“In the lab, the portal would only stay open for so long. There were fail-safes in place to close it after a maximum of fifteen minutes. But surveillance shows that it’s not closing. There’s no way to shut it down, and no way to be certain more things, things much worse than giant ants, might not come out.”
“What happens to the people after the ants take them?” Murky asked.
“We have no idea. We’ve never sent anyone in after them. All we know is that the underground tunnels go on for a long way, and that something down there is providing light so that it’s not completely dark.”
“And you’re not going to send anyone in after them now?” Jesse asked.
“The general in charge of the military side of the operation has forbidden it. Their goal is to contain anything trying to come out, and to find a way to close the portal permanently. They’ve decided that the townsfolk are an unfortunate but necessary loss.”
“Necessary?” Laura asked incredulously. “Those are our family and friends!”
“I’m sorry,” Agent Larson said. “I truly am. But there’s nothing more I can do.”
They were all quiet for a moment before Henderson said, “We could do it.”
“Excuse me?”
“You could let us go,” Laura said. “We could be the ones to go into the center of town and go in looking for them.”
“You’ve got to be joking,” Agent Larson said.
“What harm could it do?” Laura asked.
“Wha… what harm? Kid, this is not a game. If any of you go down there, you’ll be killed.”
“And if we hadn’t been out biking by the quarry, we would be down there anyway and still killed,” Laura said.
“Yeah, think of the paperwork if you keep us up here,” Jesse said. “Also, think of the fact that we actually know what’s going on now and we can totally go tell the news.”
“No one would believe you,” Larson said.
“If we go down there and don’t come back, then you don’t have to worry about whether or not that’s true,” Laura said.
Agent Larson appeared to think about this for a few seconds. “Okay, look, here’s what I’m thinking. This is nuts, but they won’t let me send anyone down that’s more capable. Maybe, though, there’s a way to help you that might give you a very small chance to actually do this.”
She checked the labels on a couple of the crates until she found one marked “Experimental Communications.” It was metal and locked shut, but Agent Larson pulled a key out from the pocket of her suit and unlocked it.
“Okay, wait, so you’re actually going to let us do this?”
“I’d rather not be responsible for the deaths of four kids, but whatever cover story my agency concocts to hide what happened here tonight, I don’t actually trust that they wouldn’t make you vanish anyway just to keep it consistent. Being honest here, if I don’t let you go try this, then you may very well be on borrowed time anyway.”
“This is nuts,” Jesse said, but he didn’t seem afraid. Murky was the only one of them who seemed frightened of what could happen, but she didn’t want to be the weak little one among them.
“Here.” Larson pulled out something that looked similar to a walkie-talkie, but it was much larger and heavier. “One of the things we developed for Project Subterranea was a way to communicate that wouldn’t be interfered with by all the stone in the way. It’s experimental and expensive, but maybe if you take this, I’ll still be able to communicate with you while you’re down there. I don’t know how much advice I’ll be able to give you, but at least you won’t be doing this completely blind.”
Laura took the device and put it in her backpack. It was a tight fit with all the homework she already had in there and the device’s antenna poked out through the open zipper, but she would be able to carry it that way.
“Okay, but how do we get out of here and back to town?” Henderson asked. “Are you just going to walk us in like that’s a totally normal thing to do?”
“I’m going to walk out the front flap,” Agent Larson said. “Wait exactly two minutes, then go to the back of the tent and lift up the canvas to get under it. There’re guards there now, but I’ll make sure there aren’t when you leave. The soldiers grabbed your bikes, so you should find them back there, too. There’s a dirt road just to the east of here. The entrance is blocked off from the highway, so the military isn’t wasting any man power to guard it.”
“That will take us most of the way back in to town,” Laura said.
“Once you’re in town, you won’t be able to dilly-dally,” Agent Larson said. “We may be keeping our distance, but there’s cameras pointed at it from every direction. The general will probably see you enter and try to stop you, so you’ll have to get to the portal and go down as quickly as you can.”
“Won’t you get in trouble once they find out we escaped?” Murky asked.
“I honestly don’t care anymore,” Larson said. “After tonight, I’m done with all of this. They put an entire town of innocent people at risk. One way or the other, it’s time for me to take an early retirement.”
She went back to the front flap but gave them one last look before she left.
“Good luck, but I’ve got to be honest: I don’t think I’m going to see you four ever again.”
Then she left.
Chapter Three
After counting to exactly one-hundred and twenty Mississippi, the kids did as they had been instructed and snuck out under the back canvas of the tent. Agent Larson was true to her word
