The Amazon Code (45 page)
Authors: Nick Thacker
He knelt down again and started prying at the sides of the door, knowing that it would, at best, be frozen shut.
I spent all this time, might as well at least see if it opens.
He checked the Mars-1 Humvee again with a quick glance behind him. The vehicle was idling nicely, the white trail of steam floating upwards in the dusk light. Turning back to the door, he continued working his fingers around the sides of the heavy slab.
He heard a
click
. It was louder than the sounds he had making, and — most disturbingly of all — he knew he hadn’t made that sound. Roald stopped working for a few seconds and waited.
The click was replaced by a gentle, soft
hissing
sound, and he felt the door move.
He
knew
it moved, but he began second-guessing himself as soon as the thought crossed his mind.
The door didn’t move. You must have moved. Maybe you’re —
The internal monologue was cut short by a definite shaking feeling beneath his hands and knees. The hissing increased in volume, then stopped with a loud
pop
. He held his breath.
Then, against all reason and beyond every logical explanation he could muster, the door opened.
It swung outward and he had to move his hands and lean back to allow the metal sheet to pass by him. The door was automated, a giant gear he could now see just beneath the door’s surface providing the leverage needed to move the huge object. It reached at ninety-degree angle to the ground and stopped.
Roald blinked, not sure what reaction he was supposed to have.
He was looking down into a dark, square shaft. Alone, that fact would have had him retreating back to the Humvee and dutifully recording his findings for the station’s analysis.
But the square shaft wasn’t what had Roald’s attention at the moment.
Instead, his eyes were locked on the barrel of a gun, pointed directly at him, held by a man wearing an all-white parka and pants, his face completely masked by a snow-white balaclava and ski goggles.
“Do not talk,” the man said. The voice was synthesized, as if being run through a processor and out a small speaker. “If you talk, I shoot.”
Roald swallowed, then nodded.
“Now, come with me.”
B
OOKS
B
Y
N
ICK
T
HACKER
WANT MORE?
FICTION:
The Atlantis Deception
(A.G. Riddle’s
The Origins Mystery
series)
The Lucid: Episode One
(written with Kevin Tumlinson)
The Lucid: Episode Two
(written with Kevin Tumlinson)
Killer Thrillers
(3-Book Box Set)
I, Sergeant
(Short Story)
The Gray Picture of Dorian
(Short Story)
Uncanny Divide
(Short Story Anthology)
Nonfiction:
Welcome Home: The Author's Guide to Building A Marketing Home Base
Expert Blogging: Building A Blog for Readers
The Dead-Simple Guide to Guest Posts
The Dead-Simple Guide to Amazing Headlines
The Dead-Simple Guide to Pillar Content
A
BOUT
THE
A
UTHOR
NICK THACKER IS AN AUTHOR from Texas who lives in a cabin on a mountain in Colorado, because Colorado has mountains, microbreweries, and fantastic weather. In his free time, he enjoys reading, brewing beer (and whisky), skiing, golfing, and hanging out with his beautiful wife, tortoise, and three dogs.
In addition to his fiction work, Nick is the author of several nonfiction books on marketing, publishing, writing, and building online platforms.
If you are interested in learning more about the fiction writing process and time-management for writers, be sure to check out The Fiction Writer’s Guide to Writing Fiction (www.writehacked.com/course), a completely FREE 20-week e-course!
Visit Nick’s website at
www.nickthacker.com
to find updates about upcoming releases!