“Sydney?” he called out.
She felt around for the slope of the muddy ground, trying to tell which way was up. “I’m coming,” she said. She kept low, using her hands to scope out the hill as she moved. Eventually, she pulled herself up next to a tree, figuring she had to be near him. “Are you there?”
“Right here,” he said. He was just a few feet away. Perfect. “I’d have used the flashlight, but I didn’t want to risk it.”
“What’s the plan now?”
“I think we have bigger problems. Look.”
Peering out from the tree, she glanced towards the bottom of the hill. Disembodied beams of light swept through the darkness about fifty feet away. They were getting closer, but still appeared to be moving along the path. She counted the lights. There were three of them. She knew a few staff members would be out with Sans on the hunt and the others would probably be in the laboratory. So, hopefully, these three staff members would’ve been the only ones in the lodge.
She pressed herself against the wet bark, trying not to think about the ghastly trophies in Sans’s rooms, as one of the lights danced momentarily in their direction. Once it had passed, she turned to Andy. “We need to get back to the lodge.”
“Why?” she heard him hiss.
“I think they’re all out here.”
Two of the lights had vanished into the forest on the other side of the path, but one was now coming closer. She couldn’t see the person wielding it at all.
“Okay,” Andy whispered.
Sydney watched the levitating beam begin to search the area about twenty feet in front of her, now illuminating the ground and scanning for footprints. Now was their chance. Slowly, she started moving to the left. The light was still facing a different direction from her, the torrent of rain visible everywhere it turned.
There was a soft patter of footsteps nearby and she knew Andy was right behind her. Her eyes had adjusted enough that she could make out the shapes of trees, which helped guide her as she started moving quicker and lower to the ground. Grabbing Andy’s hand, she pulled the two of them behind a trunk close together as the light shone upon where they’d been hiding earlier. The floating beam glided closer to investigate.
She looked to the left. The other two lights were distant specks swinging around in the dark. The third man was now ten feet off to their right. Any second now, he’d turn the beam in their direction and–
“Run,” she hissed.
“What?” he whispered.
“Now!”
She sprinted forward down the hill, dodging past tree after tree, snapping twigs beneath her feet. Andy was right alongside her.
Swiftly, a light was shone on them from behind. “They’re over here!” a voice screamed.
Up ahead, she could see the forest coming to an end and the lights of the lodge beyond. As she and Andy emerged from the treeline, they broke into full sprints towards the back doors of the house. She could hear voices and shouts somewhere behind her but didn’t care to listen. The cold rain pelted her skin so hard it hurt, her heart pounding in her chest as the doors got closer and closer until–
Sydney grabbed the handle and threw it open wide. “Get in!” she shouted at Andy and he swept past her a split second before she yanked the door shut and fumbled with the lock until it slid into place. She looked up. Three running shadows were halfway behind them on the back field, their flashlights waving wildly as they drew nearer.
“Go around the front!” she heard one of them yell and saw the group split up, two going around one side and the third the other way.
Immediately, she ran out of the library and down the corridor to the foyer. Thanks to her wet sneakers, she slipped on the wooden floor but caught herself as she went down, barely even dropping speed. Sydney darted to the front double doors and put her arms out in front of her as she slammed against the wood. Immediately, she reached above the handle and locked it.
Andy watched as she slid to the floor, her back against the doors. “Are there any other entrances?”
“I don’t know,” she said, gasping for breath and pushing wet hair out of her face. Then she realized something and shot to her feet. “It doesn’t matter, Sans will be back soon.” She sprinted down the hall to the garage, threw the door open, and turned on the lights.
“What are you doing?” Andy asked, watching as she grabbed a key fob off the rack and tossed it to him.
“You drive,” she said, clutching her forehead. After the burst of adrenaline, her symptoms were starting to catch up with her – and now she was feeling even worse. She managed to stumble around to the back of the nearest Land Rover and yanked its plug free.
“Where are we going?” he said, climbing into the driver’s seat.
She hauled herself through the passenger door and pulled it shut after her. “Fucking anywhere, let’s go.”
He pressed the ignition button and the vehicle hummed to life, the front lights flaring on. Sydney feebly did up her seatbelt as Andy pressed the button above his head to retract the garage door while doing up his. Outside, she saw one of the staff members run into the headlights, arms out front to tell them to stop. His white polo shirt was dirtied with mud, his face snarling in anger.
Andy slammed his foot on the accelerator and the SUV shot forward, rain splashing across the windshield as the garage gave way into the night. The man dived out of the way at the last second. Then the vehicle swerved down the path and raced off into the grassland.
He put the wipers on as Sydney pressed her forehead against the window beside her, feeling the cool glass ease the heat from her skin. Groaning, she slowly opened her eyes and watched the lights of the lodge recede in the side mirror. She felt her shoulders begin to relax until she noticed two small pairs of headlights pulling away from the garage.
“They’re after us,” she muttered.
“I know,” Andy said, glancing in the rear-view mirror. The Rover began to speed up, the suspension jolting more with each bump. Mud occasionally sprayed up along the sides of the car.
Lightning flashed in the storm clouds behind the other vehicles, which were steadily gaining on them. Sydney looked ahead and could faintly make out a small forest in the distance, just under a mile away. They were nearing the bridge and from there, the rest of the reserve would be wide open.
Just then, a sharp pain shot through the front of her jaw. It felt as if someone had jabbed pins deep into her gums below and above the canines. She clutched her mouth, then realized her right hand was shaking involuntarily.
“Are you okay?” Andy was looking at her with concern.
“Just drive,” she grunted, checking the mirror. The pursuing Rovers weren’t far behind in the rain, but now she could see the path through the small forest before them. They shot forward along the road, suddenly flanked by trees on both sides. The rain started hitting the windshield in more irregular patterns. The bridge appeared dead ahead, less than a hundred feet away now.
Andy glanced over at her. “What’s happening to you?”
A set of headlights appeared over the bridge, heading straight for them. Sydney’s eyes went wide and she pointed: “Look out!”
Andy saw just at the last second and swerved to the right as they reached the wooden structure. The ground gave way beneath the wheels as they cleared the riverbank and the vehicle briefly sailed through the air.
Then they hit the water.
RIVER
The entire vehicle was jolted by the impact and airbags went off all around the interior cabin. She felt the strain of her seatbelt holding her back and heard the rush of the river as it swirled around all sides of the Rover. Her body snapped back into her seat just as her eyes flashed open. The water level was rising past the windows and the car was leaning forward and slightly to the right as it sank.
The adrenaline rush was kicking in again, overriding the pain and soreness. She turned to Andy as he groggily rubbed his forehead and regained focus. “Shit, what do we do now?”
“We break a window and get out,” he said, wiping blood from his nose.
“There could be crocodiles.”
“We risk it.”
The water went over the sunroof and the rainy surface was replaced with murky darkness all around as the tail end of the car slipped under.
“Sans’s people are waiting on either shore,” she said.
There was another jolt as the front wheels touched down on the riverbed, stirring up sediment that drifted past the windows.
He angrily smashed his fist against the horn, the resulting beep muffled by the water. “Shit.”
“We could risk it with the crocodiles, maybe hold our breath and try to swim downstream for a bit. Then we get out and slip off into the forest.”
“Then we’re stranded in the Serengeti in the middle of the night? With those things Sans hunts running around?”
She glanced out the window. The moonlight wasn’t even reaching them down here. “Then what are you saying?”
He sighed. “We let Sans take us.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“They’re going to be down here any minute now to fish us out. We go back to the lodge with them, then we figure out things from there.”
“What if they kill us?”
“If they want us dead, all they have to do is leave us. Even if we escape the river, the two of us won’t make it very far out here.”
There was a sudden thunk on the window beside her. She was startled for a moment, then saw Ramsay’s face peering through the window. He was holding his breath and motioning for her to get back. Then he brought up some kind of object she couldn’t quite make out and slammed it against the glass. Cracks fractured outwards.
Quickly, she began undoing her seatbelt. Andy did the same.
With one final blow, the window shattered and dark water and glass shards gushed in. She just had time to bring up her arms around her head and face protectively before the stream forced her back towards Andy, spilling over the center console and around the passenger seat into the second row and beyond.
The pair of them pressed their faces to the sunroof and took as many deep breaths as they could before the level rose above their heads. Sydney felt someone grabbing her arm and the next thing she knew she was being guided out of the submerged vehicle and upwards, back towards the surface as lightning flashed somewhere above.
A moment later, her head breached the water as she felt rain pelting at her skin once more. Ramsay hauled her ashore and quickly up the riverbank. Two of the staff were nearby with guns aimed at the water. She guessed they were checking for crocodiles.
Another man was bringing Andy out of the river. The pair of them were forcibly led over to where two Land Rovers were parked, their lighting rigs on full blast. Sydney had to shield her eyes as a silhouetted figure stepped forward, dressed in full hunting gear. A rifle was slung over his shoulder.
Sans marched forward and looked between her and Andy with disappointment. “You broke into my quarters, led my staff on a wild goose chase through a storm, then proceeded to steal and wreck my car.” His British accent seemed more pronounced now. “After nearly a week of radio silence, I’m sure your parents will be just thrilled to hear of your exploits.”
Sydney blinked to get some of the water out of her eyes, but other than that she didn’t move. Her body felt terrible and on top of that her shoulders were so tense it was contributing to her headache. At least the rain felt cool on her forehead, but nobody had towels and she was standing there sopping wet, catching a chill.
“It’s a shame,” Sans continued. “You two were my favorites.”
He turned the men and jerked his head towards the cars behind him. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
Andy was loaded into the backseat of one of the two Rovers, but Sydney found herself being walked by Ramsay in the direction Sans was headed – across the bridge where the two extra-equipped SUVs waited.
“Where are we going?” she asked feebly, an increasing sense of dread rising in her.
But Sans said nothing as they marched through the rain to the nearest vehicle. She saw a figure get out of the passenger side and walk around the back. Sans opened up the left rear door and gestured for her to climb in. She reluctantly did so, but as she sat down, the other figure suddenly appeared and jabbed a needle into the side of her neck.
Just as quickly as it was there, it was gone.
The door closed as she feebly reached for the spot of the injection, gently rubbing her stinging skin. Ramsay got into the driver’s seat, Sans rode shotgun, and the other worker climbed in beside her. Everything started to get blurry as the electric motor whirred to life and the Land Rover started forward through the rain.
She began to black out when her right eye was suddenly forced open and a bright light was shone at her face. Then she felt a finger opening her other eyelid and the same procedure was repeated. After that she was finally allowed to lean against the window, feeling the crushing exhaustion overwhelm her. Voices were talking in the car, but they were muffled. Then everything was drowned out by the rain and she lost consciousness.
SPECIMEN
Sydney awoke slowly.
Everything seemed fuzzy around her as she sat up and put a hand to her head. She felt weird. Something was off about her. As her vision started to get back to normal, she took in her surroundings. The room itself was dark gray and dimly lit by LED bulbs that cast a blue glow. She was on some kind of operating table with an intravenous tube in her arm. There was a screen monitoring her vital signs off to her left, a table with scalpels and other medical tools off to her right. She looked down and saw she was wearing a light blue medical gown; she could feel her underwear on beneath it. No one was around and there was silence save for the hum of the air conditioning.
Then she heard it.
It came from far beyond the room, down the hallway, emanating from some unknown corner of this place – wherever the hell she was. It snaked through the gaps in the door like a ghost and when it reached her ears, a shiver ran down her spine. Then it was gone. She had no idea what made it, but she knew what it sounded like.
The high-pitched, drawn-out cry of an animal in pain.
For a moment, Sydney froze but the room was silent again. The blue light above seemed to diffuse outward in a strange way and she tilted her head to look at it, lost in a trance. Suddenly, she shook her head to snap out of it. She was clearly drugged but at least she didn’t feel that sore anymore. In fact, she felt numb and light.
Then she remembered her predicament. She had to get out of here. Clenching her teeth, she grabbed the base of the needle and abruptly yanked it out of her arm. The IV tube clattered to the floor and she saw it led to a bag of clear fluid dangling from the top of a metal stand with wheels.
Sydney brought her legs to the side of the bed and felt the cool floor beneath the soles of her feet as she stood up. She felt a little wobbly and had to put a hand on the bed to stabilize herself. Then, slowly, she moved one foot then another towards the door, carefully repeating the process until the handle was within reach. She opened it slowly.
Outside, the hallway had a similar metal-gray look to it and there were more bluish LED light strips running the length of the corridor. There were a series of pipes along the right wall. She looked both ways, each of which ended in a branching T-junction. She heard the noise again as it echoed towards her from the left. As if it were luring her in, she began to walk down the passageway in its direction.
As the sound faded, Sydney rubbed her arms and felt goosebumps on her skin. The end of the hall still seemed so far away. She swayed slightly from side to side and the path ahead of her tilted gently back and forth in her vision, the cerulean glow from above shining in her eyes. She felt hazy and part of her wondered if this was all a dream.
Then why haven’t I woken up yet? Gently, she pinched herself. It hurt more than she’d expected it to, but the environment around her didn’t change. She began to
feel nervous, scared even, as the animal cry came around the bend even louder and clearly in more pain than before.
Gulping, she glanced behind her to make sure no one else was around. She was alone. Sydney continued alongside the wall to her right, occasionally putting her hand on the smooth metallic surface to maintain her balance. Eventually, she reached the junction. To her left, the corridor continued for only another ten feet before it came to what looked like a large circuit breaker box on the wall.
To the right, the hallway opened into some kind of dark, rocky cavern.
A cave.
The wail erupted again from somewhere beyond, beckoning her into the blackness. She followed, watching as the polished floor beneath her feet gave way to stone ground that had clearly been smoothed over by machinery. As she continued out into the cavern, everything got darker all around her but she could still see thanks to more electric blue light strips along the walls.
She was in an area about thirty-five feet wide and twenty feet tall with sharp stalactites dangling from the ceiling. Off to her right, the cave narrowed and a large metal gate blocked access to the rest of it, although there was a large security door with a glowing red keypad beside it. Across the cavern was another man-made corridor with the same metallic gray walls, ceiling, and floors.
From her left came a terrifying, hideous roar.
Sydney spun around. There were four sets of caged doors along this side of the cavern. Through one of them, a pair of red eyes stared out at her and in the dim blue ambiance, she could make out sharp fangs biting at the bars. Another monster was in the cage beside it, gnashing its teeth and growling with feral intensity.
She turned and half-stumbling, half-running made her way towards the next hallway. She had gotten halfway across the space when a voice cried out: “Wait!”
Sydney turned around. In the third cage, clutching at the bars, was a person. As she stepped closer, she recognized their face.
Courtney.
Safari: A Technothriller Page 11
