#13: Between the Lines of Fire

The sound of footsteps echoed in the narrow corridors as Lara and Dante ran, dodging obstacles and trying to keep their distance from the security guards who were chasing them. The silence between the two was now a pact of survival; each glance they exchanged carried a silent promise: no one would be left behind.

As they turned a corner, Lara stopped abruptly.

“Wait!” She pulled Dante by the arm, pointing to the ceiling. “There’s a camera over there.”

Dante looked up and saw the red light flashing.

“How are we going to get through?”

Lara took a small device from her pocket and activated it. A low buzzing sound filled the corridor, and the camera light went out.

“There you go. They think it’s broken. But we have about twenty seconds before they notice. Hurry up!”

They ran toward the maintenance exit, but before they reached it, a side door burst open. Two-armed security guards appeared, and Dante, without thinking twice, drew his gun and fired.

“Go! I’ll cover you!” he shouted.

Lara hesitated, but she knew that arguing at that moment would be dangerous.

“It won’t take long!” she replied, running towards the exit.

While Dante exchanged gunfire with the security guards, Lara arrived at the maintenance room and began working on the main panel. Her goal was simple: to overload the security system and open a breach in the building so they could escape.

“Come on, you old codpiece, work with me!” she muttered as her fingers ran over the buttons.

On the other side, Dante knocked down the last security guard, but not without consequences. A bullet grazed his arm, making him retreat for a moment. He pressed his hand to the wound, gritting his teeth.

“Lara! Almost there?” he shouted, running towards the room.

“Two more seconds!” — she replied, sweating as the systems flashed frantically on the panel.

With a snap, the lights went out, and the entire building went into a state of emergency. Lara looked at Dante with a victorious smile.

— Done. Now it’s just…

Before she could finish her sentence, the door to the maintenance room was broken down. A group of elite soldiers entered, their weapons glowing with laser sights.

Dante positioned himself in front of Lara, raising his weapon even with his injured arm.

— Come closer, and I swear one of you won’t leave here.

The leader of the group, an imposing man with a face partially covered by cybernetic implants, stepped forward.

— Put your weapon down, boy. You have nowhere to run.

Lara, behind Dante, stared at the panel, desperate for a solution. She knew her next move had to be perfect. And fast.

— Can’t you see? — Dante said, pointing to the panel next to him. — She just shut down the entire system. Your building is vulnerable now.

The leader laughed, a cold, metallic laugh.

— You think that affects us? We have redundancies, boy. You won’t get far.

Before the soldiers could advance, Lara pressed a button on the panel. A controlled explosion shook the floor, disorienting the soldiers and sending smoke throughout the room.

— Run! — Lara shouted, pulling Dante by the hand.

The two of them left through the back door as the smoke covered them. The sound of the soldiers’ screams and the alarms grew increasingly distant.

Outside

Finally outside the Solaris Tower, they found shelter in a small abandoned warehouse nearby. Dante sat down, pressing the wound on his arm, while Lara pulled a bottle of water from her backpack to clean the area.

— Okay, let me see that — she said, approaching him.

— It's nothing — he replied, trying to sound tough, but she didn't listen.

— Stop being stubborn. If you die from some stupid infection, I swear I'll kill you again.

He laughed, but remained silent while she tended to the wound. The silence between them this time was different. It wasn't just tiredness; it was something more.

— Thank you — he murmured, breaking the silence.

— For what? — Lara asked, without looking at him.

— For not giving up. For believing that we can make a difference.

She paused for a moment, staring at him.

— I don't believe it, Dante. I know.

He looked back at her, and for a moment the world seemed to stop. Even in the midst of the chaos, there was something there, something that neither of them could put into words.

— We'll get through this — she said, breaking the moment.

— Together — he finished.

Lara smiled, but before she could answer, the sound of sirens began to echo in the distance. The danger had not passed.

— Let's go, before they find us.

Dante nodded, standing up with difficulty. They knew the battle was far from over, but for the first time, they felt that, together, they had a real chance.