by Paul Vayro
Chapter Twenty
Brick peered around the pile of breeze blocks he’d chosen to hide behind, unsure exactly why he felt nervous. Spiritwind had opted for the pile next to his friend, all his thoughts focused on the next meal. Fate and his fellow concepts had scattered throughout the third floor of ‘Godstones’ latest urban development scheme, or half finished block of flats on the edge of Puddleton if you believe a label should accurately describe its object. Some of the concepts stood in pairs, others alone. Only Motivation jogged on the spot.
The top two floors of the building were still girders reaching to the air, the walls were completely absent on every floor. It gave the cowering group ample view of Danger, standing at the gates to the site. She glared up, searching for movement to focus her attention on. When none could be found she began skipping along the site’s border, singing playfully without a care in the world, occasionally stopping to search once more. The menace in her eyes was unmistakeable and could be felt in all its intensity, except by Brick who still wasn’t convinced she was anything to fear.
“Why are we hiding? There’s nine of us and one of her. And she’s small. My sister could take her out with a sigh.” Brick aired his bravado.
“You haven’t got a sister.” Spiritwind poked a gaping hole in the statement.
“A valid point, but if I did have a sister this Danger girl would be in trouble.”
“Sssssssh.” Fate sent a request for quiet from behind the unmixed cement he lay behind.
“Did you hear something?” Brick turned to Spiritwind in response to the shushing.
“I heard a distinct shushing noise.”
Before either had chance to open an investigation, Fate made his way silently across to the pair. “Will you two keep quiet.”
“Hello again. Have you heard a shushing noise?” Brick both welcomed and queried Fate in one swift sentence.
“I shushed.” Fate spoke in an accentuated whisper. “You need to keep quiet.”
“Quiet. Why? She’ll never hear us up here. Even if she does, what can a little girl do from down there?” Brick spoke without any care for his volume. Danger continued to skip nonchalantly, all the time trying to pinpoint the murmuring that reached her ears.
“I’ll show you what she can do.” Fate felt a demonstration was needed. “Put this on.” Fate slapped a construction helmet on Brick’s head.
“Wait a…How did you move that?” Brick had an equal number of questions and concerns running across his puzzled face.
“Let’s call it magic for the time being. Hold this too.” Fate handed Brick a stick.
“As much as I appreciate the stick, I’m not sure I like the need for protective headgear and a weapon to prove a point. Actually after brief consideration I’m absolutely sure I don’t like it.”
“You should have heeded my warning to be quiet then. Raise your arms.” Fate took on a sense of efficiency he usually saved for special occasions.
“I don’t think I want to. You know the friendly first impression you made is quickly being replaced by an underlying meanness.” Brick continued to protest.
“Just lift.” Brick’s arms rose without any conscious intention from him. Fate peered down towards Danger. “Wave them around a little.” Fate sneaked a second glance before stepping back. Danger focused unwaveringly on the stick.
“I really don’t see what this is prov….” The sentence remained incomplete as a number of power tools fell from the top of the breeze blocks Brick stood beneath. They struck the curious human with a sense of intent. Brick stared upwards, bleary eyed and point fully proved. “How is that fair retribution for waving a stick?”
“It isn’t about retribution, for that you need to heed Karma. And that thing down there isn’t a little girl. She’s an employee of the Earth and her job it is to exploit dangerous situations. Those tools were precariously placed and merely awaiting a victim."
“But she looks like such a sweet and innocent girl.” Brick continued to chase his focus around the room.
“Of course she does. How else would she get close enough to people to do her job? If she was eight feet tall with razors for eyes and sharks for teeth everyone would flee and protect themselves the moment she turned up.” Fate felt satisfied Brick had got the message.
“One entire shark per tooth?” Spiritwind needed clarification before creating a mental image of the razor eyed version of Danger.
“Sorry?” Fate wasn’t prepared for interrogation on such a flippant comment.
“I was just thinking, if she did have one entire shark per tooth she’d have to keep her mouth filled with saltwater to keep them alive. Not only would the taste be abhorrent but it would leave her unable to wield her weapon for fear of suffocating it. I’m fairly sure a mouth full of dead sharks would taste worse than a mouth full of saltwater.” Fate had no answer for Spiritwind’s query and turned to Brick.
“Would you care to resume your hiding position now?”
“I think I would.” Fate turned away, leaving Brick sat with his back against the breeze blocks, power tools littering the floor around him. Spiritwind crouched next to him with a toffee apple in hand. His emergency supplies continued to reveal themselves as he tried to make his friend feel better.
“I thought it was a perfectly reasonable question to ask.”
“So why didn’t you ask it?” Brick removed the helmet and felt for lumps.
“I knew curiosity would get the better of you first. I wanted to see what would happen before risking it.”
“And now that you’ve seen?” Brick checked again for lumps in case he missed one.
“I’m fully satisfied with the answer.” Spiritwind stood once more as Brick came to terms with the fact he wasn’t that badly injured and could gain no points for heroic wounds. He found the construction helmet had become immovable again after placing it down. He took the revelation in his stride. It was proving to be a day where anything could happen and be fully justified.
Spiritwind kept an eye on Danger as the other concepts amused themselves behind their respective piles. Fut closed his eyes and drew comfort from the bricks he rested against, Fate tried to avoid the evil eye Karma had fixed upon him, Irony continually glanced at Coincidence although whenever he reciprocated she turned away and cursed her inner feelings, They sat scribbling something on a slip of paper and running ideas across his face, whilst Motivation did sit ups.
Danger repeatedly approached the gateway to the building site, each time stopping as the huge signs warned of her presence. She cursed the air and kicked the floor before continuing to skip. The pattern went on for a while until she stopped and turned hurriedly to her right. Her curiosity became bravado then quickly retreated into sheepishness. Peering in to the distance she made a snap decision and turned and ran away. Spiritwind observed all this in silence, only speaking when the object that had caused the fuss appeared at the gates. It was Zarg.
“This is getting very interesting. Brick. Could you stand up a second and tell me what you can see?”
“I’ve just got comfy?” Brick perched on a bag of sand while leaning at a specific angle.
“It’ll be worth it.”
“If it isn’t I want a full apology, in writing.” Brick struggled to his feet. If he put as much effort into the mission as he put into looking in pain the adventure would be finished by now. “I don’t think I’ll need that apology.” Brick forgot to act in agony as the sight of Zarg struck him.
“Would you care to confirm what you see?” Spiritwind wished to hear the words out loud.
“A stereotypical 1950’s movie alien walking through Puddleton.” Brick obliged.
“I’m glad you said that.”
“That’s what I see too.” Fate chirped up from behind the pair. Sensing Danger had left he approached the duo to watch the next chapter of the day unfold.
“You’re a very good sneaker upper Fate. Ever considered a career in hide and seek?” Brick kept his eyes on Zarg as he sp
oke.
“Hide and seek?” Fate’s perplexed expression didn’t have chance to become a further question as Brick had one of his own.
“That’s an alien, right?”
“It may be.” Fate was intentionally elusive.
“And it has something to do with the Earth being frozen in time?”
“It may do.”
“You do know you’re not actually answering my questions?” Brick continued to probe.
“I may well.” Fate threw in a little of his own humour.
“That would be very funny if we weren’t in such a serious situation.” Brick aimed for the moral high ground.
“It’s your job to work these things out.” Fate couldn’t be sure if he’d just been insulted or not.
“Job?” Brick turned round outraged. “We’ve got the day off we don’t have a job today.”
“You did ring work didn’t you? You weren’t pretending again?” Spiritwind felt obliged to check.
“I’m wounded by your distrust. Of course I did. I’ve never been caught for the same sack-able offence twice and I don’t intend to start now.”
“Not your cover jobs, your actual jobs.” Fate used all the head twitches and nods he knew to suggest to them that they knew what he meant. He could sense Irony listening in and needed to keep up the charade that he believed Brick and Spiritwind were the genuine heroes of the planet.
“Are you okay, Fate? Are you about to have some kind of fit?” Brick tried to remember the first aid course he’d missed.
“Your destiny, the mysterious purpose you’ve always felt inside but never been able to express. This is it. This is what all that training was for.” Fate almost dislocated his spine with all the suggestive moving. The spectacle had attracted the other concepts. They all stood within listening distance of the exchange.
“If I pretend to know what you’re talking about will you stop twitching?” Brick had nothing else to offer except a puzzled face and a paper clip that had been in his pocket for months.
“You are the inbuilt defence system of the Earth, trained from birth in all weaponry, martial arts, vehicular control, general warfare and tactics. Two men ready to stand side by side in the face of all adversity. When humanity is threatened you will evade the initial attack and raise an army larger in spirit than numbers in order to conquer the enemy.” Fate turned to the concepts for support. Irony had a sneer to accompany everyone else’s empty faces.
“So you want us to save the Earth?” Brick shortened the speech.
“It is your destiny.” Fate was convincing nobody.
The duo shared a glance containing various subtle angular movements of the eyes and mouth before turning back to the concepts. “Okay then.” The reply came in unison.
“Okay then?” Fate didn’t know what had happened.
“We’ll do it. We’ll save the Earth.” Brick continued as spokesperson.
“Excellent news.” Joy had never been expressed with such little feeling. “Isn’t that excellent news?” Fate looked for support from his fellow concepts. Only murmurs came back. The inbuilt defence system weren’t supposed to need asking. They would know instantly the path in life they had been following had been a lie and that all along a mission had been waiting. Simply telling them the Earth was in peril would be enough to send them in to a flurry of plans and activity. As it was Brick turned back to the town and Spiritwind saluted the discovery of a pork pie in his back pocket.
Coincidence approached his brother as the rest of the concepts went back to amusing themselves. Irony and Karma retreated to a corner to discuss how Fate had ruined everything, They continued working on his notes, and Fut continued contemplating whatever he’d been contemplating. Motivation had been oblivious to everything since finding an exposed girder that worked perfectly as a pull up bar.
“Maybe we should just tell everyone the truth?” Coincidence ensured nobody could overhear.
“No. Not yet.” Fate bit his finger with an air of concern. “I’d never hear the end of it. Anyway these two may be able to do it.” The two concepts looked back at the Earthlings as Brick got his finger wedged beneath a breeze block. Spiritwind’s assistance came in the form of laughter. “We’ll just have to give them a little extra guidance.”
“I’ll go with whatever you decide. I feel partly to blame after all.”
“Partly?”
“Let’s not get in to that now. Come on.” Coincidence ushered his brother back towards the heroes.
“So. Any plans forming?” Fate queried the pair as Brick’s finger popped out of its concrete trap.
“I’m thinking of becoming your manager and introducing you to the hide and seek world tour. You’re amazing. That’s the third time you’ve crept up on me without the slightest sound.” Brick strayed off topic once more.
“We can discuss that after the mission. The mission we really should begin.”
“Right. Yes, the mission. Spiritwind. Would you care to inform Fate of the plan we have been working on.” It was clearly the first Spiritwind had heard of such a thing.
“The plan? It was your idea you should explain it.” Spiritwind placed the ball back in Brick’s court with a side bowl of chips and dips.
“You’re too modest. It was as much his work…..”
“Could somebody just tell us the plan?” Fate spoke with residual annoyance from the mix up over the hero’s identities. Spiritwind could see Brick had nothing and took responsibility.
“We should…” Spiritwind started the sentence in the hope something would fill in the rest. Luckily inspiration was on hand. “…form an away team from this group, of say four people, to go out and capture the alien we saw walking past. Then bring him back and interrogate him. Based on the information we gather we will plan the next step.”
“You thought we had nothing didn’t you? It’s alright to admit it.” Brick cashed in some of Spiritwind’s rightful smug.
“We don’t judge. But that’s a very good plan.” Fate shared a nod with Coincidence. It was fairly standard procedure in such a situation but as they weren’t trained it was an impressive start. It eased Fate’s worries for at least the immediate future.
Fate gathered the rest of the concepts and informed them of the plan. Fut instantly volunteered himself for the mission along with Fate. The rest of the concepts were happy with the arrangement and returned to their various activities, all except Coincidence.
“I was thinking, before you go do you think you could encourage some people not to be so active.” Coincidence’s eyebrow singled out Motivation for attention.
“I’ll do better than that.” Fate strolled across to Motivation who hung upside from the girder doing sit ups.
“32….33….Hello Fate….35…..36….How are…..37….you?”
“I’m fine. Just wondering if I could have a quick word?” Fate was unclear on the rules of etiquette for conversing during a person’s workout. Do you even attempt to hold eye contact?
“Of……40…course….41…”
“Would you be able to come down while we have it?”
She leapt down and began jogging on the spot. “How can I help?”
“Are you going to do that throughout? I guess you are. Thing is, Motivation, I need somebody to do a very important mission for me.”
She stopped running to do a star jump and full spin every tenth step. “I’m the girl for the job. Just ask.”
“I need somebody to change every clock they can find to ten to ten.” Fate didn’t entirely know where the idea had come from. It had popped into his head mid sentence.
“Okay.”
“Every clock.”
“Sounds great. Should I go now?”
“Do you not want to know why?” Fate felt it was going far too easily.
“Don’t mind.”
“I thought it would drive the conspiracy theorists nuts.” He awaited a chuckle or even a smirk. Any sign of appreciation at his wit.
“Okay. Should I st
art?”
“I suppose so.” He was clearly going to get nothing.
“Bye then.” Motivation unlocked the mental brake that had kept her on the spot and flew through the third floor, waving as she went. Fate followed, at a far slower pace, collecting Fut on the way. The pair presented themselves to Brick and Spiritwind.
“Shall we go then?” Fate was eager to get started.
“We need a team name first.” Brick wished to sort out the admin.
“Team A?” Fate’s name was brilliantly understated.
“Team A? That’s rubbish. I was thinking Team Rhino, or Dragon Biscuit.” Brick had his own ideas.
“I like Fate’s subtle name.” Spiritwind merely wished to wind up Brick.
“How about you, Fut?” Brick searched for support.
“Success comes from the mind not the label. I’m cool whatever we fly with.”
“Team A it is.” Spiritwind confirmed the title.
“How?” Brick wanted a recount.
“Two for, one against, and one undecided. It’s simple democracy.”
“Now hold on….” The debate continued as the team headed out and into the frozen world beyond the building site. Phase one of the mission had begun, phase two hoped it would get the same chance.
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