hung open – right up to the moment she reached the circle, which as she got closer to it, became clear enough to see that it wasn't just a black circle

e said, enc

eg quavered. "I can see

. It was really just a hole in a wall from a practical perspective, except that the hole was just temporary. The tool Gary had used simply altered the chrono-spacial characteristics of the matter in the wall – and the

ar along a tunnel about only fifty meters or so long. At the other end of the portal, she emerged into a dark space that seemed to be lit – somewhat erratically – by the rest of the

d. "I'm the last one

omething on it. Silently, the portal vanished, leav

yone who might've been trying to f

sighed. "N

ral space in the bedrock under the city, with either end of it obscured by darkness. The surface under her feet was hard rock There were patches of grit here and there, and wha

Scrooby! M

grumped, pointing his light at the tunnel

ei explained. "Running under Atro City

ater?" Landry observed.

" A staffer asked,

cCracken's voice in th

river was cut off a long time ago, when they built t

their escape! Some were starting to crack under the pressure – and for those who hated closed, tight and dark spaces and who had vivid imaginations fo

compensate for the amplification of the rock walls. "We're perfectly safe down here for the moment. Take a fe

o. Feeling a little like tour guides, Mei and Gary herded the group through the darkness, down the channe

can Army, was eyeballing a very nervous corporal who was standing rigidly to attention in front of him. Krant bobbed slightl

ttle marked and scuffed and not quite so white anymo

nment – had looked down upon Lupini Square and the city around it. Now it was witness to a scene of horror – a

hat dotted the Square, like rocks in a small sea. At the center, water in the desecrated fountain splashed in the growing silence. Strangely, even the pigeons had deserted Lupini Square. The vast crowd that had been caught up in the D.R.A.'s cordon that morni