Chapter Five - The List Behind the Backup Door

More evacuees were pouring in too, coughing, screaming, dragging family members by the arm, bringing panic that had never been counted. "Close it," Sophie said. "And kill whoever is on the other side?" Mara snapped. "If we don't, everybody inside dies." "There are at least thirteen out there," Lucy said, watching the feed. Roman gave a thin smile. "See? The list is always smaller than reality." Elliot was already looking past the argument. The level-two cooling loop shared a section with the potable water exchange. A dangerous design, but now it gave him a choice. "If we cut the drinking branch," he said, "we can push more flow to the cooling side and keep the core equipment alive." "That means less water," Sophie said at once.