Tunnels 03, Freefall

Dr. Burrows resumed his work on a numerical sequence, which was making no sense to him at all.
    After a while his concentration was broken by a distant droning. He immediately dismissed it as the wind, telling himself it was another of the violent storms, of which there were many. It sounded as if it was too far away to be a concern, so there was no need to get himself under cover. But then he heard the noise again, louder this time, and it didn't sound anything like the wind. He wiped his brow, then rose to his feet to study the sky.
    He couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, but he realized he wasn't in the best position, so he vaulted up the tiers until he reached the very top of the pyramid. There he walked across the level plateau of stone, passing the radio beacon that Will had left the very first time they'd climbed it.
    "What a view," Dr. Burrows sighed, never failing to be impressed however many times he saw it. From this elevated position, he was a considerable way above the canopy of the rainforest, which stretched out before him like some rolling green sea, broken only by the tops of the other pyramids.
    "Where's the storm?" he said to himself, not seeing any clouds as he scanned the horizon on each side.
    Instead he spotted something in the distance.
    Stepping slowly across to the other side of the pyramid, he shielded his eyes with his hand as he tried to make out what it was.
    "What the hell is that?"
    Something was moving across the clear, white sky.
    Something that as he looked further was terribly familiar.
    He reeled, nearly losing his footing at the edge of the pyramid.
    And as it changed direction and began to come towards the pyramid, Dr. Burrows could clearly hear the whine of its single prop engine.
    "An aeroplane? Here?" he said soundlessly.
    As he strained to see more, he wished he had his binoculars with him.
    But there was no doubt.
    It was an aeroplane.
    And, yes, it was strangely familiar.
    He recognized the W shape of the wings. It was still some distance away, but as it tipped into a full dive he could hear the howl of the siren on the aircraft, issuing one of the most distinctive and feared sound of the Second World War.
    "A German bomber," Dr. Burrows gasped, nearly losing his footing again. "A Stuka!"

    The End

    (To be continued in Book Four of the Tunnels series: Closer)