‘What? No, wait!’ The screen went dark and Brett swore.
Eric accepted the device back off her and Brett pondered the cyber terrorist’s final words.
Jessica moved closer. ‘What do you think now?’
‘I don’t know, but—’ A thought struck her and she turned to face the corpse that lay unmoving in its black bag.
Jessica came to stand by her side and looked down at the old man. ‘All our questions will soon be within reach.’
‘The king—’ Brett whispered.
‘—was dead,’ Jessica said, ‘long live the king.’
TERMINOLOGY / MAP
USSB – United States Subterranean Base
GMRC – Global Meteor Response Council
Darklight – World’s largest private security contractor
SFSD – Special Forces Subterranean Detachment (Terra Force)
SED – Sanctuary Exploration Division
Deep Reach – Special survey team working within the SED
S.I.L.V.E.R. – An elite military unit available to the highest bidder
Sanctuary Proper – Ancient underground structure built by an extinct species of Hominid, Homo giganthropsis (the Anakim)
[For easy reference this page is duplicated in the final Appendix and is also listed as the last entry in the Table of Contents]
Chapter Thirty Eight
Deep in the bowels of the Earth the Anakim creation sprawled, layer upon layer of chambers, tunnels, caves, cliffs and crevasses. So vast was this underground world, the surface area of its many levels was said to equal half that of all the land mass on Earth. Stretching for hundreds of miles north to south and east to west, Sanctuary also cut a swathe into the Earth’s crust thirty miles straight down, its lowest fringes rubbing shoulders with the molten rock of the mantle itself.
Nestling in one of the largest chambers, small in comparison to the whole, but immense in its own right, was a hidden city that comprised hundreds of soaring towers that stood silent and still in the pitch-black. To the east of this abandoned dwelling full of long forgotten ghosts, the surface of a deep, cold subterranean lake rippled as something briefly broke its calm. Fanning out in procession from this disturbance, telltale expanding circles announced the presence of something lurking beneath to anyone or anything that had borne witness. A mile away at the shore’s distant edge, a few thousand men and women toiled under floodlights powered by high-tech, water fuelled generators. The sound of shouting and chatter created by teamwork filled the air as the desperate refugees from Steadfast sought to feed themselves and their brethren from the plentiful fish stocks of Sanctuary seeded millennia past. To the south of this hive of activity, separated by a dark void of featureless ground, was a makeshift camp that had become home to the thirty thousand people that had found themselves trapped inside Sanctuary Proper.
Amongst the scarce lighting rigs and small tents, a central command post had been erected, its fabric construction now a permanent structure as necessity dictated. Above this material that undulated against a silent breeze, flew the proud sigil of the world’s largest private security firm:
Inside the shelter a number of armoured, black clad soldiers carried out their duties which included the day to day running of the site. Food and water had to be allocated and dispensed while the mounting medical woes of the residents required careful maintenance. Such was their isolation from civilisation – be that from the seemingly unobtainable location of the USSB, or the surface itself – supplies had all but run dry.
A soldier walked into the outpost and approached the small form of a woman who stood pouring over a computer screen and a set of complicated looking graphs. He handed her a document. Glancing at its contents she looked up in alarm. ‘That’s the second person this week.’
‘Yes, ma’am, he had a rare heart condition and his drug supply ran out a month back.’
‘And there was nothing we could do?’
‘Not with the resources we have.’
Dr. Kara Vandervoort sighed and looked back at the image of the person who had died. Arnold McIntyre, the name read underneath, a twenty-four year old civilian who’d worked in the command centre back at USSB Steadfast. She wondered if he’d left any family behind on the surface prior to his inclusion in the GMRC’s Subterranean Programme. Was there someone waiting for Arnold to return to them? Was his disappearance from their life as unexplained as the work he’d been tasked to carry out?
Cover stories for all personnel inducted into any USSB had always been part of the transition from the surface; however, some people suited the upheaval more than others. Due to the nature and location of their work, civilians and U.S. military personnel alike had to pass rigorous physical, medical and physiological tests in order to enter the Subterranean Programme, but some, due to the nature of the skills they could bring to the table, had been given special dispensation for the good of the project. And it was these unfortunate souls who were the first to pay the price for their underground marooning.
It was at these low moments that Kara wished her doctorate wasn’t in biomechanical engineering, the science of her learning of no help to those that suffered. All she could do was concentrate on what she was good at, which was the management of others and the analysis of data, providing those that battled on with the most efficient means by which to live.
She ran a hand through her browning locks, the blond dye all but grown out. ‘Does Richard know?’
‘The Director is still in the city,’ the soldier said.
Kara muttered a curse. Ever since the light creature, or entity as some called it, had killed three Darklight soldiers and spirited away one of their number – a young disabled woman – the man she’d grown to love had succumbed to a malady of his mind’s own creation. The warnings had been there in the past that he was susceptible to such a collapse in reasoning, but she had thought they were minor aberrations despite his protestations to the contrary. Now, though, she saw his tenure in the dark abyss had finally taken its toll as he’d once prophesised, the trauma of recent events driving him over the edge. He still claimed to be rational, but Kara could see through the illusion of purpose he’d created for himself.
Unable to help find the vulnerable woman who’d been taken from them while under his care, he had taken to roaming the Anakim city in search of answers, accompanied as ever by the dark skinned African, Major Offiah, who now led the Darklight forces in his leader’s absence.
‘How long has he been gone?’ Kara said, her South African accent strained.
The soldier consulted with a colleague. ‘He left with a team early yesterday morning. They’re scheduled to return in three days.’
‘Three days!’
‘That’s what we were told.’
‘And where’s the Major,’ she said, ‘still running around after him?’
The Darklight man looked uncomfortable. ‘The Major is in the field, ensuring our perimeter is secure.’
‘But he’ll be back with Richard as soon as he’s done?’
‘I believe his route will intersect with the Director’s at certain intervals, yes.’
Kara frowned. Since the Darklight leader Commander Hilt had left with his best soldiers in search of Susan and the thing that had taken her, the camp and everyone in it felt exposed. However, the absence of the warrior who’d been Richard’s right hand man during their time in Sanctuary Proper wasn’t the only reason for their perceived vulnerability. The knowledge that something else roamed the darkness alongside them, something terrible and capable of taking out heavily armed mercenaries was more than something to fear, it was a monster come to life, a terror in the deep that seemed capable of disappearing at will and formulating devious plans of attack. If there was a time when they should be sticking together it was now, but it seemed like she’d been left holding the reigns of power while people looked to others for guidance. In charge of the ecosystem back in Steadfast she had been responsible for a lot of people, but here things were entirely different. Not
only were they fighting for survival in an alien world, it felt like they were fighting each other as they stumbled from one crisis to another.
‘Have the new sanitation trenches been dug?’ Kara asked another operative.
The woman glanced up and shook her head. ‘They’ll take another week.’
‘What about the water stocks, have we met the quotas?’
‘No, since the attack from the … entity, we’ve had to limit the number of teams leaving the campsite.’
‘There’s also been an incident at the lake,’ the first soldier said, ‘four people were attacked, all have multiple lacerations.’
Kara felt her stomach churn. ‘The light?’
‘No, it sounded like it was some kind of eel.’
She heaved a sigh, but her disquiet remained.
The Darklight operative cleared his throat to regain her attention. ‘There’s more ma’am, there’s been an outbreak of an unknown illness in the south eastern section of the camp.’
‘Illness?’
‘Vomiting and diarrhoea. It might be a batch of bad fish, or—’
‘Or what?’
‘Cholera.’
‘What about the purifiers?’
‘We only brought a few from the surface; we never thought we’d be down here this long and it takes teams of people working round the clock to keep everyone watered. Due to this some of the civilians have taken to boiling their water and we suspect, if it is Cholera, this could be the cause.’
‘Do we have any antibiotics left?’
‘No, none.’
Kara felt despair rising, nothing seemed to be going right, something needed to change. ‘Can you get a message to Richard for me?’
‘We’ll try, ma’am, but it may take a few hours if they’re out of direct transmission range.’
‘Okay, tell him we’ve lost someone else and he’s needed back at camp – I need him back at camp, and not in three days, but now.’
The soldier gave a nod and got on the radio.
Kara went back to pouring over the data but her focus remained on the problems at hand and their missing leader. Where are you, Richard? she thought. I can’t do this without you.
Chapter Thirty Nine
Richard Goodwin, the exiled civilian director of USSB Steadfast, ran his hands over the dry, dusty soil to reveal the faint outline of ancient inscriptions. He bent low to inspect it and then blew along stone channels to chase away the dirt. On his hands and knees, Goodwin picked up a brush and swept the area clean until the pattern he’d found emerged in its entirety.
‘It looks like the ones we found earlier.’
The voice made Goodwin start; immersed in his investigation he’d forgotten he was not alone. He looked up into the eyes of the woman who’d spoken. ‘I think you’re right.’ He got to his feet and stood by her side to view his latest discovery. ‘Do the symbols look familiar to you?’
Rebecca shook her head.
Goodwin was sure he’d seen something similar on the surface, although how that could be he wasn’t sure because – as far as he was aware – human and Anakim cultures were mutually exclusive. ‘I know someone who’d know.’
‘Kara?’ Rebecca said.
‘Sadly, no; his name is Professor Steiner.’
‘The man who told you to leave USSB Steadfast?’
‘The same. If he hadn’t done so we’d still be there, trapped underground.’
‘Like we are here?’
Goodwin grimaced. Rebecca had a point, but those left in Steadfast beneath the New Mexican and Colorado border faced – as hard as it was to believe – a much more immediate threat than they did in Sanctuary Proper. Now they at least had water and a food source, and while the mysterious light had transformed their dark tomb into a nightmare, those in Steadfast faced annihilation by an asteroid, one of four due to arrive in 2042.
As ever, Goodwin kept the information about these approaching destroyers of Earth’s surface to himself, that and the knowledge that two more much larger ones would follow in their wake in 2045. His decision to tell only the Darklight leader, Commander Hilt, about the coming apocalypse had been a difficult one, but he’d felt more bad news for anyone else would foster despair when they needed hope.
‘I have every faith the commander will find a way through to USSB Sanctuary,’ Goodwin said, making sure to avoid the sensitive subject of Susan, the mentally handicapped woman taken by the light from under their noses, the same woman Hilt had promised to Goodwin he would return to safety.
Rebecca didn’t reply; instead her gaze strayed to the figure of her ward, Joseph, who suffered from an acute learning disability. The young man, who had the intelligence and behaviour patterns of a toddler, was busy entertaining some of the Darklight troops who protected Goodwin’s party from the threat of the elusive light.
Major Offiah had insisted on no fewer than a hundred bodyguards for any excursions into the city, the soldiers all fully suited in their black armour and sporting an array of armaments suitable for war. So far, no further sightings of the creature that shimmered in the dark had been made, although that might have been because all reconnaissance teams had been recalled in order to protect those at the lake and camp. Their primary mission – escape from the enormous chamber they found themselves trapped in – had taken a back seat to the immediate safety of its reluctant citizens.
Ever since Hilt had left on his mission over a week before, Goodwin had resolved to do everything he could to unravel the riddle of the light, to find out what it was and what it wanted. Those in the camp had voiced their opposition to his new focus, and that included both Major Offiah and Goodwin’s partner, Kara. However, Goodwin knew his efforts took precedence, how could they not? He also knew that Kara thought him obsessed, and perhaps she was right. He needed something to occupy his mind and the day to day management of the camp wasn’t enough to fulfil that duty; he was used to managing a base of half a million people. But that wasn’t the only reason he lusted after a complex challenge; he needed a change of scene. Back in USSB Steadfast he’d employed a variety of measures to curtail the chronic and sometimes acute depression he experienced due to his sustained underground existence. A powerful 3D screen had been fitted to his office to recreate the surface and he’d also been able to visit the bio-chambers in order to soak up the rays from Steadfast’s sunlight generators. Compare that to the eternal dark of Sanctuary and he’d done well to fight off the desolation for as long as he had.
‘How is Joseph?’ Goodwin said, forgetting he was trying to avoid the subject of Susan.
Rebecca glanced over to where the young man played. ‘He’s okay.’
Joseph held a transparent bottle above his head and tilted it this way and that. Every now and then he showed it to his Darklight minders, before laughing in pure, unadulterated joy.
‘What’s he doing?’ Goodwin said. ‘He’s been messing about with that water for hours.’
‘He can’t understand how the fluid stays level inside the bottle when he moves it,’ Rebecca said. ‘He has no concept of what gravity is, for him it’s like magic or an impossible puzzle.’
‘He seems to be enjoying himself.’
‘Yes, I suppose. He’s fine during the day; it’s the sleeping that’s the problem.’
‘Nightmares?’
‘Sometimes he screams so loud it feels like he could wake the dead.’
‘I didn’t hear him last night.’
‘He seems much better here. I think you’re the cause.’
‘Me?’
Joseph saw them looking over at him and he waved in exuberant fashion, eliciting a smile from Rebecca and a return wave from Goodwin.
‘You know how he dotes on you,’ she said, ‘he always goes on about his Winnie.’
Goodwin smiled at his nickname, the feeling odd due to his current low mood, like the expression of humour was disconnected from his face somehow.
‘That’s why I wanted to be here,’ Rebecca continued, ‘with you.
He seems to calm down when you’re around.’
‘I’m glad someone feels that way. Normally when I’m like this people want to get as far away from me as possible.’
Rebecca gave him an odd look. ‘I haven’t noticed any difference.’
‘Then you’re the only one.’
Rebecca stayed silent for a moment before removing something from her pocket and handing it to him.
Goodwin flicked through the thin sheaves of paper which had been scrawled upon with black charcoal. ‘Joseph’s handiwork?’
She smiled. ‘Yes, he wanted you to have them. He was quite insistent.’
He turned one of them round. ‘What are they of?’
‘I have no idea. He spent hours on them, though, and got quite angry when I tried to get him to stop for meals.’
Goodwin folded them up and slid them into his back pocket before an itchy tingle on his wrist made him scratch at it.
Rebecca saw the movement and pulled up his sleeve to reveal a red rash. ‘You should have that looked at.’
Goodwin glanced down at the angry mark. ‘It’s nothing.’
‘You’ve been scratching at it all day.’
‘Have I?’ He turned his focus back to the image on the floor. He was sure the symbols looked like something he’d seen before … or was it the lines that accompanied them that sparked the sense of familiarity? He withdrew his mobile computer and took a photo. Perhaps Kara or someone else at the camp will know.
‘You do know the dangers of being out here, don’t you?’ he said. ‘You’d be safer back at camp.’
‘Helping you keeps our mind off things.’ Rebecca looked around at the shadowy forms of their armed escort, who stood alert in the gloom. ‘And besides, if these soldiers can’t protect us then I doubt the camp would be much safer, do you?’
Goodwin gave a downturn of his mouth. He’d spoken out of habit rather than genuine concern, trying to keep up the pretence of a humanity he supposedly possessed. He moved to stand beneath a portable floodlight to bathe in its glow and closed his eyes to imagine its heat came from the sun.
2041 Sanctuary (Let There Be Light) Page 25
