Concentration.
If my theory was correct, it wasn’t the Red Mercury losing superconductivity that I needed to worry about. It was a ton of Red Mercury particles losing superconductivity while still bottled up tightly within the Bell.
Bracing myself, I yanked the thermos and it popped out of the Bell.
I bit my tongue as the Bell slammed to the earth, crushing my arm under it. I heard a crack but it sounded like it came from the bedrock instead of from my bones. Still, it hurt so badly, I could barely think.
Clearing my mind, I lifted my hand and smashed the thermos against the bedrock. I heard it crack and felt the glassy substance disintegrate in my fingers. A single thought rose in my brain.
I’m still alive.
The Red Mercury hadn’t exploded. Yet. But I didn’t have time to enjoy my brief triumph. Through hazy vision, I saw Chase step over me. His face was twisted with rage.
I chuckled despite the pain. “I hate to have to tell you this. But I think I broke it.”
I spotted movement out of the corner of my eye. It was Beverly, running toward me. But it wasn’t just her. There was something else.
Something big.
Something mean.
Something deadly.
Chase shoved his face into mine. “Where’s Hartek’s journal?”
I reached into my satchel and removed the book. “You mean this?”
Before he could stop me, I launched it into the air. It arced gently before falling unceremoniously into the chasm.
His face tightened and he lifted his gun.
I yanked my pinned arm as hard as I could. The bedrock scraped off a layer of flesh as I dragged the limb partway out from under the Bell. But once my wrist reached the lip, I couldn’t move it any farther.
Chase pointed the gun at my head.
I looked at the alligator. It raced at me, its damaged jaw hanging open in grotesque fashion.
It was close, almost within striking distance of my head.
Why don’t you go after someone else for a change, you asshole?
I grabbed my machete with my free hand. In one smooth movement, I sliced it at the alligator.
It flinched.
Diverted slightly, the beast plowed into the Bell, bashing its head into the metal surface.
The particle accelerator wobbled. An ear-splitting noise filled the area. The ground shifted under my body. The bedrock surface splintered.
Abruptly, it disintegrated beneath me.
Then, the huge Bell was gone along with the gator, both swallowed up by the yawning chasm.
Chase blinked, overcome by shock. Shaking his head, he pointed the gun at me again. Vaguely, I saw Beverly closing in on him. But she’d never make it in time.
I realized that my newly freed hand still clutched a handful of Red Mercury and broken glass. I launched it at Chase. The dust flew upward. Recoiling in fear, he backpedaled toward the hole.
He fell.
“Cyclone!” His scream echoed in the collapsing space.
And then he was gone, swallowed up by the chasm.
Chapter 65
Chase was dead.
The alligators were dead.
The Red Mercury was dissipated, the Bell and Hartek’s journal lost in the chasm.
I felt a measure of grim satisfaction as the ground rumbled beneath me. I was bound to die, but at least I’d done some good first. Maybe eternal slumber wasn’t such a bad thing after all.
Get up, idiot. You’re not dying today.
With a loud groan, I rolled toward my injured arm. But it protested, sending shooting pain down my side.
I flopped onto my back again and stared at the ceiling. The blackish, jagged bedrock shuddered and heaved uncontrollably. It looked ready to collapse at any second.
Small hands grasped hold of my shoulders and lifted me into a sitting position. Then, they propelled me upward.
“If we ever get out of here, promise me you’ll lose some weight.”
I looked over my shoulder. Beverly stared back at me, her face a mixture of mirth and tension. “It’s not me that’s the problem,” I joked. “It’s all these damn muscles.”
As I gained my footing, she pushed me against the wall for added support. Small chunks of rock crumbled away at my touch, falling all around me, leaving trails of dust in their wake.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“I’ll be fine.”
I looked around. The war had ceased. Several gators lay on the ground, still and lifeless. Bloodied bodies were heaped about the bedrock. The sight of so much death took my breath away.
“Where’s everyone?” I asked.
“You’re looking at most of them. Some died, others ran for it.”
“What about Diane? Is she okay?”
To my surprise, her face twisted. For a split-second, I detected disappointment in her eyes. Then, in an instant, it vanished. “She’s fine. So am I by the way.”
“I didn’t mean —”
“She’s wounded pretty badly. If we’re going to save her life, we need to get her to a hospital now.”
I nodded at the bodies. “It looks like we’re missing someone. What happened to Standish?”
“I’m right here.”
I followed the voice. Standish stood at the mouth of the tube, leaning against one side of it. His face was directed at the chasm and I thought I saw a wistful look in his eyes.
I stepped toward him. He slid into the center of the tube, blocking my path.
“Get out of the way.”
“That’s not happening,” he replied.
“We don’t have to die here.”
“Yes we do.”
I glared at him. He was a large, powerful man. But I saw none of that. All I saw was a man who’d helped to kill Jenson and Cartwright. A man who wanted to kill me.
If he succeeded, he’d surely murder Diane and Beverly as well. I’d spent the last three years regretting my inability to save others. Three years of inner pain.
Three years of an endless nightmare.
I leapt at him. He socked me in the jaw and I flew back into the grotto. I landed on my back and skidded a few feet along the bedrock. Beverly reached for him, but he shoved her aside with ease. Then he ran at me.
I saw my machete lying on the ground. Picking it up, I rose to my feet. But before I could swing it, Standish’s body crunched into my chest.
As he propelled me backward, I looked over my shoulder. The chasm was just a few feet away. In mere seconds, the ground would disappear and both of us would tumble to our doom.
With a savage cry, I slashed the machete through the air, implanting it several inches into a gap in the crumbling bedrock wall. As Standish pushed me farther, my feet left the ground. A wall of water slammed into me and then, I was dangling over the chasm, utterly engulfed by the raging waterfall.
My body hurt like hell but I hung on anyway. Through the torrent, I saw Beverly running toward me. Diane limped along behind her.
I felt heavy. Glancing down, I saw Standish holding onto my waist. He looked up, staring at me with insanity in his eyes. “Let go, damn you,” he shouted. “Let go!”
He wrenched his body. His fingers clawed at me. My right hand loosened then slipped off the handle. My left fingers began to weaken.
I was seconds away from death.
My gaze hardened. I pulled back my right arm and swung.
I swung with every ounce of passion I could muster. I swung for the colony. I swung for the Sand Demons.