Armageddon by Kaitlyn O'Connor Page A

exiting at last, tossed the control toward the waiting hands. The men instantly fell upon one another like a pack of dogs, snarling and struggling to get their hands on the control unit.
    The men who were already free had split up and were racing toward either end of the corridor. Dax halted next to her. “Are you alright?”
    “Compared to what?” Lena gasped, unable to keep the indignation from her voice.
    For just a moment, she thought she saw a glint of humor in his eyes. It vanished so quickly she wasn’t certain, though.
    “We’re not out of the woods yet. You think you can make it?”
    She didn’t know if she could or not but she damn well meant to try. Either way, she wasn’t about to voice any doubts. She thought it more likely his concern was that she would slow him down than empathy for her state. She nodded.
    “Good girl!”
    Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Lena glanced up and down the corridor worriedly. “Which way?”
    “Up,” he responded without hesitation, heading toward the group piled around the lift tube.
    There were only a half a dozen or so men waiting now, Lena saw as Dax led her a little further along the corridor. The men in the cell on the opposite side of the corridor hadn’t managed to get out. Either they’d broken the control fighting over it, or they hadn’t figured out the release code yet. One group waiting near the lift had already piled on and disappeared. The men who’d charged off in the opposite direction had also vanished from sight.
    “Quiet!” Dax bellowed, his voice so commanding that all of the men within the sound of his voice instantly fell silent.
    Faintly, far in the distance, Lena heard a popping sound.
    “What’s that?” she whispered.
    “Gunfire! Those idiots must have headed for the ground floor. Either they’ll lock down the lifts or the car will be full of guards when it comes back and they’ll be crawling all over us,” he muttered, glancing around at the ceiling as if he could see through the panels above them.
    A wave of nausea went through Lena. She should’ve known it was stupid to think they could get out!
    After a moment, Dax turned away from the lift and trotted down the corridor a short piece, staring up at the ventilation shaft. Without a word, he climbed the bars and began yanking and tugging at the cover. Dust and debris began to rain down in the corridor. Finally, he managed to break the cover free on one end. He turned then and held out a hand for Lena. “In here.”
    Ignoring the hand he offered, Lena handed him the taser she still held, scrambled up the bars, and leaned out to grip the edge of the shaft. He ‘helped’ her as she began hoisting herself into the shaft by planting one hand in the middle of her ass and giving her
     
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    a shove. As scared as she was, that hand did more than give her a boost by lifting some of the weight off her arms. It sent a jolt of adrenaline through her that gave her the strength to pull herself up.
    She heard the scramble of feet as the prisoners waiting near the lift charged back to jockey for position to go next. The sizzle of the taser sent the smell of burning hair into the shaft behind her. A moment later, Dax appeared in the opening and clambered in behind her. “Move!” he commanded. “They’ll be on us any minute.”
    The prisoners? The guards? Both? “Which way?”
    “Up!”
    She didn’t argue, but going up sounded as insane as going down to meet the guards waiting for them below. Without another word, she crawled down the shaft as fast as she could, pausing only when she reached the first intersection opening above her head. She stood up, then, wondering how the hell she was supposed to climb the thing.
    “Use the seams to get a finger grip and brace yourself across the opening,” Dax said, almost as if he’d read her mind.
    The seams? Good god!
    Do or die, she reminded herself, digging her fingers into the seam just above her head and lifting one foot to brace it