Ryker stood at the bottom, his rifle pointed at the door we had just entered.

The wooden door splintered under a heavy kick.

Ryker fired three rapid shots through the wood.

A scream of pain echoed from the other side, followed by a heavy thud.

“Keep climbing!” Ryker shouted up to us.

I pushed Lily through the narrow opening at the top of the chute.

We emerged into the freezing night air of the Pacific Northwest.

The grass was covered in a light frost that crunched under my boots.

In the distance, the main house was dark, save for the flickering orange glow of a fire on the second floor.

I reached back down into the chute, helping Ryker pull Owen up through the opening.

Ryker climbed out last, his face smeared with soot and sweat.

He scanned the dark tree line of the garden.

“The perimeter sensors are dead,” Ryker said, pulling a small radio from his belt. “Marco, do you copy?”

Only static answered him.

“Marco, report,” Ryker tried again, his voice rising slightly.

“Ryker…” Marco’s voice came through, choked and weak. “They… they had the codes. I’m cut off.”