Tunnels 05 - Spiral

gates on another monitor. “The food drop’s arrived,” she observed.
    “It’s about time. I bet the sisters are famished. Let’s see if I can override this thing,” Rebecca One said, pressing the function keys on the keyboard until she found the view she was looking for. “Here we are.” The tractor-trailer was backing up in the loading bay. As soon as it stopped, the trailer was opened and a squad of New Germanians began to hurriedly empty its contents onto a series of barrows. “Meals on wheels,” the twin joked. “
You are my sunshine
,” she began to sing quietly to herself as she switched back to the camera inside the steamy factory space. Using the swivel stick on the desktop controls, she zoomed in on the connecting doors from the loading area. Less than a minute later, the doors swung open and in came two New Germanians with a laden barrow. Behind them, a Limiter stood guard in the entrance.
    Smelling the food, a horde of Styx women had been lurking just inside the doors.
    Rebecca One laughed maliciously. “This is going to be good.”
    Vane rushed one of the New Germanians, clawing him to the ground with amazing speed. The rest of the women immediately swarmed on both him and the other soldier, tearing at their bodies. They were so Darklit, the two soldiers did nothing to fight back.
    “I suppose we promised our sisters fresh meat,” Rebecca Two reflected as she watched the carnage. “You can’t get fresher than that.”
    Even the Limiter didn’t escape the women’s attention.
    “Wild!” Rebecca Two exhaled.
    Like an attacking spider, Vane had moved with such phenomenal speed that the trace she left on the security monitor wasn’t much more than a blur.
    In a single leap, she’d reached the Limiter, and before he knew what was happening, her insectoid legs had lashed his eyes. Staggering blindly, he tried to use his rifle to fend her off, but Alex was already on his back, her teeth in his neck.
    “The female of the species is always the deadliest,” Rebecca One said under her breath.
    “Ha! Those two!” Rebecca Two chortled as she watched. Vane and Alex were ripping the Styx soldier apart, limb from limb, while another panicked Limiter quickly sealed the doors to the factory floor behind them. “They’re so picky about what they eat.”

    As the Bedford trundled along the path of the river, the water level receded so at least their feet weren’t being swamped. Then the truck’s tires spun as they climbed the bank and were back on some sort of track.
    After a while Chester felt a pressure on his upper arm. Stephanie had drifted off, her head against him. Careful not to disturb her, he took out his flashlight, shielding it as he tried to make out the time on his watch. Before he turned the light off, its stray beam flicked over Elliott, who was sitting directly opposite him. She was wide awake and staring at him and Stephanie. It might have been due to the angle of the flashlight beam, but her expression was grim and unamused.
    Despite the fact that he was protected by the darkness, Chester felt himself color up, as if he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t.
    It was true that he wasn’t sure how to respond to Stephanie’s interest in him, particularly as he assumed that it was mainly due to the false picture Will had painted of his prowess as a skiing champion.
    And Chester felt awkward about the pace at which everything was moving, as if he was being swept along by an actual river. What it came down to was that he didn’t know how Elliott really felt about him, or how he really felt about her. There had been times when they seemed to be close, but more recently, during their stay at Parry’s house, she’d distanced herself from him, and everybody else.
    Chester was just confused.
    And he was very relieved when the Bedford eventually came to a grinding halt, which roused Stephanie.
    “Where are we?” She yawned, sitting up.
    “Don’t know,” Chester grunted, aware that he was probably still under scrutiny from Elliott.
    With a crash, Parry opened the tailgate. “Everyone out,” he said.
    Following behind Colonel Bismarck, Chester jumped from the truck, and found that they were under a shelter made of rusty corrugated sheets. He wandered a few paces into the open, squinting at the sky, where the dawn light was beginning to streak its way between the clouds. “What a surprise — it’s raining,” he complained, blinking as the drizzle fell in his