Thi roarin aroun me goze on forevir. My Is r dry & soar. My eers hurt 2.
O fuk I doan wan 2 dy.
I cant bleev how long this is takin. I feel like Im in kript-time. It okurs 2 me mayb I am, mayb I kriptid without noin about it. But I cant b. Im obveyisly not. I'm heer, follin down this shaft, damit. I try kriptin agen.
It wurx. Im on thi sekind basemint levil, praktikly @ c levil.
How mutch furthir down can this bleedin shaft go?
/I port acros in2 thi kript; @ leest I can avoid thi momint ov impact. My implants will pool me bak when I dy, so ther woant b 2 ov me, but @ leest… wait a bleedin minit.
Accordin 2 thi loakil hardware Im stil on thi saim levil. Thi kript finks Im staishinry. Wots goan on heer?
I dubil chek, trebil chek, kwadroopil chek. Yep; thi kriptosfeer finks Ive stopt.
I giv a sorta mentil gulp, then port bak acros 2 my bod.
/Thi air iz stil screemin up roun me. Itz stil totily blak but wif thi thermil bit ov my vizhin I can stil make out thi wols 2 ither side. Shurenuf, they do luke a bit difrint; no impreshin ov them hurtlin past no moar. I stare down.
I doan c nuthin but blakniss but now I fink about it thi sound is diffrint sumhow; evin moar ov a roar.
Then suddenli thers lites evriwhare, blindin me.
I cloas my Is. I fink; blimey, I nevir felt a fing. Thass me ded & this is thi long tunnil wif thi lite @ thi end whot evribody getz 2 c & I muss ? hit thi botim & not evin felt it.
Xsept thi roarins stil thare & thi wind is stil pushin in2 ma face. I opin my Is agen.
Im stairin strate down @ a sorta a hexagonil grid ov wires or metil or sumfin, & beyond thi grid, a few metirs furvir down, thers ol these big propelir fings, 7 ov them, ol whirlin away & roarin & sendin thi air screemin up past me.
I luke 2 thi side.
Thers a doar in thi wol levil wif me & a cupil ov big black meen lookin birdz wif skaley nex perchd thare, lookin @ me, beedy-Id, ther fevirs rufflin in thi draft.
I cant fink whot else 2 do. So I wave 2 them.
That woz how we used 2 reech our hoam, 1 ov thi birdz tells me.
Am wokin along a brod britely lit tunnil. Thi 2 lammergeiers r keepin pace wif me by sorta ? hoverin in thi air 1 on ither side ov me, ther wings goan whuf whuf, whuf whuf. I didn evin no they cude do this.
Am wokin kinda funy coz I think I did crap my pants juss a litil, but they doan seem 2 nods, or thayr 2 pol ite.
U meen u got blastid up thare by thoaz fans? I say, suriptishisly poolin @ thi sect ov ma pants.
Krect, sez thi bird (?n
So whyd u leev? I shout. & who woz that up thare pooshd me down?
We left bcoz it woz no longir safe, & we wer needid down heer, yelz thi bird. As 2 who pooshd u in2 thi shaft, I imajin it woz probly a state employee.
Whot, a Security geezir or sumfing? But — ?
Pleez; I cant tel u eny moar. Our comandir may b abil 2 ansir eny uthir qwestions u ?. Luke; wude u mind runnin?
Runnin? I sez, Why, is ther sumbidy aftir us? I glans bhind expectin 2 c Security peepil pursooin us but thers juss thi long brite tunil stretchin way in2 thi distins.
No, shouts thi bird, itz juss this pace is very tyrin 4 us.
Sorry, I sez, & braik in2 a run. Dozent do my chafed bum no gude but it keeps thi 2 lammergeiers happy, beetin alongside.
& so that woz how I arrivd @ thi lammergeiers HQ; brefliss, on thi dubil & wif my pants spottid wif kak.
Thi hed lammergeier iz a feerce big bugir ov a burd; tolir than me when heez perchd & wings longir than Im tol. He iznt no ole gie neevir, heez in hiz prime wif sleek blak & wite fevvirs, steely lookin talins, a naykid nek that lukes oild & brite, & jet-blak Is. I doan no if heez got a naim; we ?nt bin propirly introdoosed.
Heez sittin on a perch, Im sat on thi floar. Thi room iz funnil shaped & thi brod sirkulir roof has a imidje ov a blu sky wif litil flufy clouds in it. Thers anuthir ? dozen or so uthir lammergeiers perchd aroun thi room 2.
U ? been a propir pest 2 sertin peepil, mastir Bascule, thi big bird sez, stairin @ me & rokin from side 2 side & sorta stampin itz feet on thi perch. A moast persistent pest.
Thang u very mutch, I sez.
That woz not a complimint! thi bird screetchiz, flapin.
I sit bak, blinkin (my Is r stil a bit soar aftir ol that wind roarin past me when I fel). Whot do u meen? I ask.
Itz qwite possibil that we ? givin away our noo posishin heer by turnin on thi lift fans so we cude save yoor miserabil hide! thi bird shouts.
Wel, sory Im shure, but I woz toald u mite ? sum informayshin about thi whareabouts ov a frend ov mine.
What? thi hed bird sez, soundin puzzld. Who?
Itz a ant. Hir name is Ergates.
Thi bird starez @ me. Yoor lookin 4 a
A ver speshil ant. (I naro my Is.) Whot woz taikin by a
Thi bird shaiks itz hed. Wel, it woznt dun by 1 ov us, it sez, shakin its fevirs.
O yeh? I sez.
We r chimerix, mastir Bascule. This… ant muss ? bin taikin by a wild lammergeier.
& whare r they then? I ask. (Dam, fot I woz on thi rite trak @ last!)
Ded, thi hed bird sez.
I blink my Is. Ded?
Thi state had them kild during yesterday evening when it reelized we opoasd it; moast ov them wer mobbed by chimeric crows & brot down. We bleev we wer thi reel targets. 2 ov us wer cot & distructid. Ol thi wild lammergeiers r ded.
O, I sed. O deer, I thot.
Hmm, I sed, I doan supoase u no if eny ov them sed anythin about-?
Wait a minit, thi bird sez, waivin 1 wing @ me. It cloases its Is 4 a momint. It opinz them agen.
It lukes stedily @ me 4 a momint, then sorta ? shaiks its hed. Wel, mastir Bascule, it sez. As I sed, u ? been nuthing if not persistint. & u ? not been fritind 2 risk yoor life. It stamps its feet agen. Ther is sumthin u mite do.
Do 4 what, 4 who?
I cant tel u 2 mutch, yung sir; itz best 4 u if u doant no 2 mutch, beleev me; but ther r sum very importint things happening rite now, things whitch affect — & whitch wil affect — ol ov us. Thi state — thi peepil who ? atakd owr frends thi sloths & ? tried 2 kil u — r tryin 2 prevent sumthing happening. Wil u giv us yoor help in making it happin?
Thi big bird shayks its wings impayshintly. Thi emisiry, it sez, is kold an asoora & it is from 1 ov thi few parts ov thi kript whitch haz
