SIREN

Chapter Fifteen

I stumbled and gasped for air. 'Thanks,' I managed to say. My throat felt like it'd been set on fire.

'No worries, man,' Sam said as he dived ahead. 'Remember, zero gravity from beyond this point, so things are going to—'

A single thin tendril wrapped around Sam's neck and wrenched his body. Another appeared and pulled at his rucksack, tugging the bag full of explosives. Through Sam's visor, I saw his eyes widen and his cheeks turn dark blue.

I rolled off my back and vaulted over to him. 'Sam!' I howled, pulling at the weeds, 'what do I do? What do I do?'

'...Saw...' he gurgled, flinging his tool.

I caught it with my left hand. The ergonomic handle cradled my fingers and I felt the internal gears spinning. 'You didn't tell me how to use this!'

'Chop! Ch-chop!' Sam's voice was now a feeble whisper.

'Okay, okay!' I pounced on the nearest vine, thrusting the blade against its flesh. The stalk fell away and squirmed in the air.

Sam ripped the remains of the plant off his neck and snatched the saw from me. He spun it round and directed the blades at his body. With a single blow, he severed the straps on his rucksack and performed a perfect somersault.

'Go!' he shouted, 'now!'

We both kicked off and swam through the air. The furious cries of the fungus echoed around the tube. I didn't look behind or stop kicking my legs for a single second.

'That was your bag full of—!'

'I know!' Sam snapped.

'Do you think it's going to--?'

'Are we going to see fireworks? Yeah. We are.'

'What makes you so sure?'

'I don't think that big green thing back there is the most delicate of creatures.'

'Aw, bugger,' I said, 'Olga is totally going to kill us now.'

'Yep,' Sam frowned.

'Was that all the explosives we have?'

'I have more on the Pangaea.'

'So how're we going to get into the next ship?'

'One thing at a time,' Sam said.

We barrelled down the pipeline with Sam leading the way. My leg muscles burned and my suit was now so pungent, it pained me to breathe. However, the thought of being swallowed up by a giant orange fireball was enough for me to ignore every horrific sensation plaguing my body.

Sam came to a halt. 'No! No! No! No!'

'What? What is it?'

'The hole! The hole we made to get into this place! It's gone!'

Through the frosted material that made up the structure of the Martini, I spied the rough shape of our Eagle bobbing around. There was, as Sam said, nothing to suggest that we'd ever damaged the pipe.

'That's remarkable,' I said, pushing my hand against where a gap should be, 'the Martini fixed itself. I suppose that explains why we didn't see any structural damage.'

'Teabags, I don't care. As long as we can get through it again, I honestly don't care.' Sam hurled his saw at the tube and scowled as he began to cut a way out.

'Why do you think we've stopped seeing vines? Do you think that fungus thing just wanted your rucksack?'

'I don't know.'