the kartek squarely on its tooth-filled muzzle.
It disappeared with a howl of pain. Allysha punched the air. “Yes.”
She listened for a moment as the howls receded. It had gone. She gazed at the entrance, still tensed to fight. It couldn’t have actually entered…. Could it? She had to get Brad away, further down the tunnel.
She tucked the gun into her waistband, rolled him on his back and felt for a pulse. Yes, alive, but
unconscious. A flood of relief left her weak-kneed. No time for that. She hooked her hands under his
shoulders and dragged him away. One body length; two. He was starting to stir.
A deep growl almost stopped her heart. Two of them, trying to clamber through. She pulled the gun out and fired and fired again. An ominous creak warned her. The ceiling. Fuck. Brad staggered to his knees.
She grabbed his arm.
“Quick, the ceiling’s going.”
He stumbled along with her towing him, away from the entrance.
Rocks rumbled and crashed and boomed. Dust and grit billowed out, surrounding them. A few last
clatters and the avalanche ended. The hole was blocked. Completely.
He leaned on her shoulder, swaying slightly, his chest heaving. “Well, we’re safe from the karteks.”
Thank the spirits for that. He was all right. “Are you okay?” she said.
“Yes. Just hit my head. Where are we?”
“I haven’t had a chance to look.”
He unclipped the torch from his belt, turned it on and played the light over the walls. “I think this has been formed. See? You can see where stone cutters were used.”
Lichen and webs sparkled in the light of the torch. Droppings and small animal bones littered the ground.
But he was right; the straight lines left by cutters were discernible. So this was a disused tunnel, rather than a natural cave. Well, that was a start. “Give me a minute. I’ll see if I can find it in the graphics.” She pulled out her techpack, concentrated on the tiny data port and connected with the processor.Show me
the mine graphic as a holograph . She thought the words.
The image projected from the techpack’s display port.
Brad gasped. “How did you do that?”
“I’ll tell you later.”Blocked up exits . The image rotated. No, not that one.More . Ah. “Looks like we’re here.” She set the point to a red dot. “These are the old ptorix workings. And just there,” she pointed to a spot up the tunnel from where they stood, “is a lift foyer that only goes up. There’s a place up there that I was tempted to visit, just to see what was there. It’s marked ‘mountain garden’.”
“Garden? Outside the mountain?”
She zoomed in on the place. “Looks like it. There’s a subsidence at that part.” It was as if part of the mountain’s rim had collapsed and slid down, leaving a gouge in its side that ended two hundred meters above the ground.
“I’d rather get away from here, at any rate. Let’s find this lift foyer.”
They walked close together over ground covered in litter. Her foot crunched on bone. Some other
animal’s den? What a happy thought. But Brad seemed calm and assured, his gun in his hand, although
he was limping slightly. Something scurried in a corner and her heart raced. A multi-legged thing edged away from the light. Urrk. The tunnel ended in a ptorix stone door. She pressed the two symbols in the complex pattern and it slid back and across. Soft lights began to glow. Swirling decorations covered the walls, complicated patterns in reds and pinks and greens.
“This is a lift foyer?” Brad said, staring around him.
“Yes. See the door?” She showed him the pointed arch and pressed the button on the wall to summon a
car. Would it work? Nobody had been here for at least thirty years. A light above the doorway flashed briefly and the doors slid apart.
“I don’t think we should do this now, Allysha. We’re safe for the moment. We need to rest before we
do anything else.”
She smiled. The very thought of getting into that lift sent
It disappeared with a howl of pain. Allysha punched the air. “Yes.”
She listened for a moment as the howls receded. It had gone. She gazed at the entrance, still tensed to fight. It couldn’t have actually entered…. Could it? She had to get Brad away, further down the tunnel.
She tucked the gun into her waistband, rolled him on his back and felt for a pulse. Yes, alive, but
unconscious. A flood of relief left her weak-kneed. No time for that. She hooked her hands under his
shoulders and dragged him away. One body length; two. He was starting to stir.
A deep growl almost stopped her heart. Two of them, trying to clamber through. She pulled the gun out and fired and fired again. An ominous creak warned her. The ceiling. Fuck. Brad staggered to his knees.
She grabbed his arm.
“Quick, the ceiling’s going.”
He stumbled along with her towing him, away from the entrance.
Rocks rumbled and crashed and boomed. Dust and grit billowed out, surrounding them. A few last
clatters and the avalanche ended. The hole was blocked. Completely.
He leaned on her shoulder, swaying slightly, his chest heaving. “Well, we’re safe from the karteks.”
Thank the spirits for that. He was all right. “Are you okay?” she said.
“Yes. Just hit my head. Where are we?”
“I haven’t had a chance to look.”
He unclipped the torch from his belt, turned it on and played the light over the walls. “I think this has been formed. See? You can see where stone cutters were used.”
Lichen and webs sparkled in the light of the torch. Droppings and small animal bones littered the ground.
But he was right; the straight lines left by cutters were discernible. So this was a disused tunnel, rather than a natural cave. Well, that was a start. “Give me a minute. I’ll see if I can find it in the graphics.” She pulled out her techpack, concentrated on the tiny data port and connected with the processor.Show me
the mine graphic as a holograph . She thought the words.
The image projected from the techpack’s display port.
Brad gasped. “How did you do that?”
“I’ll tell you later.”Blocked up exits . The image rotated. No, not that one.More . Ah. “Looks like we’re here.” She set the point to a red dot. “These are the old ptorix workings. And just there,” she pointed to a spot up the tunnel from where they stood, “is a lift foyer that only goes up. There’s a place up there that I was tempted to visit, just to see what was there. It’s marked ‘mountain garden’.”
“Garden? Outside the mountain?”
She zoomed in on the place. “Looks like it. There’s a subsidence at that part.” It was as if part of the mountain’s rim had collapsed and slid down, leaving a gouge in its side that ended two hundred meters above the ground.
“I’d rather get away from here, at any rate. Let’s find this lift foyer.”
They walked close together over ground covered in litter. Her foot crunched on bone. Some other
animal’s den? What a happy thought. But Brad seemed calm and assured, his gun in his hand, although
he was limping slightly. Something scurried in a corner and her heart raced. A multi-legged thing edged away from the light. Urrk. The tunnel ended in a ptorix stone door. She pressed the two symbols in the complex pattern and it slid back and across. Soft lights began to glow. Swirling decorations covered the walls, complicated patterns in reds and pinks and greens.
“This is a lift foyer?” Brad said, staring around him.
“Yes. See the door?” She showed him the pointed arch and pressed the button on the wall to summon a
car. Would it work? Nobody had been here for at least thirty years. A light above the doorway flashed briefly and the doors slid apart.
“I don’t think we should do this now, Allysha. We’re safe for the moment. We need to rest before we
do anything else.”
She smiled. The very thought of getting into that lift sent
Similar Books
