Trapped in a 5-Second Future: A Landlord's Cold War Trap in Arlington
👉 [Previous Decision]: You chose Option B – Call out to Holloway to step away from the surging electrical console before it explodes.
The air-raid sirens blared, and the screens in Clara’s chamber pulsed with terrifying visions of Holloway’s past. Sparks began to fly from the main console, arcs of blue electricity dancing around Holloway, who remained fixated on the traumatic projections.
“Colonel! Get away from the console!” Clara screamed, her voice hoarse, her words barely audible above the din of the sirens and the crackling electricity. “It’s going to explode!”
Holloway, lost in his grief and the overwhelming images, didn’t react immediately. His body stiffened, his eyes glued to the phantom images of his son.
Just as a major capacitor on the main console shorted out with a deafening CRACK, Holloway instinctively ducked. A shower of blue sparks and shattered plastic rained down where his head had been moments before. The main transformer terminal detonated, sending a shockwave through the room, plunging the central observation desk into flickering semi-darkness.
Dr. Aris screamed, diving under his own, smaller console. Kincaid, who had been struggling with the emergency override panel, saw his chance. In the chaos of sparks and smoke, he slammed his hand down on the emergency exit release with all his might.
A loud, hydraulic hiss followed. The heavy steel door to Clara’s chamber groaned open, slowly at first, then swinging wide with a loud, triumphant clang. Kincaid had opened her chamber from the outside.
Clara stood in the doorway, free. The smoke-filled control room was a maelstrom of flickering lights, alarms, and the lingering acrid smell of burnt wiring. Holloway was slumped against his primary desk, gasping for air, clutching his chest, his face contorted in pain. The explosion had jolted him from his trance, but at a terrible cost.
Kincaid rushed to Holloway, his face grim. “Colonel! Are you alright? The surge… it’s too much for the system!”
The true nature of Holloway’s system, powered by stolen resources and now amplified by external forces, was collapsing around them. Clara, now free, looked from the open door to the convulsing man who had trapped her. The choice to run was clear, but her decades of caretaking instinct pulled her in another direction.
➡️ Read CHAPTER 15 to continue the story
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