The Bone Labyrinth

by James Rollins

  Kowalski searched the lab, eyeing the smaller stainless cages, but the bars were too thin to offer any protection. He had witnessed the strength of these monsters. They’d tear into those cages as if they were made of cardboard.

  A beast roared, sounding right below the window.

  Maria grabbed his arm, her eyes pleading with him to save her and Baako.

  He squeezed a fist, knowing he had to do something, even if it only delayed the inevitable. “Stay here,” he ordered everyone.

  “What are you—?”

  Kowalski didn’t bother answering Maria, afraid that if he explained it would only make his plan sound even more futile. He pushed away from the doors and back into the lab. He rushed along the row of surgical tables to the abandoned site of Baako’s operation and snatched a tool from the instrument table. With weapon in hand, he dashed next to the tautly strung fire hose. Its length continued to jolt and shiver.

  Here goes nothing.

  He flicked the switch on the battery-powered bone saw, relieved to hear it buzz to life in his hand. He had noted the tool earlier. It wasn’t all that different from the cordless reciprocating saw he had in his garage back home.

  He raised the oscillating blade and sheered into the rubber and woven fabric of the hose. Once through, the hose snapped, and its end snaked away, vanishing through the shattered window. An aggrieved howl followed, accompanied a moment later by a satisfying heavy thud from inside the habitat.

  Kowalski grinned, imagining the beast’s surprise at being cut loose. Still, his effort would buy them only a little time. The habitat’s rock walls were pitted enough to make them scalable, especially for beasts with such simian strength and agility.

  He turned away, hoping it was enough.

  A loud huff of aggression drew his attention back around. A monstrous hand rose into view and grabbed the lip of the broken window. Even under the meager light, Kowalski recognized the lighter hair on the back of that clawed mitt.

  It was the silverback.

  Oh, hell no . . .

  12:28 P.M.

  With a fist pressed to her throat, Maria watched as Kowalski lunged toward the windows. He lifted the stolen bone saw and slashed the small blade across the large knuckles.

  A thunderous yowl exploded. The beast yanked its sliced limb away—but not before grabbing hold with its other hand. Still perched, the silverback reared fully into view, filling the expanse of windows, looking even larger up close. It balled its injured hand and drove its arm like a piston into the window, smashing through the neighboring pane, widening the opening even more.

  The blow knocked Kowalski down, sending him skidding on his backside. Still, he kept hold of the bone saw. He waved it defensively at the bloody fingers while scooting away on his rear, pushing with his legs.

  Baako let go of her hand and bounded to his aid.

  Maria chased after him.

  Baako reached Kowalski first. He grabbed the back of the man’s collar and dragged him farther away. But the giant paw groped deeper and caught hold of Kowalski’s boot. The silverback yanked hard, throwing the man onto his back.

  Kowalski swiped with his saw, but its buzzing had died. When he had hit the floor, the battery pack had been knocked free.

  Maria snatched it from the floor as she closed the distance. “Kowalski! The saw!”

  He understood and slid it toward her. His face looked desperate as he tried to kick his way free. All the while, Baako hung on, trying to keep Kowalski from being dragged through the window.

  Maria slapped the battery pack in place, powered it on, and stabbed it down at the fingers. The blade sliced deep, hitting bone with a grinding complaint. As blood spattered, the fingers loosened and batted at her. She dodged the blow, but the saw jolted from her grip and skittered across the floor, sliding under a neighboring set of cages.

  Kowalski used the moment to roll to his feet, snatch Baako by the upper arm, and head away from the windows. Maria kept alongside them. All three reached the giant sliders and slammed into it. They rolled around to face the consequences of their action.

  It wasn’t good.

  The silverback gripped both sides of the window and thrust half its body through the shattered opening. The beast howled at them, with jaws stretched wide and fangs bared. As spittle flew, the roar deafened her, the breath reeking of meat and blood.

  My God . . .

  It began to claw its way inside.

  Knowing this was the end, she pressed her back against the steel slider—only to feel it shift behind her. Startled, she fell forward and turned. The giant doors continued to glide along their tracks.

  Kowalski pushed her toward the opening. “Go!”

  She tried to obey, but the surgical staff had the same idea, crowding forward in a desperate attempt to escape. Then a single shot rang out, and Dr. Han came stumbling backward, breaking out of the group, looking confused and stunned. He fell to his knees, then to his side—exposing a bullet hole through one cheek.

  A clutch of Chinese soldiers stormed inside. Maria spotted Jiaying Lau standing with Dr. Arnaud out in the hallway. The major general held a smoking pistol in her hand. She looked stunned, gaping past Maria.

  By now, the silverback had dragged its bulk fully into the lab. Shaking with fury, it rose up onto the knuckles of both stiff arms. Behind it, more shadows rose into view.

  Jiaying finally shouted, her voice rising on a note of panic. The soldiers opened fire. Another grabbed Maria’s arm and hauled her out the door with the rest of the surgical team. She knew her rescue was not out of humanitarian compassion, but merely an attempt to protect an asset.

  Kowalski followed in her wake, pushing Baako ahead of him.

  The gunfire continued, accompanied by howling. Maria knew the soldiers did not have enough firepower to hold back the beasts for long. Jiaying must have realized the same and barked an order. The men out in the hall snapped to obey their commander and rolled the giant sliders closed, leaving several of their comrades trapped inside.

  Without pausing, Jiaying set off down the hall, where a jeep waited at an intersection. “Hurry,” she commanded. Though her voice was firm, her face had drained to a pallid hue.

  Arnaud strode alongside Maria. “Lau collected me earlier. She was coming down here to deal with you before the power went out.”

  Deal with me?

  “She witnessed your attempt to free your friend,” he explained, casting a worried look toward Kowalski—and for good reason.

  Once down the hall, Jiaying swung around and leveled her pistol at the man. “Dr. Crandall, get your animal aboard my jeep.”

  Maria froze in place.

  “I’d do as she says,” Arnaud warned her.

  Kowalski nudged Baako closer to her. “Take him.”

  Before she could move, something heavy slammed into the steel sliders down the hall, hard enough to make the ground shake from the impact. The upper track of the door bent outward.

  Kowalski stepped over and blocked her view. “Go,” he urged her.

  Both of them knew—whether Maria complied or not—Jiaying would shoot him.

  “Go,” he repeated, remaining amazingly calm.

  Arnaud touched her elbow, trying to get her to obey.

  Knowing the paleontologist and Baako would suffer if she refused, Maria took a step away from Kowalski, then another, shadowed by grief and guilt.

  Soldiers escorted her away, but Jiaying remained behind.

  As Maria left, Kowalski never broke eye contact with her—even when the steel sliders were rammed again, further buckling the tracks. The beasts had almost broken through.

  Jiaying raised her pistol higher—when another crash sounded.

  This time from behind Maria.

  She turned in time to see a truck ram into the parked jeep, sending it careening away. The truck braked to a stop, sliding slightly askew. Chinese soldiers rose into view from the back bed, where they had been braced for the impact. They whipped up assault weap
ons and fired at Maria’s group.

  She cringed, ducking over Baako to protect him.

  To either side, her Chinese escorts toppled to the ground.

  Even Jiaying cried out, blood flying from her shoulder as she was knocked to the ground. Still, she managed to fire—but not at the newcomers. Arnaud fell against Maria, his eyes wide with shock. Blood poured from his throat. He tried to speak but only ended up coughing more blood, sinking heavily in her arms.

  She carried him down. “Hold on.”

  But by the time she lowered him to the floor, his body sighed out its last breath, his eyes stared leadenly upward.

  No . . .

  Kowalski pulled her away.

  A voice shouted from the truck. “Everyone over here! Double time!”

  The speaker leaned out the passenger window. It took Maria a startled moment to recognize him. The last time she had seen the man was back at the primate center.

  It was Kowalski’s partner, Monk.

  As she struggled to comprehend his sudden presence, a new volley of shots rang out, this time coming from the hallway behind the truck.

  More soldiers were coming.

  Kowalski pushed her toward the truck. “Move.”

  Needing no further urging, she ran with Baako. Kowalski trailed, wheezing loudly from his injured ribs.

  Before they could reach the safety of the truck, another crunch of steel sounded from down the hall, coming from the direction of the vivisection lab. She glanced back as one of the sliding doors popped out of its track and crashed against the opposite wall. Dark, hulking shapes pushed into the hallway.

  Kowalski grabbed Maria’s arm. “Time to get out of here.”

  They crossed the last few steps to the flank of the truck. Kowalski swung her up into the back bed, then leaped in alongside Baako. Once they were aboard, the truck jerked into reverse and sped backward.

  One of the disguised soldiers waved them all down as shots pinged off the tailgate. “On your bellies.”

  They obeyed and the truck gained speed; then the back end suddenly heaved upward, setting her heart to panicking, but the vehicle was only reversing up a ramp. The truck fishtailed at the top, then set off forward.

  Spats of gunfire chased after them, but quickly died away.

  Still, Maria remained on her belly, an arm over Baako, who hugged Kowalski in turn, all three of them nestled together, a family again.

  But for how much longer?

  12:34 P.M.

  Nearly blind with pain, Jiaying clutched the wheel of the damaged jeep with one hand. She cradled her other arm as agony lanced through her in fiery waves. A bullet had shattered her right shoulder, leaving the limb useless. Blood continued to pour down her side and through her uniform.

  But I’m still alive.

  And for that she should consider herself lucky.

  No, not luck, she reminded herself—perseverance.

  It had taken all her strength to push past the agony of the gunshot and keep moving. Once the truck with the Americans had sped away, she had used the shadows of the dark hall to hobble around the corner and over to the abandoned jeep. She fell behind the wheel, hoping the earlier collision hadn’t damaged the batteries or engine. A twist of the key returned a satisfying purr of its electric motor. She righted the front end and raced quickly away.

  And not a moment too soon.

  As she rounded the first corner, a large shape bulled into the intersection behind her. Even crouched, it filled the hallway, bellowing with rage and bloodlust. The roar chased her far into the complex.

  She drove hard, putting as much distance as possible between her and the escaped beasts. Only then did she focus on a new plan. She needed medical attention and a place to regroup. She knew where to go.

  Still, by the time she neared her destination, she was faint and nauseated. Her jeep swerved erratically under her weakening control, but the security hub appeared ahead. Its door stood open.

  She braked to a hard stop and rolled out, almost crashing to her knees as pain flared. She leaned on the side of the jeep for several breaths, then hobbled the last of the way over to the open door.

  She found the hub’s commander where she had left him.

  With his back to her, Chang Sun stood at the center of the darkened room. The hub’s scatter of emergency lights reflected off the glass monitors, giving the space a hellish quality. Anger at the sight of him helped center her.

  He had failed her at every level.

  As she stumbled inside, she finally noted the hub’s technicians. They all lay slumped over their stations; another was sprawled at Chang’s feet. Blood pooled across the floor, reflecting the crimson glow of the emergency lights.

  “Ah, there you are,” Chang said as he turned. “And here I thought I would have to hunt you down.”

  He lifted a pistol in one hand.

  She searched her own holster but found it empty. In her haste to escape earlier, she had lost her sidearm.

  He noted her effort and turned his weapon so she could see the pistol’s slide had popped, then set it down on a table. He was out of ammunition. He must have emptied the clip while dispatching the technicians. He stepped forward, raising an arm as if to embrace her.

  She knew better, but she refused to back away, to show any sign of dishonor by retreating.

  His other arm whipped forward and impaled her in the gut with a long dagger. She coughed—less from the pain, more from the impact of his savage thrust. He drove the blade higher, seeking her heart. Something finally popped inside her, causing her lungs to suddenly find it impossible to breathe.

  He yanked the blade back out and let her slide to the floor, her back coming to rest against the doorjamb.

  He calmly stepped back, cleaned the blade, and returned it to its sheath—then recovered his pistol and polished the gun in the same judicious manner. Once satisfied, he bent down and placed the pistol into her limp fingers. He intended to pin the deaths here on her, to blame her for the escape of the Americans. Her name would forever be associated with failure and betrayal, her worst nightmare.

  Her gaze sought his, recognizing in his cold eyes an ambition that far outshone her own.

  He crossed to one of the stations and yanked several large levers. The hub flared into brightness as power returned to the facility. The monitors began flickering as the servers rebooted.

  Dazed, she failed to comprehend what he was doing.

  As if sensing her dismay, he explained. “I’ve already summoned the army. Now that the Americans have served their purpose, they can be properly dispatched. With their deaths, my triumph will be all the greater, my loyalty undeniable.” He glanced to her. “No matter how the Americans might try to slander me afterward.”

  He read the confusion off her face.

  “They threatened to plant false evidence against me if I refused to cooperate. Promised me glory if I should submit to them.” He scoffed loudly. “As if I would ever bow to such dogs. Instead, I will use them to forge my own glorious path, so shining that it won’t be disputed. Perhaps it may cost my brother his life, but his memory will live on through me, through my children and grandchildren.”

  Jiaying’s eyelids drifted low in defeat as she realized how far she had underestimated the man.

  This is my fault.

  She also knew this shame must be hers to correct, even if it left her forever dishonored. She used the last of her strength to crawl her hand over to her pocket. As darkness closed around her, she reached inside to her phone and fingered open a compartment built into the back of the case. She did not need to see the glowing button that lay hidden there. She pressed her thumb against the fingerprint sensor atop it.

  She had to hold it there for a full ten seconds. It was a precaution against accidentally activating the countermeasures she had covertly engineered into the design of the facility. She had them planted in the event of a foreign incursion into her labs, but also in case she should ever need to exact retribution upon a
n enemy.

  She had never imagined a scenario where both situations would arise together.

  How shortsighted I’ve been . . .

  Darkness closed around her, dimming the fiery pain. By now she could not tell if her finger was still on the button or if even those ten seconds had fully passed.

  Finally she slipped fitfully away, never learning the truth.

  The acuteness of that agony followed her into eternity.

  12:45 P.M.

  As the lights bloomed back to life along the length of the hall, Monk felt a sinking in his gut.

  This can’t be a good sign.

  The turncoat, Chang Sun, must have had a change of heart about cooperating. Monk had already suspected as much after they were ambushed earlier. It was why he had ordered Kimberly to find another exit, fearing that Chang would have bolstered his forces down at the loading bay where his team had first entered the facility.

  Kimberly pointed ahead. “There should be an elevator at the far end of this hall, another hundred yards or so. It leads up to a public building located in the zoo. Some nineteenth-century manor house called Changguanlou.”

  “She’s right,” Maria called out from the truck’s bed, speaking through an open window in the rear of the cab. “Major General Lau has an office up there.”

  Kimberly turned to Monk. “The zoo is likely closed or evacuated. But once aboveground, we’ll have to be careful not to draw—”

  She was cut off as a series of massive explosions erupted.

  Sergeant Chin fought to control their truck, sideswiping through a row of red biohazard buckets. Smoke rolled toward them, coming from the direction of the elevators. Then the lights flickered and died, sinking them into darkness.

  Chin drew the truck to a halt and flipped on their vehicle’s headlamps.

  Through the pall of smoke and rock dust, the twin beams of their lights revealed a roof collapse at the far end. Slabs of broken concrete and twisted support beams blocked the way forward. In the distance, the facility continued to groan and crash. Faint screams echoed to them.

  “What the hell?” Monk whispered.

  Kimberly shook her head. “Someone must be trying to destroy this facility, to bring it all crashing down.”