The hall was bathed in shadows and dark corners.
The lights were small bulbs hanging from short strips of electrical wire, running the length of the hall, and placed at odd intervals. Pipes ran along the ceiling, obstructing the light in some areas. Then, about twenty feet down, the hall split to the left and right.
Lois looked down the hall. To her immediate left, another hall snaked around the side of the sound proof room and disappeared to the left.
Lois took the hall in front of her, limping as she went. Halfway down, she noticed a large boiler to her left and an old furnace on her right, both secured behind old rusty chain link fences, the tops of each stopping about two feet or so from the ceiling. She reached the "T" and turned right, and few yards later, it dead ended at a cinderblock wall. There was a large gas generator on the floor to her right, and large gas drum next to it.
Lois turned around.
The next hall went straight for a few yards, turned left, a few more yards and went right, dead ending a few yards ahead. There were a flight of stairs leading up. Lois grabbed the rail, favoring her left side drastically. She climbed slowly, each step up sending aching shockwaves through her.
The ceiling was roughly ten feet up, a long rectangular metal plate recessed into it. Lois reached the plate, and pushed against it.
It didn't budge.
She tried again, with the same results. She took another step up on the stairs, and awkwardly placed her back and shoulder against the plate and pushed with every muscle between her legs and back, straining and grunting and trying with everything she had.
And still, it didn't budge.
She pulled away panting. Her right fist pounded the door in frustration. "HELP ME!" she screamed. "SUPERMAN! ANY BODY! I'M DOWN HERE! HEEEELLLPP!
There was no answer.
Lois rested there for a moment, awkwardly perched on the stairs, her head and shoulders nestled oddly against the steel plate. She was breathing heavy and sweating profusely. She was tired and her entire body was a constant, droning ache.
"C'mon Lane" she whispered to herself. "Don't give up. If there's a way in, there's a way out! Suck it up! Every cage has a key!"
And slowly, she descended the stairs.
She rested another moment at the bottom before she set off back down the hall. She reached the junction and turned left, the door to the sound proof room at the end of the hall in front of her.
She slowly drew closer to it, her pulse speeding slightly. She wasn't sure why, but an uneasy sense of dread was creeping over her.
The door was slightly cracked.
Lois held her breath and inched closer. The light from the hall slipped through the crack and cut across the dark interior of the room, an inch wide line of light playing across the floor. She leaned close to the crack, peering inside.
And there, on the stone floor, was a small pool of drying blood, and nothing else.
Lois cursed.
She pushed away from the door and placed her back against the wall. Her heart was suddenly in her throat and pounding loudly. She swallowed and was instantly reminded of how raw and sore it was. Her mind was racing frantically; trying desperately to figure a way out.
Jeremiah was free, somewhere here in the darkness, more than likely searching for a way to even the odds. She was trapped, presumable underground, with no idea how to get out. Her thumb was broken, her ankle was sprained, and her entire body ached. She was tried, hungry, and wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep for a month.
And even though everything inside her told her to run and find a nice place to hide, she took slow, unsteady steps down the hall, moving as quietly as she could.
The hall ran the length of the sound proof room, and as she reached the corner, she could here the sound of drawers opening and closing loudly.
She inched towards the edge of the wall and peeked around the corner; just in time to see Jeremiah pull the 32mm revolver from the drawer, turn, and fire two rounds at her head.
Lois ducked back just as the corner of the wall exploded in a hail of plaster and wood. She spun and took off down the hall, her run a limping gait. She reached the other intersection and another few rounds careened of the wall next to her, missing by only inches.
Lois had a split second to choose; the darkness of the sound proof room would provide relative safety; but a lock of the door and she would be trapped again. The halls lead to dead ends and offered little protection; but she could maneuver, and maybe, if she was lucky, she could get the drop him.
She made her choice as another round shot past her.