“Oh.”
Laja waited until he felt it was safe and then went and looked out through the gap in the door.
“What do you make of that, Laja?” asked Joeum.
“I did have the advantage of being able to hear both sides of the conversation. We’re in the grounds of a sort of holiday park and those empty properties that Clom and Lim came across yesterday, are rented out during the holiday season.”
“Talking of Lim, where is he?” asked Clom.
Laja nodded. “Yes, we have a problem. I guess he went looking for Miar.”
“But that’s not like Lim. Are you sure?” asked Joeum.
“Yes, Joeum, I am and we have to find him. His life could be in danger.”
“We can’t just leave. What if Lim comes back and finds us gone?” said Clom.
“It’s not safe to stay here. Someone is coming to fix the door.”
“Where could Lim have gone?” asked Joeum.
“The farmhouse. You heard the security guy, someone paid them a visit last night and chances are, it was Lim.”
Joeum silently pondered the reality of the situation.
“But Laja, what about your appearance?” said Clom.
“One way or another we have to get to this farmhouse.”
Once Laja confirmed it was safe, they slipped out of the barn and headed along the track in the direction of the farmhouse. They made it to the gate without incident, but up ahead they spotted a red pickup truck.
“Quickly, into the wood,” said Laja.
Joeum led the way and even though this wasn’t the route he’d taken yesterday, he cut a confident path through trees. It turned out to be a far quicker route and they were soon approaching a fence and there in the middle of some open space was the farmhouse.
“There it is,” said Joeum.
“This wasn’t part of the plan, but I want you two to go and investigate that house and try and establish if the late night visitor was Lim."
Checking the coast was clear, Joeum and Clom clambered over the fence and after leaving the cover of the wood, they made a beeline for the house.
For the first time in ages, they wondered how they might look. For starters, Joeum couldn’t remember the last time he’d shaved or bathed for that matter. They probably looked like two homeless people, which was about right, with their clothes, torn and soiled. How could they possibly knock on anyone’s door looking like this, but what option did they have.
They knocked and waited, then knock again, but there was no answer. Joeum felt a little relieved if he was honest.
“Joeum, try the handle.”
“What! We can’t do that.”
“Well I can,” and without hesitation, Clom turned the handle and the door opened.
“Trusting aren’t they.”
“We can’t go in.”
But Clom was already in.
“Hello, anyone home,” called out Clom. There was no answer.
“Clom, let’s not go any further.”
“We have to find Lim.”
“It just doesn’t seem right. This is someone’s home.”
“It’s okay, there’s no one here. Do you think we’ve got time for a wash and grab some supplies?”
“I can’t believe what I’m hearing.”
“Come on, Joeum, we have to eat. I’ll grab a few things and you look around to see if there are any signs that Lim was here.”
Before Joeum had a chance to protest, Clom vanished into the Kitchen. Typical thought Joeum. Clom’s priority was food, then clothes and if they still hadn’t been disturbed, maybe a wash.
Joeum walked through the downstairs rooms, listening to the racket Clom was making in the kitchen and came across something interesting. There was a map on the wall of their location, so he helped himself to this and to some leaflets on the immediate area. He bundled everything into an empty plastic bag that had been thrown in the bin and still feeling uncomfortable about rummaging through someone else's property, he felt ready to leave.
Joeum was back in the hall and there were two carrier bags of items by the front door, but no sign of Clom. There was a bump on the ceiling and Joeum looked up and raised his eyebrows. Then a thump, thump, thump on the stairs and Clom appeared, his arms laden with clothing.
“It looks like we’ve burgled the place.”
“Can you manage one of the bags, Joeum?”
“What are you eating?”
“Don’t know, kind of sweet tasting. Want to try some?”
“No, I want to get out of here. For god’s sake, Clom, sometimes I despair.”
“It’s called survival.”
“No, it’s called stealing. Come on, let’s get back to Laja.”
Lim’s body ached all over. He had spent the night lying in some long grass and he sat up slowly and was surprised to see how close he still was to the house. As he sat there, he heard a door slam and an engine starting up and he ducked back down in the grass. It was a motorised vehicle, but a different type to the one that he and Clom had seen yesterday and Lim stayed low and waited for it to pass.
What had possessed him to take off last night? Thinking he could actually get to the bottom of the issue that they were here as a team to resolve. Lim was angry with himself for having given in to an impulse and he would have some serious work ahead of him to regain the group’s trust. His priority now was to get back to the barn, but his worst fear was that they may have moved on without him.
The main reason for staying out all night was that he had been going around in circles trying to find his way back. In the daylight, things were a lot clearer and he was more confident about the direction of the barn. Lim cut through the wood and was soon back on the dirt track near to where he’d had his accident. His ankle was certainly slowing him down this morning, making the track seem longer.
Lim rounded a bend and was struck by the sight of a circular pattern in the middle of a field of wheat and realised that this was the crop circle they had produced the night they arrived. Parked up alongside the field was the vehicle that had passed him earlier, a red pickup and Lim moved to the side of the track, but it was too late, he had been spotted and he heard someone shouting at him.
Lim took cover behind a tree, only he would have to do better than that as there were now two people running down the track towards him. So much for slipping away quietly and in the hope that he might escape his pursuers; he pushed his way through some bushes. Ignoring the barbed stems tugging at his exposed flesh, he was through to the other side and made a run for it.
He ran as fast as his ankle would let him and even with this handicap he knew they would have a job to catch him. He heard their voices again; distant now and they didn’t seem to be following, so he eased up a little.
He eventually came to a fence and to his relief the barn was on the other side of it. Lim prepared himself for the onslaught of criticism he knew was coming his way, only to squeeze through the gap in the door and find the barn deserted. Lim couldn’t believe it, they really had left without him and he only had himself to blame.
Lim spun around, maybe he could still catch up with them and he squeezed back through the door and stood there trying to get a feel for which direction they may have headed. He heard voices again. It was the same two men and they were closing in on his position. Lim darted up the track in the opposite direction and he could hear them shouting after him, to stop.
At the time he hadn’t thought much of it, but ahead of him, hovering about waist high, was a hazy patch. The hazy patch developed quickly and began to look like a wisp of black smoke and for some reason Lim’s body started to seize up. The more he fought it the more resistance he felt. Lim was working up a sweat in his attempt to break free from these invisible restraints and he staggered a few more paces before his legs finally gave way and he collapsed on the ground.
He could hear the men approaching, but there was nothing he could do. It was like he’d been paralysed and he blacked out.
The two men stood over him. They had the culprit at last and the older of the two identified him as the late night visitor.
“Yes that’s him, look at his clothes; he’s probably been sleeping rough for a while. Do you really think he was solely responsible for what happened in the field?”
“I have no idea, but we’ve got one of them at least.”
“Do you think he’s okay?”
“If he’s been living rough he might be sick. We’ll get him back to your place and if he doesn’t come to in a bit, we’ll call an ambulance.”
“Shouldn’t we call an ambulance anyway?”
“No. We’ll get the police up here and they can take him away. What happens to him after that is up to them.”
The older man signalled his wife to bring the pickup closer and they lifted Lim into the back of it.
Once at the house, their question was answered, he wasn’t working alone and Hilly and Frank were left the job of putting the place back together. Lim was laid out in the spare room and seeing that his condition was stable, a phone call was made and someone would be along to pick him up.
“Frank, I don’t believe it, they’ve taken those new shirts I bought for you.”
“Calm down Hilly, they’re only shirts. They were obviously desperate.”
Seeing how distraught Hilly was becoming, Frank changed the subject. “Did you see the field, one of those crop circle things?”
“I’d like to know how they got in here.”
“We left the door unlocked.”
“Frank you’re not listening again, I mean the security around this place. It doesn’t add up, Frank and that guy in the other room, why do you think he came here last night? What does he want with us?”
Frank hadn’t let on to what the stranger had spoken to him about last night and with good reason. Hilly could easily become confused.
“I don’t know Hilly, but when he wakes up I’m sure he’ll be able to tell us.”
“You were lucky, if his friends were responsible for this then god knows what he could have done to us last night and now he‘s here. Whose idea was that? Didn’t you just say they were desperate?”
“I know what I said, but don’t blow things out of proportion.”
“Well, look at this mess.”
Frank disappeared downstairs. If she thought it was a mess upstairs, then he’d better make a start down here, before she saw it. Frank was almost through tidying the kitchen when he heard Hilly scream. Gone were the days when he could climb stairs two at a time, but he was still pretty nimble.
Hilly was standing on the landing, looking into the spare room and Frank rushed up beside her. Lim was on his feet, but still unstable and leaning against the wardrobe for support.
“It’s okay son, take it easy, we’re here to help. Do you remember, you came around last night?”
Lim didn’t reply.
“Hilly, go put the kettle on and bring us both a hot drink.”
Hilly reluctantly backed away and left the two of them to talk. Frank thought he’d better start somewhere. “My name’s Frank. That was my wife, Hilly and you are?”
The words kind of swam around in Lim’s head for a moment. “My name is Lim.”
“Okay, Lim, why don’t you sit down, Hilly’s gone to get us a drink.”
“What happened?” and as Lim uttered these words he remembered the dark hazy object he’d encountered. “Jesus, they’re here, they’ve found us.”
“Who’s here?” asked Frank.
“The Formless Ones. I’ve got to warn the others.”
“Sit tight, you’re in no fit state to be going anywhere.”
Lim was still finding it difficult to stand, so he sat down on the edge of the bed. “What is this place again?”
“This is a park; we get visitors all the time, except in the winter. We’re about to open again for another season. You’re smack in the middle of a farming project. We experiment in all aspects of farming, crops, fertilisers, alternative energy. That sort of thing.”
“And people like you live here?”
“We, Hilly and I, are here to keep the immediate area tidy, run a few classes and we offer a cheery smile to all our visitors,” Frank revealed a nice set of gleaming white dentures. “There are other people living here who run workshops too. Everyone is assigned a particular job. Retired couples like us get to live out our days away from the smog of the city and we’re well cared for.”
“Sounds idyllic.”
“So what are you doing here?”
Having just encountered a Formless One, Lim went on the defensive. Who could be trusted, but then he’d already suggested he was being pursued. Frank might have been getting on in years, but there was nothing wrong with his hearing.
“It’s a long story. I’m trying to find my friends.”
“I think your friends have already paid us a visit, as there are a number of things that have gone missing.”
“They’ve been here?!”
“Yes. Do you want to tell me about it?”
“They probably came looking for me.”
“Weren’t you looking for a woman last night?”
“I may have been. I’m kind of mixed up at the moment. I really should be going.”
“Did you and your friends make that crop circle?”
“Well, we didn’t actually make it, it just kind of happened.”
“I can tell you that security isn’t happy about it. That crop is part of an ongoing project.”
There was a creak on the bottom stair, it was Hilly on her way back up and Frank looked around as she entered the room.
She was a little more composed now. “How is he?”
“He’s ok. You can talk to him.”
Hilly set the tray down on the bedside table and gave one of the steaming mugs to Lim and he could see her hands shaking a little as she moved closer.
“There you go, be careful it’s hot. Your friends have really messed up the place, you know.”
“It’s okay Hilly, it’s only superficial.”
“All right, I’m going to leave you two now. I guess you’re hungry, I’ll call up when it’s ready.”
Hilly left the bedroom and returned downstairs, while Frank and Lim continued their conversation. Frank was interested to know where Lim and his friends were from and Lim bluffed his way around the question by saying his head was still fuzzy.
“Look, kid, I’ll be honest with you, those security guys aren’t much fun when they’re pissed off. They’ve arranged for the police to come over and pick you up.”
Lim let the words sink in. “Am I free to leave?”
“I’m not going to stop you. Too old for that kind of thing.”
“How much time do I have?”
“Half an hour at the most.”
Lim finished the last of his drink and Frank suggested that he go and take a shower and pick some clothes from the wardrobe.
The hot water felt incredible, and putting on a new set of clothes was like having Christmas and birthday come at once. Something smelt good downstairs and now in a set of freshly laundered clothes, Lim left the bedroom and turned onto the stairs, only there was a surprise waiting. Two unfamiliar faces were looking up at him.
“Looks like you’re ready to come with us.”
Laja looked somewhat bewildered when he saw the items Clom had bundled into the carriers.
“Were you planning on camping in these woods for a week?”
“Well, no, but.”
They were just contemplating their next move, when from the cover of the wood they saw a red pickup drive up to the house.
“That’s the one we saw earlier,” said Joeum.
“Are they in for a surprise,” chuckled Clom.
And as it turned out, so were they, because Lim was lifted out of the pickup and taken into the house.
“Oh my god,” said Clom. “What have they done to him?”
Soon after Lim had been taken into the house, someon
e returned back outside, jumped in a car and sped away.
Clom was working his way through a large packet of potato crisps, while Joeum was studying the map he’d borrowed.
“We can’t leave him here, who knows what they might do to him,” said Clom.
“We can’t just burst in either,” said Laja. “What does the map tell us, Joeum?”
“That this is some kind of farming project and we’re on an island.”
“An island!” said Clom, over a mouthful of crisps.
Joeum knew this island from his youth and they weren’t that far from a town, but Clom was right, they had to rescue Lim first.
“What are we waiting for?” said Clom.
Laja was quiet, gazing thoughtfully towards the farmhouse. He had other things on his mind and his appearance was one of them.
While they had been debating their next move, a light came on in one of the first floor rooms.
“What’s happening?” asked Clom.
He was like a greyhound at the start of a race and looking at the amount of fizzy drink he’d washed down with the crisps, it was hardly surprising.
“There’s movement,” said Laja.
Clom’s attention snapped back to the rectangle of light and there was Lim, moving around casually.
“Looks like he’s making himself at home,” said Joeum. “Maybe these people are helping him after all.”
“Which means it’s probably safe for us to head over.”
“It could also be a trap,” said Laja. “So, for now, we’re staying put.”
Clom was still chomping at the bit, but what could he do. So they waited.
Laja hoped that Lim might leave on his own accord, but after half an hour there had been no further developments and Laja was about ready to send the two of them back over to the house.
“We’re too late,” said Clom. “We should have acted sooner. Look, here come the reinforcements.” A cloud of dust appeared some distance up the road. A vehicle was approaching.
Laja turned to Joeum. “Okay, I want the two of you to go back to the house and get Lim out.”
“So we’re going in after all?” questioned Clom.
“The situation has changed and we have to act now and quickly.”
Alliance Page 18