Labyrinth (18 page)

Chapter 20

Annja’s first sensation was of being too warm. And how had she managed to find a pillow in this crazy maze she’d been traipsing through?

But that couldn’t be right.

Gradually, she saw the Sasquatch coming for her again. She felt the panic at its relentless attack. She knew the gravity of making that decision to kill. And the finality of her action.

She jerked upright.

And felt a hand holding her back down. Heard a voice speaking to her in soft tones. “Hold on, Annja. It’s okay now. You’re safe.”

She blinked and looked up. Kessel stared down at her, his concern clearly evident, but also relief. “Nice to see you made it back to the land of the living. I was afraid I’d lost you for a while there.”

Annja tried to move again, but a sharp pain brought her hand up to her jaw. “Where’s the truck that slammed into my chin?”

“You killed it,” Kessel said. “Although I’m not exactly sure what it was, now that you mention it.”

“Help me up,” Annja said.

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

Kessel put his hand under her upper back and helped her into a sitting position. Annja looked at the fire and smiled. “So, it was warm in here.”

“Had to make sure you didn’t lapse into shock. It was pretty much all I could do for you. We’re a little short on doctors around these parts.”

“And everything else.” Annja rubbed her chin. “The Sasquatch hit me hard, but I’d taken another shot earlier.”

Kessel quickly looked her over. “You were attacked again? By what?”

“By whom,” Annja said. “And it was so sudden and fleeting, all I know is he was Asian. That’s it. As soon as he hit me, he turned and vanished down the corridor.”

“Vanished?”

Annja shrugged. “Well, he probably used one of secret passages that crisscross this place. But at the time, I didn’t know about them. And when I gave chase and turned a corner, he was gone.”

Kessel brought his hand up to the back of his head. Annja saw a flicker of concern cross his face. Another memory came back to her. “Oh, my God, I forgot all about your injury. I saw you hit that stone wall damned hard.”

Kessel grinned, but it was weak. “Yeah, that beast threw me pretty good. I’ve taken some shots before, but that was harsh.” He lowered his hand. “I’ve got a bump. Not sure if there’s internal swelling or not.”

“Headache?”

“Terrible.”

Annja’s stomach turned over. Kessel was downplaying it, but she knew he was concerned. And she knew enough about brain injuries to understand that he might well be in trouble if they didn’t get out of the maze and quick.

“We can’t stay here,” she said.

Kessel nodded. “Agreed, but I’m not sure how we find an exit when every few hallways we take, things collapse behind us. Like I said before, we’re being funneled toward something.”

“Maybe toward the Sasquatch?”

Kessel studied her. “Was that really a bigfoot?”

Annja sighed. “Sure as hell looked like one to me.”

“Seems almost too extraordinary to believe, but I saw the thing with my own eyes.”

“My question is this,” Annja said. “How the hell did Fairclough get his hands on one of them?”

Kessel shrugged. “No clue. But then again, I’m still struggling with the notion that Fairclough is using this maze to protect one lousy book. I mean, I’m all for preserving ancient texts, and if this particular one can be useful to modern society, then cool. But really—he couldn’t have put it in a safety deposit box somewhere? He really had to go and build something this massive to secure it?”

Annja smiled. “Yeah. I’ve been thinking about it, too. It doesn’t make any sense, does it? All this effort for the book. But it doesn’t explain what we’ve been running into.”

“Well, he did say there would be challenges.”

“Yes, he did,” Annja agreed. “But here’s the thing—has any of this seemed familiar to you?”

“To me?” Kessel thought for a moment. “Well, no, actually. I don’t think any of it’s familiar.”

“Exactly.”

“What are you driving at?”

“For you this is all new, but a lot of this
is
familiar to me.”

“How so?”

“The very first thing we dropped into—I got an underground pool with a shark. Well, this wasn’t the first time I’ve dealt with sharks.”

“I haven’t had the pleasure of dealing with piranha,” Kessel said.

“Right, that’s because this maze isn’t about you.”

“It’s about you?”

Annja smirked. “Sounds pretty damned presumptuous, doesn’t it? But hear me out. There’ve been other things along the way. Not everything, mind you. Fairclough didn’t hit me over the head with it so I’d be tempted to wiggle my way out of here immediately. It was only later on that the suspicion grew stronger.”

“When?”

“The Sasquatch is another memory of mine. Or the legend of the Sasquatch, anyway.”

“I suppose,” Kessel said, “you’re going to tell me you’ve also had to deal with Asian men who can disappear.”

“In a manner of speaking,” Annja replied. “When I was in Japan, one of my friends introduced me to authentic ninjutsu.”

“Ninja?” Kessel knitted his brow. “They exist, but there are so many posers, it’s tough knowing who’s legit and who isn’t.”

“The family I got to train briefly with was as legitimate as they come. And the experiences I had there were conclusive.”

Kessel appeared to mull this over. “You might be right.”

“It seems bizarre, I’ll grant you,” Annja said. “But I can’t help but think that somehow Fairclough has set up this entire thing to catch me out.”

“But for what?” Kessel asked. “Did you screw him over? Is he out for some sort of vengeance?”

“Could be,” Annja said. “I can’t honestly remember him from anywhere. But then again, I’ve interacted with a lot of people in my time. The TV series I host has me all over the world. And the people I’ve come up against with the sword aren’t only the ones I leave dead. Fairclough could easily be one of them.” Kessel whistled. “If you’ve got guys going to these lengths to harm you, I don’t even want to know what guys who actually like you have to do to get a date.”

Annja nudged him. “That hasn’t exactly been a major problem for me, thanks.”

Kessel nodded. “Well, sure. Considering most guys would shit themselves if they knew anything about you. How could they compete with the accomplished life you’ve led?”

“They don’t have to compete with it. Besides, I don’t really think of my life as having been one major accomplishment after another, anyway.”

“You don’t?” Kessel chuckled. “Seems to me you’re being too humble there, Annja. As far as I can see, you’ve got plenty to be proud of. Hell, that sword you’re carrying is more than most people could cope with.”

Annja grinned. “Thanks.”

“As long as it doesn’t go to your head, then why not? The world needs more confident people like yourself.” He smiled. “And me.”

“And you,” Annja said. “Let’s not forget that.”

Kessel laughed. “Oh, I won’t. I’ve had to be my own cheerleader for years now.”

“There’s a visual.” Annja was aware of the heat in the cavern. She needed to stand and get some blood moving. She glanced at Kessel. “How’s your head? Can you keep going?”

Kessel nodded. “I’ll be okay for now. I’m going to need a doctor, I can tell you that. Hurts like hell, but I can continue. Don’t mind me if I happen to puke along the way.”

“Just try to do it downwind.” Annja pulled him up and he stumbled forward into her arms.

For a moment, neither of them moved. Annja looked up into his eyes and saw the embarrassed grin on his face. She smirked. “This how you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Pick up women.” Annja gave him a squeeze. “You know, fight big burly monsters, knock your head on a bunch of rocks and then stumble into the arms of your chosen target when they try to help you to your feet.”

Kessel’s smile widened. “So, you’ve figured out my lone technique for seducing women. Now I’m in trouble.”

“It was obvious,” Annja said. “That whole head injury thing, it’s kind of lame.”

“Oh, totally,” Kessel said. “And I was such a fool for thinking you’d actually fall for it.”

Annja shrugged. “Well, nice try.”

“Yeah.”

Annja kept smiling at Kessel and he kept smiling down at her. Finally, Annja cleared her throat. “Are we going to stay like this? Because walking is going to be something of a challenge.”

Kessel dropped his arms and backed away. “Good point.”

“Not that that wasn’t nice.”

“Right.”

Annja laughed lightly. “We’re pathetic in the whole dating thing, aren’t we?”

Kessel’s laugh was hearty. “I think that might be a fair assessment. I’d never admit that outside of this maze, though.”

“Your secret’s safe with me.”

“You sure? I don’t have to bribe you to secure your silence?”

Annja glanced at him. “We get out of this place, we can resume our discussion of our bad dating habits…over dinner and drinks.”

Kessel nodded. “That’s the best thing I’ve heard all year.”

“Just this year?”

Kessel eyed her. “Well, I’m not a monk, for crying out loud.”

Annja stood and stretched, aware that her chin still felt as if she had a giant zit growing on it. “How do we get the hell out of here?”

Kessel pointed. “The way we came in. But there are other tunnels that branch off it, not that I’ve explored any of them.”

“And I’d be willing to bet that one of them will lead us out of this place.”

“The sooner that happens,” Kessel said, “the better. I’m going to need to relieve this pressure in my head. And short of doing it with a hammer and nail, that requires a real doctor.”

Chapter 21

They traversed the length of the cavern and then entered the same tunnel Kessel had taken to chase the Sasquatch. As he led them in, he reflected on the pain that enveloped his head. It came slicing across his temporal lobes like a circular saw cutting into brick.

But Kessel could contain it.

By separating himself from the pain, he could keep going for as long as it took to find their way out of the maze. It wouldn’t be easy, but as they said when he went through BUD/S in Coronado, “The only easy day was yesterday.”

It was a motto every SEAL knew by heart and, more importantly, lived by. It helped put things in perspective. This was the life he’d chosen.

But his head still hurt like hell.

And even as Kessel acknowledged the pain through a simple biofeedback exercise, and felt it lessen a little, he kept his legs driving forward down the tunnel, aware that Annja was behind him and anxious to keep moving.

So he did.

A
NNJA
GLANCED
AT
HER
watch.

According to the hour, Fairclough’s time on this planet had drawn to an end. Poisoned by the toxic sludge Jonas had let seep into his bloodstream.

But Annja wasn’t so sure Fairclough was dead.

Whoever he is, she thought, he certainly knows a lot about my past and my previous adventures.

That was one of the things that concerned her. If Fairclough knew so much about her, then wasn’t it reasonable to imagine that he also knew about her sword? And if he was still alive—and had the maze rigged with cameras—he surely must know about the sword now.

And if he had known about it before he brought her here, then she could extrapolate further that Fairclough would assume she’d use it to help her through the maze. If his plan was vengeance, then that would mean he’d have something somewhere in the maze that couldn’t necessarily be bested by the sword.

Annja stilled.

She wasn’t so sure she wanted to find out what that particular something or someone was.

The question was: Would she have any choice?

And the answer, she reckoned, was no.

T
HEY
APPROACHED
THE
FIRST
intersection. Kessel replayed the route in his mind. The bigfoot had opted to go straight but two other corridors branched off from here.

Which one should they take?

He glanced back at Annja. “I don’t know. Without a point of reference, I’m not sure what direction we’d want to travel.”

Annja looked up and down both corridors and then closed her eyes. Kessel frowned. What was she doing?

When she opened her eyes again, she shrugged. “I guess one way’s as good as the other. Why don’t we head left.”

Kessel nodded. “Left, it is.”

They turned and walked down the secondary tunnel. The space was tighter, as if the tunnel had been constructed to keep the bigfoot out.

“What was that thing you did back there at the intersection?” Kessel called over his shoulder.

“What?”

“You closed your eyes for a moment. Are you okay?”

He saw Annja smile. “I’m fine. I just wanted to see if I could sense what direction we ought to go in.”

“What—like a gut feeling?”

“Yes.”

Kessel ducked at a low spot. “You ever get those before?”

“Sometimes they’re pretty strong,” Annja said. “But they can also be misleading. I think it depends on how much faith I have in my instincts.”

“I never used to put a lot of trust in gut reactions,” Kessel replied. “But then I had an experience in Afghanistan. I almost stepped on a land mine, but at the last second, I got this strong feeling—and put my foot down in a different place. I saw the mine just as I came over it. Couldn’t believe it.”

Annja steadied herself with a hand to the wall. “They’re definitely real. Just depends on how much credence you give them. Some people live their lives by them, but I think they can be wrong, too. Just like anything else. Nothing is ever perfect one hundred percent of the time.”

Kessel turned back and kept moving. More rocks hung from the roof of the tunnel, forcing them to duck their heads. Kessel winced. The last thing he needed was to add to his head injury.

It was bad enough already.

H
E
PROBABLY
THINKS
I’m a nut, Annja thought as she followed Kessel down the tunnel. Why did I close my eyes in front of him like that?

Because I wasn’t thinking.

What difference did it make? Kessel already knew a lot about her. He’d seen the sword. He knew that she’d survived deadly adventures in her travels.

Why would he care if she took a moment to connect with her instincts before proceeding.

He wouldn’t care, she decided. And she was frustrated with herself for thinking that she should somehow be embarrassed about it.

Not cool.

The tunnel they traveled through now was even a tighter fit than the last one. Annja found the going tough and she wondered about Kessel’s head. She’d seen him put a hand to it twice so far and she figured that the pain was probably a lot worse than he would ever let on.

Special operators were a quiet breed, always humble about their accomplishments and always dismissive about anything painful or inconvenient.

Annja hoped he wasn’t hurting too badly.

But she knew he was.

A
NOTHER
WAVE
OF
AGONIZING
pain swept over Kessel.

It was getting worse. As much as he hated to admit it, the pain was increasing. Pressure was no doubt building in his skull. That meant there was bleeding on his brain.

Bad.

It didn’t help that he had to keep his head stooped over to avoid the sharp rock hanging from the roof of the tunnel. That just caused more blood to head to his brain and to the injury.

His stomach rolled and he tasted bile in the back of his throat. Kessel bit down on his tongue and forced down the rising gorge. He had to get Annja out of here at all costs.

Whatever it took.

Which is why he was so incredibly relieved when he spotted a light farther up in the tunnel. An artificial light at that.

It had been placed there, no doubt, by someone who was used to traversing these tunnels. And while the maze itself might have had its own many dangers and pitfalls, Kessel doubted they’d run into very much opposition on the inside of the maze. This would be where they observed those who wandered the maze. Maybe they fed the animals from here.

Kessel didn’t know.

And he didn’t care.

All he wanted to do was get the hell out and make his head stop hurting.

W
AS
THAT
A
LIGHT
?

Annja’s heartbeat kicked up a notch. If there was a light ahead, then that might mean they were close to getting out of the maze.

And that would be an amazing thing.

She quickened her pace to catch up to Kessel. “Do you see it?”

He grunted. “Yeah.”

She frowned. Kessel’s injury was getting worse by the minute. Annja had seen him stumble once or twice since they’d started walking again.

“You want a moment?”

He glanced back, and for a second, Annja thought she’d pissed him off. But then he only smiled meekly. “Yeah, if you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind at all. Take a break, get your breath back.”

“Am I breathing hard?”

“Yes,” she said. “You are.” She came over and caught him as he nearly fell onto some of the rocks that jutted into the tunnel.

She lowered him, surprised at how heavy he was. “That better?”

He felt feverish and sweat rolled down his face. Kessel looked up at her. “I think I’ve got swelling in the brain. The pressure is building and needs to be released if I have any hope of surviving.”

Annja stared at him. “You’re not joking.”

He tried to wipe away the sweat with the edge of his T-shirt. “Wish I was. But it feels like my skull is being used for a demolition derby.”

“What can I do?”

Kessel pointed. “Scout ahead, find out what’s up there. See if there’s an exit. That’s going to determine our next steps.”

“Next steps?”

“We either find a way out of this forsaken place or else I’m going to ask a pretty big favor of you.”

“What kind of favor?”

Kessel indicated his head. “You’ll have to do it.”

Annja’s eyebrows shot up. “Are you crazy? I’ll kill you.”

“You might. But if you don’t try, then I will most definitely die. I can’t take too much more of this pressure.”

Annja looked into his eyes. “Can you give me five minutes to see what’s up in the tunnel there?”

Kessel grimaced. “Five minutes. No more. It’s getting bad.”

“Okay.”

K
ESSEL
WATCHED
A
NNJA
skirt the rocks toward the light. He blinked. The pain was unbearable. Even looking at the light some distance away brought tears to his eyes.

He laid down on the rocks and tried to stretch out as best he could. It would be better if he was in the proper position before Annja came back. That way he could simply tell her what to do and hope she was able to deliver.

He knew she’d be frightened. Hell, he was scared of what might happen.

It’d be messy.

It would be scary.

But it had to be done.

And in another few minutes, Kessel would find out if Annja had what it took to do it.