by Ian Williams
“I need to check something out. Have you met our guest?” she asked, moving the conversation away from her intentions.
Elliot placed his glass down on the table and nodded slowly. “He looks like trouble. Ruth said he was talking rubbish about Graham. You don’t believe him do you?”
“Maybe, maybe not,” she replied, placing her bag on a kitchen chair.
“So what, you going out looking for him, is that it? It’s not worth it. The guy is nuts.”
“But what if he’s not? I never saw Graham pull the trigger, what if he didn’t? He could be trapped somewhere. Besides, the guy mentioned the tower. How could he know about that if he’s making shit up?”
“Do I need to remind you what happened eighteen months ago?”
“Of course you don’t. I think about it all the time.”
“And what about this?” Elliot said, pulling up his shirt. The scar left over by Anthony’s torture device drew a rounded square shape across his stomach and chest. An outline made up of raised and red skin remained where the device had been stuck. Resulting treatments had left this reminder of loss and pain hidden beneath his clothing. Nothing had been able to remove it completely.
There was no reply that could top Elliot’s argument, she would only cause it to escalate further if she tried. He had won for now. Even so, she was not about to give up on her mission.
“Whatever,” she said as she searched for some loose bags of crisps or chocolate bars in the cupboards.
Elliot sighed and then left the kitchen. Instantly, she could feel herself relax again. They would probably never really be able to trust each other after everything she had done to him. The others had quickly taken to her, but then none of them ever saw her other side, the one that would do anything to keep her brother safe. Being the only one to witness it meant Elliot had a very good reason to be weary. She knew that he wanted their groups to have separated months ago.
With her bag full, she zipped it shut and hauled it loosely back over her shoulder. She then said a quick hello to Stephen as he wandered into the room – in search of yet another snack. On her way to the front door she heard the others talking in the lounge. It did not sound like the man had woken up, so she could only assume Ruth and Jane were explaining to Elliot and Sean what had happened earlier. She decided to poke her head through the door to check anyway.
She could see no sign of Elliot at all, just the others standing around the sofa. They were studying Ninety-three’s head for some reason. Just in case they found something important, she chose to engage the crowd.
“What’s going on?” she said.
Jane and Ruth parted to allow her to see, both with intense looks on their faces. Sean was pointing at something, with the man’s head held to the side, his face almost hanging off the chair. It was only when she looked closer that she realised the thing they had been looking at was actually attached to the man’s skull.
How had she missed it earlier?
“What the hell is that?” she said.
Whatever the small, blinking, black box was, it had them all transfixed and a little nervy. It was not supposed to be there at all, and they all knew it.
“No idea, but look at this,” Sean answered, pointing to a collection of small wires inside, which flickered rapidly while the man slept. “They go in his brain, like it’s connected.” He inadvertently touched one of them as he spoke and instantly removed his hand in disgust. “Yuck! It’s all gross in there. I think this thing used to have a cover to protect the inside from dirt and stuff.”
The others all leaned around to get a better look, even Alex, who should not have been seeing it at all. She had entered the room without them noticing and was now staring with a look of revulsion on her face. When Jane spotted the small intruder she stepped in front to cut off the gruesome display.
“You shouldn’t be in here, Sweetie. Go back outside and play for a bit,” she said. Alex did what she was told without a word, which was a relief to them all. Jane then asked the question everyone was thinking but too afraid to say: “What do you think it’s doing to him?”
Understandably, no-one had an answer.
“He should be able to tell us when he wakes up. You guys alright to keep an eye on him for a while?” Phoenix asked, her eyes still hanging over the strange device on the man’s head.
Ruth was first with the question she was trying to avoid. “Why? Where are you going?”
She did not want to tell them about her crazy idea of searching Sanctuary for clues, like some kind of super sleuth. Yet she could think of no other excuse to get out of there. When a couple of seconds had passed by without a word spoken, it was clear she was hiding something.
“We’re heading out to see about a new car she’d seen for sale,” Elliot said, saving her unexpectedly. Even though she was immediately grateful for the help, it was the bag by his side that had really surprised her. What did he have planned? For now she could only make use of his assistance. She would question him as soon as they were out of earshot of the others.
“Sure, yeah,” she said, with a nervous look to Elliot. He nodded slowly to mentally nudge her into lying more convincingly. “I saw a flatbed that might be useful. We’re gonna take a look.”
Ruth looked at Elliot and sighed. It was clear nothing was going to get past her – as usual. “You want to go back there, don’t you?”
“Fine,” Elliot said. He placed his bag by the door and approached his wife. “We’re just going to take a look. If there’s anything that leads us to believe something’s going on then we’ll come right back. We won’t get involved. He could be telling the truth about G.”
After a second or two of holding Elliot’s gaze, Ruth finally gave in and replied. Her voice was much softer this time. “Just be careful, please. Keep your lights low, just in case there’re gangs out there.”
“They don’t come out this far, Ruth.” Phoenix did not mind lying about this.
Her input was no longer wanted, leaving her reassurance hanging unanswered in the air. She decided to make her way out to the car and let them all discuss what they needed to. To try and speak again would only be a waste of breath. Straight after exiting the room, she heard Jane begin to weep as the others continued talking. The poor woman was struggling to deal with any mention of finding Graham again. It was not fair to bring it up in front of her without a warning first.
Outside, Phoenix took a deep intake of evening air and forced it out through her teeth, almost whistling accidentally. She then headed out to the car, all the while with her mind wandering back to eighteen months earlier. A deep ache had made even the faintest memory of that time too much to bear before. Now it had been replaced with a cold determination. If there was something she could do to pay Graham back, then this was it; she would give anything to bring him back to his family.
After throwing her bag onto the back seat, she left the door open for Elliot’s gear. Her intention was to drive straight there, take a quick look around and then drive back. Even without any idea what was awaiting them, she had a good suspicion that this would be fairly unlikely. It did not stop her telling herself; just a quick look, that’s all.
Sitting on the driver’s side, she adjusted her seat and re-familiarised herself with the controls. Years spent taking the Mag-Lev line for granted had left her having to remember how to drive. She had never learnt officially, no-one did anymore. Her parents had taught her before her tenth birthday, before her feet could even reach the pedals properly.
The memory brought a short smile to her face as she caressed the rough vinyl grip of the steering wheel. She was brought back by Sean, who had stopped by for a quiet chat.
“You sure this is a good idea, Sis? I mean ... you and him don’t exactly see eye to eye,” he said.
“I’m sure. We’ll only be a couple of hours.”
Sean looked over the car’s roof and on to the city. His shift in concentration made it clear what he thought about the idea. Everything bad t
hat had happened to them recently had happened there. He obviously hated the plan. Thankfully, he trusted her judgment more, so chose not to question her again. Instead he hugged her awkwardly through the window gap, before wandering back into the house.
Moments later Elliot arrived and quickly let his own bag join hers in a heap on the back seat. He had not even considered asking to drive and headed straight for the passenger side. Without a word spoken between them, they were away and leaving the safety of home behind. Venturing out into the night was a risky thing to do considering the kinds of people who they could encounter these days; most were looking to cause trouble in the cover of darkness. Not even their headlights at full strength would sway a riotous crowd into dispersing.
Phoenix had been caught out like this in the past and did not much like the idea of repeating it. Except this time was different. They needed to go now to see for themselves what was really going on. If they spotted anything suspicious along the way, she had the option to switch off the headlights. Waiting until the morning would be pointless, she would not sleep a wink before dawn.
She wanted answers.
Chapter 2
Under new management
9pm, Wednesday: 51 hours until Switchover
At nine at night, Phoenix and Elliot’s journey came to an end. They arrived at the main gate that led on to the site where previously a large, metal farming tower had sat. During the fall of Sanctuary the structure had crumbled and melted into a deformed skeleton of its former self. Only parts of it now remained above ground, the rest had fallen into the cave beneath. The place looked like a small war had ravaged through it only recently.
Phoenix pulled the car alongside the tall steel gate, switching the lights off before swinging around. Flashing their lights toward the remains of the farming tower was a bad idea, even if they were not expecting company. A quick check of the electrical charge readout confirmed they had little over a quarter of the power remaining. It would be enough to get them home, but only just. If they had to leave quickly the car would be ready.
The gate was the end of the road for most. For them it was the point where they left the car behind and continued on foot, despite what the ‘no entry’ sign ordered in thick, black lettering. It looked to be no more than a five minute walk along the dirt-track road before they would reach the sight, which glowed ominously in the distance. A small hill hid their final destination from view; perfect to sneak up to and peer over. The binoculars would prove useful once in the raised position.
First to exit the car was Elliot. He appeared uninterested in hanging around any longer than necessary. After retrieving his bag from the back seat, he approached the gate and began to pull on the large chain that sealed it tight.
“We’re not getting in through this. I haven’t got anything that can cut through it either.”
“No problem,” Phoenix replied, as she leaned over her seat and grabbed her own bag. She kicked her car door open and jumped out while unzipping her rucksack. The metal wire-cutters she had picked up would make light work of the fence next to their blocked entrance. The gate and perimeter fence had been set up sometime after the relay network had blown. It surrounded the entire area, far enough away to create a buffer-zone to keep it from outside interference – and prying eyes. It had never been there before.
She threw the metal tool to a surprised but noticeably impressed Elliot.
“You knew what to expect, didn’t you?” he said with a snigger.
It was a compliment, she knew, even it had hardly felt like one. The words had imparted a different message to that of his tone; more like an accusation than a friendly comment. She decided to shrug it off while she slipped on her faded, red jumper.
Quickly and quietly, Elliot cut a gap large enough to slip through, with only the occasional rattling noise from the chain and metal fence to give them away. They crawled through, Phoenix first, and were then on the other side amid the long, knee-high grass. Trespassing was now to be added to their list of crimes, among others. She had killed Anthony in this place too. It was somewhere she thought she would never see again.
Killers always return to the scene of their crimes, she thought, noting the truth in that.
They crested the small hill in almost complete darkness. Only at the top had it become easy enough to see, as the area beyond came into full view. To their surprise and shock the scene was lit up like a city street, with two-metre-high flood lights shining down to the ground. They highlighted everything left behind by the clean-up crew, their mess glowing for all to see. Most of the farming tower had been removed apart from the bottom layer of metal beams, which lay in patches outlined by new growths of grass. These parts were evidently held in by drilled supports that extended through the earth below. Removing them had been too costly to bother with, apparently.
There were no signs of the cave that resided underneath. Any holes that led down to Sanctuary, many metres below their feet, had been concreted over to lock it away. The job had been done crudely and without care too, as demonstrated by its unevenness. Metal strutting out of the ground had simply been cut down and surrounded by concrete in most places. The ground looked as though it were sprouting thick metal trees, each only half a metre or so high.
“The place looks a mess,” Elliot whispered. They both lay flat on their fronts and overlooked the area.
“What were you expecting, a five star hotel? Pass me the binoculars, they’re in my bag.”
“You brought binoculars? Where’d you get them from?” Elliot asked – no doubt knowing the answer already.
“They’re not mine, they’re yours.”
“Typical,” he huffed before quietly unzipping the bag still on Phoenix’s back. After finding his own binoculars tucked away inside, he handed them over and then returned to leaning on his elbows. He looked nervously down upon the empty scene.
“I don’t see anyone around,” Phoenix said after a short survey of the area. In the darkness beyond she saw no movement at all, not even grass in the breeze. The place was deserted, just a concrete scab upon the Earth, an injury yet to heal.
“What’s that over there?” Elliot said, patting her on the shoulder.
She removed the binoculars and searched the area where Elliot pointed, roughly one hundred metres away and to her left. From a distance it looked like a shadowy dip in the concrete. With the binoculars focused on that area, she could see that it was actually a hole, and one cut smoothly through the ground in an almost perfect oval. Someone had dug through. Something had been altered recently.
“Let’s take a look,” she said, raising herself slowly. “I can’t imagine that’s supposed to be there.”
Elliot placed a hand on her arm and squeezed, freezing her in place instantly. She did not ask why and instead waited for him to make a move. A finger slowly placed up to his mouth revealed to her that he had heard something unexpectedly. His timing was perfect, just as someone started to wander into the area. She had been only seconds away from breaking cover and venturing out into the light before he held her back.
Slapping her stomach back down upon the ground and her shoulders firmly into the dirt, Phoenix hid as she watched silently. A man in black fatigues then began to make his way across the concrete, through the small metal forest of protruding girders and twisted support beams. A torch attached to the side of his submachine gun swung from side to side as he walked, illuminating the area just in front of his feet. The extra light around him rendered the tool useless, but it would reveal them in no time.
They remained hidden while the man continued on his route around the sight. His path appeared to be that of a general patrol rather than an aimless search. He was just a guard on duty around the area. He was not looking for them, they were still safe. Although why anyone would be needed to protect such an unimportant place had Phoenix curious.
Finally she had seen enough to suspect this was not right. OK I’ll bite, let’s see where this goes, she thought. The crazed man b
ack home may have been truthful after all.
Pushing herself back until beneath the crest of the hill, she then flipped over and raised herself up onto her elbows. Elliot did the same and met her waiting at the bottom. They had seen far from enough yet. She had to go further. Unfortunately, the only way from there was down.
“What’s the plan?” Elliot asked with a whisper.
“I want to see what that guard is protecting down that hole. Maybe we can climb down?”
Elliot gave her a look of disapproval, compounded by two bushy eyebrows that formed a ‘V’ on his face. “It could be a sheer drop,” he said. “You’d lose your grip and plummet straight to the bottom. We came here to look, that was all. I’m not letting you do something stupid like this.”
“What choice do we have?” Phoenix replied, a little louder than anticipated.
No-one spoke for a second while they made sure they were not heard. When nothing happened and they were sure they had gotten away with it, Elliot continued, more reasonably this time, “What if you get to the bottom, then what? Graham won’t be waiting there for you. If he’s alive, he’s almost certainly not trapped down there. He would have died long ago if that was the case.”
“I’m not an idiot, Elliot.” She rolled onto her side and faced him. “I know that. But there’s something going on here. If what’s down there could lead us to him then we should go see.” She paused for a second to think over a better way of saying it. When she could not find one, she decided to say it outright instead. “Look, I’m going down there with or without you. Make your mind up. Are you here to find out or not?”
He stared up at the night sky while he thought over his lack of choice. Phoenix could almost see the thought process play out across his face. A short while later and he finally looked to have come to a decision – despite being unhappy about it.
“This is crazy,” he began with. “Fine, but we do this my way.”
“Great, so what do you think?”