I felt as if I had been crawling around these ducts for hours, which was actually probably true. Luckily, all of the ducts ran the same way, laid out perfectly and repetitiously. Unluckily, every single grate I tried would not open, no matter how hard I strained.

What was worse was that in his hurry to collect my things, Viggo had forgotten to pack a canteen, leaving me without water. I had been crawling and sliding around for hours, sweating profusely, and I was thirsty. Not to mention, I still wasn’t at my best. The bits and pieces of sleep I had managed to slip in had only helped steady me, not revitalize my strength.

That I was already feeling thirsty wasn’t a good sign—it meant dehydration was setting in. I needed to move fast, and get out of these ducts.

After the interrogation level and lab, I had continued to crawl downward. I hadn’t found any of the machinery responsible for pumping the oxygen throughout the facility, but I figured they had to be at the very bottom level. I hadn’t noticed any machinery on the top of the building when we had come in, and it made the most sense: It would be easier to maintain from inside.

My logic was sound, but I still felt apprehensive. Especially after seeing the level after the lab. I had been stalling for a few minutes now, trying to come up with a reason to head back upstairs that made sense, but I couldn’t come up with one.

I peeked back through the grate I was next to, and bit my lip. This level I could make out clearly from the floor. It was designed like a child’s playground. There was a sand box, swings, a see-saw… everything you could find at a park.

But it was pristine—unused. Like no children had ever played on it before. My mind kept mulling over reasons to explain its presence, but none of them felt right. I had considered the possibility of the researchers who had lived here having children, and this was a designated day care area.

Except that there were mirrors everywhere. At first, I had thought it was just a design thing, until I found an abnormal bit of ventilation, which led to a small room. As I strained on the grate, trying to open it, I realized that I could see the glass. It was a two-way mirror.

I realized then that the room was used to observe and study. Which made my theory moot, as no one would be comfortable with their children being studied like lab rats.

Then why did this room exist? What was the point of it?

Yet more and more questions to add to my ever-growing list. I sighed, and leaned back, resting my head on the duct, rubbing my thumb against my other fingers.

Suddenly, I wished Viggo was here. He likely wouldn’t be able to offer up any explanation for the room, but at least his presence would be comforting. I tilted my gaze upward, trying to imagine what was happening with him right now. My heart clenched in my chest as dozens of images ripped from the darkest part of my imagination.

“Get it together, Violet,” I said softly, jerking myself out of my grim thoughts. I sighed, rolling my eyes at my need to talk myself through my current dilemma. I was being ridiculous and wasting time.

And yet…

“Okay, Violet,” I began. “You know the vents upstairs are all sealed. You could use your gun, but that would attract attention. So… if you want to save Viggo and get out of these vents, you’re going to have to head down to the next level.”

Saying the words out loud helped, but not a lot. I ran my hand over my face and grimaced as I realized I had likely wiped all the grime and dirt I had been acquiring all over myself. So much for my miraculous shower from earlier.

I rotated myself in the vent, until I was back on my belly. Pushing the bag toward the next downturn that delineated a staircase, I used my hands and elbows to drag myself behind it. I had secured the flashlight to the bag using one of the straps, which gave me some freedom, but not much.

I approached the juncture for the next stairwell, and heaved the bag into it, before sliding down after it. I was well aware that I was making a lot of noise, but truthfully, I hadn’t seen or heard anyone since I had left Viggo’s level above. It was like they hadn’t bothered searching the lower levels.

Then again—why would they? The door had been secured. For all they knew, I was just hidden somewhere above.

Actually, that reasoning didn’t really fly. They’d had more than enough time to search the upper levels. There weren’t many places to hide. So why hadn’t they come down yet, looking for me?

I rounded the corner and slid down the next vent. I wasn’t sliding fast, so when the vent came to an abrupt stop at solid wall, I had enough time to slow myself down.

The bag continued to slide downward, the light from the flashlight illuminating a hole in the vent where it met the wall. A hole that the bag was sliding toward without any sign of stopping.

Cursing, I shot after the bag, sliding down quickly. I reached out with my left hand, managing to snag the loop at the top. Quickly, I spread my arms and legs, slowing myself down to a halt. The bag teetered at the edge, rocking back and forth for a few seconds, before slowly going over.

I braced for the weight, and managed to keep it from dragging me over, but I heard something clatter below. Pulling the bag back up, I realized the flashlight had fallen. I shifted the bag to my side, grabbed the edge of the hole, and looked down.

The flashlight was still on, somehow, and had fallen about fifty feet straight down. It was illuminating the wall, and I could make out something jutting from it. The light wasn’t powerful enough to reach up here, leaving me in darkness.

I felt the edges of the hole carefully. They weren’t sharp, which indicated this hole was intentional. I reached along the sides of the vent, feeling my way around. Like the rest of the vent, it was made of the same thin and flexible metal. I couldn’t reach the wall in the back, not without moving forward.

Taking a deep breath, I grabbed the edge, and moved more of my torso over the empty space. I used my legs as a brace, spreading them wide and pushing against the sides of the duct. Slowly, I let go with one hand, using my other hand and muscles in the small of my back to keep me straight.

I tried not to look down as I reached across the remaining gap. One wrong move here and I would fall to my death. I took a deep breath, steeling myself against that thought. Besides, it was just another death filled situation. I should be used to those by now.

I felt for the wall, my fingers searching. The concrete was cold under my hand. I slid my hand around, keeping my breathing heavy and my muscles tight. My hand hit something cool and metallic over my third pass. I followed it from the wall, to where it curved around to be parallel to the wall, and then curved around again to intersect with the wall again.

It was a ladder.

I pulled back from the edge and sucked in a few deep breaths of air. My arms and legs were aching from the exertion, and I was sweating again. I needed to get out of this place, and I guessed I was going to go down to do it.

I managed to slip the backpack on my back, but it took a lot of bending and straining, as well as a few choice words, before I did so.

The next part was even trickier—grabbing the ladder and maneuvering my body over there wasn’t going to be easy, especially since I had no room to turn around in the vent. I was going to have to grab on with both hands, and then drag my legs over. I also had to hope that I wouldn’t lose my grip and fall.

Taking one last breath, I grabbed the edge of the vent and slid myself over the void. I braced my legs again and reached out with one hand. I was already straining, thanks to the added weight of the backpack.

It only took me a few seconds to find the rung of the ladder again. I gripped it with my hand, and then released the edge of the vent with the other. A moment of weightlessness came over me, reminding me of falling through the air and into The Green, and I panicked, reaching out blindly with my other hand.

There was a second where I was certain I was going to fall, and images of me impacting the unyielding concrete below ran through my imagination. Then my hand found the bar, and I gripped it with all my might. I took a moment to calm myself, sucking air in and out, until I realized I wasn’t going to be calm unless I was fully on the ladder.

With that in mind, I pulled myself over. My hips and stomach were completely over the hole now, and that roiling sensation in my stomach intensified. I wrapped my arm around the rung, hooking it with my elbow. I grabbed my wrist with my other hand, locking myself into place, before I let my legs come out and fall.

There was a brief moment of discomfort as my legs swung over the edge, but as soon as my body impacted the rungs, I planted my feet firmly on one with minimal scrambling. Afterward, I rested my head against the bar I was clinging on to, and took a deep breath.

After a few moments, I began to descend.

The darkness made climbing difficult. I had to go slowly, reaching with each foot and hand, making sure they were firmly settled before I trusted my weight to them.

It came as no surprise to me that I had started talking to myself. It was strange, but the sound of my own voice helped me focus.

“All right, just reach down with your foot until you hit the rung… good, good. Make sure you really wedge it on there—no toes here—the shoes aren’t that good. Great, good job Vi—just keep going and you’ll be down in no time.”

With my little pep talk, I made it down easily. The relief of solid floor beneath my feet poured through me, and I slid down the wall to sit down, wiping the sweat off my forehead.

I rested against the wall for several moments, breathing heavily. As I sat there, my mind once again returned to Viggo. He needed me right now, and I wasn’t moving fast enough. It was enough to spur myself back on my feet. I scooped up the flashlight and looked around. There was an archway to my left, and it led to a cat walk. I had found the maintenance area, which was great, but I needed to make sure I could get back to the other levels.

Stepping through the archway, I walked out on the catwalk, shining my flashlight around. The catwalk ran along the wall, while the other side widened into open space. I pressed my free hand against the wall, resolved to stay as far away from the space as possible.

I moved the flashlight up, and I could see dim lights coming from the area above, but I couldn’t make anything out.

Frowning, I moved slowly, ever cautious of the floor below. After several hundred feet, it ended at a door. Suddenly apprehensive, I pushed it open slowly.

The room was some sort of station, with buttons and panels lit up everywhere. I looked around for a few seconds, and found a water cooler in the back. Grabbing a mug from one of the desks, I filled it up and drank the first and second cups of water, pausing only long enough to fill the mug back up.

Once I had downed as much as I could handle, I went to the opposite door and opened it, finding a hallway with stairs heading up. My legs started to ache just from the sight of it.

Sighing, I gripped the shoulder of my bag tightly and began climbing up. At least I was out of the vent.