Into the Abyss (Dark Prospects Book 2)

by Xu, Lei

  Had he lived to see this day, I'm sure he would have found that not only could Fate be touched, in certain situations it could slap you right back.

  CHAPTER

  59

  The Final Journey

  With a grim smile I organized my belongings, braced myself for the dangers ahead, then began following the river, its waters now shallow and calm, into the depths of the cave. Journeying along the underground river alone was a terrifying experience. Many times I imagined indistinct figures were menacing me from the blackness. I followed the river, going where it went, avoiding where it did not.

  Two days later I reached the water cavity. The last time I was here we'd found an iron door buried beneath the rocky ground. The water had risen and we'd fled for our lives, only to be rescued by Old Cat and taken down a branching channel located at the top of the cavern. The cavity itself was just as I remembered it—a giant, underground pit. Before long I found the rock we'd climbed to escape the water. I scaled it, lit a fire and rested for the first time since I'd reentered the cave.

  Even though I hadn't slept in two days, I found myself unable to do so now. I worried about catching up with the others. By this time anything could have happened. Memories of what we'd experienced here flashed through my mind, one vivid scene after another. I wondered whether Yuan Xile really had been feigning madness the whole time. Having never met a crazy person before, I couldn't say for sure. Classical Chinese novels were filled with characters biding their time, pretending to be mad, only to drop the charade when the moment was right. That sentence carved on the wall was definitely a clue, one someone had told her to show me. But if she wasn't mad, then why, once we were alone in the safe room, hadn't she stopped pretending and told me the whole story? Maybe she'd been afraid I wouldn't believe her. Indeed I can well imagine what I would have thought of all this at the time: utter nonsense, no different than "ghosts in the shadows."

  Then again, maybe she really had been crazy, and it was luck alone that made her remember to pass along this piece of information. Either way, there was no goddamn point in mulling over this stuff now. For me it was all in the past, or should I say the future. I would have to wait and discover the truth for myself.

  All the same, though, I did hope she hadn't been crazy. So saying a silent prayer, I fell into a fitful sleep.

  Upon waking, I climbed the rock wall until I reached the high channel and then continued on. The water level had dropped below my knees. Many things once hidden were now revealed. There was the wrecked fighter plane we'd found at the bottom of the river. Its rusted exterior and the track upon which it sat were both clearly visible, but I did not pause to inspect them.

  Soon after I reached the cement platform where we'd found the generator hidden in the sinkhole. Tents had been set up on the platform and a campfire was burning.

  I kept my distance. This really was where the survivors from Yuan Xile's team had washed up. I considered how best to make my appearance. Should I watch them covertly from afar or step right up and say hello? If I was to convince Yuan Xile to dispense that clue for me, I needed to gain her trust. But thinking of the corpses of her men scattered throughout these caves and the gunshot wounds in the young soldier, I feared whatever came next would not be so simple. There was still the matter of the spy. Until I discovered his identity, revealing myself didn't seem wise.

  I had no choice but to lie in wait and see what happened. It didn't take long for me to realize that no one was at the camp. The area illuminated by the firelight seemed deserted. In fact the fire itself had mostly died down. Something was definitely wrong there.

  Cautiously, I slipped underwater, then swam for the base of the platform. There I waited, listening for movement, but heard not a sound. Even if they were all asleep, it still shouldn't be so quiet. I crept into camp and looked around. The place was completely empty. No one was sleeping inside the tents, no one was standing guard outside. They were all gone. The fire was still warm, so I sat down beside it, lit a cigarette and began to think. After spending a night there to regain their strength, Yuan Xile and her team must have continued deeper into the cave. Their camp looked just as it had when we found it before. Once they'd left this place, they never returned.

  Finishing my cigarette, I tossed it in the fire. Then I stood and went to investigate the sinkhole. That's where I discovered their ropes, anchored securely and dropping away into the darkness. Heading this direction, the distance to the dam was extremely short. Things were coming to a head. No longer could I simply react to what was going on around me. Instead, I needed to take a moment and carefully consider my next move. Sitting back down beside the fire, I found myself unconsciously reaching inside my pocket. This time, however, no secret note awaited me. Laughing bitterly to myself, I pulled out some of the meat Wang Sichuan had given me and boiled a pot of water to soften it.

  What should I do once I found them? By then, who knew what would be happening? Maybe I would need to save them again.

  First of all, I needed to do everything I could to make contact with Yuan Xile while no one else was around. If I was discovered by the rest of the team, I'd once more be required to obey the special emissary. I might even be placed under supervision again. Given the size of the dam, I knew they'd be extremely difficult to locate once inside. I tried to think of somewhere they'd be sure to go, somewhere I could delay them long enough to speak with Yuan Xile alone. Only one place came to mind: the poisoned passageways.

  Before long I'd come up with a rough plan, as well as several places I'd need to visit. Then I organized my belongings, rolled up my pants, and climbed down into the sinkhole. My progress was quick. We'd had some trouble here before, but this time I found the tunnels easy to navigate, the leeches eminently avoidable. Once I made it to the cliff at the tunnel's end, I leapt into the mighty River Zero below. The current had slowed considerably and I smoothly made my way to the chain-link barriers. Standing there, taking in that old familiar darkness around me, I knew for certain that I was back.

  I switched on my flashlight and used a strip of clothing to dim the beam. The Shinzan looked nothing like it had three months ago. The acidity of the underground river had already heavily corroded the plane's exterior. My surroundings were still pitch-black. The power was still off. No matter. I was already much too familiar with the place; I didn't need lights to show me the way. I could see no hint of a campfire. They had to be inside already. I mentally rehearsed my route into the dam's interior. I needed to get to the ready room outside the iron chamber and take one of the hanging hazmat suits.

  I climbed the rickety ladder to the top of the dam. None of the searchlights were on. The place was blanketed in darkness. I couldn't see the abyss, but that somehow made it even more frightening. I gazed into the emptiness and couldn't help but wonder: Just what sort of force was hidden inside that void?

  Walking along the dam's edge, I quickly found the ladder we'd descended before. Last time one of the rungs had broken beneath the deputy squad leader. I couldn't remember which rung it had been, nor could I tell if any were weak. I steeled myself against the fierce wind and carefully climbed down. This descent was without incident and I soon made it to the ready room. Hazmat suits hung on one of the walls, just as I remembered, but two of the hooks were empty. Someone had arrived before me.

  The spy.

  He must have snuck inside and taken a suit for himself. Could there be two spies? I wondered. That was impossible. Besides Old Cat, every member of the first prospecting team had either died or gone mad. The spy must have simply taken an extra one for himself, just in case.

  I stuffed a suit in my bag and headed for the door. As soon as I crossed the threshold I suddenly felt uneasy. Who knew what was going to happen? I turned back and grabbed another. As I was strapping on my pack, a low, ominous sound abruptly emerged from the depths of the dam. Before long it had spread throughout the entire structure, now emanating from the very walls around me. The lights began to flicker. For a mo
ment I was stunned. Someone must have switched on the power. As the sound grew louder, I watched one searchlight after another light up, their beams shooting into the abyss. Some of them flashed on for only an instant before going out. Others flickered momentarily and then stabilized. At first I felt only relief. Having the lights on couldn't help but make my job easier. A moment later I grasped what was really going on. Shit, I thought, the prospecting team would never have known how to find the central generator, nor would they have risked searching for it.

  This was the work of the spy. He was about to strike.

  I hurriedly climbed back atop the dam. Nearly all the lights were now on. The place had returned to life, but I knew behind this facade lay a deadly trap. There was no time to waste.

  I pulled out my pistol, an old TT-33. I quickly checked the ammunition, then began sprinting toward the projection room.

  CHAPTER

  60

  Ghosts of the Past

  Where was the master switch that controlled the dam's electricity? I remembered a long, rectangular room about the size of a basketball court, filled with all manner of machinery—the control room. Last time we were there, we discovered evidence that someone had arrived before us and had operated the equipment. Everything was falling into place. Seeing that the spy had grabbed a pair of hazmat suits and switched on the power, it was clear he'd already trapped Yuan Xile and the others within the poisoned passageways. All the spy had to do now was turn on the lights and wait until they dropped, one by one. Any that did not succumb to the gas could be easily mopped up in person.

  There was no time to waste. In fact, time might already be up.

  Running as fast as I could, I soon reached the electrical canal. I took several deep breaths to slow my racing heartbeat, then cautiously crawled forward. At last I was above the control room. I could see the beam of a flashlight below, but its user was hidden by the darkness. All I could hear were his footsteps. I hesitated. Should I take him out right now? What would happen if I killed him? The spy was not meant to die here—that I knew.

  And yet, if I only did what I was "meant" to do, then there was nothing I could do. Or, if everything was predetermined, then no matter what I did, were my actions not predetermined as well?

  I took a deep breath and slid out of the ventilation shaft. For an instant I was blinded by the flashlight. Then I saw a hazmat suit. I raised my pistol and I fired. Three rounds burst from the barrel of my gun. A moment later the man crumpled to the floor. He fell on his flashlight and the room went black.

  Although I'd undergone extensive weapons training, this was the first time I'd ever used a gun in the field. I found myself unable to fire another shot. Switching on my flashlight, I stepped to the fallen figure. He was splayed out on the floor, his chest red with blood and his breathing ragged. One of his hands was reaching for the strap to his assault rifle. For an instant I paused at the sight of the blood, but I summoned my courage and walked closer. Kicking away his hand, I grabbed the assault rifle and slung it over my shoulder.

  Shining my light in his eyes, I tore off his face mask and yelled, "Now let's see who you really are!"

  It was the special emissary. Holding his wounds, he looked at me in disbelief.

  "So it was you," I said, smiling coldly.

  "Useless!" Su Zhenhua cried. "What the hell are you doing here? How did you know about this place?"

  "Heaven sent me," I said. But then I heard a sudden rush of air and something slammed into the back of my skull. My vision immediately went black. For an instant I lost consciousness.

  When I came back in seconds, I was falling forward onto the special emissary. I tried to stand, but he held me down. I was struck again across the back of the head. In a daze, I felt someone pull me off the special emissary and toss me to the side. A moment later my gun was gone, snatched from my hands. Doing my best to keep from fainting, I slowly raised myself off the floor. My vision returned and I found myself looking down the barrel of a gun. The special emissary was still off to the side, holding his wounds and staggering to his feet. What the hell? There were two of them? Cursing beneath my breath, I looked up at the second person. My mouth dropped open.

  It was Yuan Xile. She was aiming a gun right at my head.

  "You?" I was so surprised I could say nothing else. The whole world seemed to come crashing down around me.

  Yuan Xile regarded me coldly, then turned to the special emissary. "You all right?" she asked.

  The special emissary nodded and walked over to her. Then, looking straight at me, he said, "Kill him."

  Yuan Xile shook her head. "Not yet. First I need to ask him a few questions. This guy knows far too much about us and I'm going to find out how." She passed him the assault rifle. "Go do what needs to be done."

  The special emissary gave me a murderous look, but I could tell he agreed with Yuan Xile. He removed his hazmat suit. Only one of my shots had hit, and only in his shoulder. It seemed I hadn't been as accurate as I'd imagined. Gritting his teeth, the special emissary tore off a strip of clothing and placed it over his wound. Then he took one of the hazmat suits from my bag, put it on and headed for the door, gun slung over his shoulder.

  Just before crossing the threshold, he paused and looked back at Yuan Xile. "You'd better be quick about this."

  Yuan Xile nodded and watched him leave. She turned back to me. "All right. Out with it. Who the hell are you? How do you know so much about me?"

  I looked at her, wondering what I was supposed to do now. I knew I needed to escape, but I found it impossible to think of a plan. I found that I didn't even want to try. I simply could not understand what I was seeing. What was going on? This was clearly wrong. This was not how things were supposed to be. I had returned to save Yuan Xile. That had been the plan. I was going to sabotage the spy and protect the girl and make sure she survived all this so one day we'd meet again. I refused to believe Yuan Xile was a spy.

  How was this even possible? I thought back on everything that had happened. Had all of this been a trap? Scene after scene flashed through my mind like sparks of electricity. Though I didn't want to believe it, I knew that what I was seeing was far from impossible. Only two members of the first team had survived down here: Yuan Xile and the special emissary. Could this really have been just a coincidence? No. By the time we found Yuan Xile in the cave, she already knew I was going to travel back in time. So she set a trap, one that would make this idiot think he was some "hero of love" ready to sacrifice his life so she'd have the opportunity to use me all over again. Everything she'd done—staying with me in the safe room, sleeping on my chest, saving me from our so-called enemy, even giving herself to me—all of it had been a lie, perpetrated for her own benefit, to make sure I'd protect her in the cave after I went back in time.

  Was this what had really happened? I had to admit she'd done a damn good job of escaping suspicion. By the time we'd taken off, she'd already been transported to the surface and, as far as I knew, had never been investigated in the least. No one had ever doubted her madness.

  What a fool I'd been. How could I have ever believed a woman like Yuan Xile could fall for a guy like me? It was just as that doctor had said; there was nothing about me that could have drawn her in. And it wasn't as if I could ask her about it now, for the person standing before me was not the Yuan Xile I'd once known, but a merciless enemy agent, through and through.

  All my hope was gone. All I could do was stare at her in silence.

  Her eyes narrowed. "Don't think you can just play dumb and everything will be all right. You know who we are, so you must know what we're willing to do. My time is limited. If you don't want to suffer, you'd better speak up."

  I took a deep breath and continued to stare at her. What was I supposed to say now? That I was a man from the future? That you had seduced me into returning here only to help fulfill your plans? Even in my head it sounded ridiculous. So I just stared at her, saying nothing.

  Yuan Xile seemed to grow a l
ittle uncomfortable. Frowning, she sat down on the floor and studied me. "I've dealt with more than a few people like you in my time," she said. "Usually, the silent treatment means either the person is trying to look like a hero or thinking of a way to kill me. But with you it's different. It's like you can't even be bothered. This I've never seen before." She abruptly lowered her gun and pointed at the door. "Get out of here."

  It was obvious what she was doing. She wanted me to think I had a chance to survive. I knew as soon as I made a break for it, she'd raise her weapon and yell for me to stop. When a man knows his death is imminent, he abandons all hope and all threats are useless against him. She hoped to rekindle my instinct for survival, break my calm and pull my weaknesses into the light.

  Yuan Xile looked at me, then looked back at the open door. Still I did not move. Sure, I saw through her little trap, but that wasn't why I remained seated. There was simply nowhere I wanted to go. I sat back and leaned the back of my head against the wall, consumed by the blackest despair. What should I do? What did I want to do? It had all been a farce. My actions meant nothing. I was a fool, and had been utterly, utterly duped.