‘Gross,’ murmured Carly. ‘This is disgusting.’
‘This is awesome!’ said Krishna, extending his phone to arm’s length to start filming. ‘It’s gonna look amazing!’
‘Put your phone away, dude. It’s too dark.’
‘Oh, Dane,’ Krishna said. ‘So naïve. It’s got night-vision!’ He listed its assets while sweeping it slowly across the scene. ‘Shockproof, waterproof, voice recognition and 4K picture quality.’
‘Very impressive,’ Mary agreed. ‘And can it be used as a telephone?’
This got a chuckle from the group and Dane said, ‘He wouldn’t know. No one ever calls him.’
‘Not true, someone tried to sell me life insurance only this morning,’ Krishna shot back, keeping his eye on the green, night-vision image on his screen.
‘Did soldiers … die in here?’ Carly asked.
‘Certainly,’ said Mary. ‘Thousands lived inside the Rock so like any town there was sickness, injury, death. Take a look in here.’ She led them across the room to a black rectangular opening at the far end. Carly hesitated at the threshold. ‘Go on,’ urged Mary.
Petra saw in the torchlight rows of hollowed-out shelves in the walls, like those in a church crypt. Their dimensions meant only one thing. ‘The morgue.’
‘Correct!’ grinned Mary, delighted. ‘These might only have been used if they were under siege.’ She stroked her hand along one of the hollowed out morgue slabs. ‘But I love them. Aren’t they great?’
‘Fuck that,’ grunted Carly, and reversed back out.
Ed led them back along the ward and as he stepped forward he stumbled slightly. Mary reached out to support him and Petra heard him mutter ‘Bloody leg’ under his breath. She felt a flutter. Sympathy? Attraction? Emotionally she was all over the place since breaking up with Zach. She dismissed the fleeting feeling and concentrated on the morbid space around her.
‘This is horrible,’ Carly said, hugging herself to avoid touching anything else.
‘Really?’ smiled Ed. ‘I love it.’
‘Weirdo,’ muttered Krishna.
‘I do! It’s probably our medical background.’
‘We both studied medicine at uni,’ Mary explained, placing her hand in Ed’s.
‘You’re doctors?’ asked Petra. Could this guy be any more remarkable? Ex-military, good looking and a doctor?
‘Not exactly. I trained to be a nurse. Ed’s the high flyer. Biomedical Sciences, chemistry, medical research and all that.’
‘You’re kidding! I did Biomed at Warwick.’ At last, she was in her comfort zone. ‘Where did you study?’
‘Durham,’ Mary replied for him. The pride in her voice felt a little defensive, a barbed declaration of status to put Petra in her place.
‘Were you any good?’ asked Dane, idly examining a half-open rusty drawer.
Carly tutted and whispered, ‘It’s not a competition, darlin’.’
Ed just smiled. ‘I was OK.’
‘He was a genius,’ Mary affirmed, squeezing Ed’s hand. ‘Won the Medawar Innovation Grant. Only one person a year gets that.’
‘So how come you’re down here, with us?’ asked Dane.
Carly rolled her eyes; Petra wondered at what point Dane’s alpha-male competitiveness went from being quite attractive to a bit tiresome.
‘We … had a difference of opinion,’ Ed explained, ‘the professors and me. I walked away.’
The confidence Petra had noticed in Ed earlier bordered on arrogance as the men puffed their chests. ‘To this?’ she asked. It sounded ruder than she’d expected and Mary showed a flash of daggers in her glance. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean …’
Ed smiled. ‘It’s fine. It must seem strange. It was some mates in the Medical Corps that introduced me to Gibraltar, and I was smitten. I persuaded Mary to join me out here a-sap. She still holds me responsible for ruining her studies!’
‘Your parents can’t have been too happy about that,’ Petra said, unable to stop digging.
‘My parents aren’t around any more.’
‘I was thinking about yours!’ Petra said to Mary.
‘Both our parents are no longer with us,’ she replied with a steely directness that belied her soft features. The atmosphere had got awkward.
Carly perked up, blatantly changing the subject. ‘This has been lovely. Can we go?’
Chapter 4
Within moments they were shuffling out of the dingy, rotting infirmary along another damp grey tunnel. Petra felt a pull on her sleeve. It was Carly, tugging at her to hang back from the group.
‘What the fuck?’
‘What?’ whispered Petra.
‘What was all that? Why are you being weird?’
‘I’m weird?’
‘Well, it’s hardly going to impress Krishna, having a go at them two. This was his idea.’
‘Wait, what? Why would I want to impress Krishna?’
‘Oh come on, Petra.’ Carly smirked, and then whispered in a sing-song voice, ‘I think he likes you.’
‘Oh, pur-lease,’ scowled Petra, shaking her head. She marched on to catch the others, leaving Carly trotting after her, muffled giggles resonating around them. This labyrinth was losing its charm. Ahead, Ed had stopped at a large, rusted gate adorned with signs in English and Spanish that clearly indicated that the path beyond it was out of bounds. ‘This is the end of the road,’ he said. ‘Well, for us it is.’
Great, thought Petra. Let’s get out of here.
‘Most of the inner network and the entire lower galleries are still owned by the military,’ said Mary. Petra was unsettled by how quickly Mary had returned to her smiling, helpful self after the fierce glance she had shot her moments ago.
‘Shall we go, then?’ suggested Petra.
‘What’s through there?’ asked Dane.
‘Prohibited,’ said Ed.
Dane peered through the bars into the blackness beyond and muttered something about health and safety and a nanny state. Petra was watching Krishna film through the barred gate on his phone. The screen looked like a smudgy green smear from where she was, but he persisted on fiddling with settings, lost in his own world. She raised an eyebrow to Carly as they watched, which she hoped said, ‘Really? Him?’ and Carly just smirked and whispered: ‘Nerd.’
The tour all but finished, they were back in the wider tunnels dimly illuminated with electric bulbs when Carly gasped. ‘Ohhhhh my God, look!’
In a gloomy alcove cut into the wall at shoulder height sat a large black ape, squatting like a statue. At its feet a young ape idly picked at the fur of its mother.
Petra’s heart leapt. She’d seen these monkeys at a distance when they were walking up the path outside, but to be just a few metres from one was breathtaking.
‘The Barbary macaques,’ said Ed. ‘A species of monkey known locally as the rock ape.’
‘Adorable!’ cooed Carly.
‘Bloody pain,’ Ed replied. ‘Always pestering tourists in the hope of stealing food.’
‘Good luck getting any food off Krishna,’ said Dane, but Krishna was too busy fiddling with his phone settings to respond.
‘Oh, don’t mind old grumpy-pants,’ smiled Mary. ‘The novelty’s worn off for us, but they are quite cute. Cute, but bad-tempered.’
‘If you see a plastic snake in a car in Gib, this is why. The rock apes have become so used to humans they’re fearless. They’ll steal bags, wallets, phones, but they still run away from a fake snake.’
‘Just wait a minute while I capture this,’ Krishna said, framing his shot.
While they waited for the budding cameraman, Mary turned to Carly. ‘So, congratulations are in order. Can I see the ring?’
‘Ahh, thanks, hun!’ Carly beamed and spread her manicured left hand for inspection.
‘Oh, it’s beautiful!’ Mary shone her torch at the sparkling ring and said, ‘Isn’t it, Ed?’
‘What’s that?’
‘Beautiful. Carly’s engagement ring.’
<
br /> ‘Sure. Congratulations.’
‘Imagine how a girl must feel to be given one of these.’
Ed just smirked.
‘I don’t suppose …?’ she asked Carly. ‘No, sorry, that’s unprofessional of me.’
‘What? You wanna try it on? Please, take it! Never know, he might like the look of it, give him some inspiration!’ She smiled at Ed and slid off the ring. Mary held it under the torchlight, captivated.
‘Just a bit of video,’ Krishna murmured, gazing at his phone screen.
‘Hurry up, mate,’ Dane sighed.
As Krishna crabbed, knees bent, tracking his phone camera towards the apes, he said, ‘Eat your heart out, David Attenborough,’ which made Petra smile.
Then Dane said, ‘Go on mate, get your big close-up,’ and planted his knee in Krishna’s protruding bottom. He stumbled forwards and a deafening shriek filled their ears.
Before anyone could react, a dark shape erupted from the alcove and engulfed Krishna. Everyone yelled, and clattered into each other as they lurched back. As the swinging beam from Ed’s torch sliced the gloom, Petra saw muscular black fur clamped around Krishna’s head. She pushed herself against the wall, deafening shouts rattling off rock, and saw the light settle on the rock ape that was clinging to Krishna as he flailed and spun. The monkey’s teeth were bared, it bore a white blaze across its head, and she was shocked to see a twitching black stump where it was missing an arm.
Krishna’s flapping limbs failed to shake off the beast, whose good arm was firmly anchored around his neck. Still yelling, he found the selfie-stick in his pocket and swiped above him. The ape expertly dodged the extended stick and leapt clear while Krishna kept whipping and swiping at the floor, the walls, every hard surface, hopelessly missing his attacker. Petra, like her friends, gathered her breath and watched as Krishna’s gyrating chaos slowly subsided. Even the ape, she noticed, sat and watched as its baby sauntered from the alcove to take a seat. Eventually, their panting friend stopped for breath and looked at the remnant in his hand – an alloy handle sprouting tatty, splintered strands of plastic.
Ed shooed the animal away without a second thought, and the monkey didn’t protest. ‘Sorry about that. Camera shy, clearly.’
Relief swept the gang into laughter, apart from Krishna, who looked decidedly pissed off.
‘Aww,’ said Petra. ‘Did you see she only had one arm, poor thing.’
‘Pests!’ shouted Ed. ‘Could have hurt someone.’ Then added, ‘And the ape could’ve done some damage, too,’ which got another ripple of laughter from the group.
Petra felt a little sympathy for Krishna, standing forlorn, sweating, examining the shredded plastic in his hand. Dane leaned close and said, ‘Mate, I think your selfie-stick’s broken,’ but before Krishna could react Mary swore.
She was holding her hand up in front of her face. ‘Oh my God! The ring! Where’s the ring?’
‘What?’ demanded Carly.
‘Your engagement ring?’ Dane asked.
‘It was on my finger, I swear. Then I got bumped, and … shit.’ Mary started scanning the floor around their feet.
‘Why did you take it off, Carly?’ Dane asked.
‘Why did you shove Krishna into the monkey, Dane?’
‘Guys, c’mon,’ Petra said. ‘It’ll be here somewhere.’
But six pairs of eyes saw nothing under the sweeping torch beams. No glint of gold or jewelled spark, just craggy, slippery limestone.
‘Are you sure you lost it here?’ asked Ed.
‘Yes! It was on my finger just now,’ barked Mary, ‘right before that fucking monkey jumped out!’
Petra joined Carly, crouching, gently sweeping the damp ground with her fingers.
‘I’m so sorry,’ Mary said, widening her search. She and Ed went in one direction, crouching, inspecting every bump and ridge while Petra extended her own search area.
‘It’s gotta be here somewhere.’
‘It was a massive jump, though – I mean, I nearly hit the roof,’ Carly replied. Dane stayed quiet and joined her, squatting down, checking the ground with his fingertips.
After a few moments of silent, fruitless searching, Mary said, ‘Er … guys.’ Petra looked up to see her and Ed standing a short distance away. Mary was pointing at the ground. They gathered around, all of them looking down, not at an expensive diamond ring, but at a grimy iron grid. ‘You don’t think …?’
‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’ said Dane, sounding as gloomy as their surroundings.
‘What’s down there?’ asked Carly.
‘The lower tunnels,’ said Ed. ‘All sealed off. Out of bounds. I hope you had insurance, Dane.’
Carly was appalled. ‘What? No way! I’m not getting some crappy replacement. That was the ring you proposed with, Dane. It’s priceless. I’m getting it back.’
Ed wasn’t keen. He explained again: the tunnels below were out of bounds for a reason: they were dangerous. Miles of twisting mazes, hidden drops, rock-falls, lakes.
‘I’m out,’ said Krishna.
‘Helpful, mate. Thanks,’ replied Dane.
‘And besides,’ Ed added. ‘We’ve got to be out of here in ten minutes. The entrance gets closed and there’s usually a police patrol car around the place for a while.’
‘But it’s just down there!’ whined Carly with a little stamp of her foot.
Petra tried to ease the situation. ‘Come on, Carly. We’ll work something out. Let’s go.’ The group started walking away, up the rising slope towards the gaping mouth of the Rock that had swallowed them an hour ago, but Carly was reluctant. Still keeping her attention on the grid, she eventually tore herself away with a cry of frustration and trotted after the others.
Outside the tunnel entrance Petra drank in the twilight air, filled with the scent of wild rosemary and sea-lavender. But the mood had turned sour. Carly was trying to persuade Ed to take her down to the tunnel below the drainage grid. Petra thought he looked half-convinced, though Mary was at his ear, balancing Carly’s pleas with the risks: her desire to repair her mistake versus a list of reasons why it couldn’t happen – it was illegal, they could lose their business if they got caught; she even mentioned smugglers.
‘You don’t have to come,’ pleaded Carly. ‘Just show me the way.’
‘Smugglers?’ asked Petra.
Ed explained. ‘This weird hollow rock is the back door into Europe for every gangster, drug dealer and crime syndicate based just a few miles over there in Africa. Believe me, you do not want to be inside the Rock at night.’
‘Hmmm, let me think about this,’ said Krishna. ‘Yes. I’m definitely out.’ He walked away and Dane threw his hands in the air and tutted.
‘Come on, mate, really?’
‘Count me out,’ he said, wandering towards a bench. ‘I’m not actually feeling too well. Reckon that prawn sandwich at the airport was a bit dodgy.’
Dane turned his attention to Ed. ‘C’mon, Ed, what’s it gonna take to fix this? A hundred? Just take us back in and we’ll be done in a few minutes.’ The beat of silence told Petra that something was about to change. No immediate push-back from Ed. Mary looked like she wanted to put things right, and shared an if you will, I will glance with her colleague, or boyfriend, or whatever the hell they were to each other. Dane’s sales instincts were finely tuned and sensed victory. ‘Two hundred. For half an hour of your time.’
Another pause. Then Ed put out his hand to have it clasped by Dane, who looked like he’d negotiated the deal of his life. ‘Fine,’ Ed said.
Petra was suddenly struck with an uncomfortable thought. ‘Are we all going back in?’
‘Better if it’s just Dane and Carly. It’s not really a tourist attraction down there.’
‘Ahh, what?’ complained Carly.
‘The more eyes the better, surely,’ Dane replied, and Petra slumped slightly.
‘It’ll be quicker and safer with just the two of you,’ Mary said. ‘And it looks like Krishna’s
not keen.’ He’d plonked himself on the seat and was playing with his phone.
‘Just let me shut up shop,’ said Ed. ‘You two wait here and we’ll be back in a couple of minutes. We’ll have to use another way in.’
Mary folded the small wooden table where Hector had sat, picked up the chair and followed Ed back into the tunnel where he was switching off lights and pulling at stubborn gates.
Petra felt Carly grip her hand. ‘Oh pleeeease,’ she whined, looking up at her. They were eleven years old again and Petra was about to be led into some naughty escapade by her firecracker friend.
Petra shouted to the slumped figure on the bench, ‘What about you, Krishna?’
‘Think I’ll head back,’ he hollered. ‘Got a ticking clock on an online mission with a gamer in Ohio.’ She rolled her eyes. Was her life destined to be spent surrounded by gamer geeks? She looked at Carly and sighed, which was all Carly needed.
She squealed and said, ‘Love you, hun.’
Dane wandered over to Krishna to form the second arm of the recruitment campaign. ‘Come on, mate, what’s up?’
Krishna didn’t look up from his phone screen, on which a dragon soared around a flaming castle as he tipped the phone like a steering wheel. ‘Honestly,’ he said, ‘I don’t feel well.’
‘You need to man up, buddy. How d’you think you’re going to impress Petra? I think you might be in, there.’
‘Oh yeah, I’m sure she was really impressed when that monkey made me nearly shit myself.’
Dane suppressed a laugh. ‘Dude, this whole trip was like … a double date. Finally, a decent chance for you to get a girlfriend – Petra is Carly’s weirdest friend. If you can’t get off with her, then … well, you might as well cut it off, let it fend for itself.’ They both glanced at Krishna’s crotch but Dane’s smirk was only met with a heavy sigh from his friend.
‘I’ll see you back at the hotel.’ Krishna walked away without another word, leaving Dane shaking his head and shrugging to Petra and Carly. As he wandered back to join them, Petra heard her name on the breeze.
All Hollow Page 3
