Kathy Reichs - Virals

“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.

The boys sounded off. Even Coop gave a short bark.

“Keep moving,” I said. “It’s one-way now.”

We stumbled forward, totally focused on footing and breathing, refusing to consider the horrifying possibilities.

What if there was no way out? Would our pursuers be waiting when we emerged? What was the thud that followed the gunshots? What happened to Karsten?

Concentrate. Get out.

The tunnel forked.

“Which way?” Shelton’s voice carried from the left.

“I sense fresh air coming from the right,” Hi said. “I think I smell grass.”

I raised my nose. Sniffed.

Hi was right. New scents had joined the mix of dust and mildew and rotting wood. Grass and wet sand.

My heart pounded against my ribs.

I was about to speak when I heard movement, a bark, then, “Oof.”

“Coop votes to go right, too,” Hi said. “At least, I think that’s why he knocked me over.”

“Do it,” Ben said.

The darkness hid obstacles until they were just inches away. We picked our way along, tripping over rocks, beams, and a host of unidentifiable objects.

Triple doses of adrenaline pumped through me. My head felt too small for my brain. I reached out with my senses, probing for a way through the darkness.

Never shoul d’ve listened ... knew the roof would cave ... can’t breathe ...

What was that?

“Shelton, did you say something?”

“No.” His voice was shaky.

Puzzled, I searched for the thread I’d lost.

No use. Gone.

It had sounded like Shelton. I attempted to refocus.

Balance. Breathe.

Ambush at the entrance ... could have taken these bastards...

I shouldn’t be able to smell anything but dust ... Grass? I’m a freak of nature ...

OhmyGod!

I was hearing the other Virals.

In my head.

No. Way.

I tried again. Couldn’t reconnect. Couldn’t reopen whatever had closed. I strained to hear their voices, came up empty. Nothing.

You’re losing it, Tor.

Focus. Feet. Lungs.

Bad smell ... danger ... rip, tear ... save pack ...

Coop! I was sure of it! He wanted to protect us.

I stumbled forward, grabbed the puppy, and hugged him to my chest.

Warm ... mother-friend ... shield ...

As powerfully as I could, I willed a message from my brain to his.

I’ll protect you, little one. We’ll be safe. I promise.

Coop yipped and nuzzled my face. I kissed the top of his head.

“What was that?” Ben had stopped moving.

“Protect who?” Shelton asked.

“Tory, that was weird.” Hi. “Where are you? Are you talking to me?”

“I’m here,” I said.

Had everyone heard me? I floated a test message.

I’m here, too.

“Whoa!” Shelton and Hi.

“You’re in my head!” Ben sounded shocked. “Get out!”

I couldn’t believe it. They could hear me! The Virals could hear me!

Then the feeling passed.

I struggled to regain it. Useless, like trying to hold onto a dream.

I floated another message.

No link up. Damn.

“What did you just do?” Hi asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Do it again.”

“I can’t.”

I released Coop. He darted forward through the murk. From up ahead, I heard barking. We wove toward it like rats in a maze.

Minutes later, the darkness lifted ever so slightly. The promise of light drew us like a beacon.

Ben called out. “Ladder!”

We all rushed forward.

Above the ladder hung a square of night sky speckled with stars. A pale shaft of moonlight oozed through the opening.