Aftershock (20 page)

‘Pete? Mai? Come in. Mark calling Pete. Mark calling Mai. Please respond.'

The two members of E-Force were so stunned by the sight of the emergency subs shattered on the ocean floor, it took them a few moments to realise Mark Harrison was calling them.

‘Mark,' Pete and Mai said in unison.

‘Thank God,' Mark exclaimed. ‘Comms were down your end. I guess it had something to do with the second shock.'

‘I wouldn't be surprised. The aftershock has caused serious damage. But it's good to hear you, man,' Pete responded. ‘We only have audio, no visual comms.'

‘I know. I'm working on that. I had to go to emergency backup transmission. My link with Tom is fine, so it must be something local. Anyway, what's the story?'

Pete brought Mark up to speed. There was a long silence the other end. Pete surveyed the faces of the others in the corridor. They ranged from expressions of shock to total despair. He flicked his wrist comm to speaker mode.

‘Our options are kinda running low,' Mai said eventually.

‘I've just had the computer bring up another schematic of the Neptune. It's more detailed than the one you saw earlier on the Big Mac,' Mark said. They could hear him moving around the control console as a series of buzzes came through the comms. ‘Zeroing in,' said the onboard computer.

‘Right ... got it,' Mark said.

Pete and Mai waited as Mark worked things through.

Harry came over to Pete. ‘What's going on?'

‘We're in touch with the main aircraft on the surface. Mark Harrison is our team leader. He's working on an alternative route out.'

Harry raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

‘Okay,' Mark said finally. ‘Looks like your only hope is Dome Gamma.'

Harry shook his head. ‘The linkway is down.'

‘Who's that?' Mark asked.

Harry stepped forward unnecessarily. ‘Harry Flanders,' he said. ‘I was in the banqueting hall in Gamma. We got through the linkway into Beta. But it collapsed. Nearly took my foot off.'

‘Yes,' Mark replied after a moment. He glanced at a monitor displaying images from the two Hunters still circling the hotel. ‘I can see it now. But I think there's an alternative. A tunnel runs from Beta to one of the power supply domes to the north of the main structure of the hotel. Another runs back from there to Gamma. It's not going to be easy, but it's the only way left.'

‘But what's the point of going back to Gamma?' Jim asked, approaching the pair from E-Force. ‘We've just come from there.'

‘Two reasons,' Mark replied crisply. ‘First there are two more emergency subs docked on the Lower Ground Level. I would imagine anyone trapped in Gamma would be making their way there. The other is that I'm taking a sub down to cut a way into the base of the dome.'

‘What!' Harry exclaimed. ‘How on earth...?'

‘Leave the logistics to us, Mr Flanders,' Mark replied. ‘Now, Pete, I can't send you the schematic, but...'

Pete's comms suddenly emitted a high-pitched whine.

‘Mark?'

No response.

Pete stared at his wrist monitor, then tapped it twice. ‘Mark?'

Nothing.

He lowered his wrist and took a pace towards Mai who was staring at her own wrist monitor.

‘Oh, fantastic!' she exclaimed.

‘What?' Harry began.

‘Pete? Mai? Come in.'

‘Mark ... What the hell's going on?' Pete said.

‘Another comms drop out. Must be unstable electromagnetic fields from damaged electrical circuits. Where was I?'

‘You were going to tell us how to reach the tunnel over to the power supply dome.'

‘I know the way,' Archie interrupted.

‘Who's talking now?'

‘Archie Barnet at your service, sir,' the boy said brightening up for the first time since they had arrived in the corridor.

‘Pete?'

‘Archie is the bellboy,' Pete said. ‘We found him in Alpha.'

‘I've made it my business to know every nook and cranny of this bloody place,' Archie added, leaning in towards Pete's wrist.

Pete put a hand to Archie's shoulder, pushing him back. ‘You'll blow Mark's ears off, Archie.'

The boy looked embarrassed and stepped back. ‘Sorry! Er ... you're thinking of the primary power conduit on this side, aren't you?'

‘That's correct.'

‘It's really narrow, guvnor.'

‘One hundred and five point seven centimetres in diameter, to be precise.'

‘But it's lined with electrical whatnots.'

‘I'm sure it is,' Mark replied.

‘But, yeah, it's the last option, so...' Archie mused.

‘Correct again. Now, you know how to get there?'

‘It's close. Just down the corridor to the east of 'ere. Just past the assembly point for the emergency subs.'

‘That's right, Archie,' Mark confirmed. ‘Looks like we're in your hands for the moment.'

‘Won't let you down, sir,' he said earnestly. Then he grinned at Pete. ‘Gordon Bennet, if I'd known being a bellboy would be like this, I'd 'ave stayed in Leytonstone with Aunty Sharon!'

The hatchway into the tunnel stood at waist height and was accessed by a circular metal door with a security lock. Archie did not know the security code, but Mai's vector laser made short work of the lock and Pete pulled the door outwards. He turned to the group. ‘This isn't going to be easy. But it really is our only way out. I'll lead the way. I know your instinct will be to get through the tunnel as fast as possible, but that would be a bad move. We have to take it slowly and carefully. You all understand?' He climbed in and started to edge forward. One by one, the others clambered after him, a few seconds behind each other. Harry, Kristy and Mai were left outside the entrance.

‘I can't do it,' Kristy said suddenly, looking from Harry to Mai.

‘Kristy, you can. I'll be close behind,' Mai said.

‘No, you don't understand. I
really
can't.' She looked petrified. ‘I'm claustrophobic.'

Harry looked at Mai and raised his eyebrows. ‘Give me a second,' he said. He took Kristy's arm and pulled her away gently to a spot a few metres along the corridor.

‘Kristy, you
can
do this.'

Kristy was shaking her head. ‘No, no. That's why I ... I froze earlier. That's why Danny died. It was my fault. I know it was. I can't go in there.'

‘You can,' Harry insisted.

The girl was rooted to the spot, head down. She couldn't look Harry in the eye. She just shook her head.

‘Kristy.' Harry lifted her chin. ‘Kristy. You can beat this.'

‘But, I'll panic again ... and.'

‘No you won't. Concentrate on pleasant thoughts. Think about how you feel on stage, when the audience is with you. Think of your favourite moments – the lights are up, the music is loud. You feel consumed. Think of that, Kristy.'

She looked at him doubtfully. Then she closed her eyes. A tear welled up between her eyelashes and ran down her cheek. ‘Just leave me,' she said finally, and looked away.

Harry pursed his lips and shook his head. ‘Can't do that, Kristy.'

She met his eye. ‘You're a stubborn...'

‘I know.' And he walked back to Mai who signalled to him to climb up to the opening. He looked back at Kristy, and she strode towards them.

‘I figure I owe Danny one,' she said, pushing Harry aside and clambering up the wall to the tunnel entrance.

The tunnel was illuminated by recessed florescent bulbs running in a channel above their heads. Half of the lights were broken, but the tunnel was still over-lit. The floor was hard and scattered with bits of debris, pieces of plastic and glass from broken components shaken from their fittings. They could just move along the tunnel by crouching low, heads down.

Pete was 10 metres from the end when his alarm went off. For a heartbeat, he wasn't sure what it meant. But then it increased in pitch and he signalled to Archie and Jim behind him to slow down. Pete studied his wrist monitor. A red light was blinking on the tiny flat screen. A line of writing appeared. ‘Danger: Unstable electrical field'.

Pete screwed up his face, trying to figure out exactly what it meant. There came a loud crack. He span around in the direction of the sound. Sandra, crouching low a few feet behind Jim, screamed as a clamp holding a black electrical cable snapped open and the cable slithered away from the wall beside her. Sparks flew from the end, crackling and stinking of ozone. A clip popped and shot away. The cable unfurled another metre. Two more clips disintegrated and the cable slipped to the floor. It looked like a sea serpent thrashing through the air, or a hose pipe filled with water left to shimmy on the lawn.

The cable seemed to have a mind of its own. Sandra fell back instinctively, knocking her head against a metal box. She squealed in pain and stumbled, her left leg slipping on the wet floor. The cable flicked up ... and brushed her with the gentlest touch. Thirty amps of electricity shot through her. She flew backwards and her body lit up as though a flare had gone off inside her. Slamming into the wall, she crumbled. Steam shot from her mouth, her eyeballs melted and ran down her fried cheeks.

Pete was the first to react. He grabbed the cable half a metre back from the live end, found the holder it had slipped from and jammed it back in. His suit protected him against the current as sparks flew through the air and landed ineffectually on his arms. With the cable returned to its housing, he tugged back the clamp designed to keep it in place. A horrible fizzing sound came from Sandra's charred remains.

‘Archie,' he shouted, snapping the boy back to reality. ‘Get out the end. Quick!' He pushed him along the tunnel and turned to Jim. ‘You too!'

The others approached one after the other. ‘Keep going,' Pete yelled, trying to shield Sandra's corpse as best he could.

Mai approached. ‘What?'

‘Sandra Rimmer,' he said.

She sighed and Pete followed her the remaining few metres to the end of the tunnel.

They were in a bare, low-ceilinged room. On the concrete wall, a sign read: ‘MAIN GENERATOR. DANGER. NO ADMITTANCE. HIGH VOLTAGES'. To the right of this stood a door. It opened onto a small room. In the far wall was a circular hatch similar to one they had just emerged through.

The group was silent, shocked, unable to fully comprehend what was happening to them. Nick leaned his back against the wall and slid to the floor, sobbing into his palms. Mai walked over to console him. Pete stepped away from the others and touched the screen on his wrist. ‘Mark?'

‘Pete. Status?'

‘We've made it to the power dome. We lost one of the party.'

‘How?'

Pete described the incident and Mark was silent for a second, tapping at the control panel in the Big Mac.

‘I've been analysing the infrastructure of the tunnel back to Gamma,' he said.

‘And?'

A pause. ‘It's not good, Pete. For a start, the tunnel is much narrower than the one you've just come through. But more importantly, it wasn't designed to bear much weight. It's just a conduit. You'll have to go one at a time, or the tunnel will collapse.'

‘Ah!'

‘It's built in three self-sealing sections. If the structure is compromised at all, that section will close off at one end. It's designed to protect the electrical systems as much as possible.'

‘All right.'

‘The other thing is, you'll need to unlock the door at the far end where it opens into Gamma. You can't blow it out or even use the laser – it's too dangerous. I have the lock code. I'll send it to both you and Mai. Good luck.'

Pete walked back to the others. Mai had managed to calm Nick down. Pete took her by the arm and told her what Mark had said.

Glancing at her wrist, Mai saw the code had been sent through. ‘I'll go first,' she said. ‘Get the door open. I suggest you keep to the back.'

‘So, what's happening?' Harry asked, stepping up to Pete and Mai.

Pete explained the situation to the group.

‘This is a fucking nightmare,' Jim said slowly, shaking his head.

‘You're right there,' Archie nodded. Then he took Nick's hand. ‘Come on, matey boy. Let's get you over to see ya mum and dad, right?'

Mai swung open the hatch and squeezed through. ‘I'll call you from the other end,' she told Pete, and headed off.

They all waited in silence, straining to hear any indication that Mai had reached the far end of the tunnel some 80 metres away. Time seemed to slow. It felt as though an hour had passed before they heard Mai's voice coming through Pete's comms. ‘I'm at the far end,' she said. ‘Just entering the code.' They heard a click and Mai turning a handle. Then came the sound of metal grinding against metal as the door swung outward. ‘Through,' she said. ‘Next one.'

Pete and Archie lifted Nick into the opening and gave him a gentle push. He scrambled along faster than Mai. Kristy was next up. This time she did not hesitate, just plunged into the darkness, breathing heavily.

She had been gone 20 seconds when Mark's voice came over Pete's comms. ‘Pete? Problem.'

Harry was about to say something. Pete held up a hand to stop him. ‘Structural integrity is going.'

‘What do you mean?' Jim exclaimed, stepping forward.

‘It's not designed to take the stress we're putting it under. It could go at any second.'

‘I see,' Pete said calmly.

‘Kristy's through,' Mai said over the comms.

‘Right, Archie. You next,' Pete said.

‘But...'

‘No buts ... Get in there. You're wasting time.'

The boy turned and dived into the hole.

‘Want to draw lots?' Harry said and glanced at Jim. The American stared back at him. ‘No, Harry. I'm through gambling. What will be, will be.'

Harry gave him a wan smile and was about to reply when Mai's voice broke in. ‘Next.'

Harry limped over to the portal and Pete helped him through the opening. ‘Go,' he said and turned to Jim.

‘Pete ... Integrity reaching critical,' Mark said through the comms. ‘How you going?'

‘Nearly there, Mark,' Pete responded and caught Jim's eye. The man looked resigned, supernaturally calm. ‘You lost your partner back there?' Pete said.

‘Yes.'

‘All the more reason for you to keep going, man.'

‘Yeah? And why would that be?' Jim looked away for a moment.

‘Who else is going to tell people what a great guy he was?'

Jim stared at Pete for a moment, his face completely expressionless. Then he looked up at the ceiling and sighed heavily.

Pete heard his comms come alive and didn't pause for a second. Squeezing Jim's shoulder he nudged him towards the hole in the wall. ‘Make it fast, man. I don't want to be left here too long.'

Alone in the power dome, Pete felt absolutely isolated from the human race, but he was oddly calm. He had known this feeling before. In the army, when he had been staring a bomb in the face. He would have the clippers poised to cut a wire, and had no choice but to believe in himself. He had to convince himself he knew which wire to cut first. But in those moments, he felt suspended outside of reality, the sole inhabitant of a private world. He and the bomb were one. There was nothing else.

Mai's voice sounded in his comms, and for a split second he could not hear it. She was calling from another world. Then he sprang into action. He was in the tunnel in a flash, turning in the narrow tube and pulling the door shut behind him to seal off the power dome. All his senses were at max. He could hear creaking and straining and the movement of water currents outside the tunnel. From far off came the sound of the others. He shuffled forward as fast as he could.

A loud crunch.

He cried out involuntarily, but kept going.

There was a high-pitched whistle as a steel door slammed down a few feet behind him. The whole tunnel shuddered. He knew what that meant. The first compartment had gone, the safety door had come down. He could only hope it was enough, that the rest of structure would now hold.

He sprang forward, grasping at the floor, propelling himself on as fast as he could go.

‘Pete! It's breaking up!' Mark's voice screamed from the comms. ‘GO, MAN. GO!'

Pete could barely hear him. His heart was pounding, his breathing coming in desperate gasps as he pushed back on the floor.

CRUNCH!

The second compartment went a fraction of a second after Pete made it to the third and last portion of the tunnel. He could see the door ahead and Mai leaning in. ‘Come on,' she yelled.

She was only half a dozen metres away, but Pete knew she would close the door if she had to. She could not leave it too late, because, if the tunnel went, then water would flood into Gamma. He put everything he had into moving through the tunnel. His boots somehow found purchase on the slippery, uneven metal floor. He grasped at cables and junction boxes lining the walls. With his enhanced hearing, he could just discern the metal framework around him start to buckle. Tether lines snapping. Electrical cables fizz and shear.

Three metres.

Two.

He could almost touch the door. He felt the walls shake. The floor under him split and he caught a glimpse of pipes and steel mesh. Steam shot up into his face. He recoiled, but did not miss a beat. Scrambling for dear life, his hand was a metre from the door. Mai was reaching out to grasp him. Then he felt her glove in his and he pushed with all his strength, tumbling forward into the opening, feeling the steel door slam shut millimetres from his toes. The room shuddered, as the tunnel crumpled like tinsel.