Read 2041 Sanctuary (Genesis) for Free Online Page B

complex that it could produce things I couldn’t even imagine.’ He smiled a curious smile and handed it back to her.
    Sarah stared at him for a moment and then returned the cross to its home and snapped the locket closed. She held it out to him.
    He shook his head. ‘You can give it to her when we find her.’ He stood up and held out his hand. ‘I know you still think otherwise, but she’s alive. I can feel it. I will search for her, and I will find her.’
    Sarah grasped his wrist to be pulled to her feet. ‘How can you be so sure?’
    ‘I believed in you; now it’s your turn to believe in me.’
    Sarah picked up her helmet, pulled on her gloves and re-pocketed the orb and locket. Jason collected his stone and adjusted his visor.
    ‘You’re going to use it as a torch?’ she said, looking at the glowing rock in his other hand.
    ‘No,’ he passed it to her, ‘you are. I have my visor.’
    She accepted the stone and held it higher to help light the ground ahead. It didn’t produce much of a beam, but it was better than nothing.
    ‘You can also have this back.’ He held out the pendant to her.
    ‘I told you, I don’t want it.’
    ‘Just keep it safe for me.’
    Sarah couldn’t be bothered to argue, so fixed the pendant back onto her chain alongside its smaller sibling.
    All set, they moved out once more, friendship renewed and situation slightly improved. All we need now , Sarah thought, is divine intervention and we might just last a few more days . As it was there was little left in the way of hope, for her, anyway. Jason seemed convinced of a miracle, but she knew it would take nothing short of a resurrection to turn things around, and as far as she understood it such things were in short supply, even for believers. She was just pleased to be alive for a few more days, to be able to keep Jason company, and then, when all was said and done, she could rest. The thought was a comforting one. She was tired, bone tired, but most of all she just didn’t want to fear anymore. Sarah linked arms with Jason and they carried on into Sanctuary’s black vaults, searching for the elusive that might never come.
     

Chapter Six
     
    A loud explosion sent a grappling spear and attached nano-cable arcing out across the mile wide chasm. Seconds later the titanium tip bit deep into the ancient Anakim building that had been targeted for impact. Large chunks of masonry fell into the abyss below before a smaller charge ignited, sending three bolts drilling further into the stone façade, securing the anchor in place.
    The cable pulled taut and Samson gave the nod to three of his men, who edged out in single file onto the nano- rope’s narrow surface utilising wire tethers and specialised equipment attached to their feet, like some kind of human-powered monorail. Far below the faint glow of orange lava revealed the immense depth of the mighty expanse that blocked the way ahead.
    Twenty feet away Riley Orton, in sombre mood and with Locke and Jefferson for company, watched the scene unfold through his Deep Reach helmet’s visor.
    ‘No regard,’ Locke muttered.
    ‘Sir?’ Riley looked to his superior.
    ‘They have no regard for Sanctuary,’ Locke said, ‘none. That’s priceless architecture they’re destroying, it can never be remade.’
    With a final shake of the head, Dresden Locke turned and walked away.
    ‘He’s taking this hard,’ Riley said.
    ‘He cares as much about Sanctuary as he does about the SED itself,’ Jefferson said, ‘maybe more.’
    Riley returned his attention to Samson’s men, who’d made it past halfway, the equipment they pulled behind dragged along using a clever configuration of wheels and pulleys.
    As the possibility of crossing the divide and the reality of closing in on Sarah loomed ever closer, Riley’s concern for his one-time lover grew in combination. He knew she had to be found, the orders from on high were unequivocal, but he also knew he couldn’t see her locked away for