Tunnels 06 - Terminal

sorry for your loss.’
    When Chester didn’t answer immediately because he was so tongue-tied, the President looked uneasy, as if he’d got the facts wrong. ‘I’m sorry … about your mother and father … that is correct, isn’t it?’ he asked, with a quick glance at Bob.
    Chester tried to say ‘Yes’, but combined it with a simultaneous ‘Um’, so what he actually came out with sounded like ‘Yum’. He wanted to punch himself. Oh. My. God. The US President just told me he was sorry about my parents’ death and I said ‘Yum’ to him!
    The President made out he was searching for the right page in front of him to mask his discomfort. ‘Right, I’ve read Bob’s briefing about the … the …’
    Bob whispered in his ear at this point. ‘About the Colony,’ the President went on, ‘and also this Germanic world at the centre of the Earth, and I have to admit I’ve been finding the whole yarn rather difficult to swallow. I get it that a group of underground – truly underground – insurgents have surfaced and are using their kitchen-table bioweapons and technology to bring your country to its knees, but the rest of what’s been going down … it sounds like the plot from a bad sci-fi movie. So I’d like to hear your side of things, Chester, because youwere there. You’ve lived through all this.’ He held Bob’s briefing note up. ‘Convince me that it’s real.’
    Chester’s mouth gaped open as the cabin seemed to be swaying, although it had nothing to do with the rough sea outside.
    Talk about being put on the spot.
    The President of the US was asking for his version of events!
    How could he, mere Chester Rawls, formerly of Highfield where he attended the High School until he went on the run, even begin to tell the leader of the free world about what had happened?
    ‘Chester,’ Parry prompted the boy when he failed to speak. ‘I know this isn’t easy for you, lad, but just take your time.’
    ‘But … but where do I start?’ Chester croaked, finally finding his voice.
    ‘From the beginning,’ the President said. ‘We’ve got all the time we need.’
    Parry placed his hand on Chester’s shoulder. ‘From when Dr Burrows went missing, and you and Will found the tunnel under his house.’
    ‘Okay,’ Chester said. He took a deep breath and began to tell his story.
    Whenever Chester faltered, Parry was ready to step in and help out. And when Chester began to speak about the run-up to his parents’ death in the Complex, he was finding it so painful that Parry took over and finished the account for him.
    ‘And I don’t have to tell you what the situation is today, sir,’ Parry said as he came to the end.
    ‘Thank you, both of you. That’s quite a tale,’ the Presidentsaid, then leant back in his chair. ‘Can you tell me something, Chester? You’ve been in the thick of this for longer than anyone … these Stikes – I know they’re not like us – but what’s driving them? What’s their ultimate goal? To stamp out all human life?’
    ‘Well …’ Chester began.
    ‘I suppose what I’m really asking is, can we negotiate with them?’ the President added.
    ‘Uh, negotiate?’ Chester said, surprised by the question but considering it. ‘I don’t believe they want all people dead – they just want to weaken us enough so that we’re not a threat, and they can get control of the surface. It’s like they think it belongs to them. I suppose you could try to negotiate with them – they’re open to deals – but there’s no way you can ever trust them. They don’t think we’re equal to them. They’ve been messing things up for us with plagues and sabotage for centuries.’
    The President was rubbing his chin. ‘So this current act of aggression isn’t about money, or a bid to have their own country?’
    ‘Their own country?’ Chester couldn’t stifle a chuckle. ‘You could offer them that, but you should know …’ Chester was staring straight at the President, ‘you should know that even if they accepted that as an offer, they’ll come for you, for America, some day. Nothing gets in their way when they want something, and they want it all.’
    ‘Okay, that’s pretty unequivocal.’ The President picked up one of Bob’s briefing notes and read a few lines before he looked up again. ‘Commander, let’s cut to the chase, shall we? Your European neighbours are refusing to have anything to do with you, but you’re asking my country to make a