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  THE MOUNTAIN

  BOOK SIX OF THE GREAT BLUE ABOVE SERIES

  BY: KEVIN GEORGE

  CHAPTER ONE

  “It’s going to be okay,” Oliver whispered to himself, resisting the urge to close his eyes. “It’s going to be okay.”

  He could barely hear his own voice over the sound of rocks hitting the military truck’s roof. The passengers crammed around him—consisting mostly of Tunnelers—gasped with each clang. The truck’s grinding engine was nearly as loud. But the cacophony of nearby noises was nothing compared to the distant rumbling intensifying with every passing second. It wasn’t long before the passengers felt the rumbling as much as they heard it, the metallic bench seats vibrating beneath them as The Fourth shook as severely as the rest of the City Below.

  Oliver leaned forward and turned toward the front of the truck. A small window connected the passenger section with the cab, where he saw the driver following the line of other vehicles that had been stashed in The Fourth. Ahead loomed a large tunnel opening, into which vehicle after vehicle streamed. Oliver tried to see more of The Fourth, but the walls were crumbling. He knew his time in the mysterious section would be measured in minutes. He had so many questions but knew this wasn’t the time to ask them.

  I might not ever have that chance, he thought, his brow dotting with sweat, his cheeks flushing. No matter how many times he told himself they’d be okay, he didn’t feel any better about his immediate future.

  The hardest tremor yet rattled the truck. Of all the frightening sounds filling the passenger section, Oliver picked out a tiny gasp just beside him. He looked down at Mia, who continued to clutch her baby brother tightly. The little girl looked up at Oliver with wide, panicked eyes.

  “Don’t worry,” he said, his voice quivering. He exhaled deeply before speaking again, calming his tone. “Everything will be okay.”

  “Are you sure?” she asked.

  Seeing her fear forced Oliver to calm down. He nodded and smiled.

  “Of course,” he said.

  Mia returned his smile, though she was obviously forcing it. Still, the wrinkles on her forehead smoothed as she gently rocked the baby.

  “Did you hear that, Ryo?” she asked the newborn. She glanced up to Oliver, quickly explaining that she’d named the baby after her father. Oliver was glad she looked back down and didn’t see him frown at the mention of his former enemy. “Don’t worry, Ryo, if Prince Oliver says everything will be okay, we have nothing to worry about.”

  “It’s just Olly now,” the prince said. “There’s no longer a city for me to be the prince of.”

  Mia smiled sadly. Oliver turned to the person on the other side of him. Despite the fear or concern of every other passenger, Paige Blake’s expression showed no sign of emotion. She stared forward, her eyes blank, as if she saw or heard nothing. Olly was glad to have her beside him, but he couldn’t look at Paige without thinking of Emma. He’d been forced to choose between them, and his wife had been taken by a Sky Person as the result of his decision. He couldn’t help but wonder if Paige might’ve somehow survived the Tunnel War had he chosen to rescue Emma instead.

  He hoped Emma was okay, that she’d somehow survived the volcano eruption, though the odds of that seemed unlikely. Not only had she been taken by a savage Sky Person, the two had then flown toward the lava and collapsing city. Oliver tried to imagine what she would’ve witnessed in the waning moments of her life, and he inevitably thought of everyone else from the City Below. He glanced at the queen’s baby, knowing things mustn’t have turned out well for Raefaline if the child was here. He told himself to feel pleased by her presumed death, but no matter how hard he tried, it was only shame that filled him.

  Not to mention heat. Sweat trickled down his face and neck. His filthy clothes clung to his body and the air around him felt stale and hot. He glanced at the other passengers, many of whom were red-faced and fanning themselves. The heat grew stifling in a matter of seconds. He looked out the back of the vehicle at the same time the other passengers did. The Fourth’s massive blast door glowed a brighter and brighter orange with every passing second. Nobody needed to point out that the lava had finally melted its way into the section.

  Oliver scurried toward the front and banged on the window, startling the driver and other front-seat passenger. He pointed behind them.

  “Lava!” he yelled. “Drive faster!”

  The driver pointed forward. The line of vehicles proceeded slowly once they entered the tight confines of the tunnel. It was clear they couldn’t drive faster than those in front of them, though the driver pressed the vehicle’s horn over and over for good measure. Not for the first time, Oliver wondered if he should’ve listened to his mother and taken his place next to her in the lead vehicle that was surely within the tunnel already.

  The passengers didn’t remain in their seats for long. As Oliver continued to stare out the front window, he heard fear behind him manifesting into more than just silent cries and whimpers. Panic spread among the passengers. Several people began pushing their way through the vehicle, whipping the others into a fearful frenzy. Oliver turned to see Paige being jostled, though her expression remained unchanged. The same couldn’t be said for Mia, who held her crying brother tighter, looking frightened as she was bumped from both sides.

  Olly forced his way toward Mia, adding to the chaos. Through the back window, their view of The Fourth grew distant as they drove deeper into the tunnel. Still, Oliver saw the lava growing brighter and coming closer. The tunnel obviously wouldn’t be a safe haven from the liquid fire. Passengers pushed their way to the back door and started banging on it. When the door finally flew open, a wave of heat rushed in. Olly instinctively raised his hands to his face, but nothing could ease the stinging pain. Passengers cried and coughed around him.

  “Shut it!” Olly yelled.

  Others called out the same thing, but just as many passengers cried about what they could do to survive.

  “We have to get out of here!” someone yelled.

  “And go where?” another cried out.

  “We have to stay put,” Olly called. “The path ahead should widen once we drive farther.”

  Most passengers calmed and sat back down, but a desperate few leapt out of the vehicle. Olly watched them hit down hard, tumbling to the floor before scrambling to their feet. One passenger hit down particularly hard and stayed down, grabbing at his leg and screaming in pain. Olly wanted to tell the driver to stop but knew he couldn’t risk everyone’s lives to save one person. The injured passenger’s cries echoed through the tunnel as the vehicle drove farther away, though the noise came to an abrupt halt once the lava overtook him.

  Most jumpers scrambled to their feet and ran ahead of the final vehicle. Olly glanced through the front window to see them racing along the side of the tunnel, though no other vehicle slowed to let them in. One person ran too close to another vehicle only to be sideswiped and knocked down. Olly felt his own vehicle thump over the person a moment later, causing more cries around him.

  Olly noticed Mia looking at him, her face twisted in an unspoken question. Olly considered leaping from the back, but he felt the vehicle finally accelerating, slowly at first but still a steady increase. He shook his head at Mia, who nodded and remained seated. Still, more passengers leapt until only about half remained.

  “Maybe the vehicle’s being weighed down by too many people,” said one of the remaining passengers, her voice eerily calm. When her eyes turned to Olly, Olly felt a chill despite the intense heat. “Too many new people here that don’t deserve it.”

  More eyes looked at Olly, who slowly backed away. When one of the passengers stalked toward him and reached out an arm, Oliver’s instincts kicked in and his feet shifted into att
ack position. He threw a punch and knocked back his would-be attacker. Olly glared at several others, hoping that they’d learned their lesson. They left him alone, but several hands took aim for Paige, Mia and the baby.

  “No!” Mia cried.

  The passengers quickly came to their senses with the little girl, but that wasn’t the case with Paige. She was yanked to her feet and dragged toward the back of the vehicle. Finally snapping out of her trance, Paige kicked and screamed as they dragged her toward the open back door. Lava was getting closer and the ground trembled harder, causing Paige and her captors to nearly fall. Olly fought his way toward them, pushing anyone that got in his way, unable to fight through nearly a dozen people that eventually restrained him.

  A loud crack echoed in the tunnel. Small patters from the vehicle’s roof turned to loud bangs as the ceiling collapsed around them. Olly and the others watched large chunks of debris falling behind them, most splashing into lava. Mia’s screams of mercy for Paige stopped the others just enough for them to realize the vehicle was finally racing farther ahead of the lava. The truck was clearly gaining speed. Olly struggled to turn his head and see through the front window, where he spotted other vehicles traveling faster, too.

  “The tunnel’s widening!” he called out. “We’re outrunning the lava flow!”

  Tension in the vehicle faded as quickly as the overwhelming heat did. The passengers’ grips on Oliver eased. He no longer felt such panic as he saw the others release Paige near the back door. A few apologies were muttered, but they could barely be heard over the baby’s crying. Worse were the sounds of frightened calls for help from the tunnel, where the vehicles sped past the fleeing passengers foolish enough to have leapt out. Oliver pounded on the window separating him from the driver, yelling that they needed to stop. But the driver shook his head and pushed the truck as fast as it would go.

  Oliver hurried toward the back of the truck, looking out at men and women waving desperately. He hoped to reach out for anyone close enough, but few runners had the energy to keep pace. Paige leaned out and grabbed one person that managed to get close enough. The effort nearly caused Paige to be dragged out, but Oliver grabbed her around the waist and pulled them both to safety. Before he had the chance to celebrate, Oliver heard another runner calling for help. Oliver and Paige nearly knocked each other over trying to get to the open door.

  The runner—a red-faced man huffing and puffing but refusing to slow—raced with urgency, keeping his hand outstretched as he neared the truck. Oliver tried to lean out but came up several feet short. He watched the man with pity but leaned back in to safety, knowing there was nothing to be done. The same couldn’t be said for Paige. She shouldered past Olly but not before grabbing his hand.

  “Hold onto me,” she ordered.

  Before he could ask why, Paige balanced one foot on the back edge of the truck and leaned her body out. Olly tensed his arm, ready to pull her back in, but she reached out as far as she could go, her hand inches from the runner chasing the truck. Paige look into the man’s frightened eyes. She wanted to call out words of encouragement, but if the flowing lava and crumbling tunnel walls couldn’t convince the man to run faster, nothing would. Their fingertips brushed again when a loud cracking sound exploded nearby.

  The truck suddenly swerved, the unexpected movement nearly causing Olly and Paige to tumble out. A split second later, a heavy booming caused the ground to shake. The truck scraped the side of a giant slab of concrete that had broken free from the ceiling. Olly started to pull Paige back in.

  “No!” she snapped, nodding toward the runner barely avoiding the debris.

  Olly didn’t think the red-faced man had a chance to catch up again, but he pumped his arms and his legs with the intensity of someone facing a certain fiery death. The truck had slowed momentarily, but it gained speed with every passing second. Olly and other passengers called for the man to hurry until he was only inches from reaching Paige’s hand…

  When the next explosive cracking thundered above, the truck didn’t alter its course. The driver slammed on the gas as another giant slab of debris fell, missing the back of the truck by inches. It didn’t, however, miss the runner. One moment, Paige expected to feel the man’s fingers brushing hers again. The next moment, she felt the sting of her arm being pelted by tiny concrete pebbles broken off from the slab that hit down a few feet beyond her reach. The red-faced runner was gone.

  Screams echoed within the truck. Olly pulled Paige back in, wrapping his arms around her as the truck shook from the quaking tunnel floor. Olly stared into her eyes, relieved to see fear and anger and disappointment. When she squirmed out of his grasp, Olly felt embarrassed and backed away, though he still felt better knowing Paige had snapped out of her emotionless trance. The ground continued to shake, and the truck filled with the sound of one metallic ping after another. They weren’t out of danger yet. Olly waved Paige toward their seats, where he checked on Mia and the baby.

  “Close the damn door!” another passenger yelled.

  But another echoing scream kept Paige near the back and kept self-preservation out of her mind. The truck passed a final person in the tunnel, who’d somehow swerved around all of the falling debris. A passenger called out to ‘forget the runner’ and ‘keep us safe,’ but Paige leaned out again. Olly rushed back to her when he felt a tiny hand grasp his forearm.

  “Don’t leave us,” Mia pleaded.

  “Everything will be fine,” Olly told the little girl. “Paige and I need to help, the same way we helped you and little Ryo.”

  Mia let go and nodded, though her eyes remained creased. Olly shook his head at Paige, who didn’t look back at him. He hurried down the small aisle but couldn’t take more than a few steps at a time without the swerving truck tossing him to one side and the other. Some passengers pushed him back to his feet; others held him tightly—out of fear or a want to protect him, Olly couldn’t decide. By the time he neared Paige, he knew it was going to be close. The truck drove faster and the runner was in danger of falling too far back to catch up.

  “Jump!” Paige screamed.

  Olly stumbled as the runner leapt. By the time he was pushed back to his feet, he saw Paige holding on to the frightened woman’s hand. Paige tried to pull her aboard, but she didn’t have the proper leverage and soon found herself being dragged over the side. The nearest seated passenger found a burst of bravery and grabbed Paige long enough for Olly to scurry toward her. But just as Olly reached them, the truck swerved again—more wildly than before—and was struck by a large chunk of concrete, thrusting even the seated passenger to the floor.

  Cries filled the truck, none greater than the one that escaped Olly’s lips as he watched Paige tumble out the back. He fell to his knees and crawled the last few feet, certain he’d find Paige far behind them. Instead, he spotted her hand still grasping the edge of the truck. He crawled forward, first spotting the runner being dragged across the ground, her arms wrapped tightly around Paige’s waist. The woman refused to let go, screaming in pain as her body jolted and scraped against every piece of fallen debris.

  “Let go!” Olly yelled, knowing full well the woman would be conceding her own death by doing so. He wasn’t surprised when she didn’t listen.

  Olly reached the edge and grabbed Paige’s wrist. He tried to pull her aboard but could barely budge her while on all fours. He struggled to his feet, losing his balance as the truck bumped along. When he finally found his footing, he didn’t have the strength to pull the weight of two people, especially as the other woman continued to slide farther down on Paige’s body, trying desperately to hold on but essentially pulling them both free. It didn’t help that Olly’s hands were slick with sweat.

  The truck struck another piece of concrete and Paige’s body did the same a split second later. Olly heard the grunt that knocked all air out of her lungs and all fight out of her body. Her grip went slack on the truck and Olly’s grip did the same on her wrist. As he watched Paige and the oth
er woman tumble to the tunnel floor, his first thought was to wonder if he’d lost his grip on her or if he’d let go out of self-preservation. Either way, Paige rolled to a stop and slowly lifted her head, though she looked back at the approaching lava instead of the truck driving away.

  Olly turned. “Stop the truck!” he screamed to the driver. His voice found a new octave created by panic unlike ever he’d ever known.

  Not surprisingly, the truck didn’t slow. Olly considered rushing to the window to the cab but knew the driver wouldn’t listen to him. He looked beyond Paige, where the orange glow of lava was still distant but wouldn’t be for long. Knowing Paige only had one chance to survive, Olly leapt off the truck.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Julietta fought her way through the snow, every step more tiring than the last. Her feet sank deep each time and the whipping winds threatened to knock her over. Still, she remained upright, her eyes staring not just at the ground ahead but also toward the Great Blue Above, where she searched for any sign of the Sky Person she’d seen flying into the distance. Julietta had hoped he would return to rescue her but never saw more than a glimpse of him disappearing into the clouds.

  Henry followed her closely, at least when his body cooperated. He barely managed more than two or three steps without collapsing. Though his body begged to remain down, he scrambled to his feet every time, hurrying to catch up with Julietta, who never once slowed down for his benefit. He remained battered and bruised from being crushed by an avalanche of snow falling off the Dome. Still, he spent as much time looking behind them as he did ahead, hoping against hope that he would spot someone back there. He didn’t.

  When Julietta heard Henry fall but didn’t hear the crunch of him scrambling back to his feet, she stopped and sighed. She looked back and saw him sprawled in the snow, gasping for breath.

  “Move it,” she called out.

  Her voice wasn’t much louder than the wind. The mere effort of speaking made her realize how exhausted she’d become. She hated Henry for making her feel this way and hated him even more for the way he struggled to stand and hobble forward. He was getting slower every passing minute. A part of her wished he’d stay down, give up, let her go off on her own without being anchored down. She could’ve left him at any time—she wanted to leave him—but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. He may prove useful at some point, she told herself, though she didn’t exactly believe that.