He opened the door and stepped out onto the upper landing of a massive set of metal stairs. His hands shook as a swell of nausea rose in him. He tried not to think the thoughts that wanted to intrude.
Swallowing back bile, he made his way carefully down the stairs. The huge basement was divided into several chambers that were separated by deep, offset archways, impossible to see into one room from another. The first room was illuminated by rows of fluorescent strip-lighting attached to the ceiling. But instead of casting bright white light, the glow from above was more subdued, bile yellow, as though the aging bulbs were made of flesh and subject to the same frailties as living things. It was inconceivable that these lights had never been turned off. More than twenty-five years had passed and some sort of twisted life still burned beneath Apocalypse Island.
Aboveground the building was a plain brick late-Victorian structure, but down here the underpinnings were much more modern, and formidable. Even so, Wolf felt like he was entering the ancient catacombs beneath Rome, a place of deceptions and terrible secrets.
As he entered the second room a serpentine shadow slithered away from him across the floor, out of the yellow light and around the corner of the next archway into the next chamber. It was as if a guide had been sent to show him the way. Come on, the guide seemed to say as it slithered. Follow me. I know the way.
Wolf wondered if he was willingly stepping into hell.
He knew that Laura was down here somewhere, a captive of evil, and he needed to find her lest she become lost to the same darkness that had held sway over his life for so long.
Wolf stepped into the next chamber. Like the ones that had preceded it, the chamber was empty but lit by still more fluorescent strips. He knew what lay beyond. His intellect said laboratory, but the visceral, animal part of him screamed torture chamber! And beyond that, the pulsing blue light was waiting.
Chapter 117
“There’s an old airstrip down there,” the pilot said. He was circling, maneuvering the helicopter lower so that he could get a better look. The only light other than the chopper’s landing lights was the nearly constant lightning strikes above the thick deck of clouds. “The military supposedly abandoned it years ago,” Ricker continued. “But they still use it. Portland’s air traffic control picks up blips going in and out of here all the time. I know most of the guys who work ATC over there and they tell me they’re not supposed to talk about it.”
Jennings was not surprised at what Ricker was saying. The secrecy surrounding this island was legendary. He leaned forward and looked out the cockpit window. He saw a couple of ragtag buildings through the windswept rain, probably old aircraft hangars, and several other smaller buildings. Parked near one of the smaller buildings was a black helicopter. He turned around in his seat and scrutinized the other passengers. His eyes fell on Wilder. She stared back, hypnotic. She was so beautiful he almost couldn’t breathe. He turned back around trying not to think about her.
“What do you hope to find down there?” Ricker asked.
“Someone I care very much about,” Jennings replied. “Beyond that I don’t have a fucking clue.”
They circled lower as gusts of wind buffeted the aircraft. “Put it down near that chopper,” Jennings said, pointing.
“I don’t know about that,” Ricker said. “Looks like a government bird to me. If I’m challenged I could lose my flight certificate.”
“Tell them I put a gun to your head,” Jennings said as anger swelled in him. “Tell them whatever the fuck you have to. Just do it!”
“It’s your ass,” the pilot said as he began his descent.
Chapter 118
Laura felt like a child in a womb. The stifling humidity of the air around her, coupled with her own drenching sweat engulfed her like a birth canal. She opened her eyes and could see nothing and wondered if she’d been blinded. For a moment she thought she might be sick as bile rose in her throat. She swallowed it back and tried to calm herself.
She was acutely aware of something in her midst that seemed to be in the process of altering her thought processes. She heard a low steady hum that could have been a furnace or a generator or some sort of engine. But Laura knew instinctively that it wasn’t any of those things. The droning was too constant. Engines almost always revealed inconsistencies, no matter how high-tech or expensive. There weren’t any inconsistencies here. The sound was unnatural, alien, unlike anything else she’d ever heard.
Panic tried to seize her but she beat it down. She needed a clear head if she was going to get herself out of this mess.
Was she stored away in some dark closet somewhere? Is that why she couldn’t see? Was her captor somehow able to watch her? Did he know that she was conscious and trying to free herself? Was it only a matter of time before he stopped her?
She needed to let go of these debilitating thoughts. She’d been in this position before, a captive of evil, and had, through sheer willpower, managed to survive. She just needed to get her mind in that calm place again, free of panic, free of negativity.
Hard as it was, she finally forced herself into a tranquil state and began concentrating on her father. She did not dwell on the anger she’d always felt over his cruel and untimely death. Instead she thought of him alive, as the vital and caring man that he was. Although she had always leaned more toward agnostic in her religious views, she wanted to believe that her father was somehow with her, guiding her through life, watching over her. It was part of how she’d escaped the evil clutches of James Patrick Darby.
Yes, she could do this. Together they would find a way.
As if these thoughts had born fruit, her fingers suddenly felt more dexterous as they worked at the bonds on her wrists. It was as if dad was guiding her, showing her the way.
Chapter 119
Jennings saw the armed guards the moment the helicopter settled onto the tarmac. There were two of them, one on either side of the office door, standing in the rain at full attention like obedient robots.
Jennings exited the chopper and moved toward them through wind-driven rain. They both crossed their rifles in front of them in the defensive position. “Where are Spencer and Robeson?” Jennings asked, showing them his badge.
“No one gets past this door,” said one of the guards. “Our orders are to shoot to kill if we have to.”
Jennings saw that both men were wearing com units. “Are you in contact with them?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Do they know we’re here?”
“Yes, sir.”
Jennings frowned. “What the hell could be inside that building that you would kill for?”
“We don’t know, sir. We’re just following orders.”
A small red dot appeared on the soldier’s forehead, followed by a soft hiss like a striking cobra. The soldier’s head came apart. The second soldier’s head detonated a split second behind the first. Both men collapsed like sacks. Jennings whirled in time to see the pilot hightailing it across the tarmac. Before he could react a small red dot appeared on the pilot’s back and the spitting cobra brought him down.
Jennings reached for his gun.
“Don’t be stupid, Rick,” Persephone Wilder said, freezing Jennings in his tracks. She had an automatic handgun pointed at him. It was a sophisticated little unit with an attached silencer sleeve and laser scope. Jennings was aware of a tiny red dot playing around the center of his chest.
He supposed he’d known, or at least suspected, for quite some time now. The clues had been there all along. She always seemed to be one step ahead of everyone else at each of the crime scenes. She’d known about the nuns before anyone else had.
“Seph?” Faith Masterson said in bewilderment.
“Shut up, Faith. Either you or Bill try anything, I’ll shoot you dead. I promise I will. Now move over there beside the lieutenant.”
“I should have nailed you a long time ago, Seph,” Jennings said.
Wilder emitted a short, wry laugh. “Yeah, for w
hat?”
“For killing your husband. I knew that kid didn’t do it. Somehow you mind fucked him. Or maybe you just fucked him. Then you put a fire bomb in his car and got rid of him before he could come to his senses.”
“Decent theory,” Wilder said with a casual shrug. “But no one will ever prove it. And it doesn’t matter now. Reach inside your coat and take out your weapon. Nice and slow. I don’t want to have to shoot you. I like you.”
“You do, huh?” Jennings said reaching slowly for his gun.
“I meant what I said. You’ve always treated me like a human being. And I appreciate that.”
“But you’re not a human being, are you, Seph? You’re some kind of monster. You kill innocent young women and crucify them. But you don’t do it alone. Somehow you manage to persuade others to help you do your dirty work. You’re really good at the mind fuck game, aren’t you?”
Wilder gave a slight flinch and Jennings knew he’d hit a hot button. “You’re theorizing again, Rick. You don’t have a fucking clue about anything, you know that?”
“What is it you said in the car? ‘A total nut job who likes to torture young women.’ Yeah, I think that sums you up pretty well.”
“Are you purposely trying to piss me off, Rick?”
“I’m just trying to understand.”
“You should leave the analysis for the shrinks. They’re better at it.”
“Those were your words, Seph.”
“Listen, I’m what those bastards made me. Nothing more, nothing less. The taxpayers got what they paid for. You want someone to blame, blame them. Now show me your gun. I’m not going to tell you again.”
On the way to his weapon Jennings touched a button on his cell phone turning it off. Then he carefully extracted his weapon, laid it on the tarmac and stood up.
“Now put your hands behind your head, all of you,” Wilder ordered.
Jennings and the other two did as they were told.
“How long have you known?” Wilders asked Jennings.
“I’ve suspected for quite some time, and then Wolf confirmed my suspicions. You thought he was never going to remember anything, didn’t you? Actually you were counting on him taking it all to the grave with him.”
“Not true,” Wilder said. “I love him. I’ve always loved him.”
“Then why did you kill his women and point the finger at him?”
Wilder’s eyes flamed and Jennings saw the insanity in them. “Women?” she said. “You call those things women? It was not my intention that he be accused.”
“Then what was your intention?”
“He needed protection, that’s all.”
“Protection from what?”
“You still don’t get it, do you? He was targeted by demons. They weren’t even human. They were something evil.”
Jennings stared. “Jesus, Seph. Have you looked around town? That’s what’s out there. Those girls weren’t demons. They were just kids searching for their identity.”
“No way. You don’t know what I know. They purposely targeted him. They were trying to infect him with their darkness.”
Jennings shook his head in utter amazement. “Is that why you killed Siri Donavon? Because you thought she was trying to infect Danny with some sort of darkness?”
“I didn’t kill that little bitch,” Wilder said. “Oh, I would have loved to, don’t get me wrong. Everything was about Siri. All the way back to the orphanage. Siri the special one. Siri the magic little girl. Siri had all the fucking answers. Siri gave them everything they wanted. I’ll bet she even sucked their dicks. Fucking little whore. She tried to save her own ass by condemning the rest of us. And then when those assholes set fire to the place, Danny saved her first, like she was something special. I almost didn’t forgive him for that. But then he forgot. He honestly forgot. When she came back into his life she acted like nothing had happened, like she hadn’t tried to betray him. She used him. I watched them from a distance. It made me sick to see them together, the way she manipulated him. I was going to kill her but somebody saved me the trouble.”
“So you’ve been watching Danny all these years. Why didn’t you just say something if you loved him?”
“I meant nothing to him. I was just another...groupie to be ignored and cast aside.”
“Is that why you killed Jennifer Colvin? Because she was one of his groupies? Because maybe he didn’t ignore her?”
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” Wilder said.
“You need a shrink,” Jennings said.
“I don’t need a fucking shrink!” She stabbed her weapon angrily toward the doorway beside which two guards lay dead. “Everybody inside. And I mean it, no funny business. If anyone tries anything I’ll send you all to hell.”
“What’s in there?” Jennings asked.
“Something amazing,” Wilder said as they filed through the door. To Jennings it looked like a typical office, small, with a couple of desks, a counter, several file cabinets, three windows and two doors. He saw nothing that could be considered amazing. The door behind the counter was plain wood, probably a closet, but the one at the end of the room appeared to be something else entirely, more a bulkhead with riveted reinforced steel, bulletproof, fireproof, a sophisticated keypad locking system. Even the wall it was mounted on looked reinforced. It was obvious that no one was supposed to get past that point.
“Now what?” Jennings said.
Wilder pointed at the metal door, a rapturous expression on her beautiful face. “Time to get my batteries charged.”
Jennings did not ask what she meant by that. He just nodded and tried to avoid her eyes, afraid she would cast some sort of spell on him, believing in that moment that she was more than capable. To him she sounded crazier than a shithouse rat. He guessed she was. She was beautiful, gifted and smart, she had the world by the balls and she was a psychopathic killer who, for some reason saw young troubled women as demons. “You realize the feds know we’re here, right?”
“I’m counting on it,” Wilder said. “But I guarantee you those fuckers’ll never see me coming.”
“I had a long talk with Spencer and Robeson this afternoon,” Jennings said. “They told me some pretty amazing shit. I know about Sam. I figure you’ve been using him.”
Wilder gave a rancid smile. “One thing about Sam, he’s obedient. They trained him well.”
“Where is he now, Seph?”
“Not important.”
“I hope you haven’t harmed him.”
“Don’t worry, he’s fine.”
“They also talked about the way you kids were trained,” Jennings said. “About how they taught you to cluster fuck the enemy by becoming invisible.”
Wilder laughed hysterically. “Oh, that’s a good one. They said they were responsible for that? Seems the only one who got cluster fucked was you.”
“Really? How so?”
“They didn’t teach us shit. We were all smarter than them from the beginning. Spencer wanted his superiors to think they were accomplishing something worthwhile over here so he lied to them, told them they were making all these breakthroughs, when in truth he didn’t have a fucking clue about anything. When they became aware of what was really going on over here they ordered his team out and told him to torch the place. They didn’t want any witnesses. Everything Spencer did was to cover his and his boss’s asses. Why do you think he’s back? He plans on ending it once and for all before the world finds out the real truth about this place.”
“What is the real truth, Seph?”
“We came from this island, all of us, and we were connected to that thing down there long before those assholes discovered it. When they began to see that we were linked, they got greedy and tried to use it to their advantage. They tried to make us communicate with it, manipulate it. But even more, they wanted to know if it could manipulate us. And when they found out the truth it scared the shit out of them. So they capped it, sealed the place off and got the hell out
of here. But they never really left. They’ve been watching it change and grow and become restless. Now they’re going to make sure they cover their slimy asses once and for all.”
“What are you talking about, Seph? What is that ‘thing down there’?” To Jennings, Wilder was sounding more and more like a mad woman.
“I don’t know what it is. But it’s alive and it changes people, makes them strong and smart and—”
“—Crazy?” Jennings finished for her. “Spencer was right about that, at least.”
“Whatever,” Wilder said. “You’ll see soon enough.”
Faith Masterson’s eyes were wide open and filled with dread. “Please, let us go,” she pleaded. “We won’t talk about any of this. I promise.”
Wilder grunted out a short laugh. “Who do you think you’re talking to, Faith? If I let you go, first thing you’ll do is spill your guts. Now if you guys can be good, I’ll release you when I’m done doing what I came here to do.”
“I saw you kill those men in cold blood. How do I know you’ll really let us go?”
“I’m afraid you’re just going to have to take it on faith, Faith.” Wilder laughed like a mad woman. “Get it? Take it on faith?”
“You’re crazy as a fucking loon,” Masterson said. “How come I’ve known you all these years and never knew that?”
Wilder smiled prettily. “Because I’m not crazy all the time, Faith. Only when I need to kill someone.” She hoisted the gun and pointed it at Masterson’s face, triggered the laser sight. “How’d you like to eat a bullet right now, bitch?” Masterson and Hendrix both cowered. “No? Well, get over behind the counter and open that closet door. But first empty your pockets.”
Hendrix and Masterson both produced cell phones. Wilder had Hendrix stomp on them until they were shattered. Then she forced the pair into the closet and latched the bolt.
Apocalypse Island Page 36
