‘May God guide our way.’ Goodwin took a deep breath and walked into the black.
Chapter Sixty Five
Goodwin disappeared into the rippling wall of darkness and Walker, breathing hard through his mask, checked his air supply. Five minutes remained. Taking one last look around, he made the sign of the cross on his chest, shut his eyes and followed Goodwin into the beyond.
♦
Lightning consumed Goodwin’s mind as he swam through thick ooze. Memories of long forgotten childhood events flickered before his eyes in a kaleidoscopic trance and faces and names merged as the black fluid poured into his helmet. Fighting back the terror that devoured his soul, Goodwin felt his forward momentum slow, the liquid solidifying around him. Panic gripped and doubts rose. Have I made a fatal error? An invisible force pulled him down and he fought for breath. What if God spared me so I could find a different path?!
His speaker system crackled and Walker’s screams shocked him into lucidity.
‘Corporal,’ Goodwin said, realising his mistake, ‘swim up!’
Fighting against the strengthening current, Goodwin thrust out for the surface. The fluid thinned, his movements eased and a wave of energy engulfed his body, spinning him round and into Walker who surged up from below.
The corporal grasped Goodwin’s suit, his eyes bulging in terror. ‘HELP ME!’
The black ooze crept higher and inched over Goodwin’s mask. The oxygen supply faltered and his airway constricted.
Choking and wheezing, Walker’s grip loosened, his fingers turning claw-like as he hyperventilated.
Neurons fired and synapses activated in a cascade of electricity and a vision tore through Goodwin’s neo-cortex. An Anakim warrior spoke in a foreign tongue. A distant star turned supernova. The sun shone bright in space. Two planets swept past, followed by Earth, a blue pearl in a sea of dark. Goodwin floated through the solar system, a cosmic traveller in a terrestrial world. A jolt of clarity and Goodwin teleported into reality. He gasped for air before the vision submerged him again. The red planet reflected large in Goodwin’s eyes, rotating in mystery before the asteroid belt gave way to the gas giants. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. Goodwin’s speed through space increased. The dwarf planet Pluto whizzed by before the vision warped. Another planet hove into view. This rocky mass orbited a dark star. The Anakim warrior reappeared, kneeling before an altar covered in blood. A myriad of other scenes flickered into being. Pain burned through Goodwin’s lungs and he grabbed Walker’s spasming arm. The black oil thinned, turning transparent and a blue glow shone through warm, pristine waters, and Goodwin’s mind cleared as his air supply ceased. Above, a ceiling of azure crystal shimmered, iridescent. There’s no way to the surface! Goodwin did the only thing he could. Jettisoning his helmet and mask, he swam forward, dragging an unconscious Walker with him.
Pain racked Goodwin’s body, his lungs fit to burst. Vision failing, he spied a rippling distortion overhead. He aimed for the irregularity and used his last ounce of strength to propel them up through bright waters. With consciousness slipping, Goodwin’s momentum carried the two men through a weed-encrusted circle of stone. Air returned and Goodwin gasped loud, sucking in the precious gas like the elixir of life it was. Taking five more thunderous breaths, he filled his lungs like never before, his head dizzy with the rush of oxygen.
Goodwin looked around to see he was inside a strange tunnel that glowed with the same blue hue that had lit the clean waters below. He swam to the edge of the hole, heaved himself out onto dry ground and then turned back to pull Walker’s limp form up beside him. Goodwin forced off the corporal’s helmet and mask and washed away the stinking gunk that clung to his face before rolling him onto his side. Walker coughed and a gush of water and oil burst forth. The corporal continued to breathe and Goodwin lay back to recover, exhausted.
A minute or two passed before he felt strong enough to sit up.
Walker remained lying where he was. ‘Remind me,’ he said, his voice rasping, ‘never to listen to you ever again.’
Goodwin stood up. He cared nothing for Walker’s words, the man had threatened Rebecca with abhorrence and that was something he could never forgive. ‘Get up.’ He pulled the corporal to his feet, retrieved and washed out his headgear, and then moved off in search of answers.
Chapter Sixty Six
Somewhere beneath the surface of the subterranean aquifer, Richard Goodwin walked down a long, dark tunnel. The glow behind had faded and he’d decided to put his diving helmet back on to illuminate the way.
Walker stumbled along at his back, complaining all the while. ‘Do you even know what you’re looking for?’
Goodwin didn’t reply. Instead he searched round for clues, for anything that would aid their escape from Sanctuary.
‘You don’t, do you?’ Walker continued. ‘You hadn’t solved any riddle; you’re out of your damn mind like everyone says. We could have both died back there.’
They reached a large circular chamber and Goodwin slowed to a stop. ‘But we didn’t, did we?’
Walker grumbled something before wiping some black slime from his face. ‘How does that oil penetrate our breathing masks? They’re airtight.’ He looked around, confused. ‘And where the hell are we anyway? Are we still under the lake or what?’
‘I don’t know about the oil,’ Goodwin said, ‘but I’m pretty certain we’re inside the lake.’
‘So what now?’
‘Now we activate that.’ Goodwin pointed across a small expanse of water that barred their way.
‘What is it?’
‘I’m not sure, but I feel like I’ve seen it before.’
Walker pushed Goodwin aside and peered ahead at the construction that stood on a tiny island.
‘You’ve seen it too, haven’t you?’ Goodwin said.
‘I – I don’t know, I saw visions, weird visions …’
‘The lake was trying to tell us something, I think it was trying to guide us.’
‘Or warn us,’ Walker said. ‘We don’t know what it’ll do.’
‘There’s only one way to find out.’ Goodwin lowered himself into the icy water and swam across.
Less than a minute later he emerged next to the strange mechanism. Standing ten feet high, it glistened wet under the light from Goodwin’s helmet. Made from grey pockmarked granite, the intricate carvings at its pentagonal base melded into a smooth surface which ended in a singular point at the top. Halfway up the column, five rods of oxidised silver, each positioned at a forty-five degree angle, sprouted from a circular niche, like the handles on some sort of prehistoric, multiplayer slot machine. Goodwin defied anyone who saw them not to feel the urge to pull them down; they were as welcoming as handles on a door.
Unfortunately the device was designed for a being much taller than himself. He looked up at one of the metal levers and gauged the distance. He jumped, grasping for it, but his fingers fell just short.
A splash of water echoed through the cavern and Goodwin glanced back to see Walker swimming across. Moments later he stood by Goodwin’s side.
‘I don’t think that’s the right one,’ Walker said, walking round the device. ‘Try this one.’ He pointed at the next one over.
‘Are you sure?’ Goodwin said.
‘It feels … right.’ Walker looked at him. ‘Don’t ask me why, okay? It just does.’
As Goodwin didn’t feel anything at all towards any of the options on offer, he deferred to the corporal’s suggestion, even though it went against his better judgement.
Walker gave him a boost up and Goodwin gripped the lever, which had the diameter of a large grapefruit. He tried to pull it down, but it wouldn’t budge. He lifted himself into the air, free of Walker’s hold and the mechanism gave a creak, but no more.
‘Move further along it,’ Walker said.
With difficulty, Goodwin manoeuvred up to the very end of the bar, his legs now hanging over the water some six feet below. Another creak and nothing.
&nb
sp; ‘It’s no good,’ Goodwin said, interlocking his fingers, ‘I’m not heavy enough.’ He tried pulling himself up and dropping his weight back down, still to no avail.
Walker looked up at him. ‘Have you got a good grip?’
‘Yes, why?’
‘Hold on!’ Walker took a few steps back and then ran and leapt into the air to grab on to Goodwin’s legs.
With a screech of metal on metal, the handle dropped down with a dull clang.
Goodwin lost his grip, and he and Walker fell with a splash into the water, which now seethed with bubbles. The island that held the mechanism sank beneath the surface.
On instinct Goodwin and Walker swam back to shore, barely getting out before the water sank down into a whirlpool, while above the ceiling retracted and a huge torrent of water flooded down to form a thunderous waterfall. Goodwin took a step back from the wall of liquid that now tore past just a few feet away.
The deafening noise continued before the ground shifted beneath their feet, making them hold onto the wall.
Walker cupped his hands and shouted, ‘It’s an earthquake!’
Goodwin didn’t know what it was, but soon after, the rumbling eased and the cascade ran dry. Drops of water plip-plopped down into the large, cylindrical shaft that had been revealed, its dark interior extending up as far as it descended below. Around its edge a smooth six foot wide sloping walkway spiralled down into the depths and up into its heights.
Goodwin peered over the edge before jumping down onto the path. On a hunch he walked up the incline and Walker followed.
At the top they emerged into fresher air and a pitch-black void. A breeze rustled their decontamination suits and Goodwin angled the torches on his helmet to see they were surrounded by more water.
Leading out into darkness, a causeway cut a path through the inky liquid a mere inch below the surface.
‘What’s that?!’ Walker removed his knife from his belt.
‘Turn off your lights,’ Goodwin said, as he switched off his own.
Walker did as instructed, plunging them into total darkness.
In the distance a host of lights approached, the eerie procession strung out in a line.
‘We should go,’ Walker said, sounding terrified.
Goodwin was about to agree until he heard something that made him pause.
‘Quickly!’ Walker said in a forced whisper, ‘it’s almost on us.’
A beam of light shone in their direction. ‘Who’s there?’ said a voice. ‘Director, is that you?
Goodwin sighed in relief and switched his lights back on.
Lieutenant Manaus strode across the causeway. ‘It is you, sir. We were getting worried.’
‘This bridge stretches all the way back to shore, I take it?’ Goodwin said, shaking the lieutenant’s hand.
‘It does, but it’s not straight. It spirals in to this point and makes landfall along from where you started.’ She pointed at her visor. ‘Luckily we were able to see the bridge appear, otherwise we would have only heard the water displacement.’ She looked around. ‘Which I assume came from here?’
Goodwin nodded.
‘Richard, you made it!’ Rebecca ran forward to embrace him, with Joseph close behind.
Goodwin enjoyed the reunion, but his mood soured when Priest and his men arrived on the scene.
‘Well done, Director,’ Priest said, ‘you’re not dead. Congratulations; now what?’
Goodwin released himself from Joseph and motioned to the slope behind. ‘Now we go down.’
‘I thought he’d found a way to the surface,’ one of the soldiers said. ‘Shouldn’t we be going up?’
‘Man’s got a point,’ Priest said.
Walker stepped forward. ‘We’ve got you this far and risked our lives to do it. Follow me and I’ll lead you all out of here.’
‘Like you had anything to do with it,’ Manaus said, her tone scathing.
‘Whose idea was it to help the director?’ Walker said, addressing the decontamination team. ‘Me. Who helped him find this location? Me. Who went into the lake and discovered this?’ He gestured around them. ‘Me, again! If any of you want to get out of this place alive then I’m the one you should be listening to.’ He pointed at Priest. ‘Not him.’
Priest strode forward and Walker slid his knife from his belt before lashing out. Priest dodged a second thrust and knocked the weapon from his attacker’s grasp. He slammed the butt of his rifle into Walker’s midriff, doubling him over, and some of the men laughed.
‘Nice speech, Corporal,’ Priest said, ‘but your chance at leadership has come and gone.’ He turned to Goodwin. ‘Lead on, Director.’
Goodwin glanced at Lieutenant Manaus, who gave an imperceptible shake of her head. There was no way they could win this fight. Not in their current position.
Still winded, Walker struggled to pick up his knife and gave a twisted smile full of bitter humiliation as Goodwin moved past him and back to the slope. The Goodwin of old would have almost felt sorry for the man, but now he couldn’t have cared less. He had one thing on his mind; find a way to the surface.
Chapter Sixty Seven
The gaping shaft in the centre of the Anakim lake carved out a core below the water’s surface half a mile deep, and the sloping pathway that clung to its outer wall spiralled down into the depths. Along this ancient, narrow road travelled the thirty-two strong company led by Richard Goodwin, former Director of USSB Steadfast, the prophet of the hour. So far his reasoning had proven sound, his gut instincts serving him well when others had doubted his sanity. Vindicated and driven on by compulsion, he increased his pace as they neared the bottom.
Ahead, a large, crumbling entrance led into blackness.
Someone touched his arm and the Darklight lieutenant drew alongside. ‘I’ll go first, Director, see if it’s safe.’
Goodwin shook his head. ‘There’s no … need.’
It was too late; Manaus had already moved past to assess the lay of the land. Reaching the hole, she pressed some buttons on her recon helmet and disappeared into the gloom.
The rest of the party regrouped at the bottom and waited for her return.
A couple of minutes passed before Manaus reappeared. She waved them forward. ‘It’s safe, but tread carefully, there’s loose rock underfoot.’
‘Next time you wait for my orders,’ Priest said, ‘is that clear, Lieutenant?’
Manaus gave a mocking salute before switching on her headgear’s torches to help light their way.
Goodwin followed her in and helped Rebecca and Joseph tackle the awkward terrain before they emerged into another area.
‘Are you seeing this?’ Manaus said in awe.
Large, stone steps descended into darkness and Goodwin switched on his diving helmet’s visual enhancer and gasped. They were in an enormous chamber. A grand hall, higher and longer than anything he could have dreamt of. It was so high that the ceiling appeared only as a darker black. Either side of this mammoth creation stood colossal statues, but unlike human works from the age of the Greeks, these titans were dynamic, built to inspire and shock. They’d been crafted to make those that dared pass them by feel like the tiny insects they were.
‘Fan out,’ Priest said to his men, ‘and keep alert.’
Goodwin walked forward as the armed soldiers spread out around them, guns at the ready. He turned off his visor to look at the sculptures under torchlight. The dark surfaces sparkled like obsidian beneath a slick coating of water.
‘What is this place?’ Rebecca said, gazing up at the incredible sight.
Goodwin didn’t know, but spectacular wasn’t the word. The faces of the bipedal figures were without doubt Anakim, their facial features not quite human. Some of the statues stooped so low that their heads almost touched the floor. They passed by one such figure, and while it still remained ten feet from the ground, its snarling features and fearful pose made Joseph bury his face in Rebecca’s shoulder. Goodwin knew how he felt as he noted the clust
er of crystals inset into each monstrous eye.
A stiff breeze blew through the chamber and a strange noise made everyone freeze.
‘What the hell is that?’ one of the soldiers said, as the sound continued.
Goodwin held his breath as the note rose and fell, its peculiar whine drifting to silence. Everyone stood where they were before a deeper howl could be heard coming from higher up.
‘It’s just the wind.’ Manaus pointed at the statues. ‘It’s funnelling through their mouths.’
Four or five of the whistling notes joined together to produce a frightening soundtrack to the already creepy atmosphere.
‘Keep moving,’ Priest said.
He didn’t need to say it twice as everyone hurried to put the dreadful noise behind them.
The further down the hall they went, the more lurid the statues became, and the more gruesome. Protruding bones ruptured the decaying flesh of naked figures positioned in sickening poses of prostration and obscene debauchery. The horrific spectacle would have made even the strongest of stomachs turn and Goodwin averted his gaze from the corruption.
As they neared the end of the massive gallery, an enormous statue of an Anakim woman had been positioned in the centre of the walkway. With a face full of pain and terror, she clung onto the floor tiles on which they trod and fought against clawed hands that dragged her down into the deep.
Splitting into two groups, they circumvented this tormented figure, one on either side, some looking at it and others not. With the chilling sounds propelling them forward, they passed beneath the legs of the final figure. This multi-headed monstrosity grasped the plinth on which it sat, four clawed hands biting into the rock with tarnished talons. On its back two giant wings stretched out on either side, their ends disappearing into darkness.
They moved on through a great arch which gradually narrowed, bunching them together into a tight tunnel twelve feet across. The ancient route, paved with cracked, worn stone, rose and fell, twisted and turned this way and that, creating a sense of disorientation and claustrophobia. An icy chill permeated the air and no one spoke, their footfalls sounding muffled as if they were surrounded by thick snow.
2041 Sanctuary (Let There Be Light) Page 41
