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.Behind them came roars and thrashings and frenzied clicking noises as their pursuers honed in on them.A moment later they entered the stand of trees and Ruby seemed to dive headfirst toward the base of a tree and disappear.Clark rushed forward and almost fell into a yawning pit, which was obscured by vines and brambles.Ruby’s voice called out, receding rapidly as she delved into the tunnel.“This way.”Without a moment’s hesitation, Clark and the others followed.“Down the fucking rabbit hole,” Tony snickered.Behind them, Amethyst said, “I didn’t take you for an Alice In Wonderland fan, Tony.”“I’m not.I used to date a stripper whose daughter liked the cartoon.”They plunged ahead into the darkness and the earth closed over their heads—not stifling the sounds from above.CLICK-CLICK…CLICK CLICK…CLICK-CLICK…Jennifer was surprised that the tunnel’s downward descent continued unchecked.Surely they must be below sea level by now.Just the very thought of all that water pressing against the rock made her woozy.Ignoring it, she kept running.Wade and Susan were right behind her, with the Dark Ones chasing after them several yards behind.As they darted down the winding passageways, Jennifer kept the lead, letting instinct lead her onward through the gloom.Their pursuers roared—heavy footsteps pounded, echoing throughout the corridor.They were so close that Jennifer could hear the echoes of their talons clicking against the stone floor.She paid the sounds no heed and continued running, not even stopping to hesitate when they came to a fork in the tunnel system.She took the right hand passage, hoping it would take them toward the surface.Instead it took them deeper beneath the mountain.What little light there was seemed to come from the rocks themselves.“I can’t keep this up,” Wade choked.Susan gasped for breath.“Shut the hell up and move your fat ass.”Then, without warning, the tunnel slope grew steeper and narrower.Jennifer, Wade, and Susan were forced to hunch over and slow down lest they fall forward and roll down the passage.Judging from the sound, the sharp descent and the narrowing walls were a hindrance to their pursuers; Jennifer heard bellows of rage as the larger Dark Ones became stuck.She knew that wouldn’t last long; they’d manage to break through soon enough.She’d seen them rend steel at Peachbottom.Stone would only be a temporary nuisance.And break on through they did, with angry roars and hisses and the crashing of rocks.The Dark Ones forced their way through the narrow crevices and wormed their way down the tunnels.It sounded like their pace had been slowed.She hoped the delay would be enough to allow them to escape.Why are the tunnels so narrow in this section? Jennifer thought as she slid down the slippery floor, the soles of her hiking boots providing some traction as she and the others went down the tunnel like a slide.If the Dark Ones created this, wouldn’t they have made them to fit their size?“This isn’t a tunnel,” Wade said, as if reading her mind.“It’s a cave.The tunnels must have joined up with it.”She’d been too focused on fleeing to notice it, but Jennifer realized that he was right.The walls were smooth and slick like the inside of a natural cave, not rough and rocky like the man-made tunnels they’d been running through.Likewise, there was no dust or dirt caking the walls and floor.It was also growing colder as they kept descending.The illumination had grown subtly brighter, but she was still unable to find the source.There were no signs of phosphorescent lichen or hidden torches.When they reached the bottom, Jennifer had to recover her senses to find out where they were.The light source had dimmed again, reducing visibility to a few feet around them.Wade and Susan slid to a stop behind her.She felt their welcoming presence as the Dark Ones roared in frustration far behind.“Where the hell are we?” Wade asked.“I don’t know,” Jennifer answered [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]