Beneath the Fallen City, Jamie A. Waters [ebook reader .TXT] 📗

She glanced back and offered a teasing smile. “I don’t die that easily. Besides, I like keeping you on your toes.”

His forehead creased, and he rubbed the back of his neck. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed.”

Although touching, Carl’s concern left her disconcerted. Would she ever grow accustomed to people worrying about her? Maybe she did take some risks, but they were hers to take. Kayla had been on her own for too long to just sit back and let someone else run the show.

Deciding a change of topic was necessary, she said, “Thanks for coming out here. Do you have any idea what caused the shaking?”

Carl shook his head. “Not yet. Our initial stability scans didn’t show any potential for seismic activity, but the readings we just received say different. I notified OmniLab on my way over. I believe they’re going to launch an investigation.”

Kayla frowned. The scanners should have picked something up. Luckily, there hadn’t been any more tremors since the initial incident, but it was always a possibility.

Before she could ponder the issue further, Cruncher returned with the water testing kit. “It’s all yours, girl. You found it, you get to take the sample.”

She flashed him a huge smile and eagerly took the kit. It was a metallic box with a cushioned lining, which contained several empty vials where samples could be stored and tested. Careful to remove one of the vials without breaking it, she knelt beside the river. Once a small amount of river water had been collected, she slid the detector wand into the vial. A moment later, the unit beeped and displayed the reading on the screen.

Carl took a step toward her. “What does it say?”

Kayla shook her head, studying the display. It couldn’t be right. “I must have gotten an error. I’ll try it again.”

Carl knelt next to her, watching while she collected another sample and ran the test again. When the reading displayed the same result, Kayla bit her lip. She looked down at the river and back at the display, contemplating its accuracy. Was it possible this was the first nontoxic water source they’d seen in generations?

She glanced up at Carl, who was frowning and rubbing his chin. It looked like he was wondering the same thing, but neither one wanted to give voice to their hope. A discovery of a relatively clean water source could revolutionize their efforts in locating new resources.

“There might be a problem with that machine,” he said cautiously. “We can take a couple of samples back with us and test it at camp.”

Kayla nodded and bent down to retrieve a few more samples. After locking them into the water testing box, she slid the unit into her bag and stood to find Cruncher touching one of the stalagmites with an expression of awe on his face. He shook his head and said, “This place is incredible. I’ve seen images of caves on pre-war data cubes, but seeing it in person is unreal.”

Carl nodded in agreement and motioned for them to start heading out. “We’ll need to run more stability tests and get some additional equipment down here. Once we get the water test results, we can plan our next move.”

Kayla stared into the darkness and bit her lip, hesitant to leave. Caution was warranted, but she was really curious how deep the cavern went. It wouldn’t take long to explore just a little further.

Before she could take a step toward the darkness, Carl wrapped his hand around hers. “Don’t, sweetheart, the river will still be here tomorrow. Until we figure out what caused the earthquake, it’s not worth risking your safety.” She opened her mouth to argue, but he pressed a finger against her lips. “Veridian’s above ground. Your little stunt with switching channels aside, he’s been worried about you since it happened. Let him see you’re okay before you get into a worse situation.”

Kayla wrinkled her nose. That was a low blow. As much as she wanted to explore, Carl was right. The man had the insufferable tendency to consistently be the voice of reason. Veridian usually went along with her schemes, but he still worried. She blew out a breath and slumped her shoulders. “Fine, but no one else gets to come down here without me.”

The corner of his mouth twitched in a small smile, and he nodded. With one last longing glance at the river, she added, “I want to see if OmniLab has some flotation devices and underwater cameras we can use to explore this tunnel. I might be able to rig up an underwater speeder using compressed air so we can find out how far and how deep it goes.”

He chuckled, slipping his hand behind the small of her back and nudging her in the direction of the tunnel. “That can be arranged. Figure out what you’ll need so we can put in a requisition.”

Kayla pulled on her helmet and considered the necessary equipment. Caught up in mentally designing an underwater speeder, she barely noticed Carl lifting her back into the narrow tunnel. Details and possibilities raced through her thoughts while she climbed after Cruncher. The sooner they got back to camp, the faster she could start working.

Excitement lightened their feet, and it took less time than expected to make their way back through the ruins. Once they reached their equipment, Kayla climbed into her harness and pressed the button to pull herself up to the surface.

Veridian’s face lit up in relief when he saw her. Taking his offered hand, she let him pull her the rest of the way out of the ruins. Before she could even remove her harness, he enveloped her in a tight hug. She returned the gesture and then ducked out of the way so he could help Carl and Cruncher.

Kayla removed her helmet and grabbed a couple of hydrating packs. She tossed one to both Carl and Cruncher before opening hers. Exhausted, she sat and drank it down while Veridian packed up the equipment.

Now that they were above ground, all three men seemed more relaxed. Carl and Cruncher took turns describing the cavern to Veridian, using gestures to show him the size of the rock formations. Using the back of her hand, Kayla wiped her mouth and tossed the now empty drink container into a disposal bag. “Maybe we can talk you into going down there and checking it out, V. It’s incredible.”

Veridian’s eyes widened, looking horrified at the suggestion. His aversion to going into the ruins was well known, but she held out hope that he’d get over his fear one day. “No, thanks. I’ll leave that sort of thing to you guys. I’d love to see the images you took though.”

Unsurprised by his refusal, Kayla nodded in agreement. It had been worth a try. Standing up, she grabbed a bag of equipment and began to help load it onto their speeders. Once they were ready, Veridian pressed the button to deactivate the UV guard over the area. The machine emitted a loud beep as it signaled the sixty-second warning before it disengaged. Kayla and the rest of the guys climbed onto the back of their speeders and fired up their engines.

She crouched low on her bike and took off toward Carl’s camp with the other three bikes trailing behind her. The hot, dry air whipped around them, and Kayla was thankful for the upgraded OmniLab UV-protective gear and equipment. This time of year was always especially brutal. It made the contrast between the arid landscape even sharper against the memory of the cool underground cavern.

They drove through areas that had once been teeming with life. Now, only collapsed and ruined buildings remained, breaking up the otherwise barren terrain. As they approached the trading camp, Kayla slowed down and pulled up outside the entrance. Carl pulled up alongside her just as she dismounted.

She reached over, grabbing the bag from her bike, and then headed toward the entrance. A large roar from some sort of engine sounded overhead and a dark shadow appeared on the ground. Shielding her visor from the harsh light of the sun, she could make out a sleek aircraft flying over their camp.

Apprehension filled her at the sight of the foreign aircraft. She didn’t recognize it as belonging to OmniLab, but she wasn’t an expert. Kayla turned back to Carl, but he was already in motion and running in her direction. He grabbed her around the waist, hauling her backward, and she almost lost her grip on the bag. She caught a glimpse of Cruncher and Veridian rushing toward them.

The moment they reached the covered entrance, Carl released her. Kayla swallowed, searching the sky to track the aircraft’s progress, but it was almost out of sight. She frowned and headed inside with Carl and the others.

Pulling off her helmet, she tossed it on a nearby rack and looked around at the equally alarmed and confused faces. “What the hell was that thing?”

Carl shook his head. “No idea, but that wasn’t one of OmniLab’s drones. They would have notified us if they were sending out some sort of new aircraft in our area.”

Cruncher rubbed the back of his neck. “Could it have been from another facility?”

“That’s the most likely possibility,” Carl admitted with a frown and pulled out his commlink.

Xantham strode into the hallway, and Kayla nodded a greeting while pulling off her jacket. The communications expert for Carl’s camp was dark-skinned with short, dark hair and eyes. He was an outrageous flirt and a bit of a goofball, but there was no denying his skill as a tech.

He winked at her before turning to Carl. “Boss, I’m glad you’re back. Master Tal’Vayr has been calling for the past hour. He needs to speak with you right away.”

“Maybe he already knows about the aircraft or something about the earthquake?” Kayla suggested when Carl frowned.

“Possibly,” Carl replied, slipping his commlink back into his pocket. “No details, just several urgent messages from him. Xantham, I want you to pull up the camp surveillance and tracking system. See if you can get an image of the aircraft. I want it sent to OmniLab right away.”

At Xantham’s confused expression, Cruncher filled him in. After hearing what had transpired, Xantham’s hands swatted the air in frustration. “Well, shit! This wasn’t my fault. I would have seen