Tunnels 06 - Terminal

them. ‘And all this feels like stone, same as on the floor below, same as everywhere.’
    Elliott and Woody had gone straight to the tallest console in the centre of the podium. They were both staring at it, at the very top. They both looked troubled.
    Will exhaled sharply. ‘I know something’s wrong. If you don’t tell me what it is, I swear I’ll never talk to you again,’ he threatened Elliott.
    ‘Something’s missing from here,’ she said.
    ‘What do you mean?’ Will asked, becoming even more disconcerted by the way his friend was acting. ‘What’s missing? And how could you know that?’
    ‘I don’t know how I know,’ Elliott gasped. ‘It’s like in a dream when something terrible happens – the worst thing you can possibly think of – and you wake up with that awful feeling of dread, but you can’t remember why exactly.’ As her gaze met Will’s, he noticed that a tear was tracing its way down the dirty skin of her face. ‘I wish I could tell you exactly, but something doesn’t feel right. Something that should be here isn’t.’
    ‘What else can you feel then?’ he challenged her, trying to keep his voice calm.
    She moved to one of the smaller consoles. ‘Well, I also know that if I do this …’ She splayed her fingers out and pressed her palm onto the top of the console.
    The circular wall around the space suddenly came alive with bright pictures. Jürgen was so startled that he took a rapid step backwards and lost his balance, ending up on one knee.
    Different images of the Earth’s surface – apparently from a viewpoint out in space – covered every inch of the external wall.
    ‘How …?’ Will gasped. Through wispy patches of cloud cover, he was looking at multiple images of continents and oceans. The different views were moving, passing around the walls, overlapping as they went.
    ‘And I know if I do this,’ Elliott said, swiping a single finger across the console, the surface of which was now glowing with blue lines and strange symbols, ‘then I can get closer.’
    Jürgen was muttering something as he remained on the floor, his mouth agape as he watched the different scenes.
    ‘And I also know if I do this …’ Elliott continued; she slida finger over the panel and one image spun around the walls and stopped where they could all see it just in front of Jürgen, ‘… then this is where I’m meant to be.’
    Will’s eyes darted from the image to Elliott and back. ‘Me too,’ he said very quietly. ‘Because that’s England.’
    Elliott took her hand from the console and the images were suddenly gone, and everything was as it had been before.
    Except Woody was on his knees and gabbling away to himself, his hands pressed together as if he was praying.
    Elliott turned towards Will as her shoulders shook and she began to sob. ‘Will, I’m frightened,’ she managed to say. She held her arms towards him and tried to take a step in his direction, but almost fell. ‘What’s happening? Please, can you just hold me?’ she begged him. ‘Please.’

 
     
     
    Chapter Nine

    A s he walked along the cliff path with Martha, Chester thought he caught the sound of a helicopter’s rotors over the wind. ‘Good bloody riddance,’ he said under his breath, because it was likely to be Parry leaving.
    Now she had Chester back, there was a very big grin permanently stretched across Martha’s grubby face. ‘I’ve got us a nice place to go, dearie,’ she said. ‘We’ll be all nice and warm there.’
    ‘Great,’ Chester replied with forced cheerfulness. He was still so angry that he could barely think about anything else.
    ‘And I bet you could do with something to eat too,’ Martha added.
    ‘Um,’ Chester began uncertainly. ‘Just one thing on that front.’
    Martha looked at him. ‘Yes, my love?’
    ‘About my food – from now on I want to know exactly what’s in it. Would that be okay?’
    ‘Of course, my sweet boy,’ Martha said, ‘and about that time. I h—’
    ‘No, please don’t tell me. Don’t want to hear. Don’t want tohear,’ Chester was repeating, holding his hands over his ears.
    ‘Ha, all right,’ Martha cackled. ‘All I’ll say is needs must ,’ she added as they continued on their way. ‘Needs must, dearie.’
    Glad that he’d got that off his chest, Chester was wondering if they were a little exposed, on a track that was obviously well used, and particularly as it was broad daylight.
    Martha divined what he was