Sunspire (The Reach, Book 4) Read Online Free Page A

sighed, exasperated.  “Knile, I’m trying to tell you that… this guy isn’t going to make it.  He’s not going to wake up.  There’s no point dragging him along for the ride.”
    “I already told you, I’m not leaving him behind.   Lazarus tried to save us.  He tried to get the explosives off the railcar.”
    “Well, that was smart of him–”
    “And I made a vow to myself on the rooftop of the Reach , when I handed you that passkey, that I was never going to leave one of my own behind again.  Because that’s not who I am anymore, okay?  I’m not the guy who climbs over everyone else to reach the top.”
    Ursie narrowed her eyes at him.  “He’s a Redman.  He’s the enemy.”
    “Ursie, you’re not listening.  He’s a friend.”
    Ursie chewed over that for a moment, then shrugged.  “Okay, if you say so.  But that doesn’t change the fact that we’re still going to have to find a way to carry him when the sweepdrone gives out.”
    Knile opened his mouth to reply, but at that moment there was a disconcerting shift in the Skywalk floor, and the distant sound of shrieking metal echoed eerily throughout the tunnel, sending shivers down Knile’s spine.  Immediately after there came a dull thudding noise, and the Skywalk seemed to shake.
    “What the hell was that?” Knile said.
    Tobias came to stand beside him.  “Could have been one of the bulkheads slamming shut.”
    “What does that mean exactly?” Ursie said.
    Tobias’ voiced dropped to little more than a whisper.  “Might be that one of the Skywalk segments just… broke off.  Back near the habitat.”  He glanced at Knile.  “I told you the ol’ bugger wasn’t built to hang out in space without no habitat.”
    “So this tunnel is collapsing behind us,” Knile said grimly.
    “Don’t know for sure, but–”
    “Let’s get out of here,” Knile said.  He scooped up the water container and handed it to Tobias.  “I don’t want to be around when this tunnel becomes an impromptu reentry vehicle.”
    Knile started to jog forward, and suddenly he felt as though there was still some strength in his legs yet.
     

 
    4
    Nurzhan stood watching the corridor, listening to the sound of the hoodlums receding in the distance.  The walkway had now emptied, but for the cloying smoke that had drifted in from the fires that still raged elsewhere in Gaslight, a blue-grey haze that seemed to have taken up permanent residence in the last forty-eight hours.
    Nurzhan adjusted his full face gas mask and checked his oxygen supply.  Although the air here was still breathable, he wasn’t taking any chances.  If the fires got any worse, there was a chance he might succumb to the fumes without his breathing apparatus.
    He wasn’t about to let that happen.
    Stowing the pulse rifle behind his back, Nurzhan lifted a crimson glove to his shoulder and tapped lightly.
    “Kazimir,” he said to his Redman colleague through his comms.  “The threat has moved on.  This entrance is clear.”
    For a few seconds, there was nothing but static in reply.  Then he heard Kazimir’s voice in his ear.
    “Clear at this end, also.”
    “Good.  Make one last sweep of the northern end, and then–”
    There was a crashing noise from the office behind him, and Nurzhan heard the strangled voice of Consul Hanker as he loosed a cry of frustration.
    “Redman!” came Hanker’s voice.  “I need you!”
    “Dust and ashes,” Nurzhan muttered tiredly.  “Give me strength.”
    He turned and wound his way back inside the complex, and in moments arrived at the room in which Consul Hanker had stationed himself after they’d fled from the consulate a couple of days prior.  The old man was still red-faced, irate, just as he’d been when Nurzhan had left him a few minutes ago.  Now, however, a stack of papers and pens lay strewn across the floor, which Nurzhan could only assume had been swept off the desk by the consul in his rage.
    “Fucking prick!”