Tunnels 03, Freefall

keep their hosts alive... because they're dependent on them."
    "What are you trying to say -- that the Styx are like viruses because they use people... use people for their own ends?" Dr. Burrows asked, flicking his eyebrows as if he was buying none of this. "Interesting concept, I suppose, but hardly credible."
    Drake had evidently tired of the exchange with Dr. Burrows, and turned to Will.
    "All I can say is that I'm impressed," he told the boy, then frowned deeply as if suddenly troubled by something. "Wait -- the only place you could have got these phials is from--"
    "From a twin," Will finished the sentence for him. "That's right."
    "So... so did you take them off her dead body?"
    "No, she gave them to me," Will said, his voice beginning to waver. "The Rebecca twins did try to get them back at the submarine, but I wasn't about to let them have them."
    "But these are the Styx you're talking about, and all that sounds way too easy. Are you absolutely sure these phials contain genuine Dominion virus?"
    "Well, I hope so," Will replied earnestly.
    "You need to tell me everything, right from the time you fell into the Pore," Drake said. "And take your time -- we're in no hurry."

26

    Will and Drake talked for several hours, until Drake finally got to his feet and stretched his legs.
    "So you didn't see what actually happened to the Rebecca twins, or the Limiter," he said with a grimace. "I don't like it. It's too open-ended."
    Will was unsettled by his response. "Well, either they were blown to smithereens, or if they did manage to make it inside the submarine, then they're a long way down," he said. "I just hope Martha got Chester and Elliott to the other--"
    "Oh come on, enough of this. You were going to show me where my wife is," Dr. Burrows demanded tetchily. He hadn't moved from the trunk since the set-to with Drake, but now stood up.
    "Yes, I was, wasn't I?" Drake replied. He took a stepladder from the wall, and set it up in the center of the room. Mounting it, he pushed open a hatch, then climbed through. Dr. Burrows and Will followed him, finding themselves on an area of leaded roof, the darkening sky over their heads.
    Dr. Burrows ignored the view of the square below, apparently more interested in the thick chimney stack at the side of the roof. He stood on tiptoe to touch one of the large terracotta chimney pots.
    "I was working on a theory that there are ducts built into these, for the Colony's air supply," he said, as if talking to himself.
    "They you'd be spot on," Drake confirmed. "The Fan Stations blow stale air out of some of them, while others are intakes for fresh air. In fact the whole square and many of the other buildings in the older parts of town were erected by Martineau's men, and disguise all sorts of things. But this square --
    Martineau Square
    -- is Styx Central."
    "If that's true, then why in God's name have you brought us here?" Dr. Burrows asked.
    "Other than it's the last place they'd think of looking for us, the reason I've brought you here is..." Drake tailed off. He'd raised his hand to point, but now lowered it as he watched Will intently. "Don't get too close to the side -- you might be seen," he warned the boy.
    As soon as Will had laid eyes on the edge of the roof, he'd been seized by the overwhelming desire to go towards it. That other self, who was so strong and domineering, was taking control of him again. It drove Will to take a few steps, but then he managed to stop himself from going any further. "Help me," he whispered as, breaking into a cold sweat, he sank down suddenly on the lead flat.
    "What's up?" Drake asked as he quickly went over to Will. "I didn't know you had a problem with heights."
    "I don't," Will croaked. "Or I didn't." He looked beseechingly up at Drake, trying not to cry he was so frightened. "This is something else. I keep getting this feeling like I want to... like I have to jump. I don't know what's wrong with me."
    Drake crouched beside him, his eyes full of concern. "When did this start?"
    "No long ago. It's like I want to kill myself! Am I just going mad?"
    "What is it, Will?" Dr. Burrows said, now standing helplessly by his son's side. "What's the matter?"
    "I think I might know," Drake said as he gently took hold of the boy. "They used the Dark Light on you, didn't they?"
    "Yes," Will answered, his body trembling violently as he still struggled with the urge to get up and throw himself off the roof. It was as though there was a battle taking