A shadow appeared from inside one of the glass enclosures. She sprinted toward us. “I was playing dead. Is …?” Her words trailed off as she caught sight of Benigno’s body. “No. Oh, God no.”
“You can mourn him later.” Beverly grabbed Carrie by the arm. “Right now, we have to focus on escaping. Can you do that?”
Carrie blinked away a tear. Then she nodded.
I cast a quick glance at the reliquary. The stone had cracked from the force of Beverly’s explosives. Jerusalem’s dragon had been smashed to smithereens. But truth be told, I didn’t care. All I cared about was getting my friends to safety.
And destroying Miasma.
“How do we stop Simona?” I asked.
“We could take out the reservoirs back in the basement,” Graham suggested. “Stop the chemicals, stop the flights.”
“Tempting.” Beverly frowned. “But I’m willing to bet the chemicals are already on the move.”
I rubbed my jaw. “If we take down Simona’s model, we can ground her fleet. That might buy us time to figure out a permanent solution.”
Graham scrunched up his brow. “Even better, I might be able to reprogram it. Make her drones crash into the ocean.”
“Sounds good.” I glanced at Carrie. “Once we get topside, we’re splitting up. I need you to go with Dutch. You know this place better than any of us.”
She took a deep breath. “Okay.”
I darted into the far north tube, splashing through the rising water. Setting a fast pace, I made my way forward.
Graham caught up to me. “What about you and Beverly?”
“We’re going to take down Simona,” I replied. “Or die trying.”
Chapter 84
I sprinted through the tube. Mentally, I pictured our location on the island. We were close to Pagan Bay.
I shifted my gaze just long enough to stare at the curving walls. LED lamps, their wires stringing back to the generators, were mounted every few feet. Some still worked. Others had gone dark.
Questions zinged through my brain as I ran forward. Surprisingly, they had nothing to do with Simona or Eco-Trek. Rather, I found myself questioning the tubes. Why had the Japanese military spent so much time fortifying them with concrete? Did the tubes connect in other places besides the manmade cavern? What had been their original purpose?
The tube curved to the west. Water splashed over the tops of my boots. It was at least a foot deep and rising quickly.
I ran faster.
A large ramp appeared, sloping gently toward the surface. At the other end of the ramp, I saw a bit of slanting light.
Pistol at the ready, I darted up the ramp. A large metal plate — presumably the other side of the hatch — rested above me. Taking a deep breath, I clutched a thick metal handle. “Let’s hope this works.”
I turned the handle. Metal clanked. Clicking noises rang out as the hatch rose into a vertical position.
I peered outside. A gust of hot wind struck my face. Squinting, I shifted my goggles into position.
The familiar stone-lined trail lay ahead of me. Keeping an eye out for guards, I hoisted myself to the surface.
While the others climbed out of the tube, I headed down the trail. Pagan Bay came into view. In the distance, I saw three people — Simona and two younger women — and two SUVs. The two women were already situated in one of the vehicles. Simona was walking toward it, heading for the passenger seat. Since the rest of the area looked clear, I assumed the second SUV was intended for the guards we’d killed outside the lab.
Their loss. Our gain.
Simona cast a quick glimpse at the hillside. Her eyes widened as she spotted us. She started for the second SUV.
I lifted my pistol. Squeezed the trigger. Unleashed a barrage of bullets.
Her arms flailed as she backpedaled. She retreated to the first SUV. Seconds later, it zipped forward, careening toward the research station.
I shifted my pistol. Tried to draw a bead on the vehicle. But it was moving far too fast. Exhaling, I holstered the gun.
Damn it.
“Wow.” Graham recoiled. “What the hell are those?”
I followed his gaze back to Pagan Bay. My jaw dropped.
Dust spun in the air. Only this time, the spinning wasn’t random chaos. Instead, the particles had joined together, forming dozens of mini tornados.
Dust devils.
I’d seen dust devils before, but never at close range. Fortunately, the ones before me were small, measuring just a few feet wide.
Following the trail, we descended toward Pagan Bay. The path was steep and it took us a few minutes to traverse it. At the bottom, I scanned the bay for additional guards. But I didn’t see anyone.
Silently, I started toward the remaining SUV.
Graham grabbed my arm. “That’s not a good idea.”
“Why not?” I asked.
“Simona’s people will see us coming.”
“They already know we’re coming. At least we can—”
A sharp hissing rang in my ears. A pair of red lights shone in the darkness, blinking haphazardly, with no discernible pattern.
Metal crunched as the Grueler tore past — tore into — the SUV. It gave way and the Grueler appeared before us.
My heart raced. Not because of the lost SUV. But because the Grueler stood on the pavement, utterly oblivious to the stones it had crossed.
“Simona must’ve turned off the fence.” I removed the goggles from my eyes and glanced at Graham. “Take Carrie and get to the research station. Shut this place down, no matter what it takes.”
“What about you guys?”
“Don’t worry about us.” I backed up a few steps. “Just run!”
Chapter 85
The dust devils shifted back and forth, side to side. They grew larger, more ferocious. Then they broke free and began to shoot off in all directions.
A large dust devil expanded rapidly, growing to thirty feet in diameter. It started toward us, hot on the trail of several smaller dust devils. They blew at the Grueler, slashing at its metallic sides, and drowning out its hydraulics.
The Grueler broke into a run. Graham and Carrie backed toward the bay. Beverly and I waited a few seconds, making sure it was focused on us. Then we twisted around.
And ran for our lives.
The dust devils drew closer as we retreated up the hill and darted into the forest. Behind me, I heard crunching wood and clicking claws. Twisting my neck, I saw the Grueler barrel between two mid-sized trees. Their thin trunks shattered from the force and they toppled over, crashing to the ground.
My first instinct was to head for the hatch. But I didn’t know if we could get it closed in time. And even if we managed to do so, we’d still have to contend with the floodwaters.
I glanced at Beverly. “Split up!”
Immediately, she angled off to the northeast and sprinted through a different section of forest.
My brain raced. We couldn’t run forever. Eventually, we’d have to fight it. But how? Our bullets and my blade would just bounce off its metal casing. Meanwhile, it would carve us to bits.
Glancing back, I saw the Grueler, framed in the giant dust devil, charging after me.
It’s a killing machine.
I veered toward some tall rocks. They rose up before me, but the darkness obscured their details.
The air sparked with electricity. The Grueler hissed loudly. Its claws pounded against dirt as it closed the gap.
Hot air pressed against my neck. Dirt struck the backs of my pants.
My adrenaline increased. I ran faster than I knew possible, faster than my body could even control. One wrong step and I’d have no chance to recover. I’d crash to the ground and the Grueler would deal the deathblow.