“It’s for sale. Do you want to buy it, Lucas? It even comes with views of extinct volcanoes. See the stony rises to the left—those are the rocky outcrops, the humps and hollows you see out there—those came about by lava flows. We also have some lava tubes.”

She was obviously happy to be home and sounded like she would give him a run for his money when it came to earth sciences. Lucas knew what a lava tube was and was happy for Isabella to refresh his memory regarding what a stony rise was.

“It’s spectacular . . . and nice, Isabella. I’d buy it if I had the money.”

Isabella was staring at some trees. The trees were much different and much larger to the surrounding pockets of trees and must have been planted by the pioneers years ago.

Her demeanour seemed to have changed. “The accident happened down there.”

“What accident?” Then he remembered what Starkey had told him.

“My parents. Their car hit one of those trees at the bottom of the driveway. Apparently, the car had a mechanical fault—the brakes and steering failed.”

“Apparently?”

“Yep. That’s what I’ve been told. And then there’s the suicide theory. But I don’t believe that. I’ve struggled with it all. That’s why I went to visit Gramps. But why isn’t Gramps with us?”

Lucas thought he saw movement down near the trees.

“Let’s discuss Gramps later. Just come back here a bit.” Lucas led Isabella behind some bushes. “Look down towards the trees. I think I saw someone down there.”

Isabella nodded.

Lucas saw two men, trying to conceal themselves as they moved towards the property.

“Lucas, I’ve no idea what’s going on but I don’t feel good about it. Come with me.” They headed back towards the barn. This Isabella seemed different. Did she have some kind of multiple personality disorder? Stupid thoughts, Lucas.

“Grab the bags and briefcase, Lucas.” Isabella headed over to a corner in the barn. She placed her hand behind a timber beam and did something. “A concealed button.”

A humming noise started, followed by creaks. Some panels on the floor rose. Isabella waved Lucas over. “A secret hiding place,” she said and smiled.

Lucas wondered if this was the same Isabella. Had something happened in the transfer? The sweet vulnerable image he had of this girl had changed somewhat, but she was still sweet. Was that a twinge of something there, Lucas?

“My dad loved electronic things, including using the sun as a power source. And, although I’m not sure why, he’d set up this hidden bunker with some sophisticated monitoring equipment. Wait ’til you see it. Mum and Dad had some good arguments about this, something about being here or not being here during the time of tribulation. It was all confusing to me, the tribulation stuff, but I had fun helping Dad set the bunker up.”

“Sounds confusing to me too. Shouldn’t we be quiet?”

“Maybe.”

Lights flicked on as they headed down the stairs. The panel closed behind them.

“You’d be amazed at what is happening up there now. Dad had some blowers installed to blow hay and dirt over the panel coverings. No one will be able to locate the blowers—when they’ve done their blowing, they retreat back into their hiding place.”

Lucas nodded. “Smart man, your dad.” But why would someone go to all this trouble? Why try and conceal it? Then he remembered zombie movies. Maybe concealment was a good idea.

They reached the bottom. Lucas looked around. Solid walls. Concrete. Must have expected bombs to be dropping. Maybe that was still to come. He looked at Isabella. She had sat down and switched on a monitor. She turned to Lucas and indicated he should take a seat as well. She reached over and switched on a monitor next to his seat.

“It’s all soundproof. So we can talk.”

“Is the house still furnished?”

“Good question, Lucas. Think not. I suggested to the real estate agent that they leave the bunker as it is for now. I’m not sure why. Maybe I thought I could use it in case the end of the world came.”

“Makes sense . . . well, sort of.”

The sensor-activated hidden cameras recorded the men making their way to the front door.

19 – You are being watched

LUCAS WONDERED WHO THE VISITORS WERE.

The men rang the door bell and stared unknowingly into the camera. They were both dressed casually. Some kind of casual uniform, jeans and navy blue jackets. One man was tall, the other shorter and carrying more weight. The tall man had on a smallish backpack. They both wore digital glasses which Lucas knew would be recording their activities and acting as a communication device with a built-in microphone and an earpiece.

They knocked on the door, loudly.

The tall man spoke into the collar of his jacket. “Hello Eagle Fly, this is C12, over.”

“This is Eagle Fly, go ahead, over”

“Do we know if occupants are still here? Over.”

“Yes. They moved into the barn. They must have seen you approaching. There are two of them, a male and a female, over.”

“Roger, out.”

Both men walked away from the front door and headed around to the barn, the hidden cameras capturing their movement for Lucas and Isabella.

The tall man stopped and looked up in the sky.

“Checking out the weather?” asked his partner.

“No, I have a thing about drones. I like to try and locate them. The thought of being watched by something I can’t see doesn’t sit well with me.”

Lucas smiled at the tall man’s comment. If only he knew, but Lucas was happy that he didn’t.

Isabella gave a nervous giggle. “They’re heading our way. It’s going to be okay.”

Lucas wasn’t sure if Isabella’s assurance was for him or herself. Maybe both.

Isabella pointed to the headphones next to the monitor. “Maybe we should put those on.”

Lucas nodded and grabbed the set of headphones from the hook next to the monitor. “Just remember, people speak louder when they wear head phones.”

“Oh, I know that. Mum would tell me it’s all to do with neural feedback adjusting the speaking volume.”

Lucas stared at Isabella. An interesting family: her dad built an underground bunker with lots of electronic gadgetry inside and out, and a mum who talked about neural feedback. Must be the brain stuff Starkey mentioned. Isabella had turned back to look at the monitor. Her side profile was pleasant. Lucas started pondering their age difference when a voice interrupted his thoughts.

“Hello, anyone in there? We are hoping to talk to someone about the sale of the property.”