Boy X Page 14

  ‘Which is why everything here is so weird,’ Ash said. ‘Why the animals are bigger. I get it, but what’s that got to do with my mum?’

  ‘When BioMesa came here, they noticed that the biggest changes occurred in one animal in particular. The monkeys.’

  ‘The howlers.’ Immediately Ash remembered the way they had watched him from the glass cages in the lab – how they had stared at him from the treetops. A shivering uneasiness tingled in his scalp. ‘What kind of changes?’

  ‘They were strong, intelligent, resistant to disease, able to adapt to almost anything. That’s where your mother and Pierce became involved. They worked together on—’

  ‘Mum worked with Pierce?’

  ‘Mm-hm. A research black site – a secret facility – was established on the island. Your mother and Pierce came here more than ten years ago to investigate what was happening, and they became interested in the monkeys. Pierce thought he’d identified some kind of . . . mutation in their blood. Something that made them different; something that could be used to enhance human performance.’ Thorn paused and grimaced in pain.

  Ash waggled the painkillers. ‘Keep talking.’ ‘Pierce wanted to test his mutagen on humans, but the days when that was allowed were long gone, so he tested it on himself. It was a failure. Nothing worked. After that, all I know is that something happened between Pierce and your mother. Pierce’s research was closed down, he was dismissed from the company and your mother left the island to continue working at BioMesa in England. That’s where she isolated Kronos from blood taken from the howler monkeys living here. Swimming in their blood right alongside it was the antiviral, Zeus.’

  ‘But that can’t—’

  ‘I know you don’t want to believe it, Ash, but it’s true. Your mother weaponized Kronos. She made it airborne – that means you can catch it the same way you catch a common cold.’ Thorn winced as pain burnt through his leg. ‘She was appalled, though, at what she had achieved. At how uncontrollable Kronos is. You have to believe that, Ash. All her energies were then focused on Zeus, on the cure.’

  Ash thought back to the storage room in the BioSphere, to all that HEX13 nestled in the locker. What had Isabel said when he asked if they made guns there?

  (Not guns. Other kinds of weapons, I think.) ‘Pierce wasn’t working for BioMesa any more but somehow he found out how far your mother had progressed with her research,’ Thorn said. ‘He demanded that his part in the discoveries should be acknowledged. He wanted the details of how to isolate the virus. He wanted Kronos, but your mother refused to give it to him – she feared he might sell it as a weapon, sell to the highest bidder. She believes it’s too dangerous, too unresearched. It begins like flu, but develops fast, spreading through the internal organs in hours, making them bleed, like the Ebola virus. And once Kronos has done its worst, even Zeus can’t save you.’

  ‘Shut-Down,’ Ash whispered.

  ‘Your mother destroyed her research. Everything to do with Kronos was wiped from existence, and that made Pierce mad. He hired Cain’s team to help him – to force your mother to give him what he wanted. We were to bring her here to reproduce her work from memory. A private jet to San Jose in Costa Rica, a helicopter to Isla Negra and here we are – the only place on the planet where Pierce could force your mother to recreate her work. He needed a lab and he needed those monkeys. This is the only place where the right blood can be found. And if she didn’t do as he asked, you would be killed. We had intelligence to that effect, so I infiltrated the team back in England. My job was to stop them.’

  In a daze, Ash stared down at Thorn. ‘That’s why they kept me asleep,’ he said. ‘So I was ready to be killed.’

  ‘No one knows why you didn’t wake up. But Pierce didn’t care. He had you where he needed you, and when your mother’s work on Kronos and Zeus was completed, Pierce planned to release the virus within the dome and lock down the BioSphere. Everyone was supposed to die in there, while we escaped with your mother’s notes. With those, and just one monkey, Pierce would have everything he needed to make as much Kronos as he wants. But things went wrong when your mother tried to stop him.’

  ‘How do we know you’re not lying?’ Isabel asked. ‘How do we know you weren’t going to kill us?’

  Thorn fixed his eyes on her. ‘I could have done it in the corridor. I was right beside you in the dark, remember? Or I could have done it in the storeroom. I could have killed you anytime.’

  ‘But you didn’t.’ Isabel glanced at Ash, but he was silent, still reeling from the idea that Pierce had ordered his death.

  ‘No. Because I wanted to help you. But it doesn’t matter if you don’t believe me. What you do have to do is stop Pierce from getting off this island. If you don’t, millions of people will die. Pierce thinks he’s going to sell Kronos to The Broker – a man who wants to control it,’ Thorn said, ‘but he’s wrong. The Broker isn’t a man; it’s an organization – a doomsday cult that wants to save the planet by wiping it clean and starting over. A few chosen people will be given Zeus, then Kronos will be released across the world and everything will begin anew. A simpler world.’

  ‘They want to kill everyone?’ Isabel whispered.

  ‘The explosive from the storeroom,’ Thorn said. ‘I have some right there in my pack. Detonators and handset too. Use it to put a hole in the boat. Whatever happens, they can’t leave this island. And if you’re lucky, you might even be able to save your parents.’

  ‘How?’

  ‘There’s a radio transceiver on the boat. The only way to communicate off island. Before you use the explosives, set the radio to channel seventy-two and broadcast a coded message. Repeat it every minute until you hear a response.’

  ‘What message?’ Isabel asked.

  ‘Titan Down. I have people standing by on the mainland. They can be here in well under half an hour.’

  ‘Right.’ Isabel looked at Ash, then at the painkillers in his hand. ‘Give them to him. Let’s go.’

  Ash hesitated, then threw the box down into the hole and stood up.

  ‘There’s something else you should know,’ Thorn said as they were about to walk away. ‘About your dad.’

  ‘My dad?’ Ash stopped and looked back.

  Thorn took a deep breath and rubbed a hand across his face. ‘I’m sorry, Ash. What happened to him . . . When your mother refused to give Pierce what he wanted, he organized a way to persuade her. What they were going to do to you . . . they already did to your father.’

  ‘No.’ Ash felt a flush of grief and confusion. ‘It was an accident. Hit and run.’

  ‘It was murder, Ash. Your father was killed on purpose. Pierce ordered it. He wanted to—’

  But Ash didn’t hear the rest of what Thorn was saying. All he could think about was that car coming off the road and ploughing into Dad. It was the same thing he had seen over and over again in his head, except now it wasn’t senseless and it wasn’t an accident. It was a vicious murder.

  And there was something else gnawing at the back of Ash’s mind. A twisted thought with a terrible black heart.

  What happened to Dad hadn’t been his fault.

  It had been Mum’s.

  And he was here because of her.

  06 hrs and 53 mins until Shut-Down

  They left the bunker in silence, emerging into the fragrance of the jungle. Howler monkeys, watching in the dark from the treetops, tensed when the door opened. They sat forward on their branches and trained their eyes on the boy who emerged. The frogs and insects continued to croak and chirrup as if everything was normal, but nothing was normal.

  They struggled up the incline towards the ridge Isabel had mentioned, the torch lighting their route ahead when necessary. High in the canopy, the powerful monkeys shifted and followed, swinging from tree to tree in eerie silence.

  Ash was still trying to process everything Thorn had told them. He was filled with anger and sadness, everything whirling in a muddle of misunderstanding. ‘I can’t believe it.
I can’t believe what’s happening. My dad . . . and do you think Mum really meant to make something so bad?’

  Isabel pushed past a low hanging branch without moving it aside. ‘I think adults do the stupidest things.’

  Ash had thought that telling Isabel about Dad earlier had helped him to feel better, but now it was even worse. His throat was tight and his mind was awash with so many feelings. He held back his tears and made himself think of something else. ‘Do you feel any better?’

  ‘The injection?’ Isabel looked back at him. ‘Not yet.’

  ‘Do you feel worse?’

  ‘No.’

  What if Thorn had been lying and Ash had injected Isabel with something else? Something even worse than Kronos? He shuddered at the thought of it, but all they could do was wait for it to take effect, so they walked on and on, climbing higher and higher.

  With his heart heavy from the weight of everything he now knew, Ash glanced back at the monkeys from time to time, seeing them move like shadows through the treetops. He could hear their breathing, detect the beating of their hearts, and he was sure there were more of them than before. The creatures were growing in number the further they moved into the forest, keeping their distance but always watching.

  When the trees began to thin and the ground levelled out, Isabel stopped and looked out across the moonlit jungle. ‘We are on the ridge. The BioSphere is that way.’ She pointed behind them, then turned to point ahead. ‘And the bay is that way.’

  ‘How far?’

  Isabel rubbed her eyes and shrugged. ‘A few hours’ walk – three, maybe four? – but it is much easier up here than down there.’

  Over to the right, Ash could make out the forest canopy spread below, but to the left the trees thinned out until there was just a never-ending blackness. ‘And over there . . .’ He sniffed the air, detecting the faintest hint of salt on the breeze. ‘The sea?’

  ‘Right,’ Isabel said. ‘It’s close, but there are many cliffs. The bay is the only place where there is a beach.’ She looked out at the world spread beneath them.

  ‘I’m glad you’re here,’ Ash said. ‘I could never have got this far on my own.’

  ‘We still have a long way to go.’

  After some time, Isabel shone the torch back into the trees. The light reflected from countless eyes. ‘They’re still following,’ she said. ‘They’re following you.’

  ‘I can hear them,’ Ash looked up. ‘I can smell them too.’ It was a sweet, fruity smell, mixed with the musky smell of fur. ‘But I’m not scared of them. Not any more. I don’t think they want to hurt us. Actually, they’ – it felt like a strange thing to say – ‘kind of make me feel safe.’

  ‘When Thorn was coming to the bunker, they warned us he was there. And he was scared of them. But I think maybe they like you.’

  ‘How could they not like me?’

  Isabel managed a half-smile before she reached up to pull a vine towards her. She cut through it with a clean slice from her knife and tipped back her head to let the moisture drip into her mouth.

  ‘You look better.’ Ash moved closer and focused on the sound of her heart. It wasn’t so weak now – it hit every beat – and that sickly smell was becoming faint. Thorn had been telling the truth after all.

  ‘I feel better.’ The drips fell on Isabel’s chin as she spoke. ‘Not so much pain in my muscles. It really was the cure, Ash. I know it.’ When she finished drinking, she held the vine out to Ash, warning him, ‘Don’t put your lips on it.’

  Ash had expected drinking from a vine to be like turning on a tap, but it was more like turning a tap off and trying to catch the last few drops. He had taken less than a mouthful before he caught the scent of something unexpected on the breeze.

  ‘I smell burning.’

  Isabel sniffed the air. ‘I don’t smell it. Maybe it’s from the bunker?’ she suggested. ‘From our fire?’

  ‘No. It’s closer than that.’

  ‘You think it’s them?’

  ‘Yes. And I think they’re close.’ He scanned the forest, searching for the flicker of a fire or the winking of a light – anything that would tell him Pierce was close.

  Isabel put a hand into her pocket, pulling out a disposable lighter she had taken from Thorn’s pack. When she flicked the wheel, there was a spark and a small flame jumped to life. The flame leant back in the breeze, pointing in the direction they had just come from.

  ‘Wind’s coming from the north.’ Isabel let the flame die, then put the lighter away and looked ahead. ‘It must be carrying the smell from somewhere in front of us. OK. No talking and no torch.’

  Somewhere over the sea, a bright white light flashed for an instant, then the sky rumbled long and low.

  ‘More rain coming,’ Isabel said.

  They were cautious as they progressed along the ridge. Isabel tested the ground for traps or anything that might make a noise and give them away. Ash followed, stepping wherever Isabel did, just like when they had first entered the forest.

  There were more flashes over the sea, and the sky continued to grumble. As he was walking, Ash tried to make sense of everything Thorn had told them. There was so much to remember, so much to digest and understand. There was something, though, that didn’t feel right. Ash couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but something was niggling at him, and the voice in his head knew what it was.

  I’m keeping it to myself, the voice said. It’s a secret. You’ll have to figure it out on your own.

  Ash went over it again and again, trying to remember everything Thorn had said and exactly how he had said it.

  Can you really trust him? the voice whispered. Can you really trust Thorn?

  ‘I can smell it now.’ Isabel’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts. She had stopped and was staring along the ridge. ‘Look,’ she said. ‘You see that?’

  Ahead, maybe a hundred metres away through the trees, something flickered orange.

  ‘Fire,’ Ash said. ‘It’s Pierce and Cain.’

  05 hrs and 26 mins until Shut-Down

  ‘I know what you’re thinking.’ Isabel watched Ash staring at the orange glow dancing through the trees. The air grew cooler as the rain approached, pushing the wind ahead of it. ‘But we should go past,’ she said. ‘This is our chance to reach the boat before them. To stop them from leaving the island. They’re soldiers. They have guns. We are just kids. We have to get to the boat and call for help.’

  ‘We agreed.’ Ash didn’t take his eyes off the distant fire. ‘Cure first, boat second.’

  ‘Yes, but I think they are too strong.’

  ‘I’m strong. And what if this is our only chance to rescue Mum? Maybe we can get what we need and go back.’

  ‘In five hours?’ Isabel shook her head. ‘It’s quicker to go to the boat and call for help, just like Thorn said.’

  ‘Why should we trust him?’

  ‘He gave me the cure. And what if we go in there and get caught? Killed? They will leave the island and everyone will die. All our friends, grandparents, uncles, aunts, everyone. The whole planet, Thorn said. We need to stop them leaving. Kronos can’t get out.’

  ‘But the cure is right there, Isabel. Right. There.’ Ash pointed at the fire in the distance, feeling the frustration build. ‘At least let’s check it out.’

  ‘What if they see us?’

  ‘What if they don’t?’

  Isabel put a hand to her mouth and stared at the ground, shaking her head. ‘All right. The rain will cover our sounds.’

  The rain came in a hiss of white noise that blanketed the other sounds of the forest as it bore down on them. Ash stared at the campfire further along the ridge until it was lost in the downpour.

  ‘The rain has reached them now,’ he said.

  ‘All right, check the fastenings.’ Isabel touched a hand to Thorn’s survival pack. ‘We can’t make a sound.’

  Ash tightened the strap across his chest and they set off, moving to the edge of the ridge so they we
re just below its highest point.

  Closer to the fire, Isabel stopped and scooped up a handful of mud, smearing it across her face. When she looked at Ash, all he could see was the whites of her eyes, and then the rain began to streak through the mud, like she was melting. It was perfect camouflage, so Ash did the same, wiping mud over his face and hands.

  They sneaked through the trees until they neared the place where they estimated the camp to be. With the rain still pounding them, they lay down and crawled up the incline, making their way back to the top of the ridge until Ash caught sight of the fire flickering through the trees about twenty metres away.

  Drawing closer to a thick clump of vegetation, they snaked beneath the wide leaves to peer out at the camp. For an adult it might have been more difficult, but neither Ash nor Isabel was very big, so they were able to get close enough to see the camp in detail.

  Waterproof sheets were propped on long sticks sheltering the soldiers from the rain. Cain was perched on a log to the right of a campfire, leaning forward and eating from a mess tin. Her carbine was across her lap as if she expected to use it at any moment. Pierce was sitting on the crate Ash had seen them carrying from the BioSphere. Across his shoulder was the strap of a messenger bag that lay in his lap. The other four men – including the massive soldier he had nicknamed Hulk – were all sitting with their backs to the fire, facing into the forest in different directions with their carbines at the ready.

  Ash’s eyes were drawn back to Pierce who was scraping a spoon around his mess tin, finding the last remains of his meal. Ash detected the sound of movement from inside the crate he was sitting on, and was now certain it contained one of the howler monkeys. Thorn had told them Pierce was taking one off the island to provide the means to make more Kronos. But Ash ignored it and concentrated on Pierce. He tried to read the rogue scientist, hearing the clink of metal on metal, smelling the sweat that soaked his shirt and the sourness of his stale breath. And when he looked at the scientist’s profile, he felt a rising hatred. He hated the way he licked his spoon and the way he looked. But this was more than he had expected to feel. He had an irrational sense that this was not a man but a monster, and there was a powerful urge to draw his knife and rush over to the man he had first seen at Dad’s funeral. He would stick his knife into him, and—