The Black Room Read Online Free PDF Page A

them.”
    â€œSuppose they never come?” Perdew said brutally. “Do we have to sit here forever—waiting to be killed? I’m not doing that. If the rest of you won’t move, I’ll go on my own!”
    Lorn looked at his set, angry face and thought, We can’t manage without you. They needed his speed and his hunting skills. And she needed his bluntness, too. He was the only one who questioned her decisions and made her think harder. If he insisted, they would have to move.
    Except—
    She looked the other way, at Bando standing beside the journey line, stubborn and immovable. We can’t manage without you, either. He might not understand everything that went on, but he was twice as strong as the rest of them. And he could work all day and all night without tiring.
    She didn’t know what to do.
    â€œWell?” Perdew said, hassling her. “There’s no time to waste. You’ve got to decide, Lorn.”
    â€œI’m not moving,” Bando said doggedly, glaring at Perdew.
    Why does it have to be me? ... Lorn looked away from them both, staring into the brazier. They were both right. It was vital to stay where they were, and it was vital to move. But, above all, it was vital to keep everyone together. Was there any way of doing that? The questions swirled together, battering her mind.
    And then, slowly, they fell into a pattern.
    She turned around to face the others. “Perdew’s right,” she said. “The cavern’s not as safe as we thought it was. And it’s not big enough, either. Not now that there’s all this food to store. We do need somewhere else.”
    â€œNo!” Bando took a step forward, looking horrified and distressed.
    Lorn held up a hand. “It’s OK,” she said. “Don’t worry. You’re right, too. We can’t let the others struggle back and find us gone. So we’ve got to stay here.”
    She let the contradiction hang in the air for a moment, waiting while the others puzzled over it.
    â€œSo what are we going to do?” Ab said at last. “We can’t move and stay here.”
    â€œYes, we can,” Lorn said triumphantly.
    She looked past him—past them all—into the dark, hot space behind the brazier, the space where they had all squeezed together to escape the swinging beam. The answer was there. She stared into the darkness, letting her mind sink down below the brazier and the earth floor where it stood. Away from all the huge enemies who roamed the ground above their heads. Down and down, into the safe, hidden space underneath.
    â€œWe’re not going to live in this cavern anymore,” she said. “We’re going to use it as a storeroom. But we won’t be leaving here—because we’re going to make a new cavern.”
    Nobody was expecting that. She saw them frown, looking uneasily at each other, but she didn’t care. She knew she had the right answer now.
    â€œWe’re going to dig down,” she said. “No one will be able to reach us then. We’ll make a new cavern, underneath this one. And we’ll be completely safe.”

5
    TOM WAS KNOCKED STUPID, SPRAWLING HELPLESS AND HALF upside down. His leg had twisted underneath him, and the back of his head was rammed into the mud. He could hear Helga on the other side of the ditch, barking furiously, but she might as well have been in Australia. He wished he hadn’t tied her up so well.
    There was no escape from the hard hands that gripped his shoulders. He was hauled across the ditch and away from the hedge, and then rolled over and slammed facedown onto the ground.
    â€œGet off!” he yelled. “Get off me!”
    But he couldn’t even hear his own voice properly because someone else was shouting, too. Shouting and dragging him backward over the rough ground.
    â€œGet away! You’re hurting—”
    The arms dragged him up from the ground and slammed him down