Tunnels 05 - Spiral

the blast subsided, there was a low groaning sound.
    “I hope that’s not the roof of Level 2,” Parry whispered.
    Then, except for the confused calls of Sergeant Finch’s cats, all was quiet.
    Drake stood up, brushing the dust from his head. “Bring lights and fire extinguishers,” he said.
    The Colonel picked up Sergeant Finch, and Drake pushed the door open. The Hub didn’t look any different, but as they went down the stairs and out into Level 2, there wasn’t much left standing — nearly all the interior walls close to the stairs had been blown away.
    Drake and Parry were checking the roof immediately above them as they advanced farther into the level, but the dense dust and smoke prevented them from seeing very far ahead. They all covered their noses and mouths with scarves and pressed forward, negotiating the rubble strewn over the ground. Eddie and Sweeney were blasting away with the extinguishers at small fires in their path.
    As they made their way around a bath thrown on its side, the smoke cleared a little and Will caught sight of a chair. It was still the right way up, but every part of it was ablaze.
    Holding up his fist, Drake came to a stop. He unwound his scarf. “Feel that?” he shouted.
    And they all did.
    The air on their sweat-drenched skin felt cold. A breeze was coming from somewhere.
    Filled with hope, they ventured farther into the floor, where the corridor had previously been. In one place their way was blocked by debris, but Drake and Sweeney heaved aside a partition wall, enabling them to proceed farther.
    The fires were more numerous as they came closer to the end of the floor. They were using the extinguishers and kicking pieces of burning timber out of the way, when Drake yelled a warning and they all hastily retreated.
    There was a crash as a whole section of the ceiling not ten feet in front of them simply dropped to the floor.
    They waited, but as the rest of the ceiling seemed to be holding in place, Drake waved them on again.
    They came to where the rooms packed with explosive had been. As they stepped around a large hole in the concrete floor, through which the level below was visible, they were all far too preoccupied to notice what lay ahead.
    But Drake had sped up. As he led the group, he’d been the first to spot the jagged breach in the Complex’s outer wall.
    Then they all saw it, and clambered through behind him.
    There were shouts of joy when, within a short distance, their feet ground not on shattered concrete but on the rocky ledge they’d seen in the cross-section plans on Drake’s laptop. They were high up on the side of the mountain, experiencing something that they hadn’t known for weeks.
    There was a huge open space above them.
    The night sky.
    “Stars!” Will yelled. “We bloody did it!”
    The Colonel was jumping up and down with Sergeant Finch still on his back, and they were both cheering.
    “Oh, yes! Fresh air!” Stephanie cried. “And snow!” she added as she held out her hand to catch the flakes.
    Everyone was hugging everyone else. Will grabbed his mother and squeezed her hard. It had been a long time since he’d done that and it felt a little strange. But he was quite unprepared for what happened next as Stephanie suddenly appeared before him and gave him a kiss on the lips.
    “Oi!” Will laughed.
    As Colly scampered madly around, Will saw that Drake and Parry were already at the end of the ledge, where they were pointing at the tiny points of light from a distant village.
    Chester hadn’t moved very far from the jagged opening in the mountain. He tried to say something to Will, but a sudden gust of wind snatched his breath away.
    “What was that?” Will shouted, but Chester averted his face as a flurry of snow fell in his eyes. He began to shake uncontrollably, although it wasn’t from the cold. Now that they’d escaped from their airless tomb in the mountain and were out of immediate danger, the stark reality of his parents’ death was finally coming home to him.
    He was gibbering to himself as his legs buckled. Elliott had already begun to move toward him and was able to catch him before he hit the ground. Mrs. Burrows was also at the boy’s side, helping to support him.
    Parry had been watching as Chester collapsed. “That snake Danforth is going to pay very dearly for his actions,” he promised in a growl.
    “First things first. We need some transport,” Drake said. “If it’s true that we haven’t yet