Chapter 19 · Ayla, move!

She stopped.

Sable slammed into her back. "Ayla, move!"

The generator room had become a cage of broken pipes and sparking cables. Three old-district workers were trapped beneath a fallen steel frame. One of them was conscious, clutching a crushed leg and screaming.

"Help me lift it," Sable said.

"You can't lift that."

"I didn't ask if I could."

Ayla shoved the ledger into her coat and grabbed the frame. Metal bit into her palms.

"On three," Sable said. "One. Two."

"You skipped three."

"I like surprises."

They heaved.

The frame rose an inch. The trapped worker dragged himself free. Sable pulled a second person out by the collar while Ayla held the weight, her arms shaking.

A blast thundered upstairs.

Kade screamed.

The frame dropped.

Ayla caught it before it crushed the last worker.

"Go!" she yelled.

Sable shoved the injured people toward the tunnel hatch. "Ayla, now!"

"I need the access point."

"The hatch is right there."

She saw it beneath the generator. A round iron plate covered in soul-lock lines.