Down at the bottom, Marcus aligned the hardened steel blades of the bolt cutter against the titanium shackle of the padlock on the hatch. With every ounce of strength in his body, he squeezed the handles together underwater.
SNAP!
The lock shattered. Marcus turned the heavy iron wheel, breaking the ancient rubber seal. Water began to drain rapidly into the airlock below as he hauled the heavy iron hatch upward.
Reaching down into the dry, lit concrete chamber below, Marcus reached out. A pair of trembling, thin hands reached back up out of the darkness.
With a powerful hoist, Marcus pulled a weak, exhausted woman up into the pool, guiding her to the surface.
Chapter 6: The Light of Day
Marcus broke the surface, cradling his sister Elena in his arms as he dragged her to the shallow steps of the pool.
Elena was thin, pale, and wrapped in an old thermal blanket from the chamber, but her eyes were open, bright with tears as she looked up at the sunlight for the first time in four long years.