“On it,” an unfamiliar voice responded.
“Where is it?” Harper yelled.
Ash’s door burst open. A man in a helmet and black combat suit scanned the room, an assault rifle at his side. Ash could hear Marissa sobbing in the room next door.
“Good in here,” the combat suited man said, followed by similar comments from other gruff sounding people.
“Someone stole my watch,” Harper cried. “I want it back, now!”
“A watch?” Reece said. “Christ kid… I thought… thought we were being attacked! You screamed like that over a watch?”
* * * * * *
Ash sat in Reece’s office, his shoulders slumped and his head hanging forwards. He couldn’t understand how the watch had ended up in his luggage. Reece pinched the brow of his nose, sighed and shook his head.
“So, you don’t know how it got there?” He repeated.
“No,” Ash said, feeling guilty even though he knew he’d done nothing wrong. He felt ashamed and humiliated. His head ached. How could the world be so amazing one moment and so pus-ridden the next? “I promise, I didn’t take it.”
“Your file,” Reece said picking up a plastic wallet full of papers and dropping it onto the desk, “is thicker than all the others, mostly for the wrong reasons.”
“I didn’t take it,” Ash defended. “Honestly, I didn’t.”
“The day of the train accident,” Reece continued, “you assaulted someone. Mr Yamamoto sent me footage, so don’t try and deny it. You were only let off because you saved a lot of people that night. A lot of people pulled a lot of strings to make that footage disappear. I know you’re a good kid, Ash. I know you’re better than that video and most of what’s in this,” he said, tapping the plastic wallet.
Ash groaned. He felt like the energy was draining from his core. He couldn’t look Reece in the eye. He trembled as he tried to hold back the tears. No matter how hard he tried, he’d never be able to escape the rotten part inside that kept trying to break out and ruin his life. Maybe it wasn’t just a rotten part. Maybe he was mostly bad with only a small good part.
“You’re a hero, Ashley,” Reece said, stooping down and trying to catch Ash’s eye. “You’re a good person.”
“I’m not a bloody hero!” Ash snapped, sniffing back the tears that were seriously close to breaking free. “I hurt that man. I’ve done lots bad. I wanna be better. I’m trying. I’ve been trying so hard, for so long, but I keep messing up.”
“I know you have,” Reece said softly. “Your file also shows an acceptance letter to work as a Commis chef at the Intercontinental Hotel in London. That’s a big deal. I couldn’t work out why you’d commit a violent crime on the eve of such success…”
“I’m a b… bad person. I can’t stop myself,” Ash said, his lips trembling.
“No,” Reece said, leaning forwards and locking eyes with Ash. “You’re a good person, one of the best. The only reason you would’ve risked all that is to help someone, like your little brother, perhaps. Mr Yamamoto is a very good judge of character. He thinks the world of you. I don’t believe you took the watch. Is what I do believe, is that you have more courage and fight than most people I’ve ever met. With the life you’ve led, with all that’s been going against you, all those hurdles, you’ve forged through it all and come out on top. That’s inspirational. A lot of us see what you can be. You need to start believing it yourself.”
“I d… don’t know how,” Ash said, wiping away a tear rolling down his cheek. “I’m scared all the time, of everything. It’s so hard.”
“We’re all scared, buddy. I’m scared every day, of many things. When I was your age, I got into trouble all the time. Sometimes, those of us with big dreams can’t be contained or harnessed. So long as you fight against the darkness, you’ll achieve amazing things, like you already have, like I know you will.”
Someone knocked on the door and entered the room. Ash turned away. He sniffed and wiped his eyes on his sleeve.
“How you holding up, Ash?” Becca said.
“He’s doing fine,” Reece said. “So, you want to change the plans today. You wanna take out Big Yellow?”
“The weather’s perfect,” Becca said. “If we leave it a few days we might miss the window. It’s the best part of the trip. You know it is. Don’t deny them this.”
“Have all checks been made? What about the electric field? It can’t go down, ever.”
“It’s never failed,” she replied. “It’s been checked and double checked. You know it’s never failed. You can even feel the charge in your teeth it’s that strong. We’ve tested and tested and tested. I heard you even took her out for a test flight last week. You know it’s safe.”
Reece hung his head and breathed out a long steady sigh.
“Come on Reece, don’t deny them this. I wanna fly Big Yellow on an actual tour. I’ve trained for months to do this. Besides, I’m the best helicopter pilot on this planet. You know I am. Come on, Reece…”
“The best pilot on this planet. Cute. I like that. Okay,” Reece said, throwing up his hands. “We’ve gotta take off the kid gloves eventually. Just be careful. Any signs of weather, or you know whats, get your ass back here. The moon goes over at three this afternoon. Don’t…”
“Awesome!” Becca said, leaning forwards and kissing Reece’s cheek. She held out her hand. “Keys please.”
Reece shuffled through the papers on his desk, then checked his drawers.
“You need to sort this place out,” Becca said. “How d’you even work like this?”
“Hey, it’s my cave and I’ll organise it the way I want. It’s a system. A very complicated, but successful system.”
“A cave is where bears hibernate and bats crap, Reece. Nothing to be proud of.”
Reece grumbled and continued rearranging his desk until he found a red lock box. He opened it, fished out a key with a large yellow buoyancy device attached and handed it to Becca.
“Stay vigilant,” he said. “You bring her back in one piece. I don’t wanna have to come out there and rescue her. Oh, one more thing. The watchtower says they saw Minea sneaking around last night. She was seen going into the guest quarters. Find out what she was up to.”
“Is that right?” Becca said, clapping Ash on the shoulder. “Well, doesn’t the plot thicken. Come on you, get your suit on and grab some breakfast. You’ve got a briefing in one hour. Remember, you can wear whatever you want over your survival suit today.”
“You mean I’m not gonna… I don’t have to stay at base for the rest of the week?” Ash said, looking between Reece and Becca.
“Go on,” Reece said waving at them to leave. “Get out of my office. It’s like you think I’ve got nothing better to do than spread warmth and joy amongst everyone. I know I make being charming and humble look easy, but it’s not, its hard wor…”
“Keep an eye on us,” Becca interrupted, manoeuvring Ash towards the door. “See you at dinner.”
“Stay safe,” Reece said, following them to the door. He glanced out the window at Big Yellow, being fuelled on the runway. “You bring her back to me safely. Don’t you dare fall apart.”
Big Yellow
A sh felt too humiliated to face the others, so he selected some snacks from the table in the common room and ate them in the safety of his bedroom, where he waited until it was time for the pre-flight briefing. Marty and Babs knocked on his door, but he made an excuse about getting changed. He couldn’t face them just yet. His eyes might have still been too red from crying.
He purposely turned up to the briefing a few minutes late, only to be greeted by angry glares from Harper. Ash kept his eyes focussed on Becca throughout the session and tried to ignore Harper’s snide comments, which Becca silenced on more than one occasion, by trying to convince the group the watch incident had been a misunderstanding and that Ash was innocent.
“Right,” Becca said, finally. “Follow me. The flight crews will seat you according to your allocat
ed team. There’s no rush. If you rush, you’ll only slow things down. Let’s go. I want us in the air by ten thirty.”
Ash waited until everyone had left the room before following. He tried to hang back as they walked through the hangar, under the wings of an enormous starjet. Becca had explained that it was used to fly in building materials, vehicles and other bulky cargo. It was basically a space truck, which explained why the flight crews and staff at the Jura base referred to it as the stargo-jet.
“Stop avoiding us,” Babs said, stopping and waiting with Marty. “We know you didn’t do it.”
“I didn’t,” Ash said, staring at his shoes. “I swear I didn’t…”
“We know you didn’t,” Marty said. “We’ve been trying to tell you all morning. After breakfast, me and Babs overheard Becca tearing that camerawoman a new one. Everyone knows she planted the watch, just no one can prove it. She’s trying to create drama for her film. We won’t cry for her in interviews, so she’s trying to style things so we fight.”
“Nice try,” Harper said, appearing from behind the stargo-jet’s landing gear. “Becca only said that to save you from being grounded. She just feels sorry for you. Don’t lie. You would’ve woken up if someone came into your room.”
“I did hear someth…”
“Why would he steal it?” Babs interrupted. “Es macht kein sinn. He’s not stupid. What’s he gonna do, bury it in the woods and try remember where it is so he can dig it up in a hundred and forty-eight million years? Only a complete idiot would steal something and hide it in their luggage. Even a toddler wouldn’t be that dumb.”
“I’ve climbed mountains with documentary crews,” Marty said to Harper. “If there’s not enough drama, they make it up. They do it all the time. Most of what you see on reality TV is made up.”
“I promise, Harper, I didn’t take it,” Ash said, trying to look as sincere as possible.
Harper frowned and studied Ash thoughtfully.
“Promise?” He said finally, unhooking his canteen and taking a swig.
“Promise,” Ash said, holding his hand out to shake Harper’s.
Harper secured his canteen, then simply turned and walked away.
“Still not sure if I believe you,” he said. “Even if I do, it doesn’t mean we’re friends. Also, you know we can’t understand you when you speak German, Babs. It’s getting really boring.”
“At least I can speak another language,” Babs shouted after him. “Just stop with the attitude.”
Ash found a spring returning to his step as he walked from the cool shade of the hangar and into the baking sunshine. He felt like hugging Babs and Marty for believing in him. The pair were fast becoming friends he knew he’d stay in contact with for the rest of his life. Their trust meant more than he could ever let on.
Big Yellow sat on the runway ahead, surrounded by flight crews who were manoeuvring stairwells on wheels into position. Becca had shown them pictures of Big Yellow at the briefing, but seeing it up close was something else altogether.
“Well, it’s definitely big and yellow,” Babs said. “Definitely big and definitely very yellow.”
“bwoooar…that’s so cool,” Harper said. “I can’t believe we get to fly in that thing.”
Big Yellow looked similar to a helicopter with pontoons, the kind used for landing on water, except Big Yellow’s pontoons were made of two glass submersible chambers, each with three seats inside. The glass chambers were held in position by metal cradles that were attached to a giant yellow helicopter, which had a glass bubble cockpit and two rotary blades, one at each end, similar to a Chinook. All of the metal on the vehicle was painted canary yellow, giving it the appearance of a deep sea submersible crossed with a giant rubber duck. Becca clambered up a ladder and slipped through a hatch above the cockpit bubble. She closed the hatch then plucked a folder from a netted pouch and began running start-up procedures. Ash spotted Reece looking on from the control tower.
Two flight technicians helped Marissa from the top of the stairs and through a hatch, into one of the glass pontoons. Ash noticed Minea was already seated at the front of the chamber, wearing her vest mounted camera. Just seeing her pointy, thin-lipped face made him boil with anger. The hateful woman had almost destroyed everyone’s trust in him and nearly had him confined to the base for the rest of the trip. All because of her stupid film. Minea paused adjusting her camera equipment and gazed at Ash. She abruptly looked back down and continued fiddling. She was definitely guilty.
The ground crew helped Ash into the chamber opposite Minea, Marissa and Harper. Marty and Babs entered after Ash and strapped in behind him. When everyone was seated, the flight crews secured the watertight hatches and pulled the stairwells aside.
“Secure that seatbelt, Harper,” Becca’s voice echoed.
Ash peered up at Becca, who was looking down at Harper from the cockpit bubble above them.
“We’re not leaving until you do it,” she said. “Come on, Harper. Thank you. Sorry if you’re all getting hot. Now the hatches are sealed the oxygen’ll start circulating and you’ll cool down. Your V.A.R glasses are in the pouches in front of you. There’s extra water and snacks too, but I wouldn’t go overboard with the water, if you know what I mean. The box below the pouch contains your emergency air mask. I want you all to try it out now. Secure the masks, just like I showed you in the briefing.”
Ash lifted the lid on the box and pulled out a rubber mask attached to a hose. It hissed cool gas as he secured the seal around his face.
“I am your father,” Marty said behind, breathing heavily.
“You’re not my father,” Babs replied. “Nooooo!”
Ash chuckled and looked over his shoulder at Marty, who was holding out a hand and pretending to Force choke Harper in the opposite chamber, using a Darth Vader death grip. Harper clasped his throat and convulsed.
“Okay, children,” Becca said, “very good. Put the masks away now. You can play later.”
“There you are,” Marissa said, turning and smiling at Harper. “I knew you could be nice. You should try being playful more often. It’ll make your heart happier. I see you in there.”
Harper snorted and rolled his eyes like he didn’t care, but his smile betrayed him. Ash packed his mask away and looked up at Becca. She was talking into her headset, but had obviously turned off the intercom to the rest of Big Yellow. He looked at the control tower where Reece was waving from the window. Becca held a hand against the glass, then flicked some switches above her head. Big Yellow whined and vibrated as the dual rotor-blades started to spin.
“Yee-Haw!” Marty cheered as the blades became a blur above their heads and they lifted from the ground.
“Woah… we’re going up!” Ash said, sticking his arms out and holding them against the glass. “This is so fricking crazy!”
Once again, they were flying above the island’s jungle, which eventually gave way to the wide beach that was littered with debris and smashed trees, which must have been taken down by the daily tidal waves. Scavenging pterodactyls, lizards and furry creatures that looked like hunchback rats looked up and scurried into the treeline as they passed over.
They flew towards a nearby island and Becca came to a hover over a patch of reef in the turquoise waters. Ash could already see fish darting above the white sandy seabed.
“Hold on,” Becca said. “I’ll put us down softly as I can.”
The inside of the glass chamber was doused in rippling blue light as it sunk beneath the waves. Ash gripped the sides of the glass until they were completely submerged. He could see Minea filming him out of the corner of his eye. He wished she’d just leave him alone and concentrate on the others.
“Calling all stations, calling all stations,”Marty said. “We have found Nemo, I repeat Nemo is in the bag. Uh… did anyone bring a net?”
“You’re gonna need one hell of a big net,” Ash replied as a dolphin sized fish with a saw bladed nose swam past. It circled Big Yellow, then darted of
f in a flash.
“I’ve just turned on the electric safety field,” Becca said. “It might make you feel a bit strange for a few minutes.”
“Nice. Thanks for the brain tumor,” Harper said, opening and closing his mouth whilst prodding an ear.
“My fillings feel weird,” Marissa said. “It’s, like, so weird. Like tangy.”
“It’ll pass,” Becca reassured. “Put on your glasses and look outside. It’ll pass.”
Again, as had happened on the viewing platform overlooking the lake, silence descended as the group soaked up the incredible surroundings through their augmented reality glasses. Ammonites in spiral-shaped shells were everywhere, their shrimp-like legs pulsing, propelling the creatures through the water. There were also squid, octopus and jellyfish floating around the edge of a reef full of multi-colored corals and sea-anemones, whose thousand jelly arms swayed in the current. Ash had never seen so many fish in one place. There were so many the V.A.R glasses couldn’t even identify them all. Some of them had beaks, whilst others were covered in spines. He even saw a fish with whiskers and one with a sort of orange horn protruding from between its eyes. A strange crustacean that looked like a cross between a crab and a lobster scuttled across the sand under Big Yellow.
In the distance, where the water turned dark blue, Ash could swear he saw large shapes appearing and disappearing. Were they giant toothy killers, lurking and waiting to strike? He hoped they were just boulders catching the rippling light, as all around him, blackened rocks were embedded in the reef. They’d obviously been spat out of the surrounding volcanoes. As he studied one of the rocks, the audio explained that aquatic life was thriving here due to all the minerals deposited by the daily eruptions.
It seemed Becca had only allowed them to chat and take in the surroundings for a few minutes when she announced it was time to leave. Ash was stunned when he saw his watch read a quarter to one. They’d been there for two hours!
“Come on, Becca,” Harper moaned. “Don’t ruin it. Let us stay just a bit longer.”
Jurassic Earth Trilogy Box Set Page 12