2041 Sanctuary (Dark Descent) (52 page)

‘What is it?’ Manaus placed a hand on his shoulder and looked to where he pointed. Tracks in the mud led into the dark liquid of the lake. ‘They look like boot prints,’ she said.

Goodwin and everyone around him looked at the image with the same focused intrigue as the lieutenant had, hours past.

‘And that’s what they are,’ Hilt’s voice said.

Major Offiah paused the recording, bringing Goodwin’s attention back from the scene at the lakeside.

‘Boot prints?’ Goodwin was confused. He’d been expecting something; he didn’t know what he’d been expecting, but not that, not footprints.

Hilt looked to Goodwin. ‘Yes, made by U.S. military issue boots, to be precise.’

‘What does that mean?’ Kara said, her voice mimicking Goodwin’s previous tone.

‘It means,’ Hilt replied, now addressing everyone present, ‘that the USSB have located our position.’

‘What?!’ Goodwin’s eyes widened. ‘How can that be? Are you sure?’

Hilt nodded as others began muttering to one another at the news. ‘As sure as we can be; Sergeant Alvarez and his men have all been accounted for during the time of the incursion and their footwear inspected.’

‘And my men put under guard,’ Alvarez said, his tone bitter.

‘A necessary precaution, Sergeant,’ Hilt replied.

‘According to you.’ Alvarez pushed his way past two Darklight men to bring himself to the fore. ‘How do you know it wasn’t Goodwin’s ghost?’

‘That’s Director Goodwin, to you,’ Major Offiah told Alvarez, clearly annoyed at the sergeant’s disrespectful tone.

‘That light wasn’t like the one I saw—’ Goodwin looked at Kara. ‘That we saw. And it was no ghost.’

‘The mind can play tricks on us all –
Director
,’ Alvarez said, the barbed inflection for the benefit of Major Offiah. ‘I’m beginning to wonder if you saw anything at all.’

‘Whatever the director and Dr Vandervoort witnessed,’ Hilt said to the belligerent sergeant, his tone leaving no doubt that he was dismissing Alvarez’s assertions, ‘did not leave size ten boot marks behind it. We must assume the two are separate in origin, unless proven otherwise.’

‘If troops from the USSB have found us, then there’s a way into this chamber,’ Goodwin said, ‘which means there’s also a way out.’

Hilt’s expression remained impassive. ‘Indeed, we always suspected some of the submerged waterways might lead to the USSB. The fact that they can reach us, however, does not mean that we can reach them. As I’ve said before, we don’t have the capability to negotiate these underwater channels.’

‘Surely this is a good thing, sir,’ one of Hilt’s lieutenants said. ‘If we can capture one of those interlopers, or a team of them, we can then use their gear to navigate the water.’

Major Offiah picked up a map. ‘We need to find out how many of them have made it through to this chamber, and on how many occasions.’

Goodwin looked around at those present. ‘Shouldn’t we be asking another question? What is the U.S. Army doing here in the first place? What are their intentions towards us? We know we entered Sanctuary without authorisation; they could be planning on just leaving us down here to rot, in which case they won’t return and our chance of escape has already gone.’

‘Perhaps Sergeant Alvarez can fill us in on some of the details,’ Major Offiah said, staring at the U.S. Army man with a hostile eye.

Alvarez, never one to shy away from conflict, met the Major’s gaze with a challenge of his own. ‘Fill you in on what?’ His tone was mocking. ‘I don’t know anything; I’ve been down in this accursed hole for as long as you all have, brought here against my will, as were my men.’

‘But you’ve lived in the USSB for years, haven’t you Sergeant?’ Goodwin said. ‘Surely you must know something that can help us further?’

Alvarez chuckled, the sound harsh and without humour. ‘You lot never stop, do you? I’ve told you before; do I have to say it again? I don’t know shit. I’m a sergeant leading a small decontamination team, an NCO, not a general, colonel or even a lieutenant. I’ve given you what information I have on this part of Sanctuary—’

‘Which is very little,’ Major Offiah said.

‘—what more can I do?’ Alvarez continued, ignoring the interruption.

Goodwin considered the sergeant; his appearance had altered drastically since his capture, his hair growing long and his face unshaven. Despite having the facilities available to wash and clean his clothes, Alvarez remained grubby and dishevelled, a far cry from the clean cut image displayed by his Darklight counterparts, who still maintained their strict standards of dress and appearance at all times. Goodwin knew Hilt neither liked nor trusted the man, and he could understand why; the more he got to know Alvarez the more he disliked him, too.

‘Whatever their purpose here,’ Hilt told them, ‘it makes no difference. We can’t afford to divert our resources any longer. I’m sorry, sir,’ Hilt said to Goodwin, ‘but we need to cull our patrols and stake out the lake shore. Whatever you saw in the city hasn’t returned and this new development could prove pivotal to our escape from this chamber.’

Goodwin was aware that all eyes were on him. ‘Very well, Commander, do what you feel is necessary.’

‘Thank you, sir. In the meantime,’ Hilt continued, addressing his officers, ‘I want all personnel combat-ready immediately. Full armour at all times. No exceptions. If the U.S. military comes in force, we’ll be ready for them. Do we understand each other?’

‘Sir, yes sir!’ the Darklight officers said as one, making Goodwin shift in discomfort at the sudden loud and unified response.

‘I’ll issue detailed orders to your combat systems shortly,’ Hilt told the assembled ranks, ‘dismissed!’

The majority of the Darklight officers began filing from the tent to go about their duties.

Hilt turned to his second in command. ‘Major, can you take Sergeant Alvarez back to his men? I’ll inform you when they can be released back into gen-pop.’

‘Yes, sir,’ Major Offiah said, ‘with pleasure, sir.’

‘Gen-pop.’ Alvarez sneered at Hilt, as Offiah fronted up to the army sergeant. ‘We’re not in a prison, Commander.’

‘Just because there are no guards or bars, Sergeant,’ Hilt said, his tone severe, ‘does not mean we’re not all prisoners down here. Take him away, Major.’

‘You’ll regret this, Commander!’ Alvarez said as the major manoeuvred him out of the tent. ‘I’ll make sure of it!’

‘I think you might have made an enemy of him,’ Goodwin said after the sergeant was out of earshot.

Hilt remained unmoved. ‘The man’s a duplicitous fool.’

‘Even so—’

Hilt looked at Goodwin, his expression mild. ‘He’ll calm down,’ he said, his concern about angering the sergeant apparently non-existent. ‘We can’t afford to take any chances.’

With Hilt’s military orders out of the way Goodwin, with the Darklight leader’s assistance, went on to discuss with the remaining civilians various contingencies in case a military assault did occur in the future; specifically evacuation plans from the lake’s surface and beaches. After decisions had been made, people dispersed and Goodwin was left alone with just Kara and Hilt in the ramshackle command centre.

Kara surveyed some of the maps strewn out on the desks, depicting areas of the cavern already scoured by the tireless reconnaissance teams. ‘How go the searches, Commander?’

‘You’re aware the southern expeditions came back empty handed?’ Hilt asked her, looking to Goodwin for confirmation.

‘Yes,’ Kara said, ‘Richard told me the bad news.’

‘The tunnels beneath the city are still to yield their secrets,’ Hilt continued. ‘If there are exits from this chamber down there, we haven’t found them yet. We’re still to hear from the north, but we should be getting a sitrep within the week.’

‘Do you think we should be looking for the USSB at all?’ Kara said to Hilt.

‘What else can we do?’ Goodwin answered her, Hilt seemingly perplexed by the question.

Kara shrugged. ‘Perhaps we should be looking for routes to the surface, tunnels headed up, not down.’

Goodwin shot Hilt a quick look, but the Darklight man failed to notice. Goodwin hadn’t told Kara about the other meteors destined for Earth, but he couldn’t help but worry in case he disclosed the secret by accident. He hated keeping things from her, even more so when he had to lie to keep up the pretence. Now, thankfully, wasn’t such an occasion as there were no tunnels going upwards whatsoever. In the future, the idea of the surface being a safe haven would no longer be relevant, but for now anything would be better than where they were;
except perhaps Steadfast
, he thought sadly.

‘We’ve looked for any and all exits, Doctor,’ Hilt replied, ‘up, down and sideways. I agree the USSB doesn’t have to be our only goal, but it is by far the nearest and most attainable destination available to us at this—’

A small bleeping noise caught their attention and Hilt moved to one of the tables, picked up a small device and placed it in his ear.

‘This is Hilt,’ he said, his hand held to his ear while he received the communication. ‘What?! How?’ A few more seconds passed as whoever spoke to him relayed their answer. ‘What’s his condition?’ He moved to the tent’s exit, the question making Kara and Goodwin exchange looks of concern. ‘Very well, just find him.’

‘Problem, Commander?’ Goodwin asked.

Hilt removed the earpiece. ‘Alvarez got the drop on Major Offiah and fled into the city.’

Kara gasped. ‘Is the Major okay?’

‘Concussion, and a bruised ego to go with it, I imagine.’ Hilt’s face was grim. ‘He took the Major’s torch and sidearm too.’

‘What’s the man thinking?’ Goodwin said. ‘He’s got nowhere to go.’

Hilt snorted. ‘As I said before, the man’s a fool. He won’t get far, though, two teams are out searching for him already.’

‘I hope they find him,’ Kara said, her face showing her disquiet.

‘I wouldn’t worry about him too much,’ Hilt told her, ‘we’ve got movement sensors all around the camp, he’ll trip them before he can cause any harm.’

‘You don’t understand, I’m not worried
about
him,’ Kara said, ‘I’m worried
for
him, out there alone in that city; it’s not somewhere I’d want to be on my own.’

Goodwin thought back to the huge empty towers, the unending darkness and – inexorably, inescapably – back to the blood-curdling shriek that had accompanied the shimmering unexplained light. ‘No,’ Goodwin murmured in agreement, looking out of the tent at the deep, pervasive gloom beyond, ‘neither would I.’

Chapter Thirty

Sergeant Alvarez sat in the black void with his back against a building, its smooth, curved surface cradling his body like the arms of some giant maternal stone mother. He’d so far managed to evade the Darklight teams sent to recapture him, and more by judgement than luck, he believed. He knew this place played havoc with telecommunications and other pieces of tracking kit, so he’d headed deep into the Anakim city, a sure-fire way of preserving his newly won freedom.

The look on Major Offiah’s face was priceless when I wrested the pistol from his holster
, Alvarez remembered with pleasure, even now holding the heavy weapon comfortingly in his hands.
The black bastard had thought I was going to shoot him where he stood; I would have, too, if I hadn’t known Hilt would have me mercilessly hunted down in retribution. But smashing the gun around the back of Offiah’s head was almost as much fun. I’d have given him the boot, too, if that civilian hadn’t disturbed me,
Alvarez thought, the memory a bitter one.

Alvarez sighed in relaxation, almost enjoying the solitude of the blackness he’d grown accustomed to. The first night he’d spent alone in the dark had been traumatic. As soon as he’d switched off his small torch to preserve its battery life, the complete lack of discernable light had instantly driven him to turn it back on again. Slowly, he’d trained himself to leave the torch off for longer and longer periods until he’d been able to drift off to sleep, only to wake with a start some time later, his fingers scrabbling to switch the light back on once more.

Fortunately his timepiece, a gift from his mother, had proved an invaluable resource in more ways than one. First, it possessed its own surprisingly powerful, light; and secondly it ensured he knew what time of day it was – critical in the dark when all sense of chronology went out of the window. It was now his third day on the run and he’d worked his way first north and then back east, in the direction he knew the lake to be located. His plan was simple; pilfer food from the fishermen at the lake and roam the western shoreline for sign of his USSB comrades. He’d always known much more about Sanctuary than he’d let on. Darklight and Goodwin had him and his men taken by force. They were the enemy and had to be resisted. If that meant gaining their trust and then sabotaging them from within, then so be it; that’s exactly what he’d sworn to do. Every member of his decontamination team had also been willing to withhold certain types of information. Unfortunately, they didn’t really know anything about the chamber they were in; nothing concrete anyway, and nothing to aid their escape in any case. He, after all, wanted to reach the USSB as much as Goodwin and his ragtag Steadfast crew.

Alvarez’s number two, Corporal Walker, had been a great help during their time under the watchful gaze of Darklight. Walker had also aided Alvarez in his attempts to acquire their weapons, so much so that Alvarez, had – on occasion – needed to calm the man down. Alvarez’s thoughts strayed to Corporal Walker and the rest of his decontamination team, currently being held against their will back at the camp; it made his blood boil to think Offiah still lorded it over them. A sudden noise made Alvarez snatch up his torch and turn it on. He aimed the beam of light around the curious structure he now frequented. It was one of the smaller towers in the city, in terms of its footprint anyway; Alvarez didn’t know how high the thing went, nor did he care. It was situated on the outskirts of the city, providing excellent access to the lake, while also being close to the area where the Darklight recon team had come into contact with his USSB brethren. Its strange design, inside and out, now illuminated by his torch revealed nothing out of the ordinary, so he flicked the light off once more and looked at his watch; it was nearing one in the morning; time for him to sneak out to the lake and nab some much needed food.