The Power of Five Oblivion (62 page)

“How are you feeling?” he asked. It was almost the first time he had spoken since they had left Brazil.

“I’m feeling better,” Matt said. “Thank you for flying us here.”

“I wasn’t going to leave you behind,” Lohan said. The words came tumbling out and he couldn’t stop them. “I didn’t think it was a good idea coming here. That’s all. I need to find my own people. So do you.”

“Maybe they’ve arrived ahead of us.”

“Do you think so?”

Lohan turned and looked at the fortress in the far distance, half obstructed by the falling snow. It was built on the very edge of the mountain, the barbican jutting out, the four towers all around. It looked small from the distance, almost two kilometres away, but he knew it must be huge. There were figures moving around in front of it … guards or soldiers, some of them constructing some sort of machinery. Lohan had seen all this from the air as they prepared to come in. But it was somehow more ominous, more real now that they were down on the ground.

“The Old Ones,” he said.

“Yes.” Matt nodded.

“Do they know you’re here?”

“I don’t know. Probably.”

“I still think we were wrong to come…”

“You don’t need to worry about what happened at Serra Morte,” Matt said. “That’s all over now and we don’t need to talk about it any more. What matters is that we arrived and you brought me here. I wouldn’t have made it without you.”

The two of them stood facing each other, their breath frosting in the air..

“There are people coming…” Lohan said.

It was true. There were half a dozen of them, identically dressed in white padded anoraks and trousers with balaclavas and goggles, carrying rifles. The clothes camouflaged them against the snow. They took up positions a few metres away, circling them. Their weapons hung over their shoulders but they were poised and watchful, ready to bring them round at any time.

“Where have you come from?” one of them shouted. He hadn’t taken off his face covering and his voice was muffled. He spoke English with an American accent.

“From South America,” Lohan replied.

“Why are you here?”

“To fight the Old Ones.”

The leader examined them briefly. What must he be thinking – an Asian man and a Western teenager, emerging alone from a Brazilian plane? “Do you have ID?”

Lohan looked at him scornfully. “What use is ID any more? We escaped from a prison camp in Brazil. We’re here to fight with you. Maybe you could make us feel a little more welcome.”

The man nodded slowly, then gestured at the plane. “Have you got any supplies with you? Food? Weapons? How are you for fuel?”

“We stole the plane,” Lohan said. “We have about a quarter of a tank but there wasn’t much on board. We found a few clothes. There are a couple of crates of brandy. But that’s all.”

“We’ll appreciate the fuel. And the brandy. We can take a look later.” He came to a decision. “My name’s Greyson. Welcome to Oblivion. Right now you need to meet the commander. Come with us.”

The commander. Matt wasn’t sure he liked the sound of that but he had no choice but to follow the group back towards the encampment that stood close to the cliff edge. At the same time, it occurred to him that he had no idea who these people were. The man who called himself Greyson could have been a shape-changer and the others could be … anything. They could have flown straight into a trap. But there wasn’t really anything he could do and at least, if they were being led into danger, they weren’t completely helpless. Lohan had his gun and Matt could feel his own powers returning.

They walked about fifty metres, following the tracks they had just made in the snow and leaving the Legacy behind them. They were heading for the largest tent at the centre of what was almost a makeshift city. The tent was like something out of a circus, tall and round, a sturdy affair with thick white canvas secured by about forty ropes, pegged into the ice. Dozens of smaller tents and wooden bivouacs huddled all around it and as they drew closer, Matt was aware of faces watching them nervously from behind the flaps. A few fires had been lit on the ice and people were standing over them, boiling kettles or cooking meals in tins. They were wearing a variety of protective gear. Some had fur gloves and hats. There were men as well as women of every age. They nodded in his direction but said nothing as he went past.

Two armed guards were standing at the entrance but they recognized Greyson and stood aside. Matt and Lohan followed him in, glad to be out of the cold. They saw at once that there were stoves burning in the tent. The air was warm and smelled of aviation fuel, which must have been used to keep the fires alight. The ground was carpeted. Trestle tables had been set up in long lines … a hundred people or more could have met here at any one time, and there were blackboards and white screens set up for presentations. As they entered, Matt saw a group of about twenty men and women, the majority of them in uniform, sitting together, deep in discussion. Their heads turned as Matt and Lohan walked towards them. At the same time, the white-suited men were removing their headgear. “We have two new arrivals,” Greyson said.

“Matt!”

Matt heard his name called and looked in astonishment and delight as Richard Cole leapt up from the table and hurried towards him. Richard was dressed in a thick jersey and trousers, which he must have borrowed – they looked too neat for him – and his hair had been cut shorter. He was grinning from ear to ear, ignoring everyone around him. There was a moment of awkwardness as the two of them faced each other, then they fell into each other’s arms.

“I can’t believe you’ve made it,” he said. “Scarlett told me you were in Brazil.”

“I was.”

“Nice place?”

Matt shook his head. “I’m not going back.”

They were still standing close to each other. Richard lowered his voice and spoke quickly. “Man in charge. Cain. American. Means well but watch out for him. Planning an attack with the World Army. I think he’s crazy but he won’t listen.” He moved away and continued in a normal voice. “I’m so glad you’re here, Matt. I’ve missed you. It’s so good to see you again.”

A second person was moving towards them and Matt recognized Scarlett. Her hair was shorter too and he could see the scar where she had been wounded. Both she and Richard had red streaks on their cheeks and noses from their time in the Middle East sun. She grabbed hold of Lohan first and kissed him on the cheek. Then she did the same for Matt.

“It’s great you’ve arrived at last,” she exclaimed. “I’ve been waiting every day for you to show up.”

“How long have you been here?” Lohan asked.

“Almost a week. We were in Egypt and Dubai and so many things have happened. We were helped by the Nexus and there was this sheikh …” She broke off. “I don’t want to talk about it with everyone here. All I can say is, I’m glad Richard was with me. I don’t know what I’d have done if I’d been on my own.”

“You know these people, Mr Cole?”

Another man had left the table and was walking towards them, and even before he introduced himself Matt knew that he must be the commander that Greyson had mentioned and Richard had just warned him about. He was a big man, physically fit, with broad shoulders, a solid neck and silver hair, cut very precisely. He had the sort of face that demanded to be taken seriously, with a square jaw and ice-blue eyes. Matt guessed he must be about fifty. He was dressed in the uniform of the United States Navy: a khaki jacket and trousers, button-up shirt, black tie, epaulettes and gold belt buckle. There were two rows of coloured ribbons across his chest and although he was in the middle of Antarctica, his shoes were polished and every crease was in place.

“Yes, Commander,” Richard said, in reply to his question. “It’s the best thing that could have happened to us. This is Lohan. I told you about him. He helped us in Hong Kong…”

“And the young man?”

Richard hesitated a moment, wondering if Matt would want to tell these people who he was, but Matt caught his eye and nodded slightly. “He’s Matthew Freeman,” Richard said. “He’s one of the Gatekeepers.”

This caused a stir among the other people who had left the table and were grouped around them. Matt saw that they were all naval people, lieutenants and commanders – but from different navies. One looked South American. Another pair were obviously British, with their navy blue jackets trimmed with gold on the cuffs and crowns displayed prominently on their caps. There were two serious-looking women and an older man in a suit who might have been a university professor.

The commander had heard what Richard said and shook his head slowly, weighing up his words. He showed no emotion at all. Matt could see that he was being careful not to be impressed. “Did they bring in any supplies?” he asked. It was an odd question, almost irrelevant. And he hadn’t even addressed it to Matt, as if he would be unable to answer for himself.

“No, sir,” Greyson replied. He had removed his hood to reveal a short, naval haircut, blue eyes and freckles. He didn’t look much older than Matt himself. “They have a little fuel and alcohol, nothing more. We haven’t had a chance to look over the aircraft, though.”

Matt was growing increasingly uncomfortable. What right did these men have to walk onto their plane – and who had put them in charge? But perhaps he was being unfair. The so-called World Army might have two or three thousand people in it, but someone had to give the orders. A military or naval commander would be the obvious choice. And this wasn’t the time for an argument. Matt wanted to be alone with Richard and Scarlett. He needed to know what was going on.

“It was a Legacy Shuttle, wasn’t it?” the commander asked.

“A Legacy 600, sir.”

“Well, that’s good. We can move some more folk out of tents and put them on board. This weather is too cold to be sleeping outside and we’ve still got women and children with no proper place to go. You can see to it, Greyson.”

“Yes, sir.”

The commander turned back to Matt and although he still wasn’t smiling, at least he seemed to have become a little more friendly. He extended a hand. “It’s very good to meet you, Matthew. Mr Cole has told me a lot about you. You too, Mr Lohan. I guess you and I wouldn’t normally have much to say to each other but that’s the way it is. My name is David Cain, commanding officer on the US
Pole Star
, and the way things have worked out I’m pretty much in command of the World Army too. We have a lot to talk about, but I imagine you people would like to be together for a while. We were just wrapping up this meeting anyhow.”

He looked at his watch, a chunk of stainless steel on an oversized wrist.

“It’s fifteen hundred hours, almost time for dinner. We don’t eat together but we make sure there’s enough food to go round. And we go to bed early here. It’s hard enough to get any sleep with this permanent daylight. Have you arranged the patrol, Lieutenant?”

“Yes, sir,” Greyson snapped back.

“Right. I suggest we get together for the morning briefing at zero six hundred hours. Obviously, the fact that you’re here changes things – and I have to say, it couldn’t be better timing. My men will escort you back to the Airbus while we check out the Legacy. Does that sound all right to you?”

“Whatever you say,” Matt said. He wasn’t sure whether to add “sir” or not but decided against it.

“I’m glad you’ve come,” Cain said.

He turned away, walked back to the table and began to examine the documents he had been reading when Matt arrived. The other officers and staff were reluctant to leave Matt, but eventually went back and joined him. Lieutenant Greyson and his men waited to one side.

“Let’s go,” Richard muttered.

They went.

Richard and Scarlett had agreed to share the Airbus, giving over the whole lower floor to people who had found it too cramped and the sea too rough on the boats. There were about a hundred of them, sleeping on camp beds that had been set out the entire length of the fuselage. They were mainly Europeans – French, German and Italian – and all ages. As Cain had said, there were even some very young children. The plane was already covered in snow but that helped insulate it and someone had set up a heating system using the aviation fuel that remained. A pyramid of packed ice led up to the main door and steps had been hacked into it to stop people slipping. The door itself was kept open much of the time, although with a thick curtain to keep out the cold.

Matt was glad to get inside. Walking here from the commander’s tent, he had been unable to keep his eyes away from the fortress of the Old Ones at the far end of the ice shelf. He could feel the muscles in his chest tightening. He knew that Chaos was somewhere inside. He was waiting for him. And Chaos would know that he had arrived. The end, the final reckoning between the two of them, was very close.

The people on the plane were already preparing their evening meal, cooking tins of food over Primus stoves. Condensation was running down the windows and the air was warm and fuggy, smelling of tinned soup.

“We’re upstairs,” Richard said, taking Matt through the galley and up the spiral staircase that led to the first class cabin. Like the rest of the plane, most of the seats had been taken out and replaced with camp beds. There was also a table and four chairs. Two men, fair-haired and dressed in pilot uniforms, were sitting there, playing cards with a battered deck. They looked round slowly as Matt and Lohan came in.

“Matt, this is Larry and Zack,” Richard said. “They flew us here.”

“You’re Matt Freeman?” Larry asked. He set down his cards. “I’m glad you’ve arrived, mate. Richard here hasn’t stopped going on about you. So maybe you can do whatever it is you’re supposed to do and get us the hell out of here.”

Matt shook hands with the two Australians. They nodded at him, then promptly went back to their game, as if it was the only thing that mattered in the world. They hadn’t been exactly welcoming but they were so laid-back that he couldn’t help liking them. A few minutes later they finished, Zack spreading out a hand of aces, then they made their excuses and went downstairs. Maybe they realized that Matt and Richard needed time together.