Tunnels 02, Deeper by Roderick Gordon, Brian Williams Read Free Book Online Page B

they set off.
    Before long, Cal sped onward at a fast trot, leaving Will and Chester to watch his bobbing silhouette advance into the murky gloom. The two of them strolled between the enormous metal girders of the train tracks. There was so much they wanted to say to each other, but now that they were alone, it was as if neither knew where to begin. Finally Will cleared his throat.
    "We've got some catching up to do," he said awkwardly. "Stuff happened -- crazy stuff -- while you were in the Hold."
    Will began to speak about his family, his biological family, whom he had met for the first time in the Colony, and what life had been like with them. Then he recounted how he and Uncle Tam had planned Chester's escape. "It was awful when it went wrong. I just couldn't believe it when I saw Rebecca was with the St--"
    "That little brat!" Chester exploded. "Didn't you ever think there was something seriously wrong with her? All those years you were growing up together?"
    "Well, I thought she was a bit strange, but then I thought all sisters were like that," Will said.
    "A bit strange?" Chester repeated. "She's a certifiable nut-case. You must have known she wasn't your real sister."
    "No, how could I? I... I didn't even know I was adopted or where I'd come from."
    "Don't you remember when your parents first brought you home?" Chester said, sounding a little amazed.
    "No," Will replied thoughtfully. "I would have been about four, I suppose. Do you remember much from when you were that old?
    Chester made a noise as if he wasn't wholly convinced, but Will went on with the chain of events. Trudging along beside him, Chester listened intently. Will finally came to the discussion with Imago, when he and Cal had had to decide whether they were going to return Topsoil or travel down into the Deeps.
    Chester nodded.
    "And that's how we came to be on the Miners' Train with you," Will finished, reaching the end of the story.
    "Well, I'm glad you did." His friend smiled.
    "I couldn't leave you behind," Will said. "I had to make sure you were OK. That's the least I--
    Will's voice broke. He was attempting to articulate his emotions, his remorse, for everything Chester had been put through.
    "They beat me, you know," Chester said abruptly.
    "Huh?"
    "After they caught me again," he said, so quietly that Will could hardly hear him. "They threw me back in the Hold and whacked me with clubs... tons of times," he continued. "Rebecca would come to watch."
    "Oh, no," Will mumbled.
    They were both silent for a few paces as they picked their way over the massive railroad ties.
    "Did they hurt you badly?" Will eventually asked, dreading the answer.
    Chester didn't reply right away. "They were really angry with us... with you mostly. They were shouting about you a lot as they hit me, saying you'd made them look like fools." Chester cleared his throat weakly and swallowed. His speech became confused. "It was... I ... they..." He took in a sharp breath. "The beatings never went that far, and all I could think was that there was something much worse in store for me." He paused as he wiped his nose. "Then this old Styx sentenced me to Banishment, which was even more frightening. I was so scared, I completely fell apart." Chester's gaze dropped to the ground, as if he'd done something to be ashamed of.
    He continued, a tone of the coldest controlled fury creeping into his voice. "You know, Will, if I could have, I would have killed them... the Styx. I wanted to, so much. They're evil... all of them. I would have killed them, even Rebecca ." He stared at Will with such intensity that Will shivered -- he was seeing a side of Chester he hadn't known existed.
    "Oh, I'm so sorry, Chester."
    But something equally important occurred to Chester, deflecting his thoughts. He stopped short, teetering on the spot, as if he'd been slapped in the face. "What you were saying about the Styx and their... what are they called... their people on the surface?"
    "Agents," Will helped