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“We have to get out of here,” Duck said

“You can go, Goose,” Caine said “I can drag Sa”

Sahosts Shadows in his mind But he knew Duck could not leave

“No,” Sam rasped “We need Duck”

“Do we?” Caine asked

“The one weapon it doesn’t knoe have,” Sam said

“Weapon?” Duck echoed

“It opens up just ahead,” Caine said “The cavern”

“What is it? What’s it look like?” Duck asked

Caine didn’t answer

Sah a spasm of pain It see the pain, he thought But in the trough betaves, he sometimes had a few seconds of clarity

He opened his eyes He turned up the light

As Caine had said, they were eer a mine shaft but a vast cavern

But no natural geological event had created this vast, silent hole beneath the ground No stalactites hung frorew from the floor

Instead, the stone walls seemed to have been melted and then solidified There was still a faint sh no smoke and no heat except what radiated from the fuel rod behind them in the shaft