Read Tunnels 03, Freefall for Free Online Page A

Will's lens fizzled with static then cleared down again. "Yes, there are loads of them. They look like..." He tailed off, sounding unsure of himself.
    "Well?" Chester prompted.
    "From what I can see they could be nets , in some sort of frames," Will said. "Which means we might not be alone down her," he added, "however far we've fallen."
    Chester absorbed this piece of information, then blurted, "Do you think it's the Styx?" He was suddenly terrified that they might be in danger again.
    "I don't know, but there's..." Will began, then his voice dried up.
    "What?" Chester asked.
    When Will finally spoke again, it was difficult for Chester to hear him. "I think there's a body in one of them," he murmured.
    Guessing what might be coming next, Chester didn't speak as he watched Will begin to tremble.
    "Oh, God. I think Cal's up there," Will said, staring in horror at the body spread-eagled on the net that Chester had no way of seeing.
    "Er, Will," Chester said tentatively.
    "Yes?"
    "It might not be Cal -- it might be Elliott."
    "Could be, but it looks like Cal," Will said haltingly.
    "Whoever it is, we still need to search for the other one. If it isn't Elliott, she might still be--" Chester swallowed the last word, but Will was only too aware what it was intended to be.
    " Alive ," he said. He wheeled around to face Chester, breathing fast with emotion. "God, will you listen to us! We're talking about living and dying as if we're discussing some bloody exam result or something. All this is turning us on our heads."
    Chester tried to interrupt, but Will wasn't to be stopped.
    "My brother's probably up there, and he's dead. And my dad. Uncle Tam, Granny Macaulay... they're all dead too. Everyone dies around us. And we just carry on as if it's quite normal. What have we become?"
    Chester had had quite enough. He yelled at Will.
    There's nothing we can do about any of that now! If those twins had got their stinking hands on us, we'd all be dead right now, and we wouldn't be having this half-arsed conversation!" His raised voice resounded around the place as Will watched him, startled by his friend's precipitant anger. "Now get down from there and help me to find the one person who might just get us home!"
    Will considered his friend in silence then jumped down. "Yes, you're right," he said, adding, "as usual."
    As they made their way across the fungus, the prospect of actually finding Elliott filled them both with unremitting dread.
    "This is where I hit the deck," Chester said, as he pointed at the place where he had landed. Squatting down on his hams, Chester began to tug at the rope, which, unless it had snapped, would lead them to Elliott. As he yanked at it, it broke a line in the surface of the fungus, and both of them followed it reluctantly. Before they knew it they came upon Elliott. She had landed on her side just as Will had done, and her slight form had penetrated deep into the fungus.
    "Oh no, I think her face is buried in the stuff," Chester said. He flung himself down and tried to pull her head round so her nose and mouth weren't obstructed by the fungus. "Quick! She might not be able to breathe!"
    "Is she...?" Will asked, from the other side of her body.
    "Can't tell," Chester replied. "Help me get her out!"
    Chester began to heave on her and Will took hold of one of her legs. With a loud slurp she came loose.
    "Christ alive!" Chester shouted as he saw the state of her arm. It was clear she had refused to let go of her rifle, with dire consequences when she'd slammed into the fungus. The rifle strap was wrapped around her forearm, which was horribly twisted. "Her arm's really messed up."
    "Definitely broken," Will agreed hollowly as he cleared the fungal gunk away from her face, picking the remaining fibers from her lips and nostrils. "But she's alive. She's still breathing," he told Chester, who didn't seem to be able to take his eyes off the mangled limb.
    Will moved to Elliott's other side and, nudging Chester