Chapter 129 - The Bloodline Lock
The floor of the submarine tilted violently at an eight-degree angle as the aft ballast tanks began taking on water. In the corridor outside, the sound of tearing metal signaled that the exterior mooring clamps holding the vessel to Moretti Tower's foundation were beginning to shear under hundreds of tons of strain.
Vincent wedged the crowbar into the outer grating surrounding the reactor wheel, throwing his entire weight against it. With a scream of bending iron, the protective mesh tore free. Emma lunged forward, sliding her gold signet ring from her finger and thrusting its engraved face directly into the hexagonal recess at the center of the wheel.
A sharp mechanical click echoed through the chamber. The gears unlocked, but the wheel itself was rusted tight by half a century of mineral buildup from the damp lake air.
"Together!" Vincent commanded, grabbing one spoke of the heavy wheel while Emma seized the other.
They threw their combined strength against the frozen valve. Vincent’s injured arm flared with blinding pain, blood soaking through his bandage and dripping onto the iron floor, but his jaw remained clenched in absolute fury. Emma strained beside him, every muscle burning as the crimson emergency lights cast long, frantic shadows across their faces.
With a deafening *crack*, the rust broke. The wheel began to turn, one rotation, two rotations, venting a plume of superheated steam through an external exhaust tube that ran directly into the deep lake water outside. The rising pitch of the reactor’s cooling pumps suddenly dropped into a low, stable hum.
*Reactor stabilization initiated. Auto-destruct aborted,* the automated voice intoned.
"We stopped the meltdown," Emma gasped, leaning against the warm casing of the reactor.
May you like
"Meltdown, yes," Vincent said grimly, looking toward the tilting deck. "But the ballast valves are still open. The sub is sinking, and it’s dragging the tower's east foundation pylon with it. We have to reach the bridge and blow the emergency blow-lines, or the skyscraper comes down anyway!"
***
