Tunnels 06 - Terminal

didn’t reallyunderstand what he was asking for, but right then she was prepared to agree to anything to ease his pain.
    ‘Thank you,’ Chester croaked. Martha was still hugging him, and he put his hand on her forearm and squeezed it back. As he raised his head, Stephanie could see how his eyes shone with his tears. But she could also see how firmly he’d set his jaw. He stared into Martha’s eyes. ‘I want him so badly. Can you really find him for me … find Danforth? Will you do that for me?’
    ‘You know I will,’ Martha replied, the tears streaming down her face. ‘You only have to ask,’ she said, repeating the words over and over.

    For the next twenty-four hours the New Germanian contingent hovered around Elliott, as if they were hoping that she’d perform one of her miracles for them again.
    She didn’t, and they had obviously grown tired of waiting when, out of the blue, Werner announced that they should all return to the city to stock up on supplies and gather some equipment that they needed. It was true that food was running low, but Jürgen’s priority was clearly the research: he was firing on all cylinders as he planned a full scientific evaluation of the tower and the pyramid, and also an expedition to the other two pyramids to assess the changes there.
    Will didn’t take any part in the discussions but listened with interest as Werner and Jürgen kicked around ideas about how they might use seismic equipment in the tower to detect even the smallest vibrations if anything mechanical was operating. They also debated about using a portable X-ray machine on its walls, and how they might measure the level ofany electrical activity in the tower.
    The final topic on their agenda was to film a record of the space views, as they referred to them, of the Earth the next time Elliott operated the console. It was then that Will really picked up on the sense of disappointment emanating from the two New Germanians because Elliott wasn’t revealing more of the tower’s secrets, if indeed there were any. She’d become very moody and uncommunicative again, spending much of the time asleep, although the two brothers weren’t so bold as to try to force her to do anything that she didn’t want to.
    But when Werner made the suggestion that they all prepare to head back to the city, Elliott reacted strongly to it. At first she was shaking her head and saying she wouldn’t go, and when Werner talked to her and tried to convince her, she began to shout, declaring there was absolutely no way she was leaving the tower. The bushman was standing beside her, his body language increasingly belligerent as if he was prepared to take on anyone who tried to strong-arm Elliott.
    Werner remained calm, but refused to take no for an answer, saying that he wasn’t even prepared to leave Woody behind either. ‘What if we have discovered a weapon here?’ he posed. ‘We have a responsibility – all of us – to ensure that it isn’t misused, particularly by the tribesman, who may know more than he’s telling us.’
    Elliott wasn’t having any of this, and simply went over to her sleeping bag and slid down inside it, pulling it over her head. Werner then asked Will to try to reason with her, but she wouldn’t speak to him either. And when Will raised his voice in frustration because she was continuing to hide herself, the bushman stepped close, standing over Elliott’s cocooned form in the sleeping bag.
    ‘Woody, what do you think you’re doing? Keep your bloody nose out of this!’ Will barked at him.
    When the bushman steadfastly refused to move, Will’s temper snapped. ‘This is nothing to do with you!’ he shouted at the bushman. ‘Go on – make yourself scarce, twig brain.’
    The bushman jabbered something back at him, his expression unpleasant.
    ‘You shouldn’t insult Woody. He understands more than you know,’ Elliott said, her voice muffled in the sleeping bag.
    ‘Oh,’ Will said, feeling rather small. As Elliott clammed up again, and Will knew he wasn’t going to get anywhere with her, he made a counter-proposal to Werner. He suggested that he remain behind to look after her, and also keep an eye on Woody. There was sufficient food to tide three people over for several days, and Will promised that he would update them regularly over the radio, calling them the moment anything unusual happened.
    Short of kidnapping Elliott and forcing her to go with them, Werner didn’t have much choice