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His tone i hshadows cast by an LED caht, nor a functional weapon between the the braith the Jacobites was e more ammo were slim

Samantha stepped carefully Every surface was slick with humidity and stank with an intensity that made her eyes water, yet the others didn’t co across the city at altitude, this was undoubtedly the best way to reach their destination without being seen

Ahead, Pruestured at a branch in the tunnel "That way leads to Nightcliff Skyler took it when he had to sneak in, and they collapsed it a week later"

Saine Skyler’s trek through this dismal place He’d soh only a few people knew it Her captain had pulled it off andto save her and then Dr Sharma Never once had he asked for thanks or praise Few in Darwin kne close the city had come to total collapse, or who their true savior was

Pru the branch that led west After what seean to slope upward until it finally, blissfully, ended at a locked gate, bars as thick as her arnant pool near the ocean Sa of hundreds of s seaweed odor to the still-pungent reek of sewage The big man seeray rocks piled around thehike The rocks soon gave way to a barely visible path through shoulder-high reeds The sun, though still low behind the city’s skyline, already made the air uncomfortably warm and thick with flies

The path led up onto an e one side of the artificial cove Occasionally she spotted ragged ca tents nestled within the reeds, heard the sound of snoring froh on the inlet’s side the ocean caged the waters out to a few hundred meters from shore Those nearest the open ocean were in the best shape, either co in their effort to catch fish With no room for livestock in any appreciable quantity, Darwin relied on these boats as h above to keep people fed The placement of the Elevator on Darwin’s coastline, either on purpose or otherwise, left al open ocean This left fishing as an option, but the coast was so clogged with the watercraft that swarht from the disease that it had becoe of the flotilla with their catch, trading the haul for whatever supplies they needed, and so began a byzantine process far too complex for Samantha to comprehend The net result was that some fish made it to shore, but notthe cluttered bay He studied the flotilla for a long time

"Oy," Skadz said, "big htcliff way the hell back that way?"

"Tell ," Pru we possess of value?"

The question left Skadz speechless Sae," Prumble said

Sam smirked "Okay …"

"We know, for example, that Darwin is not the only place on Earth people can live We know there’s another option That’s valuable"

Saed "So what? Hardly anyone could get there"

"Mate," Skadz said, "if you’re proposing to sell seats on Skyler’s bird, don’t bother He said it would barely fit us"

In response Prumble raised one hand and pointed out to sea Saht down his ar at Even when she found it, she didn’t understand "That black square?"

"Indeed"

"What is it?"

Prurinned "The Vadim Zorich A Russian submarine, thorium powered She surfaced here a full six ees, and the only people other than you iers who can leave the aura"

Squinting in disbelief, Skadz said, "And in all this tier off?"

"Many did, yes, but there’s still enough of theo out for months at a time, just because they can, I suppose Luckily for us, they’re here now"

"Pruot a ride What’s the point?"

"We have a ride, yes People who can assist us in entering Nightcliff do not, and I’ll bet they’d like one very much"

With that he turned and continued his orated They crested the euided theh two chain-link fences, and finally out onto the strip of land that led to their goal

"Best to conceal that rifle now," Pru back

Ahead, perched on the shore of East Point, were the six functioning desalination plants Froether into onearray of pipes and storage tanks