With the helmet above his head, Conner released the breath he had been holding in. With great trepidation, he inhaled. The air smelled stale and musty, almost like the inside of an attic in the middle of summer. He breathed out, then took another cautious breath. “What the heck are you doing, Steele?” Roberts shouted. “Seriously!” McKenzie added, “What the-” “I can breathe,” Conner stated matter of fact. Crossway just gaped at him as tears welled up in her eyes. It appeared as though she had already accepted his death sentence before he took that first breath. “You have no idea what kind of alien pathogens are floating around inside this place,” Lentz stated, “There could be a million germs here for which you’ve never had a chance to build up any immunity. How could you, a Special Forces soldier who’s been trained to survive, be so stupid?” “It wasn’t stupidity,” Crossway defended, shaking her head as she looked at Conner, “Was it?” “I’ll repair the cables,”
