Jane was furious. ‘You can’t leave me here, I want to come.’
‘This is…hmm, man’s work, my dear.’
‘James, if you say that to me again, I’ll thump you.’ Jane glared at him.
‘But you are… a woman,’ he said politely.
Jane could feel herself flushing, as anger rushed through her.
Mark spoke quickly, ‘An extraordinary woman, and one I want to keep safe.’
Jane went to speak, but stopped. Instead she gave Mark one of her looks that said, “I know that, but I’m still coming.”
Mark shrugged his shoulders. ‘Okay, but it isn’t going to be easy.’
Jane smiled. ‘I won’t be any bother.’ She saw James shake his head. ‘Trust me,’ she said, looking directly at him. He mumbled something under his breath that she couldn’t quite catch, then heaved a big sigh before turning towards the door.
They left the house and Jane noticed a Jeep parked outside. A white man, dressed in khaki clothes was standing by it. His appearance reminded her of the typical image films portrayed of the explorer and adventurer, but his stance was like an alert soldier. Even though he had stubble on his chin and a rugged appearance to his well-tanned face, there was something attractive about him. Jane couldn’t decide whether it was the square jaw and firm mouth or the hooded eyes.
When he saw James, he smiled and took James’s outstretched hand. ‘It’s been a long time, James.’
‘Too long, Stan. These are my friends, Mark and Jane.’
After shaking Mark’s hand, he took hold of Jane’s quite firmly. She saw him glance down at her semi-dark top and coat, pants and walking shoes, before making eye contact with her again.
‘I see you have come prepared,’ he said in a South African accent.
‘I hope so,’ Jane replied, feeling that she had just been assessed.
He let go of her hand and swung into the driver’s seat.
Jane climbed into the back next to Mark, while James sat up front. The Jeep drove out of the fenced compound, heading north, bouncing and swerving along the pot-holed, rough road. It wasn’t long before the sun had set and the light faded into darkness.
Jane grabbed hold of Mark’s hand, as Stan’s manoeuvring of the Jeep became more erratic and immediate; his vision limited to the vehicle’s lights in front of him.
After several hours of driving, Stan swung the Jeep off the road on to a track barely big enough for the vehicle. By this time, Jane was starting to regret her decision to go with them. Her back and bottom seemed to be bruised and each new bump in the road added to her discomfort.
The Jeep came to an abrupt stop and Jane would have hit the front seat had her seat belt not checked her in time. She felt it cutting into her chest but resisted the urge to cry out.
‘Jesus, Stan!’ James shouted, as he fell back into his seat.
‘Sorry mate.’ Stan pointed out of the windscreen and in the lights stood a large wildebeest. It snorted at them before moving on.
‘Well, shall we take it a bit slower?’ James took out a handkerchief and wiped his brow.
Jane smiled, she hadn’t been the only one scared by Stan’s driving, but she was thankful James had spoken up.
‘Sure,’ Stan said and put the Jeep into gear. It moved on, the speed increasing but slower than they had been travelling. Within fifteen minutes, they pulled off the dirt road and stopped. Stan grabbed a rifle from the floor by his seat and jumped out.
Jane carefully stepped down, her legs felt a bit wobbly, but after a few stretches, they were back to working condition.
‘Stay close,’ she heard Stan say to them before he switched on his torch and set off. She slipped in front of James and Mark and followed Stan through the bush-land, guided by his light. It wasn’t long before he stopped and turned it off. They stood in silence, listening. Somewhere in front of them, where the darkness seemed to be penetrated by a dull light coming from behind the rim of a mound, the sound of a generator and the soft murmur of voices could be heard.
Jane carefully followed Stan up to the rim edge, her eyes quickly adjusting to the darkness. She saw him drop to the floor at the top and lay herself down next to him. Mark and James quickly joined them. She peeked over the edge and saw a small fenced-off area flooded with lights. Over to the left stood a couple of shacks with connected tents and a couple of Jeeps. In the middle there was a small fire with four black men sat around it. To the right there was a metal tripod, positioned over a hole in the ground, holding a large semi-dark crystal that was three feet long. It was pointing down into the earth. Wires from the generator were connected to it.
Stan passed some binoculars to Mark. After a few minutes, Jane heard Mark groan.
‘What is it?’ she whispered.
‘They’re pumping electric into the crystal that has the dark inclusion in it.’
‘So?’
He shook his head, so Jane kept quiet.
‘Stan, I need to see what’s in the hole,’ he said quietly.
‘There’s too many people around, but they may have plans in those tents. We can approach from the back.’
‘Okay, let’s go.’
Jane grabbed Mark’s arm. ‘Do you really need to do this?’
‘Yes!’ he replied bluntly.
Stan crawled between them. ‘I need you to stay here,’ he told her, handing her a small pistol and the Jeep keys.
Jane looked at him in shock. ‘I don’t know how to…’ she paused holding the weapon in her palm as if it was something distasteful.
Stan picked it up, knocked off the safety catch and gave it back. ‘Just pull the trigger. It’s for your protection, in case any inquisitive lions come round.’
Jane’s eyes widened, but she didn’t say anything.
Stan led James and Mark down the left side of the rim into the darkness.
Jane looked around. The light from the mine was reflecting in the sky, which seemed to light the top of the rim, but two feet below it, there was nothing but blackness. Even the moon and stars were hidden in the darkness of a clouded sky. She felt alone and anxious. What on earth am I doing here? she thought, gripping the gun in both hands. Why did I fight so hard to come? She knew the answer. All through her life she had battled with men, it was a hard habit to get out of.
She gave the dark area below her one more glance before moving up to the rim edge. Once settled, she focused her attention on the shacks and tents. It wasn’t long before she saw a slight movement to the rear of the first tent and then nothing.
A short time later the four men got up and stretched. They extinguished the fire and moved back towards the tents. They entered the first one.
Jane felt her stomach churn. Had they been discovered? She waited, listening intently for shouts or cries but no sound came her way. It seemed like hours and she had just about convinced herself that Mark and the others had been caught, when the sound of a loose rock falling behind her made her swing round. Her heart was pounding and her hands were shaking as she held the gun up, ears straining to catch any further noise.
‘Jane?’ came a whisper. ‘Don’t shoot. It’s us.’ She recognised Mark’s voice and let her arms drop in relief.
They came out of the darkness and joined her just below the rim. Stan gently took the gun from her hands and switched the safety catch back on. Jane took a deep breath before turning to Mark. ‘Did you get to see what you needed?’ she asked seeing Mark’s serious face. He nodded.
‘So what was…’ she broke off at the sound of an approaching car travelling at speed. Its lights flashed the sky to their left.
Carefully they looked back over the rim in time to see a Jeep screech to a halt beside the tents. The men, who Jane had seen earlier, rushed out to meet a white man, who was getting out of the passenger’s side. His black driver remained inside the vehicle. The man, dressed in black trousers and a white shirt, spoke to the men, before walking to the crystal.
Mark grabbed the binoculars and focused on the man. He swore softly.
Jane heard the white man bark orders to the men and they quickly ran to the shack. Seconds later they came back carrying a similar sized crystal to the one on the tripod, but which was clear and bright. They discarded the old crystal and replaced it with the new one. The white man bellowed more words at the men and whilst Jane couldn’t catch what he said, she heard the anger and frustration in his voice.
Mark turned away from the rim, onto his back. ‘I don’t believe it,’ he groaned.
Jane slid down beside him. ‘What?’
She saw the despair in his eyes, as he said, ‘It’s Ferrand.’
‘Ferrand?’ Jane whispered back, then took the binoculars from him and peered over the rim again. Ferrand was getting back into his Jeep, but she was just able to catch sight of some grey hair and the side of his tanned face. The Jeep turned around and drove off at speed.
Stan got up. ‘Is there anything else you need to see?’
‘No. I’ve seen enough,’ Mark said, wearily.
Jane took Mark’s hand and noticed it was clammy. They followed Stan back to the Jeep and got in. Mark said nothing during the trip back to James’s house, he just stared out into the darkness. Jane held his hand, feeling helpless. She sensed his motivation had gone and she was worried.
Back at the house, James took a moment to thank Stan. Jane stopped at the door and watched as he passed Stan something when they shook hands. Stan waved to her before jumping back in the Jeep and driving off. She entered the house with James and they found Mark already sat on the sofa. He looked extremely pale.
‘Are you okay?’ Jane asked softly.
He sat forward, cleared his throat and said, ‘We’re fucked.’
Jane immediately sat next to him. ‘Mark, you’re scaring me.’
‘You should be scared. Ferrand is going to kill us all.’
‘That’s a bit drastic, isn’t it?’ James said, plonking himself in a chair.
‘Well, shall I spell it out for you?’ Mark retorted. ‘The clear man-made crystal vibrates at a high intensity. Ferrand has this large crystal being fed energy by electric generators. This crystal transmits its power into a Vogel crystal. A powerful, very precise crystal that is able to pull in energy and transmit it out, at an amazing vibration.’
‘So, how is that going to kill us?’ James interrupted.
‘Program a crystal with the intention to heal and it will heal, but program it with negative feelings and it will send out and magnify the negative energy.’
James laughed. ‘Come on, Mark, you can’t expect me to believe that negative energy will kill us?’
‘Yes, it can. Look at what happened to your workers, James.’
‘That could be a bug they caught.’
‘The darkness in the crystal is man-made. In its raw form it is like a virus. The vibrations of the crystals are transmitting it into other crystals and into the earth.’
James pondered for a moment. ‘Yes, but no evidence it will kill us.’
‘The plant, James, for goodness sake, it killed the plant,’ Mark said, frustrated.
‘It could have died from anything, there is no proof it died from the crystal’s vibration.’
Mark sighed deeply. ‘Then why didn’t you go ahead and touch it?’
James hesitated and before he could reply, Mark said, ‘Let’s see what the tests reveal tomorrow, then perhaps you’ll realise how serious this is.’ He got up. ‘I’m going to bed, see you in the morning.’