“Retreat,” Kholar shouted.
The guards immediately obeyed. Alec had no choice. Someone gripped his arm firmly and he was swung around. He was nearly pulled off his feet as they all made their way back at a run.
The Tyons were eerily silent. Only the echoing laboured breaths and the slapping of shoes against the stone made any sound. The tremors grew in strength the closer they got to Home Base. A particularly strong jolt nearly knocked Alec off balance. He recovered in time and kept running, throwing rapid glances over his shoulder. The guards who surrounded him were too bulky and tall to see past and if Riley was in the group behind, he had no way to tell.
Suddenly they emerged into the large cavern where the door to Home Base stood open and empty. Kholar came to a stop and the crowd behind him followed suit.
“Report,” he barked.
“The rip was huge,” Dean said. “It followed us. We lost Rinna.”
“How quickly did it move? What was the size?”
“As tall as me and as wide,” Dean replied with a quick glance over his shoulder.
“It has stopped.” Paran was peering intently into his orb. He glanced up at Kholar. “Two more, section six-D-three. One advancing.”
“If tunnels six and four are impassible, then we must use number two and make for your ship, Kholar.” Anna’s voice came from somewhere behind him. Alec twisted around but the proximity of two guards restricted his movement.
“Removal of personnel outside my contingent is not desirable,” Kholar said.
“Death is not desirable either. The Base is about to be destroyed. Both the small ships are inaccessible. Logan’s transport has departed. There is no other option.”
“There is still a ship at dock five,” Paran said. He was still staring at his orb and the slight orange glow mixed with the overhead red made his face appear to be blushing.
“Stop arguing and get us out of here.”
Alec nearly burst out laughing at Riley’s aggrieved shout from somewhere behind Dean. Trust her to get to the heart of the matter with no tact whatsoever.
“The Terran speaks truth,” Dean said. “Time is short.” Another tremor, larger than any previous, seemed to emphasize his words. Several rocks, the size of Alec’s fist, fell from the roof above. Murmuring unhappily to themselves, the group clustered away from the widening crack in the ceiling.
Kholar looked as if he’d swallowed sour milk but, without any further discussion, pointed towards a wider tunnel to their far left. Wordlessly the group turned as one and headed for the opening. Several stones fell as they passed, echoing sharply among the rapid tramping of feet. The rumble of grinding rock grew louder and the vibration leeched into Alec’s bones as he ran. The tunnel sloped downward and the air around them grew colder. The lights were closer together than the previous tunnel but the reddish hue had become deeper, reducing visibility. How stupid to make things harder to see in an emergency, Alec thought to himself, mostly to keep his mind off the millions of tons of water overhead, just waiting for a crack in the ceiling. Despite their advanced technology, some of the things the Tyons did made no sense.
The tunnel abruptly widened to a small room, similar to that where the main doors of the Base were located. Two smaller tunnels branched out, one to Alec’s immediate right, and the other barely visible ahead and to the left, behind the shoulders of one of Kholar’s guards.
A horrific cracking brought everyone to a screeching halt. A huge jagged fissure spread across the ceiling, moving like lightening from one side of the tunnel roof to the other. The sound was deafening. A second later, the fissure widened over the opening of the tunnel straight ahead and huge chunks of rock rained down. There was massive clattering of stones and pebbles as the debris rained down on the temporary orb-created force fields and onto the floor. Someone didn’t get their own orb activated in time and their cry of pain was barely audible above the din.
The crowd surged back away from the rock fall instinctively. There was only one real option and Kholar didn’t need to voice it. As one, the crowd turned towards the right-hand tunnel and surged forward.
Alec was thrown between Kholar and Paran. He found himself running forward, all pretext of a calm and ordered retreat abandoned. The frantic scrabbling and gasping breaths mixed with falling limestone and slate. Someone behind him shouted again, the words unintelligible but clearly laced with fear.
The swaying of the rocky floor worsened and every step was now fraught with danger. One wrong move and he’d be on the ground and trampled. He doubted anyone would stop to save him. Heart in his mouth, his hand reached into his pocket and clasped the orb. Instantly the soothing sensation filtered through him. The power in his blood began to sing.
He could stop this. He knew he could. But what would the Tyons do if they caught him?