Gorgon

CHAPTER 38

They barreled along the mosaic tunnel, Sam crushing 5000-year-old pristine images under his large boots. The tunnel got narrower, and he had to stop to let Matt and Rebecca off his shoulders. Matt kept one hand on the huge HAWC’s back, and with the other held onto Rebecca, which meant Sam could still pull them along at great speed. When they came to the flowstone wall, Sam didn’t stop; he exploded through it like a bulldozer.

They crossed the drained pond and headed for the metal steps, with no time to catch their breath. Their plan was for the Gorgon to be trapped by the rockfall, not to follow them out.

Sam led them up the metal steps, his feet clanging heavily on the steel. Matt and Rebecca were right behind him, followed by Casey Franks and Alex. Matt turned his head as he climbed and saw Reece Thompson emerge from the flowstone tunnel, his face beet-red. He looked up at them, his face resolute, then he sucked in a huge breath and simply … stopped.

Like a gush of foul air, a dark cloud spewed from the cave behind him and enveloped him. It coalesced, and solidified, and then huge scaled hands ripped his helmet from his face. Thompson’s mouth dropped open, and his eyes became rounder than Matt had thought was humanly possible. And then he screamed, with such fear it made Matt’s legs go weak.

‘No, Reece!’ Rebecca stopped and put her hands to her head.

Matt grabbed her and pulled her on. He saw Alex pause by the railing, as if contemplating leaping over it, but in the next second Reece Thompson shuddered and turned bone white. Magera sucked in his life force, and finished its meal by ripping the petrified husk of his body into a thousand fragments. It was obvious its rage wasn’t going to be satisfied by simply draining the intruders.

‘Move, dammit.’ Alex’s face was furious.

They were more than halfway up when Matt chanced another look over his shoulder. Magera’s solid form had started to dissipate into the dark cloud again, and Matt knew the mist would be able to move at a speed that could outpace even Sam and Alex.

‘Incoming,’ Casey Franks roared. She pounded up the steps, then turned to fire uselessly at the dark mass hundreds of feet below them.

Alex looked at his watch. ‘What the hell happened to —’

As if in answer, there came a massive hammer blow from deep in the ground. It sounded like a million volcanoes erupting, accompanied by the grinding and cracking of millions of tons of rock.

Matt saw that the entire cave system was being sucked into a giant void opening up beneath them. The stairs began to bend and then collapsed, as if the darkness was reeling them in on a length of rope. Huge stalactites fell from the ceiling like monstrous daggers, and walls split open.

Rebecca stumbled and fell. Alex sprinted past, gathering her up. He pushed at Matt. ‘Move it, Prof.’

Matt didn’t need to be told twice. He ran, his heart hammering with exertion and fear.

Vast underground wells burst their confines, pouring millions of gallons of water and debris toward them, turning the cave into a maelstrom of collapsing stone and surging whitewash.

Sam was first out into the daylight, followed by Casey, Matt, then Alex and Rebecca.

They slowed, but Alex urged them on. ‘We need to get higher. This whole area’s going to collapse.’

They ran hard for another ten minutes, up to a bluff overlooking the cave entrance. Matt’s body gave out and he fell to his knees, gasping. He looked back and gasped. The caves were gone. In their place was a huge black hole, rapidly filling with surging, muddy water.

Alex stared into its depths, and Matt knew he was searching for anything living coming to the surface. But there was nothing.

Matt rolled over to lie on his back. He heard Rebecca whisper, ‘Reece.’

‘He saved us,’ Alex said. ‘He knew what he was doing. Bought us an extra thirty seconds — the difference between that thing swallowing us and getting out. He was a good man.’

Rebecca nodded, and wiped away tears. ‘The Gorgons, the Minoans, the ship — it’s like it all never existed.’

Matt sat up. ‘No one will ever believe it did. Probably a good thing. Some people are better off not knowing what really lurks in the dark.’

Alex finally looked away from the surging water. ‘No one must ever know about it. We don’t want anyone going searching for the ship, or the Gorgon. For all we know, it could be waiting down there for someone to dig it out again.’

On the flight home, Alex sat apart from the others. For once there was a calm in his mind — no screaming devils calling for bloodshed; no Other One in the dark corners of his consciousness, straining at its mental chains, waiting for the opportunity to take over. He dropped his head back against the seat. He was looking forward to continuing his treatment with Alan Marshal. For the first time in years, he felt in control. Though he doubted the furies within him would ever be fully laid to rest, he knew that he was learning to master them. He smiled and opened his hands, then squeezed them into fists, feeling the strength run through him. He felt good. He felt like he had something to offer at last, something to live for.

He thought of Aimee and Joshua, remembered how the boy had seen him in the trees and waved to him. Somehow his son had sensed the connection with the strange wild-eyed bearded man hiding in the forest. He smiled. Now he had something to hope for.

Sam collapsed into the seat next to him with a thump. He’d removed the upper-body MECH gear, but he still overflowed into Alex’s space. Unlike Alex, Sam’s wounds would take longer to heal. Just about every inch of his body was covered in a bandage, stitched or daubed with iodine.

Alex grinned. ‘Hey there, Frankenstein.’

Sam snorted. ‘Just another day at the office.’ He looked hard at Alex. ‘So, good to be back?’

The big man was probably the closest thing Alex had to a brother. He nodded. ‘Yeah. It felt good.’

‘Damn right it did.’ Sam punched him in the shoulder. ‘Good to have you back, Arcadian. You’re home.’

Alex grunted and leaned forward to look out the window. ‘Nearly home.’