Z. Apocalypse (14 page)

‘Anywhere we can shelter has got to be good.’ Adam peered more closely at the opening, which was maybe fifty metres away and half hidden by
snow. ‘Should be room for Zed and Keera too . . .’

But then Keera made a low, eerie chittering noise in the back of her throat; a sound that spoke of danger. With
her hopping, birdlike gait she closed the distance to the cave in seconds.

And then something large and grey burst out in an explosion of snow. The violent movement sent Keera clattering upwards into startled flight. Zed roared in warning and Zoe clutched Adam’s arm as a clay-grey creature, almost twice their size, pushed out from the icy space inside. Stubby metallic quills sprouted from its
shoulders and torso. The reptile snarled and snapped its jaws as it stood in the cave entrance.

Weak with terror, Adam recognized it in a heartbeat.
Utahraptor!
He’d been hunted by crude, vicious creatures like this on Raptor Island – he had called them Brutes.

Before he could yell out any kind of warning, Keera descended with a nerve-scraping screech, legs kicking at the scaly monster, driving
it back into the cave. But a second Brute jumped out and bit deep into her left wing. Zoe screamed as four more of the clay-grey monsters emerged and set about her like rats attacking a cat, snapping and tearing at her flesh with a terrifying bloodlust. Keera’s yowls were drowned out by the barking, snapping pack of Brutes as they hauled her inside the cave.

Mercifully, Adam’s view was blocked
as Zed stood in front of him and Zoe, a vast, scaly shield. He was so much bigger than the raptors; in the natural way of things they’d never dare attack.

But these creatures weren’t remotely natural.

As the bloodied Brutes scuttled out from inside the cave – six, seven, maybe more – they broke instantly into a charge for Zed, jaws stretched wide to reveal their carving-knife teeth to full effect.

‘Get us out of here, Zed!’ Adam shouted. ‘Those things spit acid! If you get too close—’

Too late. The Brutes were already spraying thick jets of liquid. Adam threw himself at Zoe, knocking her into the snow as the rain of acid fell around them.

Zed’s face was the target. The towering dinosaur bellowed with pain and staggered back – almost crushing Adam as he did so – clawing at his eyes, swinging
his head all about in a gruesome, agonized dance.

‘No!’ Adam yelled helplessly.

‘We’ve got to hide,’ sobbed Zoe, clawing at the snow, trying to bury herself. ‘Help me!’

But Adam couldn’t move, transfixed by the animal violence. Fearless, the first two Brutes had hurled themselves at Zed, biting and clawing. Zed had quickly batted them away, but they simply attacked again – and, blinded by the
acid attack, he
couldn’t see that they were driving him dangerously close to the precipice.

Zed pushed out his wings ready to fly to safety, but now the other Brutes were attacking in force, a writhing mass of teeth, claws and muscle. Four pounced onto his back, biting and gouging at the gristly sails, gripping him around the neck so he couldn’t beat his wings. Others clawed at his legs and belly,
circling and snapping, relentless, forcing him backwards.

The struggle was over in seconds. Roaring impotently, Zed floundered over the edge of the chasm, the Brutes clinging to his struggling form even as they went to their deaths.

‘No!’ Adam screamed.

Zoe twisted hard on his arm. ‘Shhh!’

But, alerted by Adam’s cry, one of the six remaining Brutes whirled round. Its eyes narrowed at the sight
of easy prey. The rest of the pack turned as one and began to advance – gibbering, hissing, and hungry for the kill.

Then a piercing screech rose above the Brutes’ roars. Adam’s eyes snapped back towards the cave to see Keera attacking the Brutes from behind. Her wings were raked with cuts and steaming with acid burns, but like some hideous angel of death she had risen again – to deal a brutal
retribution.

The claws of one foot hooked down into a
Brute’s eyes and yanked its head back so far its neck snapped in a moment. Another Brute howled as her jaws crunched down on its arm, ripping the limb away at the shoulder. It flailed about in gory panic, smashing its pack-brothers aside while Keera flapped out of reach of the acid sprays fired in retaliation. Moments later she dived back
down behind her attackers and opened their backs with her talons. As they shrieked with pain and anger Keera stretched her wings as wide as she could and swept the wounded animals clear over the precipice. Their terrified shrieks lingered in the air, but the Brutes themselves were already lost in the white soup of snow and fog.

Keera circled over the chasm like a giant bird of prey, blood streaming
from her wounds, her body mottled black with bruises. She shrieked her defiance into the void before landing with a stumble back on the snowy ledge. The battle and the bloodshed had ended with the same swift ferocity as it had begun.

Still stunned, Adam stumbled over to Keera. ‘Are you OK? My god, Keera, that was the bravest thing I ever . . . I mean, you were . . .’ The words trailed off as
he looked past her to the precipice. Surely, any moment now, Zed would come soaring up to join them, recovered.

‘Zed!’ he called, trudging over to the ledge, where
he fell to his knees. He waited, and waited, the bitter wind bringing tears to his eyes. There was nothing to see.

A hand came down on his shoulder. He turned to see Zoe had dragged herself through the snow to join him. Shaking clods
of icy white from her hair and shoulders, she put her arms around Adam and began to sob.

Then both were thrown aside as the air exploded into fierce blue sparks around Keera. The pterosaur’s scream sounded almost human as she shook in a haze of indigo.

Electroshock weapons
, Adam realized numbly.
Gene-flow’s found us
. He tried to see Keera’s attackers, but the glare was too great. ‘Zoe, we’ve
got to run,’ he hissed. ‘I’ll carry you, come on.’

But Zoe didn’t seem to hear, clutching her head as if feeling the pain herself. ‘Leave her alone! You’re killing her.’

Finally the electric onslaught cut out and Keera crumpled, lifeless, to the ground, so battered and beaten Adam couldn’t look at her. Zoe was still clutching her head, moaning gently. Adam held up his hands in surrender as four
people closed in, their faces masked by hoods, scarves and snow-goggles, each carrying a large, tubular weapon.

Fear gave Adam courage, and he lunged for the nearest gun, hoping to wrestle it free. But he slipped
in the snow and fell beside Zoe. A boot smacked into his ribs and he gasped. The figures loomed over him, shock weapons pointed at his head.

‘No. Don’t harm him.’ It was a woman’s voice.

The circle of guards parted to reveal a figure dressed in a padded, fur-trimmed parka, hat and goggles. ‘Hello, Adam. Hello, Zoe. Thank you for coming.’

Her?
Adam recognized the voice, but didn’t want to.
It’s impossible. She’s dead
.

‘All our raptor sentries – destroyed? The death of this rogue pterosaur really is long overdue.’ The woman pulled off her goggles and fur-lined hat to reveal dark,
striking and all-too-familiar features.

‘Samantha Josephs . . .’ Adam felt winded. She looked just the same as when he’d first met her – and yet, he’d seen her mauled to death by one of her own creations. ‘How? I saw you die on Raptor Island.’

‘Try to use your intelligence.’ Josephs’ tone was a good match for the freezing arctic air. ‘
I
have never been to Raptor Island.’

Adam was reeling with
shock. ‘But then how—?’

‘I was cloned from Samantha Josephs almost a year ago. One of us may be dead . . . but the other goes on.’ The woman took a menacing step closer. ‘Blind luck has allowed your survival when the odds would seem against it, but science has made
me
immortal. And science will beat chance every time.’ She looked at him almost pityingly. ‘I will never die, Adam . . . but very
soon now, your world will perish.’

Chapter 15: Taking a Life

FINALLY ADAM UNDERSTOOD
Josephs’ last words to him on Raptor Island, spat through bleeding lips:
It’s all right. I’m still alive . . . you haven’t even won yourself breathing space
.

‘There’s really no call for such a dumbstruck expression.’ Josephs’ English accent lent a glass-sharp edge to her words. ‘You’re an intelligent child. You know we have cloned many animals,
you have seen how we can download human minds into computers and upload them into new bodies . . .’

‘But, you’re exactly the same.’ Adam’s voice was hoarse. ‘I thought a clone of a person would have to grow from, like, a baby.’

‘The cells of the clone are force-evolved, expertly matured until they match the original. Then we transfer all memories, experience and personality to create a perfect
duplicate.’ Josephs shrugged as if this were picture-book simple. ‘When Jeffrey Hayden was killed by your “pet” Z. rex, Geneflow lost its Director of Operations needlessly. So, when I took
over his position, my first act was to step up our research into human replication.’

Unwilling to accept what Josephs was telling him, Adam broke in, ‘Where’s my dad . . . and Zoe’s mum?’

‘All in good time.’
Josephs looked at Zoe, who was still rocking on her haunches, sobbing quietly. ‘I suggest you both come inside before you die of exposure.’ She turned to two of the guards. ‘Take them to the Neural Suite.’

One of the guards hauled Adam to his feet by the scruff of his neck.

Zoe struggled as another picked her up from the ground. ‘What are you going to do with Keera?’

‘The beast will be recycled,’
said Josephs simply, turning to the other two guards. ‘See to it – then get over to the airstrip, ready to greet the new arrivals. There are two more planes due to land today . . .’

‘Keera!’ As the guard trudged away towards the Brutes’ cave, Zoe twisted round in his arms, staring helplessly after the broken body of the pterosaur, lying abandoned in the crimson snow.

Gloved fingers dug into
Adam’s neck, and marched him forwards after her.

Josephs didn’t mention Zed
, Adam realized.
If he’s still alive in the canyon there – and he’s
got
to be – he’ll come after us. He’ll save us. He’ll
 . . . But as he passed
Keera, all bloodied and burned, hope began to fade. In the hillside opening he saw three snowmobiles were waiting.
It’s not a cave at all – it’s the mouth of a tunnel
.

The two
guards loaded Zoe and Adam on board the nearest skidoo. Josephs climbed into the one behind, while the other two guards remained with Keera. Then, with a throaty roar, the powerful sleds started off down the icy passageway.

Dim lights shone overhead as they passed huge nests made from trampled rubbish, piles of bones, stinking dungheaps. Other tunnels fed into the passage on both sides. ‘It’s
like an underground burrow,’ Adam whispered to Zoe, realization dawning. ‘The raptors live out here on guard. There must be exits all around the city so they can come out and kill unwelcome visitors.’

‘We never stood a chance,’ was Zoe’s only response.

Adam tried to remember the twists and turns they took through the wide tunnels, dismayed by just how deep and far they seemed to be going.

Finally, the vehicles slowed down as they reached a large underground parking area. A huge, rusty metal goods lift was built into the rocky wall, shielded by two sets of sliding doors. Josephs got out of her skidoo and crossed to the lift.

Adam’s captor forced him out of the snowmobile
and marched him across to join her. ‘Are we under the city?’ Adam asked.

‘That’s right.’ Josephs punched a complicated
series of numbers into a keypad beside the doors and they cranked slowly open.

‘Did Colonel Oldman and Dr Marrs tell you we’d be coming?’ Adam was pushed into the scuffed steel space inside. ‘We know they’re working for Geneflow.’

‘Actually, they’re not,’ said Josephs casually, following him in. ‘And Zoe’s mother isn’t here either, I’m afraid.’

Adam swapped frowns with Zoe. ‘What?’

‘We asked
Bill Adlar to
say
all that, so you wouldn’t look to Fort Meade for help.’ She smiled at Adam. ‘You’d come to us instead. Of course, that meant hacking into your phone and blocking all calls apart from ours—’

‘Then, the colonel and Dr Marrs are on our side . . .?’ Adam felt as if the mental bolts that held him together were coming undone. He bowed his head. ‘Dad lied. You
made
him lie. What did
you do to him—?’

‘Let me go!’ Suddenly Zoe bucked and twisted in the arms of her guard as he tried to force her into the lift. ‘I’m not going anywhere with you!’

‘Use some logic, Zoe,’ said Josephs. ‘If you were released, without support or a wheelchair, how
could you hope to get away in any case?’

Zoe stopped struggling and glared at Josephs, close to tears. ‘All we’ve been through. All the
pain. I thought . . . at least at the end of it, I’d see Mum . . .’

Josephs said nothing, but once Zoe’s guard had carried her in and closed the doors, she pressed a red button. The lift started downwards, rumbling and rattling. Deeper and deeper underground they went. Adam saw Zoe’s eyes glinting with tears. If he hadn’t felt so absolutely numb he might’ve joined in.

‘I want to see my dad,’
he muttered.

‘You will, in due course,’ said Josephs briskly.

‘Where is this place, anyway?’

‘In the early 1980s, when the Cold War between East and West was coldest, the former Soviet Union built dozens of underground cities. Elaborate shelters in which the privileged few could survive a nuclear war.’ Josephs unzipped her heavy coat as the lift continued its plunge into the earth. ‘Towns like
the one above, closed to the public, housed the construction workers as they toiled below, and made a good cover for what they were doing here. When the global situation improved for a time, the cities were abandoned. Now
we
have acquired them.’

‘So the military’s right,’ Adam breathed, ‘Russia
has
taken control of Geneflow.’