Blood Prize (30 page)

T
om turned in a full circle; evaluating the terrain of Raptor Park. His first appraisal brought only disappointment. No features distinguished the red parched earth, except for a fallen down shed and several piles of excavated dirt.

He squeezed his eyes shut and clawed at the tiny black flies that searched for moisture around the lids of his eyes. When he reopened them, he spotted Noah strolling towards him, kicking the dirt as he came.

“It’s not my idea of paradise, Tom.”

“Maybe not, but the big sky is awesome. It makes you realise how small you are in the scheme of things.”

Tom didn’t notice the priest walk up until he joined in the conversation.

“What’s our next move, young man? This’s your show and they’ll be about us soon enough.”

“First, I need you both to find a way of defending this place, while Isobel and I use the diary to locate the entrance.”

Tom pointed to a spot on higher ground and Noah bowed his head in agreement.

“You’ll have a view of the entire area and it keeps you out of the enemy’s sight.”

He spotted Isobel in his peripheral vision, striding out with the diary held out in front or her.

She’s lucked out … She didn’t want any of this.

No matter how much he felt like it, reality came and pushed away his need to flee. The feeling lingered there in his subconscious; take Isobel by the hand and go to safety, but what safety could ever be found?

Isobel probably felt the same way, but he knew she acted with courage, especially for someone so unaccustomed to such a life.

She began reading aloud from the diary as Tom came near.

“The first number is the distance travelled due east, from the old memorial cairn, to the hidden entrance of the cavern. Walk that out and when you get there, I’ll give you the next numbers.”

Tom paced out the distance, unsure of his feet placement and the length of his stride.

“Alright I’m here.”

“There’s a rocky outcrop ahead to your left and an old shed foundation to your right. You have to reach a point where all the three reference points are exactly the same distance from each other.”

Tom felt a sudden urge to run towards this invisible spot, but he held himself back and maintained his self-control.

“Alright I’m here, but I can’t see a damn thing.”

“First, we have to re-step it out and make sure it’s the right spot. Then we dig.”

When the shovel hit metal, the shock of it reverberated up Tom’s arm. He fell to his knees and Isobel joined him. Together they cleaned away the last traces of dirt with their hands.

“This is it, Iz.”

They strained at the weight of the old steel hatch. It took the leverage of their shovel to open it.

Tom could see the metal ladder, leading down. The diary didn’t describe the depth of the chamber and the dark hole gave no indication. It looked to Tom like it went down forever … Into some evil void.

Alright, it’s time.

He called out to Noah and the priest and eventually gained their attention by waving.

The two men drove back from the hill and jogged towards the entrance. Noah arrived first.

“Well done, Tom. You found it.”

“Yes.”

When the priest arrived, the group positioned themselves around the cavern’s entrance. Tom stood in front of both men. He reached out and placed a hand on each man’s shoulder.

“It’s time. I need you to leave the cavern and find cover on the hill.”

Noah stared back at Tom with the same intensity.

“You and Isobel can’t stay here alone. You’ll be killed.”

“Yeah. You’re right. That’s why I wanted you to come back from your position. She’s not staying either. You have to take her with you.”

“Wait. What’s that noise?”

They all turned to the north.

“It’s a jet aircraft and it’s close.”

Tom let go of the men’s shoulders and turned towards Isobel.

“Time to go, Iz. You’ll be fine. We’re all going to make it.”

“No. I’m not going to leave you here alone. We have to stay together.”

Tom saw Noah shaking his head. None of them wanted to leave. He needed to be stronger.

“My father made it plain in his letter that only I could enter the cavern. It makes sense that everyone else is away from here and hidden, especially you Isobel. So don’t waste any more time. Get going.”

Tom saw the expression change on the priest’s face. He looked ill and about to throw up, but instead, he stepped back several paces from the group and removed a weapon from his pocket.

“I’m sorry, Tom. I can’t do that. I’ll be coming in and we’ll be taking Isobel for insurance.”

Tom looked over at Noah and Isobel. They appeared to be just as shocked; all rendered impotent by the impossibility of the situation. He turned back towards the priest in an attempt to discover some kind of explanation.

“What’s this about? Are you betraying us?”

“Tom, you and Isobel down the hole.”

He turned and faced his long-time friend and associate.

“Noah, I’m sorry, I have no alternative. I have to shoot you … I have to take your life.”

U
ta carried out a thorough inventory of each piece of gear, the pilot and co-pilot removed from the aircraft.

She checked off two black 500cc BMW Motocross trail bikes, a variety of hand-held weaponry and munitions, and two tight-fitting daypacks that clung to the body for hard running. The daypacks contained medical kits, grenades, handguns and a variety of explosives, as well as high protein bars and water.

With her sister’s help, Uta stowed their firearms into specially made racks on both sides of each bike that could be reached when needed.

“Good. Let’s make haste, Réz. We need to get to Fox before the jackals arrive.”

Once on their bikes, neither women noticed the aircraft speeding north up the highway towards Winton. Both sisters focused on Raptor Park, obliterating the scene behind them in clouds of red dust.

They rode fast, on corrugated gravel roads and over loose rocky terrain; the rushing wind and the crunch of their tyres blotting out all other sound. Between bumps and slides, Uta snuck a glance at her sister.

She knows. She always does when I lie to her.

It didn’t matter. Réz accepted, knowing all the while that Uta’s injuries hurt her continually and affected her movement.

She knows she couldn’t stop me, but she doesn’t want to. This’s our day.

She adored her sister in a way that ordinary people could never understand. In all of existence, only the cardinal stood higher in her esteem than her twin, but that created a growing problem. They lived as a happy threesome, but lately …

Something’s changed. I know it. I can feel it.

If she could put her uneasiness into words …

One day he might choose one of us over the other and I couldn’t live without either of them.

_____________

Vogel searched a topographical map of the area around Raptor Park, to determine their point of entry.

We’re nearly there. Soon we make our turn … West towards our final destination.

“Sir … Can you hear that?”

“What? Yes … What kind of devilry is this, captain? Jets don’t fly out here. This is a flight path to nowhere.”

Within seconds it appeared, rising out of a mirage of shimmering, windswept lakes to the north-west of their position.

“Sir, it’s just taken off. It’s got to have been from the highway up ahead of us.”

Vogel felt as if strong hands grasped his throat; cutting off his oxygen supply.

Come on, breathe … Get a grip … Think.

“Captain. The jet …?”

“It’s a Fokker T950 business jet, which the Assembly don’t normally use. Their entire fleet are Falcons.”

“You’re sure of this?”

“Yes. The Assembly don’t take these kind of chances. It’s madness, risking a mid-sized jet on a highway, when they could more easily employ any number of attack helicopters; their military resources are endless.”

“Alright, this isn’t the Assembly, but definitely another competitor with enough resources and pluck to get at Fox first. For the moment, who they are doesn’t matter. If we don’t overtake them, we become targets when we arrive at the site.”

“Yes sir, but it might not be as bad as we think. They probably won’t have that much of an advantage.”

“Go on, captain.”

“A small jet landing on the highway leaves them with a very small force, which means, their only hope is speed; a smash and grab, but it’s a poor tactic. They won’t have the man-power and they’ll get caught with no backup, between the G11’s and us.”

“And we deploy, how?”

“They have an immediate logistical problem. How could they make it from the turn-off, to Raptor Park? Fokker T950s have a relatively small fuselage and weight capacity and no sizable cargo doors. That only leaves one possibility: a motorbike off-load.”

“A team on motorbikes. They can’t have too many men.”

“Two or three at best, sir.”

Vogel’s body began to tense as he considered the captain’s assessment of their situation. They needed to fight their way into the contest, which could be ruinous to their overall chances of success.

“Wake the men, captain. From here on, it’s full alert.”

T
om thought he understood the desperation on the priest’s face, but it didn’t make this strange moment any more real.

I have to do something … We’re dead … All of us, if I don’t.

“Nico, I have a gun and I’m going to take it out and use it if I have to.”

“Keep your hands up, Tom. I mean it. You move and I’ll kill you.”

“You can’t win. If you shoot me, the Prize is lost to you. So, drop the gun and we’ll work this out.”

The priest raised his weapon and jabbed it towards Tom’s face, as a steady stream of tears ran down his cheeks and into his beard.

Oh God … He’s going to do it.

Just when he felt the clergyman might shoot, he heard the softest of voices beside him.

“Are you going to kill me too, Nico?”

The priest spun round and glared at Isobel. He looked into that beautiful, innocent face. Could he shoot her? No. Tom didn’t think so.

Father Dominico Rossi wailed as he dropped to his knees; the gun falling from his hand as his forehead sank forward into the dirt.

“I’ve killed her, Noah … Em and all of my brethren. The Assembly found the safe-house and used them against me. Now they’re all dead.”

You poor, poor man … What kind of devil forces a man to make a decision like that. If these bastards held Isobel, would I make the same choice?

Tom watched Noah lower himself and kneel beside his comrade. As he patted his back, the priest’s chest started to heave and he threw up.

“Bring it all up, old friend. This kind of foulness has to come out.”

_____________

Isobel rushed in and the others helped her to raise the fallen priest. She understood his predicament; forced into an impossible choice by monsters.

The priest turned towards her and their eyes met.

“I’m so sorry, Isobel … My beautiful Emma. I thought …”

“You thought you could save her. Nobody should be made to do that. Hell can’t be worse than this.”

“I’ve been a fool. I so much wanted to believe … But the truth is, they’re doomed and have been since they found her.”

“We need to bring this Assembly down. They need to pay for what they’ve done.”

It seemed unreal that she felt so compelled to hug and stroke the man who just threatened their lives. She studied the faces around him. Noah looked traumatised and Tom, plain angry. As she considered this, she noticed him nod as if making up his mind about something. He put his hand on Noah’s shoulder and pointed towards a distant group of hills.

“Noah, do you see that ridge and clump of trees over there, to the south-west?”

“Tom, no. After what’s just happened I think we should stick together.”

“Did you trust my father’s judgement, Noah?”

“Yes.”

“Then trust me.”

Noah seemed reluctant to move. He looked up at the ridge, shook his head slowly and turned back towards the others.

“Only to the ridge, Tom. That’s as far as I’m prepared to go. We can cover you from there and I can protect Isobel … For a time at least.”

Isobel looked back at the priest. He appeared to have recovered some of his resolve. Noah gave him Tom’s orders and he also nodded his agreement. She didn’t feel as inclined.

If I leave. I might never see him again.

The word
love
, flashed through her mind and she shivered.

I felt love before my parent’s died, but not since … Until he came.

“I’m not going. I’m staying here with Tom.”

“You’re going, Iz. Noah will carry you if he has to. It’s too dangerous here.”

“Exactly, I …”

What could she say?

I’ll die with you … because I think I’m falling for you.

A strange thought appeared in her conscious mind, so natural that it felt as if it always dwelled there. In that moment it seemed perfectly normal to be thinking about her sex life. She wanted him to touch her and it didn’t feel awful, it felt liberating.

Wow. I want to and it’s alright.

She wanted to be esteemed by him as well as herself, but with this last thought, came panic.

“Alright, I’ll go if I have to, but you have to promise that you’ll stay alive.”

His smile brought pangs to her chest and for a second or two, her legs felt like jelly and her knees wobbled.

“Stay alive … For you?”

“Yes, for me.”

“Good … Then I’ll do my best, Iz.”

_____________

The air shimmered with heat, making it difficult for Tom to discern any actual movement up on the ridge. At forty-five degrees Celsius the temperature played tricks with his vision and threatened to empty his eyes of all moisture.

He shaded them with his hand and once again, attempted to follow the progress of his retreating friends.

I hope this isn’t the last time I see them.

His heart began to pound.

I have to survive. I have to see her again.

He searched the horizon once more, but couldn’t see them through the shifting mirage.

They’re gone.

He took one last look at the sky.

This it … I have to do this for everyone’s sake.

He climbed down through the steel entrance and disappeared into the darkness.