2041 Sanctuary (Genesis)

by Robert Storey

  The cable connected to her harness whipped taut and they arced down into the steaming pit before slamming into the other side. Riley grunted as he took the impact and the fires seethed around them. ‘Climb!’ he said.

  Sarah fought her way up through smoke and fire. Black tar stuck to her hands and feet and the temperature gauge on her visor soared. Seconds of torment came and went and Sarah heaved herself onto the walkway above.

  Brushing the flames from her body, she threw herself down and plunged her arm back into the smoking fires. ‘Grab my hand!’

  Riley reached out and grasped her wrist.

  Sarah tried to pull him up, but his weight was too great. She braced her feet either side of the walkway and gripped his harness with her other hand.

  ‘You need to climb!’ she said, gritting her teeth.

  The flames blackened Riley’s coveralls and he sagged against the wall. ‘I can’t,’ he said, panicking, ‘my shoulder’s not strong enough!’

  Sarah gazed down at him as the fire spread to her arms. ‘I’m not going to let you die!’

  He shook his head. ‘Sarah, it’s no use, let go!’

  The image of Trish falling into nothing seared into her mind. She locked her eyes to his and her grip tightened. ‘NO!’ She sucked in air through her mask. ‘Now PULL!’

  Mustering every ounce of strength she had, Sarah’s muscles surged with adrenaline as she stretched every sinew in her body, every atom of her being. Riley cried out in agony as he forced his shoulder to work. The flames grew and the heat seared and Riley inched higher. Bit by bit, their combined willpower brought Riley to the brink and then – finally – over into blessed salvation.

  Patting down the flames that sought to cook them alive, they collapsed to their knees in a fierce embrace.

  She retracted her visor and breathing mask and he did likewise. Stained with soot and sweat, they shared a lingering kiss.

  He leaned back to look into her eyes and smiled. ‘That was close.’

  A laugh of joyous relief escaped her lips and she kissed him.

  ‘I thought you were going to let me go,’ he said, pulling away again to hold her gaze.

  ‘I’m never letting you go.’ She turned serious. ‘Don’t you remember? Where you go, I go.’

  He grinned and then his expression changed to one of confused shock.

  Riley looked down at his chest and Sarah followed his gaze. A patch of dark red soaked through his uniform and the glint of steel cut through the fabric.

  ‘Sarah?’ he said in fear, as blood trickled from his mouth.

  Riley toppled into her arms and Sarah saw Dresden Locke standing behind him, a large knife in his hand, its long blade dripping with blood.

  Sarah’s shock turned to an anguished scream. ‘NO!’

  Riley grasped her jacket as he battled for breath and she lowered him to her lap.

  Locke opened his helmet and knelt down next to them. ‘I’m sorry, Riley,’ he said, his eyes full of genuine sorrow. ‘I couldn’t let you get to the surface, I hope you can see that.’

  Sarah didn’t know what was happening. Riley coughed as he tried to speak and more blood spilled out of his mouth. Sarah pulled him higher and pushed her hand against his chest in a vain attempt to try and stem the flow of vital fluid.

  ‘Wh – why?’ Riley said, between gasps.

  Locke sighed and hung his head. ‘I’ve told you before,’ he said, looking up at Sarah and then back to Riley, ‘I look after my own. If Sanctuary is exposed, my life’s work was for nothing, but more than that – much more than that – the lives of the thousands of men and women who’ve worked in the SED for over two hundred years will have all been in vain. Sanctuary will become embroiled in a war between us and those on the surface. Some secrets are worth dying for, and this is one of them.’

  Riley shook his head. ‘You know – I wouldn’t – let – that happen.’

  ‘I couldn’t take that chance. If you had time to reflect, you’d understand I had no other option. And you’d realise – like I have – that the SED must go on. I’m sorry it had to end like this,’ – Locke laid a hand on Riley’s shoulder – ‘you were like a son to me.’

  Riley opened his mouth to try and speak, but nothing came out. After a moment he managed to say, ‘I have – a father, and you … you were – never – him.’

  Locke nodded. ‘You’re right, a father gives, and sadly it’s left for me to take.’

  Riley struggled in Sarah’s arms. ‘Go … to hell.’

  Locke looked behind them into the fiery mists. ‘Maybe I will, but I’ve still got one more thing to take.’

  Riley shook his head.

  ‘I don’t have the pendant,’ Sarah said, her voice sounding like it belonged to another person.

  Locke didn’t seem to hear her; he looked back at his dying colleague. ‘I’m sorry, Riley,’ – he stood up, knife in hand – ‘she knows too much, they all do.’

  Riley tried to rise, but he dropped back down and looked up into Sarah’s eyes in despair.

  Sarah looked at Locke, her mind numb.

  Locke thrust the knife at her heart, but Riley’s hand came up to grasp the blade.

  The SED commander’s look of shock turned to anger as he tried to pull the knife free. Riley’s grip tightened, blood flowed and Sarah put her hand behind his to stop the blade’s advance.

  Locke gave a growl of frustration and pushed his fingers into Riley’s chest wound.

  Riley groaned, his grip loosened and Sarah felt the blade slide into her palm and she gasped in pain. Blood welled between her fingers and she used her other hand to grasp Locke’s wrist to force him back.

  The SED commander stared into her eyes and leaned into the knife.

  Riley clenched his teeth in desperation as the blade bit deeper into his hand, severing tendon and crunching through bone.

  The ground shook and Sarah’s visor flashed up a host of warning symbols. Locke swayed to the edge and wrenched the knife clear.

  The ancient walkway shuddered again and Locke stood for a moment, torn between killing Sarah and saving his own skin. The tremors continued and the latter won out as he retreated to safety, and with a final look back, he turned to disappear into acrid smoke.

  Chapter Forty One

  Sarah moved Riley away from the flames and laid him down as the ground continued to shake. She removed his helmet and her own before opening his jacket to reveal the wound. Pressing down with trembling hands she tried to stem the bleeding, but try as she might the deep gash refused to heal.

  Riley groaned in pain.

  ‘I’ll get help,’ she murmured, and looked round in a daze.

  But only fire and smoke remained. Sarah’s nightmares had come true, re-imagined from the old to the new.

  No one could help them now.

  She daubed at the blood with his jacket, revealing a tattoo of a crucifix beneath. She stared at the symbol, wondering why she’d paid it no heed before. Why had Trish’s affiliation to the Vatican felt like a betrayal when Riley’s had not? Because I was too busy enjoying the sins of his body to care.

  Riley grasped her hand and tried to speak.

  She lent closer.

  ‘Leave me,’ he whispered, ‘get to the surface.’

  She shook her head as tears rolled down her cheeks. ‘I’m never letting you go.’

  ‘You … must.’

  She held back a sob. ‘I’ve only just found you.’

  He reached up and touched her cheek to wipe away a tear. ‘You’re pretty … when you cry.’

  Sarah stroked his face as his breathing eased and his eyes closed.

  The ancient walkway still shook and his eyes fluttered back open. ‘Sarah,’ he said, his voice full of fear, ‘where are you?’

  ‘I’m here,’ – she lent over him – ‘I’m right here.’

  He grasped her hand tighter. ‘You must … go.’

  She stroked his cheek with her thumb. ‘I don’t want to go on without you.’


  He gave a weak shake of his head before his gaze drifted down to her neck and his expression changed to hope. He tried to raise his other hand and his breathing grew ragged. Sarah helped his effort and he guided trembling fingertips to brush the golden cross that hung down from her chain.

  His eyes grew distant. ‘I see it,’ he said, weak fingers reaching to nowhere, ‘so beautiful, so—’

  ‘No!’ Sarah grasped his face. ‘Riley, don’t leave me, don’t leave me here alone!’

  He frowned and his focus returned to her face. ‘I’ll always … be with you … Sarah,’ – his voice grew fainter – ‘have faith … there’s always light … in the dark.’ He looked into her eyes as his grip went loose. ‘I … love … y—’

  Sarah saw the light fade from Riley’s eyes and his chest ceased to move from the rhythm of his breath.

  She stared down through shimmering tears at the man who’d stolen her heart and caressed his face with shaking hands. ‘I love you, Riley,’ – Sarah pressed her lips to his – ‘I love you too.’

  Chapter Forty Two

  The fires of hell continued to simmer and burn, and black smoke coiled into misty skies like the pyres of the damned. Sarah held Riley to her as her tears ran dry from the searing heat. The precarious bridge on which she sat shuddered and the words she’d spoken before echoed in her mind. Where you go, I go. She looked over the edge of the narrow walkway and down into the abyss, where the orange flames of burning tar created strange forms in the wind. The storm rumbled overhead like the death knell of her soul and she hugged Riley tighter as the ground shook again.

  All I have to do is wait, she thought, wait for the end to come and I can be with him again.

  Pain in her hand made her look down to see white knuckles gripped around her cross. She released her hold to stare at the golden keepsake … Trish’s golden keepsake. A vision of Dresden Locke sprang to mind, along with his words. I’m sorry, Riley; she knows too much, they all do.

  A shock of realisation wrenched Sarah from the chains of grief. Locke is going after Trish and Jason. She stumbled to her feet, pulled on her Deep Reach helmet and pressed the button for two-way communication, but all she could hear was static.

  ‘Trish, Jason, if you can hear me, Locke … Locke killed Riley. He wants to stop us getting to the surface. Be careful, I’m on my way.’

  She turned back to her dead lover as lightning flickered above, reflecting in his eyes that stared fixed into the nothing of beyond. Sarah reached out a hand and breathed deep before closing his eyelids with a featherlike touch.

  ‘I have to go,’ she whispered, kissing Riley goodbye, ‘he’s going to kill my friends.’ She stood to face the seething furnace as a powerful wind sent flames curling around her like the Devil’s breath. Sarah’s brows furrowed deep with cold fury. ‘But not if I kill him first.’

  Chapter Forty Three

  Sarah ran forward through smoke and flame. Trish and Jason think Locke’s on their side – she leapt over a fissure as her senses switched sharp – they won’t stand a chance!

  Visor warnings spun over her display in all directions, but she ran on, trusting instinct over technology.

  The ground shook and the flames roared higher. She glimpsed movement on a bridge to her left.

  Jefferson Church emerged through the shimmering heat. ‘Sarah!’ he said, calling out. ‘Where are the others, where’s Riley?’

  She slowed and glanced round to where she’d just been. ‘He’s gone!’ She looked back as a gust of wind revealed the way ahead. Sixty feet away, the figure of Dresden Locke moved through the flames.

  Sarah’s heart raced faster and she closed her mask and ran on through fire.

  ‘Sarah, wait!’ Jefferson stared after her before turning to look back the way she’d come. ‘Gone where?’

  ♦

  Searing heat filled Sarah’s lungs, but it only served to fuel her anger. Vaulting a fallen column, she closed the gap on Locke.

  The noxious mists cleared a little and a black mass loomed out of the darkness. Sarah gazed up at the colossal form of a winged sphinx wreathed in cloud, its enormous Anakim face and sweeping headdress lit up by sporadic flashes of purple light from the storm above.

  She looked down to see Locke turn in her direction. Their eyes met across the expanse and his surprise at seeing her changed to determination, and he upped his pace. The chase was on.

  Sarah felt a surge of rage and she leapt forward.

  Second by second, Sarah’s long legs ate up the ground between them, her youth and skill a match for the ageing SED leader fleeing before her.

  He glanced back to see her closing and pulled something from his utility belt and threw it in her direction. A huge explosion sent shockwaves through the network of crumbling bridges. A large section disappeared in a pall of dust and flame and Sarah skidded to a halt at the edge of shattered stone.

  Warning messages bombarded her head-up-display and she pressed a helmet button to switch off her visor. The dark of Sanctuary descended, but the fires and storm lit up the scene with enough light to see by. Sarah saw movement in the distance. She could just make out the tiny outlines of Trish and Jason pass through the towering entrance built into the sphinx’s chest. Locke had seen them, too, and he angled his route towards the staircase between the beast’s pair of giant claws. Her gaze dropped back to the chasm before her. Some of the walkways hadn’t collapsed. Enough remained that she could see a way across. If she’d had the time she would have gone around, but if she wanted to save Trish and Jason it was this way or nothing.

  With no more time to think, Sarah took four long strides back the way she’d come and sucked in a deep breath. ‘You can do this, Sarah,’ she said as fear sought to cripple her, ‘remember your training. Remember who you are.’ She closed her eyes. ‘I’m Deep Reach,’ she whispered, ‘I’m Deep Reach.’

  Her eyes snapped open and she powered forward. Arms pumping, legs straining, Sarah leapt out over the abyss.

  ♦

  Dresden Locke raised his arms against the roaring flames and took a step back. He’d seen Morgan’s accomplices entering the colossal sphinx moments before. He was amazed to have seen Sarah still alive; he’d been certain the stone walkway was about to collapse. He cursed his impatience. If he’d had a little more resolve she’d no longer be a problem. Although, he thought, glancing back, there’s no way she can catch me before I reach her friends. She’ll have to go back and find another way round, and by then I’ll have the pendant and be waiting for her.

  He touched the knife at his belt and felt a twinge of regret for killing Riley. I had no choice, he told himself, he left me no choice.

  Waiting for the wind to die back down – and with it the flames – Locke stared in disbelief at a figure crossing the expanse behind. He zoomed in his visor to see Sarah leap across an impossible gap, haul herself up an inverted overhang and then scale a sliver of rock as it collapsed behind her. The Englishwoman’s slim figure disappeared in a cloud of debris … only to emerge seconds later onto another section of walkway. With only half of the collapse left to traverse, he realised she might make it across. Urgency seized him and Locke threw himself forward through the fires. Rolling to the ground, he jumped up to extinguish the flames that clung to his jacket and ran towards the sphinx. Moments later he was leaping onto the first step of the oversized staircase. Scaling it as fast as he could, his breathing grew laboured and passing halfway he paused to look back. There was no sign of Morgan, but his hopes of her demise were dashed as a hand appeared over the final ledge. Unable to believe what he was seeing, his fingers sought his utility belt for another explosive charge, but he was all out. He turned back to the Anakim monument to resume his ascent, his efforts redoubled.

  ♦

  Sarah rolled away from scorched stone and clambered to her feet. She activated her visor and saw Locke high above, disappearing up the ancient stairway. Jumping forward through dying flames, she ate up the distance to the first step and lau
nched herself upwards. Higher and higher she climbed, her movement settling into a rhythm. Step – step – climb. Breathe. Step – step – climb. Breathe.

  Seconds ticked by and her exertion continued, heart and lungs working in unison to power her on until, finally, she reached the mist-veiled summit and the entrance beyond.

  Locke had long since gone inside and Sarah prayed Trish and Jason were okay. She tried the coms button on her helmet again. The message, ‘No Signal’, flashed up on her visor. The only benefit of her not being able to reach them was that neither could Locke.

  Removing a small pocket knife from her belt, she prised the blade out and moved into the dark.

  Chapter Forty Four

  Sarah crept forward through the giant Anakim Sphinx, her ears straining against the quiet while the sound of the storm faded away. Her footsteps sounded loud to her ears as they echoed through the enormous structure. Her visor adjusted to the interior light, or lack thereof, and she double-checked her helmet’s torches remained in the off position. The worst thing she could do now would be to advertise her location. With her knife held before her, she advanced through an avenue of enormous statues. The dynamic sculptures struck powerful poses above her, the eyes of man, woman and beast from eons past appraising her from lofty heights. The whole place glistened with the sheen of water and the drip drop of falling liquid intensified the damp hush that closed in around her.

  Locke was nowhere to be seen and if he lurked in the shadows he could already be behind her. But she didn’t have time for caution. Trish and Jason were all that mattered. With this in mind she realised her idea of remaining hidden was erroneous, at least in part.

  She cupped her hands to her mouth. ‘Trish, Jason!’ she said, her voice booming into the dark. ‘Don’t trust Locke!’

  A moment later, the sound of her voice echoed back towards her. ‘Don’t trust Locke … Locke … Locke.’