Distressed and confused, he left the room with the artefacts behind and made his way to the ship’s command centre. The twin doors slid aside as he approached and Tyler put his feet to the floor, activated his mag-boots, and walked onto the deserted bridge. Dark screens and hibernating systems covered the walls of the circular room and the main console at its centre.
A light from a single display attracted his attention. Moving to the screen, he saw a scrolling tabular readout alongside the graphical representation of the planet Venus as it orbited the Sun. However, on closer inspection he realised the data wasn’t fixed on the planet at all, but on a smaller object following the same trajectory. Frowning, Tyler touched the screen to expand the image. The planet enlarged and now he could see what was being tracked: a large asteroid in orbit around Venus, effectively a small moon.
A noise made him look up. The protective shield that covered the command centre’s sweeping window, retracted to reveal the dark of space beyond.
His pulse raced as he searched the room with his eyes.
It remained empty.
Tyler let out a sigh. Accessing the computer must have activated a latent command – another automation. Is this whole craft run by autonomous computers? he wondered. With no answer to hand, he returned to analysing the screen. According to the data the space station seemed to be sending out a signal to this distant rock. He tapped the screen again to bring up a new set of scrolling numbers.
‘That can’t be right.’ He stared at the information, but the figures didn’t lie. A signal was being sent, but what disturbed him most was that there was a message coming back!
He looked out at the distant stars and the familiar shapes of the constellations. What is going on here? Trying a sequence of commands, he tried to access the signal, but the system was encrypted.
He noticed another window on the display operated beneath the rest. Minimising the data streams unveiled a live stream from a laboratory located somewhere on the ship. In the middle of the floor, surrounded by the lifeless forms of what must have been the crew, was the thing he’d seen aboard Archimedes, the same thing that had caused psychosis and fatal symptoms in his colleagues – the beating heart of Project Ares. The plasma bulged and fluctuated as if alive and Tyler couldn’t take his eyes off it.
A sudden sound filled his body, causing it to spasm. Forced to his knees, he clutched his helmet as pain lanced through his brain. The sound continued, increasing in pitch. Blood trickled from his nose and he let out a cry of agony. And then the sound stopped. Ears ringing, Tyler tore at his helmet’s clasps before pulling it clear. He breathed deep, sucking in great gulps of ice cold air. Feeling light-headed, he touched his glove to his nose and held it up to see the same red blood on white as he’d seen before. Had it been a vision?
A murmur of noise made him spin round. Nothing was there. He heard it again, louder this time, like a voice.
His laboured breath hung in the bitter atmosphere like mist. ‘Who’s there?’ He looked round for something he could use as a weapon.
‘We’ve been wait – ing … Pil – ot … Com – mander.’
Tyler felt his hackles rise. The voice sounded … unnatural. He spied an axe in the corner of the room, inside a red cabinet. He went over and smashed the glass with an elbow. The shattered debris floated into the room and he grasped the handle.
‘We see … you, Ty – ler,’ the voices whispered.
Tyler’s hands shook as brandished the axe. ‘Where are you?’
‘Clo – se.’
Sensing something behind, he swung round.
Nothing was there.
‘We see … you, Ty – ler,’ the voices said again.
Tyler span round. ‘WHERE ARE YOU?!’
Laughter echoed through his mind, the sound like madness.
Tyler put a hand to an eye as pain lanced through it. The voices sounded like they were inside his head. He stumbled towards the control console. I have to get out of here. Pressing some buttons, he tried to locate an escape pod.
The voices came again; he felt disorientated, sick, like he was dying from the inside. He screamed out, ‘WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME!?’
The voices stopped and a shimmering light appeared in the doorway. His stomach clenched in terror. ‘It’s here,’ he whispered, ‘I can hear—’
A shadow fell across him and Tyler looked up to see a figure floating near the ceiling.
‘Captain?’
The ship shuddered and span, gravity formed and the captain’s eyes flared open. His body fell and slammed Tyler into the floor.
Pinned down, Tyler could feel powerful hands digging into his suit. Terrified he tried to move, but he was held fast. He could hear breathing and his eyes strained down to see the top of Bo Heidfield’s head creeping up towards him.
Un-dead eyes stared into his and a whimper of fear escaped Tyler’s lips.
The captain’s face distorted, turning transparent, and a shimmer of light glittered under his flesh.
Tyler saw his own horror reflected in the beast’s mask.
The captain’s dead flesh ruptured and the thing that possessed him pushed out like a monstrous larva before entering Tyler’s face. Skin parted, bone buckled and cracked, and Tyler’s terrified screams echoed into the ship.
His body thrashed and writhed before eventually falling still.
Silence fell and the background hum of the space station continued unheard. Pilot Commander Tyler Magnusson, the last surviving crew member of the U.S.S.S. Archimedes, had joined those who’d gone before him in the eternal bond from which there was no return, the eternal bond of death.
Chapter Eighty Six
Richard Goodwin woke to a blazing headache. He groaned and opened his eyes to find himself propped up against a large step on an equally enormous staircase that disappeared into misty darkness below. Looking up, he could just make out the outline of the Anakim Sphinx’s massive head high above.
Someone bent down and pulled up one of his eyelids. ‘How you feeling, sir?’
Goodwin pushed the man’s hand away. ‘Like someone just hit me on the head. Where’s your captain?’
The Darklight operative stood aside to reveal his superior officer.
Captain Winter, who’d been studying a map, handed it to one of his men and glanced round as Goodwin got to his feet.
‘Ah, Director, you’re awake, good. I need to ask you some questions.’
‘After we free Rebecca.’
‘I’m sorry, sir, no can do. We’re under strict orders to take you straight to camp. Once you’re back safe and sound we’ll return and see what can be done about the girl.’
Goodwin shook his head, which made it throb. ‘No. We go back for her now. Do you hear me, soldier? That’s a direct order.’
‘My orders come from the major and Dr. Vandervoort, nothing you say will convince me otherwise, sir. What you can do is tell me the whereabouts of Lieutenant Manaus, Corporal Walker, and his men.’
Goodwin felt his anger rise, before the thought of the lieutenant swamped him with guilt. ‘She’s dead, Walker too. The rest, I don’t know – gone.’
‘Gone where?’
Goodwin felt his anger swell once more. ‘I said, I don’t know, goddamn it!’
Winter grasped his shirt and yanked him forward. ‘You think you’re the only one with a right to be upset?’
Goodwin stared into the Captain’s seething eyes.
‘You just tell me my sister’s dead and you’re angry?!’
Goodwin didn’t know what to say. He had no idea Winter and Manaus were related. ‘I’m sorry, I … the lieutenant, she was a good woman.’
Winter fought for control, his eyes rich with emotion. ‘Yes, she was. The best.’
‘Sir?’ a Darklight soldier said.
Winter let Goodwin go and turned to his subordinate. ‘What is it?’
‘I’m not sure; my scans are picking up a strange build-up in static electricity, along with a seismic fluctuation.�
�
‘Earthquake?’
The woman shook her head. ‘No, I don’t think so; it’s more like a resonance.’
The stone under Goodwin’s feet trembled and a piece of rock fell bouncing down the staircase, followed by some smaller fragments.
Winter shouldered his rifle. ‘Let’s move!’
The floor continued to shake as they clattered down the oversized stairs. As they reached the bottom a whoosh of noise made everyone look up. A massive torrent of water exploded from the sphinx’s mouth.
Winter pulled Goodwin on as they reached the treacherous pits of black tar. Behind, the flood continued unabated.
Retracing their steps using the software maps in their Darklight helmets, the soldiers quickly worked their way back through the quagmire. Nearing the standing stones, the pools of black ooze bubbled over as if boiling. A jet of tar erupted into the air like a geyser, barely missing Goodwin as he passed. Another spout of black followed, and then another and another.
Goodwin glanced back to see a wall of water rushing across the plain towards them.
‘Pick it up!’ Winter shouted above the roar.
They were running now, under the stones and beyond into the narrow tunnel.
Goodwin looked back again to see the tsunami break over the stone megaliths. A few more paces and the massive wave rushed into the tunnel to sweep Goodwin from his feet. Carried along in a sea of frothing mayhem, Goodwin was thrown about like a cork in a bottle. And then he was sliding across the floor of the great hall, the space filled with hideous, wailing statues. Regaining his feet, a Darklight woman grabbed his arm and helped him into a run. The water continued to flood in from behind, chasing those before it with the force of mighty Neptune himself. Goodwin reached a set of stairs and the wailing sounds reached fever pitch and then cut off. Jets of black oil burst from the statues’ mouths and Goodwin kept climbing. Scaling a crumbling opening, the fleeing group emerged into the giant shaft and headed up its spiral slope. Round and round they ran and Goodwin found himself falling behind the well-conditioned Darklight mercenaries.
Captain Winter dropped back to offer encouragement. ‘Not far now, Director!’
A sudden upsurge in water sent Goodwin sprawling. Carried over the edge of the sloping pathway, he was soon joined by everyone else as the column of icy liquid spun them into a seething whirlpool. Without light, Goodwin was tossed around in the dark, his only reference the torches of the Darklight team that bobbed and swirled around him. The upward motion increased and Goodwin was propelled in a great arc out into the lake. Plunging into cold waters, he swam away from the deluge, which continued unabated.
The Darklight unit, encased in their lightweight armour, gathered together to tread water.
‘Where’s the causeway?’ Goodwin said, spitting water from his mouth as he fought to stay afloat.
‘Gone,’ Winter said from nearby. ‘We make for the shore, everybody stay together!’
The soldiers powered forward, arms and legs sending a spray of water into the air. Tired, but still alive, Goodwin kicked for dry land.
After some minutes a cry of alarm went up thirty feet away.
‘We’re under attack!’ someone else shouted.
A woman next to Goodwin disappeared beneath the inky black, dragged down by something unseen.
A shout of fear rang out as scaly hides broke the surface in all directions. Automatic weapons fired, sending flashes of light flickering across the water. Terrified, Goodwin swam through the chaos, the scene lit up by sporadic gunfire.
A man grabbed Goodwin’s arm. ‘Sir, keep swimming!’
Goodwin was about to reply when a tooth-ridden maw severed the man in two, spraying blood into Goodwin’s face.
In shock, Goodwin span round, unsure which way to go.
A light shone in Goodwin’s direction. ‘Director, over here!’
Goodwin swam forward once more to rejoin Captain Winter.
‘Follow me!’ The Darklight officer struck out again with Goodwin in tow.
Limbs aching and lungs bursting, it felt like an age before the Captain suddenly stood up and turned back to help Goodwin to his feet.
Stumbling through the shallows, Goodwin was led to dry land where he dropped down, shattered and numb.
Captain Winter detached his rifle from his back, poured out the water, and walked back in up to his waist. Other men and women struggled to shore while their leader fired off rounds into the lake to protect those further out.
Not long after, when everyone had reached the safe haven of terra firma, Goodwin wiped his hands over his face and tried to make sense of everything that had just happened. He couldn’t get the image of Joseph’s dead body out of his mind. And when respite finally came, it was only to be replaced by the sound of Rebecca’s gut-wrenching scream, the noise echoing through his tortured soul like a jagged scythe. He closed his eyes, trying to shut it out, shut it all out.
If only I’d stayed at camp and listened to Kara, Goodwin thought, none of this would have happened. Joseph and Rebecca would be alive, the lieutenant, Winter’s operatives, even Walker and his men. How did I not see what was right in front of me? I was so sure. How could I have been so wrong? How could I have been so blind? A well of fury and loathing for the entity, the elusive light, the creature – whatever it was – built within him. But as fast as that sensation grew, it was quickly replaced by the shame and guilt of his actions. He knew deep down it was his single-minded determination to take care of those around him that had ended up killing some and hurting many more. It was his desire to escape Sanctuary that had made him the perfect vessel for coercion, be that to his own delusion or something more sinister. But whatever spell he’d been under, if any, only he was to blame for all that had transpired. Only he was culpable for the losses they’d all endured. Goodwin dug his fingers into his eyes to try and dull the pain and continued to remonstrate with himself as Captain Winter counted casualties.
♦
‘A third of our force?’ Winter shook his head.
‘Yes, sir, just under – fourteen in total.’
Another soldier approached. ‘Captain, I’m picking up an all-frequency alert.’
‘Patch it through to my helmet.’ Winter switched to the appropriate channel. ‘This is Captain Winter, code in, sigma two seven niner.’
‘Captain, Major Offiah, report.’
‘Major, we’ve secured the director. Darklight losses at thirty per cent. Twenty-one hostiles terminated, seven remain unaccounted for. Secondaries …’ he paused, composing himself, ‘secondaries expired.’
‘My condolences, Captain. Lieutenant Manaus was an outstanding officer, but the time for grieving will have to wait. I want your unit to rendezvous a-sap to the coordinates I’ve just sent to your system.’
‘Trouble, sir?’
‘I’m mobilising the entire camp, stay sharp, soldier, there’s—’
A fuzz of noise buzzed through his helmet’s speakers. ‘Sir? Say again, Major.’ Winter looked at his radio operator. ‘Get them back.’
The Darklight soldier searched the frequencies and gave a shake of the head. ‘It’s no good, the whole band’s down.’
‘Jamming?’
‘Maybe, but who?’
Winter lowered his visor. ‘Or what.’
♦
Goodwin heard Winter end his transmission, but his thoughts were elsewhere. He’d never felt so low – so numb. His spirit was crushed beyond any hope of redemption. The surface is lost. Joseph and Rebecca are gone. What is the point of going on? I – the destroyer of lives.
The captain picked up his rifle. ‘Listen up! We’re moving out, Major’s orders. Coms are down, threat level high. Weapons hot, systems primed.’ Winter held out his hand. ‘Ready for another round, Director?’
Goodwin looked up with weary eyes. ‘Will it never end?’
Winter hauled him to his feet. ‘Everything ends, sir, its up to us to keep fighting.’
‘So what’s the emer
gency this time?’
‘That’s what we’re going to find out.’ He helped Goodwin into a jog and the beleaguered Darklight unit moved off into the dark void of the immense underground chamber, situation unknown.
Chapter Eighty Seven
Four men crept through the ancient halls of the Anakim Sphinx. The roar of noise that had shaken the monument had fallen quiet and their footsteps echoed loud in their ears. Cold water dripped down from above and the lights from their torches sent strange forms leaping out from the dark, the abstract architecture as alien as anything they’d seen so far.
Priest was unsure where they’d made the wrong turn, but make it they had and instead of finding the exit they’d wandered into another area of the sphinx. There was one upside to their remote location; they were far away from Goodwin and the light in the melting floor. Seeing his two friends dragged under by some shimmering apparition had been too much, he’d never been so scared in his life. To hell with Goodwin and his Anakim god, to hell with the USSB, to hell with it all! He wished he’d never let Walker convince him about Goodwin’s plan. I should have stayed on the surface, Priest thought, man wasn’t made to live underground.
‘We’re going the wrong way,’ one of the soldiers said.
His friend spun round, gun raised. ‘Did anyone hear that?’
‘We’re all gonna die down here,’ said another, ‘alone in the dark.’
Priest gave a growl. ‘Shut the fuck up, all of you. This place isn’t infinite, we keep walking until we hit a wall then we follow it out.’
The man who’d heard the noise stopped moving as the others continued. ‘There’s something back there,’ he said, searching the pitch-black with his rifle scope. ‘I’m sure of it.’
A whistling wind blew through the hall, ruffling their hair.
Priest stopped and looked back. All four men now pointed weapons and torches back the way they’d come. The air grew still once more, but something had changed and Priest took a step back.
A distant sound sent a strange vibration through the stone floor.
2041 Sanctuary (Let There Be Light) Page 51
