In the dark, on all fours, Josh felt his crippled sense of vision give way to the heightening of his others. The pain, the heat, the sound of the loose debris littering the base of the pipe and his sodden clothes being dragged along, all echoed in his head with enormous clarity. The experience was so overwhelming, it almost seemed existential. He watched himself crawl, an animal slinking low, bleeding and bruised, into the belly of the Earth.
Something registered in his vision: a light, faint and far, but a light nonetheless. Josh redoubled his efforts, pushing himself to the end of this pain. It was the joint down to the inspection chamber Lionel had told him about. He scratched and scrabbled his way forward, the intoxicating agony making his head light. The glow grew bigger, becoming the junction down into the inspection chamber. As he reached it, light filled his eyes, washing through him with such intensity he nearly fainted. He took a moment to breathe, to let the pain ease, and then he climbed down.
Over the edge and down the short ladder, he was finally able to stand again. He took his time extending his limbs—they had become stiff almost to the point of being frozen in place—and he stifled his need to cry out. Under the light pooling through the vented access panel, he inspected his palms: they were in shreds, glistening with wet and fine gravel. He brushed them off as best he could, wincing with each wipe, then set about removing the access panel. There was a hinge on one side and a fastening on the other, which was presumably turned via a key from the outside. From the inside, however, Josh was able to turn it freely with his fingers, which he did. The panel needed a small shove to free open, and he stepped out into the tunnel.
As Lionel had said, he was between the staging area and the station at the far end of the tunnel; how far down, he did not know. But he did know which way he needed to head, and head that way he did. Although his body was still fraught with agony, walking freely upright was something of a blessing, and the air, although warm, was a cool breeze in comparison to the steam of the drain. His wet clothes cooled him quickly, soothing his joints, freeing them. Maybe five minutes of walking and he'd be there. There was no sign of Edwards and his men; with any luck, Josh could walk right in.
Remaining cautious, Josh proceeded along the tunnel as quickly as he dared, listening out for any signs of other people. As far back as this he could feel the humming energy already; the power of the portal was indeed growing. As he reached the station—which was deserted, no train there—he slowed, stepping quietly around the corner to see what awaited him.
And there it was, as he expected: the tunnel, the drill, the room. There was additional equipment there, but Josh could see no one manning it. Somehow, he had beaten Edwards. Perhaps they'd gone back to Langley first, adding precious minutes to their return journey? They could still be some time away yet. All Josh needed to do was step into that portal and it would begin all over again. He needed to get there quick; he could feel his body shutting down, exhaustion and pain finally taking over. It wouldn't be long before he fell unconscious.
Feeling exposed and struggling to hear above the swelling energy, he approached the rear of the drill, staying close to it as he made his way around. He held his breath as the freshly bored tunnel came into view, stepping quickly onto the uneven ground.
'I think that's quite far enough,' a voice said from behind. Josh spun around. It was Edwards; he'd been hiding behind the drill, waiting. In his hand Josh saw a gun, glinting with silent menace. It was pointed squarely at Josh's forehead.
'Edwards . . .' Josh said. Edwards twitched.
'Such arrogance,' he said, waving Josh to move out of the tunnel with the barrel of his weapon. Josh did as instructed. 'Thinking you could just walk straight in there.'
'You still need me,' Josh told him. 'Don't forget that.'
Edwards laughed softly, shaking his head. 'I do, I do . . .' he trilled. The smile dropped. 'And yet . . . I don't.'
Josh's stomach fell. 'What do you mean?'
'You awakened the beast, Mr. Reed,' Edwards said.
The creature, Josh thought. They weren't looking for me in the helicopter, they were looking for it. If they've caught it, they have no need for me . . .
'I have to thank you, really,' Edwards said, pacing back and forth. In the distance, above the vibration, Josh could hear footsteps. Heavy, booted footsteps, and lots of them. He was done for. 'I would have never trusted the creatures with the seed myself.'
'So what are you going to do now?'
'You should know by now,' Edwards said with a grin, taking the chance to revel in this newfound opportunity. 'I only tell you what you need to know, and from now on, you don't need to know anything.'
'You should close the portal down, before it's too late.'
Edwards folded his arms. Behind him, armed agents rounded the corner. They were in no rush. 'No, I don't think I'll be doing that.' Circling Josh, Edwards stuck the barrel of his pistol into Josh's back. The pain was amplified by Josh's exhaustion, and he staggered forward a little. 'Walk,' Edwards told him.
Josh did as he was told. 'What's going to happen to me?'
'You don't need to worry about that. Let's just say that you won't be doing any more traveling for a while.'
Following behind the armed agents, a forklift truck came into view. On it, a crate—like the ones Josh had seen in the Langley archive—balanced on the forks. Sudden dread filled Josh. 'You're not going to put me in that, are you?'
Edwards laughed. 'Don't be obtuse, Mr. Reed. That's not for you.'
They stopped to meet the agents. Edwards instructed the forklift truck driver to place the crate down to one side, and ordered the agents bearing arms to take position around the tunnel entrance leading to the room.
At once, Josh understood. 'It's not for me,' he whispered. 'It's for the creature . . .'
Having sent his men to their respective positions, Edwards turned to Josh, weapon still dangerously aimed. 'There's nothing more you need to say from now on.' His grin had dropped; he was serious now.
Josh could feel his vision fading a touch. He needed to sleep so badly. 'But—' he said.
'I said shut up,' Edwards reminded him, jabbing him with the pistol. His attention was on the tunnel now, down where the creature would come. His radio hissed.
'It's moving down into the tunnels now,' it said. 'Be with you very shortly.'
'Everyone ready?' Edwards asked his troops. A murmur was his confirmation. He, with Josh in tow, backed down toward the drill, taking cover behind it. From there Josh could see that the agents were spread along each side of the wall; they were going to surround the creature. It knew pain, knew the weapons they carried. It would have no chance. Surrender would be its only option.
The tunnels were so quiet that only the light whirr of ventilation could be heard, in among the occasional drop of water echoing from further down. Edwards, Josh and all the agents held their collective breaths, waiting for the creature. The air hummed with energy.
Josh felt faint. A fuzzy static blurred his vision, and the pains across his body had blended into one nauseating, rhythmic headache. He made to sit down, but Edwards jabbed him with the barrel again.
'Stand up!' he hissed.
Josh, feebly, did as he was told, but had no chance to retort as the air filled with a screech so loud that it echoed for an eternity. His tired heart beat hard once more, and Edwards took a nervous step backward.
'Ready . . .' he told the agents, who shouldered their weapons. They were all focused down the tunnel, toward the station, unblinking and unmoving. 'Remember, only fire on my command.'
A low rumble followed. It was hard to tell just how far down the tunnel the creature was, but Josh knew it wouldn't be long before it came into view. Did it have any idea what was laid out for it? It must have some concern for its own wellbeing, as it had managed to flee Edwards earlier and evade capture until now.
Josh chanced a look at Edwards. His eyes were wide open and unblinking. Josh had never seen him like this before. He was—nervous. Apprehensive. Th
e future of his project lay in the hands of this creature, and he would do anything he could to stop it.
After this, where would he take Josh? A cell, most probably. Lock him away for the rest of his life. Make him disappear. Give Edwards long enough to crack the secrets of the portal. Suicide wouldn't be an option; Edwards would make sure of that. He'd rot there, never see his family again. And what would happen to them? The same, probably. Josh shuddered, and not because he was getting slowly colder, but because the thought of Georgie and Joseph in Edwards's grasp made him feel sick. He couldn’t let that happen.
The scream came again, this time a longer, more mournful wail, and closer, too. The creature was in pain, Josh could sense it. Edwards could too it seemed, as the corners of his mouth tipped up slightly.
'Everyone stay nice and calm and this should be easy,' he reassured the waiting throng. 'We'll have it back in no time.'
A few moments later and Josh could hear the creak and crackle of the creature's crystalline form moving along, as well as the dull, echoing impacts of its steps. They were erratic and slow, like it was struggling. Clearly the seed had given it a burst of energy to complete its mission and close the portal, but it wasn't going to be enough. Not if it wanted to get by all these agents as well.
'Steady . . .' Edwards said, perhaps more to himself than to anyone else.
Josh decided he was going to have to take a chance. He couldn't watch the creature get captured and get taken away himself, where he would be unable to protect his family. The decision was made before he even realized it. He glanced at Edwards, who was still locked on to the tunnel ahead. The agents, too. All paying no attention to him. Edwards's pistol had even drifted slightly away from Josh, aimed to his left instead.
A deep rumble gave him the burst of adrenalin he needed to make his move. As the echo died down, he scrabbled away, nearly slipping as he twisted and ran into the fresh tunnel to the room. He heard Edwards react behind him, shouting something he couldn't quite make out. The ground was slippery and uneven, and Josh had to flail forward to catch himself from falling, to keep moving on. Once he was into that room, he'd be safe. He'd have made it.
Another wailing scream pierced the air, so loud and so close it felt on top of him. He could hear Edwards bellowing, but didn’t listen to what he was saying. Time seemed to slow, and clarity with it, blurring and blending into one unintelligible goop. It was like he knew the past, present and future all at once. He braced himself.
There was a crack, and Josh was suddenly winded. His ears rung as he watched the walls fall away from him. He hit the ground. Heard screaming. It was him. He was screaming.
Chapter 30
There was another crack from overhead, and another. Josh flinched both times. People were running. A booming howl filled the tunnel. Pain filled him. It was white hot. His vision was blurry. His side felt wet. Blood. He could see it on his hands.
He moved, and the pain drew his vision to spots. No one was paying any attention to him now. More shots rang out, further down the tunnel. He climbed to his knees, a tearing in his side. The ground was hard beneath him.
'Don't let it get away!' Josh heard Edwards yell. Another howl followed it, masking the yells of the agents as more bullets were shed. The creature was putting up a fight, more than Edwards had expected. 'The portal! It's trying to close the portal!' he screeched, in among the screams of men and the howling of the creature. 'Stop it!'
Josh slowly hoisted himself to his feet, clutching his side, staggering forward. He was close to unconsciousness, he knew it. If he let it take hold of him, it would all be over.
One step, and then another. Colors swam, pain followed. The two interchanged. Heading for the room, he clawed his way along the muddy tunnel, vision blurred, head thumping. The energy cascading from the room was the only thing keeping him up. He moved away from the wails and howls, away from the gunfire, not knowing how or if he could make it. There was no other choice but to keep moving on.
Muzzle flashes lit up the tunnel as round after round was fired. There sounded to be less of them now. Less screaming. Less fighting. Edwards's voice rising in desperation.
'Kill it!' he screamed. 'Kill it!'
More shots rang out, echoing around the room, ricocheting from surface to surface. Josh felt his way along the fresh, uneven schist, whole body throbbing, knees quivering. It felt like the tunnel was extending into infinity, into the blackness. But if he kept going, he just might make it. He'd go back and . . . try it all again.
The creature emitted a deep groan, which sounded louder and closer than ever. Multiple weapons were still being unloaded, then it was just two, and then just the one. Then there was silence. Almost silence. Just breathing.
Josh stopped. Footsteps. He turned around. A blur in the darkness, a figure, silhouetted. The tunnel behind was dim and flickering, lights destroyed by arms fire. Smoke hung in the air. Energy hummed between them. The figure breathed, long ragged breaths. The breaths of a victor.
'Mr. Reed . . .' the figure said. Josh's stomach dropped. He staggered, the wound hotter than fire, the agony all-consuming. He said nothing. He couldn't. 'Mr. Reed . . .' Edwards repeated.
Through fading vision, Josh squinted at Edwards. He looked maniacal against the flickering light, his clothes and skin soaked in blood; the blood of his now silent colleagues, Josh assumed. It had been a massacre. Only Edwards was left. And the creature?
'It's destroyed,' Edwards said, as if reading his mind. 'Gone. Dead.' He sighed, slapping his hands against his sides, as though he'd lost nothing more than a casual bet. 'All that work, for nothing.'
'Edwards . . .' Josh wheezed. His own voice sounded unfamiliar to him.
Edwards chuckled. 'Mr. Reed,' he said, shaking his head. 'Oh, Mr. Reed. What to do with you now, hmm? After all, this is your fault. You did this.' He raised his weapon. He wasn't chuckling now. 'What did you think you were going to do, Mr. Reed? Close the portal? You'd come out of that room decades into the future. I'll be waiting for you, Mr. Reed.
'Or perhaps you wanted to go back again? I'd win every time. You could have been part of something big, Mr. Reed. Instead, you tore it down. You're an idiot, Mr. Reed, a fool. You can never be as dedicated as me, and that's why I'll always beat you.'
'Then why don't you just kill me . . .' Josh said, barely audibly.
'Kill you?' Edwards repeated, incredulous. 'How stupid do you think I am? No, Mr. Reed, no, no, no, no, no . . . I'm going to do far worse to you. You could have been looked after for the rest of your life, your family too, but now look.' He held his arms up as if showing Josh what he'd been responsible for. 'I'm afraid I'm going to have to punish you, and to do that I'm going to have to punish them as well.'
'Don't you dare . . .' Josh wheezed. He was struggling to stay upright, but he did.
Edwards frowned. 'What, are you going to stop me? I don't think so, Mr. Reed. And as for you, I am going to pull your brain apart while you watch. I'm going to dig around in there until I find out how all of this works, whether you want me to or not. By the time I'm done with you, you'll wish you'd got what your wife and your son are going to get instead.' Edwards was spitting the words by the end.
Josh wanted to fight back, but his pain and his dizziness overwhelmed him. He raised a hand, but it dropped back down again, energy spent. The pulsating hum from the room seemed distant now. Everything did.
'You took away the only thing that ever mattered to me,' Edwards continued, approaching Josh. He walked with a limp; he must have been injured in the fray. 'So I'm going to do the same to you. You'll never see your family again.' He raised his arm, ready to bring the butt of his gun down on Josh's head. Josh winced, preparing himself for the blow.
Behind Edwards, a shadow stirred.
'I worked too hard,' Edwards said, arm aloft, 'and got too close.' He grinned, gritting his teeth, his eyes flashing white from his blood-soaked face.
The shadow whipped forward, toppling Edwards. His gun went off. Josh droppe
d to the ground instinctively, covering his head. The sound of tearing flesh and cracking bone resonated with wild screaming as he saw Edwards lifted clear of the ground, his left half and his right half being peeled apart down the middle by two rising columns of crystal.
And all at once the screaming stopped. Both halves of Edwards were dropped to the ground, one wet thunk after another.
The crystal retracted back into the shadow. Josh held his breath, watching, not daring to move. Above the hum, all was quiet. Then the shadow stirred again. It grew in a creaking, stuttering motion, as if struggling to keep form. It groaned, low and mournful. Josh was sure that it was fading, like he was. They would probably die together, start all over again.
It emerged again from the shadow and stumbled toward him, cracking and snapping as it tried to keep itself stable. It staggered and fell, the impact with the ground sending a splintering crash echoing all around. Josh tried to push himself away, but he hit the tunnel wall and could go no further.
The creature gathered itself up from its largest piece, lifted its shape forward again, building itself up tall before Josh. What was it going to do? Would it kill him like it did Edwards? Josh shut his eyes. Death would come swiftly, he hoped. It would be a relief.
But it didn't.
When Josh opened his eyes again, he was presented with the sight of the creature, bowed down low, offering him the seed that he had dropped. Under the creature's dim glow, he could see its crystalline form draining of color, the rippling slowing, taking on the same solidified appearance as he had seen in the creature back at Langley. One dead, another dying. Its last wish was for him to take the seed. It could not complete the journey itself. Josh reached out and took it.
With one last long groan, the creature froze up for good. The color was gone. Its shape was fragmented and splintered.
Josh knew what he had to do. Now more than ever, he knew.
He watched the swirling glow of the seed, looked deep into it, wondering about its secret. These creatures, why were they here? What had happened to them? All he knew was that he had been entrusted to perform the final ritual, to close up the portal for good.
New York Deep Page 22
