The Year I Stopped Being His novel Chapter 236

The group turned away from the ice hole, marching toward the helicopter resting in the distance.

Diego took the lead, practically dancing over the ice. Professor Harrison walked beside him, constantly glancing down at the incubator holding the sample, as if terrified it might vanish into thin air.

Josh walked in the middle, head down, hands shoved into his pockets, lost in thought.

Wyatt and Cassandra brought up the rear. Wyatt whistled a relaxed tune, and while Cassandra kept her usual stoic expression, her gait was visibly lighter.

Garrison walked right next to Sloane. They weren't holding hands, but their shoulders brushed together with every step. Neither of them pulled away.

Then, a deafening explosion shattered the peace.

The violent tremor erupted right beneath their boots.

The ice reverberated like a massive drum struck from below. Sloane's feet went numb, her knees buckling as she nearly collapsed.

Before she could even process the shock, a second blast hit—harder this time. A massive fissure tore through the frozen surface, icy water surging up and splashing over her boots.

Then came the third explosion, and the fourth. They weren't coming from a single direction, but erupting everywhere at once, as if a chain of explosives had been triggered directly beneath the ice sheet.

"Run!" Wyatt was the first to realize the danger, screaming at the top of his lungs.

But it was already too late.

The ice shattered like a pane of glass struck by a sledgehammer. Cracks spider-webbed outward from the center, slithering beneath their feet with terrifying speed.

Sloane heard Diego scream, "Professor Harrison—" before his voice was completely swallowed by the violent splash of freezing water.

In the next heartbeat, the solid ground beneath Sloane vanished. She plummeted into the icy depths, free-falling into an invisible abyss.

Acting on pure instinct, she reached out for Garrison, but her fingers caught nothing but empty air.

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