Eddie was less enthused. ‘The angel of what?’
‘I told you not to give it to him!’ said Nina. ‘They’ve got some insane plan to bring about the apocalypse so Dalton can get back into power.’
‘Wouldn’t the end of the world kind of screw up his political career?’ he asked as they retreated further. ‘Hard to get out and vote if it’s raining fire and brimstone.’
‘They didn’t let me in on their endgame. But I know it involves loosing the angels – breaking open the statues to let out what’s inside, something that reacts with air and turns into toxic gas.’
‘That’d explain the gas masks they had in Berlin, then.’ Eddie flicked the gun at the three men who had followed him to the church; they let him and Nina pass. ‘But don’t worry, they’ll never get a chance to do it. Like I said, the cops are on the way. Even if they leave in the chopper, they’ll still get stopped at Antigua airport, or whichever other island they try to fly out from.’ He winked at her. ‘See? Trust me. I know what I’m doing. More or less.’
Cross returned to the black case and reverently placed the statue inside next to its fellow from Rome, then closed it. ‘My friends,’ he said, his voice still coming from the loudspeakers, ‘my faithful followers, I must leave you now. Three of the angels bound at the Euphrates have now been found, and I know where the last one is hidden. I’ll find it, I promise, and I will fulfil the prophecy of the Book of Revelation. When the angels have been released, the seventh trumpet will sound – and then Babylon will fall and Satan will be cast down into the lake of fire. When that is done, nothing can stop God’s kingdom on earth from becoming a reality.’
Eddie looked askance at Nina. ‘Is this bloke for real?’
‘Unfortunately, yes,’ she replied. ‘He believes every word he’s saying.’
He twirled a forefinger at his temple. ‘Wibble.’
‘The problem is, he’s been right.’ At Eddie’s look of surprise, she went on: ‘About some of it, at least. The clues hidden in Revelation really did lead to the angels. And now he knows how to find the last one. I told him where to look.’
‘You did?’
‘I didn’t have a choice. Eddie, he . . . he threatened to kill the baby.’
He stopped abruptly, his face turning utterly cold and blank. Nina had seen the frightening look before, after the murder of his friend ‘Mac’ McCrimmon, and knew what it meant: he had targeted someone for death, and would be both relentless and merciless in carrying out that mission. ‘Then I’ll kill him,’ he said simply.
‘No, wait,’ Nina gasped. But he was already taking aim. She grabbed his arm, trying to force him off-target—
Simeon whipped up his own weapon – but before either man could fire, screams and cries came from the crowd as they too realised the danger. Several people rushed to put themselves between Cross and the Yorkshireman.
Nina recognised one of them. ‘Miriam!’ The young woman was terrified, but she held her position, arms spread wide in a desperate attempt to shield her prophet. ‘Eddie, don’t shoot!’
‘Nobody shoot,’ said Cross. ‘Simeon, stand down. That’s an order!’ Simeon bared his teeth in frustration, but obeyed.
Eddie jerked his wrist from Nina’s grip, his chilling mask replaced by anger. ‘What’re you doing?’
‘You called in the cops! If you kill him in front of all these people, it’ll be cold-blooded murder – and you said Antigua has the death penalty. I’m not going to let you throw your life away.’
He glowered at her, but then a shout caught everyone’s attention. ‘Boats!’ called a man on a small parapet at the base of the church spire. ‘Boats are coming!’ He pointed south. ‘The police and the coast guard!’
‘Thank you, Tom,’ Eddie muttered. For the cops to have arrived so quickly, his friend must have decided what the hell and radioed them long before the flare was launched.
‘See?’ said Nina, pulling her husband’s gun hand firmly downwards. ‘They can handle everything from here.’ The pair of them resumed their retreat up the hill.
‘It’s time to go,’ Cross said, still speaking over the PA system. He picked up the case. ‘Mr President, if you’ll come to the helicopter?’
Eddie and Nina were now out of Dalton’s earshot, but his agitated body language told them he was still worried. ‘It doesn’t matter,’ Cross’s amplified voice assured the politician as he, Dalton and their entourage, including the human shields, started towards the helipad. ‘We won’t be stopped at the airport.’
Eddie watched them with growing suspicion. ‘Why’s he so fucking confident?’
‘I don’t know,’ Nina replied, her own unease growing. ‘But I think we should get out of here.’
‘We need to tell the cops what’s going on.’
‘The only place they can land is over there.’ She pointed towards the cove to the south-west. ‘If we meet them, they can contact the airport and stop Cross from leaving, can’t they?’
‘Yeah, that was the plan. But . . .’ Eddie stared after the cult leader as his group reached the helipad. ‘Something’s not right.’
Norvin opened the helicopter’s doors. Dalton was first to scramble aboard, Anna and Simeon following. But Cross remained, signalling for his white-clad guardians to face him. ‘My followers,’ he said, ‘my friends: you have all had faith in me, faith in the word of the Lord and in the prophecy of the Book of Revelation. I will find the fourth angel, I will see that Babylon falls. But another prophecy must be fulfilled, here, today, right now. Revelation chapter six, verse ten: “And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?”’
‘Doesn’t he ever shut up?’ complained Eddie.
Nina waved for him to be quiet, trying to remember what followed. ‘I don’t like this . . .’
Cross continued his recital. ‘“And it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.”’ He opened the case. ‘Miriam. Will you take the second angel?’
Nina watched with rising concern. ‘What’s he doing? Why’s he giving it to Miriam?’
‘Who’s she?’ Eddie asked.
‘One of his followers – she’s just a kid, an innocent. Why is he . . .’ A horrible possibility occurred. ‘Oh my God.’
‘What?’
She looked at him in alarm. ‘The angels – Cross thinks that for him to learn God’s secrets, all four angels have to be released. But one was already released, in Iraq, so they don’t have to be broken at the same time.’ Possibility became certainty, and as her gaze snapped back to the helicopter, it seemed that Cross was looking past Miriam directly at her, almost taunting. ‘He’s going to do it here! Miriam, don’t!’
She was drowned out by Cross’s amplified voice. ‘Miriam has taken the angel,’ he announced, kissing her on both cheeks before entering the helicopter. Norvin was last aboard, closing the door. Some of the other villagers were filing towards the helipad with a clear mix of emotions from worry to near-rapture. ‘Now may God’s will be done!’ The aircraft took off, rising vertically at full power before heading west.
‘Miriam!’ Nina cried again, as futilely as before. The young woman, tears glistening on her cheeks, raised the statue high above her head. The other cultists cleared a space around her.
‘And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes,’ boomed Cross. The helicopter was rapidly disappearing, but his voice remained. ‘And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying . . .’
He paused. Nina used the moment of silence to scream Miriam’s name again, begging her to stop—
‘Neither shall there be any more pain.’
Miriam’s mouth opened in a silent cry . . . then she threw the statue to the ground.
22
‘No!’ shrieked Nina. But it was too late.
The angel shatte
red against a rock – and a sickly yellow gas erupted from the meteorite fragments exposed at its core. Miriam screamed as the glutinous vapour swallowed her, the cloud expanding with frightening speed.
Some of the cultists at the helipad stood their ground, while the nerve of others broke and they fled. It made no difference. The gas consumed them in moments, people flailing in agony before vanishing into the opaque mass.
Eddie and Nina broke through their shock and ran. Behind them, panic spread through the congregation at the church, faith wavering and breaking at the sight of death rolling towards them.
The cloud reached the houses, swirling and slithering around them like a liquid snake. An elderly woman tried to run but tripped and fell; her husband hesitated, then went back to help her, only for both to succumb to the toxic gas as it swept over them. Some followers ran into the church in the desperate hope that its walls would provide sanctuary. Seconds later, all were dead. Others raced for the jungle, but anguished screams cut through the air as they were caught one by one.
‘What the fuck is that stuff?’ Eddie gasped.
‘Something you don’t wanna get near!’ Nina replied. ‘Through that gate, there!’
They sprinted for the opening. One final choked wail reached them, then the Mission fell silent.
Eddie threw open the gate, letting Nina through. She was already short of breath, clutching at her abdomen. ‘Are you okay?’ he asked as he caught up.
‘No!’ she snapped. ‘I’m pregnant and running from a huge poisonous cloud! I am not okay!’
‘Love you too,’ he said, managing a brief grin, which vanished as he looked back. The looming mustard-yellow miasma was still rising behind them. ‘How far’s this dock?’
‘Just down here!’ Nina saw water between the palms ahead.
‘And there is a boat, right?’
‘Yes, there’s a boat! What, did you think I was planning to swim out of here?’
‘Five more months of this, just five more months . . .’ Eddie told the jungle. She glared at him, but forgot her anger as they cleared the trees and saw the jetty. The boat was still there. ‘I’ll get it started!’ He ran ahead to the jetty, quickly unknotting the mooring rope and jumping aboard.
Nina reached the dock. ‘Eddie, look!’ She pointed at the bay’s entrance. Two boats were carving through the sea towards it. ‘It’s the police!’
Eddie spotted them – then with alarm saw something closer. The death cloud had broken through the trees and was roiling along the edge of the bay, towards its mouth. ‘Shit! It’s going to cut us off!’ He looked around, finding that the cove had no other exits to the ocean.
Nina clambered into the boat as Eddie tugged at the starter cord. The engine clattered, then roared. He shoved the prow away from the jetty, then revved to full power, swinging out into open water.
The police boats were almost at the cove’s mouth – but so was the gas. Oozing across the shore, it rolled the last few dozen yards over the rocks and dropped lazily down to the incoming waves. ‘The water!’ Nina exclaimed, seeing a change in its movement. The thick, oily mass appeared to be reacting on contact with the sea, becoming thinner. ‘Cross said water stopped the reaction – it might absorb the gas too!’
‘Not quick enough,’ Eddie realised. He had already judged how long it would take their boat to clear the bay, and unless the cloud completely vanished, they wouldn’t make it.
The two police vessels reached the opening. ‘No, get back!’ Nina shouted, waving her arms to warn them off; the cops probably thought it was nothing more dangerous than smoke. ‘Turn around!’
Too late. The cloud drifted across their path, blocking them from view . . .
Both boats burst from the dense fog, yellow vortices streaming out behind them. The men aboard thrashed and screamed. One vessel veered sharply away as its pilot hit the steering wheel in his blind panic. It rolled in a tight turn, engine still at full throttle, then flipped over, hurling its dying occupants into the water.
The other craft charged onwards, holding course—
Straight at Eddie and Nina.
‘Whoa, fuck!’ Eddie yelped. He jammed the tiller to its limit, leaning into the turn to keep from capsizing. The coast guard powerboat surged past barely a foot behind them, bounding over their wake before smacking back into the water. It kept going, heading for the jetty.
‘Turn, turn!’ Nina cried after it, but there was nobody alive on board to hear. The boat rammed into one of the jetty’s pilings, wood and fibreglass disintegrating in a huge shower of smashed fragments. Its ruptured fuel tanks exploded, sending a black mushroom cloud boiling into the sky.
But a different cloud dominated the couple’s thoughts. Even though the water seemed to be affecting it, the sulphurous mass had still engulfed the bay’s entrance, and was now spreading across its interior after them. ‘We’ll have to get back on shore,’ Eddie said, ‘and hope it doesn’t cover the whole fucking island!’ He turned the boat towards land, beyond the burning jetty.
‘Eddie, wait!’ Nina pointed at the rock spit. ‘There’s a blowhole or something where the waves hit the rocks.’ Right on cue, a great burst of spray erupted from the corner of the cove. ‘The cliff’s only narrow, and the sea’s right on the other side – we might be able to ride a wave over it!’
He shot her a disbelieving look. ‘Those pregnancy hormones must’ve screwed up your brain. It’s me who’s supposed to come up with the insane plans, not you!’
‘It’s the only way out!’
Eddie grimaced, but knew she was right. The deadly cloud would soon cover the entire bay. ‘Let’s hope I time it right,’ he said, revving the engine.
The boom of water striking the rocks grew louder as they approached. Spray was being flung high into the air over the barrier, but most of the frothing waves stopped a couple of feet short of its top. Some managed to clear it, but there was no way to predict which ones.
Eddie slowed, watching the waves roll in – then twisted the throttle to full. A large breaker had already passed beneath them, and they rapidly caught up with it. ‘Come on, come on – shit!’
He had mistimed it, the crest smashing against the wall and reaching almost to its top, then falling just as they angled up its rising shoulder. He turned away hard, but momentum carried them onwards—
The backwash as the wave retreated saved them from a catastrophic crash, but the boat’s side still slammed against the rocks, throwing its passengers sideways, before being pulled clear. Water sluiced into the hull as the craft lurched upright and careered back into the cove.
The Yorkshireman shook foam off his face. ‘Jesus!’ he gasped, regaining control. ‘Are you okay?’
Nina sat up, clutching a bruised arm. ‘Yeah. I think.’ She flicked wet strands of red hair from her eyes, then flinched as she saw what lay ahead. ‘Oh, crap!’
The cloud now covered more than half the bay, consuming the jetty, and was still advancing on them. If they had made landfall, they would never have been able to outrun the vaporous juggernaut.
Eddie hurriedly turned away, but the boat was rapidly running out of space to manoeuvre. He looked back at the cliff. ‘We’ll have to go for it,’ he said reluctantly, ‘but we’ll only get one more chance. You ready?’
Nina braced herself. ‘No, but do it anyway!’
He half smiled, then turned his attention back to the water. He had no choice but to follow the first large wave that came along, and hope it would propel them over the ridge.
None were coming. The sickly cloud roiled ever closer.
A deeper trough – then a new wave broke through the deadly fog.
Eddie didn’t know if it would be strong enough, but he had to use it. He waited for it to pass beneath the boat, then – as the first yellow tendrils stretched out towards him – jammed the throttle to full power.
The boat leapt forward, following the wave. One last tweak of the tiller, aiming for the spot where the impacts were focused, then he gripped
Nina with his free arm and held on for dear life—
The wave struck, surging upwards before exploding against the cliff and sending a broad spout of water and spray skywards . . .
Carrying the boat with it.
It tipped back almost vertically, riding up the wave to be flung off its top into a blinding mass of spume. The keel hit the rock with a hideous raw crunch, the boat teetering atop the ridge like a seesaw for a nerve-shredding moment, then the weight of the water falling back into the hull pulled the prow downwards. It rasped over the summit and dropped into the sea on the far side with a pounding smack.
The landing flung Nina and Eddie from their seats. The Englishman spat out seawater, then scrambled back to the motor. He looked up – to see the deadly cloud spill over the clifftop and drop towards them like a slow-motion avalanche.
‘For fuck’s sake!’ he yelled, grabbing the throttle. The propeller clashed against rock, making the tiller jar painfully in his grip, then finally bit into clear water. The boat surged away as the malevolent mass silently fell down behind it.
He swung away from the shore, only looking back once he was sure they were at a safe distance. ‘Christ . . .’
Nina was just as shocked. The cloud was draped over the island’s eastern side like a monstrous jellyfish, still swallowing up the jungle tree by tree. Its advance did appear to have been slowed over the water, but at a price: the azure sea around it had turned a bloody red. ‘My God. I can’t believe how big it is!’
‘All of that from one little statue? What the bloody hell was in it?’
‘Part of a meteor, according to Cross. Something that fell to earth in ancient history and became part of apocalyptic mythology.’
‘Yeah, I can see why.’ He glanced towards Antigua. ‘Shit, we’ve got to warn somebody! If that stuff reaches the mainland . . .’