Lilith plummeted.
She scraped against the walls of the unmapped sinkhole, showering the front blast-glass in sparks as the hull ground against massive, jagged seams of glowing amber crystal. The descent was a hostile atmospheric assault. Will's ears popped painfully as the pressure spiked, compressing his newly fused ribs and making every intake of breath feel like pulling air through a wet rag.
Outside the glass, the strata of the deep earth flashed by in sickly, neon-grunge illumination. They dropped past sheer walls of petrified rock, exposing the fossilized remains of ancient subway cars suspended entirely in amber. Massive, blind subterranean centipedes clung to the shaft walls, their pale, segmented bodies scattering from the transport's descent. A heavy P.A.C.I.F.I.C. drainage pipe jutted from the stone, venting a waterfall of glowing, toxic sludge into the abyss.
Will sat in the dark cabin, his hands resting on his harness. His fingers trembled.
