Chapter 5 - The Locked Gate
Daniel shone the flashlight up. Vance was standing on the landing half a flight above them, his silhouette framed by the dim emergency light. He held the iron pipe in his hand, letting it rest against the concrete wall.
"Megan, get behind me," Daniel ordered, stepping in front of the nurse and his son. He held the heavy flashlight like a weapon, though he knew it was a poor match against the pipe.
"You can't open the gate, Daniel," Vance said, taking a slow step down. "I took the keys from the security office. The system is entirely manual now. No electricity, no magnetic overrides. Just old, heavy iron."
"Why are you doing this?" Daniel demanded, trying to buy time, his mind desperately searching for a way out. "What did we ever do to you?"
"Not you," Vance said, his voice dropping to a whisper. "The world. It's disorganized. People survive who shouldn't. People die who should live. I'm just... correcting the errors. When the machine stopped, it was a sign. The boy knew. He felt the heat. He knew the machine was lying."
"I didn't help you," Ethan’s voice cut through the damp air of the stairwell. He stepped out from behind Daniel, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with his father. "You're a liar."
Vance stopped. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the boy. "You saw the box, Ethan. You knew it didn't belong."
"I saw you put it there," Ethan said, his voice remarkably steady. "You thought I was asleep. But I saw you. You had a black bag. You dropped a little silver key when you were bending down."
Daniel’s heart leapt. "Ethan, where is the key?"
"It’s in my pocket," Ethan said. He reached into his hoodie and pulled out a small, brass-colored key with a plastic tag attached. "It fell under the chair. I picked it up because it looked like the key to my bike."
Vance’s face contorted in a mask of sudden, frantic panic. He realized his mistake. The key to the heavy padlock on the security gate wasn't on his ring—he had dropped it in the NICU.
"Give that to me," Vance snarled, lunging down the stairs.
"Daniel, catch!" Ethan yelled, tossing the key toward his father.
But the throw was wide. The small key bounced off the concrete wall and skittered down the stairs, slipping through the gap between the steps and falling to the landing below—right next to the locked gate.
"No!" Daniel cried.
He bolted down the remaining steps, throwing himself onto the cold concrete of the landing, his fingers scrambling in the dark for the tiny piece of brass.
Behind him, Vance reached the landing where Ethan and Megan stood. He raised the pipe, but Megan, with a bravery born of pure desperation, swung her heavy nurse's clipboard, striking Vance across the arm. The pipe clattered to the floor.
At the same moment, Daniel’s fingers closed around the key.
"I got it!" he yelled.
He scrambled to his knees, jamming the key into the heavy brass padlock holding the chains together.
The lock was old and stiff. He turned the key. It wouldn't budge.
"Come on, come on," Daniel muttered, his hands slick with sweat.
Above him, Vance had recovered. He shoved Megan aside, sending her crashing against the wall. He grabbed Ethan by the collar of his hoodie, lifting the boy off his feet.
"The key!" Vance screamed at Daniel. "Give it to me or the boy goes over!"
He dragged Ethan toward the rusted metal railing. The drop down the center of the stairwell spiraled down four flights to the concrete basement floor.
"Ethan!" Daniel screamed.
With a final, desperate twist of his wrist, Daniel forced the key.
Click.
The lock snapped open. Daniel grabbed the heavy chain, wrapping it around his hand, and pulled. The heavy iron gate swung open with a deafening screech.
But instead of running through, Daniel turned and launched himself back up the stairs. He grabbed Vance’s legs, lifting him and slamming him against the brick wall of the stairwell.
Ethan broke free, tumbling onto the landing.
Daniel and Vance struggled on the edge of the stairs. Vance was wild, clawing at Daniel's eyes, his breath hot and smelling of stale coffee. He managed to grab Daniel's throat, squeezing with terrifying strength.
Daniel felt his vision begin to spot with black. He reached out blindly, his hand finding the heavy metal flashlight he had dropped on the landing.
With the last of his strength, he swung the flashlight, striking Vance on the side of his knee.
A sharp crack echoed through the stairwell. Vance shrieked, his grip on Daniel's throat loosening as his knee buckled. He tumbled backward down the flight of stairs, crashing heavily onto the landing below, his body sprawling limp against the concrete. He didn't move.
Daniel lay on the stairs, gasping for air, his throat burning.
"Dad!" Ethan was beside him, pulling at his arm. "Dad, we have to go! Sophie!"
Daniel looked up. Megan was already running through the open gate, still squeezing the blue bag, keeping the tiny spark of Sophie’s life flickering.
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Squeeze. Release.
"Go," Daniel gasped, pushing himself up. "Go!"
