a city block.

The gate shudders. Drops half an inch. I reset my grip, and something in my left hand pops. Doesn't matter. Iris is halfway under. If I let go now, she's cut in half.

"How much further?" I ask.

"Twenty feet. There's a maintenance hatch. Should bypass the main—"

"Should?"

"I haven't been down here since the build-out."

"Great. Love that."

She slides under, hips clearing the edge, and I can feel the hydraulics pushing harder now.