Chris frowned, an inner voice informing him coolly
that he shouldn't be able to hear raindrops over the
roar of the draining water. He looked up
and saw a twisted branch fall from the stretching
foliage hanging over the rail, a branch that hit the
stones and slid smoothly away -
- that's not a branch -
- and there were dozens of them already on the
ground, twisting across the dark stones, hissing and
writhing as they fell from the trees overhead.
He and Rebecca were surrounded by snakes.
"Oh, shit!"
Startled, Rebecca turned to look at Chris and felt
cold terror shoot through her, her heart squeezed in
its icy grip as she took in the path behind him. The
ground had come to life, black shapes coiling toward
their feet and dropping from above like living rain.
Rebecca started to raise her gun, realizing numbly
that there were too many even as Chris roughly
grabbed her arm.
"Run!"
They stumbled forward, Rebecca crying out invol-
untarily as a thick, writhing body fell across her
shoulder, a touch of cool scales against her arm as it
slid heavily off and hit the stones.
The path zig-zagged and they ran through the
shifting shadows, heels crunching down on rubbery,
moving flesh, throwing them off balance. Snakes
darted forward to strike at their passing boots as they
ran over a steel grate, black, foaming water thunder-
ing below, the sound of their boots hitting metal lost
to the liquid roar.
Ahead of them, the stones were clearer, but the
path also dropped off sharply, a small elevator plat-
form marking its end. There was no place left to go.
They crowded on to the tiny platform and Rebecca
snatched at the controls, her breath coming in pan-
icked gasps. Chris turned and fired repeatedly, the
shots blasting over the crash of water as Rebecca
found the operating button and slammed it down.
The platform shuddered and started to descend,
slipping down past rock walls toward a massive,
empty courtyard below. Rebecca turned, raising the
Beretta to help Chris and felt her jaw drop,
her throat locking at the gruesome scene.
There had to be hundreds of them,
the path almost completely hidden by the slithering
creatures, hissing and squirming in an alien frenzy as
they struck wildly at each other. By the time she
managed to unfreeze, the loathsome sight had risen
past eye level and was gone.
The ride seemed to last forever, both of them
staring up at the edge of the path they'd left behind,
tensely, breathlessly waiting for the bodies to start
falling. When the lift was within a few feet of the
bottom, they both jumped off, stumbling quickly
away from the wall.
They both leaned against the cool rock, gasping.
Rebecca took in the courtyard they'd escaped to in
between shuddering breaths, letting the sound of the
splashing waterfall soothe her nerves. It was a huge,
open space made out of brick and stone, the colors
washed out and hazy in the frail light. The water from
the reservoir above tumbled down into two stone
pools nearby, and there was a single gate across from
them.
And no snakes.
She took a final deep breath and blew it out, then
turned to Chris.
"Were you bit?"
He shook his head. "You?"
"No," she said. "Though if it's all the same to you, I'd rather not go back that way. I'm more of a cat-
person, really."
Chris stared at her for a moment and then grinned,
pushing away from the wall. "Funny, I would've figured you for lab rats. I ..."
Beep-beep.
The radio!
Rebecca grabbed at the unit hooked to her belt, the
snakes suddenly forgotten. It was the sound she'd
been hoping to hear ever since they'd found Richard.
They were being hailed, maybe by searchers.
She thumbed the receiver and held the radio up so
they could both hear. Static crackled through the
tinny speaker along with the soft whine of a wavering
signal.
". . . this is Brad!. . . Alpha team . . . read? If. . .
can hear this..."
His voice disappeared in a burst of static. Rebecca
hit the transmit button and spoke quickly.
"Brad? Brad, come in!"
The signal was gone. They both listened for a
moment longer, but nothing else came through.
"He must have gotten out of range," Chris said. He sighed, walking farther out into the open yard and
gazing up at the dark, overcast sky.
Rebecca clipped the silent radio back to her belt,
still feeling more hopeful than she had all night. The
pilot was out there somewhere, circling around and
looking for them. Now that they were clear of the
mansion, they'd be able to hear him signal.
Assuming he comes back.
Rebecca ignored the thought and walked over to
join Chris, who had found another tiny elevator
platform, tucked in the corner across from the water-
fall. A quick check showed it to be without power.
Chris turned toward the gate, slapping a fresh clip
.nto his Beretta. "Shall we see what's behind door number one?"
It was a rhetorical question. Unless they wanted to
go back through the snakes, it was their only option.
Just the same, Rebecca smiled and nodded, wanting
to make sure he knew she was ready and hoping
desperately that if anything else happened, she would
be.
FOURTEEN
JILL STOOD AT THE EDGE OF A YAWNING,
open pit in the dank tunnel, staring helplessly at the door on the other side. The pit was too wide to safely
jump and there was no way to climb down, at least none
that she could see. She'd have to go back and try the
door by the ladder.
Her frustrated sigh turned into a shiver. The damp
chill emanating from the stone walls would have been
bad enough without her being dripping wet.
Great secret passage. To use it, you have to catch
pneumonia.
A glint of metal caught her gaze as she turned, feet
squelching in her boots. She peered down at it,
brushing a wet strand of hair out of her eyes. It was a
small iron plate set into the stone, a six-sided hole
about the size of a quarter at the center. She looked
back at the door thoughtfully.
Maybe it works as a bridge, or lowers stairs . . . ?
It didn't matter, since she didn't have whatever tool
it required, it was as good as a dead end. Besides, it
was unlikely that whoever she'd seen walking through
the waterfall had managed to get across.
Jill walked back through the twisting passage to-
ward the entrance to the tunnel, still in awe of what
she'd found behind the curtain of water. It appeared
that there was a whole network of tunnels running
beneath the estate. The walls were rough and uneven,
chunks of sandy limestone protruding at odd
angles-but the sheer amount of work that had gone
into creating the underground path was mind-
boggling.
She reached the metal door next to the ladder,
having to make a conscious effort not to let her teeth
chatter as a cold draft swept down from the courtyard
above. The sound of the waterfall was strangely
muted. The steady, echoing rhythm of water dripping
to the rock floor was much louder, giving the tunnels a
somewhat medieval feel. . .
She pulled the door open and froze, feeling a rush
of mixed emotions as Barry Burton whirled around to
face her, revolver in hand. Surprise won.
"Barry?"
He quickly lowered his weapon, looking as shocked
as she felt and just about as wet, too. His T-shirt
clung to his broad shoulders, his short hair plastered
to his skull.
"Jill! How did you get down here?"
"Same way you did, apparently. But how did you
know?"
He held up his hand, shushing her. "Listen."
They stood in tense silence, Jill looking up and
down the stone corridor and failing to hear whatever
Barry had heard. There were metal doors at either end, cast in shadow by the dim utility lights overhead.
"I thought I heard something," he said finally. "Voices ..."
Before she could ask any questions, he turned and
faced her, smiling uneasily. "Look, I'm sorry I didn't wait for you, but I heard somebody walking out in the
garden and had to take a look. I found this place by
accident, kind of tripped and fell in ... anyway. I'm
glad you're here. Let's check around, see what we can
dig up."
Jill nodded, but decided to keep a close eye on
Barry for awhile. Maybe she was paranoid, but in
spite of his words, he didn't seem all that happy to see
her. . .
Watch and wait, her mind whispered. For now,
there was nothing else she could do.
Barry led them toward the door to the right, hold-
ing his Colt up. He pulled the handle, revealing
another gloomy tunnel.
A few steps in to the right was another metal door
and across from it, the passage veered sharply into
almost complete darkness. Barry motioned at the
door and Jill nodded. He pushed it open and the two
of them moved in to another silent corridor.
Jill sighed inwardly as she studied the bare rocky
walls, wishing that she had a piece of chalk with her.
The tunnel they were in now looked pretty much like
all the rest of them, turning left up ahead. She already
felt lost, and hoped that there weren't too many more
twists and turns.
"Hello? Who's there!" A deep, familiar voice
shouted from somewhere ahead of them, the words
echoing through the passage.
"Enrico?" Jill called out.
"Jill? Is that you?"
Excited, Jill ran the last few steps to the corner and
around, Barry right behind her. The Bravo team
leader was still alive, had somehow ended up down
here.
Jill rounded the next corner and saw him sitting
against the wall, the tunnel widening out and ending
in a shadowy alcove.
"Hold it! Stop right there!"
She froze, staring at the Beretta he had pointed at
her. He was injured, blood seeping from his leg and
puddling on the floor.
