2041 Sanctuary (Dark Descent) (72 page)

‘Hang on.’ He pressed some buttons on the control pad.

The mummy slowly rotated on its platform and, coming into view from out of the darkness, a slim yet majestic throne, half caked in the sediment of aeons and half shining with a reddish golden hue.

‘They’re still in the process of restoring it,’ he said, as the mummy’s face reappeared, only to stop before them once more. ‘Perhaps the most astounding aspect is the age they estimate he lived to before he died.’

‘Which was?’

‘Three hundred years, give or take a decade or two.’

‘Three hundred, how’s that possible? Nowhere in the museum do they say Homo gigantis lived any longer than we do.’

‘It’s not common knowledge. I only know through a contact in the SED and they haven’t published their findings yet. Obviously if their work is corroborated by a separate team things could get
very
interesting.’

Before she could take everything in, Riley was guiding her to the next room. This one contained a stone sarcophagus that stood fully forty feet in length. Its design was reminiscent of the Egyptian pharaohs, except the stylisation on the lid looked to have been far more detailed, from the few sections that remained intact.

‘I take it the occupant doesn’t take up the whole length of that thing?’ Sarah said.

Riley chuckled. ‘No, they extracted a mass of the deceased’s burial possessions, some of which you saw in the other vaults. The owner had succumbed to the ravages of time, even the bones had disintegrated. He, or she, was a little smaller than the Ageless King, about eight and half feet.’

Riley showed her a few more incredible mummies and unearthed burial caskets before taking her to the top floor. This level consisted of just two long rooms, one either side of the one hundred foot walkway in the middle.

Riley paused before revealing their contents. ‘You’re probably wondering by now why this place is called the Boneyard.’

‘Not really, seems pretty self-explanatory, it’s where all the Anakim remains are kept.’

‘But you haven’t seen any bones per se.’

‘No, I suppose not.’

‘Brace yourself.’ He pressed a button to reveal not just one room, but both. The frosted panes she’d grown accustomed to dissolved into clear glass along the whole length of the walkway. Lights inside both areas bloomed to life, caressing their steady yellow light over a sight that literally made her jaw drop.

‘Jesus Christ,’ she whispered.

Chapter Forty Nine

The top level in the final Smithsonian vault had relinquished its final secrets and they stunned Sarah beyond imagination. Skeleton upon skeleton, each complete, stood next to one another, lining the sides of each of the two rooms. Attached to some of these long-dead individuals clung the remnants of clothing as weird and wonderful as that displayed on the Ageless King himself. This astounding array of remains stretched the full length of the rooms on either side; around twenty-five individuals stood shoulder to shoulder in the front row; but arranged behind these was another row, and behind those, yet another.

‘How many are in here?’ she asked.

‘Around a hundred and fifty – come and look down here!’ Excited, Riley walked to the far end with Sarah following.

‘These two are the biggest we’ve found,’ he said, ‘I know the guy on the Deep Reach team that unearthed them.’

Steadying herself against the glass, Sarah gazed up at the stark white bones of two long dead Anakai. ‘They must be over ten feet tall.’

‘Ten and half,’ he said, staring at them.

‘Their bone structure looks different to the smaller ones.’ she said, comparing the skeletons around them.

‘Yes, I think they might be an offshoot. Like these.’ He turned round to indicate a set of skeletons in the opposite area.

Sarah felt a jolt of recognition. These bones were much slimmer, their height seven to eight feet. They reminded her of the skeletal remains she’d found in the South African cave she’d uncovered with Jason and Trish. Unlike hers, however, these specimens came replete with skulls.

She noted the differences in the facial structure. There was also a distinct variation in their clavicle and the formation of the humeral head. ‘They’re a whole different species.’

‘Well, definitely a sub species,’ he said.

Sarah and Riley spent another hour in the Boneyard discussing the ancient specimens and the various stories and theories surrounding them before finally leaving. Riley slid his card across the entry system to the vault after the door had swung ponderously shut, securing it in place once more.

‘Can I access these with my card?’ Sarah held up her multifunction card.

He shook his head. ‘No, you wouldn’t even get into the surrounding corridors. You need level eight clearance or above and you’re only a measly seven. Plus, as Deep Reach team leader I get access to places other level eights don’t. And this is one of them.’

She looked over at the wall barring her view of the military installation beyond. ‘And there’s no way you can get into the other vaults?’

He hesitated and then shook his head once more.

‘Wait; there is, isn’t there?’ Her posture straightened at the possibility glimpsed in his Freudian slip.

Riley looked up at a camera array above the vault, before motioning for Sarah to walk with him back to the bridge.

‘There is a way,’ he told her, ‘but I’m not prepared to risk my job over it.’

‘Tell me.’

He sighed. ‘Don’t tell anyone about this.’

‘I won’t.’

‘I mean it, Sarah. Promise me, not a word to anyone.’

‘Cross my heart.’ She made the movement across her chest.

‘In the Boneyard, there’s a disused service elevator beneath the room containing the Ageless King. I think it’s there in case they want to expand the vault’s capacity at a later date. It also happens to back onto a small passageway which runs out to the military vaults on the other side.’

‘How do you know it’s there?’ she asked.

‘Because when I worked on the military side I found a way through.’

‘You just found a way through? Surely they’d make it more secure than that?’

‘Well, perhaps forced a way through is more accurate,’ he said, noticing her raised eyebrow. ‘What can I say? I used to get bored over there, standing around for hours on end waiting to drop off and pick up loads. I used to spend half my day wandering around and when they were refurbishing two of the vaults they used to be left open and one thing led to another—’

To be fair Sarah didn’t really care about the how or the why, the fact that it existed was good enough for her.

‘There are actually routes through from each of the military vaults, but I only unblocked one.’

‘Does it take long, to get through?’ she asked, as they walked back across the bridge.

He laughed. ‘Why? Are you thinking about breaking into them?’

She mustered a hearty chuckle in response. ‘Yeah, good one,’ she said, her duplicitous behaviour coming worryingly easily, ‘and while I’m at it I’ll storm General Stevens’ barracks and give him a wedgie.’

Riley grinned. ‘Now that I’d pay to see. But no, it doesn’t take long, twenty minutes, give or take. It’s a shame they’re so uptight over their secrets. I’d give my right arm to know what they’ve got in there these days, and in the laboratory complex below.’

‘Wouldn’t your father know? He’s a general, isn’t he?’

He shook his head. ‘Not a chance, it’s highly restricted, special access personnel only, or so I’m told.’

Her enquiries complete, talk returned to the collection of artefacts and remains they’d just seen as they worked their way back through the vault chamber’s exterior tunnels. They re-entered the museum on one of its upper levels and sauntered through the deserted exhibits in good humour.

‘Oi, what are you two doing in here?!’ a voice said.

Sarah looked round to see an aging security guard a little way away, shining a torch in their direction.

‘Run!’ Riley said to her before bounding away.

Sarah stood frozen for a moment as the security guard ran towards her, brandishing his torch.

‘Crap,’ she said and legged it after Riley.

The two of them soon left the man behind and Riley was laughing when he slowed.

‘What are you doing?’ she said, catching her breath, ‘Why don’t we tell him we work for the SED?’

‘Where would be the fun in that?’

Before she could answer, two more guards appeared from the other direction and the chase was on again. With Riley leading the way, the two of them led the guards a merry dance before exiting the museum and fleeing back to their SED apartments. The night-time hours had given way to early morning as the rush hour commute got underway, the nearby transport channel filling with vehicles and people, much like any other major metropolis in the world.

Having kept on running until they reached Sarah’s apartment, they were out of breath as they entered, broad grins on their faces as their evening’s sightseeing ended on a high. Sarah poured Riley a drink in the kitchen before being surprised when his hands slipped onto her waist from behind. He turned her round, his face now mere inches from her own. Her heart beat faster as he leant forwards to kiss her, his lips brushing hers. He stood back, giving her the option to pull away. She didn’t, taking his hand she led him into the bedroom. Reaching up she stroked his face, smiling, before kissing him. Her passion increasing, the ferocity of their embrace peaked. They tore at one another’s clothing, each craving the touch of the other’s flesh.

Naked, Riley hoisted her on up onto his hips as she sank down upon him, wrapping her legs around his waist. Her skin against his, Sarah rose up as she lost herself in the heat of desire. Falling back on to the bed he thrust down upon her, his powerful strokes making her arch her back and grab the bedcovers as she rode the bliss of their sex. As time lost meaning she drew closer and closer to the edge. Letting out a cry of ecstasy, her other hand reached out to grab the headboard, knocking a switch in the process. A mechanical whirring brought her back from the brink and, clasping his body with her arms, she saw the blind to her window rolling up, revealing the walkway beyond and the passers-by as they made their way to work.

Sarah’s eyes widened. ‘Riley,’ she said as he moved rhythmically against her, ‘the blinds – people – are watching.’

Riley didn’t even glance at the window, choosing to regain her attention by kissing her deeply on the mouth and then down her unresisting neck. ‘Let them watch.’ He ran his hands over her breasts as he continued to pleasure her.

Sarah neared the edge once more, her face turned to the window as people looked and pointed at the naked lovers that would be the talk of their day.

Sarah shut her eyes, the thrill of being watched adding to the intensity as she climaxed, her body arching higher, her toes curling as her body released an explosive orgasm. As she rode more waves of pleasure Riley didn’t stop, bringing her to the edge again, only stopping sometime later when he eventually released himself. Flushed and sweating, Sarah, flicked the switch and the blind rolled back down, ending the spectacle for those partaking in their morning journey to work. Sinking down onto the bed, she rolled over to rest her head on his chest, her right thigh over his. The slow rise and fall of his breathing lulling her eyes closed as her troubles drifted away like never before.

♦

Cloying smoke filled Sarah’s lungs, a whimper escaping her lips as she struggled to beat back the flames that sought to consume the ancient Anakim maps cradled in her arms. Fire engulfed the timber house around her, the flickering tongues of the inferno setting her hair alight, the pain unbearable. Letting out a stifled scream, she sat up in bed, her brow and palms damp with perspiration. Calming herself down, she swept the strands of blonde hair that had stuck to her face back over one ear. Next to her, Riley’s naked form remained undisturbed, his deep sleep continuing unabated. Leaving him behind, Sarah got out of bed, pulled on a white T-shirt, and went into the bathroom to splash water on her face.

She looked at herself in the mirror, the same blue eyes she’d known all her life looking back at her. Except she knew inside she’d changed and that night had proved it beyond doubt. Having sex in front of strangers would have at one time appalled her, to share such an intimate moment in the full view of others doing nothing to excite her. Now, though, even thinking back to it brought back powerful feelings of arousal she hadn’t known existed within her.
If I didn’t know better
, she thought,
I’d blame it on a side effect of using the Anakim transportation device
; but she knew her tendency to take risks had been growing steadily for some time. Back in South Africa she’d been willing to risk all to uncover further evidence of Homo gigantis, entering the impact zone of the asteroid AG5 only days before it touched down off the South African coastline. And long before that, even though she’d refused to admit it until now, she’d taken risks beyond the norm. Many years ago, climbing in the Zagros Mountains in Iran, she almost paid the price with her life when she’d misjudged an ill-considered jump. Cave diving in Turkey, again searching for signs of gigantis, she’d risked all to reach an unexplored section of the subterranean system. Numerous other telltale incidents she’d reasoned away also returned from the depths of her memory, unbidden, unwanted, and yet speaking a truth she’d long sought to ignore. Curiously it had taken a moment of pleasure rather than pain to make her confront it. Her mother’s death had hit her hard and fast, rending a hole in her life she hadn’t been capable of repairing, and it was that single, terrible event that had irrevocably altered her.

‘Am I still sane, mother?’ she whispered into the mirror. ‘Has your death made me seek my own?’

She took off her top to look at herself naked, noting the dark bruises on her shoulders and sides and the pale white scars collected during her numerous misadventures criss-crossing the skin of her arms and legs. Sarah leaned down on the sink to stare deeper into her own eyes, the black pupils failing to relieve her torment.
Perhaps mother’s death just exposed a personality flaw I’ve always possessed?
she thought. A flaw born of the complex fundamentals that go into creating and moulding every person’s, every animal’s, base desires and needs.