The Covenant of Genesis

‘Nina!’ Chase screamed. She hit one of the necklace’s long rectangular counterpoises.

And caught it.

But it didn’t stop her. The metal was too thin to support her, buckling and swinging her across the statue’s front. She slammed to a stop against a carved protrusion.

The counterpoise broke off. Nina plunged straight down—

Her feet hit the statue’s gilded belt. Even as more pain exploded in her legs, she had just enough presence of mind to throw herself backwards against the great figure’s stone stomach, collapsing on the small ledge at its waist. The long spear of the counterpoise plunged past, hitting the temple floor with an echoing clang.

Chase stared in horror, seeing Nina’s face twisted in pain. ‘Wait there!’ he yelled. ‘I’m coming!’

He started to climb through the window, but Sophia pulled him back. ‘What are you doing?’

‘What do you think?’

‘Even if you manage to climb back up the arm, how are you going to get down to her?’

‘I’ll think of something!’ He tried again to pull himself through the window.

Sophia jammed her arm across the frame, blocking him. His mouth curled with cold anger. ‘If you don’t move, I’ll chuck you off this ledge.’

She knew he meant it, but held her place. ‘Eddie, the Covenant will be here any minute. They must have heard that noise. If they catch us, they’ll kill us all.’

‘I can’t leave her!’

‘You can’t reach her, either. Eddie, we’ve got to go!’

Furious, frustrated, he looked back at Nina. She had managed to sit upright, and was clutching her leg. ‘Nina!’ he called. ‘If you can—’

A noise from above: breaking glass. A man in snow camouflage was using his rifle butt to widen the hole in the window behind the statue.

He ducked through, looked round, saw Chase below—

Chase shoved Sophia away and darted sideways as the Covenant soldier fired, bullets pitting the ancient stonework and shattering the remains of the window. The gunfire stopped; Chase risked a look, seeing another man climbing on to the statue before being forced to jerk away from a second burst.

‘Eddie, come on!’ Sophia commanded, moving to the buttress. ‘If we don’t get out of here now, they’ll cut us off !’

‘Fuck!’ Chase roared, thumping a clenched fist against the wall. He knew she was right - but that was absolutely no comfort. And if he tried to shout to Nina, even to assure her that he would come back for her, the Covenant members would know she was there.

And kill her.

Anguished, he followed Sophia to the buttress as she lowered herself over the edge . . . and let herself drop.

The buttress was wide enough for her not to slip off the side, but she still couldn’t hold in a shriek as she hurtled downwards, boots grating on the frozen stone. The slope became shallower as it descended, but Sophia was still moving fast when she reached the bottom, shooting off the end and tumbling across the iron-hard ground. She came to a stop, unmoving for a moment - then gave Chase a dizzy wave.

With a last look back at the window, Chase plunged after her.

Jagged lumps of ice tore at his clothes as he hurtled down the buttress like a luge rider - sans luge. He tried to squeeze his feet against the edges to slow himself, but couldn’t find enough grip, still picking up speed as he neared the bottom . . .

Chase was airborne for a moment as he flew off the end - then hit the ground arse first, taking a painful kick to his spine. He bounced over the frozen earth in a spray of ice crystals, skidding along on his back before coming to a halt.

‘Are you all right?’ Sophia asked, hobbling stiffly to him.

‘Fine,’ he grunted as he stood. Muscles ached and knives jabbed at various parts of his anatomy, but nothing seemed permanently damaged. He saw the sled nearby. ‘Come on.’

‘What are you doing?’ Sophia demanded as he headed for it. ‘If you go back in there, they’ll shoot you before you get five feet across the room!’

‘I know. That’s why I’m not going back in - until I get a gun. If Nina keeps quiet, maybe they won’t see her and they’ll go.’ He reached the sled, taking hold of the tow rope. ‘Then I can climb up and get her.’

‘We won’t have time,’ she insisted. ‘And where are you going to get a gun, anyway?’

A shout reached them from the city, where another man in white had emerged from behind a building and seen them. ‘He’ll do.’

‘He still seems to be using it!’ Sophia warned as the man took aim. More men appeared behind him. Chase recognised Zamal’s bearded face amongst the group.

‘Okay, slight rethink!’ There was no decent cover nearby, and going back into the temple would bring them into the sights of the men already inside. Instead, Chase grabbed Sophia and dived with her on to the sled. ‘Hang on!’

He kicked at the ground - and sent the sledge racing downhill along the frozen road bisecting the ancient city.

Zamal’s men opened fire, bullets spitting chunks of ice into the air around Chase and Sophia. But flattened on the sledge they were a tricky target - made the more so as they rapidly picked up speed. ‘Get them! Get them!’ shrieked Zamal, opening up with his SCAR on full automatic as he tracked the fleeing pair downhill.

Sharp-edged ice fragments bit at Chase’s face as a line of bullet impacts snaked along the ground beside him, getting closer as the Arab refined his aim - one shot even exploded beneath him as it whipped between the body of the sled and its runner—

They hurtled through the arch and past the first buildings, cutting off Zamal’s line of fire. Chase looked ahead. The road led all the way down to the edge of the city - and the drainage shaft cut through the dam. Their escape route.

But that would mean abandoning Nina, and he wasn’t prepared to do that.

‘Eddie!’ Sophia yelled. Another group of Covenant troopers ahead. They must have come in through the original shaft, making their way up through the city to meet their comrades.

Either they had seen the approaching sled, or Zamal had radioed them. Whichever, they were lining up across the road, preparing to shoot . . .

Chase stuck one leg over the sledge’s side, jamming his boot against the road surface. The sled slewed round, almost tipping over. He lifted his foot and it straightened out - now aiming for one of the side roads.

More gunfire, more cracking impacts around them as the soldiers realised they were about to lose sight of their prey—

Something blew apart with a crunch of shattered plastic. Chase took a blow to his side as one of the pieces of equipment strapped to the sledge was hit. The laser rangefinder had stopped a bullet for him.

But he had no time to reflect on his luck. They reached the side road, a domed wall looming ahead. He jammed both feet down, trying to slow the sledge, then lifted one to steer them round the obstruction.

Too fast—

The speeding sled scraped against the base of the curved wall in a spray of ice shards as it turned, teetering perilously on one runner before crashing down again. The gas cylinder rattled against its restraints, hitting Chase’s leg.

Feet down, toes skittering over the ice. The sled slowed. Beyond the buildings ahead, he could see a roiling haze rising towards the ceiling - steam from the volcanic vent in the hypogeum.

He saw a route leading between the groups of houses and swung them into it. The path was tight, but it opened out ahead—

Over a drop.

‘Shit!’ gasped Chase, slamming both feet as hard as he could against the ice. Sophia did the same. The sledge juddered, slowing - but not enough. ‘Roll!’