Elena POV
The corridor behind us groaned and sealed shut, cutting off whatever was left of the chamber, whatever was left of Quinn.
Nobody said anything for a moment. The only sound was the building itself, crumbling in stages around us.
"Move everyone," Thorne barked, and we moved.
The exit route Ariston had opened wasn't stable; the floors buckled underfoot, and sections of the ceiling gave way in slow, groaning collapses that sent everyone flinching sideways.
Mark led, weapon low, calling out hazards as they appeared.
"The left side gone," he shouted. "Cut right, cut right—"
We went to the right and the corridor narrowed, then opened into what had once been a stairwell, half its steps sheared away into darkness below.
"We're not getting up that," Max's voice crackled through comms, patched back in now that we were closer to the surface relay points. "I'm rerouting you through the east maintenance shaft. It's tighter, but it's stable."
