Submersion: Submersion trilogy - Book 1 by Guy A Johnson

Author:Guy A Johnson [Johnson, Guy A]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-05-26T23:00:00+00:00

Monty followed on in a speedboat of his own, with three of his employees on board, while Jessie and I led the way. We moved at a slow, steady pace and kept an eye out all the way for signs of police patrolling. The last thing we needed was to be questioned about our late night activities. Granted, we had Monty following up at the rear and he did at least appear to have certain arrangements with the authorities. But still, this was an operation that required as little attention drawn to it as possible.

It was early hours when we reached the old laboratory and, despite the dark and my nerves about what was up ahead for Jessie and me – Monty’s schizophrenic-like snap at the bar had amplified my anxiety levels – I took in the details of the journey I had once been blind to.

With our starting point further north than Jessie’s house, we took a river road that avoided cutting back from the train graveyard and its surrounding landscape of debris. Instead, we sailed around its outskirts, steering away from the residential areas where our friends and family were no doubt sleeping. I prayed that Agnes was sleeping, but I had my doubts.

We met up with our usual route at the crossroads at the top of Jessie’s road, turning left from the direction we came and joining the road lined with an endless succession of fir trees, where handcuffs and a blindfold had been traditionally applied for the last three months. The avenue of trees continued without stopping and, the further we rode out, the denser they appeared. The additional impact of nightfall only added to the sense of isolation and inhabitation, as we sailed further and further out.

‘It’s just forest,’ I said to Jessie, raising my voice above the noise of the boat’s engine and exaggerating my mouth movements, in case he needed to lip read.

‘Yes,’ Jessie agreed, as we approached a natural crossroads in the intense, increasingly claustrophobic river jungle. ‘The perfect location to conduct secret government experiments.’ Some part of my anxiety must have been evident in my face, as he eyed me curiously for a second and then asked: ‘Preferred it with the blindfold on?’

I laughed dryly, but considered he might have had a point.

At the crossroads, we took the road that curved right and were sucked deeper into the suffocating uniformity of the damp, evergreen darkness. All the while, Monty and his men followed our trail, the headlights on their boat twinkling at our rear, an indication their distance was acutely calculated – close enough not to lose us, distant enough to claim no association, should the need arise.

I have no idea how late it was when we finally arrived, but the strength of the night sky had not weakened, and the asphyxiating effect of the environment had not lessened.

‘You okay?’ Jessie asked, as he stalled the engine.

‘Fine,’ I said, not exactly reassuring him, but it was a sign that indicated, whatever my frame of mind, I would cope.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.