Free Hell Divers by Nicholas Sansbury Smith Page B

decided to fly to Hades,” X said.
    The words lingered as the PA system crackled and played an automated message. Ash used the stolen moment to check the clock. When the static cleared, she stood up. She had made her decision. “Jordan, plot us a course,” she ordered.
    â€œAye, Captain.”
    Ash looked to X. “Get some sleep tonight, and lay off the ’shine. Tomorrow you start training your new team.”
    He opened his mouth to protest, but she cut him off. “I know, you said you were done. But Ares needs you. An endangered species—yours—needs you. Are you really going to say no?”
    He glowered for a moment, then shook his head. “No.” He stiffened. “No, Captain. We dive so humanity survives.”

FIVE
    Commander Weaver ran like a man possessed, his lungs burning with every breath. No matter how fast he sucked in air, he couldn’t get enough.
    He wasn’t running from the monsters in the pit. The beasts had retreated soon after they climbed out of their lair. Something had scared them off. He could still hear their faint wailing in the distance, but now there were other, equally disturbing sounds. A low rumble broke over the horizon, drowning out the cries of the monsters.
    Weaver leaped over a rusted tangle of rebar jutting from a piece of broken foundation. A tremor rumbled beneath him, causing the snow on the surface to shimmer.
    A dozen yards ahead of him, Jones fell. Scrambling back to his feet, he yelled, “What the hell is happening?”
    Weaver turned, shielding his visor from the gusting snow, and scanned the city. Beyond the bare girders of high-rises, he could see only a solid wall of darkness.
    â€œWhat is that?” Jones asked.
    Weaver didn’t reply. He was frozen in place, staring in awe at the biggest, most powerful storm he had ever seen or even imagined. Half as tall as the highest skyscraper, the wall of snow stretched for miles across, and it was barreling toward the city at an astounding speed.
    â€œHoly shit,” he breathed. Never in his life had he seen such a force of nature.
    â€œRun!” Jones yelled, yanking on Weaver’s arm. “Come on, we have to get out of here!”
    Weaver ran sideways for a few strides, watching lightning flash over the storm. The eastern edge glowed blue for several seconds before it reached the city and flooded the streets. In minutes, it would be on them. The sounds of cracking ice and groaning metal jolted Weaver to action, and he turned and sprinted after Jones.
    The two divers were on the western edge of Hades now, almost to the industrial zone. Weaver could see the ITC warehouses spread out across the landscape. Their concrete walls were built to withstand storms. But this ? How could anything in Hades still be standing? It was a true testament to human engineering.
    Fighting the urge to look over his shoulder, he concentrated on his breathing instead. Deep and steady, in and out …  Little dots like swarming bees caromed about at the edges of his vision. He wasn’t getting enough oxygen, and his body was paying the price. Every pounding step forward came with a sharp jolt of pain. His calves and quads, at their functioning limit, burned with lactic acid buildup.
    They were within a hundred yards of the nearest structure when a panel of corrugated sheet metal whistled past Jones’ head and buried itself edgewise in a snowbank. Weaver ran hunched over, bracing himself as gravel and shrapnel hissed and whined through the air all around them.
    In a sudden whiteout, he lost sight of Jones, who then reemerged a moment later at the entrance to a two-story building. The exterior appeared to be metal, not concrete. Jones pulled open the door and waved him forward.
    â€œCome on!” Jones shouted.
    Weaver began to yell back when a blast of wind picked him up and cartwheeled him over the snow. The drift broke his fall, but the impact knocked the air out of his