She looked up to see the void above was close. Breathing hard, more moments of exertion passed before they found the steps narrowing as the staircase angled up into a vertical ladder. Steps were now rungs and Sarah felt precarious as they reached the final stone and …
… a dead end.
The stone ladder had fallen short of its destination, the last few rungs having collapsed eons past.
Sarah gazed up in panic at the large stone slab that had recently swung down from above and the dark opening beyond. ‘There’s no way up!’
‘I’ll boost you up.’ Riley braced himself against a ledge and interlaced his fingers.
She looked down to see Trish and Jason getting closer and the maniac behind bearing down on them. ‘They’re not going to make it!’
Riley glanced back. ‘They might. But we need to get out so we can help them up.’
Sarah looked back up. ‘It’s too high!’
‘Sarah, look at me.’ He turned her chin towards him. ‘Remember who you are, you’re Deep Reach. You can do this!’
Sarah stared into his eyes, took a breath and placed her foot into his hands.
‘On three,’ he said. ‘One – two – three!’
Riley forced his arms up and Sarah pushed out with her legs to propel herself up into mid-air. Reaching out a hand, the split second of weightlessness ended as her fingers grasped an outcrop above. She gritted her teeth, reached out with her other hand and found another point of purchase, before wedging herself into a vertical crack. She felt the weight of the orb slip from her coveralls. With lightning reflexes, Riley caught the artefact just as Trish and Jason rejoined them.
‘They’re coming!’ Jason said.
Out of breath Trish waved her on. ‘Sarah, GO!’
Two hundred yards down, the armoured form of the colonel tore up the steps towards them. His fearsome glowing mask locked onto Sarah.
A thrill of fear swept through her and she held out her hand.
Riley pocketed the orb and threw her a rope. Catching it, she turned and worked her way up to the chamber above. Seconds later she emerged into colder air. Clipping the rope to her harness, she turned and dropped it back down the hole, stepped back and braced herself. ‘I’m ready!’
Moments later a hand appeared on the ledge; Riley hauled himself up before a scream came from below.
Riley looked at her in shock. ‘Sarah—’
His hand slipped from the ledge and he disappeared from view. The rope snapped taut and Sarah was dragged across the ground. Scrabbling for grip, she skidded to the edge and jerked to a halt as she clung to a crack in the surface. She felt the force from below increase. With her hold failing, the rope went slack and Sarah released it from her harness.
She rolled away from the hole before an armoured hand appeared, clamping down onto the stone lip with a metallic clunk. Sarah scrambled back as a pair of glowing green eyes emerged from the pit like the spawn of Satan.
Gripped with terror, Sarah’s feet scrabbled for traction on the dusty ground. A split second later and she was sprinting into the dark.
Chapter Thirty
Contador Valantis glanced round to see the massed ranks of Terra Force steaming through the fluorescing ecosystem like a herd of stampeding cattle. Blind beasts chasing a deranged master, he thought. And what consideration do they have for this precious habitat, untouched for millennia?
None, was his answer. He’d been hoping the madman would try to attack. What better way to die than to be outnumbered by a thousand to one?
Ophion Nexus signalled to him. ‘Assemble the transportation sled.’
Valantis nodded to his leader while the Pharos continued to fight against its restraints. It didn’t seem to realise, the harder it fought the more painful its prison became.
He crouched down and gazed into where its eyes should have been. ‘Not even the gods,’ he whispered to it, ‘fight necessity.’
Taking one last look at the glimmering beast, Valantis moved to clear ground and released the clamps from his armour’s back-plate.
As he bent down to ready the equipment for assembly, movement behind made him pause. Whirling round, he pointed his rifle into empty space. He frowned and searched the area with his scope.
A soft breeze rippled the surrounding reeds and a small insect buzzed around him before flying up past his visor and away into the night.
He relaxed while unseen behind him a massive form flowed out of the ground. Valantis tensed as he felt its presence and swung back round to see a mass of teeth plunge towards his head.
♦
Gunfire and a scream of death made Ophion reach for his weapons. Fifty feet away, Valantis hung suspended in the air before blood gushed and his severed torso fell to the ground with a sickening thud.
At the same time the Pharos in the trap fell silent and the cables holding it went slack. One moment it was there … the next it was not.
‘S.I.L.V.E.R.,’ Ophion said, ‘TO ME!’
The chrome warriors formed up beside their leader with weapons drawn.
The Pharos that had been trapped swirled up from the ground, its shimmering form phasing through solid matter to appear beside its mate.
‘Shall we try to kill them?’ Zhang Bai said.
A roar of sound to the left made them turn to see another light shimmer into being.
‘No,’ Ophion said, closing his visor, ‘we try to live.’
Chapter Thirty-One
‘You can hide, Morgan, but you can’t run!’
Sarah stood behind the pillar of an ancient ruin, scared eyes searching for the man that hunted her. Steeling herself, she ran to the next pillar over.
She heard the mechanical sound of a weapon being cocked.
‘I see you, Morgan!’
Sarah crept back from the stone column before bullets tore into it. She dived left, rolled to her feet and ran behind a wall.
A blast of stone exploded next to her, and then another. Terrified, she ducked as another hole appeared where her head had been.
‘Walls won’t protect you!’
Sarah sprinted away, up some crumbling steps and into another section of the ruins. A thunderous explosion rocked the ground and a cloud of dust billowed up into the darkness. Sarah peeked around a corner and her visor revealed an army of soldiers flooding out from the ground below. Heart racing, she shut her eyes.
‘I have your friends!’ The colonel’s voice echoed through the ruins. ‘I have your lover! Surrender yourself or I’ll execute them … one by one!’
Sarah peered out from her hiding place.
Two hundred feet away, Riley, Trish and Jason were forced to their knees in the middle of a massive plaza.
‘We’ve played this game before, Morgan! I guarantee this will have a different outcome!’ The colonel strode up to Riley, drew a sidearm and shot him in the shoulder. Riley cried out in pain and toppled to the floor, while Trish sobbed in terror.
‘That was a warning shot!’ Samson said. ‘You have three seconds! One – two—’
‘Okay!’ Sarah said, standing. ‘Okay!’
Wiping a tear from an eye, she walked back down the steps in a daze and moved out beneath an arch with her hands raised.
The chamber’s ceiling flickered with light and distant thunder rumbled.
The colonel walked forward and pressed a button on his helmet. His visor and mask retracted to reveal ice-cold eyes. ‘Give me the pendant,’ he said, holding out his hand.
Sarah reached to her neck just as something metallic whirred past through the air. The strange object stopped to hover above Samson’s head and he looked up in surprise.
BANG!! Light exploded and smoke billowed out in clouds. More detonations and flashes erupted all around and Sarah felt someone grasp her hand to pull her back into the growing fog.
Blinded by the light, Sarah ran from shouts of fury, allowing herself to be led on until gunfire cracked out. ‘Stop!’ the colonel said, ‘or die!’
Sarah fel
t her would-be saviour slow to a halt before releasing her hand. She rubbed her eyes in an attempt to clear her sight and turned to see the colonel emerge from the smoke.
♦
Samson’s troops formed up behind him while he squinted with hazy vision at the shadowy figure beside Morgan.
A torch blinked on to shine into his eyes and Samson lowered his visor to block out the glare. ‘Any last words, stranger?’
‘I think you should leave the girl alone,’ the man said.
The colonel’s expression changed to one of recognition. ‘You should have stayed dead.’
‘And you should have stayed away.’
Samson laughed. ‘You escaped me once; but this time you’re one lone man,’ – he raised his rifle – ‘about to be one dead man.’
‘Who said anything about being alone?’
A half-dozen armoured shadows shimmered into existence, rifles raised.
Samson shook his head and chuckled. ‘Terra Force!’
The sound of a thousand weapons being made ready echoed through the dark, while many more soldiers continued to stream in from all sides.
‘You’re outnumbered,’ Samson said, the glint of murder in his eyes, ‘six hundred to one. As I said,’ – he cocked the trigger – ‘any last words?’
Purple lightning blazed across the heavens and a clap of thunder rumbled overhead.
‘Just one.’ Richard Goodwin stepped out of the shadows. ‘… DARKLIGHT!’
Samson’s eyes widened as thousands more black-clad warriors shimmered into existence amongst the ruins, blue eyes glowing like an army of the gods.
He took an involuntary step back and Goodwin gave a grim smile. ‘You never were any good at counting, Colonel.’
Samson bared his teeth and pulled forth his sword. ‘And I told you I’d gut you like a pig.’ He activated the weapon, sending its blade shining white hot.
Another crack of thunder reverberated through the chamber.
Unmoved, Goodwin looked up at the electrical storm as flashes of purple lightning lit up his dark army. ‘I’m ready to die, Colonel,’ – he looked back into Samson’s eyes – ‘the question is … are you?’
Chapter Thirty-Two
Sarah held her breath as the colonel glanced in her direction. A look of doubt crept into his eyes, induced perhaps by the abnormal calm of the man beside her.
A roar of sound made Sarah glance right. A glimmer of blue-green light emerged from the ground, followed soon after by another.
The man next to her grasped her hand and a shout of warning made her look left as a third shimmering form appeared.
The beast let out a deep, menacing growl and the colonel took another step back.
Time stretched into slow motion and a break in the storm created a vacuum of silence.
Sarah felt the man’s grip tighten.
Thunder rumbled again and a bolt of lightning struck the ruins. The creatures roared in defiance and Samson turned to Terra Force and raised his sword. ‘KILL THEM ALL!’
Chapter Thirty-Three
Gunfire exploded like a storm and Sarah was dragged back into the roar of chaos. Black-clad warriors surged around her with shields raised, while muzzle flashes and lightning lit up the dark like Armageddon.
An explosion rocked the ground. Sarah and her saviour staggered sideways, while debris rained down from above.
The sound of soldiers dying filled the air and Sarah glanced back to see the shimmering lights tearing into the massed ranks.
‘Protect the director!’ a soldier shouted. ‘DEFENSIVE FORMATION!’
Darklight fell in around them to deflect a hail of bullets, while others returned fire with everything they had.
Fleeing from the mayhem, Sarah ran into the ruins beyond before the man slowed and dragged her aside as more soldiers stormed into the fray, guns blazing.
He grasped her shoulder and shone his torch into her visor. ‘What’s your name?!’ he said over the din of war.
‘Sarah!’
‘Sarah, we need to get you to safety.’
‘He has my friends!’
Another explosion sent ancient masonry crashing to the ground and he led her deeper into the ruins. ‘I’ll help you, but first we have to stay alive.’
She shook her head in wonder. ‘Who are you?!’
‘My name’s Richard Goodwin, I’m—’ He noticed Sanctuary’s emblem on her arm. ‘You come from the base?’
She nodded.
His gaze dropped to her neck chain and his expression changed to amazement. He reached out shaky fingers and touched her golden cross.
On instinct, she reached for her pendants, but his other hand grasped her wrist.
He looked at her with haunted eyes. ‘Sarah, do you believe in fate?’
She opened her mouth to reply, but the intensity of his expression made the words catch in her throat.
He released her arm and held up her Anakim pendant to study with spellbound reverence.
Another detonation brought him out of his trance; he grasped her hand and they were running again, but back towards the carnage.
Sarah resisted, but his iron grip wouldn’t be denied and she found herself dodging past black-clad warriors along the fringes of a war zone.
‘I thought you were taking me to safety?!’ she said.
Bullets and explosions filled the air as the fighting intensified.
‘I will. I am … trust me!’ Moments later he dragged her back into the ruins, through a series of arches and on into open air.
‘Director!’ someone shouted from behind.
Goodwin kept running and Sarah glanced back to see a unit of Darklight soldiers following.
‘Director, STOP!’
Goodwin gave a growl of frustration and slowed Sarah to a halt.
The black-clad mercenaries fanned out around them to cover their flank while a Darklight officer approached.
‘Captain Winter,’ Goodwin said.
The soldier raised his visor. ‘Sir, what are you doing?’
‘Incoming!’ someone shouted.
Everyone ducked and a massive blast set Sarah’s ears ringing.
Goodwin pulled her behind a crumbling wall, out of harm’s way, before leaning in to Winter to shout something to him.
The captain shook his head.
Goodwin said something else and pointed at her.
Winter glanced at Sarah’s pendant while Goodwin continued to shout into his ear.
The man’s expression changed to one of scepticism.
‘Are you with me?’ Goodwin said to him as Sarah’s hearing returned.
Winter hesitated and then looked to one of his team. ‘Sergeant, secure our eastern border. Tell Major Offiah they’re trying to outflank us.’
‘Sir,’ the man said, looking confused, ‘where are you going?’
Winter glanced at Goodwin and lowered his visor. ‘To the gates of hell.’
Chapter Thirty-Four
Sarah ran through the dark amongst crumbling ruins, led on by the mysterious Richard Goodwin, while behind ten Darklight soldiers shadowed their every move. The sounds of terror and gunfire from the battle faded to a dull roar and Sarah could hear Captain Winter speaking into his radio as thunder rumbled overhead.
A minute later another Darklight unit came jogging out of the gloom. They slowed to a stop and one of them passed Goodwin one of two transparent helmets while another soldier held out a plastic bodysuit to Sarah.
Uncertain, she looked at Goodwin, her expression questioning.
‘Put it on,’ he said, ‘you’re going to need it.’
Not knowing what else to do, Sarah accepted the garment, removed her backpack and, with a soldier’s help, struggled into the suit. The elasticated hems pulled tight around the skin on her wrists and ankles, while the rest fitted loosely over her coveralls, jacket and climbing harness. It had a metal ring around the neckline, an in-built mask and lightweight air canisters. She realised it was a decontamination suit and matche
d the one Goodwin already wore.
She pulled the front zipper up over halfway and put her backpack back on, then the small party set off again at a jog while the new arrivals fell in behind.
‘What news from camp?’ Goodwin said to Winter as he drew Sarah alongside.
The captain slowed his pace. ‘No sign of the lights. It seems they’ve decided to stop hiding and fight.’
‘Kara?’
‘Dr. Vandervoort’s gathered the civilians to help with triage.’
‘Do we know how they found us?’
‘No idea.’ Winter glanced at Sarah. ‘Perhaps your new friend can tell us.’
Sarah remained silent as Goodwin looked at her. She had no idea who these people were. That they were Darklight meant they had to be connected to Commander Hilt, and by association, to Susan, too. Whether their aims were aligned with hers was another matter entirely. Goodwin had already shown a disturbing interest in her pendant, which meant he was a threat to their escape to the surface. That’s if Riley, Trish and Jason are even alive. She thrust the horrific thought away. They’re alive, she told herself, they have to be.
But Riley’s shot! The image of the colonel shooting Riley in the shoulder flashed before her mind’s eye and she stumbled.
♦
Goodwin caught the woman’s arm as she almost fell, and he slowed their jog to a striding walk as they left the ruins behind to pick their way over uneven ground. Releasing her hand for a moment, he pulled on his diving helmet and activated its torches and image intensifier. With his sight improved he was able to study the newcomer. She was English, by the sound of her accent, and inside her suit the woman’s harness softly jangled with climbing gear. The emblems and wording he’d seen adorning her jacket told him she worked for USSB Sanctuary’s Exploration Division, and was a member of one of their elite Deep Reach teams, alluded to some weeks before by the late Corporal Walker.
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