Eve of Destruction by Patrick Carman

with Ben?” Marisa asked from S2, and I was happy to hear some spunk had returned to her voice. The ten-minute nap had revived her.
    â€œIdiot smashed both of his ankles and messed up his back.” Connor had returned, and hearing the question, he’d answered it for me.
    â€œHow bad is it? Can he walk?” I prodded.
    â€œNo way. We’ll have to carry him out of here.”
    â€œIf we get out at all,” said Alex. “It’s starting to feel like there’s no reason for us to even be down here. Did she tell you anything else?”
    â€œWait, so Ben is okay, just incapacitated?” I pressed.
    â€œI’m fine, Will. Just get us out, okay?” Ben had lifted his head with some effort, staring up at me. “It’s mostly my feet that hurt, like I sprained both ankles at one time playing soccer or something. I can just sit here.”
    Alex’s face tipped into the monitor from the side: “Let’s finish this thing so we can vacate before someone else gets hurt.”
    â€œAnswer Connor’s question,” Kate insisted. “Did she give you any more instructions?”
    â€œThere are two wide holes between you and me, or you and the monitor anyway. There’s a corner at the S2 monitor, and beyond that, another door I can unlock. I need to get you guys behind that door.”
    â€œSo you can lock us even deeper down here?” Kate mumbled, but she didn’t push it and I didn’t answer. Instead, I turned to Connor and Alex, who stood next to each other staring at me.
    â€œYou guys need to get through the red door, down the hall. Once you go through I’ll close it automatically, so step aside. And don’t give me any grief about locking it behind you—it’s what I’m being told to do. I’m only following instructions, which is our best chance of getting out of here. Keep going once you clear the door, avoid holes full of water or anything that looks like it might electrocute you, and eventually you’ll come to another doorway to your left and a hall to your right. Skip those and keep going. I’ll see you coming.”
    I’d seen the doors I described on the map and didn’t really understand where they led to. One entered an unmarked space about the same size as the room I was in, the other to something more mysterious, a large circle and a square behind that. It didn’t matter, because Mrs. Goring’s meaning had been very clear: Don’t open doors I don’t tell you to open. Some are better left closed .
    â€œWe’re past the first hole, Will, no worries,” said Kate, sounding closer in the echo chamber of the tunnel at S2. “But the next one’s bigger.”
    They were standing on the edge of a space of tiles that had crumbled apart and fallen into darkness below. Swiveling the camera I could see pipes and frayed wires poking up through the rust-colored water.
    â€œGive me a second to think, don’t go yet.”
    I slammed the knob that opened the red door and got the salute sign from Connor as he moved off camera and Alex took chase.
    â€œTell me when you’re through!” I yelled.
    â€œHell yeah!” Connor answered. The more I worked with this guy, the more I envisioned him as a sergeant on the ground, guiding a battalion into all sorts of trouble on sheer adrenaline. He was the kind of guy I’d likely be in favor of having as my captain in a situation like that. Too bad he has senile dementia and won’t get into the Marines no matter how hard he tries.
    â€œHey, Will.”
    It was Ben, from the floor, his eyes a vacant stare.
    â€œYeah, I’m here.”
    â€œDo you think we’re getting out of this situation alive?”
    He said it loudly enough for Marisa and Kate to hear it from where they stood, the audio feeds bouncing in and out of the room to other parts of the facility. It was a lesson learned: not everyone needs to hear