I glanced at the pile of supplies. “You brought those with you?”
He nodded. “We scrounged them up from shallow waters later that night. We’ve been living off them for over a week now.”
“What about your wife?” Beverly asked.
“Rizzalyn? They got her too.” He jerked his thumb in the general direction of the station. “We watched them take her and the others inside that building. Marched them in there like prisoners.”
His story had the ring of truth to it. Still, at least one aspect didn’t make sense. Why had Eco-Trek bothered to imprison the surviving islanders? Why hadn’t they tried to kill them like they’d tried to kill us?
Carrie stood up to stretch her legs.
I caught her eye. “How is he?” I asked, with a nod at Graham.
“He’s fine. Just needs some rest.”
Beverly gave her a curious look. “How do you fit into this?”
“I used to work for Eco-Trek,” Carrie said after a long moment.
“Did you know Simona Wolcott?” Graham asked.
She nodded.
“What was she like?”
“A real control freak. Nothing happens at Eco-Trek without her approval.” She sighed. “Anyway I saw the attack on the Pagan Nation. When Pascal’s men—”
“Pascal?” I frowned. “Who’s that?”
“Jeremy Pascal. He heads up Simona’s security forces.”
“Short guy? Polynesian? Loads of scars?”
“You’ve met him?”
“Not personally.”
“You’re lucky. He’s a monster.” Carrie paused. “Anyway when Pascal’s guys saw me, they gave chase. So, I ran.”
“We ran together,” Benigno said. “Eventually, Pascal’s guys broke off our trail. But then the Grueler arrived.”
“That’s right.” Akolo turned toward us. “It just came out of the darkness. We ran like crazy. It was right on our tail when we stumbled on this place.”
“He’s being modest.” Benigno smiled. “He spotted it. Saved our lives in the process.”
“What’s a Grueler?” Beverly asked.
“That’s Pascal’s name for the beast,” Carrie replied.
“What kind of animal is it?” I asked.
“Truthfully, I don’t know. It kicks up so much dust, it’s impossible to get a good look.” She exhaled. “I did ask him about it once. You see, we could hear it inside the station. He told me it was Eco-Trek’s guard dog.”
“How’d it get that way?”
“You’re talking about the second head?” She shrugged. “I’ve got no clue. To me, the real mystery is how it’s able to run with either head in the lead. What kind of legs could possibly do that?”
Good question.
“So, what’s the plan?” I asked.
Benigno frowned. “What do you mean?”
“They’ve got your wife. I assume you’re going after her.”
“Not without guns. I had one when I came here. That’s how I know bullets don't hurt the Grueler.”
“What happened to it?”
“I was forced to ditch it.” His jaw tightened. “Occasionally, Pascal’s guards patrol Pagan Bay. We’ve been studying them, watching their movements. If we can lure a couple of them away from the pack, we can arm ourselves.”
I glanced at Carrie. “You know your way around the research station?”
She nodded. “Why?”
“Think you can help me find an old stone box?”
Her eyes shone with curiosity. “I suppose so.”
“Then I suggest we work together.” I patted my gun. “We’ll help you free Rizzalyn and the other prisoners. You help us find the reliquary. Deal?”
Benigno and Carrie shared looks. Then Carrie gave me a nod. “Deal.”
Chapter 42
Benigno cleared his throat. “Intriguing, huh?”
I kept my gaze locked on the large pile of rubble blocking the tube’s southeastern end. A similar pile of rubble blocked the other side as well. “You said you lived here. Did you know about it?”
“You mean before Akolo found the fissure?” He nodded. “When I was a kid, my grandfather used to tell stories about old Japanese tunnels. He said they honeycombed the island.”
After joining forces with Benigno, Akolo, and Carrie, I’d been eager to set out for the station. I wanted to recover the reliquary, to escape the island. But Beverly had convinced me to wait. Eco-Trek’s chemtrails needed time to disperse. Plus, Pascal could still be in the area. And most importantly, Graham required rest.
So, we’d agreed to spend a day in the strange underground tube. It was the smart move. The right move.
But that didn’t mean I was happy about it.
I frowned. “So, this isn’t the only tunnel?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure.” Benigno spun in a slow circle. “Frankly, I’d thought it was just a story.”
“Your grandfather lived here during World War II?”
“Yes, but he wasn’t part of the garrison. He and roughly two hundred other Chamorro people — the Chamorro are the natives of the Mariana Islands — lived here before and after the war.”
“Your family has a lot of history on this island.”
“Tell me about it. My distant relatives were forcibly deported in the late 1600s. We came back in the early 1800s only to be kicked out yet again.” His fingers curled into fists. “Someday it’ll be ours.”
I wasn’t so sure, but I smiled all the same. “What else did your grandfather tell you about these tunnels?”
“Not much. Apparently, the Imperial Japanese Army sent about two thousand people here along with some equipment in mid-1944. Pretty soon, they started receiving massive concrete shipments.”
“Did your grandfather actually see the tunnels?”
“No. He didn’t even see dirt coming out of the garrison. He just heard rumors about them. The whole thing was a pretty big deal, I guess. Even General Yamashita came to Pagan at that time via submarine, supposedly to tour them.”
I racked my brain for information on General Yamashita, but came up short. “Who’s that?”
“Grandfather called him, The Tiger of Malaya. He was some kind of hotshot general and conquered Malay and Singapore early on in the war. Then he was exiled to a distant post in China, supposedly for embarrassing the Japanese government. He wasn’t allowed back to this part of the world until construction started on Pagan.”
The story fueled my curiosity. Why would the Imperial Japanese Army build a network of tunnels under Pagan? What was the purpose of the tunnels? Did Eco-Trek know about them?
I walked past the rubble and stopped next to a section of crumbling wall. Using my machete, I chipped away at the concrete. Gradually, blackish rock came into view. “Well, that solves one mystery,” I said slowly. “The Japanese military didn’t dig these tunnels. They were already here.”
“What do you mean?”
“See that?” I waved at the rock. “Those are step marks. They show the level of flowing lava.”
“You mean …?”
I nodded. “It’s a lava tube.”
Ancient lava tubes, like the one in which I stood, resulted from flowing low-viscosity lava. As the lava cooled, the surrounding walls hardened, forming long tube-like structures.
Benigno nodded slowly. “That explains why my grandfather didn’t see any dirt.”
I continued to study the wall. Meanwhile, Benigno drifted off to the other end of the tube. He lay down on a bed of soil and dead leaves. Before long, snoring filled the air.
My vision grew hazy. I rubbed my eyes, but it didn’t help much.
A yawn escaped my lips. Looking around, I saw the others. Like Benigno, they were fast asleep on beds made from dirt, foliage, and old clothes.