GENESIS (GODS CHAIN) (47 page)

‘Oooh!’
I’ll be b
loody sore
,
she agonised.
I’ll have to speak to estates about this tomorrow.’
S
he continued
the
best she could along the corridor
, holding her aching head with one hand.

The passage began to widen again and
Francesca was able to walk
more upright.
She
approached a long bend
,
notic
ing that
the orange hue
had given
way to a lighter ambience.
A low
,
humming noise drifted
to her ears
as she
rounded
a bend
and
the light
grew
brighter.
It was at that moment
that
Francesca saw
the
white florescent light shining like a beacon out of the open doorway at the alcove.
The communications room!

‘Thank God.
Here I am
at last!’
she
sp
o
k
e
aloud in
her
relief.

Francesca looked through the open doorway, screwing up her eyes
as she
emerg
ed
from the darker tunnel.
There was
“
Mathew
”
!
Sitting alone on the floor next to the cabinet and stool, the
s
erver was still busily providing the essential redundancy and backup required to keep all the other disciple nodes healthy.
But w
here is Massimo?

Francesca
entered the small communications room
, which,
l
ong ago had been dug
out of
the wall o
f
the
main
passageway.
The f
amiliar electronic sounds of small fans whirred continually from the two comms
s
witches and
the s
erver; th
e
s
e
w
ere
the only sound other than her breathing.
A light dust coated everything inside.

Massimo must be somewhere
....
Francesca
scanned his earlier hand
i
work and his footprints
, which were
impressed into the dust
.
She
also
saw
smaller
,
female
foot
prints which were
probably
her own from the last time she
had entered
this remote place.

What was that?
Francesca asked herself
,
looking at a small
,
partly
-
open doorway on the far wall
.
S
he had previously thought th
e door
to be some kind of fire exit and wondered why Massimo
had decided to open it up. Perhaps he was still inside?

Why?
Oh Jesus, tell me
he did
not
go in there
, she prayed a little
.
T
here is no way I am going inside!
No way...I just can’t do it.
Francesca approached the entrance slowly
,
the stale air motionless and
...
there was something else
—
something
that
subconsciously
alerted her
.
A
gainst her better judgement
,
the girl focused on ahead and into the dark tunnel.

             
‘Hello
?
’ her voice fell dully without any resonance; she raised her voice again
.
‘Hello
,
Massimo?’
she spoke
tentatively and cautiously
,
seeing only a light glow reflecting off the wall surface beyond a curved wall
.
That must be
Massimo’s head torch shining not twenty metres
off
!
Massimo should be around that curve
!

Francesca had entered the passageway without thinking
,
almost like
being pulled by
a magnetic attraction to the darkness.
There she was
...
and
she was in!
A
lthough she’d a
lways
hated
dark places
,
Francesca
maintained her
leadership without thinking or hesitation
—she could not let her fear rule her when one of her team might need help.

Inside
,
the floor was uneven and fragmented
,
making it difficult to walk.
Her steps crunched and crumbled as she walked.
She made her way between the data and power cables, following them along the passage where she could see a light up ahead. Francesca tripped and stumbled as she approached the bend.
No one should be in here
...
she thought. I
t was too quiet.

The young
woman
began
to
round the long curve
.
W
hat’s this?
she
wondered
and quicken
ed
her step.
There was Massimo!
The young man
’
s headlamp was resting on top of what looked like a computer tower
,
silhouetting his thin frame
, which sat
in front of the lamp
.
H
is head
was
turned downwards
,
staring at
the place
where the cable runs
appeared to
end.

             
‘Mass
,
I am so glad to find you.
What are you looking at?’ she was still spooked a little at being inside this awful place
,
and yet incredibly relieved to have
found her co-worker and friend
.
Massimo seemed disinterested or preoccupied with his find
, however
.
Francesca drew closer to him.

‘Mass? Massimo
,
you know, we should not be in here
.
’ Francesca touched his shoulder lightly
.
‘
Thank God I’ve found you
.
M
mm
...
hey!
I
s this?
My God
—
you have found the hidden computer!
’
Coughing a little and catching her breath
in the
airless and dry atmosphere
, Francesca shouted for joy
.

Massimo’s head turned sharply around as she shook his shoulder again.
He did not look well.
His face was ghostly and white as he twisted his head to look upwards at her then
his whole body
fell backwards
,
striking the ground hard with a heavy muffled
thump.

             
‘Massimo
?
’ Francesca shouted
,
jumping back instinctively in fright
.
The young man
’
s head wobbled like a jelly for a brief moment in the shadows. He was badly hurt!

‘Mass, what’s wrong with you, where are you hurt? Mass!’ he did not reply
,
and Francesca felt helpless
at that moment.
H
ad he fallen in an accident
?
N
o that was fucking stupid
.
It must be his diabetes!
Si!
That was it!

Quickly the girl searched his pockets
,
looking for some kind of sugar or chocolate bar or just anything sweet
,
and then squatted down next to the fallen man.

Putting her hand on the ground
,
Francesca felt something sticky
as she
tri
ed
to feel for
a
pulse on his neck.