E
ugene Drisk moved over to one of the large computer stations and started punching keys. The five main computer stations were fanned out in front of an intricately crafted metal ring that made a thick hoop inside the tunnel. A new hum carried throughout the tunnel. Small twinkling LEDs in a variety of colors came on inside the loop. Like the stars in the sky, thousands of them appeared.
Abraham saw Haymaker’s arm hairs stand on end. His own hairs stood as though they were filled with static electricity. Great power was coursing through the tunnel. The steady hum of the gas-powered generators chugged and suddenly heaved.
Dr. Jack stood with a triumphant smile on his face. “Watch this,” he said.
Eugene gave a single finger signal to the other scientists wearing lab coats, standing along the tunnel wall. On both sides, each manned a large electrical switch with a long black handle. At the same time, they pushed the levers upward. The tunnel beyond the hoop filled with light, and the droning hum of lights became louder.
Abraham squinted. He couldn’t shield his eyes, but he wanted to.
“It’s not on!” Dr. Jack said in a loud voice. The curly hairs on his head were standing taller, as if he’d just walked through a wind tunnel. “It’s only warming up!”
The tunnel walls behind the hoop were made up of large tiles of shiny steel. The glimmering tiles stretched back another fifty feet, where a bright ring of yellow light burned at the end.
“Very nice,” Abraham said, “but I don’t see a passing lane. And shouldn’t there be a toll booth? You know, make sure you use one of the EZ Pass services. It makes a trucker’s life a lot easier.”
“Huh huh,” Colonel Trotter laughed. “I might have liked you if you hadn’t killed so many of my soldiers.”
“What’s a trucker supposed to do, let them kill me?” He was referring to the battle near Morgantown, when the choppers came. “It was us or them.”
“They wouldn’t have fired if you’d given yourself up,” Colonel Dexter said. “The rest of it was miscommunication. I wasn’t there. With that said, I hope this next trip of yours is a one-way journey. And don’t worry about Mandi. I’ll take care of her.”
“I’m pretty sure you’ve burned that bridge.” Abraham would have knocked the moustache off Colonel Dexter’s face if he could have. His heart burned for Mandi. She’d stuck with him through thick and thin, and he hardly knew her. Now, he was thinking about his family, about going back to them, but he didn’t believe that was possible. What about the Henchmen—Sticks, Horace, and my friends? Will I ever see them again?
“So, what’s the story, Jack? How does this thing work?”
“I’ll let Eugene and his allies handle that. The question is, are you willing to go back and quit this nonsense with the king of Kingsland? You need to tell them to surrender. Tell them that we will give them whatever they want. Just cooperate.”
Ottum approached Abraham, put her cool hand on his face, and said, “King Hector is not a good man. He rules with an iron fist. You cannot trust him. The gems in the Crown of Stones were taken from his family for good reason. They are power mad. It runs in his blood. That bloodline must be destroyed.”
The inflection in Ottum’s voice suggested she believed what she said. Abraham liked the king. He’d been fair. However, the last time he saw him, the king had changed. He had the green and blue Stones of Power, and the air about him had changed. I hope I haven’t been fighting on the wrong side of this the entire time. No, that couldn’t be.
He eyed the men surrounding him. These dudes are a bunch of tools.
“Abraham, we aren’t out to kill King Hector. We aren’t out to kill anyone. What we want is the King’s Steel. That’s how we can keep the portal open.” Dr. Jack pointed into the portal. “You notice that some of the plates shine more than the others. That’s the King’s Steel we’ve acquired. We need more of it. It keeps the tunnel and the gate intact. There is no metal on Earth like it.”
“I don’t think I’m going to be able to talk Hector into surrendering. He’ll kill me. That would be treason. I’m no good to you dead.”
“You’re going to have to convince him. But we can help with that.” Dr. Jack nodded at Colonel Dexter.
The colonel gave a hand signal to a group of soldiers. In the middle of the tunnel was a set of railroad tracks that led in and out of the tunnel. Behind them, way far in the back, something heavy started to roll over the tracks.
“Otis, do me a favor and turn me around,” Abraham said.
“No,” Otis answered.
“It’s okay—do as he asks,” Dr. Jack replied.
“As the gurney turns,” Abraham said as he was wheeled around.
A train flatcar rolled down the tracks. It was loaded with a tank, racks of assault rifles, and crates that were marked Ammunition. He paled.
Eugene Drisk snaked his way over to the group and chuckled wickedly. “They’ve made more progress than I even dreamed of. What I told you back in Pittsburgh was misleading. Progress in this world moves faster each day. It’s… uncanny.”
Abraham was turned as the flatcar passed by. It stopped right before the mouth of the loop. The army-green tank might as well have been a harbinger of doom. Titanuus was being invaded. They wouldn’t be ready for it.
“I know it’s only one tank and a few hundred assault rifles,” Dr. Jack said. “But it should be more than enough to send a message.”
