Creation- The Auditor’s Apprentice

by Frank Stonely

  ‘Nine hours till when?’ Tanka asked.

  ‘Till Haamiah extracts this universe.’

  ‘Shit! Why didn’t you say something last night?’

  ‘Because I wasn’t convinced who you were, or who’s side you were on.’

  ‘That’s something we still don’t know,’ Daniel tossed in.

  As Amy recounted the outcome of her presentation, Mrs. Perkins began to look physically ill. ‘So, Hedrick sent you?’ she trembled.

  ‘No, he doesn’t know we’ve left Creation.’

  Daniel looked across at Tanka, ‘I told you, you’re on the losing side.’ Suddenly, Amy lunged at Tanka, throwing her arms around Mrs. Perkins’ neck as the whole building shook violently. The dressing table danced across the floor with the vibration and the TV detached itself from the wall, shattering as it hit the floor. Daniel lost his balance and fell back onto the bed as the sound of breaking china and crashing pans came up through the floor from the kitchen below. The ancient building creaked and moaned as its oak frame absorbed the shockwave of what they assumed was an earthquake. As the vibration subsided, a blanket of silence fell over the village. The three passed glances, waiting for more tremors to rock the building. Then the faint sound of screaming could be heard, quickly followed by voices shouting in the street below. Amy let go of Tanka and ran to the window, pressing her face flat against the glass as she tried to see what had happened. Below, people were now running down Main Street in the direction of the village green. ‘What in Creation was that?’ Daniel said as he joined Amy at the window.

  ‘Haamiah is here!’ Tanka said, visibly shaking.

  ‘I need your car keys.’ Daniel replied holding out his hand. Tanka reached into Mrs. Perkins’ apron pocket and produced a bunch of keys. Daniel snatched them from her hand and, grasping Amy by the wrist, made for the bedroom door.

  Hand in hand, they ran down the stairs, through the back lobby, and into the beer garden. The building seemed relatively unscathed with only a few shattered roof tiles lying scattered across the car park. As they got in to Mrs Perkins’ Smart Car, Daniel started the engine, ‘How do you know what to do?’ Amy said, instinctively pulling the seat belt across her lap.

  ‘You just relax and let your host do the stuff. The important thing is not to fight it.’ He drove out of the car park and turned right onto Main Street. About fifty metres away a crowd had gathered in front of the war memorial. Daniel drove slowly towards them, navigating around the large pieces of debris strewn across the road. Peering through the crowd he could see what was left of the war memorial, now buried beneath a huge flat metal structure. It was about ten metres long and appeared to be made of aluminium with strengthening ribs running down its length. Electrical wires and pipes protruded from its ragged and torn edges, as did the legs of John, the village postman, who had been walking past at the time of impact.

  Daniel lowered his window and called out to the vicar, ‘What’s happened?’

  ‘It’s a calamity, Daniel’ the vicar said, speaking through the open window. ‘It looks like part of an aircraft’s wing has fallen off. It hit the memorial just as poor John was passing. He’s trapped underneath and we’re trying to get him out but… it doesn’t look good. We can only pray that the plane didn’t crash.’

  ‘Can we help?’ Amy asked.

  ‘Thank you, Sally, but there’s nothing we can do until the emergency services arrive.’ As the vicar spoke, one of the men frantically digging with only his hands called out, causing a woman standing amongst the onlookers to scream and fall to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. The vicar turned and ran across the road to join the group consoling the postman’s wife.

  Heading for the Ground Station, Daniel drove through the narrow winding lanes at breakneck speed, throwing Amy from side to side in her seat. As they rounded the final bend a police car came into view, blocking the road, its blue lights flashing. Daniel stamped on the brake and the Smart Car slid to a halt. He reversed back around the corner and parked the car in the entrance to a field. He switched the engine off and turned to Amy, ‘Are you okay?’

  ‘I think so,’ she said, rubbing her shoulder. ‘Do you think they saw us?’ Daniel didn’t reply. He got out of the car and walked back to the road. Peering around the end of a hedge, he looked up the hill towards the Ground Station. Opposite the entrance was an assortment of randomly parked emergency vehicles, lights flashing, as police officers, firemen and paramedics rushed back and forth. Daniel returned to the car and, opening the passenger door, silently beckoned Amy to get out and follow him. They made their way along the inside edge of the field, creeping up towards the Ground Station. They were two fields away and their view was blocked by a row of trees planted to form a windbreak. It wasn’t until they stepped between the trees that they saw the devastation. The field in front of them was strewn with debris, ranging from sections of the roof and walls to recognisable items from the kitchen and workshop. All that was left of the building was the outline of its foundation with the occasional section of wall standing heroically amongst the rubble.

  ‘The drone must have exploded.’ Daniel said, grabbing Amy’s hand and starting to retrace their steps back to the car, ‘Let’s get out of here before we’re spotted.’

  As they approached the entrance to the field, a police officer was standing by their car making a note of its registration number. ‘Is there a problem, officer?’ Daniel asked confidently.

  ‘Well, that’s for you to tell me, sir, or should I say Technician Daniel 42.’

  Amy rushed forward, ‘Ravi! Ravi! Is that you?’ The officer smiled and she threw her arms around his shoulders and hugged him.

  ‘Yes, but I’m a bit confused about that. Everybody keeps calling me Sergeant Rogers,’ he said, smiling over Amy’s shoulder at Daniel.

  The Land Cruiser’s wheels were struggling against the incline when the shockwave struck. Anubis fought with the steering wheel as the whole mountainside started to move, the scree, flowing like an avalanche, carrying the vehicle back down the slope until it grounded on a rocky outcrop. The clatter of tumbling rocks striking the body slowly subsided until the only sounds were the idling engine and the wind whistling through the projector arms strapped to the roof rack. Anubis looked across at Orion, ‘What the fuck was that?’

  Orion strained to look through the rear window, ‘I don’t know… but just for a moment I thought the angels had arrived.’

  ‘Shit! Don’t say that.’

  ‘But we’re still sitting here, so I figure it was just some sort of seismic activity. What do they call it, an earthquake? Don’t forget this planet’s relatively young and still cooling down.’

  ‘I hope you’re right, the last thing we want are fucking angels turning up. But try warning me next time.’

  ‘It’s not quite as simple as that.’

  ‘Nothing ever is with you poltergeists.’

  They sat in silence waiting for the aftershocks that never arrived, and then, after ten minutes, Anubis selected drive and coaxed the four-by-four to start climbing again.

  When they reached the plateau, Anubis parked the vehicle by the cavern entrance and turned off the engine. He had made the journey several times, forging a new route on each occasion so as not to create a track that would give away their location. ‘You start unloading and I’ll go and open the door,’ he said, jumping out and walking towards a vertical gash in the rock face. Inside, it was damp and almost dark. He took what looked like a small remote control from his pocket and pressed its round orange button. From nowhere a large concealed door started to swing open revealing a brightly lit chamber, so clean inside it could have been an operating theatre. Lining the walls were metal racks loaded with electrical equipment, tools and supplies. Anubis walked to the workbench set against the rear wall and started to clear some space for the drone’s components.

  He turned to see Orion entering the chamber, a line of levitating drone projectors following him, ‘Do you think that had anything to do w
ith us?’ he asked.

  ‘I’m not sure. Maybe we’re just being paranoid about Abraxas arriving,’ Anubis replied, taking the projectors from the air and placing them carefully on the workbench.

  It took several trips before the dismantled drone and the other equipment they had brought were safely stowed away. The Gatekeeper returned for the last time, followed by three levitating tool chests which positioned themselves perfectly on their allocated shelves. Anubis was sat at the desk by the workbench arranging the papers from his briefcase into two neat piles, each of which was topped with a passport. ‘Which one’s mine?’ the Gatekeeper asked. Anubis picked up the first set of documents and handed them to Orion. The passport was in the name of José Santiago, a Spanish petrochemical engineer who was to be the Gatekeeper’s new host. Beneath this was an airline ticket for a return flight to JFK in New York from Heathrow Airport, London. The final item was a dossier with the name José Santiago written across its cover. Inside, attached to the paperwork, was a photograph of a young man dressed in overalls and a hi-viz jacket, standing on the deck of an oil production platform. Orion studied the picture, ‘Is this the best you could come up with?’ he said, ‘He looks as though he should still be in pre-academy.’

  ‘He might be young but he’ll get you to America.’ Anubis said, checking through his own papers as he spoke. The passport was British and the ticket was for a vehicle and passenger to travel through the Channel Tunnel from Folkestone to Calais in France. Attached to the ticket was a Google-Maps printout showing the route he would drive from Calais to CERN. He slid the documents into his jacket inside pocket. ‘Have you got everything you need for your flight?’ he said to Orion, who was examining the contents of his pilot’s case.

  ‘Apart from the paperwork, I’ve got some personal stuff, four pairs of boxer shorts, two pairs of socks, two T-shirts, a toothbrush and a couple of chocolate bars. But this all seems a terrible waste of time; I could be at NASA in the blink of an eye, if I didn’t have to cart this body around!’ Orion was pulling at the lapel of his human host’s jacket.

  ‘That’s exactly what Haamiah wants. While you’re in that body she can’t detect you, but the second you leave it she’ll sense your presence and that will be the end of everything.’ Orion shuddered at the thought of an encounter with Haamiah. As they walked out of the cavern Anubis pressed the orange button on the remote and the chamber’s door started to close. Once in position it would have taken a microscopic examination of the rock face to discover its location. They walked out across the plateau to the Land Cruiser and climbed in. Anubis started the engine and turning to Orion said, ‘Have we forgotten anything?’

  ‘I don’t think so.’

  ‘Then let’s get on with it.’ He released the parking brake and let gravity start their descent.

  26

  Deep Impact

  Daniel drove Amy back to the village in silence, with Sergeant Rogers following behind in his police car, the blue lights still flashing. As they approached the church a large mobile crane came into view, its outstretched jib lifting the metal section of roofing that had been thrown from the Ground Station. Rescue vehicles and ambulances now lined Main Street and a small crowd of villagers stood quietly watching the grim process of recovering the postman’s pulverised body. As they approached the harrowing scene, the vicar stepped out from the crowd and raised his hand. Daniel stopped and lowered the driver’s window. ‘We’re having a service for John this evening, Sally, and I was hoping you and your mother would join us. John’s wife is going to need all the support we can give her.’ He then glanced at Daniel, and as an afterthought said, ‘and you’d be more than welcome too, Daniel.’

  ‘Of course we will be there, Vicar. What time will the service start?’ Amy said.

  ‘Mr. Stevens is going to toll the church bell at seven thirty.’ As the vicar paused to take breath, Daniel released the brake pedal and drove the car away.

  ‘Why in Creation did you say that?’ he snapped at Amy, ‘We haven’t got time to get involved with their morbid rituals.’

  ‘I said it, Daniel, because that’s what he’d have expected Sally to say. Unlike some of us, I’m trying to keep a low profile!’ she snapped back.

  As he turned into the pub car park, Daniel glanced in the rear view mirror. Sergeant Rogers was no longer following them, his car had joined the other emergency vehicles opposite what was left of the war memorial. Daniel parked the car and turned off the engine. Amy was sat motionless, arms crossed, staring through the windshield. ‘Look, we can’t get involved with these creatures, Amy. We have to stay focused on getting ourselves back to Creation.’ Amy didn’t reply, so Daniel got out of the car, slammed the door closed, and walked into the back lobby entrance. She watched him disappear through the doorway, expecting him to turn at any moment and come back for her. She sat waiting for two or three minutes, her irritation growing then, with a curse, she flung the car door open and followed Daniel into the pub.

  As she entered the back lobby she could hear raised voices coming from the kitchen, she stopped outside the door and listened. ‘That was no ordinary explosion, Tanka,’ Daniel snarled, ‘Anubis and the Gatekeeper have disappeared, the Ground Station is just a pile of rubble, and Creation knows where the drone is. Don’t you get it? You’re on your own and they don’t give a shit about you. You’re just their fall guy.’ Amy stood motionless, waiting for Tanka's response, resisting the urge to push open the kitchen door. Daniel continued, but this time using a more sympathetic tone, ‘Listen, we could be stuck here for years before Hedrick finds us. If we’re going to get back to Creation we’ve got to pull together, there’s no other choice. If you help us, I’m sure they’ll go easy on you.’

  ‘Don’t patronise me,’ Tanka growled, staring menacingly at Daniel. ‘You really think Haamiah’s going to forgive and forget? Not a chance! And you know it. If Amy hadn’t stuck her snout in where it wasn’t wanted, none of this would have happened.’ Although the body speaking was that of Mrs. Perkins, the words came from a resentful and embittered Tanka and, as she spoke, her body seemed to take on his appearance, becoming hunched and distorted.

  Amy barged the kitchen door open, ‘Don’t you go blaming all of this on me, Tanka,’ she said. ‘If you hadn’t got involved with Anubis-’ Amy’s rebuke was interrupted by a loud thump coming from the bar. Aa all three stood in silence, there came the sound of crunching glass and furniture being moved. Amy grabbed Daniel’s arm tightly, driving Sally’s long manicured nails into his skin.

  ‘It’s a poltergeist! They’ve sent a poltergeist.’ Tanka whispered.

  Daniel put his finger to his lips, ‘Shhh.’ Then came the distinctive squeak of the bar door opening. Amy’s grip on Daniel’s arm tightened, forcing him to groan under his breath. The kitchen’s swing-door started to move and then settled back, pushed by the displaced air from the opening bar door. Together they took a step back as the floorboards in the back lobby started to creak. Daniel turned and, reaching across the stainless steel food counter, picked up a large chef’s knife. Taking his lead, Tanka grabbed the meat cleaver from the butcher’s block behind her. The door twitched again and then slowly started to open. Daniel drew back his knife, beads of sweat running down his forehead. When the gap was wide enough, he thrust the knife around the edge of the door, plunging it into whatever was trying to enter the kitchen. He let go of the knife’s handle and stepped back to protect Amy. Tanka stood, transfixed, with the meat cleaver held high above Mrs Perkins’ head.

  ‘Ehhhh,’ came from behind the door as Sergeant Rogers fell to his knees and then pushing the door open slumped face down onto the kitchen floor.

  ‘RAVI!’ Amy screamed, pushing passed Daniel and kneeling down next to the police officer. Daniel joined her and, reaching out, carefully rolled Ravi over onto his back. The sergeant’s uniform was soaked in blood, the knife having passed through his ribs and into his heart.

  Amy went to pull it out. ‘It’s too late,’ Tanka said, placi
ng a hand on Amy’s shoulder. Sergeant Rogers lay still, his eyes open, his gargled breathing becoming weaker with every breath.

  Daniel turned and looked up at Tanka, ‘Is Ravi okay?’

  ‘THE ESSENCE!’ Tanka shouted, ‘His essence, it’s going to leak out!’

  ‘Oh SHIT!’ Daniel said, realizing that the moment Ravi’s essence left Sergeant Rogers’ body, every alien entity on the planet would know exactly where they were. The sergeant’s breathing stopped and Daniel looked up at Tanka, ‘What shall we do?’

  ‘Get the fuck out of here!’ Tanka said, stepping over the body and pushing open the kitchen door.

  ‘Look!’ Amy shouted, shaking Daniel’s arm.

  He looked down at the corpse, which now had a yellow glow about it, ‘Go! Go! Go!’ he shouted, pushing Amy through the kitchen door to follow Mrs Perkins who was now running through the back lobby. As Daniel left the kitchen he glanced back. Ravi’s essence had coalesced and shone like a star in the middle of the police officer’s chest. Soon all three were running across the car park towards Mrs. Perkins’ car. Tanka pulled the driver’s door open and jumped in, fumbling with the keys to start the engine. Slamming the gear shift into reverse, she stamped on the accelerator pedal. The car was moving as Daniel jumped into the passenger’s seat, pulling Amy in through the door and onto his lap. As they careered onto Main Street, Amy screamed, convinced that the car was going to roll over. Daniel braced himself against the door post and, wrapping his arms around her waist, held her tight as they sped from the village.

  As he walked back to his office, Hedrick was in two minds as to whether Abraxas would be able to help Amy without Haamiah finding out. He had not slept a wink the previous night, his mind awash with the peril Amy could encounter. He cursed himself for being so abrupt with her; it was the same intransigence that had sent his daughter into the night, never to be seen again. His unrest had woken Kassia, and they had lain together trying to rationalise the guilt that had haunted him for decades.