Aftershock

by Sam Fisher

  ‘You’re injured,’ Harry said.

  ‘I’m cool. Just ache, like ... all over.’

  Harry produced a faint smile. ‘I owe you an apology,’ he said gently. ‘And, I also owe you my thanks.’

  Kristy looked startled, as though no one had ever spoken to her in this genuine way before. And it was only at that moment Harry and the others saw the singer for who she really was – a confused, lost little girl, a child who was never treated with any real respect. To some, Kristy was a vile bitch who had to be sucked up to, to others she was a golden goose, a piece of meat. To many more, she was a mythical creature, an object to be adored, copied, loved. No one any longer treated her simply as a human being.

  Tears welled up in the girl’s eyes and she went to pull her hand away. Harry held it firm and fixed her with a sincerity and clarity she had rarely seen. ‘You’re welcome,’ she said finally, slipping her fingers from his and looking away.

  There was a sound from across the hall. All four of them turned in unison. They heard footsteps, people running towards them, the sound muffled by the thick carpet. A door opened slowly. Harry, Kristy, Nick and Jim were rooted to the spot, staring at the door as it swung out into the hall. A woman wearing what looked like a skin-tight futuristic space suit appeared in the opening. For a second, she seemed surprised to see them. Then she took a step into the hall.

  ‘Hi,’ she said. ‘I’m Maiko Buchanan ... E-Force.’

  53

  Harry lay on the wet floor at the foot of the main staircase. The massive marble edifice took up half the hall. Plush red carpet ran up the centre of each tread, fastened to the stone with brass runners. It was mottled and stained with oil and dust. The marble looked untouched by disaster, an incongruous symbol of stoicism surrounded by death and destruction.

  Mai replaced the makeshift tourniquet Pete had put on Sandra’s arm, cleaned the wound, gave her a shot of painkiller and applied a special material called SkinGloo which could seal lacerations temporarily. Then she transferred her attention to Harry, running a medscanner over his injured foot. ‘Nasty cuts,’ she said and used the Vasjet, a needleless hypodermic delivery system, to give him some strong pain relief before cleaning his wounds and applying the same sealant.

  Harry looked down at Mai as she worked. ‘This is all getting a little surreal,’ he commented.

  ‘A very normal reaction, Mr Flanders,’ she replied.

  ‘Please. Not Mr Flanders! That’s my grandfather. It’s Harry.’

  Mai smiled. ‘Well, Harry, it’s to be expected. This sort of thing doesn’t happen every day. Thank God!’

  ‘Yes, but you do find yourself in these situations more often than the average person.’

  ‘True. But you never get used to it. Let’s just say that, to me, it doesn’t feel quite so surreal as it must do to you.’

  Harry nodded. ‘I also have to say, the pictures I’ve seen of you don’t do you justice.’

  ‘Really.’ She gave him a cynical smile. ‘Now is that a fact? Perhaps, Harry, you don’t need the painkillers after all.’

  He gave her a mock horrified look. ‘Oh no, keep them coming, please. I was just being friendly!’

  Mai laughed and helped him to his feet. He leaned on the metal pole Nick had found for him. Pete approached. ‘The emergency subs are not far from here,’ he said, studying his wrist monitor displaying a schematic of the dome.

  ‘There’s a quicker way,’ Archie said. He’d been standing beside Pete, staring in fascination at the wrist monitor. ‘Through there,’ he went on, pointing to the far wall beyond the staircase. ‘There’s a service point for unloading supplies. It’s all hidden away, on the north side of the dome. The two emergency subs are docked right by there.’

  Pete studied the boy’s earnest face. ‘Okay, lad,’ he said and turned to the others. ‘Archie here knows a quick way to the emergency subs. Is everyone up to moving on?’ He looked from one to the other and thought, what a bedraggled bunch they were. He walked over to Sandra who appeared to be the most exhausted and frightened. ‘Come on,’ Pete said, helping her to her feet.

  Archie led the group across the marble floor to a pair of oak doors. He pushed them open and headed through to a long, carpeted corridor that ran directly north. Doors led off left and right. It was disturbingly quiet. Even the creaking and groaning of the infrastructure of the hotel was inaudible here. It was a sound they had become so accustomed to it was only when it stopped they noticed it was missing.

  They traversed the length of the corridor as fast as they could. At the end there was a metal door. Beside it, on the wall, was a sign that said: ‘SERVICE AREA. STAFF ONLY’. Archie pushed on the handle and opened the door outwards, holding it in place for everyone to file through.

  The first thing they sensed on the other side of the door was the cold. The floor and walls were rough concrete. The light was duller than outside in the corridor. A single fluorescent strip ran along the ceiling. In a space about 5 metres square, half the floor was taken up with piles of cardboard boxes. There was a wall of metal shelving and on the shelves stood more boxes.

  ‘Through ’ere,’ Archie said, letting the door swing shut and pushing past the others towards the gap between the towers of boxes and the metal racks. At the end of the room, a short flight of stairs stretched up to a gantry. They all trooped up. ‘Along there,’ Archie said, pointing east towards an opening. ‘It’s the staff access corridor above the main passenger collection point. Down some stairs and we’re there.’

  Through the opening they could make out a brightly lit area. The corridor Archie had described was just out of sight, with only a reflected glow breaking through the gloom of the storage area. It lit up the expressions of relief and optimism on their faces.

  Archie turned quickly and Pete walked on, following close behind. Jim, Nick and Kristy were next. Harry and Sandra did their best to keep up. Mai held back a few paces.

  A row of huge windows ran along the north wall of the corridor. Beyond the windows lay the stunning vista of the Pacific Ocean – dark blue, streaked with multicoloured coral banks and hundreds of fish caught in the light from the hotel. But at that moment, the beauty of the sight meant absolutely nothing. A dozen metres away were the two emergency subs. One of them lay on its side, a rip in the hull running from bridge to starboard engine. The other was crushed under a rock the size of a London bus.

  54

  ‘Pete? Mai? Come in. Mark calling Pete. Mark calling Mai. Please respond.’

  The two members of E-Force were so stunned by the sight of the emergency subs shattered on the ocean floor, it took them a few moments to realise Mark Harrison was calling them.

  ‘Mark,’ Pete and Mai said in unison.

  ‘Thank God,’ Mark exclaimed. ‘Comms were down your end. I guess it had something to do with the second shock.’

  ‘I wouldn’t be surprised. The aftershock has caused serious damage. But it’s good to hear you, man,’ Pete responded. ‘We only have audio, no visual comms.’

  ‘I know. I’m working on that. I had to go to emergency backup transmission. My link with Tom is fine, so it must be something local. Anyway, what’s the story?’

  Pete brought Mark up to speed. There was a long silence the other end. Pete surveyed the faces of the others in the corridor. They ranged from expressions of shock to total despair. He flicked his wrist comm to speaker mode.

  ‘Our options are kinda running low,’ Mai said eventually.

  ‘I’ve just had the computer bring up another schematic of the Neptune. It’s more detailed than the one you saw earlier on the Big Mac,’ Mark said. They could hear him moving around the control console as a series of buzzes came through the comms. ‘Zeroing in,’ said the onboard computer.

  ‘Right ... got it,’ Mark said.

  Pete and Mai waited as Mark worked things through.

  Harry came over to Pete. ‘What’s going on?’

  ‘We’re in touch with the main aircraft on the surface. Ma
rk Harrison is our team leader. He’s working on an alternative route out.’

  Harry raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

  ‘Okay,’ Mark said finally. ‘Looks like your only hope is Dome Gamma.’

  Harry shook his head. ‘The linkway is down.’

  ‘Who’s that?’ Mark asked.

  Harry stepped forward unnecessarily. ‘Harry Flanders,’ he said. ‘I was in the banqueting hall in Gamma. We got through the linkway into Beta. But it collapsed. Nearly took my foot off.’

  ‘Yes,’ Mark replied after a moment. He glanced at a monitor displaying images from the two Hunters still circling the hotel. ‘I can see it now. But I think there’s an alternative. A tunnel runs from Beta to one of the power supply domes to the north of the main structure of the hotel. Another runs back from there to Gamma. It’s not going to be easy, but it’s the only way left.’

  ‘But what’s the point of going back to Gamma?’ Jim asked, approaching the pair from E-Force. ‘We’ve just come from there.’

  ‘Two reasons,’ Mark replied crisply. ‘First there are two more emergency subs docked on the Lower Ground Level. I would imagine anyone trapped in Gamma would be making their way there. The other is that I’m taking a sub down to cut a way into the base of the dome.’

  ‘What!’ Harry exclaimed. ‘How on earth...?’

  ‘Leave the logistics to us, Mr Flanders,’ Mark replied. ‘Now, Pete, I can’t send you the schematic, but...’

  Pete’s comms suddenly emitted a high-pitched whine.

  ‘Mark?’

  No response.

  Pete stared at his wrist monitor, then tapped it twice. ‘Mark?’

  Nothing.

  He lowered his wrist and took a pace towards Mai who was staring at her own wrist monitor.

  ‘Oh, fantastic!’ she exclaimed.

  ‘What?’ Harry began.

  ‘Pete? Mai? Come in.’

  ‘Mark ... What the hell’s going on?’ Pete said.

  ‘Another comms drop out. Must be unstable electromagnetic fields from damaged electrical circuits. Where was I?’

  ‘You were going to tell us how to reach the tunnel over to the power supply dome.’

  ‘I know the way,’ Archie interrupted.

  ‘Who’s talking now?’

  ‘Archie Barnet at your service, sir,’ the boy said brightening up for the first time since they had arrived in the corridor.

  ‘Pete?’

  ‘Archie is the bellboy,’ Pete said. ‘We found him in Alpha.’

  ‘I’ve made it my business to know every nook and cranny of this bloody place,’ Archie added, leaning in towards Pete’s wrist.

  Pete put a hand to Archie’s shoulder, pushing him back. ‘You’ll blow Mark’s ears off, Archie.’

  The boy looked embarrassed and stepped back. ‘Sorry! Er ... you’re thinking of the primary power conduit on this side, aren’t you?’

  ‘That’s correct.’

  ‘It’s really narrow, guvnor.’

  ‘One hundred and five point seven centimetres in diameter, to be precise.’

  ‘But it’s lined with electrical whatnots.’

  ‘I’m sure it is,’ Mark replied.

  ‘But, yeah, it’s the last option, so...’ Archie mused.

  ‘Correct again. Now, you know how to get there?’

  ‘It’s close. Just down the corridor to the east of ’ere. Just past the assembly point for the emergency subs.’

  ‘That’s right, Archie,’ Mark confirmed. ‘Looks like we’re in your hands for the moment.’

  ‘Won’t let you down, sir,’ he said earnestly. Then he grinned at Pete. ‘Gordon Bennet, if I’d known being a bellboy would be like this, I’d ’ave stayed in Leytonstone with Aunty Sharon!’

  55

  The hatchway into the tunnel stood at waist height and was accessed by a circular metal door with a security lock. Archie did not know the security code, but Mai’s vector laser made short work of the lock and Pete pulled the door outwards. He turned to the group. ‘This isn’t going to be easy. But it really is our only way out. I’ll lead the way. I know your instinct will be to get through the tunnel as fast as possible, but that would be a bad move. We have to take it slowly and carefully. You all understand?’ He climbed in and started to edge forward. One by one, the others clambered after him, a few seconds behind each other. Harry, Kristy and Mai were left outside the entrance.

  ‘I can’t do it,’ Kristy said suddenly, looking from Harry to Mai.

  ‘Kristy, you can. I’ll be close behind,’ Mai said.

  ‘No, you don’t understand. I really can’t.’ She looked petrified. ‘I’m claustrophobic.’

  Harry looked at Mai and raised his eyebrows. ‘Give me a second,’ he said. He took Kristy’s arm and pulled her away gently to a spot a few metres along the corridor.

  ‘Kristy, you can do this.’

  Kristy was shaking her head. ‘No, no. That’s why I ... I froze earlier. That’s why Danny died. It was my fault. I know it was. I can’t go in there.’

  ‘You can,’ Harry insisted.

  The girl was rooted to the spot, head down. She couldn’t look Harry in the eye. She just shook her head.

  ‘Kristy.’ Harry lifted her chin. ‘Kristy. You can beat this.’

  ‘But, I’ll panic again ... and.’

  ‘No you won’t. Concentrate on pleasant thoughts. Think about how you feel on stage, when the audience is with you. Think of your favourite moments – the lights are up, the music is loud. You feel consumed. Think of that, Kristy.’

  She looked at him doubtfully. Then she closed her eyes. A tear welled up between her eyelashes and ran down her cheek. ‘Just leave me,’ she said finally, and looked away.

  Harry pursed his lips and shook his head. ‘Can’t do that, Kristy.’

  She met his eye. ‘You’re a stubborn...’

  ‘I know.’ And he walked back to Mai who signalled to him to climb up to the opening. He looked back at Kristy, and she strode towards them.

  ‘I figure I owe Danny one,’ she said, pushing Harry aside and clambering up the wall to the tunnel entrance.

  The tunnel was illuminated by recessed florescent bulbs running in a channel above their heads. Half of the lights were broken, but the tunnel was still over-lit. The floor was hard and scattered with bits of debris, pieces of plastic and glass from broken components shaken from their fittings. They could just move along the tunnel by crouching low, heads down.

  Pete was 10 metres from the end when his alarm went off. For a heartbeat, he wasn’t sure what it meant. But then it increased in pitch and he signalled to Archie and Jim behind him to slow down. Pete studied his wrist monitor. A red light was blinking on the tiny flat screen. A line of writing appeared. ‘Danger: Unstable electrical field’.

  Pete screwed up his face, trying to figure out exactly what it meant. There came a loud crack. He span around in the direction of the sound. Sandra, crouching low a few feet behind Jim, screamed as a clamp holding a black electrical cable snapped open and the cable slithered away from the wall beside her. Sparks flew from the end, crackling and stinking of ozone. A clip popped and shot away. The cable unfurled another metre. Two more clips disintegrated and the cable slipped to the floor. It looked like a sea serpent thrashing through the air, or a hose pipe filled with water left to shimmy on the lawn.

  The cable seemed to have a mind of its own. Sandra fell back instinctively, knocking her head against a metal box. She squealed in pain and stumbled, her left leg slipping on the wet floor. The cable flicked up ... and brushed her with the gentlest touch. Thirty amps of electricity shot through her. She flew backwards and her body lit up as though a flare had gone off inside her. Slamming into the wall, she crumbled. Steam shot from her mouth, her eyeballs melted and ran down her fried cheeks.

  Pete was the first to react. He grabbed the cable half a metre back from the live end, found the holder it had slipped from and jammed it back in. His suit protected him against the curr
ent as sparks flew through the air and landed ineffectually on his arms. With the cable returned to its housing, he tugged back the clamp designed to keep it in place. A horrible fizzing sound came from Sandra’s charred remains.

  ‘Archie,’ he shouted, snapping the boy back to reality. ‘Get out the end. Quick!’ He pushed him along the tunnel and turned to Jim. ‘You too!’

  The others approached one after the other. ‘Keep going,’ Pete yelled, trying to shield Sandra’s corpse as best he could.

  Mai approached. ‘What?’

  ‘Sandra Rimmer,’ he said.

  She sighed and Pete followed her the remaining few metres to the end of the tunnel.

  They were in a bare, low-ceilinged room. On the concrete wall, a sign read: ‘MAIN GENERATOR. DANGER. NO ADMITTANCE. HIGH VOLTAGES’. To the right of this stood a door. It opened onto a small room. In the far wall was a circular hatch similar to one they had just emerged through.

  The group was silent, shocked, unable to fully comprehend what was happening to them. Nick leaned his back against the wall and slid to the floor, sobbing into his palms. Mai walked over to console him. Pete stepped away from the others and touched the screen on his wrist. ‘Mark?’

  ‘Pete. Status?’

  ‘We’ve made it to the power dome. We lost one of the party.’

  ‘How?’

  Pete described the incident and Mark was silent for a second, tapping at the control panel in the Big Mac.

  ‘I’ve been analysing the infrastructure of the tunnel back to Gamma,’ he said.

  ‘And?’

  A pause. ‘It’s not good, Pete. For a start, the tunnel is much narrower than the one you’ve just come through. But more importantly, it wasn’t designed to bear much weight. It’s just a conduit. You’ll have to go one at a time, or the tunnel will collapse.’

  ‘Ah!’

  ‘It’s built in three self-sealing sections. If the structure is compromised at all, that section will close off at one end. It’s designed to protect the electrical systems as much as possible.’