Chapter 5 - The Tunnel Ambush
"Quiet," Roman whispered, his hand instantly shooting out to grab Clara’s wrist with a grip like iron.
The scratching sound grew louder, accompanied by the muffled crunch of boots on gravel. The escape tunnel wasn't a secret anymore; Victor’s men had anticipated their move and cut off their exit.
"They're at the creek exit," Clara whispered, her eyes wide with panic. "There's no other way out of this cellar."
"There is," Roman said, his gaze fixed on the low, stone-arched ventilation shaft near the ceiling—a narrow pipe meant to circulate air through the winter storage.
"That's barely wide enough for a dog to crawl through!" Clara protested.
"It has to be wide enough for both of us," Roman replied grimly, pushing himself up despite his injuries. He grabbed an empty wooden crate, flipped it upside down beneath the vent, and punched his fist upward against the rusted iron grate. With a screech of tearing metal, the grate popped free, tumbling out into the snowy night.
"Up. Now," Roman urged, boosting Clara toward the opening.
Clara scrambled upward, scraping her elbows against the rough stone walls, pulling herself out into the freezing night air just as the heavy trapdoor above them exploded inward with a deafening crash.
"They're in the cellar!" a harsh, metallic voice echoed from below.
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Roman hauled his massive frame through the narrow vent just as a hand shot up from the cellar opening, missing his ankle by inches. Clara grabbed his arm, pulling with all her might as they both tumbled headfirst into a deep snowdrift outside the perimeter of the cabin.
The wind bit hard, but they didn't stop. Dragging Roman by his good arm, Clara plunged into the dense thicket of the lower timberline, leaving the burning cabin behind them as red flames began to lick the winter sky.
