Chapter 41

Garage

The foliage crunched and swished as Wu trudged along through the small clove of bushes clustered around the edge of the jungle. A bird twittered in the canopy high above them, the sound echoing through the valley stretched out below them. The sunlight struck the ground with ferocity, the golden shafts attacking his skin on the back of his neck whenever he strayed from the shade provided by the overhanging trees at the periphery of the tree line.

The drone of insects which had been so ever present for so long had dissipated exponentially as they had climbed upwards from the island floor, and it now seemed very odd. Wu felt that he had lived with the sound for his entire life. Now the only sound was a continuous, light rustle of the leaves of the surrounding foliage. The leaves hadn't moved at all in the thickness of the jungle beforehand, but up on the higher slopes there was a light breeze which whipped up all around them. The sound of the leaves provided a fairly peaceful background noise in contrast. Wu found it calming at first, but after a while he noticed that it did cover other sounds which might prove more dangerous. But he didn't expect anything to happen around here. They were approaching the eight hundred feet mark, and he doubted that many of the larger predators would make their homes in such an environment.

As he stepped along his dragging feet kicked up plumes of loose dirt which coated the ground. There was no grass here, despite the fact that the jungle started several meters away. The ground was hard, and cracked; it was almost like a real road. Something which he never thought he would appreciate until now.

Wu and Tim were now nearing the north-eastern tip of the island, an area where the mountain range tapered down to the low lying areas of the island. They had begun to move upwards from the hollowed out cone of the island, towards the outer rim. They had stumbled across a small path half a mile back, which seemed to have once been a road wide enough for vehicles, judging by the sparser growth of vines and bushes which lay on either side. Now it was merely a small path barely big enough for them to walk along, but it was still far faster than moving through the thickness of the rest of the jungle.

"How much farther?" said Wu, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow with the cuff of his shirt.

Tim stopped and turned, breathing heavily, and after taking a glance around him, dropped to the ground. With a tired jerk he took his bag from around his back and ripped it open, the zip arcing upwards and out of sight.

He peered inside for a moment, and took out his now almost empty water bottle and set it aside. He then wrenched out an A4 sized topographical map of the island sealed in laminate. He laid it out in front of him, and then turned his head upwards, and looked through the thin layer of trees which obscured their view of the island's northern valley below them.

Wu turned away as Tim sorted himself out, and looked out down at the island. Towards the west, he saw the large collection of buildings which made up the visitor area. Guiterrez, Anderson and Edgar were somewhere down there. And Malcolm and Sarah were somewhere in that jungle, he thought, looking further south at the endless mass of trees extending into the distance.

Wu turned back to Tim, and watched his progress. Absent-mindedly Tim took the lid off his water bottle and took a swig of liquid, licking his lips as he switched his view repeatedly from the map to the valley.

After a minute or so his finger came to rest on a lightly green colored portion of the map in the top right corner, which lay just next to a jagged line.

"We're there?" said Wu.

"Yeah, thereabouts," Tim said, licking his lips.

"And we're trying to get to?"

"Right here," Tim grunted, pointing to a small grey block less than a few centimeters above where his finger had been a moment before.

Wu did a quick calculation in his head and estimated that they were less than a quarter of a mile from the garage. Looking at the map he saw a squiggly line running away from the block which symbolized the garage, heading north.

"Is that this path?"

Tim studied the image for a moment, and then shook his head slowly. "No, I think we're on this one." He indicated another line running parallel to the garage, passing within a hairline of it. "Even though the jungle's grown back since this map was made, there should only be a thin screening of trees between the road and the garage. If we follow the road we should find it within the next ten minutes as long as we keep moving.

Tim stood up, and placed the map within his bag, and hoisted it onto his back. He kept his water bottle in his hand however.

Wu took the lead, and they both headed off down the path again.

Wu took a glance backwards, and saw Tim's pale face glowing in the darkness of the canopy, sweat dripping from the bridge of his nose. Wu sensed a newfound sense of urgency, as time was starting to get short. The time which had elapsed was increasing by the second, in which the virus on the mainland was spreading from person to person. And they had to get to the control room as soon as possible. The sooner they could get to the cure, and the ability to send for help, the better. He was sure that another night on this island would kill him.

"Wu," whispered Tim.

Wu stopped in his tracks, and turned slowly, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. Tim was looking at a large fern to his right, from which the light sound of moving water was emanating. Wu took a few slow steps towards him, and peered in for a closer look.

A tiny stream ran parallel to their path, hidden by the underbrush. And beside it was a tiny green lump, rising from the ground for just a foot or so before descending back into brown leaves. Slowly and rhythmically, the little lump was rising and falling.

"It's one of the animals," Wu whispered.

Tim nodded, and took a step closer. With a sharp snap his foot came down a brittle twig, cleaving it in two.

The tiny figure gave a high pitched yelp, and leapt to its feet. It was roughly the size of a kitten, and had dark green patterns all over its back, running down to the tip of its tail.

It faced them and bent its head low to the ground, and opened its mouth to reveal a row of tiny teeth, giving a fierce hiss of aggression.

"What's that?" said Wu.

"You tell me, you're the master geneticist."

Wu shrugged. "I don't remember anything like that. But it was years ago. That could be an infant of any of the species, or a separate species."

"Well whatever it is, it's pissed."

The little dinosaur gave another yelp, and then turned around swiftly, darting away into the foliage. Within moments it had disappeared, and the sound of its footsteps quickly leaked away into silence.

To Wu's complete surprise Tim gave chase, launching himself from a standstill into the bushes after the little animal. Wu stood stock still for a moment, dumbfounded, and then dashed into the green blockade of leaves and branches, casting them aside with his palms.

Ahead of him he could hear Tim, and distantly he could hear the yelps of the tiny little animal, running for its life. At least it thought it was. In his state Tim was about as dangerous as a llama with arthritis.

The darkness was dense within the trees, and thin breeze was blocked out almost completely. It was hot and damp, and his nostrils were overwhelmed by the all too familiar stench of rotting vegetation.

"Wu!" shouted Tim from up ahead.

He felt a jolt in his heart, and put on a spurt. Within seconds he reached Tim, and burst out into the open once again. The sunlight glazed his skin once more, and the wind blew up his hair. They stood in the periphery of a field about ten meters across, the grass well above their waist line. On the other side, Wu saw a V shaped arcing disturbance in the grass for just a moment, before it was gone into the jungle.

"Did you get a look at what it was?" asked Wu.

"No," said Tim, "but it doesn't matter. We're here now."

The two men looked towards the rear of the small field laid out before them, observing the crumbling building which loomed over them. Like most of the other buildings that they had seen so far, the structure was made out of solid concrete. However, the entire front wall was made up of a corrugated retractable door. The building also had a second floor, and an overhanging balcony. However the higher story's roof had collapsed and now only the remnants of the walls remained standing. Vines were crawling up the crumbling grey concrete, and the garage door was heavily rusted.

"Looks good to me," said Tim. He seemed invigorated; his sweaty face was now full of energy. They both went forwards quickly, stamping down the tall grass in front of them.

Tim stepped out first onto a square of tarmac just in front of the large door, and glanced at a small box just to the side, with twin circular buttons built into it, one green and one red.

But the box was crusted, the wires hanging out.

Wu stepped out of the grass beside him, and watched Tim go to the edge of the door and reach down to the ground, bending his fingers underneath the lip.

Tim looked up at Wu, and nodded to the other side of the door. Wu ran over to where Tim had indicated, and bent down exactly as Tim had, placing his fingers underneath the door.

"One," said Tim under his breath, "two, and three."

They both heaved upwards, and the door gave an almighty screech of protest. It slid up just a few inches, and then stopped. It wouldn't budge.

Wu grunted, and pushed with all his might, and felt his entire body break out into a sweat.

To the side he heard Tim give a long, drawn out grunt, and then the door gave another screech, and all of a sudden slid upwards out of sight, leaving behind a dark abyss.

Wu stood up slowly, and then grinned.

Inside the garage were at least a dozen vehicles, neatly parked up in four rows. To the left there were two large flatbed trucks, covered in cobwebs. Further along there were four much smaller vehicles which looked a lot like golf carts. But what caught his eye were the six medium sized cars which to Wu looked like primitive versions of modern SUV's. They were a deep gleaming black color, and their back half had been enlarged slightly. They had strong shafts of a strong looking material built into the frame and chassis, and he guessed it was for structural integrity. Running along the roof there was a double row of glittering panels which looked like they were made out of glass or some kind of strange plastic.

"Yes," whispered Tim, walking over to the nearest one and sliding his hands over the bonnet.

"I heard all about these when I was working here. They were going to replace the gas powered vehicles around here."

"Yeah, they're a brilliant design. They have a small gas engine, and a battery pack in the back runs the electric pump engine. Also, the solar panels on the roof here feed directly into the system, so you're always topped up."

"But its dark in here," said Wu, "they won't have any juice in them."

Tim nodded, but he was still smiling. "Yes, I know. All we have to do is push it out into the field and watch the solar panels fill her up. Get the keys, will you," he said, pointing towards a large metallic cabinet set to one side towards the back of the cavernous space.

Wu strode across the room, weaving in and out of the rows of vehicles. He stepped over a large puddle which had formed in a small recession, and grabbed the handle of the cabinet. The rusted handle gave a squeal, and the entire door came off of the hinges, clattering to the ground.

Wu looked over at Tim, who was running his hands over the tires of the car, and shrugged. Peering inside he saw a large array of silver keys.

"Which ones are they?" he called, his voice echoing in the damp space.

"Top row," said Tim, cupping his hands over the driver's door window, staring into the interior.

"I have to say it's a shame this design didn't take. It's quite extraordinary," said Tim as Wu came back and inserted the key into the lock, and twisted it.

There was a mechanical click, and Tim pulled the latch on the door, popping the door open. Tim leapt in, and ran his hands over the steering wheel, then the dashboard, and peered down at the pedal for a moment.

"Good, good, looks good," he was murmuring. Wu walked around to the back of the car as Tim took the handbrake off, and climbed out to join him, slamming the door shut.

They braced their feet against the concrete floor, and then gave another heave, and put their full weight against the back of the vehicle, pushing against the boot.

Silently, and remarkably easily the car slid forwards over the tarmac floor, and rolled out onto the square of road in front of the building. The shadow of the building slid back past the front bonnet, and they were spurred on. They pushed the car past the tarmac, and into the tall grass, slowed somewhat by the tall vegetation. But they were determined, and slowly they managed to position the car in full sunlight.

Wu stood back to observe the vehicle, gleaming in the golden shafts of light. He couldn't help but feel a great sense of relief at the sight of such a normal object.

Tim was already climbing back inside, and Wu walked around to the other side, seating himself into the passenger seat. The leather was old and weathered, but it had lasted well in its unmoved condition, and it felt wonderfully soft on his body.

He reached down into his pack, and brought out their radio, and flicked it on, the power button glowing strongly.

"What are you doing?" asked Tim.

"It's time for a check-in," said Wu, glancing at his watch, "and we have the best of news. We just have to wait for them to turn on their radios."

Tim poked a screen which had been clipped to the dashboard, and Wu watched dumbly as it flickered once, and then slowly glowed to life.

"I'll be damned, these things were worth every penny," said Tim.

The display on the screen showed a battery shaped figure, which was empty, except for a sliver of bright red on the right side. It also listed the three power sources. The readings indicated that the gas tank was dry, and the electrical pack was depleted. There was only a trickle of power left. But to Wu's great relief he saw that the photoelectrical panels were slowly feeding in electrical energy. Before his eyes the power levels on the battery indicator rose. It was a tiny increase, roughly half a centimeter across on the display. But it went up.

They would be underway soon.

The radio crackled suddenly, and Anderson's voice filled the small space of the interior.

"Hello?"

Wu grabbed the radio, and pressed the transmit button. "Anderson, thank god. It's Wu."

"Are you ok?" said Tim.

There was a crackle, and Edgar's voice filtered over the radio distantly. "Define ok."

Anderson grunted, and then said, "Don't worry, we're all fine. Are you?"

Wu laughed, "Better than ok. Have you heard from Sarah?"

"I'm afraid not. We've been trying to reach all of you for hours."

"I know, we've been…busy. Where are you?"

"We're approaching the visitor area now; we should be there within the next twenty minutes. Where are you?"

"We're at the garage. We have the car."

There was a hiss of static, and what sounded like excited chattering on the other end. "That's great!" said Anderson's voice.

"Yeah," laughed Wu, "we're just charging the batteries, but we'll probably get there about the same time as you."

"Sounds good to me," said Guiterrez's voice. "We'll see you there."

The voices were then replaced with a hiss of static and then went dead. Wu clicked his off, and put it back into his bag. The power indicator went up once again, and he smiled to himself.

Tim put the keys into the ignition, and sat back in his seat, locking his hands behind his head and leaning back. "After walking around in that jungle, this thing feels like a tank," he said.