Diaz waited for the noise of the truck to abate before speaking “We have quite a trek so prepare yourselves. You will not speak. You will not smile. You will follow in the exact place in which we put you. Do you understand?”
Hayden knew why she offered no objections to these slight, imperious oafs, but wondered why the others stood in submissive silence. She took their lead though, and fell in at the back, with Diaz bringing up the rear. The path they chose was tough, with the two chateau-men showing no signs of tiredness. The constant ups and downs, the ruts in the path and the rocks that sometimes appeared to try to trip you, took a toll on the four recruits though; even Hayden nursed a pull in her calf muscle and fought a tightening in her legs. Three times she helped the girl over tough spots, seen by Diaz but not commented on.
They did not stop for food, but Benedict passed a bottle of water back from which they all drank. Up here, Hayden found the air becoming thinner and thinner and was glad she’d gotten used to the altitude. Still, the lack of air sometimes made her gasp.
Topping another rise they saw a deep valley below and, across the delve between high lands, the chateau built into the side of the far mountain.
“Our destination,” Benedict said. “Hurry, or we will be late.”
Hastening the pace, the man set off. Diaz backed him up from behind. Hayden helped out where she could, again catching the girl an instant before she fell. The two men panted and walked with loose shoulders, almost exhausted. The slope leveled out, became flat land, and then started to climb again.
The chateau hung over them like the world’s biggest arachnid.
Hayden shuddered inside as she thought of the description. Shadows lengthening across the land helped fuel the illusion. The sunlight was lowering by the minute.
Up they went, straining every muscle. The slight girl paused for a rest at the halfway point but received such a glowering look from Diaz that she whimpered and forced herself to go on. Hayden followed close, physically helping her over two piles of boulders and a thick, bristly patch of brush. The thistles were so strong they forced themselves up Hayden’s trouser leg and raked her flesh, but she said nothing.
At last, Benedict stopped. The bottom edge of the house overhung them by several feet, jutting out over nothing at all. Beneath it, Hayden now saw a door had been fashioned into the rock, a black keypad with glowing blue numerals the only adornment. When Benedict entered a number — she saw three, five, six, but missed the other two — the door clicked ajar. He moved inside and, at Diaz’s urging, so did the recruits.
A rocky passageway led upward, hewed out of stone, rough and standing in pitch black. Benedict used a flashlight to light the way. Still Hayden’s calf muscles tugged at her and she felt for what the others must be experiencing. At the far end stood another door, giving the impression that the tunnel was a kind of defense system, that could be defended with ease. Maybe there were some infra-red cameras around too. Hayden saw none but since this was part of her mission, kept her eyes open every inch of the way, remembering, questing, cataloguing. The information would be invaluable for the team’s assault.
Beyond the second door they were led along a wood-paneled corridor, now angling downhill, through a couple of nicely furnished rooms and down a wide spiral staircase.
“Keep going,” Diaz muttered irritably as the slight girl pulled up again.
“Please,” she said.
“One minute can’t hurt,” Hayden appealed.
“It can if you’re flying off the cliffs,” Diaz said. “Now keep moving and shut up.”
When Hayden turned her face to him he was smiling sickly-sweet, like icing covering a cockroach. She guessed Big Brother might be watching.
“We’re all friends here,” Benedict said from the front. “Just one big, happy community, fed and strengthened by a family attachment.”
Yeah, Hayden thought. What else you fed by?
A few more corridors; the sound of a large kitchen at work; brief glimpses of apparently normal people, normally dressed, involved in their chores; and she began to feel a draft. Nothing like a chill or a tiny, errant flow of air, but a deep chill that flowed inexorably at her face.
She shivered.
Diaz grunted. “Get used to it. The caves will be your home until full initiation.”
She dreaded even to imagine what that might mean.
CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR
Left alone for a while, Hayden saw a chance and took full opportunity.
An extensive cave system seemed to exist beneath the house, stretching all the way into the mountain. Efforts had been made to close off all but the smallest tunnels with wooden doors, but nothing could prevent the deep chill of underground chambers from penetrating. Individual cubicles had been fashioned, mere places to sleep or rest, using metal framing and plasterboard to a height of eight feet. Above all those, suspended from the cave’s high ceiling by more metal latticework, hung an array of CCTV cameras.
“Great,” Hayden muttered. “Not only are we friggin’ freezing our asses off they’re on camera too.”
The slight girl had stuck with her and now giggled. “You’re funny. Thanks for your help back there.”
“Anytime.” Hayden stuck a hand out. “Call me Hayden.”
“Hayden? Hi, I’m Fay.”
Wondering which way to proceed, Hayden decided upon a more self-deprecating point of view. “How the hell did I end up here?”
Fay seated herself on a hard rock, since no chairs were in evidence. She was slim of build, around five-foot-four, and with a narrow, pretty face. Her hair was long, sleek, hanging forward over her shoulders. Her eyes, deep and round, now studied the ground as, it appeared, was normal for her.
“Bad choices, I guess,” she said.
“You’re American, right? That accent… California?”
“Started off there.”
“Ah, I’m terrible too. Can’t remember where I slept yesterday.”
Fay tugged at the sleeves covering her arms, ensuring they were fully concealed. Hayden knew the girl was betraying herself, telegraphing the problem without proper knowledge, and smiled.
“I’m in no position to judge. Done some bad shit in my time.”
“But you seem… all together.”
Hayden looked away, genuinely evaluating herself. “Dude, I’m more of a mess than late night TV. I stand up for myself, that’s all.”
“My dream.” Fay didn’t look up.
“Late night TV?”
Her new friend laughed and kicked her feet in the air as she jumped off the rock. “Let’s explore.”
So they did, having had no orders stating otherwise. The cave structure led down three different tunnels, all ending at wooden doors locked and bolted. To banish any further doubt red signs had been glued to each door.
“Keep out,” Fay said. “Maybe that’s where they conduct the experiments.”
Hayden came to a standstill, frowning hard. “What experiments?”
“Isn’t that why you’re here? Two weeks for two thousand dollars. I passed the checks and I was in. Didn’t really listen to the lingo. Something about crossing barriers, they said. Overcoming taboos.” She shrugged. “They said it could be uncomfortable, but hey, I’ve been uncomfortable since I was nine.”
Hayden thought hard. “Do you have any family?”
“Not since I was nine.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“It is what it is.” Fay nestled in a fatalistic shroud. “People like us ain’t gonna change it.”
“But we don’t have to accept it.”
“There you go again. Strong bitch, ain’t ya? If you didn’t sign up for the greenbacks why are you here?”
“Oh, I did,” Hayden said hastily. “Just threw me when you said experiments. They didn’t say that to me.”