GENESIS (GODS CHAIN) (53 page)

Francesca’s pace quickened along the stone passage, her lungs breathing fast th
e
cold
, rotten
air.
She seemed to be losing it!
Then
a muffled sound of a click or a stick hitting another stick
sounded in the echoing cavern.

‘What was that? Shit
,
it
’
s bloody cold down here
.
’ Francesca pulled her shoulders together automatically as another shiver travelled up her spine
.
She watched
as
her cold breath escap
ed
into the still air and drift
ed
for a moment
.
‘
W
hat was that sound?’
she asked herself
again
,
talking in order to keep her sanity
.

She heard nothing further, not even
the
popping or muffled slapping noise of the
k
iller
’
s silencer.
That would have been easier to explain.
The cold intens
ified
as
Francesca continued
through the surrounding dead.

On all surfaces of the narrow dormitory, floor and walls, a heavy frost
had made
progress more precarious.
It was unnatural.
The floor glittered and glinted with the many particles of ice as her headlamp beam crossed over
it
.
An increasing frost coated every surface
—
it was forming
more thickly
every moment that passed
.
M
ore and more white crystals expand
ed
across the void as she continued further and deeper into that ghostly gallery
.

Her hands were
,
by now
,
freezing
,
as was her face.
Everything felt icy cold from head to toe. Francesca mov
ed
as quickly as possible. Her thin garments were no protection, her

movement should have created some heat
...
she was shivering,
but
it was not enough.

*********

The killer reached the top of the stone stairs. Most annoyed
at
taking the wrong bend
, she had
backtrack
ed swiftly
.
The hunt was now over for this one.

Through
her
state
-
of
-
the
-
art AN/PVS-9N scope and night vision gun si
gh
t with its short scope
,
darkness
was converted
into day view;
w
ith the improved sensor technology, other surrounding effects were becoming obvious
as well.
M
ultiple motions could be detected all around the area,
and
something else was being picked up
by
the low frequency sound sensor
.
This specialised assassin
’
s tool was located on the
barrel of the k
iller
’
s
gun
and could see the girl perfectly
,
ignoring the other unexplained interferences and strange noises.
There was unfinished business to take care of
, and
the systems administrator’s luminous image was sharp and clear
as she
c
a
m
e
quickly towards
her
assailant,
walking
back towards the stairs
.

To the naked eye
,
the girl
’
s figure appeared small and distant and completely white in colour, she was shivering and encrusted by a light frost
that grew
all over her body.
The killer was waiting.
Standing elevated overhead and magnifying the night scope
,
the killer saw
Francesca
in a blue luminosity,
and
pull
ed
the girl’s image tight and close inside
her
deadly si
gh
t.

She must be lost
.
This is going to be easy
,
after all!
The environment must be causing th
e
damn interference
...i
t
won’t matter because
the idiot is nearly at the end of the corridor.
It’ll be a o
ne shot kill
.

The assailant readied
, but
then
...
.

What’s she doing now? Looking at something
...
on
the side of the wall? Rescind her now and I can get out of this stinking place
...
.

Suddenly the girl slipped
on
t
he ground
, which was
covered in ice and frost
.

Tricky, she slipped
...
what’s caught her attention?
The killer seemed more curious
than deadly as she
observ
ed
the technician
’s
sliding
re
appear
ance.
Other signals were strong,
but the killer ignored the
major warning
s
and vibrati
ons
all around her
.
There were also sounds inaudible to
the
human ear, waves
that
show
ed
up as luminous patterns of moving hashed greens and yellows.
These waves
were
instantly converted by the smart electronics into a shifting and shaky movement within the killer’s scope controller unit
.

The equipment sensed movement everywhere,
and
there was too much for it to process.
The uneven motions were closing in from high above where
the killer
st
oo
d
.
The s
hapes were
un
defined, interfering and difficult to focus on
.
I
t was impossible to target
the girl.
By this time
,
the whole corridor was by now completely covered in thick frost
.

That is a massive movement!
The
k
iller was confused and cold
.
S
ome kind of shifty motion
i
s occurring everywhere
.
It must be a malfunction
of my scope
in this crap temperature
,
she grumped.

Looking around suspiciously, lifting her eyes from the scope for a moment,
the killer
observ
ed
only darkness and the odd clicking sounds
above her
.
The killer r
ais
ed
the scope again to see
the
blue image of the girl below,
who appeared to be
surrounded by
a
new and bizarre
,
luminous phenomenon
.
T
he assassin attempted to refocus on the technician.

On target, the prey was again in the crosshairs. Taking careful aim and holding a deep breath
, the killer tightened her finger on the trigger
.
The hunt for the girl was over
...
say goodbye!

**********

Frost in Rome? Not usually if ever at this time of year,
although perhaps in
January or February
...but
never underneath the
c
ity! This is fucking crazy
...
.

Francesca attempted to make sense of her white and icy surroundings. Frost coated the yellow algae
that grew on the walls. She had
travelled maybe half a mile, she was not sure; the journey seemed to go on and on
...
.