Deadman's Switch & Sunder the Hollow Ones by Saul Tanpepper Read Free Book Online

tunnel for us, they won’t be able to get in. We need it strong enough to buy us time to get away. But we also need to be able to get through it later when we’ve figured out how to bypass the failsafe. Let’s figure on maybe being here a max of two days. That should be enough for Micah to get better.”
    The others look doubtful. In fact, I think two days is far too short for Micah to get back on his feet, but I don’t want say that.
    I gesture to Ashley. “The second thing we need to do is have you hack into those servers upstairs and see what they’re about. They might help us somehow.”
    â€œAnything else?”
    I turn and gesture at Stephen. “Yeah. We need to get him to tell us everything he knows. I don’t care how, either.”
    â€œLeave him to me,” Jake says.
    I had hoped that Reggie would offer to use his powers of persuasion to get him to talk. Now I regret throwing it out there for Jake to pounce on.
    I just hope he doesn’t try anything stupid or irreversible.
    Â 

Chapter 7

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    â€œThere,” Reggie says , standing back to inspect his handiwork. “Done. What do you think?”
    â€œThat should hold them,” agrees Jake, though he looks a bit skeptical, “at least for a while.”
    Several of us have just spent the past half-hour moving luggage carts and anything else we can find to block the doors.
    â€œWouldn’t take much to get through, though. A couple grenades, maybe, or—”
    â€œAnything like that, we’ll definitely know. We’ll be gone long before they get to us.” I do a last visual check to make sure everyone’s accounted for, then add, “Besides, we’ll post a couple people down here to keep watch.”
    â€œOr we could just leave now.”
    â€œAnd go where?”
    â€œI don’t know. Anywhere. I’d feel better if we weren’t so close.”
    â€œWe’re not going anywhere until we absolutely have to,” I say. “And we know how to.”
    His hand reaches up to the back of his head. He peels away the bandage and checks it before tossing it aside. “I wish I knew what those bastards did to us,” he says.
    â€œI do too, Jake. But if anyone can deactivate the failsafe, it’s Micah and Ash.”
    â€œSpeaking of which.” Reggie points. Ashley and Kelly are just returning from scavenging for food. The remaining Insta-Meals had done little to satisfy the gnawing holes in our stomachs.
    Their backpacks are full and heavy. I can hear glass clinking.
    â€œThere’s not much worth eating,” Ashley reports. “Enough to last us a couple days, if necessary, but nothing you’d want to eat long-term.” She digs into her pack. “Pickled olives and canned maraschino cherries from the bars. We found some peanuts, but they didn’t smell right so we left them. Oh, and beer. Lots of beer. And hard liquor.”
    â€œI think it’ll better if we lay of the alcohol,” I tell them. They all nod. Most of them know about my problem with my mom’s drinking. Only Kelly knows about my own drunken history.
    â€œLeave everything in the packs for now. We need to move.”
    â€œUpstairs?” Jake asks, and when I nod Ashley gives a noticeable shudder. It means going back to where we left Nurse Mabel. Back to where were were prisoners.
    â€œAt least to begin with,” I tell them. “We need to know what happened to those other two, see if they’re up there. I’m hoping they are and we can, I don’t know, catch them. If we can, then we’ll have a much better chance of figuring out how to deactivate this thing in our heads.”
    â€œIn our heads,” Jake says. “Not yours.”
    â€œWhat’s your point?” Kelly asks.
    â€œI’m just saying.”
    â€œNo, you’re not just say—”
    â€œBoth of you,” I nearly shout, “knock it off. We’re