The Last Guardian Rises (The Last Keeper's Daughter) Read Online Free PDF

reopened and made profitable again. He and Andy, a fellow American contractor, were working two thousand meters below the surface, making their way laterally towards what they hoped would be a large coal vein.
    They’d worked through an old section of the mine that hadn’t been affected by the flood waters and had just pushed into virgin territory and, in just a few more meters, would call it a day. It was hard work, dangerous work, but they were paid well, and in three months Jason had earned more than he would have in two years back home. Soon he’d have enough money to buy a nice piece of land with a house, plenty of room for his wife and baby girl. Maybe he’d partner with his dad and run a few head of cattle on the grasslands.
    He didn’t realize how much he’d been daydreaming until a violent lurch slammed his back against the seat. The tortured grinding of the tungsten steel bits seeped through the protective headsets he wore.
    “Fuck!” Andy, his partner, screamed. Jason yanked off the headset, letting it fall around his neck. “Shut her down. Do you hear me?” Andy yelled.
    “Yeah, I hear ya,” Jason yelled down into the mouth piece. 
    “Back her up.” 
    Jason wasn’t too concerned. Andy was excitable and things happened, especially in this section which they knew would be challenging. The engineers had shown them the bad areas on the chart surveys the night before. Humming to himself, he disengaged and set the tracks so they could move backwards. The extra work at the end of their long shift made the whole process more laborious. Hot, sweaty, grimy, and hungry, he briefly wondered if he’d made the right decision to come here and leave his family, but he knew after a hot shower and a cold beer, he’d forget all about this, and instead be counting his money.
    “Looks good, move her to the right.” Andy had regained his normal volume. “The rocks got a strange coloring up ahead. I think we just need to maneuver over a little.”
    “Okay, ready?” Jason asked. He had to be sure Andy was in an area of safety before he engaged the gears. Otherwise his partner could be crushed.
    “Yep, let Big Mamma loose.”
    This time, Jason kept his mind on work. He was an easy-going type of guy, but right now, inexplicably, he felt anxious about the new track setting. Right away, the vibration felt different, and the drilling was too easy, like the machine was barely working as it ground its way through the rock. It should be working harder, much harder.
    “Shut her down.” Andy was screaming again and this time he sounded afraid. “Jason, Jesus man, you gotta get down here, quick. Don’t dim the lights, use the backup generator.”
    The fear in Andy’s voice heightened his own growing sense of anxiety. “Let’s just back her up and go up to the top.” Jason heard the break in his own voice. “This don’t feel right.”
    There was no sound through the headset. He waited a few more minutes. Nothing. Now the only thing he could do was the thing he didn’t want to do. Why would Andy not respond to him? Reluctantly, he hit the kill switch and swung over to the ladder steps, taking them slowly, until he could jump down to the mine floor. Up ahead, he could make out Andy. It looked like he was walking into an underground cavern, but that couldn’t be, the mapping of this area showed nothing but solid rock down here.
    “Shut up,” Jason said to himself. The lizard part of his brain was telling him to get the fuck out of here. “Don’t be a pussy,” he responded back to himself.
    “We ain’t unionized,” Andy yelled to him. “Hurry up.”
    Jason released a deep breath and moved to stand beside his partner. In front of them was a manmade structure. “What the hell?”
    Andy ran his hand over the smooth shiny surface. “It’s iron.” The machine bits had created a large ragged opening in the thick wall like a kid would rip away the wrapping paper on a Christmas gift.
    Jason felt pride in Big