Lost Contact (The Bridge Sequence Book One), Nathan Hystad [primary phonics books .TXT] 📗

I checked the GPS and saw it was close, maybe three hundred yards in this direction.

“It’s on the other side of here.” Coordinates were only accurate to a certain distance, but it was clear the Token had to be across the tunnel. Unfortunately, our journey was blocked by thick pieces of ice.

Tripp set his pack down with a thump and unzipped it.

“Did you bring a hair dryer?” Veronica asked him, but he didn’t reply. He pulled two ice picks out and tossed one my way. He handed Veronica a fine-toothed saw and assessed the obstruction before us.

“They’re going to freak out when they encounter the damage,” Marcus mumbled.

“Not if we’re careful. They won’t even notice until far later, and by then, we’ll be gone,” Hunter said as he set a gloved hand on the fourth icicle in. “This one. It’ll give us space to slip through while still blocking the others, unless they walk all the way past the fence to look for damage.” He glanced about, shining a light toward the fence we’d sneaked through. “Something tells me this area doesn’t see a lot of foot traffic.”

Tripp started at the top, swinging his pickaxe with surprising accuracy. It dug in, and he struck it a few more times before stepping aside. “You want to give it a go, Walker?”

I rolled my shoulders and swung, the pick slipping off target and striking the wrong icicle. I didn’t let it dissuade me and tried again, this time sending a chunk of ice free. Once I built up a sweat, he took over, and in a few minutes, we had the top and bottom of the giant ice crystal severed. Veronica used the saw to finish the job, acting more delicately for the finishing touches, and it fell to the rocky ground, crashing into three large sections.

Marcus shone his light through, and his eyes lit up. “We did it.” He was the first in, sliding between the remaining lengths of frozen water, and I slipped in after him. The room was cold, and my breath shot out in hurried misty puffs. His beam hit, the light reflecting wildly off the sheer formations. The Token was in here somewhere.

The room was small with all of us pressed inside, and Veronica stood close, her hips touching mine. “Where is it?”

It had been left here intentionally to be unearthed by the right person. That meant there had to be a sign, a label of sorts. The first one had been secured under a tree, growing where it shouldn’t have been, so I sought an indicator similar in nature. I scoured the floor, with ice crystals over the rough tube surface, but found nothing.

I looked up, peering at the ceiling. It only took a few moments to see the etching, high enough to avoid being frozen and covered. It was directly above another corridor, one almost invisible until you were at the right angle. The mark was an ancient Mayan emblem, and I smiled, imagining Clayton or my father sketching the picture and handing it to Luis to use when he ditched the Token.

I was the first one through, the stone passageway pushing tight against my ribcage as I pressed between the walls, breaking free after an agonizing moment. My helmet’s light guided me in the dark space, and I saw that the crevasse ran for another fifty yards or so, narrowly descending at every footstep.

“Stay back if you’re claustrophobic,” I called to the others, and no one else joined me.

It was so cold, ice crystals had formed along the rocky ceiling. The passage slimmed even more, and I sank to my knees, crawling over the stone floor for the end of the tunnel. By the time I reached the finishing point, my teeth chattered and my fingertips were numb.

“Where are you?” I asked out loud, but the Token didn’t answer. My light illuminated the cramped area, but there was little more than lava rock coated in a layer of ice.

Perhaps I’d missed a marking somewhere, a tunnel I hadn’t seen on the way inside. I retraced my steps, slowly and surely, until I returned to the start. Marcus’ flashlight shone in my eyes, and I shielded them. “Tripp, pass me the ice pick.”

“Did you find it?” Hunter’s eyes were huge, his breathing labored.

“Not yet, but it has to be there. Probably buried in years of ice.” That had to be it.

Veronica didn’t look so confident as she rubbed her arms with gloved hands, shifting on her feet to stay warm.

“I’ll be right back.” I glanced at the tunnel again, not wanting to revisit the confined cold walls. But I did it, moving faster the second trip.

With as much mobility as I could muster, I hacked at the ice, pieces flying at my face. I kept hitting the surface, eventually making an indent. Sweat escaped my chilled body while I struck the ice, damned if I was going to leave these lava tubes without the second Token.

I heard Marcus calling for me, asking if I was okay, and I shouted with labored breaths that I was fine. Just a few more minutes.

The ice continued to separate as my arms grew tired. I ceased, letting the pick fall from my grip, and I stretched my fingers, leaning into the wall.

And I saw it.

The familiar hexagonal shape beckoned me from under a thin clear layer, and I laughed, the cackle of a madman nearing the cusp of his sanity. With a frenzied effort, I broke it free and slipped my glove off, wanting to feel the cold alien metal on my fingers.

We had the second Token.

____________

Hours later, I was still shaking with a blend of excitement and trepidation. Our trip to Japan had been faster and more efficient than any of us had assumed. Hunter demanded we pack our things and head to the airport, before anyone caught wind of what the purpose of the ice tubes visit had been.

The Believers could be anywhere, and it