‘Till they decide to cancel the operation,’ Danice added.
‘When’s the next one due?’ Hale asked.
Danice checked her wrist pilot. ‘Dawn. Seven hours.’
‘Then get back to the pick-up point. Lie low. Wait for extraction,’ Hale said. ‘Can you do that?’
‘Sure,’ Danice said. ‘The only problem is getting there through all that trouble outside.’
‘Dad, take me with you!’ Simon pleaded one last time.
‘No,’ Hale said. ‘I can’t.’ He lifted Simon’s chin. ‘Don’t think badly of me for running off like this.’ Then he handed Simon a folded note. ‘And read this when I’ve gone.’
Simon took it, but he didn’t trust himself to speak. He couldn’t believe he was losing his dad for a second time. He clenched his teeth to make sure he didn’t cry.
‘Bye, son! Be careful.’ Hale hesitated for a moment, then strode decisively to the next chamber and the elevator.
Simon followed for a few paces. ‘Bye, Dad!’
Hale looked back through the doorway, nodded and stepped into the lift. A few seconds later the doors slid shut and he was gone.
Simon blinked back tears.
‘It’ll be all right,’ Danice said. ‘He must know what he’s doing.’
‘He’s good at leaving,’ Simon said bitterly. ‘He knows how to do that, all right.’
‘What does the note say?’
Simon unfolded the paper, not noticing a photograph fall out of it to his feet.
There was more gunfire outside.
‘We don’t have time for this now,’ Simon said, and refolded the note. ‘Our mission’s over. Let’s get back to the pick-up point so we can go home and report to the Bureau.’
Danice took the note away from him. ‘Wait,’ she said. ‘This could be important.’ She studied the note for a second before showing it to him. On it was a roughly drawn map with some scribbled writing in the margin.
‘It’s a diagram of the Seed Bank,’ Simon said, looking closer, ‘and this is Dad’s writing. Give to David, it says. Who’s David?’
‘Maybe my father? His name is David,’ Danice replied. ‘But only my father’s very close friends call him by his first name. Do you think my dad knows your dad?’
Simon shrugged. ‘My dad seemed pretty pleased to hear that the Underground had captured an airship.’
‘What! When?’ Danice cried out. ‘How did you know that?’
‘It happened sometime today, during the riots in the city,’ Simon said. ‘Dad’s offsider told us just a few moments ago.’
‘That’s been one of Bigdad’s plans for a long time. To get an airship and go and explore the Far Lands.’ Danice held up the map. ‘Then this Seed Bank might have something to do with the Far Lands.’
‘Dad told me the Seed Bank was meant as a gift to the people of your time. You think the gift is for your dad?’
‘It could be. If we get the chance, we’ll ask him,’ Danice replied.
‘First, we’d better find a way to get out of here,’ Simon said. ‘It isn’t going to be easy!’
Then he spotted something on the floor. It was a worn and wrinkled family photo of Hale, Glenda, Lil and himself. He grabbed it, stuffed it into his thigh pouch, and followed Danice outside.
32
A red glow lit up the night sky. An airship had crashed between the cave and the western wall of the fortress. It lay at a crazy angle, with tongues of flame and clouds of acrid smoke pouring from its crumpled fuselage.
‘My dad’s airship!’ Simon said.
‘I don’t think so!’ Danice pointed. ‘They look like the Tribunes’ men.’
The dark-uniformed bodies of four dead soldiers lay sprawled by the wreckage.
A few of Hale’s guards still manned the rampart of the northern wall. But a dozen of Hale’s men, in camouflage uniforms, had retreated from the wall to the cover of a cluster of rocks. They fired into the gap in the wall, where a gate had been smashed open by an armoured vehicle. It lay overturned beside the open gate, and the Tribunes’ men were firing from the far side of the wall.
‘How the heck are we supposed to get out of here?’ Danice yelled.
A spray of bullets ripped across the compound and spattered the dust. A couple of the Tribunes’ men appeared on the top of the western wall.
Simon glanced towards an empty section of the five-metre stone wall. There seemed to be no activity there, though that didn’t mean anything. There could be soldiers on the far side. ‘Look, if we want to get back to our pick-up point, we have to go west into the Big Forest. Let’s try and get out over that way!’
‘Springers over the wall?’ Danice asked.
‘No, too risky,’ Simon said. ‘We might drop into a pond!’
Danice ignored him. ‘So, we climb it then?’
‘We’ll get closer and check it out,’ Simon replied.
He started to run, keeping his head low. There was another explosion behind them.
Simon jumped over a dead guard and the blood-soaked ground around him. They reached the steps leading to the rampart on the western wall.
Danice suddenly shrieked a warning. ‘Watch out!’
Three figures had clambered over the top of the wall and were jumping from the rampart directly above them.
Instinctively, Simon tackled the first and brought him struggling to the ground. Danice did the same with another.
Simon held his opponent down with all the weight of his body, while his right hand grabbed a rock from the ground. He lifted it, ready to smash it down again.
‘Hey … hey … stop it!’
Simon hesitated. He dropped the rock. ‘Nick! Is that you?’ he gasped. He wiped the sweat from his eyes and looked down at the helmeted face.
‘What do you think you’re doing?’ Nick yelled.
‘What do you think you’re doing?’ Simon yelled back. ‘I thought you were the enemy!’
‘And you can get off me, too!’ Taylor pushed Danice away with both arms and scrambled to her feet.
An intense surge of small-arms fire came from the northern wall.
‘Get down, everyone!’ Simon shouted. ‘Get some cover!’
They dived into a depression in the ground, behind a stack of old timber and empty barrels. Ivan, Nick and Taylor activated their wrist pilots and retracted their helmets.
‘What are you doing here?’ Simon hissed.
‘We’re the cavalry,’ Nick replied. ‘We’ve come to rescue you!’
‘Why did you appear outside the wall?’ Danice asked.
‘Our timeline actually appeared over there,’ Nick replied, pointing to the northern wall. ‘On the other side. That was your last reported position, near that gate.’
‘Unfortunately, our wormhole appeared right beside a platoon that was firing mortars,’ Taylor said, ‘so we got away quickly and followed the wall round to here, to the western side.’
Simon peered out from behind a barrel to get a better view of the wall. ‘Well, that still looks like the best way to escape.’
Ivan shook his head. ‘Uh-uh, not now. A whole lot of soldiers followed us and they’re massing outside. If they can’t break through at that northern gate, I think they’re planning to come over near here.’
There was sustained gunfire from the northern wall.
‘And we’re going to get killed if we sit around here talking!’ Simon said. ‘Follow me!’
A burst of bullets kicked up the dust as they ran across the open space and through the front entrance of the cave.
‘Should we wait here?’ Taylor said. ‘Let things die down, and then try to get back over the wall.’
‘I need some information first,’ Simon said. ‘The Bureau sent you guys to rescue us. But what were your exact instructions?’
‘To locate you and Danice, return to the timeline, and evacuate,’ Ivan replied.
Taylor checked her wrist pilot. ‘The timeline’s due to reappear in ten minutes for the pick-up.�
��
‘I doubt the fight out there’s going to be over that soon,’ Simon said.
Danice gripped Simon’s arm. ‘Also, I can’t leave from here. I have to know if Alli and Mama are all right. I have to get back to the forest first!’
Simon nodded. He understood the need for family more than ever. ‘Okay. It looks like we can’t use the timeline you three just arrived in,’ he said to the others. ‘It’s not safe out there. And the Tribunes’ men might overrun this place any minute.’ He frowned in concentration as several plans fizzed in his brain. ‘Answer me this … is the TPS that Danice and I used to get here still in emergency mode?’
‘That’s what we were told,’ Ivan replied. ‘It’s on a set return pattern.’
Simon checked his wrist pilot. ‘Then it’s still due back on its eight-hour cycle at dawn. That gives us a lot more time to get out of here safely. I say that we get down to the forest so Danice can check her family’s okay, and then we clear out on our own TPS. Everyone agree?’
They all nodded, except Danice, who shook her head.
‘Do you have a better plan?’ Simon snapped.
‘It’s just … maybe I won’t go back. To your time, that is,’ Danice said softly. ‘I helped you here, showed you around. My job’s over.’
Taylor stared at Danice in astonishment. ‘But you’re one of the team!’
‘Hey, let’s talk about this later,’ Ivan said. ‘Simon’s plan sounds feasible. The question is, how do we get to the forest?’
‘And still stay in one piece,’ Nick added.
Simon had a sudden spark of inspiration. ‘I think I’ve got an idea. Taylor’s right. We should lie low for a while. So we’ll go down in the elevator. It’s over there!’
He pointed through the archway to the chamber beyond. ‘I’ll join you in a sec. I have to fetch something Dad left behind.’
He quickly left the main cave.
‘Did I just hear him say “Dad”?’ Taylor asked.
Danice paused. ‘It’s complicated …’
‘How about the short version?’ Taylor asked as they gathered outside the elevator.
‘Well, Simon’s dad left the Time Bureau in the twenty-first century. He escaped here. And became a kind of tribal chieftain …’
‘Not this guy who’s been plundering all the gold?’ Nick asked.
‘That’s him,’ Danice said. ‘He started living here off and on last year, and he employed me and my brother and sister to pinch the gold so he could pay off the Tribunes. And now … he’s gone again. And Simon has completed our mission. Now we go home. End of story.’
‘So Simon’s dad’s the Chieftain!’ Taylor said incredulously.
‘That’s cool,’ Nick said. ‘My dad’s a Vision Control Officer.’
‘A what?’ Taylor asked.
‘He cleans windows.’
‘Ha, ha!’
‘Hey, guys, focus,’ Ivan said. ‘Where’s Simon? And where are we going next?’
‘We’re going down,’ Simon said, coming back with his dad’s Zone Relocator. ‘And we should bring this with us.’
‘What is it?’
‘A new gadget,’ Simon replied. ‘Here’s the elevator—let’s go!’
A couple of minutes later, they emerged in the coolness at the bottom of the shaft.
‘Is this where the Time Accelerator is?’ Ivan asked.
‘No,’ Simon replied. ‘We passed it on the way down. That’s where Dad went.’
‘Then what are we doing here?’ Taylor asked.
Simon flicked a switch and the lights came on. ‘Follow me—we’re going to that room at the end of the tunnel.’ Simon pointed to the steel door. ‘We can hide out there until things settle down up top.’
They jogged down the tunnel to the door.
‘Do you know the code?’ Nick asked, tapping the electronic lock at the side of the door.
Simon hesitated. ‘Um, I saw Dad punch it in. Four numbers.’
‘His birthday? Sometimes people punch in the numbers of the day and the month of their birthday,’ Ivan suggested.
Simon nodded. ‘Eleventh of October.’
‘One—one—one—zero!’ Nick said.
‘Yeah, I can work it out—thanks!’ Simon punched in the numbers. The door remained closed.
‘Try all your family’s birthdays,’ Danice said.
As Simon punched in more numbers, a thunderous tremor shook the tunnel and the ground beneath.
‘Get back! Into the doorway!’ Simon yelled.
The temponauts squeezed their backs against the door. Another huge tremor shook the walls and ceiling, and jagged lumps of rock cascaded down. Choking clouds of dust filled the space and the temponauts covered their mouths.
‘Activate helmets!’ Ivan ordered.
A smaller shock trembled through the surrounding rock and the lights went off.
‘What’s happening?’ Taylor cried out in the darkness.
‘The Time Accelerator must have been blown!’ Danice said.
‘Activate helmet lights,’ Ivan said.
The lights from their helmets projected into the dusty dimness.
‘It was Dad!’ Simon said despairingly. ‘Those explosions … he’s gone!’
‘Simon, worry about it later,’ Danice said. ‘We have to get out of here. Let’s get back to the elevator.’
Nick took the lead. The dust cloud filled the tunnel and made it almost impossible to see clearly.
‘Watch out!’ he warned. ‘There are rocks everywhere!’
They picked their way slowly along the tunnel.
Nick suddenly stopped.
‘Ouch! Hey! What’s the hold-up?’ the others said as they stumbled into him.
‘Just stop!’ Nick called out. ‘I don’t think we can go any further.’
There was a barrier of rocks between them and where the elevator should have been. Their lights focused on Nick as he scrambled up the sloping pile of rocks and touched the tunnel ceiling. He pulled a stone from the top of the pile, then another and another, and sent them rolling to the ground.
‘It’s blocked,’ he said at last. ‘Completely blocked to the ceiling. We’ll never get through here!’
‘We’re trapped!’ Danice groaned.
‘There’s nowhere to go!’ Nick howled.
‘Hey, you guys, look!’ Simon called from a few metres back in the tunnel.
They turned, and their lights weaved around before fixing on Simon. He stood where a section of the tunnel wall had collapsed onto the floor. Simon clawed at the wall, scattering more rubble around his feet.
‘What are you doing?’ Ivan called out.
‘Look! A door!’ Simon called over his shoulder.
‘What!’ yelled the others.
They stumbled down the tunnel. Their lights shone on Simon, the wall and half of what appeared to be a black-painted sheet-metal door.
‘Dad said these walls had been plastered with rocks and concrete lots of times over the years,’ Simon said. He flicked open his Swiss Army knife and picked at the render. ‘They must have covered over this door one of those times.’
Ivan poked a loose piece of wall and it dropped to the floor. ‘Yeah, he’s right. It’s what they call blown render. Probably a bad mix of stones and concrete. And it’s pretty old. It’s no longer properly bonded to the rock underneath.’
The temponauts all stared at him.
‘How could you possibly even know that?’ Nick asked.
Ivan shrugged. ‘My dad’s in construction. You pick up a few facts here and there.’
‘Thanks, Einstein,’ Taylor said. ‘Come on, this could be a way out. Let’s dig.’
Their knives worked quickly on the crumbling render until they uncovered the entire door. Simon brushed away a layer of sandy concrete to reveal some red lettering.
‘E … mer … gen …’ Nick read as it became visible.
‘Emergency,’ said Simon as he brushed away the last of the dust.
‘E
xit!’ they all yelled.
‘But where does it go?’ Ivan asked.
‘Sounds like “out of here” to me,’ Simon said. ‘But let’s try and open it first.’
‘No code lock?’ Danice asked.
‘No. Pre-codes, I reckon. Must have a handle or something.’ Simon looked to the right-hand frame of the door and halfway down. He picked away and uncovered a metal ring, fifteen centimetres in diameter and recessed in a circular metal casing.
‘It’s an iron pull-ring handle,’ Ivan said. ‘Just prise it out—and then we can give it a heave.’
Simon loosened the metal ring with his knife and swung it out.
‘I’ll hold onto the ring. You guys grab me and pull me back when I say,’ Simon said. He gripped the metal ring with both hands. ‘One—two—three!’
There was a loud creak but the door stayed fast.
‘Again! One—two—three!’
The creaking was even louder. Suddenly, the door swung open and tore from its hinges.
‘Let go of it!’ Danice yelled.
They jumped back as it crashed to the floor.
‘Rusty hinges, I reckon,’ Ivan said.
Danice stepped forward to the doorway and peered in. ‘Ugh! Spiders!’ She swiped away some trailing cobwebs and shone her helmet light into the space beyond. ‘There’s a tunnel here, too. Flat for a little way, then it starts to slope down. Quite steeply.’
‘I still want to know where it goes,’ Ivan said.
Danice turned around and tried to get her bearings. She looked down the tunnel to her right, where it was blocked. She turned a hundred and eighty degrees to the left. Then she turned again to the newly opened doorway.
‘This is an emergency exit, right?’ Danice asked.
‘That’s what it says.’ Simon replied.
‘How long’s this place been here?’
‘Back at the Time Bureau they said the nuclear power station was built over a hundred years ago. Dad said the Accelerator was built about the same time.’
Danice nodded. ‘And maybe there weren’t so many wild animals in the forest then.’
‘So can you even make a guess where this tunnel goes?’ Ivan asked.
Danice smiled. ‘It goes to the Big Forest. If it’s an emergency exit, it would be because people wanted to get out of here quickly and get some distance away. Judging by the direction it’s going, I’d guess it leads right down to the base of the cliffs.’
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