Tunnels 06 - Terminal

thinking, and rubbed his shoulder affectionately with what was left of her damaged hand. ‘We’re safe wherever we go, love – don’t you worry.’ She took the stubs of her fingers from him, then swept her hand towards the sky. ‘My little fairy protectors are up there, always watching out for me. They never sleep – not for long anyway. They’ll let me know if anyone’s close.’
    ‘So you caught that first Bright in Norfolk,’ Chester asked, curious to know what had happened.
    ‘Yes – after we fought long and hard, I tricked her into the water,’ Martha replied. ‘I trapped her there, but I didn’t kill her.’
    ‘Her?’ Chester echoed.
    ‘Yes, I fed her and kept her captive, and to my surprise, she had her bairns.’
    Chester’s brow furrowed. ‘Bairns? What’s that?’
    ‘You know – babies,’ Martha replied. ‘That was why I’d been able to overpower her. She was with young, and it made her slow. The bairns were born in little bags, and from them came tiny Brights, like little fairies. Smaller even than the Miner Birds you get in the Colony.’
    ‘And they didn’t go for you or attack you or anything?’ Chester asked.
    ‘No, because of their mother. I’d kept her tied up, and Ikept the bairns all well fed with rodent catches while my hand and ribs healed.’ Martha rubbed her rather rotund chest to emphasise how painful it had been for her. ‘And when it was time to move on I didn’t have the heart to kill them. So I cut her free, but she stayed with me, and as you can see she’s still with me, and looking out for me.’
    ‘Truly a guardian angel,’ Chester laughed.
    Martha nodded. ‘I reckon at one time they lived up here on the surface, because in a matter of weeks they grew used to the gravity. You can see how fast they are now.’
    ‘So maybe Dr Burrows was right,’ Chester said. ‘They were up here once, and maybe they’re why we have those stories about mythical creatures. The idea for angels, even.’
    At the mention of Dr Burrows, Martha stopped grinning. ‘But, my sweet, you’ve had a rough old time of it, haven’t you? I told you not to trust Topsoilers. They’ll never be your friends. That man back there did for your family, didn’t he? What made him do that?’
    Chester didn’t feel prepared to go into it right there and then. ‘Parry? It wasn’t him exactly, but he was in on it. Look, Martha, I’ll tell you all about it later, but my mum and dad got caught up in someth—’
    He ducked as two Brights crossed right in front of them, in opposite directions. ‘My God, they’re quick,’ he said. He’d only had the briefest flash of white intersecting with white before they were both gone.
    ‘Shhh!’ Martha said. ‘And load this for me, will you?’ she asked, keeping her voice low as she passed her crossbow over.
    Chester took it from her. She’d been parted from her ancient-looking crossbow back in Norfolk, and this replacement was definitely Topsoil-manufactured, the lightermaterials making it more suitable for single-handed use. And Martha had made a few modifications to it, which included a few strips of muddy sacking wound around it and a few clumsy dabs of paint to camouflage it.
    ‘Sure,’ Chester confirmed. He cocked the weapon, then from the quiver over her shoulder selected a bolt. As he seated this in the crossbow, he noticed the shaft was stained with blood, and that tiny pieces of meat were stuck to the point.
    Martha was scanning behind them.
    ‘What is it?’ he whispered.
    ‘See how they’re flying low and to the sides,’ she said. Chester could just about make out the blurry streaks as the Brights zipped above the trees to the left of the path and in the lee of the cliff on the other side. It was as if they were stalking prey. ‘You see, my fairies warn me if anyone comes close,’ Martha continued. ‘Let’s get in here and wait for them.’
    They moved into the trees, and Martha raised her crossbow. After a short while, Chester spotted a head bobbing along as someone climbed the path up a slight incline. He turned to Martha. ‘Looks like just one person. Will the Brights attack them?’
    ‘They won’t do a thing without my say-so,’ Martha whispered. ‘You know that person, don’t you? Wasn’t she with you?’ she asked, pointing with her chin.
    As Chester looked back, his heart skipped a beat.
    Where the path rose from a slight depression, a single figure was in full view and striding purposefully