The Power of Five Oblivion

He himself had bought bracelets and necklaces in the many gold markets in Hong Kong. He and his father had often traded in gold bars … it was more secure and less easy to trace than paper money. Had some of the gold produced here ever passed through his hands? If so, he was being punished for it now.
    Outside, the klaxon sounded and there were the same, tired movements in the hut, the occupants rolling off their camp beds and readying themselves for the day’s work. Matt opened his eyes. Lohan examined him anxiously.
    “Lohan…”
    “How are you feeling?”
    “I’m better. I’m OK.” Matt lifted himself onto one elbow. “I’m coming with you today.”
    He was far from OK. Lohan could see that the fever hadn’t left him and he was so weak that he was swaying on his feet. But somehow the two of them made it outside, drank their water and ate their bean stew, crouching in the damp morning air.
    “Matt…” Lohan began.
    “I know,” Matt replied. “We have to make our move today.”
    “When?”
    “I’ll tell you.”
    Lohan nodded, amazed that he was taking orders from a fifteen-year-old boy – and one who was barely able to stand.
    The guards shouted their orders and team 1179 Verde moved off. By now, Lohan recognized most of the faces of the prisoners who had been brought with him from the town of Jangada – but he knew none of their names and nothing of their histories. That was the way it worked at Serra Morte. Nobody trusted anybody and there was no point in making friends when you were all certain to die. Lohan snatched up a spade and a wooden pail for himself. He did the same for Matt, noticing with a sense of gloom that Matt was barely able to carry the weight.
    Together they trudged the half a kilometre back to the pit, neither of them speaking, then stood there as the first workers began to climb down. Lohan glanced at Matt. They couldn’t go down the ladders. If there was going to be any chance of escape, it had to start here, while they were still at ground level.
    “Move!” One of the guards had seen them hesitating. He was like all the others, anonymous in his khaki uniform with a machine gun cradled in his arms and a dog following him on a leash.
    Matt turned to Lohan. “Take him out,” he said. For a moment Lohan thought he’d misheard. What was Matt saying? “Take him out…” He repeated the words.
    “He has a dog,” Lohan muttered.
    “I’ll take care of the dog.”
    The rest of their team had already entered the pit, making their way down the ladders. Lohan looked around. There were no other guards nearby. Next to him, Matt closed his eyes and at that exact moment the dog whimpered and sat down. It had simply forgotten that it was meant to be ferocious. The guard looked down, puzzled, and that was enough for Lohan. He took two steps forward and struck out, the side of his hand driving into the man’s throat. All the anger of the last eight days was in the blow and the guard wasn’t just knocked out. He was killed instantly. Lohan didn’t care. He and Matt had committed themselves. The punishment for an attack on any guard was death. There could be no going back.
    Some of the other workers had seen the exchange and were already backing away in terror, not wanting to share the blame. Matt and Lohan were standing on the very edge of the mine. The guard lay on the ground. The dog was sitting there, ignoring them. Matt took a deep breath and seemed to focus on something in the mid-distance. Lohan knew that Matt, like all five Gatekeepers, had powers that went beyond anything that was human and waited to see them in evidence now. Nothing happened. For a brief moment he thought that Matt was too weak, that his illness had neutralized him … in which case they were both dead. But then there was a tiny movement. One of the ladders inside the pit had come free and fallen away from the wall. It was followed by a second and then a third. As Lohan stared, the ladders began to tear themselves apart, the thick wood snapping, the pieces tumbling down. Nobody had been hurt. Matt had only chosen empty ladders. But the way down was rapidly becoming unreachable and all work searching for the gold flakes would come to a rapid halt.
    Snap, snap, snap … The breaking wood reminded Lohan of Chinese firecrackers. There were soldiers everywhere, running to the edge of the mine and staring down. But Matt had only just started. He swung his head round and suddenly an entire stretch of the