We hurried back to the entrance of the cave. It was difficult negotiating the slippery rocks while holding the oars as well, but with each other’s help, we made it back to retrieve the raft which had become wedged between rocks. It took all of our strength to free it, but at last we were able to jump on, push away from the rocks and steer with the oars. Once past the rocks, we settled into a steady rhythm and even found a helpful current that seemed to run between the coast and the outcrop.
It was a beautiful morning and I just hoped that nobody was looking down along this coastline from higher up on the mountain because we’d be spotted for sure. The raft was awkward to manage, but it didn’t take us too long to reach the dangerous, jagged rock formations that almost surrounded the Delta 11 outcrop like a semicircle of glistening black teeth.
I managed to lash the raft around the needlelike formation of volcanic rock not far from the shoreline, and with the oars held high out of the water, we pushed against the surging water, wading in to the sloping stony beach.
We stowed the oars safely out of sight and hunkering down, crept towards the bunker. In the daylight, the cement bunker seemed even more desolate as it squatted on the rocks of the outcrop, with only the narrow gun slits allowing in any light. I pointed out the barred window, high up the stone wall, to Zak.
I called out, ‘Hey! I’ve come back. I promised to help you, remember?’
For a few moments all we could hear was the sound of the breakers on the ocean side of the outcrop, smashing against the rocks. I moved closer to be right under the barred window. ‘Are you there?’ I called, as Zak stepped up beside me.
This time, something moved near the bars and a pale face appeared. All we could see were some eyes and a nose, the rest of the face was obscured by a bushy moustache and beard.
‘Help me! Get me out of here… please.’ His voice was croaky and frail.
‘Is there any way we can get into you?’ I called.
‘Only the man who brings food has a key.’
Zak and I looked at each other.
‘Who are you?’ I asked.
There was a long silence.
‘I’m not sure. I think they’re putting something in my food and water. But I have to eat or I’ll starve. Although maybe that’s better than rotting in here.’
Another silence.
‘Can you tell us who locked you up?’
‘I can’t remember.’
‘Or why they did it?’
A long pause. ‘They wanted something—something that was mine.’
I saw him shake his bushy head. ‘It’s no use. I can’t remember anything. I just sit around all day and night. I feel like I’m losing my mind.’
‘Listen,’ I said, ‘we’re going to get the key, and we’re going to get you out.’
I wasn’t exactly sure how we were going to manage that, but I had to give this man some hope.
‘Who are you?’ the man asked, and already I could tell his voice was stronger than before.
‘My name is Cal,’ I said, ‘and this is my friend, Zak. We’ve been staying on Shadow Island for a while. I swear we’ll be back as soon as we get the key. Now, there’s something you can do.’
‘Me? I can’t do anything.’
I understood his despair and depression. Anyone would feel hopeless in his situation. But I also knew from my own experience that there was something he could do to help himself.
‘Start exercising. Please. I know you’re probably really weak. But just try with one pushup. And the next day, try two. Or three?’
There was a long silence and I thought he was ignoring my suggestion. Finally the cracked voice spoke again. ‘I’ll try anything. Just get me out!’
‘We’ll do our best,’ I said, ‘and in the meantime, start gaining your strength back. Every little bit will help.’
‘I’m so weak… but, I will try,’ he paused. ‘I used to be someone before—someone important. I’ll never find myself again if I don’t get away from this place.’
It was amazing to hear the change in his voice already. Now his voice had a little bit of life in it. I guess he’d been feeling that he would never escape from this desolate prison.
‘We’ll return soon,’ I repeated. ‘I’m not too sure when, but we’ll be back.’
Zak and I hurried away, picked up the oars and untethered the raft. The heat was building up now, and we had no shelter as we plied the oars towards Shadow Island. Over the water, we could hear the calls of the searchers and I hoped it wouldn’t even occur to them to look out to sea. As we approached the shoreline of Shadow Island, I thought also about Sophie and Ariel. I hoped like crazy they were OK.
10:33 am
It turned out to be very difficult to land the raft against the protruding rocks sticking out in the violent surf. It took several attempts and we were exhausted before we finally were able to lash the raft against the huge jammed log. All the time, I was scanning the undergrowth, worried that at any moment a group of searchers might break through the foliage near the shoreline and spot us, or look down from a higher vantage point and see us floundering around in the water and raise the alarm.
But finally we had the job done. After crawling back over the rocks to return the oars, we collapsed in a sheltered spot near the shoreline and rested for a while. Then we were able to start making our way back up the mountain. We nearly got caught as we headed inland, aiming for our hidden cave. A couple of counsellors from the resort would have walked straight into us, except for the fact that they stopped to look at something. That gave us time to melt back into the undergrowth and wait until they’d walked off together.
‘That was close,’ whispered Zak.
‘Too close. We have to be extra careful from now on.’
The girls still hadn’t returned by nightfall and I was getting really worried. So was Zak. He kept creeping out of the cave to stand and listen, but all we could hear were the distant calls of the searchers.
‘Do you think they’ve been caught?’ he asked.
‘I just don’t know. Let’s hope not,’ I replied.
11:01 pm
When it was time to try calling BB again, the girls still hadn’t reappeared. I was really worried now. If they didn’t come back soon, I knew we’d have to go searching for them.
‘Here goes,’ I said to Zak, ‘let’s hope it’s working now.’ I radioed SI-6. The signal was strong and clear! ‘Good work, Zak!’ I whispered to him.
‘Night hawk?’ the phone crackled.
‘Condor?’ I replied to confirm my identity.
‘Great to hear from you, Cal!’
‘Paddy?’ I said, recognising his voice.
‘At your service,’ he replied.
‘I really need to talk to BB.’
‘BB’s not available at the moment. Some security emergency has come up. I don’t know what it is but it’s a big deal. But I’m here and I’m listening. I can pass anything on to him,’ Paddy said.
‘OK, then. Well, you guys know that things are getting very complicated,’ I said.
‘Go on.’
Paddy listened while I gave him a quick rundown, particularly about Damien locking up people underground and the prisoner on the outcrop. ‘And there’s a big search on for us. We’re under a lot of pressure. We need help to get off the island. We have a frail man who might need medical attention and I don’t know how the other prisoners are doing.’
‘I don’t like the sound of this,’ said Paddy. ‘I’ll let BB know all of this information and we’ll work out what to do.’
We agreed that I’d stay on the island until we could figure out what Damien was up to and rescue the prisoners ready for evacuation. Paddy reassured me that he’d send in the cavalry immediately if I said the word.
‘If possible, I imagine you don’t want any obvious landings on the island?’ he said.
‘No,’ I said, with relief.
‘Leave it with me. I’ll talk to BB about it and once we decide on our nex
t move, we’ll contact you. OK? Meanwhile we’ll keep working on the Mordred file and let you know if we manage to crack the encryption. For the time being, just stay out of trouble.’
‘I’ll do my best,’ I promised. I ended the call, and felt some of the anxiety and concern I’d been feeling lift, knowing that SI-6 were in the loop.
But I was still restless and edgy, and so was Zak. We just couldn’t settle and I knew he was as concerned as I was—maybe even more so—about Ariel and Sophie.
Eventually, I left Zak dozing and started climbing down through the jungle, thinking that I would start my search for them now, despite the dark night. I went a little way, using the narrow beam of light from my torch. But I had to give up—it was just too dangerous. I almost walked into a Gympie Gympie tree, saved only by some instinct that made me flash the beam of light upwards. I reeled back in shock. Another step and I’d have walked straight into the toxic leaves. I needed to stay strong and healthy if I was going to be of any help to anyone. Reluctantly, I turned back.
DAY 40
51 days to go…
7:01 am
Early the next morning, after a restless few hours trying to sleep, we were determined to go looking for Sophie and Ariel. Zak brought his bow and arrows, and as we stepped out into the early morning mist, the volcano suddenly growled and the earth trembled under our feet. This time it was a long tremor, more violent than previous ones. Birds squawked and flapped from the trees, wheeling around before they settled again. What would happen to us all on Shadow Island if the volcano finally decided to blow? I didn’t like to think about it.
As the tremor finished, we got up from crouching under the trees, but I immediately pushed Zak straight back down again. ‘Shhh! Someone’s coming!’
Someone was moving very stealthily towards us—were they aiming for the cave? I peered through the jungle undergrowth, trying to get a look at whoever was approaching. I watched as Zak soundlessly took out an arrow and readied his bow to fire. I was too scared to breathe. I couldn’t believe Damien had already started a search for us at this hour. The man was truly relentless.
The two figures ahead of me froze in their tracks. I could barely recognise them, they were so filthy. When I saw who it was, I jumped up, hauling Zak with me.
‘Cal! Zak! It’s us. Don’t shoot!’ they whispered as loudly as they could.
‘Sophie! Ariel! Thank goodness you’re safe. You nearly frightened me out of my skin! I thought the searchers were about to find us,’ I exclaimed.
I took a closer look at them. ‘But where have you been? And what have you been doing? You look terrible!’
‘Thanks a lot. You do know how to flatter a girl. Let’s wash up a bit and I’ll tell you everything,’ Sophie promised. ‘And please, food! We need breakfast!’
‘Dinner and lunch as well,’ said Ariel. ‘I’m starving!’
The girls cleaned themselves up at the creek, while Zak and I pulled out some of our rapidly dwindling food supplies. The girls returned, wearing their washed damp clothes. Both girls wolfed down several muesli bars.
‘OK,’ Sophie said after swallowing another handful of dried fruit. ‘We went into the tunnel you’d told us about, and we looked everywhere. We found all sorts of tunnels and dead ends. It’s a labyrinth down there.’ She pulled the wrapping off another muesli bar and bit it in half before continuing.
‘We found that laboratory you told us about and checked through the glass window in the door to make sure that there were no spythons around, but it was all clear.’
The damn thing must have moved, I thought, looking around anxiously.
‘Then we went inside and had a look. Those modbots that you told us about? They were piled up into some sort of tower.’
I frowned. ‘A tower? I wonder what that’s for? They were just a big pile of blocks when I saw them.’
‘Well, they were in this big tower as if they’d been deliberately stacked,’ Ariel continued, ‘but then they collapsed.’
Sophie shrugged. ‘We didn’t touch them. They just fell over. We were looking at those rucksacks you told us about, and then out of nowhere the modbots moved and gave us a real fright.’
‘They moved?’
Both Sophie and Ariel nodded vigorously. ‘Two of them climbed on top of two other ones.’
Zak turned his puzzled face to me, as his sister continued speaking.
‘Anyway, we realised that someone must have given them a signal and that they might be close by, so we bolted out of there. We didn’t get to see the hologram eyes.’
‘We kept searching up and down the tunnels,’ Sophie said, taking over the story as Ariel demolished a chocolate bar.
‘Any sign of the prisoners?’ I asked.
Sophie and Ariel looked at each other.
‘We think we might have made some sort of contact with them,’ Sophie said.
‘We weren’t sure,’ Ariel said, taking over. ‘We came up against this huge iron door and we tried the key in it. But we could see that the lock was some old convict-era job.’ She searched around in one of the pockets of her jacket.
‘What makes you think they’re locked up behind that door?’ I asked.
‘We tapped on it and we think someone tapped back on the other side,’ said Ariel.
‘We tried calling out but couldn’t shout loud enough for our voices to penetrate the iron door without risking someone else in the tunnels hearing us,’ Sophie added. ‘It was very frustrating. I don’t know how we’re going to get them out of there—if that’s where they are. It really is like a prison.’
I thought of the heavy door of the bunker on Delta 11. ‘At least we know where the prisoners might be,’ I said, feeling a little hopeful. ‘Now it’s just a matter of finding that key. Hamish or Damien must keep it somewhere handy—they must bring them food at least every few days.’
Maybe Hamish had that key, I thought. I hadn’t seen an old-fashioned key hanging on the key rack in Damien’s office. I’m sure I would have remembered a key like that.
‘But we did find something else amazing!’ said Sophie. ‘At the end of another tunnel we’d been searching, hoping to find another way to get to the prisoners, I tripped and fell against some stacked timber. A couple of huge beams came loose and some rubble fell along the tunnel. That set off a kind of mini rockfall. After I got over the shock—we saw what had happened. The timber had been hiding an old door, and when the beams fell against it, they pushed it open a little. The hinges were rusted so we were able to squeeze through.’
‘So what was beyond the door?’ I asked. ‘The suspense is killing me!’
Ariel rolled her eyes. ‘Big surprise, another tunnel! This one was really filthy. Totally smothered in dust. There were even bones down there—we didn’t stop to look at them too long—and the tunnel was almost blocked with massive cobwebs. Looked like they’d been collecting dust for a century. It was like walking through rotting washing lines, with ancient, mucky cobwebs sticking onto our faces and arms!’
Sophie interrupted, unable to wait for Ariel to continue. ‘We started exploring and realised we were in a really long tunnel that went uphill. It took us ages, fighting our way through those disgusting cobwebs but finally we came to some steps. I swear the dust was half a metre thick on them. A crack of light was showing along the length of a stone slab. After a lot of heaving and swearing, the two of us were able to push it over, and—guess where we were?’
I shook my head. ‘No idea. Tell us!’
‘In the cemetery! The stone slab was the wall of a grave—Simeon Fincher, whoever he was,’ Sophie said.
‘Some poor convict who died and was buried a long way from home,’ said Ariel. ‘And we were very, very relieved to find that there was no trace of poor Simeon. So the tunnel system is connected all the way to the cemetery—only a stone’s throw away from the resort fence! How cool is that?’
‘But we had to go back,’ Sophie took up the story again. ‘We couldn’t risk being spotted in t
he cemetery. That old tunnel was almost as revolting on the way back, although we were already wearing half of the cobwebs. But eventually we got back to the broken door. By then we were exhausted and had a rest, hidden behind the fallen timber pile. We must have fallen asleep but when we woke up, we couldn’t get out of there fast enough.’ Sophie shuddered. ‘I hope I never have to go through anything like that tunnel again. It was totally gross!’
‘Perfect!’ I said. ‘It sounds perfect.’
Sophie and Ariel swung on me, eyes wide. ‘What do you mean “perfect”? Haven’t you been listening?’
‘Absolutely,’ I said. ‘From what you say, no-one has been in that tunnel for a hundred years. No wonder it’s filled with dust and cobwebs. Which means Damien, Hamish and the Zenith team have no idea it’s there. That’s where we can go if it gets too risky to stay in the cave. And now we’ve got another way to get really close to the Paradise People Resort. That means we can slip through the jungle to the beach instead of having to go across the island. Hopefully the spythons will have less chance to spot us.’
‘Sounds like you guys got to have all the fun!’ said Zak, a little enviously.
Shadow Island Jungle
10:59 pm
Leaving the others sleeping in the cave, Sophie and I stole out into the moonlight. She had finally decided that she wanted to speak to BB. I passed her the satellite phone that her father had given me and moved away from the huge rainforest tree she was leaning against to give her some privacy.
My mind wandered as I waited, thinking about how much had changed since I’d first come to Shadow Island. It seemed a lifetime ago since I’d been playing games and working out with the guys in The Edge. How could any one of us have known that my covert mission to check up on Sophie would lead to all this?
I could hear that Sophie had been successful in getting through to BB. It was a short conversation but I heard her say, ‘Dad, I’m really sorry. I want to come home.’ Of course, I couldn’t know what BB said to her, but as she returned the phone to me, she was smiling through her tears.
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