“Lukas, stop!” Jannik screamed, grabbing him by the shoulders and ripping his hands away from the wheel-lock. “It’s about to burst! We have to go!” “But there’s someone in there!” Lukas shrieked, struggling to break free. “We can’t just leave them!” “We can’t do anything about it! It’s too late, we have to run!” Jannik pulled him back with all his strength.
Just as Lukas stumbled backward, a sharp, metallic snap echoed. One of the massive steel rivets on the door frame sheared off entirely, flying across the hallway like a bullet and slamming into the concrete.
They turned on their heels and sprinted back through the distorted hallway. The psychological dread of the endless corridors vanished, replaced by the primitive urge to survive. They ran past the closed blast valves, their flashlights cutting chaotic arcs through the hot, humid darkness. They threw themselves up the concrete exit stairs. They were halfway up when the facility gave way. A deafening, catastrophic BOOM rocked the complex, knocking them off their feet.