2041 Sanctuary (Let There Be Light)

by Robert Storey

  Jason looked as shocked as she must have done. ‘How did you do that?’ he said, mouth agape.

  Transfixed at this unexpected turn of events, Sarah shook her head. ‘I don’t know. My pendant didn’t heat up either.’

  ‘Touch it again,’ he said.

  Reluctant, Sarah reached out a hand. Cupping the orb’s side, she held her hand there, perhaps longer than advisable. The orb grew warm and, one by one, each of the remaining observable sides lit up in turn. She snatched her hand away, not daring to incite whatever danger might lurk within. Nothing else happened for a moment before the side that had disappeared returned and the orb’s light faded until the same yellow and green flecked surface could be seen once more.

  She tried to recreate the effect, but it appeared reluctant to repeat the process. And not wanting to anger it, she decided it best to leave it be.

  ‘I wonder what it does,’ Jason said, after watching for some moments to see if it did anything else.

  ‘Hmm.’ Sarah had no idea. How could one hope to know the mind of the person who’d created it, perhaps hundreds of thousands of years in the distant past?

  They sat in silence for a time before Sarah felt the pendant grow hot against her skin. She pulled out her neck chain to find the pentagonal artefact shone with a strange hue.

  ‘I thought you said it didn’t heat up?’ Jason said, as the artefact faded and became cold, much like the orb.

  ‘It didn’t, at least not at first.’

  ‘Has it ever done that before?’ he said, intrigued. ‘Get warm after you activated something I mean.’

  ‘Never.’ She turned the pendant over to see a new symbol had appeared in its centre. ‘Its surface has changed,’ she said, amazed.

  He held out a hand and she showed it to him.

  ‘It doesn’t look like much,’ he said, disappointed, ‘just a bunch of lines. What do you think it means?’

  She shrugged her shoulders and gazed at the alteration for a while before she realised she still held one of his luminous stones, with a flick of her thumb she launched it over to him.

  Jason placed the cerulean gem-like stone back into his collection. ‘How did that entrance to the cave system get blocked?’ he said, changing topics.

  Sarah looked up at him. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Well, we were following the same route as the Deep Reach team that found the temple we need to get to, right?’

  Sarah nodded.

  ‘So,’ he continued, ‘they must have passed the same way as us. I don’t see any way that boulder could have got lodged in that hole by itself, can you?’

  Sarah thought about the question and realised the same thing had occurred to her at the time, but worrying about the mission had overridden her focus on it, until now. ‘Perhaps the Deep Reach team blocked it for a purpose?’

  ‘There is that possibility,’ he said. ‘If that’s the case, they went to a lot of effort to stop anyone getting in again. Or out.’

  Sarah gave him a look of consternation. ‘Out?’

  ‘Didn’t that professor guy – what was he called?’

  ‘Steiner,’ Sarah said.

  ‘Yeah, didn’t he say in that induction video, ninety-eight per cent of Sanctuary is still uncharted?’

  ‘Yeah, so?’

  ‘Then surely that means this place could still be occupied somewhere.’

  Sarah laughed, but her smile ceased when she realised he was being serious. ‘What, you think the Anakim are still alive? They’ve been extinct for millennia. The fossils indicate nothing else.’

  It was Jason’s turn to mutter an interjection.

  ‘I’m sorry, Jas, Homo gigantis is history, the same as Homo floresiensis, Homo neanderthalensis et al. There’s nothing else down here but us and a lot of ancient relics.’

  ‘I suppose.’ He gave a yawn and lay down on the ground.

  Finally, Sarah thought, her hopes rising, he’s getting tired. She pocketed the orb and then lay down herself, although her desire was not to seek out sleep, but to wait.

  Chapter Nine

  A few minutes later Jason’s muffled snores confirmed to Sarah she was good to go. Careful not to make a sound, she got to her feet and switched on her visor. The display lit up, the ice blue dials and controls populating the tinted exterior, while the centre produced the selected enhanced visual spectrum of the user’s current terrain. Taking a look around, she saw the entrance to the tunnel system that had brought them to their current location was stark and empty. Sarah wished Jason hadn’t reminded her of the blocked passageway; it made Sanctuary feel more menacing – and her, tiny and vulnerable. She shuddered.

  Making her way to the Centipede, which sat dormant close by, she opened a compartment and removed a med kit. Opening it, she found what she was after, a small cardboard box that read:

  Ammonia Inhalant Ampoules

  More commonly known as smelling salts. Opening the box, she extracted an ampoule and stuffed the rest into her jacket’s top pocket. The weight of the orb against her leg reminded her of its latest party trick, making her wonder about its function. Not now, Sarah, she berated herself, you have work to do. The time for thinking has passed.

  Moving round to the supply vehicle’s winch, which she’d strategically placed facing the cliff edge when they’d arrived, Sarah pulled a lever and flicked a switch so it would spin free when pulled out slow, but would lock up when she activated a verbal command through her helmet. She then disconnected the anchor mechanism and secured it to the back of her climbing harness. Next, she clipped the eyelet at the winch cable’s end to her belt. She then ensured the Centipede’s wheel brakes were on.

  It took some time to carry out her preparations as she had to make sure her climbing gear remained as silent as possible. She couldn’t afford to wake them now.

  After adding a couple more pieces of equipment to her utility belt, Sarah felt ready and approached the edge of the precipice. In front, above and below was the dark void, a subterranean chamber of immense proportions and intense, unforgiving isolation. Switching through a variety of spectral visor combinations, Sarah returned to the original, which best highlighted the ancient ruins of the Anakim bridge. Reaching up a hand, she depressed a button on the side of her helmet. Tiny circles popped up on the central screen, automatically attaching to the terrain’s most prominent features. When she moved her head these visual reference points switched to wherever she looked, increasing or decreasing in number as necessary. When she moved her eyes to look at one of these circles a data box appeared, each remaining visible until she decided otherwise. The data available was as follows; distance from origin – that being Sarah herself – angle from origin, stability factors, warning messages, and a variety of other critical, yet concise information, displayed in semi-transparency so as not to impede her vision.

  Staring out at the task ahead, she fought down the rising fear that tried to swamp her tired mind. Going on the analysis from her visor, the remnants of the Anakim bridge below – certain sections of it, anyway – wouldn’t be able to withstand her weight for long; she would need to move quickly. It meant securing the winch cable to these areas was also out, but with a limited number of climbing cams available, this was a moot issue anyway.

  Even with the Centipede’s ton of weight acting as a brake, any fall would likely end with her crashing into the cliff face at a rate of knots. She grimaced; at least the ground won’t be a problem – at first anyway. The further she went, the greater the risk, as the longer the length of cable behind her, the bigger the pendulum swing would be. If she was lucky, she might get away with breaking half the bones in her body – if she was lucky.

  I have no choice, she told her rebelling mind. I got them into this mess; I need to get them out of it. We need water. Water will give us time – options.

  The situation was out of control and her friends needed her to deliver.

  Everything had come down to this.

  It was now or never.

&nbs
p; Lifting the smelling salts, she crushed the ampoule and lifted it to her nose. POW! Eyes wide and senses shocked, Sarah’s head jerked back as clarity chased away the fog of sleep deprivation and fatigue. She inhaled again and winced. Throwing the ampoule aside, she grasped her pendants and sent out a prayer. I know I don’t deserve this, Mum, considering … well, you know why, but I’m asking, so if you can help me up there, now would be the time.

  Sarah took a deep breath and then stepped off the ledge.

  Chapter Ten

  Sarah Morgan walked down the shadowy face of the vertical wall of rock, the winch cable maintaining its tension as it aided her perpendicular descent. The ruins of the Anakim bridge loomed before her and she stepped onto its ancient surface. Various hazard symbols appeared as her eyes scanned the way forward, while warning messages scrolled down the side of her visor. The road ahead was a myriad of obstacles fit for the suicidal.

  To her left, the bridge ended abruptly where it had once continued parallel to the cliff face – destination unknown. She wondered who the last person to tread upon its surface had been, in a time when mammoths and humanity’s ancestors had battled for survival on the surface. Who fucking cares, screamed her rational mind, get on with it!

  Unable to put it off any longer Sarah trod with extreme care out into the black, every step inching her away from the wall and safety.

  ♦

  A persistent click click click stirred Jason from his dreams. Eyes flickering open, he focused on the strange noise. What is that? The clicking grew louder and then stopped, before starting again slower than before, but continuing until suddenly increasing in intensity. Heart racing, Jason reached a slow hand up to his helmet to turn on his visor. A scraping sound close by made him scramble to his feet. Scared, he saw Trish standing a few feet away.

  ‘What’s that noise?’ she said, sounding sleep addled.

  The clicking continued and Jason realised it emanated from the Centipede’s direction. He traced the source of the sound to the remote vehicle’s winch, where the cable fed out along the ground. Following it, he saw it disappear out over the cliff edge.

  Trish looked around. ‘Where’s Sarah?’

  Jason frowned as he traced the metal line through his visor, zooming in along its length until he found the answer to her question. Half a mile out onto the Anakim bridge, Sarah climbed across the crumbling latticework that had once supported a walkway above. How she’d made it so far without falling, God only knew; one thing was for sure, though, she couldn’t go much further without making that fatal error. Ahead of her the bridge ended, a huge swathe of its centre span missing, before continuing again on into the distance. Jason knew she’d have to attempt a return and that she’d risked her life for nothing.

  Trish came to stand next to him. ‘Oh, my God, what’s she doing?! Is she insane?’

  Jason shook his head. ‘I’m beginning to wonder.’

  ♦

  Sarah eyed the break in the bridge ahead; she couldn’t believe she’d made it so far without a mistake, although there’d been a few close calls when she’d thought she was a goner.

  Sweat from her exertion soaked her Deep Reach coveralls and her palms also glistened with perspiration, although she realised this secretion may well have been fear-induced. She wiped her face and then cracked open another ampoule of ammonia and breathed deeply.

  Coughing, her waning clarity forced sharp, she sought purchase as she aimed to return to a section of walkway that still survived above. As she hauled herself up a chunk of stone broke free, sending her falling. Spread-eagling herself, she slammed into a crossbeam. Her helmet bounced from the surface and pain exploded in her body. Terrified, she scrabbled to hold on as momentum carried her towards oblivion.

  Sliding to a halt, dust and debris drifted in the air around her and she looked down to see her legs dangling over nothing, only the tumbling piece of architecture growing smaller and smaller as it fell.

  Feeling sick and hurting all over, she dragged herself back to relative safety.

  ‘Fucking hell, Sarah,’ Jason’s voice crackled in her ear, ‘are you out of your mind?!’

  Sarah turned her head towards the cliff and her visor zoomed in on the distant figures of her friends. Too shaken up to speak, she looked back up at the bridge she had to conquer. It seemed more impossible than ever.

  ‘Are you okay?’ Trish’s voice said.

  Sarah adjusted her position. ‘I’m fine.’

  ‘Sarah,’ Jason said, ‘there’s no way across the gap, you have to turn back.’

  Sarah gave a shake of her head. ‘There’s no way I’ll make it back. Some sections collapsed behind me, the supports are hanging by a thread, this whole structure could go at any moment. I have to go on.’

  ‘Just jump,’ Trish said. ‘Jason reckons the winch could pull in half the length of cable by the time you reach the rock wall; if we could reverse it back, too, you might—’

  ‘That’s a last resort.’ Sarah got to her feet and resumed her climb. ‘Just be ready if I fall. Now stay quiet, I need to concentrate.’

  A few minutes later and somehow she’d made it up to the top of the bridge. Navigating the final section, she looked out across the expanse blocking her way. The hundred and fifty foot gap seemed far bigger up close. A warning icon appeared on her visor.

  CAUTION!

  Noxious Atmosphere Detected

  A distant rumble like thunder broke the silence and Sarah peered over the end of the bridge to see a ruddy orange glow blossom into being. Growing in brightness, a rush of air swept past, followed by a wave of heat. Alarms sounded in her ears and her helmet’s breathing mask automatically deployed to seal her face inside. The temperature dial on her visor shot up to sixty degrees centigrade. More warning icons appeared as the temperature continued to rise. At seventy degrees, her skin felt like it was on fire. Stumbling back from the edge, her breath came in ragged gasps as the heat penetrated her helmet’s breathing apparatus.

  ‘Sarah, what’s happening?’ Trish’s said.

  Hot air filled her lungs. ‘Can’t – breathe.’ Sarah clawed at her throat.

  The rumbling ceased and moments later the heat receded.

  Jason came on the com. ‘Sarah, it’s a heat plume. There must be some kind of outlet for a magma chamber down there. If you’re going to do something, you need to do it now. The next one might be hotter and last longer.’

  Sarah deactivated the mask and sucked in cool air, relishing the sensation as it soothed her throat. Disorientated, but with no time to spare, she detached a small cylindrical canister from her belt and unscrewed the lid. A tripod popped out from the bottom and the aperture at the other end revealed a shiny, metal spike. Reaching to her backpack, she unhooked a dense coil of nano-cord. Securing one end of the super-strong line to her harness, she attached the other to the mechanism on the device, which she placed on the ground. A green light appeared on its side. Her helmet synced with it and a message appeared:

  Propellant Primed

  Crosshairs displayed on her visor. Aiming it with her eyes, she locked it onto her target and pressed a button on the side of her helmet. With a whoosh and a burst of flame, the projectile sailed into the air, the fine cord on her belt feeding out behind it like a party streamer. Moments later the bolt punched into the bridge on the opposite side.

  Pulling the cord tight, Sarah took a breath and jumped.

  ♦

  Jason watched his friend drop from the edge, her blonde hair streaming out from beneath her helmet as she cut an arc between the two sections of Anakim bridge. The Centipede’s winch reel span faster, letting out more and more cable. Trish grasped his arm and turned away, unable to look, while Jason’s heart was in his mouth.

  Sarah flew past the base of the opposite structure, her momentum carrying her upwards before she let go in mid-flight to latch onto an outcrop of stone. A few feet from where she landed, a large swathe of the bridge crumbled away into the abyss.

  Jason’s fin
ger strayed over the Centipede’s winch control, his thoughts full of fear. She’s not going to make it.

  ♦

  Sarah, heart pumping, blood rushing, grasped a balustrade with two hands and heaved herself onto the top of the bridge. She’d made it! Hazard symbols popped up all over her visor before a single flashing message appeared:

  WARNING!!

  UNSTABLE STRUCTURE

  Collapse Probability: 95%

  Alternate Route Advised

  Sarah glanced back. There is no alternate route! A deep rumble from the depths made her look down. An embryonic larval glow broke the darkness. Black eddies swirled in its midst and a rush of air swept past. She activated her breathing mask before heat engulfed her. Unable to do anything else, she ran.

  ♦

  Trish, sensing Jason’s increased tension, turned back to see Sarah leaping and dodging around obstacles as she ran flat out across the bridge. Behind her the structure shuddered and with a tremendous groan, its end collapsed and the rest followed in a domino effect, the falling walkway hunting Sarah down like a giant monster.

  ♦

  Breathing hard, Sarah leapt over a gaping hole and crashed to the ground before rolling back to her feet, her momentum unbroken. A roar of noise set the ground vibrating.

  WARNING WARNING WARNING

  A tiny window appeared on-visor showing the scene behind. Her eyes widened as the bridge disappeared from view. Adrenaline rocketed and her speed increased. Jumping, running, dodging, the ground lurched. Heat consumed. Lungs burned. Gasping, crying, gripped by terror, the collapse was at her feet and time slowed. Death had arrived. Why do you fear me? The voice of nightmares echoed in her ears. Am I not what you desire?