The Secret Chamber

by Patrick Woodhead

  Kai raised his head to stare at Xie through the thick lenses of his glasses.

  ‘It is a very significant sum and the General is not to be trusted to make such a payment alone. You will go with him, to ensure everything is as it should be. And Xie … I want you to watch him like a hawk.’

  ‘Go with him? To the Congo, you mean?’ Xie replied, taken by surprise.

  The old man didn’t respond but instead jerked his head sideways, indicating that Xie should move out of his way. He then slowly wheeled himself forward towards the crowd. The assembled guests quickly got to their feet, applauding loudly as he was wheeled up on to the low platform.

  Xie shifted his weight from one foot to the other. ‘The Congo,’ he said to himself, his mouth shaping the words. He had never even been to Africa, and now he was venturing into one of the most dangerous parts to oversee a general he was certain was double-crossing them.

  As he looked around the room, he took in the pinnacle of Shanghai’s society, complete with spectacular dresses and ritualised table settings, collections of jewellery and polite small talk. With just one sentence, Kai had changed everything. In a matter of hours, he would be stepping off the plane into Africa’s black heart.

  Chapter 21

  ‘LUCA!’

  Bear stood over him, both hands twisted into the neck of his T-shirt. Each time she screamed his name, she lifted his whole head off the ground, her mouth so close that it nearly touched his cheek. Letting his head drop back into the mud, she slapped him hard across the face, the force of the blow stinging her hand.

  ‘Luca! Wake up!’

  He moaned, blinking a couple of times as he slowly opened his eyes. Bear’s face filled his entire vision. She was leaning right over him, cradling his head in her hands.

  ‘Come on, Luca! Get to your feet.’

  Tugging backwards with all her strength, she pulled Luca’s torso clear of the ground, but his head lolled backwards. He raised his right hand, vaguely trying to fend her off, but Bear slapped him again.

  ‘Luca!’

  His eyes settled on hers, then slowly drifted closed again, the effort just too much. Bear lifted her face up towards the sky, shouting in frustration. She could see the helicopter hovering above them now, the wash from its rotors shaking the high branches of the canopy. Leaves slowly floated down from the sky, twirling in the beams of light before gently settling on the forest floor.

  The helicopter banked round in a wide turn as it continued its search. Bear caught glimpses as it passed gaps in the canopy, but here the forest was too dense for the pilots to see anything clearly. For now, at least, they were safe.

  She had been trying to wake Luca for over two minutes. Time seemed to drag in rhythm with each beat of the helicopter’s rotors, the precious seconds wasting away while Luca lay unconscious on the ground. She stared into his eyes. His pupils were wide from concussion and it might take him hours to regain his senses fully. One more minute, she whispered to herself. One more minute, then she would have to leave him.

  ‘Wake up!’ Bear shouted again. ‘You’ve got to get up and rescue Joshua. Remember Joshua!’

  The name seemed to spark something in Luca’s memory and he blinked again, trying to raise his head.

  ‘That’s it. Joshua,’ Bear repeated. ‘Get up and help him.’

  Luca grabbed her arm, pulling himself up with surprising strength. He groaned, his right arm moving down to his ribcage.

  ‘Where is … Joshua?’ he murmured.

  ‘He’s this way,’ she said, pointing away from the inselberg. ‘But we have to hurry to catch him.’

  Luca’s eyes moved in the direction she was pointing, then he shuffled forward unsteadily. After only a couple of paces, he collapsed on to his knees. Bear rushed to him, stopping him from toppling all the way to the ground, but strained under his deadweight. After a moment, she managed to adjust her footing and get him up again. As Luca stood there swaying, she glanced back down at her watch. The minute was up. It was time to decide.

  ‘Shit,’ she breathed, her thighs straining from supporting his weight. She had to make a decision. And do it now. Every rational part of her brain screamed for her to duck out from under his arm and sprint off into the jungle, to put as much distance between her and the LRA as possible. But something held her back and she stood there, fighting every instinct to flee.

  Just as she went to move, Luca’s right fist pressed down on her shoulder, holding her still, as if he had sensed what she was thinking. He held her tight, the power of his grip unbelievably strong.

  ‘You lead me,’ he said. ‘I can move if you lead me.’

  They pressed on, the sounds of the helicopter receding with each minute that passed. Occasionally, they would hear the engine change pitch and the noise come closer, but then it dipped again, fading into the background hum of the forest. Luca was moving faster now. He still held on to Bear’s shoulder, following her lead like a blind man, but his steps were less erratic and clumsy. She could hear his breath in her ear and feel the sweat on the palm of his hand. There was something almost comforting about his proximity, as if in all this chaos they were one entity, not two, trying to break free from the endless forest.

  They had been going for about twenty minutes, forcing their way through acres of young saplings, when Luca suddenly spoke.

  ‘The boys,’ he said in a low voice. ‘What happened to Abasi?’

  Bear didn’t turn her head. ‘Neither of them made it.’

  There was a pause, with just the slapping sound of their feet dragging through the undergrowth.

  ‘What kind of people gun down a boy with a spear?’ Luca whispered.

  Bear felt him start to slow, lost to the horror. She ignored him, trying to force the last image of Abasi out of her mind. They had to be practical, work in numbers not emotions. She guessed that they would have at least two hours on the LRA patrol because they still had to descend all the way to the stream to get around the inselberg. It also sounded as if the helicopter had either given up or was too low on fuel to continue searching, and had returned to its base. They had a head start, but it wasn’t much.

  They trudged on for a few more paces, the undergrowth thinning as they began to climb a slight rise.

  ‘He was just a kid,’ Luca whispered again, slowing to a walk. ‘What kind of people …’

  ‘Stop it!’ Bear screamed, swivelling round and pushing him back with the palms of her hands. ‘Stop thinking that way!’

  Luca stared at her.

  ‘They’re dead. You got it? Dead. We have to move on.’

  ‘Can’t I just have a moment …’

  ‘No! No, you can’t!’ Bear shouted, shoving him once again and forcing him to take a step backwards.

  ‘What’s wrong with you?’ she blazed, levelling a finger at his chest. ‘Why don’t you understand and harden the fuck up? This isn’t the West. No more, “I’m sorry for him … I’m sorry for her.” This is Africa, and no one gives a shit what you feel!’

  Luca just stood there, too shocked to respond. Bear turned away from him, scraping her hair back from her face with such force that a few strands caught in the webbing of her fingers.

  ‘Millions of people have died horrible deaths in the Congo,’ she continued. ‘Millions! And not a single other person cares. So why the hell should we?’

  Luca glowered at her.

  ‘Because that’s the only thing that makes us different,’ he snapped. ‘Stop talking to me like I’ve never seen death before. Like I’m some kind of fucking tourist.’

  ‘That’s exactly what you are out here – a tourist. You know nothing about any of this.’

  Luca’s eyes grew cold as he stared at her.

  ‘You think you know all about death just because you’ve seen it? Well, I’ve crossed that line.’ His voice shook with anger. ‘You don’t just move on and forget the whole thing. It doesn’t work that way. Their faces stay with you, staring at you above their open mouths …’ Luca fell
silent. He could see the avalanche again and the faces of the men he’d killed tumbling through the wall of snow and ice.

  ‘So what is it with you?’ he continued. ‘Seen one too many wars to give a shit about a couple of kids?’

  ‘Screw you,’ Bear spat, folding her arms across her chest. ‘You don’t know anything about me.’

  The wound on her shoulder had opened again, sending a trickle of blood down into her filthy vest. She didn’t even notice.

  ‘I care about surviving,’ she said, her voice dropping to a hiss. ‘That’s it. I’m not here for you, the pygmies, or anyone else.’

  ‘Yeah, that’s what you said from the beginning. At least I know where you stand.’

  They stood glowering at each other for a moment longer, before Bear glanced down at her watch. Without another word, she turned in the direction they were headed and sprinted off. Luca let her run ahead for a few paces then broke into a run himself, following in her footsteps.

  They heard the low roll of thunder as night drew on. Soon came the rain, the droplets beating against the leaves high above their heads before finally reaching them. As the night grew blacker, the rain grew worse, bending the broad leaves of the forest under its weight and turning the ground into grim tar-coloured mud. It oozed over their leather boots, reaching their knees in the deepest places.

  Neither Bear nor Luca had said a word to each other since they had resumed running. They stopped when they passed one of the water vines, but even then only rested for a matter of seconds, drinking quickly and without speaking. As every hour passed, each had quickened their pace, progressively trying to outdo the other. Although naturally stronger, Luca had been suffering from what he suspected were two cracked ribs, and as the day dragged on the pain worsened. He tried to block it out, focusing on the next step, then the next, never thinking about how long they had been running or what lay ahead.

  The rain intensified, coming down in vertical sheets. White bursts of lightning flashed across the sky followed by rolls of thunder. Both of them were absolutely sodden, their clothes clinging to their bodies while their trousers chafed against the skin on the inside of their thighs, rubbing it raw.

  Dipping down into a steep ravine, Bear suddenly cried out, losing her footing on the treacherous ground and sliding a few metres on her back in the mud. Her knee jammed against an exposed tree branch, making her cry out in pain, but Luca simply stepped over her and continued running. She stared up at him, cursing under her breath, before pulling herself back on to her feet and sprinting hard to catch up.

  Before long, they came upon a massive fallen tree. Its roots, encrusted with clods of earth, jutted out towards the sky. A huge crater in the ground extended round the trunk in a half-moon shape. Bear pulled up, her chest rising in time with her breath. They had been going for six hours and every muscle in her body ached.

  ‘There might be some cover there,’ she panted. Against the main part of the trunk, she could just make out a small area that was sheltered from the rain. It was only a few feet deep, but wide enough to lie down in.

  ‘I’m stopping,’ she said. ‘I’ve got to rest. At least for a couple of hours.’

  Leaving Luca standing out in the rain, she carefully crawled past the roots and into the dry opening a little deeper inside. With her shoulders pressed against the soft earth, she lay flat on her back, letting out a long, ragged breath. She had never felt exhaustion like it. They had barely eaten in over two days and her stomach was cramping from lack of nourishment. On the last two hours of the run, it had got so bad that she had started to feel dizzy and nauseous. She had had to stop and break out the last of the energy bars, but even then, the sick exhaustion had barely left her for a moment.

  Bear exhaled again, sinking deeper into the earth. She was absolutely broken. The knowledge that they would have to do this again and again, day after day, if they ever wanted to make it out of the forest alive, made her whole body go limp. It just seemed so impossible, so hopeless.

  Luca remained outside with his hands on his hips. He was breathing heavily, blowing the droplets of water off his nose and out into the night. The rain beat down so hard that his hair was slicked flat against his cheeks, while his T-shirt stretched across the muscles of his lower back.

  Turning her head to one side, Bear could just make out the top half of his body beyond the line of the roots. She watched him, the anger and frustration of the morning long since replaced by a desperate tiredness. A ghost of a smile passed across her lips. They were just as stubborn as each other.

  ‘You have to get out of the rain,’ she called. ‘Even you need to rest at some point.’

  Still Luca didn’t move.

  ‘Come on. We both need our strength, so let’s rest for a couple of hours then be on our way.’

  He turned towards her, his expression hidden by the darkness.

  ‘Please, Luca.’

  Without a word, he came closer, crawling over the roots and squeezing into the opening beside her. She turned her body sideways, pressing herself back against the earth to make room for him. He pulled off his sodden T-shirt and wrung out the water. Bunching it up to use as a pillow, he lay with his back to her, staring out into the night.

  Bear was only a few inches away from his back and could feel the damp heat rising from his skin. She let her eyes blur in the darkness, fighting the pain in her shoulder. It had got worse again, sending a dull throb across her entire back.

  For several minutes Bear stayed like that, staring into the dark as she tried to relax. But memories of the day kept resurfacing. They came in a relentless cycle, until finally one image drowned out the others, settling across her vision like a sunspot. At first it was little more than a hazy outline with no real detail or substance, but then she understood what it was. It was the Polaroid of her son, pinned to the cockpit of the Cessna. She could clearly see Nathan’s face now, smiling, as he stared straight at the camera.

  Bear swallowed, wincing as she felt her throat tighten. Just to see him one more time, to hold him tight against her chest and bury her nose deep in the curls of his hair, was all she wanted now. Her nostrils flared as she tried to conjure up his smell. She knew it so well, but now she couldn’t place it; there was nothing but the damp earthiness all around. Closing her eyes, she tried to picture his face again, but it had warped this time, turning instead to the faces of the pygmy boys.

  Bear sniffed loudly, feeling shame well up inside her. Before she even realised what was happening, she found herself trying to stifle sobs. Tears ran down her cheeks, making her eyes burn, and she sniffed again, trying to hold it all back. But no matter what she did, she couldn’t stop herself from imagining her own son being ripped to pieces by bullets.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Bear whispered, raising her hand to touch Luca’s back. There was no answer, so she held her hand where it was, her fingertips millimetres from his skin.

  ‘You didn’t deserve what I said this morning. You were right. We shouldn’t have got those boys involved.’

  Luca remained facing outwards, his body rigid. Bear felt herself willing him to respond, to say something to console her. The tiredness and fear had broken her down and now she felt a physical need for Luca’s affirmation, for him simply to say that it was going to be all right, and that they would make it though.

  ‘Say something, Luca.’

  He turned until he was facing her. She could just make out the profile of his face in the dim light, and the wet strands of his hair.

  ‘There’s more,’ Bear added, the words so quiet that they caught on her breath. ‘More to me, I mean. I do care what happened to those boys, but I just couldn’t deal with it then. Couldn’t face up to what had happened.’

  She waited, trying to read his expression, but it was too dark. She tried to stop herself from feeling this way, to hold back, but already knew that she wanted more from him. Needed it. Inching her body closer, her lips found his in the dark. They pressed together, the kiss filled with uncertaint
y, and for several seconds, they just lay there, their lips the only point of contact between them. Then Luca slowly moved his arm out across the ground so that Bear’s head rested ontop his bicep. She moved in closer, pressing her whole body against his.

  Pushing him on to his back, Bear swung herself on top so that her legs straddled his waist. Pulling off her top, she unclipped her bra and flung it to one side, wincing as the strap went over her damaged shoulder.

  ‘Why …’ Luca began, but she gently pulled him up towards her and silenced him with another kiss. Luca leaned back on his hands with his chin tilted up towards her. She could feel his hands slowly move down her back, smoothing her skin as far as her hips. They came round to her belt, tugging the leather backwards as he freed the buckle.

  In the darkness, Bear received only jumbled impressions, each movement merging into the next as they made love. There was nothing else but where they were right then, and the incredible feeling of longing mixed with pleasure. It went on and on, neither of them wanting the sensation to end, as they escaped from the reality of everything else around them. Finally Bear collapsed down onto him and lay still, her skin shining with sweat. She was breathing hard and as she reached forward to kiss him once again, he could feel a smile on her lips.

  For several minutes they lay like that, neither of them wanting to speak or by extension deal with the implications of what had just happened. They just listened to the sound of the rain beating against the leaves, with their legs intertwined and Bear lying flat against Luca’s chest. He brought his right hand up, running it slowly down the length of her back, feeling every inch of her supple skin. As he reached her waist, his fingers connected with a thin beaded chain that he hadn’t noticed before despite her being naked, and he let his fingers play across it.

  ‘My mother gave it to me,’ Bear whispered, not raising her head from his chest. ‘It was the last thing she gave me before leaving me on the streets in Bunia.’

  ‘How old were you?’