Read Online The Project 01 - White Jade by Alex Lukeman - Free Book Online
Authors: Alex Lukeman
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arrangements to clean up the mess Choy had created. He was angry. The book was not found. If it was in that mine, how would he retrieve it? Wu would wait to inform the General. Yang was not a man who tolerated failure. He'd sleep on it and decide what to do tomorrow .
Chapter Six teen
Carter saw a dark object thrown into the tunnel and heard it clink against the rock floor and knew what it was . He jumped into the cart right on top of Selena, knocking her to the rusty floor, pressing her body under him .
The explosion blotted out thought . Shrapnel ricocheted off the sides of the cart. The entrance to the mine collapsed with a thunderous roar, shutting off the light.
Rumblings and falls deep within the mine faded away.
Total blackness.
Carter lay rigid, waiting for the ringing in his ears to stop.
She coughed. " You mind getting off me? "
He was pressing her down under him, the .45 still in his hand. He holstered it, climbed out of the cart in the dark.
" I can ' t see a damn thing. " Selena coughed again.
" I can fix that. "
Nick reached into his jacket pocket for the mini flash he always carr ied . He clicked it on.
Something crawled across the back of his hand.
A large, black spider.
He slapped it away, almost losing the flash. Something crunched under his foot.
He helped Selena out of the cart and tried not to think about spiders. She was covered with dirt and had scrapes on her face. Her silk designer blouse was ripped and stained with red dirt and rust , exposing most of her breast .
The entrance to the mine was blocked by tons of rock reaching to the ceiling. Thin streams of d irt trickled from the roof of the tunnel.
" We ' re not getting out that way , " he said.
" The whole side of the hill must have come down. "
He took out his phone. No signal.
" Is there another entrance? " He flicked the thin beam of the flash around the tunnel . Something moved at the edge of the light.
" I think so, but I don ' t know where it is. I saw a map of the mine once. There are three levels, with branches off the main tunnel and shafts hundreds of feet deep. Some parts are flooded, but I don ' t know where. A lot of tunnels were closed off when the mine began shutting down. "
" We don ' t have much choice. You up for exploring? "
" You lead, " she said.
The flash wasn ' t much. They followed the narrow beam along the rusted tracks, deeper into the mine, picking their way around rocks that had fallen from the roof. Nick lost sense of whether the tunnel was going straight or curving about. The air was stifling and hot and smelled of ancient water and older rock. The adrenaline rush was gone . H e was tired and sore.
Thick wooden posts support ed cracked beams h olding up the roof of the tunnel . They looked weak and unstable. Webs hung from the corners where the beams and posts came together. Everywhere, spiders retreated from the light. There were pools of water on the floor and wet, dark stains on the walls, drips of water from the ceiling. The air was hot and still. Nick felt the tunnel walls closing in. He told himself it would be all right. All right. One thing at a time. He was sweating.
The tunnel split, one branch going right, the other straight ahead.
" Which way should we go? "
" Your guess is as good as mine. I never thought I ' d need to know, " said Selena.
" You think right, or straight ahead? "
" If the tunnel hasn ' t turned, the river must be somewhere to the right. I think the miners followed a vein toward the river. If they did, maybe it came out somewhere on the bank. "
" Let ' s go right. If it did come out, it shouldn ' t be far. "
They entered the right hand shaft. The tunnel supports were rotting and puddles of water lay everywhere. Something scurried away ahead.
" What was that? "
" I don ' t know. I didn ' t see anything. "
" What ' s that squeaking sound? "
The passage curved and they came around the corner. Fifty feet ahead the tunnel ended in a fall of rock and a churning
Chapter Six teen
Carter saw a dark object thrown into the tunnel and heard it clink against the rock floor and knew what it was . He jumped into the cart right on top of Selena, knocking her to the rusty floor, pressing her body under him .
The explosion blotted out thought . Shrapnel ricocheted off the sides of the cart. The entrance to the mine collapsed with a thunderous roar, shutting off the light.
Rumblings and falls deep within the mine faded away.
Total blackness.
Carter lay rigid, waiting for the ringing in his ears to stop.
She coughed. " You mind getting off me? "
He was pressing her down under him, the .45 still in his hand. He holstered it, climbed out of the cart in the dark.
" I can ' t see a damn thing. " Selena coughed again.
" I can fix that. "
Nick reached into his jacket pocket for the mini flash he always carr ied . He clicked it on.
Something crawled across the back of his hand.
A large, black spider.
He slapped it away, almost losing the flash. Something crunched under his foot.
He helped Selena out of the cart and tried not to think about spiders. She was covered with dirt and had scrapes on her face. Her silk designer blouse was ripped and stained with red dirt and rust , exposing most of her breast .
The entrance to the mine was blocked by tons of rock reaching to the ceiling. Thin streams of d irt trickled from the roof of the tunnel.
" We ' re not getting out that way , " he said.
" The whole side of the hill must have come down. "
He took out his phone. No signal.
" Is there another entrance? " He flicked the thin beam of the flash around the tunnel . Something moved at the edge of the light.
" I think so, but I don ' t know where it is. I saw a map of the mine once. There are three levels, with branches off the main tunnel and shafts hundreds of feet deep. Some parts are flooded, but I don ' t know where. A lot of tunnels were closed off when the mine began shutting down. "
" We don ' t have much choice. You up for exploring? "
" You lead, " she said.
The flash wasn ' t much. They followed the narrow beam along the rusted tracks, deeper into the mine, picking their way around rocks that had fallen from the roof. Nick lost sense of whether the tunnel was going straight or curving about. The air was stifling and hot and smelled of ancient water and older rock. The adrenaline rush was gone . H e was tired and sore.
Thick wooden posts support ed cracked beams h olding up the roof of the tunnel . They looked weak and unstable. Webs hung from the corners where the beams and posts came together. Everywhere, spiders retreated from the light. There were pools of water on the floor and wet, dark stains on the walls, drips of water from the ceiling. The air was hot and still. Nick felt the tunnel walls closing in. He told himself it would be all right. All right. One thing at a time. He was sweating.
The tunnel split, one branch going right, the other straight ahead.
" Which way should we go? "
" Your guess is as good as mine. I never thought I ' d need to know, " said Selena.
" You think right, or straight ahead? "
" If the tunnel hasn ' t turned, the river must be somewhere to the right. I think the miners followed a vein toward the river. If they did, maybe it came out somewhere on the bank. "
" Let ' s go right. If it did come out, it shouldn ' t be far. "
They entered the right hand shaft. The tunnel supports were rotting and puddles of water lay everywhere. Something scurried away ahead.
" What was that? "
" I don ' t know. I didn ' t see anything. "
" What ' s that squeaking sound? "
The passage curved and they came around the corner. Fifty feet ahead the tunnel ended in a fall of rock and a churning
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