The Tunnel War
Page 43
Oliver’s face flushed. He had so many questions, not just about his mother and the Wellers but about everything else in this section. He didn’t have a chance to ask a single thing when his mother took him by the arm and promised there’d be time for answers later. With Paige and the kids by his side, they were led toward the vehicles, which were being frantically boarded by Tunnelers. The vehicles were unlike any hovercraft Oliver had ever seen, though parts of them weren’t so different from the vehicle that had crashed into the Colisseo during his fight with Chad.
“Snow vehicles,” his mother said as if reading his mind. Oliver couldn’t tell if that bothered him or not. “The Fourth used to be a storage and parking unit for all surface vehicles, as well as a transportation hub for all of the city and beyond. Once all the vehicles’ fuel was used a long time ago. . . you know what? There’ll be time for explanations later.”
“How will they work then?” Oliver asked.
“The tubes,” Liv said, nodding to the glass tubes now being filled with lava. “We never expected to use them again, but then we intercepted your friends and their strange vehicle leaving the city through our tunnels.”
“Friends?” Paige asked.
“Chad,” Oliver whispered.
His mother nodded. “Our brightest people didn’t have long to study your friend’s vehicle, but they’ve been working on the modifications for months and finally got them figured out, apparently just in time.”
Liv pointed to one of the smaller vehicles at the front of the line, asking her son to join her in the command vehicle. When she pointed Paige and the kids toward one of the larger vehicles near the back, Oliver helped them climb into the cargo section. The thought of leaving them was unbearable; the thought of abandoning them—only so he could sit with the woman who’d abandoned him—made him feel sick to his stomach. He climbed into the tight confines of the cargo hold, glancing back long enough to glare down at Liv.
“I’ll travel in here, where I belong,” he said, closing the back door before his mother could say another word. The last thing he saw was her frown, but she didn’t try to open the door and convince him to follow her (which, in hindsight, didn’t surprise him).
Inside the cargo hold was warm and growing warmer by the minute. Two long benches lined each side and dirt-encrusted Tunnelers were packed tightly together. He received many looks from other passengers, a few of them curious but none exactly friendly. As Oliver tiptoed toward the end of the bench—trying not to step on anyone’s toes along the way—he felt the vehicle floor vibrating beneath him and couldn’t figure out if the ground was shaking or the vehicle had powered on. They suddenly lurched forward as he reached the end of the bench, where he squeezed his way beside Paige and the little girl.
Paige stared at the floor, her eyes blank with shock, never once looking up at him or the Tunnelers around them. Oliver looked at the other passengers, all of whom remained quiet as they drove away. He squirmed in his seat, unable to find a comfortable position, and suddenly found it hard to breathe. He wondered if he’d made a mistake choosing this vehicle. . . wondered if he’d made a mistake coming with these people. . . wondered if he was making a mistake leaving behind the city. . .
A tiny, soft hand found his forearm. He looked down into the wide eyes of the little girl. She smiled, though her eyes showed just how much fear she felt. Oliver returned the forced grin.
“Thank you,” Mia whispered. “You saved our lives.”
He nodded, afraid that any words he’d speak might crack in his throat. Mia turned away, looking toward the back of the vehicle.
“My dad said he and my mother would be right behind us,” she said. “You think they’re in one of the other vehicles?”
Oliver wrapped an arm around the little girl’s shoulder, pulling her tight enough to him so she couldn’t look up and see his frown. He swallowed hard before speaking.
“I can’t say for certain,” he whispered. “But in the meantime, I’ll make sure you and your brother stay safe.”
The little girl nodded and leaned more of her weight against him. When Oliver glanced at Paige, he saw her looking up at him with a small smile. Oliver turned the other way, looking through the small window leading to the vehicle’s cab and the front windshield, outside of which was the long line of vehicles streaming toward the opening of a large, unknown tunnel. . .
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While waiting for new books in the Great Blue Above series, please check out some of my other books.
THE GREAT BLUE ABOVE SERIES
BOOK ONE – THE CITY BELOW
BOOK TWO – THE DOME OF LIFE
BOOK THREE – THE BATTLE ABOVE
BOOK FOUR – BEFORE THE NOTHINGNESS
BOOK FIVE – THE TUNNEL WAR
BOOX SIX coming soon. . .
LIFE, INC.—If you could learn the exact moment of your death, would you? If you could see a deceased loved one for one more day—at the cost of one year of your life—would you? These are the answers Life, Inc. wants to know . . .
COMET CLEMENT SERIES (A deadly comet hurtling toward Earth and humanity’s plans to deal with the potential extinction level event.)
BOOK ONE—THE INNER CIRCLE
BOOK TWO—INTERCEPTION
BOOK THREE—THE NEW SPACE RACE
BOOK FOUR—THE THREE ARKS
BOOK FIVE—EVACUATION EARTH
BOOK SIX—FINAL DAYS
BOOK SEVEN—IMPACT
BOOK EIGHT—UNINVITED
BOOK NINE—TAKEOVER
BOOK TEN—MISSION: SURVIVAL
BOOK ELEVEN—RELOCATION
BOOK TWELVE—A SECOND CHANCE (final in series)
CRYO-MAN SERIES (A sick man dies and is put into cryo-stasis. He awakens years later to a brand-new world and is on a quest to recover his memories.)
BOOK ONE—CRYO-MAN
BOOK TWO—ROBOTROPOLIS
BOOK THREE—DEARBORN
BOOK FOUR—BEYOND RIVER CITY (final in series)
KEEPER OF THE WATER SERIES (A young girl with unexplained strength and speed dreams of a past life and soon learns why. . .)
DRINKING LIFE—BOOK ONE
RECRUITS—BOOK TWO
THE WATER QUEENS—BOOK THREE
MIDDLE GRADE NOVELS
THE HINTERLAND CHRONICLES
PIGEON IN THE PINEWOODS – BOOK ONE
BOOK TWO COMING SOON. . .
FLEA’S FIVE CHRISTMASES SERIES
THE NORTH POLE CHALLENGE—FLEA’S 1ST X-MAS
THE RUDOLPH CHALLENGE—FLEA’S 2ND X-MAS
THE JACK FROST CHALLENGE—FLEA’S 3RD X-MAS
THE FROSTIE CHALLENGE—FLEA’S 4TH X-MAS
THE SOUTH POLE CHALLENGE—FLEA’S 5TH AND FINAL X-MAS
EDDIE AND JEREMY SERIES
EDDIE AND JEREMY GO TO THE AQUARIUM—BOOK ONE
EDDIE AND JEREMY GO TO THE NORTH POLE—BOOK TWO