2041 Sanctuary (Let There Be Light) (67 page)

Goodwin looked back again to see the tsunami break over the stone megaliths. A few more paces and the massive wave rushed into the tunnel to sweep Goodwin from his feet. Carried along in a sea of frothing mayhem, Goodwin was thrown about like a cork in a bottle. And then he was sliding across the floor of the great hall, the space filled with hideous, wailing statues. Regaining his feet, a Darklight woman grabbed his arm and helped him into a run. The water continued to flood in from behind, chasing those before it with the force of mighty Neptune himself. Goodwin reached a set of stairs and the wailing sounds reached fever pitch and then cut off. Jets of black oil burst from the statues’ mouths and Goodwin kept climbing. Scaling a crumbling opening, the fleeing group emerged into the giant shaft and headed up its spiral slope. Round and round they ran and Goodwin found himself falling behind the well-conditioned Darklight mercenaries.

Captain Winter dropped back to offer encouragement. ‘Not far now, Director!’

A sudden upsurge in water sent Goodwin sprawling. Carried over the edge of the sloping pathway, he was soon joined by everyone else as the column of icy liquid spun them into a seething whirlpool. Without light, Goodwin was tossed around in the dark, his only reference the torches of the Darklight team that bobbed and swirled around him. The upward motion increased and Goodwin was propelled in a great arc out into the lake. Plunging into cold waters, he swam away from the deluge, which continued unabated.

The Darklight unit, encased in their lightweight armour, gathered together to tread water.

‘Where’s the causeway?’ Goodwin said, spitting water from his mouth as he fought to stay afloat.

‘Gone,’ Winter said from nearby. ‘We make for the shore, everybody stay together!’

The soldiers powered forward, arms and legs sending a spray of water into the air. Tired, but still alive, Goodwin kicked for dry land.

After some minutes a cry of alarm went up thirty feet away.

‘We’re under attack!’ someone else shouted.

A woman next to Goodwin disappeared beneath the inky black, dragged down by something unseen.

A shout of fear rang out as scaly hides broke the surface in all directions. Automatic weapons fired, sending flashes of light flickering across the water. Terrified, Goodwin swam through the chaos, the scene lit up by sporadic gunfire.

A man grabbed Goodwin’s arm. ‘Sir, keep swimming!’

Goodwin was about to reply when a tooth-ridden maw severed the man in two, spraying blood into Goodwin’s face.

In shock, Goodwin span round, unsure which way to go.

A light shone in Goodwin’s direction. ‘Director, over here!’

Goodwin swam forward once more to rejoin Captain Winter.

‘Follow me!’ The Darklight officer struck out again with Goodwin in tow.

Limbs aching and lungs bursting, it felt like an age before the Captain suddenly stood up and turned back to help Goodwin to his feet.

Stumbling through the shallows, Goodwin was led to dry land where he dropped down, shattered and numb.

Captain Winter detached his rifle from his back, poured out the water, and walked back in up to his waist. Other men and women struggled to shore while their leader fired off rounds into the lake to protect those further out.

Not long after, when everyone had reached the safe haven of terra firma, Goodwin wiped his hands over his face and tried to make sense of everything that had just happened. He couldn’t get the image of Joseph’s dead body out of his mind. And when respite finally came, it was only to be replaced by the sound of Rebecca’s gut-wrenching scream, the noise echoing through his tortured soul like a jagged scythe. He closed his eyes, trying to shut it out, shut it all out.

If only I’d stayed at camp and listened to Kara
,
Goodwin thought,
none of this would have happened. Joseph and Rebecca would be alive, the lieutenant, Winter’s operatives, even Walker and his men. How did I not see what was right in front of me? I was so sure. How could I have been so wrong? How could I have been so blind?
A well of fury and loathing for the entity, the elusive light, the creature – whatever it was – built within him. But as fast as that sensation grew, it was quickly replaced by the shame and guilt of his actions. He knew deep down it was his single-minded determination to take care of those around him that had ended up killing some and hurting many more. It was his desire to escape Sanctuary that had made him the perfect vessel for coercion, be that to his own delusion or something more sinister. But whatever spell he’d been under, if any, only he was to blame for all that had transpired. Only he was culpable for the losses they’d all endured. Goodwin dug his fingers into his eyes to try and dull the pain and continued to remonstrate with himself as Captain Winter counted casualties.

♦

‘A third of our force?’ Winter shook his head.

‘Yes, sir, just under – fourteen in total.’

Another soldier approached. ‘Captain, I’m picking up an all-frequency alert.’

‘Patch it through to my helmet.’ Winter switched to the appropriate channel. ‘This is Captain Winter, code in, sigma two seven niner.’

‘Captain, Major Offiah, report.’

‘Major, we’ve secured the director. Darklight losses at thirty per cent. Twenty-one hostiles terminated, seven remain unaccounted for. Secondaries …’ he paused, composing himself, ‘secondaries expired.’

‘My condolences, Captain. Lieutenant Manaus was an outstanding officer, but the time for grieving will have to wait. I want your unit to rendezvous a-sap to the coordinates I’ve just sent to your system.’

‘Trouble, sir?’

‘I’m mobilising the entire camp, stay sharp, soldier, there’s—’

A fuzz of noise buzzed through his helmet’s speakers. ‘Sir? Say again, Major.’ Winter looked at his radio operator. ‘Get them back.’

The Darklight soldier searched the frequencies and gave a shake of the head. ‘It’s no good, the whole band’s down.’

‘Jamming?’

‘Maybe, but who?’

Winter lowered his visor. ‘Or what.’

♦

Goodwin heard Winter end his transmission, but his thoughts were elsewhere. He’d never felt so low – so numb. His spirit was crushed beyond any hope of redemption.
The surface is lost. Joseph and Rebecca are gone. What is the point of going on? I – the destroyer of lives
.

The captain picked up his rifle. ‘Listen up! We’re moving out, Major’s orders. Coms are down, threat level high. Weapons hot, systems primed.’ Winter held out his hand. ‘Ready for another round, Director?’

Goodwin looked up with weary eyes. ‘Will it never end?’

Winter hauled him to his feet. ‘Everything ends, sir, its up to us to keep fighting.’

‘So what’s the emergency this time?’

‘That’s what we’re going to find out.’ He helped Goodwin into a jog and the beleaguered Darklight unit moved off into the dark void of the immense underground chamber, situation unknown.

Chapter Eighty Seven

Four men crept through the ancient halls of the Anakim Sphinx. The roar of noise that had shaken the monument had fallen quiet and their footsteps echoed loud in their ears. Cold water dripped down from above and the lights from their torches sent strange forms leaping out from the dark, the abstract architecture as alien as anything they’d seen so far.

Priest was unsure where they’d made the wrong turn, but make it they had and instead of finding the exit they’d wandered into another area of the sphinx. There was one upside to their remote location; they were far away from Goodwin and the light in the melting floor. Seeing his two friends dragged under by some shimmering apparition had been too much, he’d never been so scared in his life.
To hell with Goodwin and his Anakim god, to hell with the USSB, to hell with it all!
He wished he’d never let Walker convince him about Goodwin’s plan.
I should have stayed on the surface
, Priest thought,
man wasn’t made to live underground
.

‘We’re going the wrong way,’ one of the soldiers said.

His friend spun round, gun raised. ‘Did anyone hear that?’

‘We’re all gonna die down here,’ said another, ‘alone in the dark.’

Priest gave a growl. ‘Shut the fuck up, all of you. This place isn’t infinite, we keep walking until we hit a wall then we follow it out.’

The man who’d heard the noise stopped moving as the others continued. ‘There’s something back there,’ he said, searching the pitch-black with his rifle scope. ‘I’m sure of it.’

A whistling wind blew through the hall, ruffling their hair.

Priest stopped and looked back. All four men now pointed weapons and torches back the way they’d come. The air grew still once more, but something had changed and Priest took a step back.

A distant sound sent a strange vibration through the stone floor.

‘I told you I heard something,’ said the man, glancing round.

Priest took another step back, and another, as the sound grew louder.

‘What is that?’ said the soldier’s friend.

Racing along the floor and closing fast, a dark shadow ate up their light.

Priest’s eyes widened in realisation. ‘RUN!’

A massive wall of water tore towards them and the first man disappeared in a sea of black.

Priest dodged round a corner and down a narrow passage. A man’s scream vanished in a roar of noise, followed by another soon after. On his own, Priest cast aside his weapon and increased his speed. Bursting out into a great hall, he ran for his life as the raging rapids smashed into the bend behind and erupted out.

An orange glow guided Priest onwards and a few paces later he slid to a stop before a sheer drop. A trickle of dust sifted down into a sea of black tar and steaming lava, and he glanced back to see the liquid torrent rearing up into a giant wave.

He turned back to the shimmering magma, the ruddy light reflecting in his eyes. A myriad of images flashed through Priest’s mind, some of them good, many of them bad. ‘Forgive me, Lord,’ he said, ‘for I have sinned.’

Washed over the edge, the last member of the USSB decontamination team fell to his death, his terrified heart full of traumatic regret and self deluding lies.

Epilogue

The ousted director of USSB Steadfast slowed his pace, his legs aching and mind faltering.

Captain Winter halted his unit’s advance and came back to Goodwin’s side. ‘You okay, sir?’

Goodwin came to a stop, sucked in some air and shook his head. ‘Go on without me,’ – he bent down and took another breath – ‘I’m done.’

‘Where you go, we go, Director.’

‘Why? Why bother? What’s so special about me that you’ll risk your lives for mine? All I’ve brought you people is an endless nightmare of suffering. You’d be better off leaving me out here to die.’

Winter knelt down on one knee in front of him. ‘That’s quitting talk, sir. I don’t listen to quitting talk. And in answer to your question, we risk our lives for yours because that’s our job; it’s what we’re paid to do.’

Goodwin looked at him. ‘I thought mercenaries had the luxury of choosing their fights?’

‘Yeah, pretty much.’

‘Then you haven’t answered my question.’

Winter wiped his nose and sniffed. ‘You’re right, of course. I act out orders because that’s what I do; it’s my way of life. I follow a chain of command, always have done and probably always will. But unlike me, there are many others that have a greater purpose, a bigger moral compass, if you will. There’s still thousands of people down here who need your help; are you going to let them down when they need you the most?’

‘How can they trust me when I can’t trust myself?’ Goodwin said. ‘I’ve been compromised. My decision-making is shot. Kara was right to have me replaced. I would have done the same in her position.’

‘And there’s part of your answer. That you recognise your mistakes is why you’re such a great leader. Your resolve may have led you down the wrong path this time, but that just makes you wiser, stronger. Can you not see? It’s not about you; it’s about everyone, the collective. You hold us together, the glue in the mix. Without your reasoning, many, if not all of us, would already be six feet under. My unit, my sister, they put their lives on the line because they believed in you. Commander Hilt believed in you. I still believe in you. You just need to believe in yourself. There’s always a brighter tomorrow, Director, we don’t even need to find it, we just have to try.’

‘Beautiful hope,’ Goodwin murmured as he considered Winter’s words.

A Darklight soldier approached.

‘What is it? Winter said, standing.

‘I’m picking up a new transmission.’

‘The major?’

‘I’m not sure, sir. It keeps breaking up.’

‘Let me listen.’

The man adjusted his radio and handed Winter the handset.

A rush of static hissed through the com system before a garbled voice stuttered to silence. The message repeated and then another voice answered. ‘Target sighted, in pursuit—’

The radio crackled and the communication cut out.

‘This is Captain Winter, what is your location? Over.’

They waited for a reply, swapping looks as the seconds ticked by.

‘I say again. This is Captain Winter, what is your location? Over.’

‘—coordinates, need immediate assistance … our location.’ The signal faded before returning. ‘—the light’s closing on our position, not sure when we can—’

A roar of gunfire echoed through the handset, to be replaced with a steady hiss of white noise.

Everyone waited with bated breath for the voice to speak again.

‘Signal’s gone,’ the soldier said. ‘Coordinates appear to originate from the city’s centre, in the opposite direction to the major’s rendezvous point.’

‘And no one else is responding?’

‘No, sir.’

‘What do you want to do, Director?’ Winter turned back to Goodwin. ‘Stay here and wallow in self-pity or step back up to the plate? Fight for what’s yours, take back control; lead us as only you know how, or accept defeat and ignore this call for help? The choice is yours.’