“I needed that,” Samantha said as she stretched, breathing in the scent of a clean, empty plane, devoid of the usual crowds. “Did you get any sleep, Io?”
Her companion tilted his head as he looked at her from the row in front. “Was I meant to?”
“Well it helps.”
“With what?”
The innocence in his face, as Io parried her comments with simple questions was unnerving. To take for granted such basic fundamentals in life and have them queried in the manner Io responded made her want to question them too. “With feeling better, with having the energy to take on the next day—Io don't you remember any of this?”
“You keep asking me that question as if it will all come back to me, Samantha. In truth, I have been examining this weapon.” He tilted forward the sword, its hilt rested against the seat next to him. “It responds to me, in its own way—a glint, a feel of warmth. You claim I'm an angel? Perhaps I am. Perhaps this indicates such facts. I can tell you that closing my eyes would not help me discover the answers. Looking inward might provide more insight.”
“And? What did looking inward give you?”
Io sighed. “No solace. It is as if I am an empty vessel, lacking that vital ingredient or that piece of information that would bring forth my essence and make me whole again.”
“If you ask me, that so-called angel Karael let go of his sword a little too easily,” Charlotte said from the row of seats behind them. “It's almost as if he wanted you to have it.”
“None of this seems to leave you overawed,” Io said. It was the closest he had come to an accusation since he had rescued Samantha in the Dubrovnik store.
Samantha turned to regard her companion.
Charlotte shrugged. “Angel. Demon. All the same thing when you reduce it to the lowest common denominator.”
“And that is?”
“Supernatural creatures that think they're better than us. What I've seen in my life makes me think the human race is no more than a meat feast for any higher power that decides to come to snack. Demons from below try to make the earth their own. When we go there, as I'm led to believe is inevitable, our souls,” Charlotte tapped the side of her head, “are used as a power source. God alone knows what you use us for up there.”
“And you have decided that if I am indeed what you believe me to be, that I should answer to you for Heaven?” Io retorted, nostrils flaring. It was as close as Samantha had seen him come to being riled. The warmth he normally exuded radiated off him in waves.
“Io, I've decided if that transpires, if you're more than the amnesiac you currently appear to be, that you should look around you. Consider what you see is not what you would expect to see. Nothing more. Eyes wide open, Io. While you don't remember who, or what you are. Eyes wide open.”
Taking her literally, Io began to look around the plane. His eyes trained on the window and he moved to the row in front so he could get a better look. “It's so peaceful from up here. It's beautiful.”
“It's detached from the painful reality that is human existence,” Samantha said. “Down there, every day is a fight for life. Up here with a different perspective you have to remember that being alive is about more than just breathing.”
“And what does your detached reality tell you, Samantha?”
Io looked at her from between the headrests of the seats in front.
“That we got hold of that sword a little too easily. That Karael wants you to remember everything before he finds you again. That I think my sister is walking into a trap. That she could be anywhere and there's nothing I can do about it.”
“Nina knows what she's doing. Focus on what you're doing here rather than events you can't control,” Charlotte advised. “We aren't flying halfway across the world for nothing. That crazy guy down there wants Io for something important but not in his present state. He wants you to remember.”
“What do you suggest?” Samantha asked.
Charlotte smiled. “Don't remember a thing. Ignorance is bliss.”
* * *
Another hour saw them crossing the coast of West Papua, the end of Indonesia and the beginning of Papua New Guinea. Turbulence shook the plane as they crossed a mountain range. Up ahead, the sky was shrouded in darkness. A cloudbank hung in front of them. She could see it being pulled along by a strong breeze. The plane shuddered as a strong crosswind hit it. Samantha, used to flying small aircraft, held on to her seat with a grim determination. It was hard to ride the air while not at the controls.
Io was having a much more difficult experience. His eyes wide with uncertainty, he said, “Does this usually happen?”
“Only when a global organisation with ultra-secret plans aims a satellite into space and fires off a beam of God only knows what. When the resulting shift in the earth's magnetic field then tries to stabilize, dragging all weather on earth with it? Yes, in short, this usually happens.”
“I don't like it.” Io looked very sorry for himself.
“An angel afraid of flying?” Charlotte said, barely concealing an amused smile. “Whatever next? Demons with an aversion to fire?”
Samantha gave her a warning glance. If Io was an angel, even one with amnesia, every tale she had been told about the two species' interaction ended violent, gory, wrathful and bloody. It was no wonder, if Io had done what Karael accused him of, that the reaction was so vitriolic. And here she was with a ticking time bomb at her side.
“Just try to hold on, we'll be down soon enough.” Samantha hoped her reassurance was enough. The plane bucked in the turbulence, the window losing the view as they entered a band of rain. It was as if night fell outside and all the lights in the cabin blinked on in an instant. The plane lurched again.
Charlotte grabbed the intercom, crashing into the door to the galley as she did so. “Novak, what's going on?”
“Buckle up back there,” came the voice of their Croatian pilot. “We've got a jet stream coming down across the island and on to the coast of Australia. It's too low and we're hitting it sideways. It's dragging us South. I'm going to lose some altitude and it's not gonna be an easy ride. Stay in your seats.”
Charlotte took a step back toward her seat when the plane lurched again, making her lose her footing. She crashed headfirst into the bulkhead, landing in a heap on the floor.
“Charlotte!” Samantha tried to unbuckle her belt but Io reached out and took her hand in an iron grip. His hand shook; he was terrified.
“It'll be fine,” Samantha reassured him.
“How do you know?”
“Because Aeon Fall is going to start blowing up nuclear power stations and we have to do our part in stopping them. I'll not leave my sister alone on this planet to see that through. We will survive, because we have to.”
“Brace!”
The plane leaned forward into a steep dive. Samantha closed her eyes and squeezed Io's hand tight, praying Charlotte was okay.
Chapter Fourteen
“Are we safe?”
Samantha opened her eyes, her hand still clasped in Io's. He was leaning forward in the brace position, his arm jammed through the seats. He sat up, watching her. Strangely, he did not look the least bit afraid. The tang of nervous sweat assaulting her nostrils was a reminder that she hadn't showered in days.
Outside the window was streaked with water. They had levelled out and while it was raining, there were glimpses of clear sky. Behind them the trail of dark clouds hurtled above. There was no juddering. The turbulence ended. The high-pitched whine of the engines was the only outside noise.
“I guess we are,” she replied, not letting go of his hand. Then what had happened hit her. “Charlotte?”
Unconscious on the floor, Charlotte lay where she had fallen by the bulkhead, one arm twisted beneath her, face down.
“Io, help me.” Unbuckling her seatbelt, she pushed him ahead of her into the aisle. “Roll her gently, careful with her arm.”
Io did as asked, and soon Charlotte was resting comfort
ably on her back, a folded green blanket beneath her head.
“Is she well?” Io asked.
Samantha pulled Charlottes eyelids back, one at a time. “Pupils are the same size, so hopefully no concussion. Just an enormous bump to the head, I think. It's probably best to leave her still until she has to be moved.” Samantha reached for the intercom, the line coming alive with a click. “Captain Novak?” Her voice echoed throughout the plane. Clearly the wrong channel. “We have injured back here.”
“On my way.”
In moments, the small, thin man in spectacles, white shirt and creased black trousers appeared. “Miss Scott?” he queried in a melodic accent reminiscent of Dubrovnik, overlaid with a concerned tone. “Miss Benson was caught in the dive. How unfortunate.” He checked her over, feeling round Charlottes head and neck, checking her eyes as Samantha had done. “There doesn't appear to be anything broken but she's going to have quite the headache when she wakes. You've taken the correct action. I'll call ahead and get her looked at by a doctor when we land. It should be under an hour, assuming we're done with the jet stream. Aeon Fall really broke the world with that satellite.”
“You're abreast of the situation?”
He smiled. “Of course. You don't think Director Scott would allow you to take this flight without ensuring the pilots knew all the risks?”
“You're not alone up there?”
Novak looked for a second in the direction of the cockpit. “No. I have a new guy up there. He came with the plane. Doesn't talk much, but knows his stuff. He's signed off by the organisation. Your mother said something about an adventure she once took that changed her life. She hoped this might be the same for you.”
“It's been all kittens and flowers so far,” Samantha replied, her sarcastic tone not lost on the pilot as he smiled. Io didn't react. “Thank you for coming back here.”
Novak nodded and returned to the cockpit.
* * *
As predicted, in less than an hour, they descended from the scuddy-gray sky to the airport in the city of Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea. Green mountains filled the view as Samantha watched the descent by Charlotte's side; the terror of the cloud-filled jet stream five hundred miles back was a distant memory. Refusing the safety of a seat belt, she rode the bumpy landing on her backside. The stunning view disappeared as buildings closed in. They entered another dark hangar. ARC. She thought. Perpetually in the shadows.
“Where do we go without her?” Io asked, his face full of concern as he came to kneel beside them.
“We go exactly where we were supposed to go. We take this book and these notes to this shop. Maybe we'll learn something about it.” She frowned. “I'm not happy about leaving Charlotte here but what choice do we have?”
“The clock is ticking, so I would agree.”
Io's dour demeanour dampened Samantha's enthusiasm somewhat, but the sense of urgency was too great. “Who knows? These charts might even prove the solution to your missing memory. You never know, we might even find a sense of humor for you too.”
“There's a vehicle waiting for you outside the hangar, Miss Scott,” Captain Novak said as he entered the cabin.
Samantha glanced down at Charlotte.
She's injured Nina. Nina? Samantha strained to feel for her sister.
Who?
Charlotte. Knocked herself cold. The pilots are going to look after her.
There was a pause. Then let them. Sammy, I can't keep doing this, or they'll notice and that spells trouble for everybody. Trust the people around you to do their jobs. Who is the pilot?
Novak.
Who? Never heard of him. Sammy, be very careful. The contact broke.
“Don't worry about Miss Benson,” Novak said, not giving any sign he had noticed her distraction. “We have basic medical facilities here and if she needs anything more, we can have her moved. We will be flying back tomorrow so you have until then to find whatever it is that you seek.”
Samantha folded the loose pages into the book and closed it. She noticed that the book drew Novak's eye as she pocketed it in her bag. “Who's the driver?”
Novak shrugged. “Not my business to know. Check the credentials if you like. They will be on the ARC database.”
“And how do I find that out?”
Novak gave a knowing smile, as if he was the keeper of some secret to which Samantha wasn't privy. “If you need me to tell you then you don't belong in ARC.”
* * *
A frustrated Samantha and smiling Io left Captain Novak to his plane, finding, as promised, a nondescript black sedan waiting outside in the heat. While still cloudy, the humidity was overwhelming, intensified by the heat reflected from the tarmac; Samantha broke into an instant sweat. After the chill of midnight in the ruins of Dubrovnik, the New Guinean climate was an assault on the senses.
Not waiting for Io to open the door, she pulled on the handle and almost dove into the car where a wave of cold greeted her.
“Air con,” she sighed, shivering with pleasure.
Io climbed in behind her, inspecting the interior. “What manner of vehicle is this?”
“I'm not sure what you mean? The car? Or everything herein?”
“It's a standard ARC transport mate,” the driver said in an accent that sounded broadly Australian, his tone friendly but formal. “Like this all over the world. Genesis Koto. I'll be your guide.”
Samantha pulled her cell from her bag, contacting her mother and typed in the name, “Genesis Koto?” Within seconds the reply “ARC Operative, Australasia. Can be trusted,” popped up in a text message. Samantha put her cell back in her bag. “How'd you come by a name like that?”
Skin as dark as Io's split into a grin beneath black hair with blond highlights. Dressed in khaki shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, Koto looked more like a taxi driver. With a little envy, Samantha realised his attire would be a lot more suitable in this heat than her own.
“Just unlucky, I guess. There's some clothes back at the hotel for you, Miss. I'll bet you'll be wanting to get to your bookshop as quick as you can?”
“Immediately. This can't wait. One of my companions is injured and I want to get back to her as soon as possible.”
“Okay then.” Koto gunned the throttle and they took off at a pace. Soon the airport roads became a highway that split a large area of scrubland to either side as they rounded the end of one runway. The road angled up into a series of low hills. In the distance houses were visible in amongst the foliage, dense and green.
“You seem to know where we're going,” Io observed.
Koto grinned again. “Fella, you're after a book, yes?”
Io turned to Samantha, who nodded. “Yes, we are,” he said.
“Then with all the different languages they speak in this crazy place, you want to go to a book shop. Everybody knows there's only one decent bookstore in the whole of Port Moresby, probably the whole country. That's up in the hills at the University that used to be run by those Pacific Adventists.”
“Used to?”
“You know the story as well as anyone, Miss. It's not what it once was. All religion's suffered in the wake of the demons twenty years back. It's like everyone's just given up. The university goes through the motions. Kids come in and learn. Life goes on. It's just that the religious agenda has all but fizzled out. You'll see what I mean when you get up there.”
Samantha continued to probe Koto about local lore as they made their way up into the hills behind Port Moresby. Off to their right, the land fell away into a huge quarry pit. Their guide informed them that the mining company built most of the roads in the country.
Beyond the quarry was an enormous cemetery stretching to the horizon where the hills fell off.
“That seems very close to the quarry,” Io observed, his voice troubled.
“Yeah mate,” was Koto's jovial agreement. “Nine Mile Cemetery, they call it. You can see why. It goes on forever. They expect to start digging up bodies any day wi
th the blasting. The company doesn't care. Rock's more important than bones.”
No respect for the dead, Samantha thought, agreeing silently that Io was correct to be troubled. If he was an angel, this lack of concern for the dead could become damning were he righteous.
The cemetery disappeared as they rounded a hill and entered the jungle where soon after a road to the right appeared.
“Pacific Adventist University,” Io read the grubby unkempt sign aloud. “Educate to serve.” He sighed, “There used to be a great body of religion here.” He closed his eyes, as if seeking an answer from within. He raised his chin. “It was enormous. But cut off. Nobody heard their pleas.”
“How can you tell?”
Io opened his eyes and turned to her. “I don't know. I just can. The apathy, it's like a poison creeping through the ground. It's strong here.”
“Welcome to our world, mate,” Genesis Koto added, all traces of humor gone from his voice.
* * *
Their driver parked in front of a series of low, white buildings at one end of the university compound, and waited while Samantha took Io on a walk through the grounds. They encountered a couple of men who could have been students or teachers; it was hard to tell. They directed Samantha and Io onto the path for the bookshop. Io looked more and more distressed the further they walked.
“Is it really that bad?” Samantha asked as Io looked at one particular building and winced.
“That's a place of worship. Abandoned.” He opened his eyes. They were filled with tears. “Samantha, I can't rid myself of this sensation. It is as if prayers, long unanswered, are now focussed at me. But I don't know what to do with this information.”
“Io, I'm sorry. I wish I could help.”
“I think I am what you consider me to be. It feels as if in this place, I stand alone, accused of these people's abandonment. But without my memories it is impossible to process.” He raised his hands. “This is what a thousand years of darkness looks like in its infancy.”
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