I took shallow breaths, pressed against the metal railing of the abandoned workshop, trying not to cough at the thick dust that permeated the air.
They were in here somewhere with me – I could hear them, cackling and snickering, the awful echo ricocheting around the room before I could pinpoint their location.
Roland’s torch still lay where he’d dropped it, turning one wall into a grotesque parody of a shadow play. Roland himself was still nowhere to be seen.
‘Okay,’ I called out into the darkness, nerve momentarily mustered. ‘What’s it going to take for you to give my friend back?’
No reply came from the room, save for some near-imperceptible breathing.
‘I can give you whatever you want,’ I said, louder this time. ‘Please, just take it and go.’
After a moment, a voice jumped out at me from the darkness.
‘You know what we want.’
I swore under my breath – then they were here for the same reason as me. Poor Roland was caught up in a treasure hunt he didn’t even know he was on.
The object they were after, small and metallic, burned warm inside my jacket.
‘I have no idea what that is,’ I lied, frowning even though they couldn’t see me – I’d heard it helped make lies more believable. Somewhere. Maybe. ‘I do have some riveting documents on the benefits of solar power for business in Australia, though,’ I said, waving them above my head.
A swiftly-thrown rock dislodged them from my hand, scattering them across the workshop.
‘You know what we want,’ the voice repeated.
I sighed.
How had it come to this? We were once so mighty, back in the days when you could buy commercial solar batteries. And now? Fighting over scraps in a building that wouldn’t even keep out the rain.
‘Sorry, Roland,’ I murmured, tapping my jacket pocket. ‘It’s too important.’
I began to map out my plan to escape.