The Power of Five Oblivion (53 page)

“Yes, Jamie. We’ve been waiting for you for an awfully long time so another few hours won’t hurt. Eat something and get some rest. It isn’t over yet.” She turned and walked away, tapping her cane on the concrete floor ahead of her.

“Something to eat,” I said. “That sounds like a good idea.” I yawned. “Then bed. Then a shower. I don’t care which comes first.”

The next twelve hours were among the most blissful in my life. First we ate … real food. Meat and fresh vegetables, then chocolate pudding and custard. Chocolate! For me it was just a faint memory, but even smelling the warm, brown sludge in my bowl was like opening a treasure chest. I don’t think I’d ever felt full before. Every meal I’d eaten in the village had just taunted me, leaving me almost as hungry as when I’d sat down. But I was completely stuffed when I made my way to the sleeping quarters, where a room had been specially prepared for me.

I had a bed with clean sheets and a decent pillow. But first came the total luxury of a warm shower. Not hot but not icy cold either – and strong enough to cover my head and shoulders without me having to move around. They even supplied shampoo, which was a lovely golden colour and smelled of apples. My room was small and plain. It had no windows – but that didn’t matter. I was asleep in less than five seconds and it was another nine hours before I woke up.

Jamie had the room next door – identical to mine, I noticed – and that evening (if it was evening … it was hard to say) we had supper together in the main room with the other Nexus people, who seemed like a nice bunch and looked normal, even if they were all dressed the same. Of course, there was nothing normal about this underground complex but after Little Moulsford it was nice to be introduced to people who smiled and chatted and didn’t stare at you like they were imagining you served up as the Sunday roast.

Then the Traveller appeared, not just washed but shaved for the first time, which made him look ten years younger. He was dressed, like all of us, in grey overalls and his arm was in a sling. I could just make out fresh bandages wrapped around his shoulder, so I guessed they must have taken out the bullet and given him painkillers or whatever because he looked completely refreshed.

I still didn’t know very much about the other members of the Nexus. We’d eaten with Will and Sophie, who had wanted to know all about the end of the village and our flight down the canal but annoyingly told us very little about themselves. Perhaps they’d been instructed not to. Will admitted to being the Traveller’s brother, older by two years – so at least I’d been right about that. Sophie was just a friend, although a close one. It couldn’t have been easy for her either, being apart from him all this time.

The Traveller led us away from the dining area and through a door next to the kitchen. It led to a conference room with a glass table, comfortable leather chairs and maps of the UK pinned to the walls. Susan Ashwood was waiting for us. Sophie and Will had come too, so that made six of us sitting with the door shut in this private space.

“I’m sure you have a lot of questions,” the Traveller said. “So I’ll begin by answering some of them. Jamie … you met Susan Ashwood just before you went to Hong Kong. She’s in charge here. You could say she’s our boss. She was the one who sent me to the village to find you, although I have no idea how she knew that you’d show up. That doesn’t matter. The important thing is that you’re safe. And in case you’re wondering, you’re about ten miles from St Meredith’s, to the north of London. Miss Ashwood will tell you the rest. Then we’ve got to decide what we’re going to do.”

The blind woman had been waiting for her turn to speak. It was interesting how all three of them seemed to be in awe of her, even though they had known her all this time. Nobody called her “Susan”, for example. She was always “Miss Ashwood”. She turned her head so that she could address Jamie directly.

“Jamie, you know that the Nexus existed only to help you and the other Gatekeepers,” she began. “We were always aware that the world would come to these terrible times – it had been predicted by Joseph of Cordoba, for a start. So when we met you in Farringdon all those years ago, we had already made preparations. We had millions of pounds at our disposal. Our members were enormously wealthy … industrialists, statesmen. We were effectively able to plan for the end of the world.

“We built survival pods. That’s what you’re in now. You may think it a little extreme but let me assure you that back in the Sixties – when I was a young girl – there were many places just like this in existence. The world was afraid of nuclear war and the British government built a series of bunkers deep underground. This was one of them. We bought it and adapted it to our own needs. There were six other pods. The one in Tokyo was destroyed and Istanbul was discovered by the Old Ones and overrun. But the Nexus still has people around the world. We have sent our agents to Mecca, Buenos Aires, Cairo and Delhi. It was fortunate that Matt and Richard Cole were able to bring us a copy of the monk’s diary. It gave us the locations of many of the gates and we have tried to maintain a presence near every one of them. In addition, we have planes. We have food and weapons. We are here to serve you.

“I last met you ten years ago, when you and Matthew Freeman left for Hong Kong. Shortly after that, much of Hong Kong was destroyed by a typhoon and many of us believed that all five of you had been killed, particularly when we failed to hear from any of you. I knew otherwise. The spirits kept me informed. There is no time in the spirit world. They knew that you had been sent forward ten years and that if we could simply survive that long, you would be back.”

“Excuse me,” I said. I hadn’t meant to interrupt but I had to challenge what I had just heard. “Are you saying that you talk to ghosts?”

Miss Ashwood nodded slightly, as if the question was of no importance and the answer completely obvious. Then she went on. “A year after you had gone, on the ninth of May, the UK was hit by a series of dirty bombs – part nuclear, part biochemical. To this day we do not know who was behind the atrocity. It could have been religious extremists. It could have been anybody. It hardly makes much difference to the survivors. The government was completely wiped out. Any form of infrastructure disappeared. At the same time, the world was experiencing a series of catastrophes. Massive volcano eruptions in Japan. Floods in Europe and Australia. Famine in America. Plague in China. It was as if the four horsemen of the Apocalypse had finally arrived, only there were four hundred of them, riding in a stampede. We were left on our own. Nobody came to our aid.

“I was brought here originally by Sir James Tarrant. You may remember him, Jamie. He was the assistant commissioner of the London police and a good man. He died two years ago … a heart attack. There were a dozen of us to start with but more people joined. Over the years, we’ve had seven casualties – mainly on expeditions above ground.

“We have kept a long vigil here, watching the Old Ones tear apart what was left of our country. In some ways, we have been fortunate. We began with a vast depot of provisions and unlimited water … we have our own purification system. We have fuel and electricity. We are able to grow our own food both underground and on the surface. We even have books, DVDs and computer games!

“Even so, it has not been easy. You could go mad living like this … so many of us, thrown together, buried alive. But we have had a common cause. Very occasionally we have heard from the other pods. We have had to be careful as there is always the chance that our radio signals will be intercepted. But above all, we have had hope. We always knew that one day the Five would return.

“Seven years ago, once things had become a little more settled, I sent Graham Fletcher out to look for the door which I knew existed in the east of England, in the church of St Botolph’s. He had everything he needed on the
Lady Jane
and the river and canal system would allow him to slip unseen through the country. It was a great deal to ask of him but there was no other way. He had to find the door and wait there for one of the Five to appear and then to bring them here. He has succeeded. Although he has been separated from his friends and his brother for all these years, he has never wavered. We have much to be grateful for.”

“St Meredith’s is still standing,” Jamie said.

I was amazed how confident he was. He’d just taken all this on board but he hadn’t even blinked. I was freaking out and he was totally in control. But then this entire operation, these people, the nuclear bunker or whatever it was … all of it was only there for him. So perhaps it was natural that he should take command.

“Yes,” Miss Ashworth replied. “But there’s a difference, Jamie. The Old Ones know about it. They may have even left it intact on purpose, as a trap to draw you in. It looks abandoned but we have sent out spies and know that it is permanently surrounded. There are shape-changers in London … and worse. They were always waiting in the hope that you would emerge there from Hong Kong. And they will certainly be waiting for you now.”

“They think Jamie is dead,” the Traveller said.

“That’s true, Graham. And it may help us. Maybe they’ll relax their guard. But we still have to be very careful before we try to go in.” She turned back to Jamie. “The doors aren’t working, are they?”

“No,” Jamie admitted. “But that’s going to change.” Suddenly he was the centre of attention. It was as if Miss Ashwood had passed over her authority to him. “Matt and the others are alive,” he continued. “I’ve seen them in the dreamworld, which is a place we can go when we’re asleep. Matt is in Brazil. The last time I saw her, Scarlett was heading for Dubai. She’s with Richard Cole. Pedro is in Italy. And Scott…” He hesitated. “Scott is already in Oblivion, in Antarctica. That’s where this is all going to end, and if you have people who are ready to fight, that’s where they should be heading.”

“We could fly you there,” Will said. “Heathrow and Gatwick are both out of use but there’s a landing strip at Elstree we can use…”

“No.” Jamie shook his head. “The doors are going to open again. Matt is going to send me a signal. I have to get to St Meredith’s as soon as possible and then, when the moment comes, I’ll join him in Oblivion.”

Nobody argued. Whatever Jamie wanted, that was what was going to happen.

“Can you get me there?” he asked.

“Yes.” Miss Ashwood nodded. “But London is terribly dangerous. Parts of it are still radioactive. And there was some sort of virus we know nothing about. Conditions change daily, depending on how the wind blows. Incredibly, there are still people living there but they’re barely recognizable as human beings. You were in Little Moulsford. You’ve seen what can happen. We have a safe house near St Meredith’s but you can’t stay there more than three or four days.”

“I want to go there straight away,” Jamie said. “And I’m going to need as many people as you can spare. When the time comes, we’re going to have to fight our way inside. And I don’t know why I’m saying this but once Matt gives the signal, I don’t think we’re going to have much time.”

“All right. Graham will make all the arrangements.”

“I’m coming too,” I said. The words had come out all by themselves. Once again, I hadn’t meant to speak. I also thought that someone would try to talk me out of it, that they would make me see sense. But to my surprise, nobody did.

And that was how I came to be part of it. That was why I was there at the end.

FORTY

We left at six o’clock in the evening. I only knew it because the clocks told me. In this underground world, I wondered how anyone had any sense of time. The Traveller said that it would be safer to cross London in the dark. Despite his wound, he insisted on coming with us, but this time it would be his brother, Will Fletcher, who would be in charge. Will knew the city better – but the two of them didn’t want to spend any more time apart. There were another four men who had changed out of the grey overalls they always wore in the pod and were now in army camouflage, bristling with guns and other equipment. I felt a little safer having them around me, but then I had no idea what we were heading into. London. For years it had been a name – and one that you didn’t mention too often. It had been destroyed, along with another eight cities in the UK, and that had been enough to tip the whole country into chaos. It was as if I was about to travel into the very broken heart.

We ate another meal before we left, which suited me. Once we were in the city we would be surviving on only what we could carry. I noticed Graham and Will Fletcher sitting next to each other, deep in conversation. They obviously had a lot of catching up to do but not much time. Finally, we stood up and got ready to leave. We had all been given backpacks. I don’t know what was in mine but it weighed a ton.

I looked for Jamie and saw him perching on one of the sofas near the TV. I went over to join him, then realized that he was talking to Susan Ashwood, the blind woman who was sitting opposite him. I didn’t want to burst in on them but at the same time I was close enough to hear their conversation. He had his back to me and she, of course, couldn’t see, so neither of them was aware of me. She was saying goodbye.

“I won’t see you again, Jamie,” she was saying. “I have very little time left now.”

“You can’t know that, Miss Ashwood.”

“I do know that. The spirits have told me. But please don’t be upset on my account. There’s nothing to fear about death, once you understand it. I’ll merely be passing from one place to another … a little like you when you go to your dreamworld. But I want you to know that I am so glad to have met you. And Matt. A lot of people spend their whole lives without achieving very much but I am proud that I was able to help you a little. When this story is written, I’ll have a place in it. A few lines, anyway. That’s important to me.”

“Do you know what happens?” Jamie asked. “Do you know how it ends?”

She shook her head. “Only one person knows that and I don’t envy him. To know the future is to carry a terrible weight. But I will tell you this, Jamie. None of it is going to be easy. There will be a lot of pain and a lot of death. You’ll need all your strength.”