murmured.
Aya thought of the inhuman figures again, their strange faces and long, thin fingers. "But those body-crazy freaks were just storing something down here," she said. "Nobody lives in this place." Miki shrugged. "I guess we're about to find out."
A humming filled the tunnel as the clever molecules of smart matter began to rearrange themselves—the wall rippled, its texture changing from rough stone to the pearly sheen of plastic. The door's shape came into focus, a rectangle the exact size of a mag-lev cargo door. Then the wall began to peel aside, one layer after another, like water sliding across a flat surface. Just as it had the night before, the air tasted tremulous, like a thunderstorm was coming. The tremors traveled along Aya's skin, as if the matter hacker was changing her as well…
The last layer slipped away, and the door stood open wide before them. A long hallway stretched out ahead, lit with an orange glow.
"Now this is very sly," Kai said, and stepped inside.
THE HIDDEN
The Sly Girls dashed ahead into the mountain hideaway, everyone wanting to be the first to discover what wonders were hidden here. Calls and laughter filled the air, echoing from the bare stone walls.
Aya couldn't see a single right angle, just arches and rounded corners. Every few meters, oval doorways led away to more winding halls, an undulating maze cut into stone.
"Well, whoever lives here is definitely moving out," Miki said. Aya nodded. The main hallway was crowded with equipment and storage containers, a disorganized jumble covered with a fine layer of dust.
"Maybe we should look for those big metal cylinders," she said. "Those were the only things they were moving in last night."
"As long as whatever we find isn't alive." Miki gestured toward a bunch of work chairs crammed together in the hallway. They were the wrong shape—too high and narrow, suited for some inhuman form.
Aya shone her flashlight down at her feet. A meter-wide path of metal studs glistened from the stone floor, leading straight down the middle of the main hallway. "That's to give hover-lifters something to push against. Anything heavy would have to go this way. Come on." The two of them followed the metal path with careful, silent footsteps. The arched doorways revealed empty rooms, dust patterns on the floor showing where furniture had been removed. As they went deeper into the mountain, the echoes of the other girls' voices grew faint around them. Aya wondered how so many tons of rock had been carried away to make this place. Whoever had built it must have tricked the automatic mag-lev trains into taking a lot of cargo for them. Or maybe one of the city governments was involved—this all seemed too big to do on the sly. Every city had expanded since the mind-rain, pulling the Rusty ruins apart for scrap, scrambling to get more metal.
"Who has the resources to build something like this?" Aya murmured.
"Maybe this was one of those Rusty places where they dug up metal. What were they called…mines?"
Aya realized that they were whispering. Noises reverberated sharply against the bare stone walls, making her conscious of every sound she made.
The long, sleep-missing day was finally catching up with her, a brain-fogging exhaustion erasing the excitement that had propelled her through the mag-lev ride. The dim orange lighting was playing tricks on her eyes. Long shadows leaped from the beams of their flashlights, and Aya doubted her button cam was getting any decent shots.
Suddenly Miki spun around. "Did you see that?"
"See what?"
"I don't know." Miki pointed her flashlight down the hall behind them. "The shadows were moving funny. Like something's following us."
"Something?" Aya said, turning to stare into the darkness. She felt totally awake now.
"Maybe I'm just imagining it."
Aya sighed. "Great. Now I'm imagining it too."
"Come on," Miki said. "I feel like we're getting close to something."
"Is that the same something that's
Aya thought of the inhuman figures again, their strange faces and long, thin fingers. "But those body-crazy freaks were just storing something down here," she said. "Nobody lives in this place." Miki shrugged. "I guess we're about to find out."
A humming filled the tunnel as the clever molecules of smart matter began to rearrange themselves—the wall rippled, its texture changing from rough stone to the pearly sheen of plastic. The door's shape came into focus, a rectangle the exact size of a mag-lev cargo door. Then the wall began to peel aside, one layer after another, like water sliding across a flat surface. Just as it had the night before, the air tasted tremulous, like a thunderstorm was coming. The tremors traveled along Aya's skin, as if the matter hacker was changing her as well…
The last layer slipped away, and the door stood open wide before them. A long hallway stretched out ahead, lit with an orange glow.
"Now this is very sly," Kai said, and stepped inside.
THE HIDDEN
The Sly Girls dashed ahead into the mountain hideaway, everyone wanting to be the first to discover what wonders were hidden here. Calls and laughter filled the air, echoing from the bare stone walls.
Aya couldn't see a single right angle, just arches and rounded corners. Every few meters, oval doorways led away to more winding halls, an undulating maze cut into stone.
"Well, whoever lives here is definitely moving out," Miki said. Aya nodded. The main hallway was crowded with equipment and storage containers, a disorganized jumble covered with a fine layer of dust.
"Maybe we should look for those big metal cylinders," she said. "Those were the only things they were moving in last night."
"As long as whatever we find isn't alive." Miki gestured toward a bunch of work chairs crammed together in the hallway. They were the wrong shape—too high and narrow, suited for some inhuman form.
Aya shone her flashlight down at her feet. A meter-wide path of metal studs glistened from the stone floor, leading straight down the middle of the main hallway. "That's to give hover-lifters something to push against. Anything heavy would have to go this way. Come on." The two of them followed the metal path with careful, silent footsteps. The arched doorways revealed empty rooms, dust patterns on the floor showing where furniture had been removed. As they went deeper into the mountain, the echoes of the other girls' voices grew faint around them. Aya wondered how so many tons of rock had been carried away to make this place. Whoever had built it must have tricked the automatic mag-lev trains into taking a lot of cargo for them. Or maybe one of the city governments was involved—this all seemed too big to do on the sly. Every city had expanded since the mind-rain, pulling the Rusty ruins apart for scrap, scrambling to get more metal.
"Who has the resources to build something like this?" Aya murmured.
"Maybe this was one of those Rusty places where they dug up metal. What were they called…mines?"
Aya realized that they were whispering. Noises reverberated sharply against the bare stone walls, making her conscious of every sound she made.
The long, sleep-missing day was finally catching up with her, a brain-fogging exhaustion erasing the excitement that had propelled her through the mag-lev ride. The dim orange lighting was playing tricks on her eyes. Long shadows leaped from the beams of their flashlights, and Aya doubted her button cam was getting any decent shots.
Suddenly Miki spun around. "Did you see that?"
"See what?"
"I don't know." Miki pointed her flashlight down the hall behind them. "The shadows were moving funny. Like something's following us."
"Something?" Aya said, turning to stare into the darkness. She felt totally awake now.
"Maybe I'm just imagining it."
Aya sighed. "Great. Now I'm imagining it too."
"Come on," Miki said. "I feel like we're getting close to something."
"Is that the same something that's
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