Her legs became weak and then buckled, sending her falling heavily to the ground. She landed on her knees with her palms flat against the floor to brace her fall. Rather than attempting to get back up she rotated her body into a seated position, whilst breathing heavily to settle her nerves and still the fire in her belly.
The room was now bathed in blood. The ceiling, the walls, the floor, even her own body carried the vermillion hue of death. She grasped hold of her shirt, squeezing the material in her balled fist. It felt dry. The fibres had not been soaked in blood. The thought occurred to her that the colour was merely a projection, the bending of light from through the windows.
Yet that was impossible. Dusk was hours away. The sun was at its brightest point and the light it cast should have been clear. Untainted. It was as if a scarlet shroud had been draped over the building.
A sense of dread continued to rise in her chest, compelling her to run for the door so she scrambled to her feet and hurried back outside. Once she had freed herself of the building she found herself stepping into a very different landscape to the one she had earlier left behind.
Although it was still a desert, it was now on fire. Pockets of flame were spread across the land and cinder filled the air, yet she felt no heat from any of it. When she took a step forward the ground cracked under her foot. A ripple resonated outwards, expanding with every inch that it travelled until the horizon broke in two, opening up a vast canyon. As she continued onward, each step multiplied the cracks until vast swathes of earth crumbled, leaving nothing but scattered islands on an ocean of fire. Then in a blink, the world returned to normal, taking her back to the familiar scrubland of the outback.
She was not alone.
A dingo prowled just metres from where she stood. Hunched and hungry, the animal’s coarse sun-bleached coat hung loosely over its jagged bones. The uncertainty of its gait reminded Lucy of how Emmy had described the infected residents of Jackson’s Hill to have been in the advanced stages of their madness.
Normally these animals would not concern her since she had come across many during her childhood camping trips with her father. Yet, in these parts their behaviours were likely to be different. Like the kangaroos, their awareness and reflexes would have taken on a heightened level of ability. She could see this now as she noticed its calculating eyes were staring directly at her, almost through her.
Lucy stepped backwards and the animal immediately moved to follow. She knew the importance of maintaining eye contact with the beast. Scavengers are opportunists, whereas hunters are cowards – they do not take so many risks. This animal looked like it could fall into either category. It was also a pack animal, which meant it was unlikely to be alone.
Keeping her head still, Lucy quickly checked her peripherals, where she became aware of at least three more dogs heading towards her.
They were herding her. Forcing her into a corner. Pushing her back toward the observatory.
She was reluctant to return to the epicentre of Jackson Fox’s catastrophic legacy. It had not provided her with the answers she sought and it contained no weapons that could be used to fend off the dogs. It offered no more than a temporary reprieve from her current predicament. The animals had adapted to survive without food for longer than she could and it was they who would ultimately win any war of attrition. The only hope the building offered was a false one, but she did not have any other option.
She spun around. Once she was within touching distance of the observatory, the dingoes launched their attack. As she slammed the door shut behind her, she felt one of the canines thump into its exterior. Fortunately for her, the door was heavy and the lock strong. It would keep the beasts out, but at the expense of trapping her in.
Waiting around until darkness fell was not an option. There was no way she was going to spend the night in the observatory. Not after that bizarre vision of hell on earth, which she was sure had been caused by Emmy’s poisonous radiation. She had to move and she had to move quickly. The longer she stayed in that building the more likely it was to corrupt her soul.
The professor’s study was located at the rear of the facility. She had no trouble gaining entrance as the door was still in pieces from when a soldier had smashed it down to find the lifeless corpse of its proprietor. Luckily for her, there was no such grisly sight awaiting her this time. Instead, there was something much more welcoming. The window offered a means of escape far from the baying pack of hounds gathered at the entrance.
A crash of broken glass echoing in a distant part of the building removed any doubt that escape was her best option. If the beasts had not yet found a way in, they soon would. Their radiation enhanced senses not only guided them but compelled them onward, setting a temporal path that they had no choice but to follow.
With renewed urgency, Lucy made her way to the window. It was not locked so she released the latch as quietly as possible, before sliding out feet first. Her padded trainers cushioned her landing on the concrete floor outside.
Now she was back in the open, the next task she faced was to put both the observatory and the dogs behind her as quickly as possible. Before she even had time to take a single step, she heard a low growl from over her shoulder.
She turned to see one of the animals stalking along the exterior wall of the office. It did not matter if this was part of the same pack as its intent was likely to be the same either way. Her first thought was to climb back into the building.
The window was no longer an option, however. Its way was blocked by the head of a dingo peering out from inside the professor’s study. The beast’s open jaw curled its lips into what looked like a malicious grin. She had been ambushed on both sides.
Psychic animals!
Obviously the poisonous radiation was more potent than ever, but that still did not explain the aggression these creatures were displaying. Something had to be drawing them to her, but she had no idea what that something could possibly be. Three years earlier, radiation infected animals had shown nothing but compassion by protecting her when she was at her most vulnerable. Why would these creatures with the same heightened instincts now wish her harm?
The only option she had left was to try and outpace them. If she was lucky this would increase her life expectancy by maybe a handful of seconds at best. A dog could run down a human in less than ten yards. She was kilometres from her car. With no time to come up with an alternative plan, what else could she do?
It took just five seconds for the lead dog to bring her down. When she hit the deck, she instinctively rolled onto her back and kicked at its mouth, channelling all of her remaining strength into each blow. Rather than carry on trying to pass her flailing feet, the animal took a step back, pressed its body down to the ground and then launched into a high leap, which set its jaws onto a direct course for her throat.
A flash of brown fur came sweeping in from the side and the animal was no longer on top of her. She heard a whimper and tilted her head to see the dingo lying on the ground with blood dripping from its mouth. Its back had been snapped at a ninety degree angle and parts of its broken spine could be seen protruding through torn flesh.
The remaining dogs were quicker to make sense of the situation than Lucy. Charging forward as one, with salivating mouths and murder in their eyes, they made their final attack. Another flash of brown fur resulted in two more dead dingoes.
The last dog retreated, but not completely. It stopped twenty yards from where the pregnant woman lay and raised its head to let out a shrill howl. As its call was met with like, echoing from beyond the horizon, Lucy was engulfed by a huge shadow.
She tilted her head back to see a large boomer standing directly over her. Such animals were intimidating when viewed head on, but from Lucy’s current position it appeared simply monolithic – a living remnant of the magical beasts found in the songs of Aboriginal folklore.
‘You’re a friend, right?’ she said, carefully rising to her feet, where she stood more than a foot shorter t
han the animal.
The kangaroo tilted its head quizzically like a dog and for a moment she thought it recognised her from that night in the field, all those years earlier. She took a step closer and raised her hand to stroke it, but it twisted its head away before bending down and hissing at her.
‘It’s okay,’ she told it. ‘I’m not going to hurt you. You saved my life. I’m grateful - really.’
The animal ignored her voice and continued to act in what she discerned to be a defensive manner. It remained bent forward, almost on all fours, where she followed its eye line to her belly.
Was it possible that it could sense the life growing inside?
‘What’s wrong?’ she asked it.
This time it did respond, but not to the sound of her voice. It rose back to its full height, looking over and beyond the top of her head. She turned to see that the dingo’s call for reinforcements had been answered. The pack was growing in number. She counted seven – more than enough to overpower the larger beast, which may or may not have offered her protection.
‘I hope you have a plan, because I’ve got nothing,’ she said.
In response, the boomer raised its right foot and hammered it down onto the ground three times. Moments later, what Lucy had previously thought were boulders, unfurled to reveal half a dozen marsupials. By this time the number of dingoes had increased into double figures and they were ready for round two. The kangaroos possessed superior strength and speed, but the dogs had better manoeuvrability and sharper teeth. It was the teeth that had the potential to be the deciding factor.
For a moment, she expected the opposing sides to face off in a medieval melee like two great armies competing for supremacy. Instead, it was towards her that the kangaroos bounded.
She started to run and rather than attempt to take her down, the marsupials merely formed a protective line, shielding her on the flanks and behind. It was obvious the dogs were giving chase without her having to turn and look, which would have wasted valuable energy.
Her body had entered into full flight mode. Adrenalin reinforced her muscles, giving her strength she never knew she had and endorphins flooded her brain, shielding her from the paralysing fear she would otherwise have felt.
Each time she felt a dingo biting at her heels, one of the kangaroos would move in and kick it away. On one occasion, the kangaroo offering protection lost balance and fell to the ground, but the dogs just ignored it. All of their raw aggression was focused solely on Lucy. She and she alone was their prey.
After running flat out for a minute, she knew there was not a hope of her making it all the way to the car. It was too far away. She was already tiring and her adrenaline was subsiding. The kangaroos were not leading her to her vehicle, however. They had a different escape route in mind.
When her last bit of energy was almost spent, she caught sight of the water. It was the billabong. Back before the town’s destruction, Lucas had told her about this place. Ned, the local butcher, was attacked here by a mob of kangaroos not unlike the one protecting her now. What Lucas did not know was that the butcher would return days later only to be murdered by Jackson Fox. The professor had then used Ned’s ute to ram a military convoy transporting Emmy back into town.
The vehicles were still in the spot where the attack had left them – abandoned by the roadside. Three of them, including Ned’s ute, were full blown wreckages. Nothing but twisted and contorted heaps of metal remained. There was, however, one military jeep that appeared to have escaped the carnage intact.
The vehicle was not locked and the keys were still in the ignition. After three years of abandonment, Lucy knew it was unlikely to start without the attention of a mechanic. She thought how she could have done with the help of her old friend, Davo, but just like Lucas he was forever lost to her. He was another in a long line of victims killed at the hands of Emmy’s grandfather.
All hope was not lost, however. The interior of the jeep did at least take her out of immediate danger and whilst the kangaroos fell back, they continued to provide an effective barrier between Lucy and the dingoes.
The smaller animals also appeared content to give up the chase for the time being. Or maybe they were just replenishing their energy. They lapped up the liquid from the billabong like marathon runners given a bottle of water midway through their run. It would not be long before they regained enough strength to resume their attack.
She turned the ignition key and the engine coughed and sputtered back at her. She tried again, only to get the same response, which resembled an asthmatic in dire need of their inhaler. Repeated attempts yielded the same negative results. The engine was well and truly dead.
‘Damn you!’ she screamed, slamming her fists down onto the dashboard.
At the moment of contact, sparks burst forth from the driver’s console and the engine roared into life. Was this yet again the work of the radiation or something else - something more sinister? A terrible suspicion had crept into her thoughts back at the observatory. A thought she was now trying really hard to suppress.
She put the vehicle in gear and before leaving, took one last look at one of the kangaroos, which was standing sentinel by the side of the jeep. It stared directly at her and she thought she could read fear in its eyes. Whether it was fear for her or fear of her, she could not tell. A part of her actually hoped that she would never find out.
‘I’m coming for you, Dad,’ she said, leaving the animals behind her. ‘You better not let me down.’
With the observatory now ruled out, there was only one place left for her to turn. If her father was not there, then she would know that he was truly gone.
When she came to the perimeter fence, she slammed her foot down onto the accelerator and rammed straight through it. She then switched over to the car she had bought the previous day and did not look back until she was on the main highway. If she had done, she might have noticed the flashing red warning light beside the section of fence she had destroyed.
The sensors had been tripped and before long everybody who knew about Jackson’s Hill would know it had received a visitor.
Chapter 30
The complex swarmed with operatives in black combat fatigues. Emmy assumed they were part of some murky government agency; most probably an Australian or American secret service unit working in conjunction with the military. She had seen their ilk before. They had been in charge when she first returned to the astral project, and even after it had reverted to civilian stewardship she suspected they were still watching. Waiting for their opportunity to steal any and every part of her research that could be adapted to fit their agenda.
‘I want your thoughts on this,’ Emmy said to Charlie, ‘and I’m telling you from the outset that I don’t believe in coincidences.’
‘They’re obviously looking for something,’ he replied.
‘That sounds like a coincidence.’
‘Okay,’ he quickly backtracked. ‘They’re obviously looking for someone.’
‘I knew it, but what I don’t understand is why. Why Lucy? What interest could she possibly be to them?’
They were both in the lab, but reluctant to initiate an astral journey with so many unfriendly strangers around. Constance was at her desk, but they kept their voices low so as not to arouse her suspicion.
‘Do you think they’ll question us?’ asked Charlie. ‘If they are looking for Lucy, then it makes sense for them to at least talk to you.’
‘You’re right. But on the other hand, they may not want to give away what they know in trying to figure out what I know. They’re sneaky like that. My guess is that they’ll try to use Dr Stark as a go between.’
‘That’s crazy. Constance doesn’t even know Lucy.’
‘Well, I know she doesn’t care much for me. We better say something to her before they do.’
‘It may be too late. One of them is at the door now.’
Emmy glanced over just as one of the shadowy figures was given access to the lab by a sec
urity guard. The man looked around and when he saw Emmy he strode purposefully toward her.
‘Dr Rayne,’ he said.
It was a statement rather than a question.
‘That’s me,’ she replied, ‘but I think Dr Rayne’s lawyer is the one you should be speaking to.’
‘You don’t have a lawyer,’ said Charlie.
Emmy covered her face with her hand.
‘Really, Charlie? Do you really think that helps?’
‘Ma’am, I don’t think you fully understand the urgency of the situation,’ said the stranger. ‘If you do not co-operate then you will be the one needing to speak to a lawyer.’
‘You can’t threaten me,’ she smirked. ‘I’ve dealt with your type before. You have no jurisdiction here.’
‘Ma’am, I must insist...’
He was interrupted by one of his colleagues peering into the lab.
‘Carter, we’re pulling out,’ the second man said. ‘The package has been found. We’re to intercept immediately.’
Both men left in a hurry. Before Emmy had a chance to confer with Charlie, Constance came over to them.
‘What did they say?’ she asked.
Emmy turned her back to the other woman.
‘They told us nothing,’ said Charlie. ‘They didn’t even tell us what they were looking for.’
Emmy turned back around.
‘They were looking for Lucy. It doesn’t matter if she knows it now.’ She waved her hand in Constance’s direction. ‘By the sounds of it, they’ve found her too.’
‘You shouldn’t worry,’ said Dr Stark. ‘If it is Lucy they’re after I’m sure she’ll be fine. Given her condition they’ll likely treat her with kid gloves.’
‘Her condition?’ asked Emmy. ‘What exactly do you know about Lucy’s condition?’
Diamond Sky Trilogy Box Set: Books 1-3 Page 80