Chapter 14 - Descent Into the Sublevels
I pushed open the heavy steel fire door, plunging into the dark, echoing concrete labyrinth of Mount Sinai’s sub-basement levels. The air down here was thick with the scent of industrial bleach, damp concrete, and hot electrical wiring. Holding my baby tightly with one arm against my racing heart, I used my free hand to feel along the cold brick wall, navigating the pitch-black corridor toward the freight elevator shaft.
Footsteps echoed sharply behind me from the service stairs—heavy, calculated boots striking the concrete floor with lethal speed.
They’re right behind me.
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My breath hitched in my throat as I reached the heavy iron latch of the maintenance door marked FRIGHT ELEVATOR - AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY. I yanked the handle down with all my remaining strength, slipping inside just as a flashlight beam sliced through the darkness across the hallway I had just abandoned.
Inside the shaft, an old industrial service ladder descended vertically into the absolute abyss of the lowest loading dock level twenty feet below. Balancing a newborn infant while climbing down a rusted vertical iron ladder in the dark was an exercise in pure terror, but the adrenaline pulsing through my veins drowned out every ounce of hesitation. I wrapped my jacket securely around my baby to shield her from the dust and draft, and began the agonizing descent downward into the shadows.
