Tunnels 06 - Terminal

we’re walking into here,’ she whispered. ‘This could be a trap.’
    Will was dismissive of the suggestion. ‘But they need us more than we need them, don’t they?’ he replied.
    ‘Werner says we have to bring you inside to take your blood under sterile conditions,’ Jürgen said, breaking into their conversation. ‘That means you have to be decontaminated, and this is how we’re going to do it. Karl and I will go through first, then it’s your turn. On the other side of these doors you’ll find the primary sterilisation chamber, where wewash down our suits and go under the banks of UV light before we remove them. In the next room is the secondary chamber where we shower again and dress before we can enter the quarantine ward.’
    ‘But are we really able to go in there too? We can wash, but what about any virus in us? Will asked.
    ‘My brother’s an expert in these procedures, and he thinks we can minimise the risk,’ Jürgen said. ‘Just remember that you have to leave all your clothes and equipment in the sealed boxes in the primary chamber before you go through the rest of the procedure I’ve described to you. Once you’re finished, you should don the gowns I’ll put out for you. And you should wear face masks to ensure that you don’t exhale any virus into the ward.’
    ‘Got it. Okay,’ Will replied, pretending to be comfortable about the process.
    ‘We’ll let you know over the intercom when you can enter,’ Jürgen said, hesitating before swivelling his cylindrical helmet in Will and Elliott’s direction. They could see his eyes as he added, ‘And thank you for helping us. I can’t tell you what this means to us … to me … it means Karl has a chance.’ Then he put his hand on his son’s shoulder, guiding him away. There was a hiss of air and the polythene sheeting around the room stirred as he pulled on the heavy door, and they both went in.
    Twenty minutes later Jürgen’s voice came over the intercom, telling them it was their turn. As Will came to the door, there was a clunking sound as solenoids drew back the bolts in the heavy steel door and he was able to open it. There was another rush of air – a higher air pressure was clearly being maintained in the quarantine ward to stop any air from leaking in.
    Although everything was made of stainless steel, the interior of the first decontamination area had the feel of a changing room, with lockers and showers down either side of it. Will squashed his Bergen into one of the lockers, followed by his Sten. He began to unbutton his shirt, but then twisted around to Elliott, who was standing quite still in front of another locker. She’d been about to deposit her weapon inside a locker beside the other two Limiter rifles she’d been carrying.
    ‘What’s wrong?’ Will asked.
    ‘We’re going into this completely empty-handed. No weapons … that makes me very uncomfortable,’ Elliott whispered.
    ‘You stay here then. I’ll go in by myself,’ Will suggested. ‘They only need to take blood from one of us.’
    ‘No way! We stick together – at all times,’ she replied quickly, then sighed. ‘But we don’t need to put ourselves in this position in the first place. If we make a run for it, they’ll never catch us. And we can make sure they never find us again.’
    ‘Don’t we owe them?’ Will replied. ‘Whatever you say, we’re partly to blame for what’s happened. How long can they go on living like this until someone screws up and they get infected? Or they run out of power or water or something?’ As Elliott didn’t speak, Will added, ‘You’re not very trusting, are you? Don’t you think if Drake had been here, he’d have tried to help them? Help save the life of that little kid?’
    Elliott seemed taken aback by this. ‘I honestly don’t know,’ she said, biting her lip as she thought. ‘I suppose so. But if we do this and it goes wrong, it was your call, and it’s on your head.’
    ‘Righty-ho,’ Will said, then added hesitantly. ‘Um … one thing though …’
    Elliott was unbuckling her belt. ‘What’s that?’ she asked.
    Will waved his hand at her side of the chamber. ‘No peeking, okay? You keep your eyes to your side, and I’ll do the same. Deal?’
    ‘Er … yes … deal,’ she confirmed, realising what he was saying.
    They went through the decontamination procedure in bashful silence, stripping down and washing, then standing under the banks of ultraviolet light as they faced