The Street Survivors (The Guild Wars Book 12) by Ian Malone (great books of all time TXT) 📕

“I.” The Caroon pointed to himself, then to Taylor. “Take.” He pointed to the surface. “Out.”

Taylor began to understand. “You can get us out of here.”

“Yes,” Aysep said. “For price.”

“And what price is that?” Haju asked.

“Me go with,” Aysep said. “Leave Droxis. Leave KzSha…forever.”

Taylor chewed his lip. He neither knew this alien, nor did he have reason to trust him. He also had zero other options. “I’ve got people on the surface who can help us get off world, but I don’t have a clue how to reach them from here. We have no contact with each other.”

“I take. Come.” Aysep motioned Taylor to the back of their cell. There, the alien rolled back a pile of debris to reveal a hole.

Taylor inspected the opening, then peeked inside, finding a hollowed-out crawl space that extended out about 10 yards before angling upward. Man, you little mongrels can dig.

“You take,” Aysep said. “Me come with.”

Taylor climbed out of the passage and dusted his hands off. “Does this tunnel go all the way to the surface?”

“Not yet,” Aysep said. “Still more to dig.”

“How much more?” Taylor asked.

“At least four days alone,” Aysep said. “With you, less than half. Then done.”

“What about guard rotations?” Taylor asked.

“Guards come twice per day with food and bucket, then twice per night for sleep checks,” Aysep said. “Not much prisoners in isolation, so not much need for extra security.”

“Van Zant!” Haju hissed. “You can’t leave me here like this! Please!”

Taylor kept his focus Aysep. “He’s right. If we go, he comes with us. I won’t leave him here to be executed, nor will I leave the rest of my crew. We all go, or none of us does.”

The Caroon’s expression twisted at Taylor’s terms. However, he, too, had zero other options if he wanted to escape. Aysep chittered over to Haju’s eye hole and pointed to the rear wall of the other’s cell. “Go. There. You take.”

Haju’s brow wrinkled, but he followed the instruction. To his delight, his cell possessed an escape hole as well.

“How did you know this was here?” Haju asked.

Aysep hung his head. “It belonged to mate.”

Taylor couldn’t help but notice the past tense reference to the Caroon’s loved one. He paused for a moment of silence out of respect. I feel ya, brother. We all do.

Aysep looked up. “Next guards in three hours. Come. Now we work.”

* * * * *

Chapter 20: Escape of the Jailbirds

The next 48 hours brought a whirlwind of activity as Taylor, Haju, and Aysep worked round-the-clock shifts, either digging out the tunnel’s remainder, or holding back in their cells to keep a lookout for KzSha guards. The only time anyone took a break was for the scheduled security checks every eight hours, or to get a drink of the foulest water Taylor had ever smelled in his life. As for the work itself, the job proved nothing short of brutal, not to mention nerve-wracking.

Taylor had never fancied himself a claustrophobic person. Elevators, CASPer cockpits, cramped dorm room closets with girls in college—none of that had bothered him. By contrast, working under these conditions—in that tight a space with that little airflow plus the genuine threat of being buried alive with every tap of his chisel—would’ve been enough to drive a Southern Baptist pastor to drink. Still, the group kept at it until eventually the tunnel was complete.

“Come,” Aysep said. “We go.”

The group waited for the next guard rotation to pass, thus maximizing the time to reach the surface before their cells were discovered empty, then started out through the tunnel on their elbows and bellies. As it turned out, Taylor’s assumption that the isolation caves had been further unground than the mine itself had been incorrect. They’d rested above the pit, thus putting them that much closer to the surface for the climb out. This didn’t make the journey any easier, of course, what with all the dust, stale air, and rocky terrain tearing at the group’s skins. However, no one fell behind, not even Haju, who was by far the trio’s largest member. They simply kept climbing until a reflection of lights illuminated the exit hole ahead.

“How do we—”

“Shhh.” Taylor ended Haju’s question with a look, then slipped his own head through the opening for a glance at their surroundings. As expected, the group had emerged topside directly beside the warehouse where Taylor and the other Eagles had entered the dome seven days earlier. To his right, Taylor spotted the refinery, which was quiet due to the early hour. To his left, there was open highway headed back down to the mine cavern.

“The coast is clear for now,” Taylor whispered. “Let’s go.”

The trio hurried out of the tunnel in a single-file line, then hid behind the warehouse.

“How do we get to your friends so we can leave this place?” Haju asked, quieter this time.

“I ain’t quite figured that—” A lone engine rumbled in the distance, interrupting Taylor’s thought.

“There.” Aysep pointed to the refinery.

One of the empty cargo trucks turned right out of the compound and was headed for the mine cavern.

This gave Taylor an idea. “Hey, Aysep. When your people head down into the confinement zones to pick up workers, do they always travel by rail?”

“No,” Aysep said. “Sometimes train. Others, truck. Ask why?”

“You’re about to get promoted to chauffer,” Taylor said.

The Caroon shook his head.

“I’ll explain later,” Taylor said. “When I say go, I want you to run out onto the highway and flag down that hauler before it enters the mine tunnel.”

“Then what?” Haju asked.

“Then you and me are gonna take out the passengers so we can hijack their ride,” Taylor said. “Are you up to that?”

The Sumatozou nodded.

Don’t screw us here, Haju.