Elias kicked the rusted vent grate free. The corroded metal clattered against the overgrown asphalt of the surface, echoing loudly in the freezing Los Angeles night.
Oxygen-rich air rushed into the claustrophobic shaft. Will pulled himself over the edge, gasping, his muscles already seizing from the frantic vertical climb. He expected to hear the shrieking moan of corporate thermal-lances melting the bedrock above his home. He expected to see a chaotic, scrambling staging ground of engineers digging into the earth.
He saw a perfectly orchestrated execution.
The overgrown ruins of the surface were illuminated with terrifying clarity. Harsh, portable corporate floodlights cut through the ancient jungle canopy, casting long, sterile white shadows across the broken concrete. P.A.C.I.F.I.C. hadn't set up drills to breach the cavern. They had set up a kill-box around the only exit.
A jagged red System prompt violently shattered Will's vision.
