Page 46 of Nikolai
“Not many people are.We have an atavistic fear of the dark.It’s in our DNA.”
Parker kept patting the wall.She’d been afraid of the dark since forever.Her boarding schoolteachers had been kind, and she’d always been allowed a night light.She controlled it better, but right now she had to admit to herself that if Nick hadn’t had his magic satphone, she’d be freaking.
“I’ll bet you’re not afraid of the dark.”
His hand tightened on her shoulder and fell away.“No, it’s trained out of us.We love the dark because it provides cover.And soldiers are self-selected for certain traits anyway.”
She sighed.
“On the other hand, I couldn’t do what you do.Not in a million years, not with any amount of training.”
“I don’t know—” Parker stopped.
He picked up on it immediately.“Yeah?You got something?”
She scratched at a section of wall, and it crumbled.A second later, her hand went through.She circled her hand making the hole larger.Cool air circulated and oh God, it felt good.Air moving must come from the world above them, not like the tomb-like air they’d been breathing, undisturbed for centuries.This air was life.
“Here honey, let me.”Nick moved in front of her, and she stepped to the side.Yes, he could do this better.She handed him the knife, and he attacked the wall one-handed.His one arm was better than two of hers, and the wall melted as he slashed.Debris rained down, and the hole kept getting bigger until it was a little smaller than a door.
Nick stabbed the knife into the dirt wall to store it and pulled up his satphone and shone it inside the big hole he’d created.
Nick moved his phone around and she could see some kind of circular structure.Definitely modern cement, definitely not Roman.Like some huge tube or pipe.The bottom was round and filled with dirt.She looked up when Nick illuminated the top.There was a huge crack in the cement and some light filtered through.Daylight!
Daylight was salvation!She was moving forward when Nick’s good arm barred the way.
“Let me go first.We don’t know how fragile this structure is.I don’t want a ton of material to fall down on you.”
A ton of material had already fallen down on him and wounded him.But Parker knew it was pointless protesting.She stepped aside and Nick moved slowly and warily into the huge hole that had been opened.
He was careful with each step he took, shining his satphone to the roof of the structure about twelve feet high and then back to the flooring.Just when he was about to disappear around a corner he stopped and looked back at her.“Come on.Be careful, but it feels solid.We’re in some kind of concrete tunnel that cracked open with the earthquake.”
Parker stepped gingerly over the stone threshold and into what he called a tunnel.It probably was.Under her boots, the flooring was stable.Concrete.Who knew how long it had been since the big earthquake, but long enough to get used to unstable surroundings.
The tunnel felt solid.She walked slowly toward Nick.Unafraid that debris would fall on her.Looking up, she could see big cracks in the ceiling where the earthquake had wrenched the tunnel apart.The light she could see through the wide cracks was golden, late afternoon sunlight.
The crack was wide in some areas, big chunks of fallen concrete right underneath.She skirted several on her way to Nick.So grateful to see him by the light of day and not by the light of his satphone.Though they would definitely need the phone when night fell, in a couple of hours.
She looked up uneasily.The top of the tunnel with its cracks was at least twelve feet high.There were points where, with some luck, and if she stood on Nick’s shoulders, Parker could perhaps reach the roof.She didn’t think she had the upper body strength to pull herself out.Nick had the strength, but he couldn’t pull himself out.Not with that wounded shoulder.
She walked straight into Nick’s arms and felt them tighten around her.“We’re going to make it,” he said in his deep voice.Parker mumbled something into his shoulder.They might make it.They might not.If anyone could get them out, it was Nick, but there were no guarantees.
But ohmygod, it felt so good being held by him.
Parker stepped out of his arms.Being held by him was almost addictive.She felt immediately better when she was touching him.But she had to let go because they weren’t safe yet.
“Let’s follow this tunnel,” Nick said and she nodded.The further away they got from what had almost been their tomb, the better.
They turned the corner and saw a long stretch of tunnel before them.The good news was that the top was even more broken, with long stretches open to the air.The bad news was that there was more rubble to avoid.
Parker looked up.There was a long fissure that opened up enough to accommodate even Nick, though she had no idea how Nick could get up there.“Should we try to get out here?”
“There’s a door at the end of this stretch of corridor.Let’s see if it leads to an exit.”
“Thereis?”Parker squinted as Nick held his satphone up and shone it down the corridor.Yes, there did appear to be a something in the distance.She hadn’t noticed it.Hadn’t even thought of looking further down.They definitely needed to go look and see what it was.Something was better than nothing.
They walked for what felt like a long time, stepping over concrete rubble.Checking the ceiling constantly.Parker paid attention to what she felt below her feet.At the first sign of shaking she was going to hug the wall.Or hug Nick, whichever was closest.
The ground was dusty and dry and filled with debris.Finally, they came to a halt at the end of the long tunnel.
