Tunnels 04, Closer

anyway. Right from the start it was you and Chester, you and Chester... going out on patrol together all the time, like bosom buddies," he yelled at her, so livid he didn't know what he was saying any more.
    "Maybe that's because he needed to learn more than you did," she shouted back.
    "Or maybe you just liked him more than me," Will leveled at her.
    "Far be it from me to intrude on your -- what do you call it -- your tiff with your girlfriend, b--" the Colonel began to say to Will, but was cut off by another eruption from him.
    "Hah! You've got to be joking!" Will spluttered, touching his smarting cheek where Elliott had struck him. "She's not my girlfriend and never will be!"
    This elicited chuckles from the soldiers inside the helicopter, who fell silent as their colonel gave them a stern glance.
    "And you'll never be my boyfriend, because Chester's right -- you're a freak!" Elliott countered.
    "I'm sorry to hurry you, but we have to take off," Colonel Bismarck continued. "The storm is coming this way, and we don't have much fuel in the reserve tanks."
    Breathing stertorously like an angry bull, Will stomped across the dry ash. But he didn't go far, stopping to look at the horizon with his hands on his hips. The Colonel sorted out some rations for Elliott, then tried to give her some weapons.
    "I've got a couple of pistols in my rucksack," she said, declining his offer.
    But he wouldn't hear of it, and provided her with a pair of Lugers and one of the Schmeissers Will had admired, along with spare ammunition. "In case you come across any unfriendly animals," he told her, with a wink.
    "Thank you. I won't forget this," Elliott said, then shouted across to Will. "Make your mind up! Are you staying? Or are you going with them?"
    Although he kept his back to her, he shook his head. "No," he grunted in response.
    The Colonel wished Elliott good luck, and gave her a salute as the helicopter returned to the air. She watched it go, shielding her eyes from the thick clouds of ash that the blades had swept up from the ground. Only when the helicopter had passed out of sight, and all was silent except for the sound of the howling wind, did Will finally turn to Elliott. He appeared to have calmed down a little as he picked his way slowly toward her. "So tell me... why did you say it's not over yet? What's this genius plan of yours?"
    Ignoring Will, Elliott began to make a fuss over Bartleby, wiping the layer of fine ash from his bald head. "Back there at the pyramid, you were a very good cat. You did what you were told, didn't you?" she said, kneading his temple.
    As Will heard the deep purring of the Hunter, he was becoming increasingly frustrated that Elliott was shutting him out. "Why won't you answer me? It's the least you can do!" he ranted, his temper flaring all over again. "I have a bloody right to know what you're planning. If it's true what they said, I've lost both my parents now. My mum's probably dead, and that foul scum just murdered my dad."
    "I know, I saw it," she said, glancing at Will. "And you must know how sorry I am, but now's not the time to think about it. You can do that later."
    "You've got something up your sleeve, haven't you?" Will asked. "Tell me what it is."
    Elliott nodded once. "Okay. I'm going Topsoil -- through that tunnel I found by the waterfall."
    "Topsoil? What the hell for?" Will said, his brow furrowed as he tried to work out what she was intending to do. "That doesn't make any sense. The Dominion's here... in this world."
    "I'm going Topsoil because whether or not Drake's still alive, I've got to get the vaccine to someone there."
    "But... but... I don't get it." With an expression of pure bemusement, Will took a few steps toward her, hesitating for a moment, before taking a few more. "But you smashed the vaccine vial -- the one with the white top?"
    "Yes, I did," Elliott confirmed, as she used Dr. Burrows' compass to check the bearing. Then she strode away from Will, who broke into a run to catch up with her, raising a small trail of dust behind him. "But not before I'd swallowed the contents," she added, almost as an afterthought.
    Will came to a sudden halt as the penny dropped. "Then... then we have got the vaccine!" he exclaimed. "It's in you !"

22

    Chester was completely exhausted and not paying much attention to his surroundings. But as Drake drove them through the London streets on the way back to the warehouse, the boy was so exhilarated that he felt as if he was floating