Tunnels 06 - Terminal

Colony’s caverns and utilities – had been whisked away by the Styx for their breeding programme, those who were left quickly mobilised. And the carts of stone and equipment drawn from the Colony’s building yards kept coming.
    With the knowledge that a full-scale breach would lead to their underground city being swamped by thousands of gallons of water, and very likely make it uninhabitable, the Colonists laboured tirelessly to reinforce and shore up the portals into the Labyrynth by constructing reinforcing wallsacross them. And where the portals were judged to be strong enough to withstand the weight of water, the Colonists hammered caulking into the joints around the edges of the metal doors in an attempt to stem any seepage.
    Mrs Burrows was on hand to give as much information as she was able, although it was becoming more difficult for her as the huge volume of water completely filled the Labyrynth network, stopping her olfactory probes from penetrating into it.
    And it was the best part of twenty-four hours before the Colonists took a break from their efforts. Tired, soaked and covered in dirt, they all gathered on the main track, where the flow of water continued but didn’t seem to be getting any worse.
    ‘That much water can’t come from anywhere else but the Thames, can it?’ Mrs Burrows asked the First Officer.
    ‘I’m afraid that’s right,’ he answered. ‘They blew the canopy over the Eternal City. Exactly as Drake said they might, one day.’
    Mrs Burrows shook her head. ‘But if they’ve gone that far, what else are the Styx doing? We have to find out what’s happening Topsoil,’ she said. ‘They might need our help.’
    ‘I don’t know …’ the First Officer said, placing his hefty boot on one of the small streams of water, and watching it find a new course in the damp dirt. ‘We’ve got troubles enough of our own here. Last thing we want is to open up a portal and have the White Necks swoop in on us again.’

    They walked in silence, Will occasionally throwing glances at Elliott as he wondered what was wrong because she didn’t seem to be herself at all. While he was used to her beingcandid with him, Elliott’s behaviour towards Jürgen had been out of character, and Will didn’t know the reason for it.
    Only when they came nearer to the tower could they appreciate its sheer scale as it spiked into the bright sky. The exterior was completely smooth and grey, with only the odd patch where soil marked it. The overhanging disc-type structure at the top was difficult to look at because of the intensity of the sun, but once they were close enough at least it provided them with some shade.
    And there was Woody, standing like a sentinel by the base of the tower where the ground was littered with piles of shattered rock and large boulders. Will put this down to the fact that the tower had burst up through the ground, bringing up strata from deep in the crust.
    Woody was watching Elliott attentively as they headed towards him. He didn’t seem to have any qualms about meeting her eyes now. In fact, since the inexplicable event at the pyramid the diminutive man in his sunglasses and silly hat had gone through a transformation from an eccentric-looking but harmless member of the party to a rather ominous one, to the extent that both Will and Jürgen were actually rather wary of him.
    But Elliott evidently didn’t have any such reservations as she went right up to the bushman. He stepped aside to reveal that behind him was another of the symbols with the three diverging rays.
    There was no other feature that Will could see on the curved exterior of the tower – just the three rays indented into the perfectly smooth and unmarked wall. ‘That looks just like the panel you touched back at the pyramid,’ he noted.
    And, as if there was some kind of tacit understandingbetween Woody and Elliott, the bushman’s eyes were glued to the three indentures as she stretched a hand towards them.
    ‘No, you don’t! No way!’ Will shouted immediately, lunging at Elliott to seize hold of her and pull her away from the symbol. ‘I’m not going to let you do that!’
    Elliott reacted calmly. ‘It’s okay, Will. There’s no danger to any of us. Really.’
    He released her, letting his arms hang limply by his sides. ‘Just think about the last time you did this.’
    She shook her head. ‘That’s not going to happen again.’
    Will’s voice lifted a tone as his frustration grew. ‘Oh,