2041 Sanctuary (Genesis) (18 page)

After a while, Trish turned on her visor and worked her way towards Sarah over the boulder-strewn landscape.

‘How is he?’ Sarah said.

‘Okay,’ – Trish looked back at Jason – ‘a bit grumpy, but alive.’

Sarah removed her helmet and switched on its torches, allowing them some relief from spectral enhancement.

Neither of them spoke for some time until Trish reached out and squeezed Sarah’s hand. ‘Are you okay?’

The deep concern in her friend’s voice broke something within her. Sarah shook her head and fought back tears.

‘Hey,’ Trish said, touching her face, ‘what’s wrong?’

A sob escaped Sarah’s lips. ‘I thought I’d lost you.’

Trish drew her into a fierce embrace. ‘But you didn’t, did you? I’m still here.’

Sarah felt tears trickle down her face. ‘No thanks to me.’

‘What?’ Trish leaned back so she could look into Sarah’s eyes.

‘I thought you were dead; it was Jason who knew you were alive, not me.’

‘That doesn’t matter.’

‘I gave up on you. I nearly killed you and then gave up on you. What sort of person does that make me?’

‘You didn’t nearly kill me; you were trying to save me.’

‘I led us down here to die.’ Sarah’s tears flowed again. ‘I kept pushing us further and harder. You both said, but I didn’t listen.’

‘Sarah, no, Jason told me what happened. You mustn’t blame yourself, do you hear me?’ Trish lifted her chin. ‘This is not your fault.’

Sarah wanted to believe her, but she couldn’t. She knew she was right. And deep down Trish and Jason knew it, too. She’d led them into this abyss to die and there was no one else to blame but her.

Trish held her close and stroked her hair, much like Jason had not so long before, as Sarah cried silent tears into her shoulder. The sensation of being comforted reminded her of when her mum used to do the same thing when she was a little girl. Another memory flashed into her mind, a memory of stepping out into oblivion. Sarah didn’t want to think about what she’d attempted. She never wanted to feel that low ever again.

A while later, when Sarah was calmer, Trish released her hold.

Sarah wiped her eyes with grubby hands. After her admission to Jason, she’d believed she’d no more tears left to give, but her guilt lay heavy on her heart and it sought to wring her dry.

More empty silence passed and Sarah felt compelled to speak. ‘Do you ever feel … wrong inside?’

‘Sarah, trust me, there’s nothing wrong with you, it’s all in your mind.’

‘That’s the problem, I think you’re right.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I’ve been hearing things, like voices in my head.’

Trish tried to conceal a look of concern. ‘What?’

‘Sometimes it whispers to me. When there’s danger it tells me things.’

‘Things?’

‘It tells me not to fear the dark, to embrace it. It’s like death itself is calling to me.’

‘Come on, Saz, you’re worrying me. I’ve never seen you like this. You’re the bravest person I know.’

‘That’s the thing, it’s all a sham. I’m so scared, I seek out danger; I seek out thrills just to feel.’

‘It’s just this place.’

‘No, it’s more than that. Every expedition I’ve gone on, it’s got worse. Each time I went that little bit further, that little bit higher, that little bit faster. And bit by bit I changed. People thought me fearless, courageous, but I realise now I was just afraid, afraid of standing still, afraid to face reality. A reality without my mum. A reality alone. Riley once said he felt like a fraud because he thought he’d got where he was because of who his father was. I reassured him he wasn’t, but it should have been me admitting to being the fraud, the faker, pretending to be something I’m not. Everything I do turns to crap and I take even bigger risks to regain control, and it’s led to this. Ever since Mum died, I feel … lost. When I found Riley and my perfect job, I got scared because I felt so happy. Does that sound strange?’

‘A bit,’ Trish said.

‘It’s like – I don’t know.’ Sarah shook her head. ‘It’s hard to explain.’

Trish gave her hand a squeeze. ‘Try.’

‘It’s like I want to fail.’ Sarah stared into space. ‘Sometimes I think I’m losing my mind.’

‘You’ve been through a lot, what with the fire, your mum, Mark, Cora, Riley, the SED. You’re trying to control everything around you, overthinking. You need to let go and relax instead of fighting all the time. When we get to the surface, everything will sort itself out, you’ll see.’

Sarah knew Trish was trying to help, but she didn’t understand. How could she? ‘You still think we can make it?’

‘Don’t you?’

‘We don’t even know where we are.’

‘We’ll find a way.’

‘Of course we will,’ Jason said, hobbling over.

A small hand worked its way into Sarah’s and she looked round to see Susan next to her. The small woman’s expression didn’t change, she just looked down at the ground, as timid as ever, but the gesture was there and it filled a hole in Sarah’s heart.

‘You shouldn’t be walking on that,’ Trish said, indicating Jason’s foot.

Wincing, Jason looked down at his ankle. ‘It’s fine. Besides you can’t carry me to the surface, so I’m going to have to walk on it some time.’

‘Isn’t it painful?’ Sarah said.

‘Err, yeah.’ He held up a small device. ‘This Darklight morphine dispenser helps, though.’

‘I thought he needed it more,’ Trish said to her.

‘Plus these Darklight battlefield wraps are super-strong.’ He held up his leg to show her. ‘It’s made out of nano-tubes or something; it transfers all the weight, like having bone on the outside. I can hardly feel it,’ – he grimaced again – ‘sort of.’

Sarah remembered something. She gently released herself from Susan’s hand and delved into her coveralls to withdraw Trish’s locket. ‘I think this is yours.’

Trish looked amazed as she opened it up. ‘I thought this was lost for good.’

‘I never knew you were religious,’ Sarah said, swapping looks with Jason.

Trish must have heard the accusation hidden in her words, but instead of being angry she just smiled. ‘All religion isn’t bad, Sarah. People like to think it is, but if there wasn’t religion people would find other ways to make war, it’s what they do. Besides, the fundamentals of religion are sound, it helped create our civilisation, after all. It’s when people misinterpret it for their own gain that things go wrong. As to me being religious – I’m not.’

‘But the cross,’ Sarah said, ‘the picture of Christ.’

Trish removed the gold cross and held it up to the light. ‘Religion doesn’t own faith,’ she said. ‘They like to think they do, but God – the light – is for everyone if they want it.’ She held out the cross in the palm of her hand. ‘My grandmother gave me this when I was six years old. She always told me it would protect me from the dark and if I ever found myself on the wrong path, all I had to do was to hold this and God would show me the way back to the light.’

Sarah looked at it with undisguised scepticism.

‘Take it,’ Trish said, ‘I want you to have it.’

‘I can’t.’

‘Sure you can.’ Trish pressed the cross into her hand.

‘Does it burn?’ Jason said.

Trish gave him a withering look while Sarah turned it over in her hand, a myriad of thoughts running through her mind.

‘Where are your pendants?’ Trish said.

Jason adjusted his splint to increase its support. ‘She doesn’t want to use it anymore.’

Trish looked at Sarah in surprise. ‘Why not?’

‘Because it’s brought us nothing but bad luck.’ Sarah removed them from her pocket. ‘The chain’s broken, anyway.’

Trish took it from her and passed it to Jason.

Grumbling, Jason sat down to see if he could repair it.

‘Well?’ Trish said.

He waved Sarah over and she got up and knelt in front of him, while lifting her hair to one side.

‘This will hold,’ he said, ‘but you won’t be able to take it off again without breaking it.’

Trish took the cross back from Sarah and opened its clasp to secure it to the chain.

Sarah mustered a weak smile before positioning the pendants inside her coveralls, the gold cross bright against the grey of the pentagonal artefacts.

Sarah stood up and Trish gave her another one-armed hug.

‘So,’ Jason said, ‘what now?’

‘We look for another transportation device,’ Trish said, before removing food rations from her backpack and handing them out.

They devoured the meagre fare in seconds before the waif-like figure of Susan moved closer to Trish and tugged at her arm.

‘I think she’s trying to tell us something,’ Trish said.

Jason looked around in fear. ‘Perhaps her friend is near.’

Sarah, her heart suddenly racing, put her helmet back on and activated her visor. ‘I can’t see anything.’

‘Neither could those Darklight soldiers and look what happened to them. By the way,’ – Jason lowered his voice – ‘should we even be staying with her? If she attracts that thing, perhaps we should …’

‘Should what?’ Trish said, turning angry. ‘Leave her all on her own in the dark?’

‘I’m only saying.’

‘Perhaps we should just wait here,’ Sarah said.

Jason avoided Trish’s fierce glare and turned to Sarah. ‘What? Wait here, why?’

‘To let those soldiers take us back to the base,’ Sarah said, ‘if we stay here they’ll find us eventually.’

‘They’ll lock you up,’ Trish said, ‘lock us all up.’

Jason shook his head. ‘They’re more likely to shoot first and ask questions later.’

Susan continued pulling at Trish’s arm. ‘I think she knows where to go,’ she said, looking at the mute woman’s earnest expression.

‘Straight to that
thing
, probably,’ Jason said.

‘Well, we can’t use the Anakim parchment,’ – Trish held her ground against Susan’s persistence – ‘there’s no point of reference. We could be anywhere.’

Susan stamped a foot and gave a squeal of anger, and Trish gave in and allowed herself to be dragged forward.

‘What are you doing?’ Jason said.

‘Following Susan,’ Trish called back.

‘That’s a bad idea!’ He turned to Sarah for support, but she didn’t know what say. Trish had told her to let go, so that’s what she was going to do. Offering her shoulder to Jason for support, they followed Trish and the waif into the beyond.

Chapter Twenty Four

‘Great,’ Jason said, ‘she’s led us to a dead end.’

Sarah helped Jason over to a wall, where he propped himself up against it. The Darklight splint enabled him to put his full weight on his injured ankle without major discomfort, but there was no point damaging it any further if they could help it.

They’d been walking for hours and they’d seen no sign of the creature, but equally they’d seen no sign of any Anakim structures, either, let alone a transportation device.

‘Shall we rest here?’ Trish said, looking to Sarah.

‘I don’t know, I suppose it’s as good as place as any.’

Tired, they settled down on the damp soil that made up the floor of the network of caves they now traversed.

‘I’ll keep watch,’ Sarah said, fearing the nightmares that waited in sleep.

No one argued and Sarah soon found herself sitting on her own while Trish, Jason and Susan breathed in silent slumber.

Wondering where Susan was taking them, and then realising she no longer cared, a distant noise made Sarah start. Focusing her visor, she scanned for signs of the fearsome light. Moments passed and she relaxed. It was nothing.

More time slipped into history and Sarah found it increasingly difficult to stay awake, the sound of her friends’ slow, rhythmic breathing lulling her towards sleep. Without realising it, her eyelids drooped closed and she glided into the unresisting land of dreams.

♦

A strange noise made Sarah stir awake. She could feel something digging into the palm of her hand. Releasing her grip, she realised she’d been holding onto Trish’s cross. She heard the noise again and cracked open an eye. A few feet away, Susan stood staring down at Trish, her fingers, as ever, scratching at the rash on her wrist.

But where’s that noise coming from?
she wondered. It sounded like … she felt her eyes drawn left and her heart rate skyrocketed as they fell upon a massive translucent form.

Stifling a scream, Sarah froze.

The beast flowed through the shadows towards Susan and the sleeping Trish. Its skin rippled and shimmered along its indistinct frame like a nightmare made real. Inside the hideous body, veins and arteries pumped black blood and lungs billowed in and out like vast bellows. Something resembling a head extended before it and, as with its body, it expanded and contracted in time with its sibilant breath. It had no eyes by which to see, and rows of jagged teeth, dripping with black mucus, appeared and disappeared as it continued to move with an abnormal gait.

Sarah found herself captivated in horror.

A shimmer of light flickered through the beast’s skin and a clicking sound made the hairs on the back of her neck prickle. A sudden glow of light drew Sarah’s attention back to Susan. The woman was now holding Sarah’s orb aloft. The Anakim artefact glowed bright as Susan spoke into it with low tones and the wall before her trembled, sending eons of sediment crumbling to the ground.

The creature closed in on Trish while Sarah remained frozen in fear as her panic built to a crescendo.
I have to do something
. She willed herself to act.
Get up, Sarah!
Her mind screamed,
GET UP!

The translucent body reared up over Susan and its head extended into a snake-like form that inexorably bore down on Trish.

Still unable to move, Sarah felt a scream building.

‘What’s that noise?’ Jason said groggily. He sat up next to her and turned on his helmet’s lights.

The creature shimmered into light and Jason cried out in terror. A shriek of noise broke the silence, the light vanished and Sarah scrambled to her feet.

‘Trish!’ Jason ran over and pushed Susan aside.

‘What was that noise?!’ Trish said in shock as Jason hugged her to him.