The tube riders complete.., p.1
The Tube Riders Complete Series, page 1
part #1 of Tube Riders Series
The Tube Riders Complete Series
Four Volume Boxed Set
Chris Ward
Contents
The Tube Riders Complete Series
Also by Chris Ward
About the Author
Contact
A note on Reading Order
Underground
London
Breakfall
Jessica
Huntsman
Owen
Dreggo
Training
Confrontation
Discovery
Enemies
Revelation
Hunted
Help
Lab
Trail
Scent
Attack
Loss
Danger
Preparations
Escape
Gathering
Aftermath
Bristol
Lost Boy
Newborn
Landing Party
White Rage
Sleeping Place
Lost Girl
Freedom Fighters
Darkness Rising
Kind Strangers
Fresh Scent
Government Policy
Friends, Enemies
Ambush
Repression, Production
Escape
Battlefield
Departure
Prison Break
Rescue
Cruise
Family Values
Train
Bloodlust
Crossed Paths
Past Lives
Cornwall
Respite
Menace
Breaking and Entering
Vengeance
Mistakes
New Order
Community
Tunnel
Trap
Goodbyes
Reunion
Conflicts
Last Stand
Epilogue
Exile
Brittany
Halo
Gravedigger
Underground
Valerie
Hospital
Infiltration
Mont
Parting
Breakout
Tunnel
Voices
Alive
Assault
Crash
Threat
Ambush
Warning
Attack
Thief
Convergences
Confrontations
Aftershocks
Paris
Brakes
Tail
Separations
Hunt
Control
Partings
Race
Remembrance
Snares
Interrogation
Hideaway
Blythe
Parts
Room
Tracks
Embassy
Hostage
Encounters
Betrayals
Departure
Chamonix
Schemes
Reunion
Captivity
Alliance
Army
Gateway
Museum
Rebirth
Safekeepers
Legend
Restart
Awakening
Power
Traps
Base
Mercy
War
Train
Epilogue
Revenge
The Wind Farm
Thing
Windmills
Dreams
Blackout
Breach
Truck
Stolen
Envelope
Planes
Hit
Chase
View
Fight
Craters
Déjà vu
Friends
Safehouse
Rising
Bristol
Meetings
Sign
Plans
Homecomings
Coming Home
Liaison
Mob
Bridge
Dance
Rescue Party
Company
Weapon
Introductions
Fears
Wall
Tunnels
Cover
Strings
Robots
Reunion
Bus
Play
Eyes
Purge
The Last Day
Gallows
Wish
Battersea
Parting
Cavalry
Parliament Tower
Breakout
Gardens
Welcome Party
Captivity
Twitch
Reunited
Confrontations
Departures
Exit Wounds
Epilogue
In the Shadow of London
Renegades
Clawboard
Negotiations
Raine
Scent
Airie
Fighter
Tower
Match
Hunted
Recruit
Plans
Request
Remains
Names
Dreams
Reprisal
Fakers
Rally
Bait
Likeness
Fire
Intruder
London-Gone
Recall
Visitor
Crossing
Secrets
Suspicions
Benny
Basements
Home
Hunters
Revelations
Discoveries
Motherhood
Ideals
Collection
Reunions
Picture
Rescue
Guards
Machinations
Convergences
Rescue
Uprising
2034
Invasion
Address
Betrayal
Saturday
Stirrings
Birds
Fadeout
Alliance
Coup
Burial
Entering
Tracker-Killer
Capture
Outside
Battle
Scatterings
The Tube Riders short stories
Tube Riders
Fallen from the Train
Going Underground
How Jessica met Simon
An interview with the Author
Acknowledgments
The Tube Riders Complete Series
Four Volume Boxed Set
Includes
The Tube Riders: Underground
The Tube Riders: Exile
The Tube Riders: Revenge
The Tube Riders: In the Shadow of London
plus related short stories
and an interview with the author
“The Tube Riders: Underground, The Tube Riders: Exile, The Tube Riders: Revenge, The Tube Riders: In the Shadow of London, Tube Riders, Fallen from the Train, Going Underground, How Jessica met Simon” Copyright © Chris Ward 2002 - 2015
The right of Chris Ward to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the Author.
This story is a work of fiction and is a product of the Author’s imagination. All resemblances to actual locations or to persons living or dead are entirely coincidental.
“Tube riding” is a fictional activity and should be considered highly dangerous. DO NOT attempt to recreate any of the stunts described in this book. The Author holds no responsibility for any injuries that may occur.
Also by Chris Ward
Novels
Head of Words
The Man Who Built the World
The Tube Riders Series
Underground
Exile
Revenge
In the Shadow of London
The Tales of Crow Series
They Came Out After Dark
The Castle of All Nightmares
The Puppeteer King
Also Available
The Tube Riders Trilogy Boxed Set
Tales of Crow 1-3 Boxed Set
World of Words 1 (5-novel boxed set)
Writing as Christopher Ward
The Tokyo Lost Romantic Suspense series
Stolen
Broken
About the Author
A proud and noble Cornishman (and to a lesser extent British), Chris Ward ran off to live and work in Japan back in 2004. There he got married, got a decent job, and got a cat. He remains pure to his Cornish/British roots while enjoying the inspiration of living in a foreign country.
In addition to The Tube Riders Series, he is the author of the novels The Man Who Built the World and Head of Words, as well as the ongoing Tales of Crow series.
Chris would love to hear from you:
@chriswardwriter
www.amillionmilesfromanywhere.net
Contact
Thank you for your interest in my work. If you enjoy it please sign up for the
Mailing List
where you can get free stuff, special offers, and discounts on new releases.
Also, you can chat to me on Facebook at
Chris Ward (Fiction Writer)
and follow progress on new books on my website or my blog
Thank you for reading!
Chris Ward
December 2016
A note on Reading Order
The main Tube Riders series—Underground, Exile, and Revenge—follows the adventures of Marta Banks and her friends as they battle against the evil Governor and his Huntsmen. In the Shadow of London features mostly new characters as well as some minor characters from the other novels, and takes place in London during the period between Exile and Revenge. Therefore, the chronological order of the books is:
Underground
Exile
In the Shadow of London
Revenge
However, new readers may prefer to stick with the main story before coming back to read In the Shadow of London later.
Whichever order you chose, I hope you enjoy reading these books as much as I enjoyed writing them.
Happy reading,
Chris Ward
December 2016
Part I
London
Breakfall
The roar in the tunnel grew louder.
It came from far back in the dark, building from a low, distant rumble into a rolling, thundering crescendo like a thousand hurricanes colliding, tearing each other apart. Marta Banks, squatting in a sprinter’s crouch, closed her eyes as she always did, concentrating, seeing in her mind something monstrous, untamed. She let out a slow breath, looped her wrists through the leather safety straps and closed her fingers over the cold metal handles of the wooden clawboard.
Bring it on.
She smelt engine oil, heard the hum of the vibrating rails on the track below. She grimaced and shifted her wrists as the straps rubbed against the old marks on her skin.
Seconds, just seconds…
Come on. I’m waiting.
The roar was almost deafening now. Marta’s eyes flicked open, her concentration sharp. Muscles tensed in her legs and arms. Her fingers clenched so tight she thought they might break. She glanced up at Paul standing further down the platform, one arm raised into the air.
Marta waited. Three … two … one—
‘Go!’ Paul screamed, as the wind rose to wrap itself around her. His arm dropped, and the fear, the exhilaration, the sheer adrenaline rush struck her like a hammer.
She dashed for the platform edge, while behind her, she heard Simon, Switch and Dan—the new boy—fanning out as they followed. She hoped Dan made it, of course, but in the moment of the ride it was only herself that mattered.
Racing across the cracked, dusty tiles, Marta pressed her wrists against the leather straps and squeezed the metal handles until her fingers ached. The wood creaked, and she prayed today wasn’t the day the clawboard failed her.
She held the board up, the metal hooks on the outward surface angled down.
The train exploded out of the tunnel, its glaring headlights blasting through the dust curtain that hung over the station’s pallid emergency lighting. The engine roar filled the air. Marta looked up as it came level with her and then rushed ahead, one, two, three carriages clattering past. She saw the thin metal drainage rail that ran along the top edge of the nearest carriage, and she steeled herself for the mount.
‘Now!’ she screamed, a war cry partly for herself, partly for the others behind her. Then she was leaping at the train, the clawboard arcing in towards the rail. Her heart slammed against the back of her ribs, until she thought it might burst out of her chest. Eyes narrowed, teeth gritted, she stared into the blurred, rushing wall of metal and glass, which in these moments was the Reaper, was Death. Don’t fuck up, her mind reminded her. You fuck up, you die.
The metal hooks, two of them, four centimeters wide, dropped towards the outer lip of the drainage rail. Marta’s feet brushed the side of the carriage, and for a second she was flying. Then the hooks caught, a massive jolt shuddered through her shoulders and upper arms, and Marta had won. This time.
Her scream rose over the rushing wind: ‘Yeeeeeeesssss!’
With her feet apart, she braced herself against the side of the carriage. Her battered, often-repaired trainers left tread smears in the oily dirt coating the metal. In front of her, from the carriage window, a reflection of her own face stared back, thick dreads of hair billowing out around her like columns of smoke.
Behind her Marta heard two metallic crunches as first Simon and then Switch caught. In a group ride you rode in order of seniority. That was the rule. I’ve survived the longest so that makes me the leader. She listened for Dan, but there was only the roaring of the train, and the rapid clattering of the wheels over the rails.
Something had gone wrong.
She glanced back, terrified of what she might see. Dan should have been exactly one second behind Switch, but he was still running towards the train like a commuter who had overslept, his movement jerky, out of time. He hesitated! Shit, he lost his nerve and now his timing’s all screwed up.
‘Pull out!’ she tried to scream, but her lungs, still empty, failed her, and the words trickled out like the last rains of a flood. She stared helplessly as Dan lifted the clawboard, jaw set, eyes hard. His pride was driving him on. When pride was all you had it was difficult to give it up, but down here where the trains roared it could get you killed.
Dan tried to leap. Going far too slow, he was way out of position. His clawboard fell short of the drainage rail, and his body slammed against the side of the train. The motion of the carriage spun him around in the air like a demented ballerina, eyes wide in terror, arms and legs flailing. He ricocheted off, a staccato, barked scream escaping his throat a moment before he landed hard on the platform. Momentum rolled him; the gap between the platform’s edge and the rushing train loomed close. Don’t end up like Clive. Please don’t. I can’t handle that again.
Dan got lucky. The straps of the blocky clawboard still circled one wrist, and the board arrested his roll, inches away from the edge. He rolled back as the train thundered past, and the clawboard finally spun loose.
‘He’s hurt!’ Simon shouted as the train sped on, carrying the others away.
‘Wait!’ Marta shouted back as the braided dreads of her hair buffeted her face. ‘Wait for the mats! Okay … three, two, one—’
She kicked off from the side of the train, pushing forward and up as she’d done a thousand times before. The clawboard released its hold on the rail—reluctantly, as always. Marta leaned backwards as she fell, pulling her arms in and ducking her head forward. She grimaced as the pile of old mattresses and blankets at the end of the platform came up to meet her.
The fall knocked the wind out of her. Coughing, she glanced up to see Simon dismount after her, followed by Switch. They landed on the breakfall mats beside her and came to an untidy stop.
As the train roared away into the tunnel and the noise receded, all three climbed to their feet and dusted themselves down. Marta rubbed at her hip where she’d landed on a mattress seam.
‘Fuck yeah,’ Switch muttered. He shook the straps off his wrists and turned the board over, checking for abrasions. ‘Paul, you fat chump, what’s my score? Paul?’
‘Forget your score!’ Marta shouted at him. ‘Dan failed the mount. He could have died, you idiot. Didn’t you see it?’
‘Ah, whatever. Live and die by the trains, ain’t it just?’
Marta gave him a scowl that said just sod off, then looked back up the platform to where Paul was crouching next to Dan. Dan was curled up on the ground, hugging his chest. He tried to stretch his legs out, then grimaced, sweat glistening on his brow. His voice floated back down the platform towards them, echoing off the high rafters. ‘Ah fuck, I think I busted my hip. Shit, that hurts.’
Switch cocked his head and gave Marta the kind of smirk a cheeky kid would give a scolding teacher to say he didn’t really give a shit. ‘Fuck that clown,’ he said. Looking back towards the platform edge where chalk lines marked the distance in feet back from the end of the platform, he grinned. His bad eye flickered. ‘That must have been sub-twenty feet for sure. Eighteen? What do you reckon, Si?’
