2041 Sanctuary (Let There Be Light) (18 page)

‘Hey! And what’s with the hideous creature?’ Jason’s expression was one of confused outrage.

Sarah couldn’t help but chuckle.

Jason’s scowl morphed into a smile as he saw the funny side. ‘Your face,’ he pointed at Trish, ‘you almost wet yourself.’

‘Did not.’

He grinned. ‘Yeah, yah did.’

Sarah’s own smile faded as the reality of their situation returned. She looked at the time. ‘Come on you two, we’ve had enough rest, we need to kick on.’

The momentary jubilation passed and the companions moved out into the darkness once more, Sarah, as ever, leading the way.

Chapter Eighteen

A small beacon pulsed white in the darkness, its glow revealing the cave walls around it every five seconds like a strobe with a run-down battery. Sarah bent down to inspect the waypoint marker, which consisted of a metal rod with a light on top. The device drilled itself into the rock when deployed and once secured in place it acted as a permanent reference point for those that followed in the tracks of the Deep Reach survey team that had laid it.

Sarah, Trish and Jason had been travelling for some time, but they’d made good headway after the pendant had helped activate the strange tunnel beneath the Anakim arch. The terrain had been on a level, and only a few short climbs had been needed to bypass some deep cracks and vertical shafts.

Jason approached with the Centipede at his side. ‘So, where now?’

More than pleased they’d been able to intersect the return route plotted by the Deep Reach team that had discovered the temple, Sarah consulted her map.

Zooming in on her visor, she analysed the terrain ahead and the location of the water they desperately needed. She turned on the spot, viewing the multitude of tunnels that led away from them. She pointed with an arm. ‘That way, about five hundred yards.’

They set off again with renewed vigour and it wasn’t long before trickles of water seeped from the rock walls of the cave system they traversed. Soon, the flow of crystal clear liquid could be heard, and then seen, running through small channels cut out of the rock floor. The smell of damp stone made their mouths salivate and Sarah decided the time to stop was now. The repaired canister on the Centipede, all but exhausted, remained forgotten as the three friends got down on their hands and knees to scoop fresh water into parched mouths.

‘Oh my God,’ Trish said, as she’d drank her fill. ‘This is the best water I’ve ever tasted.’

Sarah had to agree, although its warmth surprised her. Far from cold, the liquid was mineral rich and left a metallic aftertaste on the tongue. Splashing some over her face, she then took some time to replenish the Centipede’s reservoir.

‘Does that look like steam to you?’ Trish pointed down the tunnel.

Sarah squinted in the direction. ‘I think so. And according to the Deep Reach team that were here before, it’s also the way to the temple.’

Jason hesitated. ‘I think I can see light down there.’

Sarah heard the anxiety in his voice. ‘Jas, there’s nothing down here. Whatever you saw must have been a reflection. We’d just activated the Anakim wall, a technology beyond our understanding.’

‘It wasn’t a trick of the light, trust me.’

Trish moved off down the tunnel, thirst quenched and spirits lifted. ‘It was probably just the Centipede’s main-beams reflected by the surface of the arch, or you were hallucinating. You both said these underground places mess with your mind.’

Sarah nodded. ‘She’s right. Come on, we may have water but we still need to find the temple, light or no.’

‘The sooner we get to the surface, the better,’ he said, giving in to their reasoning.

They moved forward, and a few minutes later turned a corner.

Sarah switched off her visor. The chamber they’d entered glowed a deep orange, the light flickering over the crumbling ruins that adorned its surround. In the centre a grand piazza led off into the distance, lined either side with rivers of boiling water that shone bright. Peering into one of these steaming basins, Sarah saw the glow emanated from underneath the water itself.

‘It looks like there’s larva underneath the river,’ Trish said. ‘Isn’t the temple with the transportation devices supposed to be in a hotter part of Sanctuary?’

Sarah nodded. ‘We must be getting close.’

Jason joined them. ‘There must be a barrier beneath the water stopping the lava evaporating.’

Sarah didn’t care, despite its beauty, the heat was intense and she could already feel the damp of sweat on her skin. They needed to move lest they burn off the precious resource they’d just consumed. Carrying on, they passed into a strange dome-like building with curved triangular points sprouting from the roof like a lopsided stegosaurus. The air cooled and they found themselves once more in the dark. Visors back on, they worked their way forward, following the directions on Sarah’s map.

They passed the dusty tombs of giants, long dead, their feet leaving trails in the sediment of eons. Huge stone walls and pillars towered above them in the dark, the features covered in fabulous abstract carvings. One particular image caught Sarah’s eye, an Anakim priestess spearing a fearsome beast, while another stalked her from behind.

Jason, perhaps still unnerved by whatever it was he thought he’d seen, walked on by, oblivious. Sarah checked her visor. A weak signal from the next waypoint beacon guided them left, out of the building and down yet another cave system, its entrance half-shrouded by a partial collapse.

A few hours later the route had turned into a veritable labyrinth that seemed to go on forever. Sarah stopped. Ahead, half a dozen passages led down into more of the same.

Jason halted the Centipede by her side. ‘Something wrong?’

‘I don’t know. This doesn’t seem right.’ She brought up an image of the route they’d just taken. The screen on her visor flickered. She banged the side of her helmet and the image resumed, uninterrupted. Running her eyes back over the map, she tried to retrace their steps in her mind.

Moments came and went and Trish moved closer. ‘Sarah?’

‘Perhaps we took a wrong turn,’ Jason said. ‘There was a section half an hour back where we could have gone either way.’

Sarah shook her head. ‘I don’t understand, the map says the next waypoint beacon should be right here.’

‘Perhaps its light’s broken.’ Jason walked around the perimeter, searching, and Trish followed his lead.

After they’d each inspected the surrounding passages in all directions, multiple times, Sarah removed her helmet and ran a hand through her hair. ‘This doesn’t make sense, it should be here.’

Crouched on her haunches nearby, Trish looked up at her. ‘Well, it’s not. We’ve looked everywhere.’

‘We’ll have to go back and try again,’ Jason said.

And that’s exactly what they did; however, it soon became apparent finding the way back was a lot harder than they’d envisaged.

‘What the fuck is going on!’ Sarah stamped a foot in frustration at another dead end.

‘We’re lost,’ Jason said. ‘That’s what’s going on.’

Sarah breathed deep and tried to regain her calm. ‘You both looked at the map, too; it’s not just me, is it?’

Trish sat down on the Centipede. ‘The map’s wrong. We’ve all seen it.’

‘It can’t be wrong.’

‘Well, it is.’

‘What I want to know is,’ Jason said, ‘how is it we can’t retrace our steps?’

Trish and Sarah looked at him.

‘Regardless of where the beacon is, we should be able to find our way back. Why can’t we?’

Trish sighed. ‘Because we took a wrong turn.’

Jason shook his head. ‘That shouldn’t make any difference. We’ve been working our way through Sanctuary from day one and I’ve lost count of the number of times we’ve had to double back. Why can’t we do that now?’

‘You’re saying what we already know,’ Trish said, ‘there’s a problem with the map.’

‘No, I don’t think that’s it. I think there’s something wrong with the helmet itself.’ He looked at Sarah. ‘Didn’t you say Riley or someone told you Sanctuary messes with our technology?’

Sarah nodded. ‘It’s something to do with the material the Anakim used to stop the Earth’s mantle from frying everyone inside.’

‘So, we’re down deep, aren’t we? Not just deep, super deep. We’ve been heading down almost the whole time for days.’

‘What’s your point?’

‘My point is, before we entered this maze, what did we see?’

‘Water.’

‘Boiling water,’ Trish said.

Jason pointed to her. ‘Exactly, and what was underneath that?’

‘Lava!’ Sarah finally saw what he was getting at. ‘You think the lower we go, the more interference there is?’

‘Sort of. It makes sense, doesn’t it? The hotter it gets, the greater the walls of Sanctuary have to work to keep it at bay.’

‘And whatever was separating the lava from the water must have been working
really
hard.’

He nodded, his expression grim.

‘But none of this helps us,’ Trish said, sounding angry, ‘does it?’

Sarah didn’t agree. ‘Well, we know what the problem is, that’s something. Now all we have to do is find our way out and try again.’

Trish hopped up from her seat on the Centipede. ‘Then let’s stop yakking and get started. I’m beginning to really loathe this place.’

With no arguments from Sarah or Jason, the three friends set off once more, turning back the way they’d come, determined to find their way out.

Behind them, unseen around a corner, a single metal pole lay wedged behind a rock, crumpled and bent; on its top was a small transparent shell where a light had once pulsed forth. The missing Deep Reach waypoint beacon remained unfound, but as those that had sought it returned from whence they came, a shimmering blue-green light emerged from the dark to illuminate the area. And moments later, a strange clicking noise began.

Chapter Nineteen

‘Seriously, we’re totally lost and you think now’s the time to take rock samples?’

‘We’re better off than we were before. At least we have plenty of water now. Time’s on our side again.’

Depressed, Trish gave Sarah
that
look, while Jason, ankle deep in cold water, struggled to pull out his prize.

It had been two days since they’d entered the system of endless tunnels and they were still no closer to finding their way out than when they’d started. They had, however, found a spring of water, an oasis in the middle of their open and ever-changing prison.

With a grunt of exertion, Jason fell back onto dry land with a large chunk of rock clasped in his hands. Setting it down on the ground, he withdrew a knife and whittled away the soft outer layers.

Piece by piece, Jason revealed the interior until he levered out a large chunk and a blue glow washed over his hands.

Trish leaned in for a look. ‘Wow, that’s huge.’

‘That’s what all the girls say.’ He glanced at Sarah and winked.

Trish tutted, but remained gazing at the luminescing object as keenly as Sarah herself.

Jason continued his work, revealing more of the treasure within. ‘I think there’s a whole seam of this stuff running through the rock.’

Trish gave a snort and moved away. ‘Why do you want it, anyway? You’ve got those stones.’

‘Yeah, most of them went funny. And this,’ he waggled the rock in the air, ‘is way better. Look at the size of it!’

Sarah cocked her head to one side. ‘Went funny?’

Jason put down his tool and dug into his coveralls. ‘Yeah.’ He chucked some stones at her. ‘Look; they went all normal.’

Sarah caught a couple and saw he was right. The stones he’d had before were now ordinary, no glow, just a dull, dirty grey mixed with black. Turning them over in her hand, she returned to thinking about their predicament. How could they find the temple if they couldn’t get out of this never-ending rabbit warren? They might have struck it lucky with water, but they were all suffering from hunger pains as their food supply ran low. She tossed a pebble into the water and watched the ripples expand out towards the small shoreline.

Jason stood up. ‘There, check it out; sweet, eh?’

Sarah looked at the glowing perfection he held aloft in a gloved hand. The rectangular brick of crystal pulsed a deep, ocean blue with veins of lighter and darker shades criss-crossing its surface.

A shriek of noise echoed down the tunnels, filling the air.

‘What the fuck was that?!’ Trish stepped back towards Jason, who’d gone stock still.

Sarah, heart beating loud, stood up, listening, ears pricked.

Silence reigned as they all stood immobile.

The noise came again, sending goosebumps prickling along her arms.

Trish looked at Sarah, eyes wild. ‘Tell me that’s the wind.’

‘That’s no wind.’ Sarah lowered her visor, and looked down to see her climbing axe already grasped beneath white knuckles.

Jason stowed his glowing brick and pulled Trish away from the direction the noise come from. ‘I think we should go.’

Sarah spun up the Centipede’s motor, its main beams blinking forth as she manoeuvred it to a tunnel entrance.