Contest

by Matthew Reilly

  Selexin saw it, too. ‘It’s the Karanadon!’

  They were halfway across the wide study hall, crossing it diagonally, when the Karanadon cleared the doorway and rose to its full height, almost touching the ceiling.

  Swain pressed on, carrying Holly toward the stairwell. Hawkins was losing ground behind him, weighed down by Balthazar. Last of all was Balthazar’s guide—pushing and shoving—trying desperately to get Hawkins and Balthazar to move faster, constantly looking behind him, to see if the Karanadon was coming after them.

  Swain glanced over his shoulder again to get another look at the fearsome beast.

  It continued to stand by the door to the janitor’s room, watching them.

  It hadn’t moved yet.

  It just stood there.

  Despite the noise they were making as they scrambled in a panic through the desks for the stairwell, it just stood in front of the doorway in silence.

  Swain rounded another desk. Twenty yards to the stairwell. He looked back again.

  Christ, it was big all right—at least fourteen feet tall.

  It had the body of an enormous, hairy, broad-shouldered gorilla—all black, hunched forward, with a series of long spiky bristles that flowed over its high arched back. Long muscular arms hung down from its massive shoulders so that the knuckles dragged on the ground.

  The head was two-and-a-half feet long, and it reminded Swain of a jackal. High pointed ears. Black, lifeless eyes. And menacing canine fangs that protruded from a dark wrinkled snout, frozen in an eternal snarl.

  It moved.

  The Karanadon leapt forward and bounded after them at frightening speed. It stomped on the fallen hydraulic door, cracking it in the middle, breaking it in two.

  Swain tightened his grip on Holly and bolted for the stairwell. Hawkins straggled to pull Balthazar forward. Balthazar’s guide was looking frantically behind them, pounding on Hawkins’ back, screaming for him to move faster.

  The Karanadon ploughed through the L-shaped desks like an icebreaker through a frozen sea, hurling them in all directions, crushing them under its feet. When they happened to hit the ground, the big beast’s footsteps sounded like cannon fire.

  Boom. Boom. Boom.

  Swain and the others continued to weave in and out between the desks. The Karanadon kept coming in a straight line.

  Selexin was at the stairwell, Swain ten yards away. He checked behind him.

  Hawkins, Balthazar and the other guide were not going to make it. The Karanadon was closing in on them too quickly.

  Better think fast, Steve.

  Boom. Boom. Boom.

  He let Holly drop to the floor and quickly scanned the wide study hall.

  It was roughly square in shape. He and Holly were almost at the stairwell, on the western side of the floor. The janitor’s room was roughly opposite them, on the north-eastern corner of the floor. On the south-eastern corner were the elevators.

  Boom. Boom. Boom.

  ‘Move faster!’ Balthazar’s guide was screaming at Hawkins. ‘For God’s sake, it’s getting closer!’

  The Karanadon crunched through another desk.

  And then Swain pushed Holly away from the stairwell, toward the elevators. ‘Let’s go, honey. We’re gonna make a run for the elevators.’ He called to Selexin at the stairwell door. ‘This way! We’re going this way!’

  Boom. Boom. Boom.

  ‘That way!’ Selexin screamed back. ‘What about the stairs!’

  ‘Will you just do it, okay!’

  The Karanadon was right on top of the others now.

  It lunged at Balthazar’s guide, swiping at him with one of its long arms. The guide ducked and the massive claw swished over his head and smashed into a nearby desk. The desk shattered and Balthazar’s guide stumbled forward, tripping over Hawkins’ legs, sending all three of them—the guide, Hawkins and Balthazar—sprawling forward.

  Hawkins hit the ground hard, landing heavily on his shoulder. Balthazar fell on top of him. His guide landed helplessly at their feet.

  Boom.

  There was a sudden, terrifying silence.

  The Karanadon had stopped.

  Hawkins was sweating profusely. He wriggled desperately, tried to pull himself to his feet, but his right arm was jammed beneath Balthazar. His left wasn’t even responding, the shoulder dislocated by the fall.

  Down near his feet he saw the little guide frantically clutching at his trouser leg, trying desperately to stand up.

  ‘Help me! Help me!’ the guide pleaded, petrified.

  And then suddenly—violently—the guide was sucked from Hawkins’ view.

  Over by the wall, Swain watched in horror as his three companions fell below the deskline.

  The Karanadon had stopped a few feet short of them. Then it had bent down behind the desks, out of view. When it reappeared, it had the distinctive white shape of Balthazar’s guide in one of its massive black claws.

  The guide was waving his arms wildly, screaming at the monster. The Karanadon pulled him up to its snout and curiously examined the noisy little creature it had found.

  And then, one-handed, the Karanadon held the guide out at arm’s length and viciously slashed across the front of his body with its free claw.

  Swain’s jaw dropped.

  Hawkins’ eyes went wide with terror.

  Three deep slits of red exploded across the guide’s chest. One slashing tear sliced across his mouth. The guide’s body went instantly limp.

  The room was suddenly silent.

  The Karanadon shook the body once. It didn’t respond. The big beast shook the lifeless body again—like a toy that didn’t work anymore—and then flung it away.

  Swain still couldn’t see Hawkins.

  He ducked down to look through the legs of the desks—and he saw him. Hawkins was lying flat on the floor, wedged underneath Balthazar, unable to move, but trying anyway.

  Christ, he had to do something for him . . .

  Boom.

  Hawkins was struggling to free himself when he felt the floor shake beneath him. He froze, and then slowly turned to look upward.

  And saw the massive jaws of the Karanadon, wide open, rushing down at him.

  He shut his eyes. It was too—

  ‘Hey!’

  The Karanadon’s head snapped up instantly.

  ‘Yeah, that’s right, I’m talking to you!’

  Hawkins opened his eyes.

  What the hell—?

  The Karanadon slowly turned to face Swain. It cocked its head curiously, staring at this bold creature that had dared to interrupt its kill.

  Swain was waving his arms, yelling angrily at the fourteen-foot-tall beast that stood barely fifteen yards away from him.

  ‘Yeah, get up! It’s okay!’ Swain barked, his face twisted in a fierce growl, never taking his eyes off the monster before him.

  He raised his voice. It was angry, challenging. ‘Move! I’ve got it covered! It’s looking at me now! Get up and go for the stairwell!’ It was like talking to a dog—the beast heard the intonations, but made no sense of the words.

  Hawkins suddenly realised what was happening—Swain was talking to him. Immediately, he began struggling again to shift Balthazar off him. In a few seconds, he got him off, and began to drag him across the floor, away from the Karanadon while Swain kept it occupied.

  The Karanadon seemed dumbstruck by this challenging display. It roared fiercely at Swain.

  ‘Oh, yeah! Well . . . well, fuck you, too!’ Swain yelled back.

  Out of the corner of his eye he saw Holly and Selexin reach the elevators over by the southern wall. In the other direction, he saw Hawkins and Balthazar reach the stairwell.

  Unfortunately, the Karanadon was still staring straight at him, totally exposed, halfway between the elevators and the stairs.

  Shit. What could he do now? Nice going, Steve.

  Boom.

  The Karanadon took a slow step toward him.

  Boom. Boom.

&
nbsp; Two more and suddenly the gap was seven feet. Almost within striking distance.

  ‘Hey!’

  The Karanadon’s head snapped left, toward Selexin and Holly by the elevator.

  ‘Yes! That is right! I am talking to you!’ Selexin yelled.

  The big creature took a step toward the elevators, growling. It roared.

  Selexin braced himself, pointed a finger, and yelled, ‘Oh, yeah, well fuck you too!’

  Swain coughed back a laugh.

  The Karanadon roared in outrage and stepped away from Swain, heading for the elevators. It was gaining speed when a third voice called loudly.

  ‘Hey!’

  The Karanadon stopped in its tracks a third time.

  ‘Yeah, you!’ It was Hawkins.

  Swain swung his head back and forth between the elevators and the stairwell, amazed.

  Now totally confused, the Karanadon swung to face Hawkins at the stairwell. Swain took the chance and ran for the elevator. When he got there, he pressed the call button.

  Hawkins was waving wildly at the Karanadon as it approached. When it got to within fifteen feet of him, Swain took over and called again from the elevators.

  ‘Hello there! Hey, buddy! What about me!’

  The Karanadon swung around slowly.

  It snorted.

  Boom.

  Swain looked up at the numbered display above the left-hand elevator. The elevator was moving from ‘1’ to ‘G’. It was going down. What the hell? The right-hand elevator—with its inwardly dented doors and last seen by Swain stopped halfway between the First and Ground Floors—didn’t seem to be operating at all.

  Boom. Boom. Boom.

  ‘Hey!’ Hawkins called again. But this time, the beast didn’t respond. It kept moving toward Swain and the elevators.

  Boom. Boom. Boom.

  ‘Hey!’ Hawkins yelled. The Karanadon didn’t stop. It just kept ploughing forward, toward the elevators.

  ‘We have got trouble,’ Selexin said flatly.

  ‘We’ve got deep trouble,’ Swain agreed.

  Boom. Boom. Boom.

  Swain spun around. Options, options. There were none. He checked the numbers above the elevators. Left—still on the Ground Floor. Right—still no movement at all.

  He stared at the elevators for a second and suddenly had an idea.

  ‘Quickly,’ he said, moving over to the right-hand elevator. ‘Selexin, Holly, you two grab the other side of this door and pull. We’ve got to get it open.’

  Boom. Boom. Boom.

  The Karanadon was closing in—getting faster and faster as it got closer and closer.

  The elevator doors slowly came apart. ‘Keep pulling,’ Swain said. The black elevator shaft opened wide before him.

  Boom.

  ‘That’s it,’ Swain said, easing in between the doors—spreading his legs, holding them apart—while still facing the study hall. The dark elevator shaft yawned wide behind him.

  It was then that Swain noticed the silence. No more booming footfalls.

  The Karanadon had stopped.

  Slowly, ever so slightly, Swain lifted his head.

  It was right there!

  Five feet away.

  And it just stood there, looming over the three of them, its enormous black frame dwarfing them all. It tilted its head and glared down at Swain. One of its long pointed ears twitched.

  ‘Holly, Selexin,’ Swain whispered, without moving his mouth, ‘I want both of you to grab hold of my legs. One each. Right now.’

  ‘Daddy . . .’ Holly whimpered.

  ‘Just grab my leg, honey.’

  There was a scratching sound, and Swain saw that it was the big beast’s claws scraping against the marble floor as it flexed its huge black fists.

  Getting ready to attack.

  Holly clasped onto Swain’s left leg. Selexin took the right.

  ‘Hold tight,’ Swain said, taking a deep breath as the Karanadon lifted its arm high.

  The arm came down fast—but not fast enough. It hit nothing but air as Swain shifted his weight backwards and jumped into the darkness of the elevator shaft.

  The elevator cable was greasy, but his grip held.

  There were three vertical cables, so Swain held the middle one. Behind him, the elevator doors had shut automatically as soon as he had stopped holding them apart.

  The elevator shaft was pitch black and deathly silent. If the Karanadon was roaring, they couldn’t hear it in here.

  ‘Selexin,’ Swain said, his voice echoing loudly in the empty shaft. ‘Grab hold of the cable.’

  Selexin reached out from Swain’s leg and caught hold of the elevator cable.

  ‘All right now, slide down. Down to the elevator.’

  Selexin slid down the cable, disappearing into the murky darkness of the shaft.

  ‘Holly, you okay?’

  ‘Yeah.’ A whimper.

  ‘All right, then, it’s your turn now. Just reach out and grab the cable.’

  ‘O-kay.’

  Her hand shaking, Holly reached for the cable. Her fingers hesitated for an eternity just short of the greasy metal rope. She grabbed it.

  And then suddenly the elevator doors burst open.

  Soft blue light streamed into the elevator shaft, silhouetting the monstrous shape of the Karanadon as it held the doors apart.

  It was only a few feet away and Swain was completely exposed, holding onto the elevator cable for dear life, with Holly dangling from his leg.

  It roared loudly, leaning out into the shaft, swiping viciously at Swain, only to see him loosen his grip on the cable and drop out of the way a second ahead of the impact.

  Swain fell like a stone, whizzing down the greasy cable into the darkness, with Holly hanging from his left leg.

  They slid down the cable fast, the grease on the cable preventing Swain’s hands from burning, and arrived at the roof of the right-hand elevator. Selexin was there waiting.

  The elevator’s hatch was still open and the light inside it still on. The lift was exactly where they had left it before, when Swain, Balthazar and the two guides had climbed across to meet Hawkins and Holly in the other one.

  ‘Let’s get inside, and see if we can get to another floor,’ Swain said, grabbing Holly’s hand and lowering her into the elevator. Selexin climbed in next. Swain jumped down last of all.

  In the light of the elevator Swain could see how filthy they had become. The black grease from the cable covered their clothes. He felt his cheek. The bleeding had stopped.

  ‘Where do we go now?’ Selexin asked.

  ‘I think we should go home, Daddy,’ Holly suggested.

  ‘Good idea,’ Swain said.

  Selexin said, ‘Well, we had better figure out somethi—’

  Suddenly, the elevator jolted and they were all thrown sideways.

  ‘Oh my God,’ Swain said, ‘The cable!’

  The elevator rocked violently, hurling them all to the ground. A loud creaking sound echoed throughout the shaft.

  ‘It’s got the cable!’

  The elevator swayed dramatically and Selexin was thrown bodily into the side wall, hitting his head, falling to the floor in a heap. Swain tried to fight his way across the swaying lift to reach the button panel, but was jolted backwards. The back of his head banged into one of the elevator’s doors, and for a second, he saw spots. The whole elevator groaned again at the tremendous strain being put on the cable.

  And then, as quickly as it had begun, the rocking stopped and the elevator was still once more.

  Holly was curled up in the corner, vigorously sucking her thumb. Selexin was out cold, face down on the floor. Swain staggered across the lift, rubbing the back of his head, looked up through the hatch.

  He had just walked under the open hatch when he felt the elevator move again. Another jolt. But not like the previous ones. It was not as sharp, somehow different.

  The elevator swayed again and Swain felt his knees buckle.

  And then he r
ealised.

  They were going up.

  It was lifting them up the shaft!

  ‘Okay,’ he said to himself, ‘how the hell are we going to get out of this one?’

  The lift continued upward, scraping loudly against the metal lining of the shaft.

  Swain looked up through the hatch and could just make out the big arms of the Karanadon heaving on the elevator cable, hauling on it hand over hand, claw over claw.

  The lift kept rising, moving higher into the shaft.

  There’s got to be a way out, he thought, got to be.

  The Karanadon roared. They were close now, maybe a floor away. The hatch was still open. The Karanadon was glaring down at the elevator with animal fury as it heaved and pulled on the cables.

  The cables, Swain thought.

  He pondered the idea for a second. It was dangerous, yes. But it could work. At the moment it didn’t look like he had much choice. He shrugged. Hell, anything was better than nothing.

  He looked back at Holly. She was slumped in the corner of the lift, still sucking her thumb.

  Yes. It could work.

  It had to.

  And with that, Stephen Swain reached up and climbed out through the hatch, up onto the roof of the elevator.

  The study hall was closer than he thought.

  They were about seven feet below the Third Floor doors where the Karanadon stood—and the lift was still moving upward.

  The Karanadon saw him. And stopped.

  Swain just stood there, on top of the elevator, staring at the beast.

  Suddenly the Karanadon lashed out, swiping at him with its spare claw. Swain stepped back, out of reach. The beast swung again, missed again.

  ‘Come on!’ Swain yelled. ‘You can do better than that!’

  The big beast roared in frustration and lashed out at him again, harder this time, missing Swain, but hitting one of the cables.

  The cable snapped like a thread and the elevator lurched. But the Karanadon was still holding it up.

  With one hand!

  The big beast swung again, and Swain dived to his left. It missed, and cable number two snapped.

  One more, Swain told himself. One more, and we’re out of here.

  This was getting to be too much for the Karanadon. It roared again in animal anger, like a dog barking at a cat that it will never catch.

  ‘Come on, big boy,’ Swain teased. ‘One last swipe, and then you can get me the hell out of here.’