Gate Deadlock (32 page)

‘Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.’ I said, but my
voice betrayed my fear.

‘I almost forgot. We’ve bought four seats to all
those theatres. Just pick any one of them. It’s our treat.’ She
gave me a pack of tickets.

‘All of them? I’m sure Alex will be thrilled.
Or, we can sell them in the black market.’ I joked. The theatre
would be the last thing Alex cared about now.

I was wrong. Alex totally enjoyed the Phantom of
the Opera. However, when we got out, he asked us to call it a day,
under the excuse of having to pack and get up very early the next
morning. Surprised, I asked him if he needed any help with packing.
Part of me was hoping that he would refuse my offer, which he
did.

‘What time is your flight? We can meet…’

‘No.’ he cut me. ‘You don’t have to come.’

‘Why not?’

‘I don’t want you to come. I’m a big boy. I’ll
find my way.’

‘Of course. I didn’t mean…’

‘Then let’s say goodbye now. Kate, thank you for
everything. And please don’t forget to say goodbye to Sue for me.’
Sue had mysteriously vanished after that disastrous morning at the
hotel.

‘Alex, are you sure you can’t stay for
Christmas? It’s only a couple of days.’ Kate asked him.

‘No. That’s out of the question Kate. I have to
go. So, goodbye ladies.’

‘What? We don’t even get a kiss? ’Kate teased
him.

‘You’re right. Come here.’ He smiled, leaning
towards her to kiss her cheek, making her giggle. Then he turned to
me and kissed mine.

‘It’s been a holiday I’ll never forget. By the
way, nothing happened with Sue. We were both too drunk and the
hangover was awful. And that voice! You know, you can still count
on me when the chips are down, Emma.’ he whispered to my ear.

‘Until we meet again.’ he smiled bitterly as he
put his hands on my shoulders and looked deeply into my eyes.

‘Until we meet again.’ I repeated stupidly and
watched him walk away, his figure disappearing in the colorful maze
of people and blazing Christmas lights, fighting with my strong
urge to run after him and tell him how much he meant to me.

‘I’m sorry.’ I whispered aware of the fact that
it was pointless. That he could not hear me.

14.

STARTING OVER

‘
Free rope!’ I
shouted after I had put my feet on the ground and released the
ascender, unhooking it from my safety belt. I felt hot although it
was only 14
º
C inside the
cave, and my cheeks were burning with excitement. Stratos was
right. Ascending was much more difficult than descending, but the
right equipment and guidance by an expert like him, had made things
much easier. I had copied his every movement, followed his
instructions step by step, and I finally made it
through.

Stratos looked at me concerned as he asked ‘Was
it that bad?’

‘No. It was great!’ I replied, apparently
excited but making an effort to control my voice, as I was still
out of breath. Ascending wasn’t the best thing I could do to my
still sensitive spine. My back was sending me warning signs.
Stratos shook his head meditatively, obviously concerned about
me.

‘You should take some rest until the others join
us. I’ll check on Nick.’ he said, heading to the edge of the
precipice.

I was leaning with my back against the cave
wall. I let myself slide down slowly until I felt the hard bottom
of the cave. I curled with my head on my knees, my arms embracing
my legs. All we had to do now was walk for about five kilometers to
the exit of the cave. It was a magnificent spectacle, a path among
snow-white stalactites, carved by water flows in past geological
periods, thousands of years ago.

I opened my backpack and took out the small box
of painkillers that had been my permanent companions ever since the
accident. I took a couple of them and swallowed them quickly with
the help of the cool water I was carrying in my thermos. It was a
good thing Stratos did not notice that. The last thing I needed now
was to attract their attention, to look helpless and weak. The plan
was to make them believe I was capable of taking care of myself,
even a little edgy when they offered to help me, so that it would
be easier to carry out Plato’s orders.

Nick looked really excited when his face popped
out from the gap on the cave surface. For amateurs, we had both
done really well. Stratos and Panos were experienced cavers and had
been extremely eager to induce us to the thrill of cave
exploration. This specific expedition was especially thrilling as
the cave had been restricted area for the last ten years and its
exploration required special permission by the authorities. But
that was the point, to attract attention. Not the local
authorities’ attention of course. We had decided to take our
chances instead of waiting for months for permission to explore the
cave. My companions had been highly enthusiastic about it from the
very first moment.

Half an hour later, we started our
journey back. We found the opening that had amazed me when we were
looking for the precipice. A natural monument, a creation of time,
water and rock. A magical, mystical place that had given birth to
legends of gods, heroes, fairies and nymphs. The natural decoration
was astounding. White stalactites were hanging from the ceiling and
either united in magnificent pillars with their other half that was
uplifting from the bottom, or struggling to meet each other’s sharp
pick, drop by drop, inch by inch, patiently waiting throughout the
ages, certain that it was inevitable for them to be united some
day, to become one.

We were only a few meters from the exit. I could
already see the blinding daylight at the end of the tunnel. Plato’s
orders were to stay back a little before the exit so that he
Crusaders had time to save Nick, Panos and Stratos from the Squad
who would be on their way to get us, protecting another Gateway,
extremely valuable to the League. I was sure that the Crusaders
would already be waiting for us outside, disguised as local
policemen, pretending to arrest the cavers for trespassing. Then, I
would have to wait for no more than five minutes until the Squad
would be here to get me.

I shivered at the thought of facing Tex’s cruel
face, but this was the last thing I cared about. I hoped that
Christopher would be among them, that he would have come for me
despite his last warning. It had been so long since I had last seen
him. Plato had not neglected to warn me that I should control
myself when I would see him again, otherwise the whole plan would
go up in smoke.

I stopped, pretending to be looking for
something.

‘
Damn!’ I said. Panos had stopped behind
me.

‘
What’s wrong?’ he asked. ‘I
left my backpack at the last bent where I stopped for
water.’

‘
I’ll get it for you. You go
ahead.’ he volunteered to help me.

‘
No!’ I replied, a little too
abruptly. ‘I can do it myself. I can see it from here.’ I pointed
to the red bag with my flashlight.

‘
You go ahead. I’ll meet you
outside.’ Panos hesitated for a moment. Then he shrugged and walked
past me. I was almost at the bent, when I heard voices
arguing.

‘
Stay here!’ Panos shouted at
me as he ran to join the others. I was sure that the Crusaders
outnumbered my friends. My ignorant companions would have to do
what the “policemen” asked them. I knew the Crusaders were supposed
to take them a few kilometers away, in a safe distance, until the
Squad had finished with me. Plato had personally guaranteed that no
harm would happen to the three cavers, sharing my persistence in
keeping them safe at any cost. I did not want to be an accessory
for another death. Somehow, Yannis’ blood still felt hot on my
hands.

I ducked waiting, until the voices and the sound
of the cars faded away. Then I stood up again and started walking
towards the exit. Now it was a good time to start panicking. But,
surprisingly enough, I was not panicked. I was extremely anxious to
see Christopher, this was the only emotion that overwhelmed my
whole existence at that moment and there was no room for fear and
panic.

It was very silent outside. I looked around. I
was all alone, or at least it seemed so, 340 meters above the
sea.

I was not ignorant of the place.

My father had told me stories about this
mountain where you’re surrounded by the fairies of the source of
the immortal water. The ancient gods took their oaths on this
mountain. It was here that the deity of Soul went through
incredible ordeals when she was searching for her sweetheart,
Cupid. The legend is that she still wanders on the frosty peak,
leaving her elf-tracks on the soft snow. The dreadful queen Styx
lived on this sacred mountain, Zeus’ally in his war with the
Titans. She had the power to punish the Olympian gods if they broke
their oaths. Her palace was in front of the Gate of Ades, the gate
to the Underworld, to death. It’s no wonder why the locals had
respected that place and considered the opening of roads and the
intrusion of technology on the sacred slopes that had been
protected by the millennium-lasting awe, a hubris, an abuse.

I wished my father’s stories had been true. I
wished I could invoke the ancient spirits to protect Christopher
and me. But reality was so uninspiring, so dramatic and terrible at
the same time.

I walked to the jeep and got rid of the
equipment I was carrying, aware of the fact that Tex might be
hiding among the trees behind me, watching, waiting for the right
moment to terrify me the most. My mouth felt dry and I looked for
some water, as my thermos was empty. Stratos had left a spare
thermos in the jeep but I could not find it. I bent down to look
for it under the passenger seat. I stretched my arm to reach
it.

Then I heard the cold voice behind me, the voice
that had haunted my dreams for so long.

‘At last! We meet again!’ He spoke slowly,
softly, and his voice was sarcastic as always, mocking me. My body
stiffened at once but I tried to keep my temper. I did not care if
he wanted to hurt me. I was dying to see the beautiful face I had
been missing for so long. Was he standing there? Right behind
me?

I turned around slowly, my face frozen,
expressionless, but my heart was about to jump out of my chest.

15.

CHRISTOPHER

‘
You always seem
to be in the wrong place, don’t you?’ Tex’s cold voice mocked,
testing my reflexes. Threat was obvious in his tone. I was no more
under any misapprehension as to how dangerous this man was. But I
couldn’t care less. My eyes were fixed on the slim, tall man behind
him. He was dressed in the Squad’s typical black suit and he was
standing still, his arms folded in front of his chest. His dark
sunglasses were hiding his eyes but his beautiful face and his
golden-brown hair left no doubt. It was him. It was Christopher. My
Christopher.

For a brief moment I felt like it was only the
two of us in front of the ancient cave the Squad had come to
protect. There was no one around, no sound, even the birds had
stopped singing. Then, a gust of cool wind blew, scattering the
leaves around us, bringing me back to reality. I was overwhelmed by
the strong need to run to him, touch him, feel him, see if he was
real. I wanted to lose myself in his warm embrace, tell him how
much I’d missed him. But I couldn’t do that. Not only because my
knees felt weak, making me feel I was about to faint, but also
because I had strict orders from Plato. Susan had warned me several
times that this would be a critical moment for my mission. So I had
to control myself and avoid any impulsive reaction at Christopher’s
sight. Plato had asked Susan to warn me about the chance that
Christopher might have changed but I had found that hard to
believe. Yet, watching him stand still, not even making the
slightest move towards me, his face absolutely rigid,
expressionless, as if he hadn’t recognized me, made me wonder if
Plato was right. Then, the deepest fear I had been suppressing for
so long started creeping from my knees to my spine and to my chest,
trying to find a way to sneak into my heart. What if Christopher
had really changed? Would there still be room in his heart for
me?

‘You don’t seem very happy to see us. And I’ve
brought over your favorite killer!’ Tex’s voice took me out of my
thoughts and I instinctively made a few steps back when I noticed
that he was approaching me. His appalling smirk made me shiver.
Susan had reassured me that the Squad had strict orders not to hurt
me. It was part of the deal Christopher had made with the devil to
save me that summer. But I knew Tex was unpredictable. He often
acted by his own initiative, got carried away by his instincts. I
wondered what Christopher would do if Tex attempted to challenge
him by hurting me right there.

‘Oh, come on! I didn’t do anything!’ I
protested. ‘Is it forbidden to go caving with my friends?’ I tried
to sound as convincing as I did when I was practicing this
conversation with Susan.

‘So you’ve found a new hobby, is that
it? You gave up on archeology, I guess. Where are the others, by
the way?’

‘They’ve just left. I’m afraid you missed
them.’

He walked slowly around me, like an animal
circling its prey, meaning to prolong the attack in order to enjoy
it more. I probably missed his nodding to his men as two of them,
thankfully not Christopher, came to stand in front of me as the
other two walked into the cave, in search for the rest of our team.
I hadn’t noticed how many of his men he had brought along. All my
attention was drawn to Christopher. Now I could see there were four
of them besides Tex and him.

Tex looked at me and I could easily guess his
thoughts. He was battling with himself about whether he should obey
to the League’s orders or just kill me right there. Although I
could not see his eyes behind the dark glasses, it was as if every
inch of his face, every pore of his skin revealed pure hatred. I
wondered how someone could make it through a life full of
bitterness, like his. But of course Tex was no ordinary man. He was
a vicious killer. Just like Christopher was once and, hopefully,
pretended to be now. I wished Christopher had not truly relapsed. I
wished it wasn’t too late.