They turned and sprinted back past the library. More explosions rocked the structure. Ria prayed Eos and the others were okay. She tried to scroll through the map on her Sync. PlanB was a secondary exit to the tunnels. “We need to get to the arboretum.” She pointed. “That way.”
They ran together. She liked that he kept up easily.
They sprinted into another room, and both of them stopped, looking up in awe. A glass roof showed the incredible night sky and asteroids flying past. Inside was filled with various forms of plant life.
Focus, Ria.“The exit should be at the back of the room in the floor.”
They hustled, and Zayn lifted away a giant vine. A small octagonal cover was set in the floor. It took both of them to shift it.
He dropped in first. As she followed, she heard him curse.
She soon realized why. The tunnel was smaller than the previous one and after a few meters, the angle changed to near vertical drop. Ria slid downward. Her enviro suit was nearly frictionless, and she felt herself gather speed.
“Zayn?” Her voice echoed in the tight confines of the tunnel.
“I’m here.” His voice came from below. “Hold on.”
She felt an increase in heat. Then she heard him yell, and a second later she shot out the end of the tunnel. She caught of glimpse of him flying through the air ahead of her, arms pin-wheeling. Below them was a small, underground lake of sewage.
The air caught in her lungs like a cat with claws. The lake wasn’t the biggest problem. The problem was where the lake was flowing.
To a giant ultraviolet treatment system.
A wall of purple light that incinerated everything that passed through it.
Zayn and Ria landed with a thick splash.
“I’ve got you.”Zayn grabbed Ria’s arm and yanked her upward.
He held her tightly with one arm and wiped his other hand over his face. Thank the fuck this sewage hadn’t been treated yet. It smelled bad, but it didn’t have the chemical burn of the earlier green stuff.
She gripped him, their legs tangling. She looked to where the current was dragging them.
Straight into the bowels of hell.
Zayn saw the ultraviolet lasers arcing through the sludge. They were set in a large arch, sweeping back and forth.
“Suggestions?” She pushed her sewage-drenched hair back with a grimace.
“I was going to ask you the same thing.” He liked that she didn’t panic. She’d make a fabulous pilot. Nerves of steel.
“This isn’t on the map. It must be new.” She glanced up. “Look! There’s a platform to the right of the laser ring.”
He spotted it, and guessed it was probably used for maintenance. “Swim that way.”
Their hands still linked, they both kicked. They were making progress, but the pull of the water flow was still stronger.
Shit. They weren’t going to make it.
He wasn’t going to die, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to let Ria die either. He kicked harder.
They neared the platform, but Zayn was too far away to reach it. Ria lunged outward. He saw her fingertips graze it and then grip on.
She grimaced. “I don’t have a good grip.”
He had to let go. Without his weight, she had a chance to save herself. He released her hand.
“No, damn you!” She followed with a string of curses and clamped her legs around his waist, holding him tight.
