Andy bit a strip of bacon in half. “I wouldn’t doubt it. This place is pretty amazing, though. It must have cost billions.”
“Let’s just hope they spent it wisely.”
Jerry came over with a plateful of sausages and a tall glass of orange juice. He was wearing a white T-shirt with
StopGovernmentSecrets.com
emblazoned across the chest, obviously an iron-on made with a desktop printer. He took a seat at their table and noticed Sun appraising his large stack of pork-links. He shrugged. “I’m cutting out carbs,” he said, before tucking in like a starving caveman.
“There are carbs in the OJ,” Andy said.
“I know. But those are liquid carbs, not food carbs.”
Andy considered telling him there wasn’t a difference, but decided there wasn’t any point.
After devouring several of the dozen sausages, Jerry wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and sipped his juice. Then he pulled a face. “These sausages are tiny. The ones in England are big and fat, much nicer.”
“Maybe they have a suggestion box,” Sun offered.
Jerry took a big gulp of orange juice. “So all the rumors about Project Samhain, keeping ol’ Scratch under lock and key, those are true?”
Andy put down his knife and fork and laced his fingers together in front of him, elbows on the table. “You know you’re sworn to secrecy, right?”
Jerry nodded. “Big bloke named Rimmer came to see me last night, made me sign a stack of papers while he flexed his biceps, trying to look mean. Said if I ever said anything about this place to anyone, he’d make sure I ended up having an uncomfortable experience with that unicorn on subbasement 1.”
Andy and Sun exchanged a glance. It felt strange to be talking about it, since they hadn’t in so long, but Andy eventually said, “It’s true.”
“Was it actually the devil?”
Sun nodded. “It was like the batling in the cell on Level 5. Only a lot bigger.”
“But was it Satan?”
“Let me put it this way,” Andy said, pushing away his plate. “If Satan does exist, Bub was a prime candidate.”
Concern crossed Jerry’s face. “If it was,
is
, Satan, that means there’s a heaven and hell, don’t it?”
Sun said, “I don’t know, Jerry. It could be.”
“So we could actually be punished for eternity for things we’ve done in the past?”
“It depends on the religion and the dogma,” Sun answered. “Is it true that you’re wanted by the police back in the UK?”
Jerry’s expression became even bleaker. “I robbed some money from a tosser. He had it coming.”
“But you’re wanted,” Sun said. “Aren’t your parents worried about you?”
Jerry started shovelling more sausages into his mouth, swallowing them down in loud gulps. When he was done he let out a long sigh. “I don’t have any parents. My mom died last year of lung cancer and my dad… my dad is the ‘tosser’ I stole from.”
“I’m sorry about your mother,” said Sun. “You must really miss her.”
Jerry nodded. “She was the only person that ever really cared about me—well,
her
and my best friend, Ben. But now he won’t even talk to me after what I did.”
“Why not? What did you do?” asked Sun.
“Never mind. I don’t want to get into it. What are you guys up to today?”
Sun smiled, seemingly content not to push the subject. “We’re heading back down to level 5,” she said. “Did you want to tag along?”
Andy shot his wife a stare, but she ignored it.
Jerry’s face lit up. “Yeah, I would really like to. Even if I can’t tell anyone.”
“Knowledge for the sake of knowledge,” Sun said. “A noble pursuit.”
Andy cleared his throat to gain the floor. “What we’re doing is going to be very dangerous, Jerry. You need—”
“I won’t be any trouble. I’ll do whatever you tell me to. Just let me come.” He stared at Andy for what seemed like ages and then said, “Please, man. I need this.”
Andy sighed. “Okay, fine, but don’t get in the way. And follow every direction we give you.”
Jerry smiled and nodded.
“Okay,” Sun said. “Looks like our new research team is ready to go. Let’s head downstairs.”
They left the cafeteria and headed down to level 5 via the large, buttonless elevator, calling out the level in order to do so. As they walked, they met General Kane in the corridor. He was standing outside one of the cells and glaring at whatever was inside. At one point he even stabbed his finger against the glass and raised his voice.
Kane saw them coming and stood to attention. “Ah, Mr. and Ms. Dennison-Jones. Good to see you up and about so early. Shows a good work ethic. And Mr. Preston, am I to understand that you will be accompanying them?”
“If that’s okay,” said Jerry. “I promise not to get in the way.”
“Just remember what I said and behave yourself. Anything you do, I will hold the Dennison-Joneses accountable for. Bear that in mind.”
Jerry nodded.
Andy glanced inside the nearby cell—cell number 5. It belonged to the werewolf creature. The animal seemed to be glaring intently at Kane, snarling as he did so.
“You two know each other?” Andy asked.
Kane turned and glared into the cell again. He prodded his finger at the glass and the werewolf snarled louder. “Me and Fido here have a history. When I first started at the Spiral, I made the mistake of going inside his enclosure to take some samples.” He rolled up his left shirt cuff to reveal a gnarled streak of scar-tissue from his elbow to his wrist. “Not a mistake I’ll make again.”
“Can you change into a werewolf?” Jerry asked.
“What? No, of course not.”
“Then it isn’t a werewolf. It’s just a big wolf.”
“It doesn’t really matter what he is. He’s the last of his kind, so it won’t be long until werewolves really are just a figment of people’s imagination.”
Jerry moved up closer against the glass. He looked inside at the snarling beast. “He’s the last one?”
“Yes. There used to be more, but they grow old and die eventually. This one just turned eighty last month. Another thirty, forty years and he’ll be dead and buried.”
“Extinction shouldn’t be allowed,” Sun said, her veterinary background obviously speaking up. “Why haven’t you tried to breed them?”
“There aren’t any left to breed with.” Kane moved up closer to the glass and knelt down so that his eyes were level with the creature’s. “You hear that, Fido? Once you’re gone, your entire species will be finished. No more mongrels like you.”
The beast rumbled deep in its chest.
Jerry said, “Maybe he bit you because he doesn’t like being locked up. Or being called
Fido
.”
Kane shot him a stern glance, and the boy cowered.
Andy cleared his throat. “Where can we find you if we need you, General?”
Kane straightened up and adjusted his shirt. “My office is on level 2.” He strode off down the hall without another word.
Andy looked into the cell. The werewolf had stopped snarling and had padded away towards the back of the cell. There was a bundle of blankets and what looked like some rubber chew toys there.
“Dude doesn’t like Wolfie,” said Jerry. “Not surprised he chomped on that old fart. Don’t blame him for being grouchy when they lock him up like Hannibal Lector and tell him that his whole race is about to become extinct. That shit was cold.”
Sun nodded. “I understand that these creatures are considered dangerous, but if General Kane escaped with just a bite on the arm, he got off lucky. A wolf this big could have bitten him in half.”
Andy shrugged his shoulders. “The guy’s been here for years. Who knows what these animals have been responsible for in that time? Maybe everything in the Spiral really is evil. We only just got here. Let’s keep an open mind.”
Sun gave him a sideways glance. “Evil? Like that family of tiny imps upstairs? I would be surprised if they were any more evil or dangerous than foxes or badgers. They’re just animals. Animals that the church once decided it didn’t like the look of and shoved underground. Wouldn’t be the first time the Catholic Church buried something.”
“Sun,” Andy said. “We know evil exists, right?”
“If you want to get into a philosophical discussion of evil, Andy, we can leave out animals.”
“Bub wasn’t evil?”
“He was selfish. A murderer. He understood the misery he caused because he was self-aware. But you can’t apply that line of thinking to a wolf or a spider looking for a meal or defending itself.”
“You’d think differently if you were trapped in its web,” Andy said.
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying it’s too soon to go all Greenpeace when we haven’t seen what any of these animals are capable of. Maybe Wolfie here is really a cuddly Corgi in his heart, but let’s give the two thousand year old secret society a little bit of credit before we start petting him, okay?”
Andy thought he’d angered his wife, but after a small hesitation she nodded.
Dr. Chandelling appeared at the end of the hallway. He waved a hand at them excitedly as he jogged towards them. “Ah, you’re all here. Wonderful. Eager to get started, I’ll bet.”
Sun waved back. “Good morning, doctor.”
“Good morning. Do you have your access fobs yet?”
Andy pulled the blue rubber disk from his pocket and examined it. “If you mean this thing, then, yeah.”
“Good. It will give you access to the cells if you punch in your code, but don’t do anything without informing General Kane and getting armed security guard assistance. That’s how we do things since the General’s, um, accident.” Chandelling gave a sideways glance into the werewolf cell.
“I think that guy is more of a cat person,” Jerry said.
“Yes, General Kane has a somewhat troubled relationship with our resident
Canini
. Working in the Spiral can place a strain on the strongest of people, but that’s a discussion for another day. Were you still intending to speak with the Manx man first, before the batling?”
Andy nodded. “We’re heading there now. He’s still in the cell at the end of the corridor?”
“He certainly is. Come on, I’ll take you folks over.”
They headed down the corridor towards the door where Dr. Chandelling had entered. Inside the final cell, Lucas was standing up against the glass, waiting as if he knew they were coming.
“Good morning, Dr. Chandelling. Andy. Jerry. Sun. How was your morning fry-up? Just toast for you, Sun-lass?”
Sun’s eyes widened. “Can you read my mind, Lucas?”
The man laughed. “Do I need to, when there are bread crumbs on your shirt?”
Sun looked down, then brushed herself off.
“Why are you here, Lucas?” Andy said. “Do you like being locked up?”
Lucas smiled. “Who says I’m locked up?”
“You can leave any time you want?”
Lucas nodded. “I could be anywhere. I chose to be here.”
“Why?” asked Andy. “Why are you here?”
Lucas grinned ear to ear. “I’m here to watch what you do, Andy. It all depends on you.”
Andy felt himself get goosebumpy again. “What does?”
“Armageddon,” Lucas said. “And I got meself a front row seat.”
Kane sat down in his office and poured himself a whiskey. He always enjoyed having guests at the Spiral, it broke up the monotony of seeing the same old faces day in day out. But usually the guests were members of Deus Manus from other facilities. Andy and Sun Dennison-Jones were ordered to be here. It was obvious they’d rather be somewhere else, and Kane agreed they should be. It was hard enough maintaining control with eager volunteers, let alone begrudging ones.
The employees at the Spiral were allowed to come and go freely, but they were sworn to secrecy and were usually given some grand fiction to tell their families about why they worked away from home so much. It was really up to them what cover they used when leaving the base, so long as it stood up and was never questioned. Since the base itself was in the middle of a Mexican national park, commuting required a helicopter, but anyone who needed a weekend off or a vacation could easily put in a request.
Kane had not left the facility in years.
His work had long ago consumed him. The world had moved on and modernized to a point that he no longer recognized it. The last time he had ventured outside he’d visited his niece in Anaheim. It had been incredibly awkward.
People had changed. Everyone from children to grandparents now walked around with chirping phones attached to their heads. Computers had invaded the home of every family and nobody spoke to one another anymore. Even the roads had gone bad; clogged up with insane drivers honking their horns and barging in front of one another. No. No, thank you. Kane didn’t want to be a part of
that
world. He was meant for higher things, positions of quiet honor. He was meant to be right where he was, in the Spiral, doing God’s work.
Kane was also concerned by the presence of the English boy. Not only was he a foreign national, but he had a checkered history and seemed of no use to anyone. They couldn’t induct him into the Order, or trust him in any way. Kane had no idea what to do with young Jeremy Preston. But he would have to be dealt with, sooner or later.
Everything had to be dealt with, sooner or later.
Kane grabbed the phone on his desk and dialled an outside line. The call went through to his counterpart at the Texas facility.
“Kane, good to hear from you, old friend. How are things your end?”
“Good to hear from you, too, Robson. Things are clockwork over here. You know the saying: I’d rather be bored than fighting for my life.”
“What about your unexpected guest? The Manx guy. Any news?”
“He’s speaking English now, but not saying much. But the Manx man is not why I’m calling. I wanted to check in with you about the faustling—or the ‘batling’ as my people have taken to calling it. Not the one we have here; the one you have at your site.”
“It’s still here. Level 5. Safe and sound.”
“Any new developments?”
“No. It killed that cattle rancher downstate, but since it arrived here it’s been downright tame. Almost as if…”
“Yes?”
“I dunno. It’s almost as if it
wants
to be here. I know you shot yours to pieces before bringing it in, but this one didn’t even try to put up a fight. It just sat there, by the entrance, and let itself get caught.”