**********
Tobias awoke startled at first, until he realized where he was a moment or two later. He immediately then rose out of bed, washed his face, and dressed. Ten minutes later a knock came at the door and a breakfast tray was left. After eating, he paid his bill and set off again on the motorbike. The sun was early in the eastern sky, casting a golden glow over the mountains surrounding him. Before long, he was making way downhill as he approached the Snake River shining like a golden serpent in the early light. There was only an hour and a half of riding left until he reached Boise and so he decided to stop a while by the river to admire the sun’s caress of the valley floor, and soak up some of the scents and sights.
To the west, John’s bike dealer friend had offered to drive him all the way, much to his delight. As they drove, a roadblock came into view, and much to his dismay, the authorities had covered every route out of the city.
“Pull over,” John said readying himself to get out of the vehicle as soon as they had stopped. His friend brought the vehicle to a halt and John immediately left with grateful thanks, heading straight into a small forest by the roadside. Sirens sounded and lights flashed as the authorities had seen them pull up short of the roadblock. The chase was on and this time he had no vehicle or plane to use for escape.
He ran on through the forest, hearing the military follow him in. Panic overtook him a little as he was unfamiliar with this territory and was a little blind on direction. He kept on running, his breathing loud as he exerted himself to the fullest. He kept going smashing through branches and jumping holes. Still they were behind him and seemed to be getting closer. ‘It must be only five miles or so to get there,’ he thought.
He was running as hard as he could, and his pursuers would not give up. He could hear dogs barking - they had trackers with them. Sweat ran down his face, inside his clothes. They were gaining, the dogs becoming more excited as they closed in on John. He crossed a road and took to the bushes on the other side to make his way. This was easier now than the forest. Still they came closer. He tripped and fell becoming covered in dirt and mud. He was almost instantly back up on his feet and kept running, thankful for the time he had spent maintaining fitness going up and down the mountains in Alaska on foot. They were too close now for comfort but they had lost sight of him. The dogs ran with their noses to the ground, sniffing out his trail. He kept on, but fell again. His chest was heaving, his legs aching.
He pulled out his holographic phone as he ran. “Shane, you there?” he said into the microphone without engaging holographic mode.
“Yeah, who is this?” came the reply.
“It’s John. John Matheson. Can you help me?”
“John. Yeah. What’s wrong, you sound like you’re running.”
“I am.” He caught his breath for a moment. “Can you fly me?”
“Fly you? Yeah sure. Where are you?”
“About three miles away.”
“I’ll get her started. See you soon.”
John kept running through the bushes, his pursuers still closing in. His conversation had slowed him a little. He fell again and thought for a moment, this is it - they will catch me. Then, a large truck like vehicle came into view and so he crossed the road when it was almost upon him. A little stroke of luck, and this thing could put some space between them. He continued on, his legs almost giving out. He stumbled again and for a few minutes made his way by crawling. His upper body was heaving, as this effort was taking it out of him. He crashed through bushes, barely ten inches from the ground. He could hear the dogs barking. They were still at least one hundred yards behind, so he had gained some ground.
He kept crawling and came upon a house. Two people, a couple had just arrived and he stayed low so they would not see him. They would be sure to tell the authorities who were still coming. Then he was back on his feet when he was well past the house. His arms felt like lead, his legs a little less after the crawl. He ran. He kept running. The dogs with their officers were still behind.
‘Only about a mile and a half to go now,’ he thought. He could see water in the distance. Surely Shane’s place was not too far now. The effort was almost making him sick, he felt sure he could vomit, but that would only slow him up. Then he saw a way through a forest, and he was within the last half mile. He ran in and his pursuers followed less than a minute later. He had gained more ground as they had set the dogs to regain his trail. He ran on through the trees, through a stand of young pines each positioned well apart from the other. There were no branches but he ducked this way and that around tree trunks and over some fallen logs from older trees that had once stood in this plantation. He could see a row of houses and so he ran as fast as possible towards them. He reached the houses but found them to be joined together in town house style. ‘Got to get through’ he thought, still frantic. He ran along behind them, at last finding access by way of a community park separating two blocks of town houses. He ran through and there were people everywhere.
“What the hell?” he said aloud. He looked to his left and saw a man running from another row of houses. The man ran into the crowd and fired a shot, instantly killing an innocent person. “Bloody hell!” He kept running and to his left he saw a road overpass. The killer ran the opposite way. He ran through the overpass and could see the water clearly and then he found his bearings. Shane’s place was only a few hundred yards further on. He looked across the water as he ran and could see a mass of people gathering further along near where the shooting had taken place, and this consumed his pursuers. Suddenly there was a dog at his side. He slowed a little and called “come on boy.” It followed him for a moment, and then ran off.
A minute later he could the sound of a plane engine revving and so he again broke into a run, almost sprinting this time. He was close. He rounded a corner on the road and there was Shane standing on one of the plane’s landing floats. He ran up to him and they both boarded without a word. They took off and finally John could rest and catch his breath as Shane took the plane up in a steep incline.
Tobias arrived at the outskirts of Boise and pulled up on his bike at a rest area. He meandered about for a few minutes and then his holographic phone rang. “Hi, is that you John?”
“Yep. Sure is. I’m flying there now. Bloody chased half the way to the plane, but I am OK. We’re going to land this thing on the river near Nampa. I’ll make my way from there. Go to the Boise HyperJet terminal now and get us tickets. There is a change of plans. We need to get south, fast! I’ll meet you there”
“OK. See you there.”
Tobias rode onto into the city and straight to the terminal securing them tickets on a jet leaving in three hours. He decided to try and get a sale on the bike within the waiting time and so rode out to Sunset where he had seen a dealership when he entered the city. After a little haggling, he secured a reasonable amount of cash for it that was not much less than they had paid. He then had two hours remaining until the flight so he took a bit of time to walk around the inner city before once again going to the jet terminal.
John greeted him in the departure lounge fifteen minutes before takeoff. They exchanged stories on what had happened to them both since they last had contact and then were directed to board by the announcer system.
“I sold the bike for nearly as much as we paid,” Tobias said as they entered the craft.
“Well done.” John replied. A stewardess directed them to their seats and within minutes the jet was airborne.
An hour later after successfully exiting the San Francisco HyperJet terminal, they were both on their way in a JetCab to the city center. Tobias felt uneasy during this flight as the cab joined others in a line heading towards the city. This raised a smile from John. “Don’t worry too much Tobias, these things have specialized guidance systems, and they cannot crash into each other.”
“Where will we go? I only know a couple of people here and they probably would not want us turning up on their door at random.”
“I have a great friend here. We did some propulsion systems work a few years back. She’ll let us stay a while.”
They landed shortly after and went to a bar for a settling drink in celebration after all they had gone through. The latest news was playing on all of the large holographic projectors in the bar. “Authorities advise that due to recent explosions in the mid west and off the coast of California, all sea traffic is on hold. The current state of alert is high red so passengers for all HyperJets leaving and entering the United States can expect rigorous scanning. Further information as to the origins of the explosions reveals authorities are following several leads concerning a group of activists. As to the reason for the explosions, which are known to have occurred at sites of interest concerning new fuel technologies, authorities will not comment.”
“Well, there you have it. No real news. I bet Jenna would be interested in that.”
“Jenna?” Tobias asked.
“Yes, Jenna. She is my friend I told you about. We should go to her place now. I could do with a decent rest.”
**********
Jenna rose from the reading chair to answer a knock at the front door. She opened it to find Chan Lee standing there. “Come in, come in.”
“Thank you. I will come in.”
“What brings you back?” she asked him as they made their way to the lounge room to join Lyle who was already there.
“Have much news. Must tell you now and leave quickly.”
Lyle greeted Chan as he entered the room and was unable to also ask why he had returned before Chan let his reasons known. “We must move on the information I gave you quickly if you are going to help. Bad people are trying to get to me and person in Duanhang tells me they are already there. We must travel now.”
“We can’t do that. Well at least not today,” Lyle said. “People are coming to meet us from Australia in two days, maybe three. Why so urgent?”
“Bad people are getting close, they know about man with dragoon head tattoo. They are looking for him.”
“Do they have the same information you gave us?”
“No. They have something else. I did not know they would be so advanced in their search. Thought there would be few weeks for us to move. Now, they are a present danger. Very dangerous.”
“Can we stop them?”
“No, too dangerous. They have weapons and backup people helping them. We best go now.”
“How much time. I mean, can we wait until our friends arrive?”
“Two days at most, much better today. I will not come with you as they might get to know I have help here in America. I will leave today, but you must follow. We need your help; otherwise I am afraid they will obtain too many details to be stopped in time.”
“OK,” Jenna chimed in. “We will come in two days. Lyle and I have discussed you predicament and have decided we will help. Do we need to be worried like you?”
“No problem. They do not know I have seen you or that I am here. Just be prepared. Be careful and do not ask about anything. Just go to Dunhuang like I said. I must go, am leaving today for China on jet.”
“Alright Chan, we will see you in Dunhuang?
“Perhaps. Just go to Mogao Caves. I know in my heart that you are the people to help us. This meeting and my request must seem strange and extraordinary to you, but I ask you to trust this situation like I am trusting you.”
“That is OK Chan, we have decided to help you. Um…Mogao Caves, I have heard of them. We can get there,” Lyle said.
“OK, see you there, but you must leave as soon as you can and be alert to situations you may see as coincidence.” Chan left leaving Jenna and Lyle to hastily begin planning for the trip to China, whilst considering what he meant by being alert to coincidence. They had begun packing and organizing a few things when another knock came at the door.
“Chan must have come back,” Jenna said as she went to answer. To her surprise, John and Tobias were there to greet her. “What a surprise! John, come in,” she said grabbing his arm.
“Hi Jenna, this is Tobias, a friend of mine.”
“Welcome Tobias, come in.” They went inside and did a round of introductions with Lyle. “I’ll fix us some drinks. Gee, it is all happening today!”
For a while they all sat in the lounge room exchanging news and stories that lead them all now to be in this place together. John explained how he and Tobias were on the run from authorities for no real reason, and by now they would be classified as fugitives. He asked if they could lie low there for a while, but soon learned of the impending trip to China for Jenna and Lyle.
“Hmm… well, I was hoping to be out of the action for a while and try to plan our next moves,” he said rubbing his tired temple. “I suppose we could just move on. Why a trip to China?”
Jenna and Lyle explained all the details to them, including the chance meeting with Chan Lee, the thoughts they had put together themselves based on the information he had given, and the fact that he had just re-visited them prior to he and Tobias showing up at the front door. Lyle also added details of Raynie’s and Jake’s impending arrival in San Francisco, and how he and Jenna intended to discuss all this with them and propose they join them in going to China.
“Sounds like some pretty hairy stuff from Chan Lee. I wonder…” John trailed off considering his situation being at a loose end with Tobias.
Tobias asked if there was anything they could do to help. Lyle was not sure on what that could be, but he was turning an idea over in his mind.
“What if you come with us?” Jenna voiced his thoughts.
“I am not sure. Are we going to get out of the US easily?” John was curious yet a little hesitant. “Perhaps we could make it if we left soon enough. I know someone here who could give us new passports, again. But yes, we would have to leave within a couple of days at most.”
“Well, as you know, that is our plan,” Lyle added.
“Alright. But first I need some rest, just a few hours. How about you Tobias?”
“I might go for a bit of a tour down to the wharves,” he replied. “Time to get my head all around this.”
“OK. It’s settled then,” Jenna said. “I’ll make bookings for six on a HyperJet to Beijing. That will get us on our way.” She immediately did so and returned to advise a jet booking had been made departing in sixty hours from then.
Lyle decided to research their destination some more to give them details on the path to where they were going, and about the Mogao Caves. He switched his holographic phone on to data base function, placed it on the coffee table, and then entered in the research details. Immediately the phone showed a hologram of the earth with his present location. He decided to magnify the image from the default setting, so the spherical planet projection expanded to five feet in diameter. With a wave of his hand from left to right, the sphere slowly rotated showing the expanse of the Pacific Ocean, with the east Asian coast coming into view. Once China showed clearly on the three dimensional image which included mountains and rivers, he stopped its’ rotation. By pointing his finger through the details representing the Chinese capital Beijing, the image then changed to reveal a three dimensional image of the city as if taken from an altitude of one mile.
Buildings of immense size loomed out toward him, their dimensions truly astounding. After substantial development, this city had taken on almost alien proportion. Ranked in the top three cities on Earth, Beijing contained a population exceeding thirty million people with the infrastructure to match. He then switched from static view to real time. The image changed to fill in gaps between the super structures, revealing hordes of people and busy airborne traffic lanes. By linking in to the advanced global positioning systems launched a decade earlier, information about the city’s transit system became available via a control panel holographic image appearing to the right of the main image. Lyle entered in their trip details for information on how to get to Dunhuang. A locally accented voice in English announced to him that HyperJets were availab
le from Beijing to Lanzhou with a flight time of thirty minutes. Transit ways were available to take them Yumen with conventional driving available then to Dunhuang.
He then traced the route in static global mode to find they would be traveling through some of the most ancient parts of China, crossing the Great Wall and then traversing it for some distance before arriving at Yumen. This interested him greatly as he had only been near to that part of the world on a fairly rushed trip just over eight years prior, when conducting work on researching the impacts of an advanced deep space tracking system to be built at Yinchuan, a city to the north of Lanzhou.
For as much of his thirty-two years of life as he could remember, he had dreamed of visiting the region of the Gobi Desert, only to be frustrated on coming so close previously. This time by going to the very beginnings of the ancient Silk Road trade route, he would be closer than ever in realizing his dreams. Having traced the route, he then entered Mogao Caves into the control panel.
The projection view switched to reveal a vast array of grottos or caves chiseled into a cliff face, alongside a seasonal river. Almost eight hundred caves in total were located there with over half of them featuring murals. These images were a mixture of both Chinese and Indian interpretations of Buddha and other deities rendered over centuries spanning a millennia or more. The Chinese referred to them as ‘peerless caves’ decorated with expansive interpretations forming a kaleidoscope of images that also included many carvings and statues. Each period featured its’ own artistic style, but a common thread permeated them all. ‘Very interesting,’ Lyle was thinking and he began to ask himself, if his lifelong fascination with the Gobi Desert might, in some way, be linked to this place.
First Light: Book one of the Torus Saga Page 7
