Chapter 13 - Sky on Fire
Grant helped Clara, Lily, and Emma into the rear bay of the helicopter, sliding the heavy side door shut just as another massive explosion ripped through the mountain below them.
A plume of orange fire and black smoke erupted through the snow-covered peak as the underground levels of St. Jude collapsed in on themselves.
Marcus pulled back hard on the collective pitch. The helicopter lifted off the helipad just as the concrete pad beneath them cracked in two, sliding down the mountain face in a massive avalanche of rock and ice.
Inside the cabin, the heavy vibration of the rotors filled the space. Lily was buried deep in Clara’s arms, her small hands wrapped around her mother’s neck as if she would never let go. Clara wept silently, resting her forehead against her daughter’s head.
Grant sat beside them, pulling both of them into his arms. For two years, his life had been a hollow shell built on grief, anger, and corporate power. Holding them now, feeling the warmth of his wife and child, the coldness that had settled in his heart finally melted away.
Emma sat across from them, leaning back against the metal wall of the cabin, bleeding from a small shrapnel graze on her arm. She smiled softly through her exhaustion.
"We did it," Emma murmured.
Grant looked at her, his expression filled with deep, unspoken gratitude. "You saved my family, Emma. I don't care what name you use—you'll always have a place with us."
Suddenly, the helicopter jolted violently. A warning siren blared inside the cockpit.
"Mr. Callahan!" Marcus called out from the front seats. "We’ve got a surface-to-air missile lock coming from the valley ridge! Julian's secondary perimeter team is still active!"
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Grant looked out the window. Down in the valley, through the thick curtain of snow, a bright flare of light erupted.
A missile was streaking up through the gray sky, locked directly onto their position.
