1 Life 2 Die 4 (3 page)

Two strides later I heard something metal hit
the ground behind us and nearly had a heart attack! It sounded like
a grenade bouncing along the concrete path! I heard a hissing sound
and when I glanced back there was smoke pouring far more quickly
than I’d imagined possible from a small metal cylinder on the
ground behind us. A surge of relief ran through me - Jessica must
have dropped it to give us some cover from the sniper.

When the shooting stopped, I guessed it had
worked. The guy must have lost his line-of-sight and would be
coming after us now, hunting for a clearer shot. We sprinted on
along the path beneath the walkway while Jessica tossed a couple
more smoke grenades further out to our right. Then I felt my pulse
quicken as she unexpectedly dragged me out towards them, heading
across open ground towards the steps to the Shrine of
Remembrance.

While I sprinted over the grass beside her, I
glanced up at the Shrine and recalled being there at the Anzac Day
dawn ceremony a few years back. I’d only gone because my dad had
insisted, so I’d been amazed when the emotion-charged atmosphere
had actually brought tears to my eyes while I’d thought about all
those guys who’d died in wars over the years, fighting for my right
to live free in my own country. Now, as we neared the stairs
leading up to the eighteen columns of the memorial (symbolizing the
year World War I had finally ended, I recalled out of the blue), I
suddenly wondered if I would be joining all of those brave, lost
soldiers far sooner than I’d ever imagined.

I’d just started to worry about the fact that
we’d be even more exposed while we raced up the steps, when Jessica
veered towards the area beneath them. She tossed another smoke bomb
ahead, and by the time we skidded to a stop under the staircase,
there was smoke everywhere. A moment later – inexplicably - a
square hole began opening in the paving right in front of us!

“Follow me,” she said with surprising calm.
It was the first time I’d heard her speak and I was shocked at how
smoulderingly sexy she sounded, particularly under the
circumstances.

After she stepped into the hole and dropped
from sight, I realised there was simply no way I could have stopped
myself from following her. The sudden hail of gunfire that strafed
through the billowing smoke and raked swiftly across the sandstone
wall towards me just added that extra little bit of incentive. I
didn’t know how far I’d fall, but right then the one clear thought
in my mind was that there was no way I was letting this incredible
woman out of my sight!

*****

3

As it turned
out, my head had barely dropped below ground level before my feet
hit solid ground. While I bent my knees to absorb the impact, the
access hole above me was already closing. I looked ahead and felt
slightly dizzy when I found Jessica’s stunning face inches from
mine. A dull, greenish glow from several small circular lights
embedded in the stone walls reflected off the glossy red lipstick
smeared precisely across her gorgeous lips while her concerned eyes
peered directly into mine.

“Are you okay?” she asked in an oddly husky
tone.

I really tried to make sound come out of my
mouth. But it was hopeless. Hell … it was easier staying calm under
fire than while I stared into those mesmerising brown eyes of
hers!

As time stretched out uncomfortably, I
finally gave up trying to speak and just nodded dumbly instead.
Then I saw her smile for the first time and, incredibly, I suddenly
knew that I’d do anything for this woman! More than that - I
desperately wanted to do something to impress her. For a moment, I
actually thought of asking for her gun so I could cover her escape!
Then I thought of those hoodlums following us and realised a kid
who’d never fired a gun in his life wasn’t likely to slow them down
much. Her best chance of escaping was to keep her gun and keep
running, and whether she liked it or not, she wasn’t getting rid of
me until I knew she was safe.

While all this flew through my mind, Jessica
turned away and crouched down on all fours.

“Good - let’s go,” she whispered over her
shoulder before crawling off along a narrow tunnel.

From its direction, I realised the dimly lit
tunnel must go under the Memorial. But that was about the last
sensible thought I had as I obediently followed her. As incredible
as it seemed, I discovered there was something even more visually
stunning about this woman than the things I’d already noticed from
the front … and I was getting a perfect view of it while she
crawled cat-like along the gently sloping shaft in her
tight-fitting rust-coloured leather pants!

Lord have mercy
, I thought as my
heart-rate accelerated and I fought to remember my manners. I
couldn’t recall my mother covering this particular situation in any
of her uninvited etiquette advice over the years, but somehow I
suspected ‘don’t touch’ might be appropriate. Still, I knew that
trying to follow the more gentlemanly restriction of ‘don’t even
look’ just wasn’t possible. It’d be like visiting the Louvre
without bothering to see the Mona Lisa!

Suffice it to say that, with two gun-wielding
killers hot on our tails, those were thirty of the best seconds of
my life. Then, all too soon, Jessica was climbing out into a dimly
lit, underground railway tunnel and I abruptly remembered the rest
of the world and how nasty it had turned.

Struggling to put some of the pieces of this
bizarre puzzle together, I dropped down beside her. Then, after
straightening from a crouch, I looked her in the eye and felt
myself frown heavily.

“
Who are you
?” I demanded more bluntly
than I’d intended.

Jessica peered back blankly for a moment
before a sudden look of understanding crossed her face and she gave
me what I can only describe as a deeply caring smile (though it
made absolutely no sense that she should care for me at all!)

“I’m sorry, Dan,” she said, inexplicably
knowing my name. “In all the excitement, I’d forgotten how
confusing this must be for you.” Then her smile changed to a look
of deep concern as the distant sound of an explosion carried from
the far end of the tunnel. Her head snapped round and she peered
back into the now pitch black void. “I’m Veronica …” she continued
in a far-off voice, clearly more focussed on what was going on at
the other end of the tunnel.

When her eyes widened suddenly, I glanced
back into the tunnel. Way back, a tiny swaying pin-prick of light
had appeared – a torch beam! I turned back just as Veronica
launched herself off along the railway tunnel.

“… I’m you wife,” she added, and I would have
fallen flat on my face if she hadn’t been firmly gripping my hoodie
while she once more dragged me after her!

*****

4

If it wasn’t
for all the other crazy stuff, I’d have felt certain Veronica had a
few screws loose in that gorgeous head of hers. As it was, I didn’t
really know what to think. The only thing that seemed crystal clear
to me was that something extremely weird was going on and that,
like it or not, I was smack-bang in the thick of it.

While my brain did cartwheels, we bolted on
along the track, our footsteps echoing hollowly about the enclosed
tunnel. Then the hairs on the back of my neck slowly stood up as I
registered a dull rumbling coming from somewhere ahead. I felt
Veronica lift her pace, even as I began pulling back.

“What are you doing?” I asked incredulously.
“Can’t you hear it?”

“I hear it,” she replied simply.

Was it possible she was hearing something
different?

“
There’s a train coming straight for
us!
” I elaborated, understanding that now was not one of those
times when you chuckled afterwards about how you’d both been
unwittingly talking about different things.

“I know.” She glanced at me and added: “Trust
me,” before turning back to watch her footing while we raced on
over the rough rocks scattered between the lines.

I stared incredulously at Veronica a moment
longer before turning back to peer ahead along the dim tunnel.
What should I do?
I’d already endured all sorts of dramas
during the last few minutes, yet she had somehow managed to keep me
safe. Did that mean I should trust her again? On one level this
seemed reasonable. While on another (the one where a speeding train
weighing about a hundred tonnes was bearing down on us and she’d
decided we should charge towards it!) it made absolutely no sense
at all.

It was a pivotal moment … one of those times
in your life when you recognise that the wrong decision will
probably cost you your life. If I’d been on my own, there’s little
doubt I would have turned and run. But I wasn’t. And crazy as it
seemed, I realised I’d rather run headlong into a train with this
crazy, beautiful woman than go back alone only to hear the sound of
her being smashed to a pulp behind me.

So on we ran; racing together towards
oblivion
…

Butterflies filled my gut and I could feel my
hands shaking. I noticed Veronica’s shoulder-length hair start
flying madly about as the approaching monster’s blunt nose shoved
cold, stale air towards us along the confined tunnel. The flurry of
wind whipped up a chip packet and I turned away sharply as it
nearly hit me in the face. When I turned back, my eyes widened and
my heart stuttered as the train roared round the bend not more than
a hundred metres ahead of us, its powerful light beaming towards us
like one huge, soulless eye.

Until now, in the back of my mind I’d been
hoping Veronica knew of a platform nearby; that we could beat the
train to it then somehow jump up out of the way before being
smashed to a pulp. Now, as the train’s dazzling headlight lit up
the straight section of tunnel between us and it, my heart sank.
Not only was there no platform, the curving concrete sides and
ceiling were bereft of anything that might even suggest salvation.
Not a single door or recessed area; not even the smallest grill
hinting at a ventilation shaft. Just one long archway of solid
uninterrupted concrete curving up over our heads like we were
sprinting madly through some gigantic mausoleum!

I wondered if Veronica was planning on us
flattening our bodies against the side wall as the train sped by.
If so, I knew she was sadly mistaken. There’d be barely enough room
for an anorexic stick insect. And that was assuming it somehow
managed to keep still as the huge metal monster charged past.
Gritting my teeth, I thought grimly of the time I’d nearly fallen
off my bike after being buffeted by an air gust from a passing bus.
How much stronger would the gust be from a hundred metre long train
inside this enclosed tunnel?

It was like some kind of surreal dream,
racing towards the speeding train with zero chance of survival. And
I was caught completely off guard when I abruptly realized I was
totally at peace with it all. Incredibly, I felt convinced I’d be
happy to die with this goddess by my side. Just the two of us
together on a mad dash for freedom.
The ultimate freedom of
death
.

Then a long burst from the train’s horn
nearly split my eardrums and brought me back to my senses with a
start. What the hell was I thinking? I’d only just met this
stunning woman who seemed to think I was her husband! The last
thing I wanted was for it all to end!

But how could I possibly get us out of
here alive?

In a flash, the answer popped into my
head.

I couldn’t
.

The train was less than twenty metres away
and still travelling fast when I heard its brakes bite. And as I
peered up at the helpless look of horror on the driver’s face, I
knew it was far too late. I thought of my mum and dad and wondered
what they’d think of me heading to a dental appointment only to
have every single tooth in my mouth smashed to dust against the
solid steel bumper of a passenger train. Would they ever understand
how I’d ended up here instead of lying back comfortably in Dr
Morton’s dentist chair while he patiently poked around in my
mouth?

I
still didn’t understand it
myself.

In a last vain effort to avoid oblivion,
Veronica threw herself to the right, lifting me through the air
with her. Knowing it was futile, I braced myself for the impact
with the concrete wall, and for the far more sickening collision
that would follow…

But neither came.

A second later, we landed roughly on the
floor of a small room and rolled several times before coming to
rest. Everything went from my mind the moment I realised Veronica
had finished up on top of me. I could feel the warmth of her breath
against the top of my head while I peered up at her milky, smooth
neck. I swallowed self-consciously. Until that moment, I’d had no
idea how sensual a neck could be, having been far more preoccupied
with certain other features of the female anatomy. Now, as I felt
the warmth of her body and caught a steamy whiff of her perfume,
every ounce of my consciousness suddenly diverted itself to the
sites where her firm yet surprisingly soft body pressed
provocatively against mine.

Somehow I managed to reclaim enough of my
senses to register that James Bond would have said something witty
like “You know, my dear, it takes an exceptional woman to get on
top of me.” But the words never got near my lips. Instead, feeling
suddenly embarrassed, I rolled sideways and shoved Veronica away
from me more roughly than I’d intended.

In all honesty, I would have gladly remained
there beneath her for a few more centuries. It was just that I’d
realized if we stayed like that for even a few more moments, she
was going to feel something I simply wasn’t prepared for. As much
as I liked her - or perhaps because of it - I couldn’t bear the
thought that she might simply burst out laughing at my teenage
body’s inevitable and rather over-eager response to her touch.