Blender Babies by Jon Athan

Author:Jon Athan [Athan, Jon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-11-01T16:00:00+00:00

11

THROUGH THE DARKNESS

The Turners trudged through the sewage, each step synchronized—left, right, left, right. The wavering flame from Brian’s lighter was the only source of light in the tunnel. Due to holding the shotgun with one hand, a dull ache attacked his wrist, bicep, and shoulder, so he couldn’t keep the weapon steady.

The family stopped at a junction and looked up. Brian strained his tired eyes, struggling to penetrate the darkness beyond the glow from his lighter. Since he couldn’t see any moonlight, he assumed the manhole above—if there was one there—was sealed shut. He knew manhole covers were heavy, often surpassing 250 pounds, so he had no chance of opening one from below.

“What do you think?” Leslie asked in a hushed voice.

“It’s no good,” Brian responded, matching her tone. “Even if I could somehow climb up there and lift that lid, we have no idea if it’s locked in place. We need to find a manhole cover that’s already open, at least a little.”

“What about the one we saw earlier? We saw light, remember?”

“It’s too dangerous to go back now. We don’t know how many of them are down here or how long they’ve been following us. They could have used that manhole to get in here, so they could be waiting for us to come out through there. We have to keep pushing forward.”

Although he believed in what he was saying, he was only telling her part of the truth. What he didn’t want to tell her was: He didn’t know the way back. He was operating in survival mode, using instincts he didn’t even know he had until the Craze had begun. And his instincts were telling him to keep moving or face death.

Leslie asked, “But what if going back is the only way out of this place? What if they’ve already blocked all of the exits? What if we’re trapped?”

Brian said, “One way or another, we’re leaving these tunnels. Even if we have to shoot or stab our way out.” He looked at Cameron, who was cowering behind his mother, and he said, “You hear me, Cam? Everything’s going to be okay. I promise.”

He leaned forward and kissed his wife. He checked on Harper. She was fussy but half-asleep. He kissed her forehead. Her face contorted into a frown of annoyance for a second before her drowsiness overtook her. He looked down at Cameron. He didn’t have a free hand, so he wrapped one arm around him and pulled him in for a hug.

Leslie and Cameron felt a spark of reassurance. But it wasn’t enough to whisk away their fear of the darkness and the dangers lurking within the tunnels. With few options, they continued traveling through the labyrinth of passageways.

The tunnels felt endless, each one a clone of the last.

Same brick walls.

Same vaulted ceilings.

Same sewage.

“Wait,” Brian whispered, coming to a sudden stop next to a drain on the wall.

Harper cooed—goo ga wa pa.

“Shh,” Brian said.

Leslie glared at him and said, “If you want her to stay quiet, we have to keep moving.

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