Harry Flanders leaned on the door of the emergency exit, but it would not budge. He bent down and picked up a piece of concrete that was lying close by. Without hesitating, he smashed it into the glass panel above the handle. Pulling his sleeve down over his hand to protect himself from the glass shards left in the window frame, he put his hand through the opening and unlocked the door from the far side.
‘Everyone okay to go on?’ Harry asked, surveying the faces of the others. Alfred looked all in. He was sitting against the wall. Jim was beside him, with an arm around his shoulders. Kristy stood dejectedly, staring down at the wreckage of Dome Gamma. Her face was streaked with blood and makeup. Nick was sitting on his own, his head between his knees and Danny had wandered over to the railing of the mezzanine, gazing into the shadows at the smouldering debris and crushed bodies.
‘Might be better if you leave me behind,’ Alfred said, and started to cough.
‘He stays, I stay,’ Jim said, looking across to Harry.
‘I’m not sure that would be wise,’ Harry replied, taking a couple of paces towards the group. ‘I reckon this dome is under a lot of strain. Look up there.’ He pointed to the apex of the dome just visible past the ceiling of the mezzanine. They could all see shallow cracks spreading out from Gamma’s metal cap.
‘It’s impossible to say,’ Danny commented. ‘That could hold for weeks. Rescuers could be here any minute.’
Kristy looked earnestly at Danny. ‘You really think someone will rescue us?’
‘Of course,’ the old actor said. ‘I have no doubts. The marines will be here, the US Navy.’
‘The cavalry galloping over the hill at the last minute?’ Harry said sarcastically. ‘The good old US of A to the rescue.’
‘Well there ain’t going to be anyone else coming for us, is there, young fella?’
Harry shrugged. ‘Yeah, but if they come, they’ll be late ... as usual.’ He turned back to Alfred and Jim. ‘Look. I really don’t think you should stay here. There’s no telling if Dome Beta is any better, but believe me, this place is going to go. I can feel it.’
‘Okay,’ Alfred said after a moment. ‘I’m feeling better. I’m not ready to lie down and die just yet.’
‘That’s the spirit,’ Harry replied. Then he walked over to Nick and gave the kid a hand up. The boy wiped his eyes. He’d been crying quietly but was trying his best to cover it up. ‘Come on, Nick,’ Harry said. ‘You lead the way with me, yes?’
The door opened onto a dark stairwell.
‘I say we go straight down to the bottom of the dome,’ Harry said.
‘Why?’ Danny asked.
‘Because that’s where the connecting tunnel to Beta is.’
‘If it’s still there.’
‘True,’ Harry conceded. ‘But put it this way, Danny. If it’s not there, or it’s impassable, we won’t have many other options.’
‘What have you got against going straight down?’ Alfred asked the actor.
‘Nothing, I guess. Let’s go.’
The only source of light they had was the insipid glow from the top floor and that did not last long. After the third turn, the faint light disappeared altogether. They were in total darkness for two flights of the concrete access stairs. But then a new source of light appeared. It was a faint pinprick that grew rapidly as they took turn after turn of the stairs, descending through the floors of Dome Gamma. Approaching the light, they could see it was a dim single bulb illuminating the ground floor of the stairwell. It lit up a wide corridor. At the far end, they could see elevator doors, and beside them, a red rectangle of light, the call button. Harry took it slowly, picking his way forward, hugging the wall. It seemed to take an age to travel the 20 metres to the elevator doors, but they eventually all gathered there.
Harry punched the button forlornly. To no one’s surprise, nothing happened.
‘There are some stairs over there,’ Nick said. ‘They go down one more floor to the linkway.’ He took a few paces to an opening in the wall on one side of the elevator. The steps were covered in dust and there were holes in the ceiling of the stairwell, but nothing lay in their way. Nick took the lead down the steps with Harry close behind. At the foot of the stairs, a narrow corridor curved sharply left and suddenly they were in the linkway between Gamma and Beta.
It was an inspiring sight. The linkway was a tube of specially reinforced glass cradled in a metal support frame. Three metres wide and about 25 metres long, it connected the two domes. Red carpet ran along a channel in the base of the tube. Sheer walls of glass swept up either side and curved overhead. It created the impression that by stepping into the tube you were actually walking into the ocean itself.
Huge multicoloured tendrils of coral and exotic ocean plants swayed in the current. On a normal day a bewildering array of sea creatures, anemone fish, blue ribbon eel and black tip reef sharks would dart and swarm round the tube. Some would peer into the glass as they swam by. Others were nervous and scattered as soon as there was any movement. For the moment, the fish had gone, scared off by whatever had rocked the hotel.
Nick Xavier ran along the tunnel, barely giving it a second look. He had seen the hotel grow. The project had dominated his childhood. But the others were still in awe of it. They had only seen it once before, earlier that evening, en route to Dome Gamma and the grand dinner.
‘Come on,’ Nick called, bringing them back to painful reality.
Harry was three-quarters of the way along the linkway when he heard the low rumble. They all stopped. The sound came again, much louder this time.
‘Oh fuck! Not another tremor,’ Jim exclaimed.
‘Run!’ Harry screamed.
A sound like a thunder clap ricocheted along the tunnel and they could all see the glass crack, random lines slithering down the sides. The tendrils shot past them as they ran. Harry slowed, almost stopping as he encouraged them all on. Jim and Alfred were trailing behind. He ran back to give Jim a hand. ‘Come on,’ he shouted above the noise. ‘Just a few more steps.’
He grabbed Alfred’s arm and helped drag the old man along the carpet.
A tremendous crash shuddered along the linkway and they could feel the glass tube wobble on its cradle. They were close to the far side. Nick dashed into a corridor, then pulled up sharp. He glanced back to make sure everyone was through the linkway and looked for the red security button on the wall. Panicking, he punched it and a thick metal door started to come down from the ceiling. Harry was still a couple of metres inside the tunnel. He pushed Alfred and Jim hard from behind. They stumbled forward, Alfred landing heavily on his partner, both yelping in pain.
The door was falling fast. Harry could sense it. His whole mind focused on propelling himself forward with every ounce of his being. Adrenalin shot through him like a surging wave, energising his muscles. He dived, slithering under the 2 tonnes of metal as it crashed downward. The door almost caught his feet, but he swivelled his legs round just in time. The steel barrier slammed to the floor, and Harry screamed involuntarily as it sliced through the heels of his shoes.