“All right. Na—soon as we get in there you put those explosives around the room. Nev, you an’ me have to take care of the rest.”
Nev tightened his grip on the hatchet Hatch had given him. His fear had long since fled, replaced by the considerable Nesmith temper that existed within his narrow form. His lips drew back in a fearsome snarl. “Don’t you worry about that. ‘Long as they’re here they’re in solid form—which means I’m gonna pound the shit out of ‘em.”
Hatch nodded. “Good luck, Nev.”
Nev winked. “You too.” He glanced at Nabu. “All right. Ready.”
Nabu used his elbow to smash the keypad—as soon as the door opened Nev sucked in a sharp breath; he could see Mich writhing in pain, her back arching. Hatch reached out and stopped Nev from charging as Mich shuddered and lay still; the younger Mike clone cocked his arm back and hurled his hatchet. It soared through the air and buried itself in the giant machine that hung from the ceiling. Sparks rained down as Nev and Hatch rushed in. Nev immediately ran to Mich and began freeing her, while Hatch hurled himself at the nearest gray person, knocking it to the floor.
Nabu crept in and immediately placed the explosives at the corners of the room, lighting each fuse in turn and praying they wouldn’t burn more quickly than he’d anticipated.
Nev yanked the last of Mich’s bindings free and pulled her up. With the pallid color of her face and her utter stillness, Nev couldn’t tell if she were dead or not.
No. She can’t be dead.
“Come on, Nev! We gotta blow!” Hatch shouted, boosting Mich up onto Nev’s shoulders. Nev hooked his arms around Mich’s knees and ran, Hatch and Nabu following close behind. The three gray people in the room were more concerned with the damaged equipment than the fleeing clones.
“Na! How long’d you set those fuses for?” Hatch shouted.
Before the stoic Mike clone could answer, an explosion rocked the tunnel, spilling the three clones and the unconscious Femme to the ground. The entire underground structure began to tremble violently as another explosion tore through it.
Nev scrambled to his feet, pulling Mich up after him. Nabu seized Mich around the middle and hoisted her onto Nev’s back.
“Come on! This way!” Hatch shouted. Nabu ran to join his twin, stopping long enough to scoop up Mich’s sword. Nev straightened, tightening his grip on Mich, and began to follow when the third explosion rocked the underground cavern. The tunnel collapsed, sending tons of dirt and mud sliding into the corridor, separating him from Hatch and Nabu. Nev reeled backward, clutching Mich. “HATCH! NA!” he roared.
“Nev!” The voice was distant and muffled, but it was still unmistakably Hatch. “We’re okay! You’re gonna have to find another way out!”
Nev bit his lip. The only exit he could find was the small tunnel that Mich and the twins had come through.
“Damn,” he muttered, lowering Mich to the ground. He crawled into the tunnel backwards, dragging Mich behind him. Sweat ran down his dirty face as he grunted and strained, wiggling his way down the tunnel while trying to keep a grip on Mich’s arms.
“Come on, Mich,” he muttered, more to himself than the Femme. “We’re gonna be okay.”
After what seemed like days of writhing inch by inch through the claustrophobic blackness he reached the end of the tunnel. As he prepared to drag Mich out the last explosion rocked the tunnel. Nev could hear the aftershocks hitting one by one, and a great tearing, rending sound issued from deep inside the earth. As he lurched against the tunnel wall he could feel it collapse.
“Shit!” he swore. Giving Mich’s arms a mighty heave, he yanked her out of the tunnel as it collapsed in a shower of dirt. Nev rolled on top of Mich, giving her what meager shielding he could, and waited for the end.
~*~
“Cin, did you find anything?” Anissa asked, alighting next to her cybersis.
“No,” Cin replied, her eyes narrowing. “We should have found them by now.”
“Well, Rin did say that he couldn’t remember exactly where he left them,” Anissa said, her voice tight with frustration. “And there’s something out here that’s blocking my telepathy. I can’t sense anything.”
“Come on,” Cin commanded. “We’re not giving up yet.” She took off, Anissa following right behind.
They had only flown a short distance when Anissa reached out and seized Cin’s arm. “Cin! Look!”
They turned and alighted next to two limping, dirt-covered figures.
“Hatch! Nabu! Are you guys okay?” Cin asked.
Hatch nodded wearily. “Yeah. Tunnel collapsed and we had to dig ourselves out.”
“Where’s Mich? And Nev?”
Hatch shook his head. “There was a cave-in and we got separated. I don’t know if they got out all right—I don’t know which way they went.”
Cin and Anissa shared startled looks. Mich couldn’t be . . . dead.
Could she?
~*~
Nev raised his head slightly, small granules of dirt sliding down the back of his shirt. Fresh air filled his nostrils.
We’re not dead . . .
The night sky above him had clouded over but he could feel the raindrops striking his face—he never thought he’d ever be so glad to breathe the night air and feel mud under his fingers and rain pelting his bare skin. The tunnel they had just emerged from had caved in, leaving a giant hole above them. With a weary sigh he pulled Mich’s arms around his neck and heaved her onto his back, crawling up the slope to freedom.
On to Chapter Twelve
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