Tethered Souls (Tethered Twins Book 2)

Chapter Nine

Chris took some grenades from the fallen solider and handed me his gun.

"I've never used anything like this before," I stated, looking at the automatic rifle.

"It's easy," said Chris, "just don't point it towards me when you fire."

Chris seemed unwilling to swap his weapon for the rifle so I swung it over my shoulder in the hope that I'd never have to use it.

We walked through the 'Jubilee Line' entrance carefully checking for more soldiers. At the end of the platform there was a waist high yellow gate which we jumped over as we carried on forwards. We walked down another stairwell and reached a curved elevator embossed with the royal seal.

"Jill, can you hack a terminal for me?" asked Grace.

"You already know the answer," replied Jill, echoing across my headset.

Grace read a serial number from the terminal and Jill relayed to us a sequence of numbers that allowed us to reset it from an access panel. The elevator quickly came down to us and opened up.

Chris checked the walkway behind us for any last signs of soldiers and when all was clear we made our way into the elevator and rose up to the Houses of Parliament.

"I wonder where we'll end up?" I asked, rhetorically.

"In the main hallway," replied Jill, already one step ahead. "I've checked the building schematics and it seems the elevator you are in was used by members of Parliament to quickly access meetings."

"And quickly escape if there was any sign of trouble?" asked Grace.

"Definitely."

True enough the lift did open up onto a large entranceway with ornate statues, extravagant décor and gold plated ceiling fixtures. This building had yet to be reclaimed in the renovation efforts but was still a magnificent sight despite the decay.

We decided to head for the elevator that had taken us down to Tobias' lab last time we were here; it seemed likely that it would also take us to Will, or at least the place he had been hiding. Our memories were a little shaky on the route – Grace and I had mainly taken the path whilst either chasing someone or being chased – but we combined our knowledge and with the help of Jill were able to identify its exact location.

The route took us back into the main chamber but it was a different sight than before. The room had previously been filled with people but now lay vacant. The only signs of any change were the abandoned bags and sleeping materials.

"They left here in a rush," said Grace. "This wasn't a planned escape."

"Probably by force," explained Chris, pointing to the bullet holes that peppered the room. "What's theirs is ours now," he jumped up on to the seats and started searching through bags.

It felt wrong to take from their supplies but there was no indication that anyone would be returning. Whatever had driven them from this place had done so with such unrelenting force that people had been prepared to leave behind their food and their shelter. It made staying here a daunting prospect.

We each filled our backpacks with food and a sleeping bag in case we needed to rest on our journey. There were no medical supplies amongst the packs; a worrying sign for Olive. Despite this we remained confident that the lab would have supplies that had not yet been discovered.

From the main chamber we passed through a broken set of double doors and a destroyed library. Both locations were a reminder of the day Vlad had chased me, knife in hand and a reminder that he was now working with my brother and a mutual friend.

Upon reaching the elevator at the end of the library it was disappointing not to see Will when the doors opened but it had been hours since our Tether event. He could have covered a lot of ground in that time.

From The Deck's base Jill hacked the elevator and we descended down to level U8.

"So what are you hoping to find Emzie?" asked Grace, using her pet name for me.

I was secretly hoping Will would be sat in a chair, waiting to see me but that seemed somewhat unlikely. "Any clue that will lead me to him."

I had no idea what type of clue would help but there had to be something, anything. Unfortunately as the elevator doors opened we were faced with nothing. Just a large, but empty room with white padded walls. No clues and no hope.