City at World's End by Christopher Bulis

Author:Christopher Bulis [Bulis, Christopher]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: Fiction, General, Science Fiction, Space Opera, Adventure, Romance, Doctor Who (Fictitious Character)
ISBN: 9780563555797
Google: chsIAAAACAAJ
Amazon: 0563555793
Publisher: BBC Worldwide
Published: 1999-09-14T07:00:00+00:00

He spun about to see a wave rolling down the tunnel. The rubble dam had given way, releasing the pent-up water behind it.

‘Watch out!’ he shouted as he pressed himself flat against the side of the tunnel. The foaming crest rushed past him, washing over the walkway and breaking about his legs. He saw Barbara adopting the same stance. The wave surged past her and for a moment she slithered backwards under its impact. Then it was gone and she found her footing again. He heard her panting with exertion and saw she was trembling, but she managed to call out bravely:

‘That was nasty. Too ironic if we got washed away now.’

He started towards her, skidding on the walkway which was still awash.

‘Too ironic for words,’ he agreed, almost laughing with relief. ‘Barbara, you’ve no idea...’

Without any warning and curiously little noise, a three-yard length of the walkway between them crumbled and slid into the drainage channel.

Even as they both gaped incredulously there came a series of deafening cracks. The side of the tunnel exposed by the collapsed walkway seemed to bulge inwards. Fissures ran up the curving wall. Shards of concrete began to rain down from the roof and plunge into the water, sending up showers of spray.

‘Get back, get back!’ Ian shouted, waving his arm desperately.

Barbara had the sense not to argue. He saw her turn to run just as the entire roof caved in.

Ian twisted aside, slipped, fell to his knees and scrabbled awkwardly away from the wall of falling concrete. A slab, dislodged from the roof, smashed down on the pedacam as it scuttled along at his heels, flattening it in a brief shower of sparks.

Gradually the sound of falling rock diminished to a soft patter. Thirty yards clear of the fall Ian slumped against the wall, his heart pounding as he raged silently. Curton’s voice was shouting from the earphones of his helmet radio but for a moment he ignored it. All he could think of, quite irrationally, was that they had tempted fate by joking about the irony of their situation. How could this have happened? They had been so close.

Then reason reasserted itself. At least he knew Barbara was safe. Wearily he acknowledged Curton’s call and explained what had happened.

‘Is the tunnel completely blocked?’ Curton asked.

‘Yes.’

‘Then you’d better get out of there quickly.’

‘No. Send down your machines. We must get Barbara out.’

‘Listen. It’s still raining heavily. If the tunnel’s blocked the water’s going to he back up to the ceiling before we can get down there.’

Ian looked down at the swirling water and realised Curton was right. In a few minutes it would submerge the walkway.

‘When the pressure builds up enough that plug will blow like the last one,’ Curton continued. ‘You get back to the Carlson Tower feeder as fast as you can while I open up the next access point downstream. I just hope your friend has the sense not to hang around.’

On the other side of the roof fall, Barbara was reluctantly coming to the same conclusion as Ian.

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