Kingdom Of The Nanosaurs (trilogy)

Kingdom Of The Nanosaurs - chapter 12

12. The bowels of the earth

“I’m not much of a cook,” said Lin presenting a sloppy corn beef omelette and toast. Morgan didn’t reply. He took his plate and they both ate hungrily. “How much food do we have?” he asked.

“Enough for a week if you don’t mind eating beans and corn beef every day.”

“Maybe they’ll bring more,” suggested Morgan. “They need us alive, don’t forget.”

“Can we get out of here?” asked Lin.

“I don’t know,” said Morgan shaking his head. “I’ve had another look around and found some more bits and pieces of junk I can maybe turn into a key of some sort. I think I can make something that will fit.”

“But what about that monster outside? He’s not going to let us leave, is he?”

“No, but neither is he programmed to harm us,” said Morgan. “Natzler needs us, that much is clear. So, that minotaur creature won’t kill us or anything.”

“But it might hurt us,” said Lin.

“It might. We’ve got to check every inch of this room again. Where’s the ventilation, for instance? Is there any other way out? Is there anything we can use to open that door?” Morgan stood up and took their plates into the kitchen to wash up. A folded piece of paper fell out of his pocket and Lin picked it up. Curious, she opened it. She looked up at Morgan.

“I didn’t know you wrote poetry,” she said with surprise and began to read: “Time locked, man-made jewels are strewn. In pools of ancient light on a faraway shore. Deep is the ocean that bears no name. That echoes within the lonely mansion. We stand alone at the brink of time. The light before us…”

Morgan hurried back and snatched the paper from Lin’s hands. “That’s kind of private, you know?”

“It’s beautiful, Morgan. When are you going to finish it?”

“It’s not beautiful,” said Morgan. “It’s rubbish. I’ll probably tear it up.”

“No, you mustn’t,” cried Lin. “You’re in touch with your soul.”

“Why don’t you see what the I-Ching has to say about our situation,” Morgan told her gruffly, “while I really take another look around this place.”

He left her smiling at him as though he was full of surprises. Embarrassed, Morgan slouched off and began another systematic exploration of the large, vaulted cavern, sifting through the junk, old furniture and equipment. The room had in part been hewn out of natural rock and faced with brick. Stone buttresses were positioned along the top of each wall to provide additional support to the ceiling. Morgan wondered exactly where they were in relation to the mainland. If he remained very still he could just hear the sound of the sea rising and falling. Morgan began to collect more bits and pieces of wire, a pair of old pincers, bits of metal and other bric-a-brac but there wasn’t much else he could figure out how to cannibalise. He explored every inch of their prison, shifting boxes, files and equipment out of the way. He finally discovered ventilation vents situated in various parts of the cavern that he had overlooked but they were too small to squeeze into. Frustrated and damp with sweat he realized that van Linden was probably right. There was no way out of this room except through the old door. And standing guard outside was the monster nanosaur, Taurus.

And, even assuming he could somehow produce a key that would unlock the door, what then? Even if they could get past Taurus unharmed, then what? They were still on an island set in a tempestuous sea. Morgan sat down heavily on a box. He had never felt so depressed. He was not used to coming up against brick walls, literally in this case. The only way of escape he could see would be to somehow stowaway on one those giant helicopters that came and went. But to get to that point, they would have to get out somehow and escape detection by Natzler’s armed guards and the technicians that seemed to be everywhere and find their way outside, hiding somewhere close to the landing pad until a Chinook arrived. The helicopters must ferry people, equipment and supplies regularly. Morgan shook his head. It just seemed impossible.