Chapter 432: The People Who Came Back

Mira was halfway through updating the rescue register when a woman’s voice broke through the emergency channel.

"Is anyone receiving this? This is Shelter Six beneath the old administrative building. Our exit is blocked, and we have injured people down here."

The operator beside Mira nearly knocked over his cup. "Coordinator, that shelter was marked inaccessible yesterday."

Mira took the communicator. "Shelter Six, this is Nexus rescue coordination. How many people are inside?"

The woman answered immediately. "Twenty-one when we entered. Eighteen civilians and three emergency workers. One civilian is missing somewhere in the storage section."

Mira marked the location on her map. The building had partially collapsed during the calamity, leaving its basement trapped beneath broken masonry and an older foundation.

Mira checked the signal reading. "How did you reach this channel?"

"We found a working battery and caught your backup broadcast," the woman explained. "Please tell me the towers are gone."

Mira softened her voice. "They’re down. Stay together. We’re coming."

She contacted Elden, who was monitoring the isolated communications network from Mythal. "Can you maintain their signal?"

Elden answered immediately. "I’ve reserved the channel. Their battery is weak, so keep transmissions short. I’ll notify you if the signal changes."

Mira turned to her field coordinator. "Get a structural rescue crew to that building. I’ll contact Kai."

...

Kai arrived with Sera and Aren to find workers studying a collapsed entrance. The administrative building leaned against its neighbor, and the lower windows had disappeared behind a mound of stone.

A rescue captain approached Mira beside the command board. "The main stairwell is filled from top to bottom. Clearing it could bring down the floor above."

Mira looked at Aren. "You know old foundations. Is there another way inside?"

Aren examined the exposed stone. "Probably. Buildings this old usually have maintenance access beneath the stairs. Whether it survived is another matter."

Sera studied the cracked supports. "And whether it stays intact once we enter."

Kai examined the debris. "Tell me where to lift. I’d rather not remove the one stone holding the place together."

Aren gave him an appreciative look. "That’s an encouraging amount of restraint."

They moved along the eastern wall. Aren stopped beside a broken drainpipe and brushed dust from three shallow grooves carved into a stone ledge. They pointed toward a hatch buried beneath rubble.

Aren traced the markings with his fingers. "Old maintenance marks. This passage should connect to the shelter’s utility corridor. The builders needed access to their pipes even when the main floors were closed."

Rescuers cleared the smaller stones while Kai lifted a cracked slab away from the hatch. A metal cover appeared underneath.

The captain exhaled. "We might have spent hours looking for that."

Aren smiled. "Sometimes the least impressive entrance is the most useful."

Sera glanced at Kai. "That’s probably the first time I’ve heard a ruin hunter praise a small doorway."

...

The gallery beyond was narrow and smelled of wet stone. Kai led with Aren while Sera followed beside two workers carrying braces and medical supplies.

At a bend, a faint shimmer hung against the wall. A loose bolt appeared several inches away from its own shadow.

Aren held out his arm. "Don’t cross there. Some residual spatial damage hasn’t settled."

Kai tossed a pebble toward the bend. It struck the opposite wall sooner than expected.

Sera frowned. "So the distance is wrong."

Aren pointed toward the pipes running beneath their feet. "Only in that corner. The lower service channel avoids it."

He found another hatch behind the pipes. Beyond lay a short passage to the shelter’s utility door, but a fallen ceiling block obstructed the entrance.

Kai tested the block. "I can move this, but the beam above it is bending."

Sera inspected the support. "I’ll hold it while they put a brace underneath. You clear the opening once it’s secured."

Kai glanced at her. "Are you sure?"

Sera rolled her shoulders. "You fought an ancient monster yesterday. Surely you can trust me with an old beam."

"I trust you," Kai replied. "It’s the building I’m worried about."

Sera smiled. "Then let’s give it less opportunity to disappoint us."

She positioned herself beneath the support. Kai shifted the block just enough to release its weight, and the beam groaned as dust poured from the ceiling.

Sera planted her feet and pushed upward. "A little faster would be appreciated."

The workers slid a steel jack into position and locked its base. When Sera eased her hands away, the beam settled onto the brace.

Kai removed the remaining debris, revealing the shelter door. He gave Sera an approving look. "Nicely done."

Sera flexed her fingers. "I’ll accept that compliment with a proper meal afterward."

...

A woman opened the door before Kai could knock twice. She stared at the light behind him. "Are you the rescue team?"

Kai nodded. "I’m Kai. What’s your name?"

"Dalia. I work with the emergency shelters," the woman answered. "We have two injured people, and one needs a stretcher."

Sera brought the medics inside while Kai followed Dalia into a crowded basement. Civilians rested against the walls. An injured worker lay on a makeshift bed, and an elderly woman sat beside a boy clutching a blanket.

The boy stared at Kai. "Can we go outside now?"

Kai crouched slightly. "Very soon. We’re making sure everyone can get through."

Dalia gathered the occupants into groups. "Injured first, then children and anyone who needs help walking. Everyone else stays with their assigned partner."

A teenage girl near the back was shaking, but she raised her hand. "I can help Mrs. Venn. She can’t walk quickly."

Dalia nodded. "Thank you, Nia. Stay beside her until the medics take over."

The boy caught Nia’s sleeve. "What if the hallway moves again?"

Nia swallowed, then knelt beside him. "We’ll walk together. You count our steps, and we’ll stop whenever the rescuers tell us."

The boy considered that and nodded. Kai watched her take Mrs. Venn’s arm. She was frightened herself, yet she had found a way to steady someone else.

Sera caught Kai’s eye and gave him a small smile.

The first stretcher moved through the maintenance passage. Outside, Mira confirmed that medical staff were ready. The next group followed, and the evacuation settled into a steady rhythm.

Then an emergency worker stepped in front of Kai. "I’m not leaving without Tomas."

Dalia sighed. "Nolan, we don’t know if he’s still in the storage section."

Nolan shook his head. "He went to fetch water when the building shifted. I heard him shouting afterward, but I couldn’t reach the door."

Kai looked at Aren. "Can we reach the storage room from the maintenance gallery?"

Aren considered the layout. "There should be another access point, if the original plans are accurate."

Kai turned to Dalia. "Keep the evacuation moving. We’ll search while Sera supervises the crossing."

Sera nodded and addressed Nolan. "Show them where you last heard him. Then follow their instructions."

...

Nolan led Kai and Aren to a sealed storage door. Fallen shelving blocked it from within, and the frame had twisted against the stone.

Nolan struck the metal. "Tomas! Can you hear me?"

For several seconds, nothing answered. Then came three faint taps.

Nolan grabbed Kai’s arm. "That’s him. We used that signal while checking the rooms."

Aren examined the wall and pointed toward a ventilation grille. "There’s an older service opening behind those pipes. It should reach the storage room from the side."

Kai removed the grille and cleared the narrow opening. Inside, overturned shelves surrounded a man lying beside stacked emergency water containers.

Kai leaned through the opening. "Tomas, I’m coming through. Can you move?"

The man lifted his head weakly. "My leg’s trapped. I thought everyone had gone."

Kai gave him a reassuring smile. "Not everyone."

He entered carefully and shifted the fallen shelf off Tomas’s leg. Aren passed a rescue strap through the opening, and together they guided him back into the passage.

Nolan caught the man’s arm. "You stubborn old fool. I told you not to go alone."

Tomas managed a tired smile. "And I told you we needed water."

Kai glanced at the scattered containers. "Next time, perhaps send someone who doesn’t intend to argue with the building."

Even Nolan laughed.

...

By the time they reached the surface, the other shelter occupants were waiting near the medical tents.

A woman spotted Tomas and hurried forward. "Uncle Tomas!"

He barely had time to straighten before she embraced him. Nearby, Nia helped Mrs. Venn into a chair while the boy proudly announced that he had counted every step through the passage.

Mira approached as Dalia confirmed the names. "All twenty-one accounted for?"

Dalia smiled with relief. "Every one."

Mira crossed the shelter’s entry off the missing-person register. Several other pages still needed attention, but she allowed herself a relieved smile.

She turned to the field captain. "Excellent work. Have engineers inspect that maintenance passage. If it’s secure, we can use it to reach the other lower rooms."

Kai watched the reunited families. "That’s one more group home."

Mira nodded. "And another reason to keep searching."

Aren emerged carrying a sealed metal container recovered from the storage room. He had noticed it beneath the water supplies while checking for anyone else trapped inside.

He approached Kai and carefully set it down. "There’s something you should see."

The container was old, but its seal remained intact. Beneath a layer of dust was an inventory mark Kai recognized from the ancient Aegis sites.

Sera leaned closer. "That doesn’t belong with ordinary emergency supplies."

Aren examined the markings. "No, and it wasn’t part of the network we shut down. I can’t tell how long it’s been stored here."

Kai studied the unfamiliar inventory number beneath the mark. "Don’t open it here. Have Lily examine the seal once we’re finished."

Aren nodded, his earlier exhaustion replaced by curiosity.

Behind them, the rescued families continued celebrating, unaware that a forgotten storage room beneath Nexus had just produced another piece of the ancient world’s history.