Jamie A. Waters [Waters - Beneath the Fallen City

Beneath the Fallen City 2018 by Jamie A. Waters

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, or events, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

Ruins of Fate

Beneath the Fallen City

Shadow of the Coalition

Tremors of the Past

Drop of Hope

Flames of Redemption

Spirit of the Towers

The original story of Beneath the Fallen City was published in 2014 under the title The Two Towers. Like many authors, every time I read the book over (and I read it many times), I recognized places where rewriting would make it better. After several years, the publisher finally allowed the rights to revert back to me, and at that point I decided to revise the book. What you hold in your hand is the satisfying result.

Kayla knew she was in trouble the moment her foot touched the ground. Feeling the floor give way beneath her boots, she tucked in her arms, forcing her body to relax in order to minimize the impact. She crashed through the floor, bringing building debris with her. Landing hard on a lower level of the ruins with a loud thump, a cloud of dust obscured her vision.

A rough voice sounded from the earpiece attached to her helmet. What the hells going on down there? Ill kick your ass if you damaged any artifacts.

Kayla shifted slightly. Thankfully, this level appeared stable. She moved her limbs to gauge the extent of her injuries. Nothing broken, just my pride. Shed have plenty of bruises tomorrow, and she was sure shed never hear the end of it.

Floor collapse in Sector Twelve. Im fine, Leo. Thanks for asking. She rolled her eyes at his lack of concern.

There was a moment of static before the angry voice came back over the frequency. Youre supposed to be in Sector Four. Sector Twelve is still being mapped.

Kayla recognized her spotters calmer tone when he interrupted Leos impending tirade. Leo, this is Veridian. We detected Carls team on another frequency. It sounded like they were headed toward Sector Four. We thought it best to avoid them.

Dammit, Leo swore. They werent supposed to be back in that area for another few days. Were working off bad information. Get out of that hole and get your asses back to camp. I dont have time for this shit.

Understood, Veridian replied. Kayla, are you secure?

She grimaced and glanced around the room, her helmet light shining through the dust as it settled. Not yet. Let me get into position. Youll need to lower the cable and harness about five meters. Kayla paused, and then added, I hope youve got some hydrating packs. Im parched.

She flipped open her wristband and switched channels on her commlink. Trusting Veridian would remember the code phrase indicating she wanted to speak with him on an unmonitored channel, she said, Tell Leo the gear is jammed. I need at least ten minutes. If Carls crew is working this area again, I dont know when well be able to come back. Let me see what I can scavenge.

Veridian huffed in exasperation, but he agreed. Try to make it five, Kayla. Your vitals are out of sync, and Leos monitoring from camp. He sounds pissed.

Thats nothing new, Kayla muttered and switched back to the main channel before flipping her wristband unit closed. She rolled over and got into a crawling position, wincing from the pain. Once she was confident the floor would support her, she stood and took a better look around the room.

The abandoned apartment building was several hundred years old. Neglect and the elements had taken their toll. Faded wallpaper peeled from the walls, and a thick layer of dust coated the floor. Most of the furniture had either been scavenged or had rotted over the years. It was easy to get disoriented in the ruins with the sloping floors, partially collapsed walls, and extensive structural damage. One of the tricks shed learned over the years was to reconcile the current scene with the echoes of the past.

Kayla closed her eyes for a moment and visualized the way the room used to be. In her mind, she saw a large bedroom with an ornate bed against the wall in front of her. A low bookcase sat on the far wall with two overstuffed chairs. A strange painting hung over the bookcase and seemed to beckon her. On the opposite side of the room was a dresser with a large mirror where she imagined a woman modeling a silly-looking hat.

She shook her head to clear the realistic image from her mind. Keep it together, Kayla. Its only your imagination. Even so, she trusted her instincts. Veridian often joked that the ruins spoke to her. In a sense, she guessed it was true. Her instincts never let her down.

Moving across the room, she focused on the dilapidated painting hanging over the bookcase. The painting was unsalvageable, rotted and covered with mildew. Something about it had drawn her attention though. Kayla pulled the painting off the wall and set it on the floor.

With gloved hands, she ran her fingers over the surface vacated by the painting and bit back a grin as she felt a niche in the wall. Pulling open the false wall, she stared at an old metal safe. It was tempting and probably faster to force it open or even pull it out of its resting place, but there was no way shed risk damaging the structural elements further. The whole building was little better than a death trap. Fortunately, shed been trained by one of the best.

Kayla opened her backpack and withdrew a long, wand-like instrument that also doubled as a handheld drill. With her other hand, she pressed her frequency detector against the door to the safe. Drilling a small hole, she then jimmied the cylinder inside the locking mechanism. Watching the detectors display, she moved the wand until she heard a click. Tucking the tools back into her toolkit, she opened the door.

Ignoring the worthless stocks, bonds, and other papers piled in the safe, she pulled out a small box tucked in the back.

Kayla flipped open the lid of the box. A ruby necklace and a pair of earrings, along with several other valuable pieces of jewelry, winked at her under the light from her helmet. Not bad. On occasion, shed found weapons or ammunition. Those that could be salvaged were more usable to her camp, but jewelry could be traded for other supplies.

She stuffed the box into her backpack before turning back to the safe. Rifling through the papers, Kayla discovered a small cloth pouch. She opened it and shook the contents out into her gloved palm.

A small green sculpture of a strange-looking creature with a long snout and a pair of wings sat in the palm of her hand. It was slightly larger than the length of her thumb, carved from a mineral she didnt recognize. She shook her head in resignation.