2041 Sanctuary (Let There Be Light)

by Robert Storey

  Ahead the Darklight lieutenant pressed some buttons on her helmet and then gestured at the passage around them. ‘Sir, switch to ultra violet on your helmet, if it has it.’

  Goodwin scrolled through the options on his visual display, saw the UV tag and selected it. To his wonder the walls around him glowed bright with strange patterns, pictures and abstract scripts of all shapes and sizes. The further they went the more intricate the images became, dazzling in their majestic beauty. From Anakim warriors to ancient beasts, from scenes of nature to cityscapes beyond compare, the walls hinted at knowledge beyond comprehension.

  ‘What do you see, Richard?’ Rebecca said from behind.

  ‘Wonderful things,’ he said, ‘many wonderful things.’

  ‘I’m still recording ma’am,’ Manaus said over her shoulder, ‘when we get back to camp remind me and I’ll show you.’

  Walker’s voice echoed down the tunnel, ‘If we get back to camp.’

  Goodwin grimaced in the dark; he’d momentarily forgotten their current situation. One thing at a time, he counselled himself. Find the way out and everything else will fall into place.

  The water at their feet shallowed and Lieutenant Manaus slowed her advance.

  ‘What is it?’ Goodwin said.

  She stopped and held up a hand for silence.

  ‘What’s the hold up?’ Walker said as everyone bunched up.

  Manaus turned round and raised her visor. ‘There’s a light source up ahead.’

  A couple of the soldiers swore and Priest pushed past to join the lieutenant.

  ‘Is it moving?’ Goodwin said.

  Manaus shook her head. ‘No, it’s not localised.’

  ‘Keep going,’ Priest said to the lieutenant, ‘we’ll cover you.’ He called forward two of his men.

  Manaus glanced at Goodwin before sealing her face back inside her helmet and moving on.

  Goodwin thought she might have been trying to tell him something with her eyes, but if she had, he’d been unable to decipher it.

  After a few minutes the light had grown to a steady pervasive glow, bright enough to see by without the aid of spectral enhancement.

  The Darklight officer, still proceeding with caution, disappeared up another flight of stairs, followed by Priest and his men, who continued to scan the way ahead with their rifle scopes.

  After a while they emerged into fresher air and a swirling mist that hung in dense patches, lit up by the glow in the encompassing gloom.

  ‘We’re back outside the sphinx,’ Goodwin said.

  Looking round, he could just make out the outer ring of megaliths and beyond those a blacker shape in the dark – the massive form of the Anakim Sphinx.

  ‘We must be on the opposite side we entered from,’ Rebecca said.

  Goodwin adjusted his visor to see a river of black ooze separating them from the mainland, its deadly reach sweeping round on either side to enclose them within its toxic maw. One way in, one way out, Goodwin thought, before hurrying to catch up to Manaus and Priest who disappeared into the brightening mist.

  Goodwin removed his helmet as he passed between two more megaliths, their rune-encrusted surfaces thick with ice. The reason for the illumination soon became clear when they entered a large, bowl-shaped depression much like a Roman amphitheatre. Unlike the human equivalent, this structure was naturally formed and its crystalline surfaces pulsed bright with a dark blue radiance. A couple of hundred feet across and surrounded by a circle of twelve colossal pillars, the giant terraces shimmered and gleamed in the shadows like a mythical grotto from another world.

  The taste of rusting metal lingered in the cold air and water ran in rivulets over every surface; Goodwin licked his lips and stepped onto a translucent stairway that led down to a wide circular basin. Inside this area a large swathe of soil had built up into odd shaped mounds, creating a dark crater amidst its shining blue surround.

  ‘Can you hear that noise?’ Rebecca said, as she helped Joseph descend.

  Goodwin listened for a moment. ‘Like a deep hum?’

  ‘Yes, I can feel it going right through me.’

  Goodwin touched a step but felt no vibration. The weird sensation brought with it a sense of disorientation and a dull ache that took up residence at the crown of his head. Trying to work out if the feeling was pleasant or painful, Goodwin reached the bottom and stepped onto sodden dirt, which crunched underfoot.

  When everyone had gathered, Priest relaxed his guard and looked at Goodwin. ‘So, what now, Director?’

  Goodwin gazed around. There was nothing there and no other route out except the one they’d entered by. And apart from the glowing crystal itself, there were no other features of significance. Around the edge of the soil water collected in a tiny stream that cut a path towards the far side, where it fed a small, clear pool. At the rear of this tiny oasis a narrow fissure carried away any overflow, the unbroken, musical trickle of water transported away in perpetuity.

  ‘He hasn’t got a clue,’ Walker said, his tone loaded with derision.

  ‘Give me a minute.’ Goodwin wandered around the site, looking for something … anything.

  ‘Perhaps the answers you seek are back in the tunnel,’ Manaus said, joining him in his search, ‘and the images on the walls.’

  Goodwin crouched down and inspected the ground while the soldiers stood guard. After a further five minutes of fruitless observation Goodwin decided to go back to inspect the tunnel as the lieutenant had suggested.

  Rebecca followed, but stopped when Joseph failed to accompany her.

  ‘Joseph, come on. What are you doing?’

  Halfway up the stairs, Goodwin turned round to see Rebecca heading back to collect her wayward ward. But despite her best efforts, the young man refused to leave his position on the dirt laden ground.

  Feeling a sense of urgency, Goodwin trudged back to help her prise Joseph away from his distraction.

  ‘He won’t move,’ Rebecca said. ‘I don’t know what’s gotten into him.’

  Goodwin crouched down and put a hand on the lad’s shoulder. ‘Joseph, it’s time to go.’

  Joseph remained staring at the earth.

  ‘The boy’s fed up with you, too,’ Walker said.

  The comment elicited a laugh from a few of the men.

  Goodwin cupped the boy’s chin in his hand and turned his face towards him. Joseph looked into his eyes and Goodwin let out a shout of alarm and fell back.

  ‘What is it?!’ Rebecca dashed to Joseph’s side and looked back at Goodwin who stood staring down at the boy in shock. ‘Richard, what’s wrong?’

  Goodwin shook his head, trying to rid it of the vision he’d just seen. The boy’s eyes had been bloodshot and glowing with the same hue as the cave around them, but as he looked into them now they were the same innocent brown eyes they’d always been. ‘It’s nothing, my mind’s playing tricks.’

  Joseph stood up and wandered away.

  ‘Sir, what did you see?’ Manaus said.

  ‘His eyes … I don’t know – nothing, I guess – a reflection of the light.’

  A shout of warning made Goodwin spin round to see Joseph grappling with one of Priest’s men. The soldier stumbled back and Rebecca screamed as Joseph, his expression blank, held his prize aloft in the air … a pistol.

  Manaus swore and the soldiers ducked as the mentally handicapped man wielded the weapon in random directions.

  ‘Put it down, boy,’ Priest said, advancing. ‘Put it down or I’ll put you down!’

  Rebecca rushed to intervene, but Walker grabbed her. ‘He doesn’t understand,’ she said, struggling against her captor. ‘Richard, do something!’

  Goodwin put himself between the array of weapons now trained on Joseph and the young man himself, and held out his hands. ‘Joseph, it’s Richard, Winnie, put down the gun.’

  Lieutenant Manaus moved in from the other side and a look of confusion flitted across the lad’s face before he pointed the weapon and fired.

&n
bsp; A deafening gunshot echoed out and Joseph dropped the pistol and put his hands over his ears. Manaus took two long strides and snatched the gun from the ground while Rebecca, now released, rushed to his side.

  ‘How the hell did you let him get a hold of that?’ Walker said.

  One of the soldiers, looking furious, approached Manaus and held out his hand. ‘He took me by surprise.’

  ‘Give it to him,’ Priest said, his rifle trained on Manaus.

  Reluctantly, the lieutenant handed over the weapon.

  Goodwin didn’t know or particularly care about the whys and wherefores. He approached the ground where Joseph’s wild shot had dislodged a piece of the compacted sediment. Bending down, he swept aside the sodden deposits underneath to reveal a shiny, bronze surface. ‘Have you got my knife?’ he said to Manaus. The lieutenant nodded and handed it to him.

  Goodwin took the blade and prised off another chunk of the rocky soil. ‘There’s something under here,’ he said, scooping out the thick mud beneath.

  ‘You,’ Priest said, pointing to one of his men, ‘keep a watch.’ He turned to another man. ‘And you, keep an eye on the lieutenant and the boy. Everyone else, get digging.’

  Goodwin was joined by Walker, and Priest’s four remaining men, while the man himself looked on, a finger never too far from his rifle’s trigger.

  Not needing any encouragement, Goodwin pounded away at the layer with a ferocity born of months of pent up frustration. Clawing at it with knife, hand and finger, he tore away the surface like a man possessed. Chunks of hard rock, mud and compacted soil disappeared in a flurry of activity. Even Walker seemed to relish the task, the corporal shifting nearly as much earth as Goodwin himself.

  After a while a large area had been cleared and Priest called a halt to proceedings.

  ‘No!’ Goodwin said, carrying on. ‘There’s more under here.’

  Someone dragged him away and Goodwin looked up into a steely gaze.

  ‘I said, that’s enough,’ Priest said.

  Goodwin, undeterred and breathing hard from his exertion, turned to look at their handiwork.

  ‘What is it?’ Rebecca said, moving to inspect the strange object.

  Goodwin didn’t know. It looked like the top of a giant sphere, its curved surface dipping down into the ground on all sides.

  Lieutenant Manaus pushed past one of Priest’s men, removed her water casket and poured the contents over the metallic surface. The water sloshed down over the strange artefact, washing away the muddy covering.

  ‘It’s the Earth,’ Walker said.

  ‘No.’ Goodwin stepped forward, pulse racing. ‘It’s much more than that; it’s a globe, a map. This is what I’ve been looking for; this will lead us out of Sanctuary!’

  Chapter Seventy Eight

  ‘How does it work?’ Rebecca said.

  Goodwin hadn’t thought that far ahead. I was right all along! Elation coursed through his veins, his suffocating veil of depression lifting. I’ve found it, at last, a way out of this godforsaken hole in the dark!

  Walker leant down to inspect the enormous globe’s bronzed surface. ‘Perhaps it’s not what the director thinks it is.’

  ‘It’s exactly what I think it is,’ Goodwin said, pushing Walker aside. ‘Here,’ – he wiped away more dirt – ‘there’s the Americas, North and South, or at least their western edge.’

  ‘So what?’ Walker said. ‘It’s a globe, how does it help us get to the surface?’

  Goodwin didn’t know. ‘There must be more underneath.’ He looked around. ‘This whole area needs to be excavated.’

  ‘That could take weeks,’ Priest said, ‘we don’t have weeks.’

  ‘I can’t help that,’ Goodwin said, not noticing the dangerous tone in Priest’s voice. ‘Whatever we need is here, I can feel it in my bones. God brought me here for a reason; I was destined to find this place. It was written in the stars.’

  ‘Richard,’ Rebecca touched his arm, ‘I don’t think God’s speaking to you. It’s not how it works.’

  He gave her a strange look. ‘I thought you went to church? You of all people should believe. God speaks to us all, we just have to listen for the messages, see the signs he sends us.’

  ‘I know, but God never intervenes directly. It’s up to us to find the right path.’

  ‘How do you know he doesn’t intervene? You have no idea what I’ve seen, what I’ve felt!’

  ‘I’m not trying to belittle your achievements,’ Rebecca said, ‘I just—’

  Goodwin glared at her. ‘Just what?’

  Rebecca opened her mouth and then closed it again.

  ‘Does anyone else want to criticise me?’ Goodwin said, his eyes manic. ‘I led you here, to the Temple of the Gods. I solved the riddle of the Sphinx. I found a place lost for millennia and all I get is looks of pity and anger. And from the likes of you.’ Goodwin thrust a finger at Priest. ‘You judge me, a man who wouldn’t think twice about violating another or killing in the name of God?’

  Manaus stepped forward. ‘Sir, perhaps you should calm down.’

  ‘No, let him finish,’ Priest said. ‘I always knew he thought he was better than the rest of us, I just never thought I’d hear him say it.’

  ‘Well, get used to it,’ Goodwin said fronting up to him, ‘because I am better than you. You make me sick! A man who carries the word of God, but who has the morals of a slopsucking pig!’

  Priest’s face turned white with anger.

  Goodwin leaned in towards him. ‘I know what you are; you’re the basest denominator, the lowest ebb, a bottom feeder of bottom feeders. God sees you and it turns his stomach.’

  Priest let out a roar of fury and surged forward.

  Lieutenant Manaus jumped to Goodwin’s defence, deflected the blow aimed at his head and threw Priest to the ground.

  The burly soldier scrambled for his weapon, but Walker grabbed it first. ‘Not a wise move,’ he said, ‘the director’s all we’ve got.’

  Priest stood up, his expression fearful, before relaxing back to relative calm as his men surrounded the corporal with guns raised.

  Walker dropped the weapon while Manaus remained guarding Goodwin. ‘Sir,’ she said, keeping her voice low, ‘don’t antagonise them, they’re on the edge.’

  Goodwin blinked as if seeing her for the first time.

  ‘It’s this place,’ Rebecca said, ‘it’s messing with his mind.’

  ‘My mind’s fine.’ Goodwin pushed past the lieutenant and glared at Priest, who stooped down to retrieve his rifle.

  Before Goodwin could form another thought, a vibration rumbled through the ground and a screech of metal forced him to put his hands over his ears. The giant globe shuddered, and further away another mound shook free eons of sediment. The movement petered out to silence, leaving a stone megalith unearthed at the basin’s edge.

  Goodwin approached the structure, with a curious Joseph close behind. Standing six feet in height and thrice that in length, a layer of ice covered its grey surface which was adorned with a strange configuration of sunken runes and pictograms.

  Before Goodwin could stop him, Joseph stepped forward and touched it. A chunk of ice fell to the ground and the symbol beneath rotated out to stop flush with the surface.

  Rebecca went to pull Joseph away, but Goodwin put his hand out to stop her. ‘Wait, I want to see what happens.’

  Joseph continued pressing sections seemingly at random, then he stopped and a ripple of electricity flowed over the monolith’s surface in a wave. The remaining slabs of ice splintered and cracked to drop to the ground with dull thuds and Goodwin stepped closer, his eyes alight with the purple glow that pulsed from the strange stone. He reached out to touch the surface and tiny tendrils of electricity bent around his hand, prickling his skin.

  Joseph ran his fingers over the megalith in a sequence of arcs and another section of stone shifted.

  ‘How’s he doing that?’ Walker said.

  Priest pushed Walker aside. ‘The
boy sees something we can’t.’

  Goodwin looked at Joseph and his blank expression. Does the lad’s mental deficiency enable him to see beyond the obvious? he wondered. A movement of the young man’s arm made Goodwin look down to see his other hand was bunched tight in a fist. Goodwin lent down and lifted Joseph’s unresisting arm and prised open his fingers. A cluster of bright blue stones shone bright in the half-light.

  Rebecca gasped. ‘They’re the same as the stones Susan found. The ones that Commander Hilt said attracted that thing, the light.’

  ‘They’re similar,’ Goodwin said, as he removed the pulsating objects from Joseph’s palm. The stones felt hot and he couldn’t help but notice the dark red welt on Joseph’s skin where the stones had been. The rash on Goodwin’s wrist peeked out from beneath the sleeve of his shirt, reminding him of his own experience with the strange phenomena. However, his bracelet, made by Susan, had only glowed in the absence of light; these stones pulsed strong under the glare of their torches.

  As if reading his mind, their power waned and the luminescence faded, leaving the stones translucent like crystal clear glass.

  ‘Where did he find them?’ Rebecca said, but Goodwin was too enrapt in the mysterious Anakim relic to pay her any heed, as was everyone else, their hushed silence speaking volumes.

  What does this thing do? How can I use it to find a way to the surface? Goodwin glanced at Joseph, wishing he could tell him what he wanted to know, wondering if he even knew anything at all.

  Rebecca drew Joseph to her and hugged him close. The young man met Goodwin’s gaze over her shoulder and he raised his hand to point at a plate-sized circular indent at the far end of the megalith. Goodwin glanced back to see Joseph had snuggled down in Rebecca’s embrace, his interest apparently at an end. But unlike Joseph, Goodwin’s fascination had only just begun. He moved to the end of the stone façade and touched his fingers to the circle. The electricity here was less than at the centre, where Joseph had worked his magic, and perhaps that was why nothing happened. Or only the boy’s touch has an effect, Goodwin thought. Then he remembered the stones and Rebecca’s words came back to him, where did he find them?