Earthfall Read Online Free PDF

’cos I’m out of rockets and that little firework display is going to attract every Hunter within ten miles.’
    In the distance they could hear the low throbbing roar of one of the black triangular drop-ships growing louder.
    ‘You’ll get no argument from me,’ Rachel said as she picked her rifle up off the road. ‘Jay, this is Sam, Sam this is Jay. It’s short for Jacob, but I only call him that when he annoys me. Which is surprisingly often.’
    ‘Pleased to meet you, Sam,’ Jay said with a broad grin, shaking his hand. ‘So you’re the last one of the Doc’s little lost sheep, huh? Been looking forward to meeting you.’
    ‘Is anyone actually planning to tell me just what the hell’s going on at some point?’ Sam asked.
    ‘Stirling will explain everything,’ Rachel said, turning to the nearby entrance to the Underground station. ‘Come on, let’s go.’
    The three of them ran towards the stairs leading down into the darkness as one of the giant black triangles soared past overhead, a bright rectangle of white light appearing as a hatch opened in its belly. The last thing Sam saw as he ran down the stairs was dozens of Drones pouring out of the hatch, swooping down towards them.
    ‘Hunters,’ Jay said as he ran down the steps behind Sam. ‘We need to get into the tunnels fast.’
    Behind them they could now hear the buzzing hum of the Drones as they searched for their prey.
    ‘Won’t they just follow us down here?’ Sam asked as they ran through the abandoned station concourse, navigating their way through the darkness using only the meagre light provided by their torches.
    ‘Probably,’ Rachel said as she jumped over a ticket barrier, ‘but this is our territory. They’re not catching us down here.’
    ‘Yeah, man,’ Jay said, ‘we’re like rats. We know all the best hiding places.’
    Sam climbed over the turnstile and followed Rachel down a stationary escalator, heading into the bowels of the abandoned Tube system. The noise of their headlong dash through the station seemed unbelievably loud to Sam and the buzz of the hunting Drones somewhere behind them was getting closer all the time. They kept running until they reached one of the station platforms, which stretched away into the darkness on either side of them.
    ‘This way,’ Rachel said as she jumped down from the platform and on to the track. ‘If we can make it to Sanctuary Twelve, we can hole up and wait for the Hunters to give up the search.’
    ‘How far is that?’ Sam asked. He was finding it increasingly difficult to catch his breath.
    ‘Half a click,’ Jay said, pointing his torch down at the track. ‘Watch your step – last thing we need now is a broken ankle.’
    ‘That’s half a kilometre,’ Rachel said, rolling her eyes. ‘You’ll have to excuse Jay – little bit too much Call of Duty. Thinks he’s a soldier.’
    ‘We’re all soldiers now, Rach,’ Jay said. ‘You as much as anyone.’
    The three of them hurried down the pitch-black tunnel in single file, Jay in the lead, Sam in the middle and Rachel bringing up the rear. They’d gone a couple of hundred metres when the sound of the Drones behind them changed subtly.
    ‘They’re in the tunnel,’ Rachel said. ‘You see the hatch yet, Jay?’
    ‘No, not yet,’ he replied, a slight note of concern in his voice for the first time.
    ‘It’s got to be close,’ Rachel whispered.
    ‘I know,’ Jay replied, ‘but I’m telling you I can’t see it.’
    Sam heard a gentle click from behind him as Rachel thumbed the safety catch on her rifle to the off position.
    ‘Wait . . . I got it,’ Jay said, hurrying towards a hatch set low in the wall twenty metres ahead of them. Sam heard Rachel’s relieved sigh, and they followed Jay down the tunnel. Rachel pointed her torch at the hatch as Jay turned his off and shoved it into his pocket.
    ‘Give me a hand,’ Jay said, tugging at the hatch’s rusty metal locking handle.
    Sam grabbed on to the bar and