The explosion could be felt through the soles of their feet. It was like a soft vibration that could only just be sensed after travelling through all those many metres of concrete. However, George knew it for what it was, as did many of the skulls in the "cemetery", which immediately started screaming again in alarm.

"Explosives!" The big man remarked over the wailing cacophony. "It sounds like Miss Savanarolova has opened the door with her magic key, Rick."

Rick was still reeling from the news that a Japanese Secret Research Unit had imprisoned a dragon in the heart of a volcano and he was sitting on its doorstep. Dragons? Here? Was he dreaming or had the world suddenly turned upside down? He looked at Suzuki but all he saw on the little man's face was sincerity. Either he's either telling the truth, or he's as mad as a sack full of cats, or he's the best damn poker player I've ever met!Am I the crazy one? Dragons! He shook his head, trying to think clearly.

"Mr Bravo?" Suzuki said, "You cannot let that devil woman release that creature on the Production Floor." The explosion had clearly shaken Suzuki, who had gone very pale. "I can't do it on my own, my fighting days are long over! I need your help!"

"I'm sorry, Mr Suzuki, I don't see how it's my problem. I have already made the biggest mistake of my life getting stuck on Solitude, I'm not about to compound that error. In case you hadn't noticed but we have two children with us who we need to get off the island."

Suzuki's expression changed to one of anguish, "The biggest mistake of your life will be to let that woman succeed in what she is doing. You won't have to worry about it for long because if that creature gets free, every living thing on Solitude will be destroyed in a matter of minutes! This bunker won't protect you - nothing will!"

***

Whatever was locked down on the Production Floor it probably wasn't a dragon. Rick had encountered a number of supernatural entities over the years and so was prepared to accept that spirits stalked the Earth. However, accepting that dragons existed was an entirely different proposal - an insane one. Considering that Suzuki had been cooped up on this island for all these years he wasn't really surprised that the crazy old coot was a few slates short of a roof. Then again, looking at a room full of talking skulls, remembering the terrifying pursuit of the blues and the presence of Charlie's friend, he had to accept that there might be something in Suzuki's story. A dragon? No, but perhaps there was something else there. Was it something that he wanted Savanarolova to get away with?

He looked at the children. They both looked scared and exhausted, with deep dark shadows beneath their eyes. Worn out but also resolute. Strong kids they raise in the islands and damn strong ones in London, he thought proudly. They deserve better than this. We have to get them back home and safe.

"I'm sorry, Mr Suzuki. I just can't help you. I have to get the children off this island. Iphigenia, the devil woman, is just going to have to win this one."

"If she wins then we are all dead!" Suzuki spat angrily. "She has to be stopped!"

"With what, Mr Suzuki? She's armed, so is her body-guard and he's a stone cold killer! I am not putting our children at risk!"

It was if Suzuki deflated. The fury in his eyes dimmed and he sagged, sighing, "I am sorry, Mr Bravo. I understand. It is not your fight. I am sorry to have asked so much of you." Utterly defeated, the old man sat down on the edge of one of the crates and absently stroked the scalp of the skull that rested there, calming it, soothing away its distress. "It's all right, Tom, calm yourself. I am here, as always."

Hating himself for deciding on what he knew was the right course of action, Rick felt a momentary pang of regret. Allowing Iphigenia to win one went completely against the grain but there was nothing he could do to stop her. She had the guns, the men and the pure evil to carry out what she wanted.

"Mr Suzuki, we are truly grateful for what you have done for us. When we get back to Tonga we can get help. There's no need for you to be alone anymore."

"It won't matter. It will be too late by then." Suzuki muttered.

"Then come with us!"

"And leave my friends, my family?" Suzuki gestured at the skulls fiercely. "They were abandoned once! Never again!" Abruptly, he stood up and said with forced cheeriness, "I am neglecting my duties as a host. You will want to get on your way. You need to be away from here as quickly as you can before the Confinement Chamber is unsealed. If you get a good start then you might be able to make the shore before the dragon burns its way out. It won't help but at least you'll be away from the janjanbi!"

With that he scuttled from the cemetery. The others followed and found him in an office across the way. He was stuffing packages into two haversacks, "You may need these. Some supplies to keep you going." Eventually he handed one to Rick and one to George saying, "I bear no ill will to you both. If you do escape, please would you get word to my family in Kumamoto City. I must have relatives that live and it may gratify them to know that I always behaved with honour." He paused to think. "Could you wait one moment, Mr Bravo? I will get an address for you." Suzuki led them from the storeroom and gestured for them to wait by the outer entrance. A broken man, he shuffled off down the corridor to yet another door and disappeared within.

***

Poor guy! Charlie thought. A lonely old man left with nothing but lost souls for company. 

He shook his head. Where did that thought come from? It wasn't like him. He had heard much of what Suzuki and his father had talked about but he had discounted much of what had been said. The undead skulls had been alarming at first but he had found them strangely peaceful after a short while. There was immense kindness and self-sacrifice in what Suzuki had done for these abandoned spirits, retrieving them from the forest, taking care of them, ministering to their distress at finding themselves trapped in shattered and deteriorating bodies. It was amazing what you could become used to when your best friend was a ghost himself. He could see that Suzuki would do anything to help those poor dead men. 

Charlie looked at his father and was startled to see that Rick wore a troubled look. Odd, he thought, I would have thought he'd be only too happy to get out of here.

***

After a short while, Suzuki returned. "You will be safe from the janjanbi during daylight, and stay off the mountain. I would not linger though. Once the dragon awakens you will not have much time." A thought seemed to occur to him suddenly and he turned to the children, "Charlie, Carmen, there are two other haversacks in the storeroom that contain diaries, letters and dog-tags that belonged to the men that were killed here. I prepared these in case I ever needed to leave the island. Perhaps you and your honoured fathers could pass them on to their families? Would you go and get them? They are on the table at the back of the room."

Nodding agreement, the children dashed into the storeroom. As they passed through the threshold, Suzuki stepped neatly across to the door, pulled it shut and locked it with a small key that he had concealed in his hand. Quickly turning back to face Rick and George, he backed off from them and slid an automatic pistol out from under his shirt. Rather than quavering in the grip of a feeble old man, the muzzle of the pistol pointed, rock steady directly at the two men.

"I am sorry Mr Bravo, Mr Hala, but you give me no choice about this." Suzuki said grimly.

"What are you doing? Have you gone mad?" shouted Rick. Suzuki had locked in the children and pulled a pistol on them in only a couple of heartbeats. Tired as they were, they had barely registered what had happened until it was far too late.

George started towards Suzuki, growling like a bear deep in the back of his throat. He looked as if he would, or could, tear Suzuki to pieces. The little Japanese backed further away and aimed the pistol directly at George's forehead.

"I will shoot!" he warned, then continued in a fraught tone, "I cannot let that woman do what she wants. She will destroy my friends! You must confront her! The confinement chamber must not be opened."

"Why?" Rick thundered. "What makes you think that you can make George and I do this? Do you really have the heart to hurt us?"

"Hurt you? Kill you? Yes, I would kill you to protect my friends." Suzuki explained. "You have seen what happens here on Solitude. People do not truly die. They simply remain. Is that you want? Do you want to spend eternity here? Do you want your children to join you? I would feel no guilt!"

Rick seethed with frustration. He could feel George's tension. He was like a caged tiger, ready to spring and he did not envy Suzuki if George could find a way to get at him. "Why? Why is it so important?"

"The dragon would burn away everything in the hunt for its prey. It consumes life energy. The lives of animals and plants would suffice but the human souls on Solitude would shine like beacons to it. It would grow fat even on these remnants!" He gestured at the cemetery door. "The dragon must never be set free. As it is confined, so the souls of those who died here must remain too."

"How do you know this? How can you be so sure that will happen?"

"Do you not understand? The janjanbi are tied to the dragon! They are part of its spirit. They consume souls to sustain them and the dragon that sleeps in its cocoon. If released, the janjanbi will reunite with the dragon and it will consume living and dead in a firestorm the like of which has never been seen. Dragonfire does not just obliterate flesh and bone but also the soul! We did not build this bunker just for secrecy but also for safety! If a dragon got loose in the Home Islands it would have devoured millions before it was stopped!"

The store-room door rattled and Charlie and Carmen could be heard calling out, confused and scared by their sudden imprisonment.

"When we found the dragon it was near death. We managed to build this complex because of that. Somehow the janjanbi are connected with the beast and since they escaped I am convinced that over the years they have somehow helped heal the beast in its cocoon. It would explain the strange effect that this complex has on the natural order of ageing and death. It must remain confined! If it is released then it will be able to obliterate everything here in the cemetery - the souls of my friends will only make it more powerful and more voracious. It will become unstoppable! It cannot be allowed to get any stronger!

"Confront the woman! I will make sure that your children are safe! I have made arrangements to get them off the island! You have my word!" Suzuki pressed.

"Trust you? How can we trust you?" Rick protested.

"What other choice do you have?"

  ---

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