CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Carter took control.
Darkness wrapped itself around them, an ardent lover, whispering and caressing, stroking and claiming.
‘Everyone hold hands,’ Carter said calmly.
Behind them, back in the entrance to the tunnel, clawed feet could be heard crackling over the stone floor.
Do it.
McKinley spoke the words directly into Carter’s mind.
Strange high-pitched sounds were filling the tunnel, pursuing; Carter opened his mind.
Drawing on the others, especially Kirby and McKinley, he sent rhythmic pulses scattering down the tunnel, drawing on the strength of each of them, pulling out from them what he needed. The pulses met dozens of small masses of resistance.
‘I’d guess it’s the beetles that attacked when I was with Sian,’ he said.
McKinley turned his attention to the door barring their way. ‘Let’s see if we can get through this.’
It was difficult in the dark but his hand located the handle, and he feathered the fingers outwards on the wood so he could feel across to the lock.
‘There’s no key.’ He turned the handle. The door opened inwards.
Kirby screamed.
Beetles had leeched onto her neck, needling into the skin, trying to burrow inside.
Bayliss grabbed her arms, propelled her round so she was facing away from him, then slapped her hard on the back. He sensed rather than saw her body as it lurched forwards. She stopped herself from hitting the wall by bracing her arms against the rock.
Some of the beetles had fallen off as he slapped her. Now he ripped off as many as he could locate on her neck and shoulders.
Carter took Kirby by the hand. ‘Come on,’ he said.
With McKinley pulling at Bayliss they pushed at the open door, shutting it behind them as dozens of the rattling beetles scraped against the other side.
‘Are there any still on you?’ Bayliss said.
Kirby shook her head. She was quivering with terror.
You’ll be fine. You did well.
Carter injected the words into her brain and she smiled. She hadn’t done well at all, she knew that. If it hadn’t been for Bayliss she’d have let the things…she pushed the thoughts out of her mind.
‘Thanks, Nick,’ she said.
‘I never did like creepy crawlies.’
This side of the door the air was warmer, slightly stale, as if it was a long-closed cellar. The tunnel was still evident but it was wider, opening up like a river delta. The floor was still stone but smoother; more care had been taken when it was built.
That was the conclusion Carter couldn’t expel from his mind. This had all been built. He hesitated to use the phrase ‘man-made’ because he suspected man had very little to do with the construction. He was in no doubt that the natural ley lines that flowed beneath the island had been amplified over the years by what ever had used them as a line of transport.
They moved slowly along, feeling the walls with their hands, noticing the rock was becoming less rough as the tunnel progressed. Gradually light began to filter around them, so visibility became easier.
A slight bend in the tunnel took them round an outcrop of rock, and when they could see straight ahead again they stopped and stared.
They couldn’t believe what was in front of them.