The Man the City Swallowed

"What are you staring at?" one of the men behind him yelled. "There's someone below," Ethan said. "Someone where?" "In the shaft." No one believed him. Harold muttered a curse and reached for the hatch. That was the instant the steel overhead gave a short shiver, as if some invisible force had struck a tuning fork inside the bridge. A sharp ring detonated in Ethan's head, white light washing the edges of his vision. He shoved Harold away on instinct, and a split second later the hatch beneath them blew up in a burst of fire. It was not a huge blast, but it was enough to throw anyone standing close. Heat slammed into the concrete wall, sending rock dust and broken mortar into the air. Harold hit the ladder hard enough to split his forehead open.