Ancient Origins: Books 4 - 6 (Ancient Origins Boxset Book 2)

by Robert Storey

  Selene frowned. ‘What do you know of it?’

  ‘That it contains some type of fluid, but apart from that … nothing.’

  The device on his arm remained unmoving.

  ‘Go on,’ Selene said, accepting his words as the truth they were.

  ‘But I’ve seen what the pendant can do,’ he said, ‘I’ve seen its power.’

  ‘And let me guess, you wanted it for yourself?’

  Joiner hesitated. ‘Is that such a crime? Have none of you wanted more control, taken more, seized and wielded it?’

  The Committee failed to respond; they just sat there, staring at him.

  Joiner sagged back into his chair and tried to will away the intense pain that throbbed from his arm and up into his body, but the attempt failed and he remained locked in his earthly prison while those without feeling remained watching in silence.

  Did my deception work? he wondered. Are they convinced? Sacrificing his arm had been a difficult decision, but it was one that may well have saved his life. If he’d revealed his secrets too early they would have sought more, they would have dug deeper until they found out about his desire to destroy their God Device and the Committee itself. And if that had happened, he’d already be dead, of that there was no doubt. But disclosing lesser truths – his lust for the pendant and his fear of the Pharos – may have been enough to convince them that while they had their differences, they were not insurmountable. At least that was his theory, his hope, the only way out of an otherwise impossible situation. Whether it had worked or not, he had yet to find out.

  After more moments dragged by, the nine Committee members rose as one and moved away towards the Anakim frieze, where they formed a circle to discuss Joiner’s fate. At least that’s what he assumed. Either that, he thought, or they’re deciding whether to continue my so-called evaluation.

  A minute passed, and then five minutes turned to ten, before the tall figures of the Committee returned to their seats; all except for Selene, who moved to stand before him.

  ‘It seems our goals have diverged, Director,’ Selene said, and she gestured for the doctor to return to her side. ‘And that degree of separation has become too great to reconcile.’

  The doctor produced a syringe, inserted it into a vial full of a bright green liquid and pulled back the plunger.

  ‘Wait!’ Joiner said, his eyes fixed on the long, metal needle.

  ‘For what?’ Selene accepted the primed hypodermic from Dr. Laurent.

  ‘I can tell you more.’

  ‘More?’

  ‘I know the Committee engineered the destruction of the intercept missions. You’ve worked for years to ensure the GMRC’s Space Programme failed.’

  ‘And why would we do that?’

  ‘I don’t know!’

  Selene gave a nod to someone behind him and a powerful arm, clad in purple armour, clamped down over his chest.

  Joiner struggled against the soldier’s iron grip before a similarly armoured hand pulled his head to one side to expose his jugular.

  Selene moved closer and the sight of the syringe filled Joiner’s vision.

  ‘It seems we cannot control you, Intelligence Director,’ she said, ‘and if we cannot control you it leaves us with only one choice.’

  ‘Wait, WAIT!’ The needle moved closer and Joiner’s eyes grew wide with fear. ‘Bic is still inside the system!’

  Selene paused and looked into eyes. ‘The hacker?’

  ‘Yes. He has access to the GMRC’s servers.’

  ‘All of them?’

  ‘No, low level arrays.’

  Selene studied him for a moment before resuming her task and Joiner felt the needle prick his skin and then – ever so slowly – slide into muscle and sinew.

  ‘I’m sorry, Director,’ Selene said, her thumb poised over the plunger, ‘but you can consider your evaluation … failed.’

  Her thumb depressed and the piston glided through the syringe’s transparent barrel. Green fluid was forced into his neck and a second later the needle was removed and Joiner released.

  A warm sensation spread through his body before a sudden flash of clarity pierced his awareness. A circle of causation was complete. It was Samson who’d first been held down and injected at Joiner’s instigation; now it was him. And likewise, Steiner and Samson still lived when it was they who should have died by lethal injection, not him. NOT ME! He couldn’t believe the injustice. Such injustice. His eyes slipped closed, the bitter irony carrying him down into bleak, empty nothingness while the Committee – arranged in detached fascination – looked on in silent vigil.

  Chapter Sixty-Nine

  Deep beneath the landscape of the ancient lands of Mesoamerica, Richard Goodwin no longer battled against the oppressive pitch-black of Sanctuary’s underworld. Instead, he sat bathed in the purity of daylight.

  Eyes closed, Goodwin breathed deeply and appreciated the warmth of the Anakim sun as it reinvigorated his mind, body and soul. It had been fourteen hours since the chamber’s ceiling had activated and he’d savoured every minute, every second of the glorious transformation. He expelled the air from his lungs with a slow release and another layer of tension departed tired muscles. How many months have I been in the dark? he wondered. Eight, ten, more? Too long, he decided, far too long. No one should be immersed in darkness … no one. Thinking about the unending blackness interrupted his meditative state and his thoughts inevitably returned to Rebecca and Joseph, which filled his heart with pain.

  Goodwin heard someone approach across the pebbly beach and he opened his eyes.

  Kara Vandervoort walked towards him and sat down by his side to gaze out across the lake and the strange barren landscape of the massive three mile high chamber that had become their world.

  Neither of them spoke for a while, each absorbed in the contemplation of their own thoughts, until Kara decided to break the silence.

  ‘It’s strange, don’t you think?’

  ‘What is?’

  ‘All this.’ She gestured towards the blue skies and the dazzling light. ‘It’s very similar to our sunlight generators back at Steadfast.’

  ‘It’s better than Steadfast’s systems, much better. It almost looks like the real thing.’ He thought for a moment longer. ‘And why is that strange, anyway?’

  She gave him an odd look. ‘Because this could be a million years old, that’s why.’

  ‘Perhaps it’s the optimal design. Isn’t there a case where two completely different species turned out looking like the same thing, a hedgehog and something else?’

  ‘An echidna, yes. There are many more examples, too. The process is called convergence, or convergent evolution. It’s where life comes up with the same environmental solution from different start points.’

  ‘So if evolution can produce two animals with similar, or near identical, traits over millions, even billions of years, surely two closely related species, Humans and Anakim, can come up with the same solution to the same problem?’

  ‘Maybe,’ Kara said.

  ‘What other explanation is there?’

  ‘The one that’s staring us in the face.’

  ‘Which is?’

  ‘What if our versions come from theirs?’

  ‘You think we reverse engineered them from Anakim technology?’

  ‘Why not?’

  Goodwin looked up at the sky again. It was an interesting theory.

  In the distance a rumble of thunder echoed through the chamber and the haze of rain could be seen falling from a smattering of clouds.

  ‘It’s beautiful, though, isn’t it?’ she said, looking up.

  ‘Magnificent, I only wish … all of us, could have been here to see it.’

  Kara placed her hand on his. ‘You can’t save everyone.’

  ‘I can’t stop wondering …’

  ‘What?’ She glanced at him.

  ‘Did they suffer when they died? Or did the crystal shield them from any pain?’

  ‘Don’t torment
yourself. You did what you could, no one could ask more.’

  Goodwin stared at the lake, its cold waters turned blue in reflection of the artificial skies above. Did I do what I could? he asked himself. Did I do enough? Could I have done more? I should never have involved Rebecca. That was my first mistake … the first of many.

  The buzz of insects interrupted the flow of his thoughts and he paused to watch the tiny winged creatures dance across the ground like a miniature aerobatic display. It was odd to think such an innocuous sight had become so enchanting because of its absence. Life in Sanctuary’s depths, with the exclusion of the lake itself, was – or should that be, had been – a rare commodity indeed.

  ‘Your theory that Sanctuary’s atmosphere was created by a large ecosystem turned out to be true,’ Goodwin said.

  ‘It’s ironic.’ She sighed. ‘It was right under our noses all along and we didn’t even know.’

  Goodwin nodded. ‘Captain Winter said there’s a whole other world down there. It must have been sealed for thousands of years, maybe hundreds of thousands.’

  ‘Do they know how big it is?’

  ‘Hilt’s already sent two recon teams down to take a look. They’re also keeping an eye on Terra Force as they retreat back to their base.’

  ‘Has he mentioned the lights?’

  Goodwin gestured at three figures approaching from the south. ‘You can ask him yourself.’

  Kara turned to look, her expression full of mixed emotion. ‘The Commander,’ she said, hesitating, ‘Hilt … has requested that you be reinstated as camp leader.’

  Goodwin refrained from saying anything at first. He knew she was proud of how she’d been coping with the tribulations of being in charge and he felt no ill will toward her that she’d seen fit to dethrone him during his struggles. With hindsight he’d have probably done the same thing. I was out of control, I can see that now. Although, he thought, sometimes extreme circumstances called for extreme action.

  ‘What did you say?’ he said, keeping his tone neutral.

  ‘I said it was a good idea.’

  ‘You did?’

  ‘Now that things have calmed down and we’re not looking over our shoulders to see what’s lurking in the dark, it’s for the best. I think your mood has already lifted and that whatever else was going on has run its course.’

  Goodwin grunted in response and Kara gave him a questioning look as they got to their feet.

  Hilt and Captain Winter came to a halt in front of them.

  ‘Commander,’ Goodwin said, ‘Captain.’ He peered round Hilt’s armoured form to spy Susan hiding in the Darklight leader’s shadow. He gave her a wave and she ducked out of sight.

  ‘She’s taken quite a shine to you, Commander,’ Kara said, her expression wary.

  Hilt glanced behind him. ‘It appears so.’

  ‘Her carer,’ – Kara moved to keep Susan in her sights – ‘Julie, is worried she might still be dangerous.’

  ‘She has never been dangerous,’ Hilt said. ‘The creature that was attracted to her was.’

  ‘But you can see her point,’ Kara said, frowning.

  Hilt said nothing. What could he say? No one knew what would happen next and they couldn’t just abandon the poor girl because some thing had formed an attachment to her.

  Goodwin saw an altercation brewing and he attempted to avert it. ‘Has there been any sign of the Pharos?’

  ‘None so far,’ Captain Winter said, ‘although now we have light they might be harder to spot.’

  ‘Can we track them?’

  ‘This is their domain,’ Hilt told him. ‘They’ll only be found if they want to be found.’

  ‘But there’s still a strong possibility they all died in the lake,’ – Kara looked from Goodwin to Hilt and back again – ‘isn’t there?’

  Goodwin swapped looks with the Darklight commander. ‘It’s possible—’

  ‘But unlikely,’ Hilt said. ‘There are three of these entities, these Pharos, that we know of. Even if they perished in the lake, there could be others.’

  Goodwin gazed at the water, which suddenly seemed more ominous than before. ‘They could still be alive down there,’ he said, ‘watching.’

  Kara shuddered.

  Captain Winter put a hand to his Darklight helmet and his eyes went distant as he listened to an incoming message. ‘Ma’am,’ he said, looking at Kara, ‘you’re needed back at camp, something about burial pits.’

  Kara’s face grew grim and she made to leave. ‘Gentleman,’ she said to the two black-garbed soldiers. She turned to Goodwin. ‘I’ll see you later?’

  ‘Sure.’

  She flashed him a tired smile and then strode away.

  ‘Escort the doctor back,’ Hilt said to Winter as they watched her go, ‘there’re roving patrols, but let’s not take any chances.’

  The captain saluted his commander, gave Goodwin a nod, and then jogged off in pursuit.

  Goodwin waited until Kara and her chaperone were out of sight before turning back to Hilt. ‘Do we have many injured?’

  ‘We do, casualties were high on both sides. The bigger problem is what we do with the enemy injured.’

  ‘Terra Force aren’t our enemy,’ Goodwin said, ‘nor are those in the base, perhaps with the exception of Malcolm Joiner and those under his control.’

  ‘Do I need to point out the contradiction in that statement?’ Hilt said.

  ‘You know what I mean; those soldiers are just following orders. It’s the people at the top who are the real threat.’

  ‘If someone shoots at me, they’re my enemy,’ Hilt said, ‘until they prove otherwise.’

  Goodwin didn’t argue. Hilt sometimes saw things in black and white. And perhaps that’s how it needs to be for a man who shoulders the burden of both protecting and taking life. In war, hesitation would get you killed ten times over. His mind wandered and he recalled something the Darklight leader had said previously.

  ‘I’ve been meaning to ask you,’ Goodwin said, ‘what did you mean before when you said you lived up to half your promise, but not in the way I thought?’

  Hilt held his gaze, his expression as enigmatic as usual.

  ‘You secured the Deep Reach maps,’ Goodwin said, ‘and you returned Susan to us.’

  ‘Did I?’ Hilt said.

  ‘Yes, you said it yourself, you got the maps to the base from Sarah’s Deep Reach helmet,’ – Goodwin looked at Susan, who sat on the ground playing with pebbles – ‘and unless she’s a figment of my imagination, you found Susan and brought her safely back, too.’

  ‘Except Susan was already here by the time I arrived,’ Hilt said.

  ‘But you found her, didn’t you?’

  ‘We found something.’

  Goodwin felt a tingle of unease spread up his spine. ‘She’s not something; she’s right there, flesh and bone. It’s Susan. Look.’

  The small woman looked up at the mention of her name before going back to her game of stones.

  ‘From what I’ve heard and seen,’ Hilt said, ‘I’m not certain of anything anymore.’

  ‘I know that look,’ Goodwin said, ‘there’s something you’re not telling me, isn’t there? Something happened while you were down there, something you’ve kept to yourself.’

  Hilt stayed silent for a moment as he gathered his thoughts. ‘We tracked the creature for many days,’ he said, staring out at the lake’s idle waters, ‘and it wasn’t until the sixth that we caught our first sight of Susan.’

  ‘Go on,’ Goodwin said when Hilt paused.

  ‘Before that time,’ the commander continued, ‘I feared she was already long dead and that the mission was a seek and kill. As far as I was concerned stopping the creature was my priority. I couldn’t allow it to get back to camp under any circumstances.’

  ‘But you changed your mind?’

  ‘When we saw Susan with the entity, yes. Knowing she was alive changed everything, but when some of my team started to experience vivid dreams – po
werful, mind-altering dreams – I began to suspect they were linked to her, somehow. Every time she showed up the more we were affected.’

  ‘Linked?’ Goodwin frowned. ‘Their nightmares, were linked to Susan?’

  ‘Night terrors would be more accurate, violent night terrors.’

  ‘And you experienced these terrors?’

  ‘To a degree, but mine were nothing compared to others.’

  ‘What happened?’

  ‘One night we caught Susan amongst us when we were asleep,’ Hilt said. ‘She was touching people’s temples. When someone sounded the alarm she turned rabid, like an animal. At the same time the creature probed our defences, drawing our attention elsewhere, and she made her escape. The same night, the man she’d touched last shot himself in the head.’

  ‘What?’ Goodwin said, horrified.

  ‘Quite, but that was after he’d scrawled a message in the ground for us to read.’

  ‘What did it say?’

  Hilt detached a screen device from his armour, unfurled it and held it out to him.

  Goodwin looked at the image and saw five words inscribed in dark earth, soaked in blood:

  Goodwin studied the photo, trying to make sense of the senseless. ‘What does it mean?’

  ‘Scroll to the next image,’ Hilt said. ‘We found this scratched into a wall the next morning.’

  Goodwin did as he was bid, and found a second message, which read:

  Goodwin’s disquiet deepened. ‘Who knows who’s where?’

  Hilt retrieved the screen to study the message again.

  ‘Is the “we’re” us?’ Goodwin said. ‘And the “here” Sanctuary?’

  ‘It seems the logical conclusion.’

  ‘Then who is the “they”?’

  Hilt looked at him. ‘That’s the million dollar question.’

  ‘Does it mean the Pharos?’

  ‘Perhaps.’

  ‘Or Terra Force, S.I.L.V.E.R. … Joiner even?’

  Hilt’s expression showed his doubt at such reasoning.

  ‘If not them,’ Goodwin said, ‘then who?’