2041 Sanctuary (Genesis) (9 page)

A hand grasped her mouth and Sarah awoke to the dark with a muffled cry.

‘Shhh,’ Jason said in a hushed whisper, ‘it’s me.’

Wide-eyed, Sarah quietened, but Jason kept his hand in place.

She felt his lips press against her ear. ‘Something’s down here with us.’

Sarah’s heart beat faster and she tried to speak.

‘Shhh.’ Jason slowly released his grip.

‘What is it?’ Sarah said, her voice as strained as his.

‘I don’t know, but it’s taken the crystal.’

‘What?’

Jason moved her head in the direction he wanted her to look.

Some way away, the blue glow of the crystal swayed from side to side in the dark.

‘Can you see it?’

She nodded.

‘I’m putting my helmet on,’ he said.

Tense moments passed as the glowing stone continued its eerie dance, and Sarah thought she could see something reflected in its light.

Jason switched on his visor and the blue glow vanished.

‘Trish!’ Jason shouted.

Sarah heard Jason scramble to his feet.

‘Jason, what are you doing?!’ she said, jumping up.

‘It’s Trish!’ He grabbed her arm and dragged her forward.

‘What?! Jason wait, it’s not Trish!’

It was no use, Jason wasn’t listening and he pulled her onwards through the black.

Sarah stumbled and Jason called out again. ‘Trish, wait!’

The blue glow reappeared moving erratically in the distance.

‘Jason, it’s not Trish!’

The light dropped and bounced as if the stone had fallen, and Jason led them towards it. Seconds later they came to a stop over the glowing crystal, which spun to a halt on the ground.

Jason bent down to pick it up and Sarah grabbed his hand. ‘Wait!’

‘We need to keep moving,’ he said, retrieving it, ‘she’s close.’

‘Jason,’ – Sarah held him back – ‘it’s not Trish. I saw something, pale skin, or – I don’t know. It’s not Trish.’

‘It must be. I saw her.’

‘You’re tired; you saw what you wanted to see.’

‘No, it was her … I’m sure it was.’

Illuminated by the blue glow, Sarah saw him shake his head in confusion.

‘Trish!’ His shouts echoed through the system of tunnels. ‘Trish, it’s us, come back!’

A faint buzzing noise like a distant swarm of flies made Sarah look down. A small light on the side of her Deep Reach visor blinked on and off and she pulled the helmet on to listen. ‘I’m picking up a signal.’

‘What?’ Jason said, still scouring the area with his visor.

‘My visor’s still down, but I’m picking up a radio signal.’ She tried focusing on the transmission, but it was an intermittent garble of white noise.

He passed her the crystal and wandered off. ‘We need to keep searching.’

‘Jason, stop – wait.’ She hurried to keep up before a distant sound stopped them in their tracks.

‘Did you hear that?’ he said, ears pricked.

The noise came again. It sounded like a woman’s scream.

Jason ran off again. ‘It’s Trish!’

Sarah cursed and followed, the glowing crystal held high.

They passed into a dense structure of interconnected passageways, the ins and outs disorientating, like a maze.

Jason ran on and Sarah tripped and fell. She called out for him to stop, but it was too late, he’d disappeared into the dark.

‘Jason!’ Sarah slowed to a stop. ‘Jason!!’

She shone the stone before her, its light barely illuminating the narrow tunnel ahead. A noise behind made her spin round. Nothing was there, just a darker black of the opening she’d just walked through.

Another sound made her whirl left.

‘Jason?’ she said, her voice shaking. She held the crystal higher and moved into another passage.

The scurry of movement made her flesh prickle in fear. Following the sound she stopped at a junction and listened.

A noise behind, made her freeze in place.

Her eyes swivelled left to try and locate the source. She could hear it close in on her, the sound of its movement stealth-like slow. The closer it came, the more terror she felt. And the more terror she felt, the less she could move.

It was right behind her; she could hear it – she closed her eyes –
oh my God, I can hear it …
I can hear it breathing
. Something touched her back and she span round. A white face full of teeth and eyes shrieked loud.

Sarah screamed and the apparition vanished.

Sick with fright, she stumbled back. The shock left her wheezing for breath, her chest tight with pain.

A hand grasped her shoulder and she screamed again.

‘Sarah, it’s me,’ Jason moved into the light. ‘It’s okay, it’s me.’

Sarah hugged him close; she’d never been so pleased to see anyone in her life.

Chapter Ten

‘I thought you were right behind me,’ Jason said, I heard you shout and looked round and you’d gone. I rushed back and couldn’t find you.’

Sarah regained her breath and looked behind her. ‘I saw it, it was right here.’

‘What was?’

‘I don’t know, but it’s not Trish.’

‘The light?’ he said, trying and failing to keep the tremor from his voice.

‘No … maybe … I don’t know.’ Sarah remembered the horror when she’d confronted it. She shut her eyes to try to dispel the memory.

She failed.

A buzz of noise came through her helmet’s speakers. The same signal as before. ‘I think I can hear a voice,’ she said, listening.

‘What does it say?’

Sarah held up a hand. It was difficult to tell. It sounded like … it sounded like—

Sarah looked at Jason in disbelief. ‘I think it might be Trish.’

‘What?!’

She moved her head and the signal faded. She moved it back and it grew louder. She stepped to her right, and then did so again. ‘This way,’ she said.

‘What’s she saying?’ Jason said, overjoyed.

‘I don’t know, it sounded like Trish, but I’m not so sure now.’

‘How can you not be sure?’

‘It’s a weak signal, it keeps breaking up. It sounded like her at first. I’m sorry, Jas, I don’t know … I might have been wrong.’

Jason didn’t say anything else and Sarah questioned what she’d heard. It had sounded like Trish’s voice. She knew it had.
I couldn’t have been mistaken, could I?

Walking through twists and turns, Sarah followed a path that kept the signal as strong as possible. Occasionally it stopped, only to start again. It still sounded like a woman, but who that woman was remained to be seen.

Weaving through the darkness, they eventually emerged into a central chamber. The floor dropped away below, but Jason said he could see the entrances to many other tunnels above and below, each one connected to the rest by a network of narrow paths. As they worked their way down, the signal drew them onwards, taking them further into the structure.

Sarah had a worrying thought. ‘What if it’s a trap?’ she said, slowing.

Jason shook his head. ‘It’s not. It must be Trish. You said it yourself. And instincts don’t lie.’

‘I don’t like it.’ She stopped walking and shone the crystal in his direction.

‘What if it is her?’ he said. ‘We have to find out, one way or the other.’

Sarah knew he was right, but he hadn’t just seen what she had.

A strange sound echoed through the passages behind them and Sarah looked at Jason in disquiet.

‘Let’s keep moving,’ he said.

She nodded in agreement and they set out at a faster pace.

Reaching the bottom, they clambered over a fallen statue and followed a narrow stream into another warren of tunnels.

The signal got stronger and Sarah pressed a button on her helmet. ‘Trish, is that you?’

She waited a moment before a distorted reply came back.

‘Well?’ Jason said.

Sarah shook her head. ‘I don’t know, it’s still breaking up too much.’

They carried on a little further before the signal grew much louder and a high pitched feedback whistle made Sarah wince in pain. The torches on top of her helmet stuttered to life before her visor also blazed forth, it’s plethora of digital dials and readouts lighting up like a fighter jet’s head-up display.

Stowing the crystal in her coveralls, Sarah’s elation at being able to see properly again took a back seat as a familiar voice came through her internal speakers.

‘Can anyone hear me?’ the voice said. ‘Is anyone there?’

‘Trish,’ – Sarah glanced at Jason, her eyes widening – ‘is that you?’

‘Oh my God – Sarah?!’

Sarah felt like her heart would explode with joy. ‘Trish, yes, it’s Sarah! Are you okay? Where are you?’

‘I don’t know,’ she said, her voice breaking with emotion, ‘I’ve been following you for ages. It’s so good to hear your voice. I thought I was going to die down here, alone in the dark.’

‘Is your helmet working?’

‘Yes; it’s pretty smashed up, one torch doesn’t work, the other blinks a bit and the visor’s cracked, but yes, it’s been working ever since it dried out.’

Despite Sarah’s soaring spirits at her friend being alive, she frowned, stopped and held up a hand to Jason who smiled while wiping away tears from his cheeks. ‘What do you mean, you’ve been following us?’

Trish didn’t reply for a moment and Sarah thought she could hear her friend crying. ‘I’ve been following the light from your torches,’ Trish said, sniffling, ‘but you’ve always been one step ahead. Why didn’t you hear me calling you? Why didn’t you—’

‘Trish, stop. How long have you been following the light?’

‘I don’t know, it seems like forever. Hours, days maybe, I don’t know.’

Sarah glanced at Jason. ‘Is it a faint blue light?’

‘No, it’s quite bright, and more green than blue. I can see it now. Why?’

‘Trish, I don’t want you to panic, but whatever you’re following … it’s not us.’

Silence ensued before she replied, ‘What?’

‘My torches haven’t been working for a long time and Jason’s are down. That light isn’t us.’

‘Then what is it?’

‘Don’t worry about that, just walk the other way. Describe where you are.’

‘It’s that thing, isn’t it?’ Trish said, her voice wavering. ‘I’m following that … that thing.’

‘Trish, calm down.’ Sarah gestured for Jason to keep moving. ‘Where are you?’

‘I’m … I don’t know. It all looks the same. Tunnels. There’s a river next to me.’

‘Good!’ Sarah said. ‘That’s good. Did you just see a statue of an Anakim warrior?’

‘I think so; there was a statue that had fallen down. I had to climb over it.’

‘Yes,’ Sarah said, increasing her pace to a jog, ‘you’re close. We’re behind you. Follow the stream back to the statue.’

‘Okay, keep talking to me.’

‘Where are you now?’

‘The stream’s on my right,’ Trish said before letting out a shout.

‘Are you okay? Trish? Trish?!’

‘I’m fine, I fell over. My light keeps going out.’

‘Okay, don’t worry; we’ll fix it, just keep going.’

‘I heard something behind me!’

‘Keep going sweetheart, keep going!’

Sarah ran faster and Jason sped up too. ‘What’s happening?!’ he said.

‘It’s following me,’ Trish told her, ‘oh, God, I can see the light!’

‘Trish, run! Just run!!’

A surge of adrenaline flooded her body and Sarah flew down the stone clad tunnel with Jason on her heels. Moments later they turned a corner and saw a flickering white light appear round a bend fifty feet away.

‘I see you!’ Trish said.

Sarah ran forward and her torchlight revealed an out of breath Trish, leaning against a wall with her arm in a makeshift sling. But before Sarah could say anything, something moved in the dark behind her friend. Sarah shone her light in its direction and a white shape skittered away into another tunnel.

Trish screamed and Jason cried out in alarm.

‘What the fuck was that!’ he said.

They ran forward and grabbed Trish.

‘I don’t know,’ Sarah said, ‘let’s move!’

They ran back the way they’d come and Sarah glanced back to see the glow of light growing brighter in the dark. ‘Faster!’ she said.

They ran down the tunnel, but Trish’s injured arm slowed them down.

Another light appeared ahead and Sarah skidded to a halt.

‘Jesus Christ.’ Jason looked behind as the other glow approached. ‘There are two of them!’

Sarah froze, incapacitated by terror.

Trish grabbed her arm and pulled her sideways. ‘In here!’

They entered a narrow passageway and ran through it in single file with Sarah leading. A myriad of turns and bends led them into a labyrinth full of leering statues and hidden drops. Sarah jumped over a deep fissure and ran on. A terrifying screech echoed through the maze. Sarah looked back to see Trish and Jason dropping behind and she stopped to encourage them on.

Moving off once more they rounded another bend and Sarah screamed.

‘What is it?’ Trish said, terrified.

‘I saw something!’

Another fearsome noise made Jason glance back. ‘Keep going!’

Sarah ran forward, forced to follow whatever she’d glimpsed. Jumping over another fissure, she hurtled round a bend and fell tumbling into a deep pit. She hit the ground with a thump and her visor and torches blinked out

‘Sarah!’

Dazed and hurting all over, Sarah looked up with blurred eyes. Twenty feet above, Trish’s visor glowed in the dark and the single light on top of her helmet flickered in and out of existence.

Sarah groaned and sat up. ‘I’m okay, but my helmet’s stopped working.’

‘Use the stone,’ Jason said.

Sarah struggled with her coveralls and withdrew the glowing crystal and shone it around to see she’d landed on soft clay.

‘Can you climb back up?’ he asked her.

Sarah stood up. ‘No, it’s too high and there’s no hand holds.’

A strange clicking noise made Trish and Jason look round.

‘Go,’ Sarah said, ‘there’s a tunnel down here, I’ll find a way up.’

They hesitated before another horrific noise echoed out.

‘GO!’ Sarah said.

‘Be careful!’ Trish jumped across the hole.

‘We’ll find you!’ Jason said and followed.

Sarah moved off into the tunnel in the same direction, the crystal held aloft to light her way. A wall loomed before her and she stumbled left and then right into yet another passage. Time passed and she found herself climbing up a slope. Up and up it went, higher and higher until she came out into yet another strange Anakim building. To her left the floor disappeared into nothing and on her right tall pillars led into shadow. She crept forward, listening out for Trish and Jason and anything else that might be following.