Tunnels 06 - Terminal

there’s the Ruhr!’ Werner said in an excited voice. ‘And there’s Cologne … and Essen, where our parents grew up. Isn’t that incredible!’
    It wasn’t that easy to see the river and the surrounding valley itself because dusk was settling over the area, althoughthe various towns and cities along it were sparkling with all the many lights in them.
    ‘Okay, now can we go west towards England? I’d like to have another look at it,’ Will said, again pointing so Elliott knew where he wanted her to move the focus. The wall flickered, then settled down as France appeared, its cities iridescent against the evening sky.
    ‘Now go up,’ Will directed, as Elliott moved the view across the English Channel, and then stopped. ‘There it is again!’ he exclaimed excitedly, then was silent for a moment. ‘But why’s it so dark?’
    Although nothing had appeared amiss the last time they’d seen England, it had been in daylight. The picture that greeted them now was alarmingly different. There was none of the wash of illumination you’d expect to find in London, or indeed any of the major cities in the South East.
    ‘That can’t be right,’ Will said, trying to find an explanation for the darkness. ‘Zoom in a bit closer, will you?’
    Elliott did, so they could see that there were a small number of areas in the capital that were lit up, although these were few and far between. And several areas radiated a different type of light, with a red hue.
    ‘No. Are those fires?’ Will asked, his voice thin. ‘What’s going on down there?’ He looked at Elliott. ‘Unless there’s some sort of major power cut right across the UK, it’s all gone horribly wrong.’
    ‘So maybe my father and Parry didn’t stop the Phase and—’ Elliott began.
    ‘And the Styx have already done that to England,’ Will finished for her, unable to tear his eyes from the ominous darkness across London.
    Elliott took her hand from the console and the image was immediately extinguished. ‘Not just them,’ she said. ‘Maybe it’s the Armagi.’
    Grinding his fist against his palm, Will was filled with foreboding. ‘I have to find a way to get back,’ he said. ‘If it’s not already too late.’

    In broad daylight, Drake and Jiggs stole through the disused airfield until they found the Portakabin where the security men were usually based. The door was unlocked and nobody was inside, nor was there any sign of a vehicle.
    Jiggs tried the light switch, clicking it on and off. ‘No power. Somebody forgot to pay the bill,’ he commented.
    Drake had gone straight to the telephone on one of the desks. ‘This is dead too,’ he said. As he replaced the receiver, he noticed some unfinished tea in a polystyrene cup. ‘There used to be an around-the-clock guard on this place, but there’s mould growing on that drink. Appears that nobody’s been here …’ he pulled a face as he peered at the mould in the cup, ‘… in weeks. Wonder why that is?’ For a moment Drake considered the bars of light coming through the strip blinds, where motes of dust danced slowly. ‘Anyway, the priority is to get in touch with my father or Eddie. Let’s figure out the fastest way to do that without compromising ourselves.’
    There in the cabin they carried out an equipment check, laying each item of kit out on the floor. The problem was many of the items that Drake had had on him or been carrying in his Bergen had been badly burnt in the nuclear blast.
    ‘This is totally kaput. The circuits are fried,’ Drake said, lobbing his satphone over to Jiggs, who also tried to makeit work. ‘So we’ve got some weapons and ammo, a couple of empty booster rockets, my lens, a tracker and a couple of beacons.’
    ‘And my knackered shortwave radio, which won’t get us anywhere,’ Jiggs added, putting it on top of the pile. As he began to pack the equipment away again, Drake slumped into a chair at one of the desks.
    ‘We have to get to the nearest house with a phone and leave a message on the remote server,’ Drake said. ‘As we have no idea where Parry’s got to, it’s the only way I can think of to contact him, and find out how the operation’s gone up here on the surface.’
    ‘I agree, but unless we’re lucky and find a vehicle, we’re going the slow way – on foot,’ Jiggs replied, swinging the Bergen onto his shoulders.
    ‘So be it,’ Drake said, hauling himself up wearily.
    Although it was still winter, the sun was shining