Resonant Abyss by J N Chaney & Christopher Hopper

Author:J N Chaney & Christopher Hopper [Chaney, J N & Hopper, Christopher]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Variant Publications
Published: 2019-09-14T16:00:00+00:00

We walked down a curving corridor about twenty meters wide. My feet rose and fell with the sloped ridges that undulated every meter or so. The grooves were so predictable, so patterned, that only a machine could have made them. But for what purpose, I had no idea.

I also noticed that the tunnel was hot. Damn hot. Unlike the barracks level that maintained a cool even temperature, we’d arrived at a depth where lava and geothermal forces ruled. I even noticed certain patches of the walls and ceilings glowed red hot.

“How much further?” I asked Monty through the masks’ short-range infrared comms system.

“Just a little further,” he replied. “We’re almost there.”

While my feet seemed to clomp along on the peaks and troughs of the ridges, Rachel seemed to glide across them, bounding from one peak to the next with almost no effort. “Show off,” I said.

She didn’t even bother to look at me. I was about to physically get her attention, thinking maybe our comm link had broken, when she raised her middle finger at me.

“Classy. Super classy, Rachel.”

“I do what I can,” she replied, not missing a beat with her feet.

So far, we hadn’t seen a single other soul down here. I wasn’t sure if I should be elated or concerned, but it was worth asking Monty about. “Where is everyone?” I asked. “You typically work this section alone?”

“Nah,” he said. “It’s a mandatory rest period.”

“Not bad,” I said, wondering if maybe Ozzie had at least some virtue in how they ran this operation. Given how much I was sweating, I imagined the miners couldn’t work long in these conditions. “Like a break or a nap or something?”

Monty didn’t turn back to look at me, but his pace slowed for the quickest second. “No, for sleeping. Two hours off, ten hours on. Then we get a six-hour extended rest session every other cycle.”

“Two hours?” I asked with a strained voice.

“Yeah. Why? You seem surprised.”

Gods, I didn’t have the heart to tell this kid that such expectations were insane. And unhealthy. And probably one of the reasons everyone died so young.

Changing subjects, I asked, “How much time do you think we have before everyone returns?”

“Well, how long do you guess I’ve been helping you?”

I hesitated. “Why does that matter?” Then I connected the dots. “Are you saying they pulled you from your sleep in order to help us?”

“Yeah, Mr. Flint. But don’t worry about me. If everything you’re saying is true, then it was the best reason to miss sleep I can think of.”

Strange things happen when you stop thinking about a group of people and start thinking about an individual. Your mind works differently somehow. Before, I knew we needed to help these miners get free. But knowing some of Monty’s story… knowing how much heart this kid had… it changed things. Now I would give my life for this kid to see sunlight again. By the gods, we were going to get him free or die trying.

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