Virals(72)

"No. I followed you"--he pointed a shaky finger at Shelton and Hi--"from the Morris dock. I have no idea who these people are."

"There's no back door." Ben clenched his fists. "No way out. We'll jump them as they crawl in."

"Are you crazy?" Shelton grabbed his ear. "They could all have guns!"

"What choice do we have?" Ben snapped. "We're trapped."

"What about the window?" Karsten asked.

I shook my head. "The drop-off is way too far, with nothing but rocks below."

Karsten cocked his chin toward the entrance to the back chamber. "What's in there?"

"Another window and a collapsed tunnel," Hi said.

"Tunnel?" Without hesitating, the professor disappeared through the opening.

We followed.

Karsten crossed to the abandoned passage and waved a hand over the loose planks blocking the opening.

"I feel moving air," he said. "Have you ever entered this shaft?"

"No way," Shelton said. "It could cave any time."

A male voice bellowed outside.

"All right, kids." Raspy, like gravel sliding down a drain. "Don't make us smoke you out!"

Coop growled. I looped my arm around his neck, worried he'd bolt.

"No cell reception." Shelton was frantically punching keys. "I can't keep a signal."

"If we flare, we can take these guys." Ben grabbed a plank.

"Don't be absurd! These men may be professionals." Karsten's brows crimped in thought. "Into the shaft. Now."

"They'll follow us," Ben objected. "The front entrance is a choke point. They have to enter one by one. We should ambush them there. It's our best chance."

"No arguments!" Karsten pushed me forward. "I'll stop them here while you escape through the passage. Quick now."

I wondered why the killers hadn't stormed in yet. Perhaps they'd had the same thought as Ben. Whatever the reason, their hesitation wouldn't last long.

As Shelton and Hi pried loose and tossed aside boards, Ben rolled rocks from the tunnel's mouth. A quick minute's work created a two-foot gap.

Beyond it yawned absolute blackness.

"I'm not going down there." Shelton looked petrified. "No chance!"

"It's the only way out," I said.

"We don't know where it empties." Shelton was practically in tears. "If it empties. The passage could be blocked. A dead end!"

Crack!

"We're armed, little piggies," a voice bellowed. "Come out, now, or we'll huff, and puff and shoot your little asses!"

"Into the passage!" Karsten barked.

"What about you?"

"They don't want me." Karsten avoided my eyes. "I'll be fine."

"Thank you." I didn't contradict him. It was easier that way.

"Go," he said. "Now."

Ben wriggled through the gap. Hi followed, then Shelton. Pushing Coop in front of me, I shimmied through last.

The passage angled sharply downward. Overhead, there was barely a six-inch clearance.

I glanced behind me. Karsten was refilling the opening with debris.

"Forgive me, Tory."

The entrance went black, enveloping us in eerie gloom.

Five yards down the passage, a massive boulder blocked our way. Ben strained as he tried to muscle it aside. With Shelton and Hi's help, he managed to grind it several inches sideways.

Raised voices carried into the tunnel. Coop growled. I clamped my fingers around his snout.

Crack! Crack!

Thud.

I almost screamed.

"Over here!" Raspy Voice shouted. "There's some kind of shaft!"

I scraped past the boulder. Behind me, debris crashed as it was pulled free and tossed aside. I started to panic.

SNAP.

The darkness separated into particles that slowly drifted apart. My head throbbed.

I looked over my shoulder. Two silhouettes were straining to lift a boulder at the tunnel's mouth.

My ears picked up a faint ripping sound. I rotated my head, trying to locate a point of origin.

The noise was coming from overhead.

I looked up.

My heart went into overdrive.

Cracks were slowly spiderwebbing the roof.

Suddenly, the ripping became a rumble.

"Guys, run!"

Ahead, eight golden eyes gleamed in the darkness. Ben. Shelton. Hi. Coop.

All understood. As one, we bounded down the tunnel, clawing past fallen beams and scrambling over rocks.

The rumble exploded to a roar.

Dirt rained down in clods. Dust blinded my eyes and clogged my lungs. Tears streamed down my cheeks.

Hand cupping my mouth, I scrambled forward.

Something crashed behind me. I dropped to my knees, hacking, gasping, desperate to breathe. Dank air blasted my body as the tunnel went black.





CHAPTER 54


Blinking to clear my vision, I looked behind me.

A solid wall of earth sealed the tunnel just paces from where I knelt. We'd barely escaped the impact zone.

Utter blackness. Even flaring, I could see nothing.

"Everyone okay?" I called out.