Engineered Exploisions I Shounak Ghosh

Engineered Explosions

Shounak Ghosh ‘22

his frst instinct, he turned and started to feel his way down to the ground foor. As Leon began his descent down the stairwell, the child buried her head further into his shoulder. Knowing that this ordeal would be frightening for any child, he talked down to her: “I know sweetheart, but I don’t have a light.” Without her response, the realization of complete silence dawned upon him. The clocks that had been ticking lightly and continuously since he stepped into the building died away for a moment. Leon’s heart dropped into his stomach. “Oh please, allow me...” Leon jumped and turned to the voice. A match fared to life maybe three steps below them, illuminating the face of a man. As his startled eyes attempted to adjust to the form before him, he remembered what Clément had always assured him: “If a man is completely comfortable showing his face to you, he isn’t planning on letting you go...”

Clément gazed down at his watch for what seemed like the hundredth time. It had been maybe thirty minutes since Leon vanished into the front building. He had made no contact since, and the fear for his brother and child rose in his gut as he waited out the storm in the vehicle. Decision made, he pulled away from the car, stepped into the cold, and walked the rest of the way toward the abandoned facility.