Page 24

“What the hell is that?” Ryatt asked, poking his gun into a cluster of black goo on the railing, which stuck to his gun like glue and stretched like gum. Garret pulled at some of it and was forced to rip it off instead.

“Don’t know.” Garret took off his helmet and smelled a piece that was stuck to his glove. He grimaced. “But I have a feeling it’s not company made.”

Dani examined the goo. It was a deep purple in the light.

“Should we go back?” Lex asked.

Dani shined her light across the bridge. The goo stretched along the rails and along the sides of the building like webbing. Some of it was above their heads. She brought up her garometer, and it crackled softly.

The readings were only at a seven.

“Is there any other way?” Dani asked Myrell, who still held the map.

Myrell shook her head. “Only tunnels below and I guarantee they’re blocked. If not…you know we always find something lurking in the tunnels.”

She knew. Every time they ever tried to take a tunnel system, it was infested.

“I say we keep going,” said Garret. “We’re almost half-way.”

Dani gripped the strap of her pack, thinking. She glanced back the way they came.

“Job’s gotta get done, right?” Lex said.

It did. And they’d already lost so much time.

She eyed the pair with their guns locked and ready. “Just keep a look-out.”

Garret winked at her before putting his helmet back on. “We got this.”

He and Ryatt moved to the front. They steered clear of the webbing, aiming their lights into the dark.

The wind picked up as they went, lifting up dust from the rubble below. The bridge trembled, swaying lightly, forcing them to slow.

There were two wide pillars on either side of the bridge at the half-way point. Webbing stretched across either end. As they carefully passed through, they stopped a few feet beyond.

The bridge was broken in several places but only by a few feet. The web-like goo appeared to be keeping them together.

“Maybe it is company made. Those spiderbots might have made these to keep it together,” Lex said.

“Yeah, right,” Myrell mumbled beside her.

“It’s not that far-fetched actually,” said Tom at the back. “They do use a sort of web to lift things.”

Something moved beyond. Dani shined her light across and saw…

“A scibot, look!” Lex pointed.

The robot was standing just at the end, its faceless head bowed. The computer on its chest flashed the words HOW MAY I ASSIST YOU?

It lifted its arm and beckoned them forward.

“Do the bots usually do that?” Myrell asked her.

Dani watched as it slowly waved at them. “Maybe, if it was programmed to.”

“Why would someone program it to do that?”

“Don’t know.”