Chapter Five - The List Behind the Backup Door

The room tightened around them. Elliot understood then that the shelter had not survived because of a clean rule set. It had survived because somebody had been doing dirty work outside the rules. Sophie was not a pure administrator. She was trying to postpone the collapse by slicing pieces off the future. The longer she delayed, the more people got cut away. "You're arguing over a list while the structure is falling apart," Carl said, pressing his ear to the door. "There's someone smashing the entry outside." As if on cue, a heavy impact boomed through the corridor, followed by more metal-on-metal blows. The north entrance had fallen. The crowd outside was now pushing toward the deeper levels.