Walk Through Thorns

Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Old machinery was left in the mine. It looked simultaneously frozen, yet also rotten. Anything metal was dark brown with rust, its surface pockmarked. Our footsteps stirred up dust that had been undisturbed for decades. Breathing it in was making my throat dry, making me wish I had brought water.

There was a thump, deep below us. A vibration followed it, making every loose pebble dance over the stone floor.

"What is that?" Avery asked.

I said, "Probably the SNO."

Victoria said, "Then we need to hurry."

We began to walk faster, almost a jog. It was as fast as we dared go. Discarded tools, fallen rocks, old cables. All formed tripping hazards in our path.

Brandon asked, "Why is it down here? Couldn't they have built this at the surface."

I said, "Talmon thinks it has to be here. There's supposed to be some super-weapon in the future. This mine goes to the bottom of where the crater will be."

"How could they know that?" Avery asked.

I said, "I don't know."

There was echoing ahead, it sounded like rain on the windshield of a car. Rhythmic, constant.

I asked, "What is that?"

"Gunfire," Brandon said, "We're coming up on shaft eleven."

So Howard had found them. He better not get himself hurt, the Children of the Briarheart would defend this place to their last.

"We need to go faster then," I said.

We hurried through the inset at shaft eleven. The chain holding the elevator was lowered, plunging from the darkness above through to the darkness below. The distant pop pop of gunfire was loudest here.

Past shaft eleven, the mine tunnels seemed almost darker. They twisted more, as though the closer the digging delved to the Heavenly Throne, the more warped their efforts became. Discarded lengths of pipe were misshapen, unable to run straight.

A tracked excavator had a wrongness about it, despite looking whole. I couldn't see anything, I just felt it deep in my stomach when I looked at it. We gave it a wide berth, trusting our instinctual revulsion.

As we arrived at the inset of shaft eight, Avery asked, "What if this tunnel doesn't go straight down anymore?"

I looked to Brandon. He said, "The platform could get stuck."

"We're in too deep to change our plans now," I said.

"Here me out," Brandon said, "What if we split up. Two of us go down here, two of us go down at shaft nine. It gives us twice the chance of getting there."

Avery said, "You told us to never split the party!"

"Well," Brandon said, "We can't really afford to get stuck here."

Victoria said, "He's right. I'll go back to eleven. It's more dangerous, so I should be there."

She began to walk back up the way we came. I followed.

"I'll go with her," I said. "This was all my idea, so the risk should be on me."

Avery ran to catch up, and blocked me with a stiff arm. "You go with Brandon down the back way. You're the one who promised you could shut the machine down. You're going the way with the better chance of getting there."

We met eyes, testing our determination against each other as the distant gunfire provided a relentless backdrop.

"Fine," I said, "But be careful."