The Dust of Kaku: Space Janitor Two by Julia Huni
Author:Julia Huni [Huni, Julia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Amazon: B07VZTW54T
Goodreads: 47566675
Publisher: IPH Media
Published: 2019-08-07T23:00:00+00:00
Twenty-One
The noise is unbelievable. I clamp my hands over my ears, my eyes wide behind the protective plastek mask. The avalanche of gravel pours down, stray pieces ricocheting off the walls, railing, and floor. One pings into my arm, drawing blood. Thick clouds of dust boil out, rolling across the living room. OâNeill pulls me to him, and I press my face against his shoulder, dust mask and all.
His heartbeat thumps in my ear at a comforting, measured pace. His arms hold me close, warm and strong around me. I relax and snuggle closer, closing my eyes and imagining the noise is ocean waves, orâ Who am I kidding? That cacophony is nothing like an ocean.
I pull back a little, looking up at him. He smiles and releases me as the sound diminishes. Darn, that ended way too soon.
When the bathroom door opens, OâNeill is by the kitchen, kicking aside stray rocks, peering up into the dust-filled cavity. I flick the air circulators to maximum power, and they suck the dust out of the air, creating strange smoke-like eddies in the corners. I peer down the stairway. A sea of gravel fills the floor of exercise room, hiding the bottom couple steps. There was a lot more rock than Iâd imagined. I climb down a few steps and stare at the huge pile where the entry tunnel used to be. If we canât get out through that escape hatch, weâre screwed.
âWhereâs the ladder?â OâNeill calls.
I step back up into the living room and pull a telescoping ladder from the hidden broom cupboard by the fridge. I flick the activation panel, and it stretches across the space to the wall at the perfect angle. âIf theyâd put a little more gravel up there,â I say, âwe could just climb up the pile.â
âHave you ever tried climbing a gravel pile?â Kara asks. âItâs not that easy. Stuff keeps sliding down.â
I pull off the dust mask and toss it onto the gravel pile. âI guess we should go. They must have heard the noiseâtheyâll know weâre up to something.â
âYouâre right,â says Vanti. âAnd if they figure out what, theyâll start searching for an outside access point. We could walk right into them.â
âI donât think we have to worry about that,â I say. âMy understanding is the exit point is pretty well hidden.â
Vanti grabs a couple water pacs and stacks them into a backpack she found somewhere. While she ransacks the kitchen for portable snacks, Kara and I change into some warmer clothes that were stored in the bedroom. I grab a jacket for OâNeill and an extra sweatshirt for Lindsay. In a few minutes, weâre ready to go.
âThere should be a hatch leading out of this tunnel,â I say, pointing away from the main house. âWe donât want to go all the way upâthat just leads to the buried reservoir where the gravel was stored.â
Lindsay pulls something out of a belt pouch and slides it onto her head. A bright beam of light shines out, blinding me when she looks my direction.
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