Beyond the Veil, Prologue to Series, Book #1
Copyright© 2023 by Lynn Donovan
Chapter 3
A concussive boom rocked the building. Lieutenant Sebastian Stone ducked as debris filtered down from the ceiling. He rose cautiously, looking around. Red emergency lights began to whirl. “What the—?”
He ran to the side door of Lab One and pulled it open. It looked like the aftermath of a hurricane— debris and dust still settling as Axel Ashton staggered across the floor, seemingly in a daze. Stone knew two techs manned the lab. Where was the other man? Squeezing his shoulder mic, he shouted. “Command, this is Stone at QL-one. Something went wrong! We’ve had some sort of explosion. I need back up, now!”
“Roger that.” Hank in dispatch responded. “We’re on our way, Lieutenant.”
“Roger.” From the doorway, Stone looked over the trashed-out lab. “Where’s Callahan, Ashton?”
He didn’t respond. The man must be in shock, or deaf from the explosion. Stone knew all too well how that felt. Behind him, running footsteps approached and he turned back to the hall. “Frank!”
“Yes sir. What happened?” Frank Gonzales panted as he ran up to his commander.
“I’m not sure. I’m guessing something exploded. We need to get those men out of there.”
“Right.” Frank glanced back. “I left my post, sir.”
Stone stepped into the lab. “Axel!”
He didn’t turn or act like he heard a word. Stone spoke over his shoulder to the guard. “Frank, get back to your post and—”
Stone glanced back into the lab and his heart stuttered. A huge shadow moved through the fog toward the back wall. Chills ran up his arms and across his neck. “What in hell’s name?”
He jerked back. “Contact Dr. Karole Crossan in medical!” He didn’t trust his own eyes. “Get outta here, Gonzales! Tell the men to use extreme caution but get here as fast as they can.”
“You got it. You alright?” Frank looked worried.
“Yes. Now, go!”
Frank trotted away, speaking on his shoulder mic as he ran. “Yeah, we need a medic in QL-one ... Call Dr. Crossan ... No, you idiot, Karole Crossan, the medical doctor!”
His voice faded down the series of hallways.
Chatter grew in the stairwell, and Stone knew it would be the evacuating personnel from the Ops Center. He shook off the shudder still running through him. Help Axel or evacuate all these people? “This way folks. Walk calmly. Form up in the garden for now.”
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