Stasis: A Will Vullerman Anthology Read Online Free

supposed. The farther underground he went, the less he could be affected by the world outside.
    After twenty minutes, Will came upon a steel door. He frowned. He didn't have any coordinates for other doors. Or would it use the same coordinates as the first door?
    He searched the door with his light. No visible handle. His light stopped at a box just beside the door. A touchpad, perhaps? He lifted up the box and found a switch just beneath it, made of shiny steel and wider than his hand. With a little effort, Will threw the switch.
    The door hissed, and then edged open on what was apparently electronic gears. Will flashed his light through the opening doorway, glimpsing a small chamber beyond. He walked through the doorway, and into the chamber.
    It wasn't much wider than the hallway, and only six or seven meters long. An identical door with an identical switch sat at the end of the chamber.
    Will stepped forward and pulled the switch down. But instead of the door in front of him opening, he heard the grinding of gears behind him.
    No! Will cursed himself and turned, flashing his light at the door, but it was too late. With a hiss, the first door shut, and he could hear the locking of the gears through his speakers.
    Shoot. Now what?
    But even as the thought crossed his mind, he heard a whirring in the air. With a sudden lurch of apprehension, he realized that the chamber was exactly like an airlock. Fool! Hadn't he at least thought things through before throwing the switch? His suit filtered the air; it didn't provide it. If the air was being sucked out, then he could die.
    "Comm, atmosphere reading, please." Will's voice cracked.
    "Carbon dioxide levels are rising, radiation is diminishing. Other levels are staying steady."
    Will let out a sigh. The chamber must have been filtering out the air from outside and replacing it with its own.
    The whirring stopped.
    "No radiation detected," the comm said.
    Will scanned the chamber again. There was no sign of the door opening, but at least he wasn't going to die. "Habitability analysis?"
    "The air is safe for human life."
    Good. He took off his helmet and breathed the air. It was a little stale. He was underground, after all. But it still tasted a lot better than the air he had breathed in urban Europe.
    Click.
    Will whirled about, shining his light in the direction of the sound, toward the second door. With a whir, the door began to open.
    Swallowing hard, Will stepped through the door.
    And a bullet ricocheted off the steel wall, mere centimeters from his head.
    Ding!
    Will's training kicked in, and he dove for the floor, dropping his helmet. What about the door? His light raced to the door he had just gone through. Closing.
    "Light off," Will shouted, and his light clicked off, leaving him in total darkness.
    He breathed in deep, calming breaths, striving against the sudden influx of adrenaline. Somewhere, there was a gun. That much was certain. The question was, was it being used by an automated turret or a real person?
    He had seen no signs of life so far, so there was a good chance it was a computerized sentry of some sort.
    Will moved to his right. If the computer-sentry could sense light and movement, then it would concentrate on the place it had last seen him. He hoped that the computer couldn't detect sound as well, but just in case, he tried to be as quiet as possible.
    Will's mind raced. How would he dodge the bullets, assuming there were more? It came from somewhere in front of him. So if he could find his way across the room—if it was a room—he might be able to reach safety. That is, if there were no more ambushes ahead.
    And he hoped that there was safe air wherever he was going, because he wasn't about to go looking for his helmet.
    Will crouched and began to move forward, but as he did, he spotted a glow farther ahead of him.
    A human?
    He reached back and felt for his handgun, tucked into the back of his suit. There. His finger found the trigger, and he brought