Free Break Free The Night (Book 2): Loss of Light by E.M. Fitch

now whispering words of encouragement to Andrew.
     
                  Jack and Nick were standing though and Kaylee joined them to take in her surroundings.
     
                  Concrete. The walls and ceiling and everything surrounding them was concrete. It was musty and damp in places. And cold. Cooler than Kaylee had been outside.
     
                  But there was electricity, just as Danny had said. Lots of it. Because the florescent light strips that lined the concrete ceiling all pulsed with the low whine of electricity and none were broken or hanging. The van was parked behind them, in front of metal garage doors that Danny had pulled into place after he had parked.
     
                  "What is this place?" Jack asked and Kaylee's attention shot from her surroundings to the man standing in front of them. His face was lined, his hair gray and wiry, even his eyebrows, which were bushy and sprang out over his deep set eyes. He wore a faded blue jumpsuit, it reminded Kaylee of the kind the janitor wore in her old school, a thick black vest hung open from his shoulders. He was short, or maybe it was just his shoulders and the way they hunched over into himself. But it didn't take away from his commanding presence. This was Marsden. It had to be.
     
                  He was staring at each of them in turn, a sweeping gaze that took in every inch of their group.
     
                  "We call it The Mill," Danny answered. He was shifting around from foot to foot, eyeing Marsden as he spoke. The old man didn't look over at Danny, his gaze lingered on Emma, who had finally turned to face him.
     
                  "He was electrocuted," Emma spoke, pointing down at Bill. Anna had her ears in her stethoscope, listening to Bill's chest, a look of complete concentration on her face. "Do you have a place-"
     
                  "You have beautiful eyes," Marsden interrupted, staring at Emma. She started, looking from Marsden to her father and then Andrew. Both had tensed noticeably, their fists clenched. "Green, are they?"
     
                  "Yes," Emma answered with hesitation.
     
                  "Beautiful," Marsden murmured with a nod. "We have a room available for guests. Danny will show you the way."
     
                  "Come on," Danny muttered, jerking his head in the direction of a stairwell Kaylee hadn't originally noticed. Jack looked from the stairs back to Marsden, but he already had his back turned and was stalking away from the group, a slight, but noticeable, limp to his gait. Jack looked frustrated, like he wanted to ask questions and demand answers, but he didn't. Kaylee noticed his fingers ran the outline of the gun he had tucked under his shirt, as though reaffirming to himself that it was really still there.
     
                  Jack and Andrew bent to pick up Bill and follow Danny's lead, while Nick took the back, sandwiching the girls in the middle. Emma's expression was worried and confused, her eyes flickered between the stairwell and Bill. Kaylee was worried too and she was sure her feelings shone as plain on her face as they did on her sister's. But there weren't a lot of options, they needed someplace to rest, someplace safe. It was already dark outside and their camp was miles away.
     
                  The stairwell was the same dank concrete as the large garage. It had the same lingering odor of dampness mixed with dust. And it didn't in any way prepare them for what they'd find at the top.
     
                  The room above the underground garage was huge. It encompassed the entire space of the building Kaylee had seen from the outside. She estimated it to be at least three stories high with a large, dark crane hanging from two horizontal tracks that spanned the length of the ceiling. The crane was distracting because Kaylee had not expected it