Samantha's POV The gloom all about us seemed oppressive, the air tense. Every sound seemed enhanced: Royce's men's fast footsteps, the faint echo of the waves slamming against the docks, my heart pounding in my ears. We bent low behind the boxes, my breath short and shallow as I sought to collect my ideas. Everything changed the instant I pulled the lever to disconnect the power. Now the stakes were much higher and we were running against the clock. Alex was next to me; his form just discernible in the weak illumination coming from the moon. Though I could sense the pressure in him too, his presence was steadying and centering me in the anarchy. Though his motions were deliberate, calculated, I could sense the struggle he was fighting to keep us alive under surface level. Alex murmured