Sam raised his rifle, gritting his teeth and feeling for the safety catch. ‘Don’t shoot!’ The voice in the darkness was Nathan’s and the two raptors speeding along the passageway towards the beleaguered party were Edison and Crick. A red-filtered torch rounded a corner and danced along behind them. Sam heaved a sigh of relief and lowered his rifle, his heart pounding. ‘Nathan?’ Claire shouted between firing controlled bursts down the passageway ahead. ‘Give me some good news. We can’t go this way.’ A sudden flash of bright orange light flared along the subterranean corridor behind them and a deafening BOOM echoed in its wake. A sudden blast of dust and small debris driven by the shock wave blew through the party. Sam barely managed to keep his feet under him. Others were not so fortunate. Sherri tumbled backward, colliding with David and Callum and taking all three of them down to form a shadowy heap. As he reeled, Sam shook his head to try to clear the ringing in his ears from the shock of the explosion, while a glowing after-image of the flash moved wherever he looked.
