Steel Protector by Cameron Coral

Author:Cameron Coral [Coral, Cameron]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cameron Coral

Chapter 16

After three hours plodding deeper into the abandoned train tunnel, they’d developed a rhythmic pattern: Vacuubot hovered in the lead, its light beam scanning left and right as the machine captured intelligence from a smaller drone sent ahead to scout; Block marched not far behind, occasionally glancing back at Nova who kept up fine, though she sometimes flinched at the sound of scampering rodents. But otherwise she was okay. And finally, in the rear, a second smaller drone flew backwards, looking out for threats.

“How much more of this?” Nova shivered from the twenty-degree temperature drop from when they’d started. In a few hours, night would fall, though below the surface, circadian cycles mattered less.

“We should soon reach the point where we can cross onto other tracks. This train line only ran from the airport to the business district and various points along the way, but other lines intersected that could take you along other city routes.” Block knew they had to eventually travel farther east to reach the point on the river where Shane’s troops were located. There were no underground train tracks that led to that section of the city, but he hadn’t yet broken the news to Nova.

“Are you tired?” he asked. “Do you need to rest for the night?”

Her lips curled in a snarl. “In here? You’ve got to be kidding. I’d prefer sleeping in a prison toilet to camping in this rat-infested hellhole. I’ll walk all night if we have to.”

The rats and underground smells didn’t bother Block; they couldn’t physically damage him. This must, however, have been an awful experience for a human. It was no surprise they hadn’t encountered any human scavengers, or any living things besides rodents.

Are you reading traces of any beings? he messaged Vacuubot.

There are signs that these tunnels have been well-traveled, but nothing recent.

How do you know?

Look. Observe, Vacuubot said. You’ll find clues.

Block wasn’t sure what the little drone meant at first, so he played around with his night vision settings, first lowering its sensitivity so heat flashes from Vacuubot and the drones faded from the edges of his vision. After a minute, he glimpsed outlines of objects among the pitch black: a wad of plastic, a battered license plate, and a tattered doll’s head floated in the liquid muck next to the track. On the wall, a ladder that had led up to a manhole had been sheared off—the top third missing. It was as if someone had tried to cut off any means of escape from the tunnel.

Block kept going, observing quietly, grateful that Nova hadn’t noticed these things. At least, she hadn’t complained about them, and Block wasn’t about to bring them to her attention.

A sign next to a door on the west tunnel wall said: CTA Emergency Exit. But the door had been barricaded with planks of heavy boards and sealed with dozens of nails haphazardly hammered through the sides.

Why is the door barricaded? Block asked Vacuubot privately, not wanting to rattle Nova.

Unknown, Vacuubot replied.

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