And then she was gone. One moment the woman had been there, tall and striking like nobody Kim had ever seen, and the next she was gone. And this time Kim knew she really had vanished, not just stepped into the darkness.
"What the hell is going on here?"
Kim stayed where she was. Away through the trees she could still hear battle. The sun was dipping down behind the trees. Finally, she moved the rest of the way to the tree and peered inside. As expected, there was nothing there to see.
And isn't it strange that I expected to see nothing? "Are you coming?" Kim swallowed and climbed through the gap into the tree.
Manning came behind.
Inside, darkness was almost complete, so she felt around.
At first she felt wood, rough and old and dry, and felt like a fool. Then her hand slipped into nothing where there should've been something. She walked forward slowly.
After less than a meter she stepped out into a clearing that most definitely hadn't been on the far side of the Major Oak.
She was beneath the largest tree she'd ever seen. It shaded acres but huge branches, as big as normal trees, had recently broken off, creating gaps overhead. Two moons were visible. Huge black bats were circling. Fires blazed in numerous areas, and the smell of low-grade explosives permeated the air.
Closer by, a scatter of bodies lay amongst the wreckage of the tree. Most appeared very similar to Meledrin, tall and thin, but there were also some in armor.
Kim quickly went back the way she'd come pushing past Private Manning as he stood and stared. She climbed back over the fence and sank to the ground, leaning back against a rough timber pole and staring out at the forest. She was shaking all over. She couldn't stop.
For a long time she stayed that way, legs stretched out before her, until she heard sounds coming from inside the tree once more.
Manning was there a moment later. He vaulted over the fence, slung his rifle over his back and ran. "Be careful," he shouted over his shoulder, "the aliens are still there."
A couple of minutes later, Kim heard noises behind her and scrambled to her feet, looking for a place to hide. After a second she recognized Meledrin's voice and turned to look.
“[Careful with him, Keeble. His head is not as hard as yours.]”
“[If he lives with you, it'd have to be.]”
Keeble was slowly emerging from inside the tree, dragging an unconscious 'elf' out into the open. Meledrin did what she could to help from inside, but the gap was too narrow to make the task easy.
"Who's this?" Kim asked. She shook her head in disbelief. Here she was, looking at someone in serious trouble, and she was worried about his name.
"This is Palsamon." Meledrin waved her fingers around.
The stranger had an ugly gash across his leg that was bleeding heavily, and his arm was broken. Burns marked his chest and neck. A lump the size of an egg lifted the waves of his silvery hair near his left ear. Biting her lip, Kim tried to think. She quickly removed her jumper. It was a woolen affair that would be no good as a bandage. Then she removed her T-shirt and tied it tightly around the man's injured leg.
“[What do you think you're doing? That's the most disgusting display of...]”
"What?" Kim looked up to see both Keeble and Meledrin staring at her with expressions of shock stamped on their faces.
"What you do?" Meledrin gestured. "It is not proper."
"What?" Kim was wearing jeans and a bra. It wasn't as if she'd stripped naked. And it wasn't as if she'd done it for fun. Reminded of her T-shirt, she took a moment to make sure it was doing its new job successfully. It seemed to be, so she returned her attention to the elf and dwarf. "What?"
Meledrin turned away in disgust and Keeble shook his head.
“[Have you no sense of decency?]” he asked.
Not sure what he'd asked, Kim shrugged, and that just seemed to upset the little man more. She looked back to Palsamon and tried to arrange his own burned shirt into some type of sling for his arm.
As she was finishing, a poor attempt and probably not much help at all, Kim heard a noise. She turned to see Manning leading a dozen soldiers into the clearing.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
"Yes, fine, but he isn't."
A sergeant climbed the fence and looked at Palsamon. "We have medics here. See if you can get him to Captain Thorpe back at the fair."
"Okay."
The soldiers got Palsamon over the fence then made their way into the tree one at a time. Kim watched them disappear and still couldn't believe it. To distract herself she grabbed Palsamon's legs. "Come on."
But Keeble was holding out her jumper with the obvious intention that she put it on. And it probably wasn't a bad idea. Sighing, she put down her burden, put on the jumper, and got ready again.
It seemed to take forever to return to the cricket field, but when they arrived, the battle was still going at full tilt. More bats had landed and disgorged aliens. The SAS were outnumbered, but holding their own. Kim could see more helicopters in the distance. Even if the battle ended soon, there were dozens of injured people and soldiers would probably get first priority.
"They could be going for a while," Kim said, glancing at Palsamon. He was pale and breathing shallowly. "We need to get him to a hospital."
"Hospital?" Meledrin asked.
"Yes. A place of healing." She rubbed at her aching arms.
"Is near?"
"Christ, I don't know."
"Where must we go?"
Mansfield is probably closest, Kim thought. She said as much.
"Where?"
"Come on." She grabbed Palsamon's legs again and headed for the car park. Doing something would help. It would stop her from thinking.
7: Rivers
Kim checked with the doctor again then assured Meledrin that Palsamon was going to be all right. When they'd arrived the previous evening it hadn't been obvious.
The elf didn't show any signs of caring. "Thank you." She gave a slight nod. "I will make my way outside to check that Keeble has remained as we requested. I will be surprised if he has not left in search of something of interest."
Kim pursed her lips and gave a nod as well. "Okay. But if you've finished here then I guess I have as well." The hospital had her mobile number and there wasn't a lot more she could do. "Are you sure you don't want to stay?"
"Palsamon must remain at this location for some days yet. Unfortunately, if I am to summon help for the remainder of my people, we must depart soon."
"Come on then." She couldn't believe the elf. Kim was more worried than Meledrin, apparently. She couldn't stand the thought of leaving. She felt responsible now. "So how long have you known him?"
"I have known Palsamon since my tenth summer. He was assigned to work in the same glade as I when I first began my training. He assisted with the movement of some heavy branches when I was unable to complete the task on my own."
Barely a flicker of emotion.
"Right."
Out in the car park Kim glanced up at the sky. The war continued. Both planes and bats were visible, but trying to work out what was going on was like trying to watch a game of football from two suburbs away. The TV hadn't been a whole lot more enlightening.
Keeble wasn't by the door. He was down in the car park, trying to talk to a doctor but not having much luck. The dwarf was getting frustrated and the doctor was getting angry.
“[How does it work?]” Keeble said.
"If you don't get away from my car now I'll call the police."
"He doesn't speak English," Kim said as she grabbed the dwarf's arm and pulled him away.
The doctor shook his head, muttered under his breath and got into his car.
“[Keeble, I requested that you remain in the vicinity of the door,]” Meledrin said.
“[I've never met a dwarf like you,]” he replied, watching as the doctor drove away. “[Even Ari had more interest in the world than you, and she was just a regular dwife.]” He scuffed at the
ground. “[How am I to learn anything if I don't go and look?]”
Kim had her keys and was ready to go, but it looked like the two of them were going to talk all day.
“[You may depart at any time, of course.]”
“[I know I can.]”
“[You are not leaving?]” Meledrin raised a long, slim eyebrow.
“[No. I want to find out about their flying machines. Has Kim said anything to you about the flying machines?]”
Kim didn't know what the dwarf was saying, but he was very excited about it.
“[I am unaware. I have not inquired.]” Meledrin's response seemed to stamp all over Keeble's excitement and took him back to frustration.
"Let's get going," Kim said, heading for her own car.
“[Come, Keeble, we are departing,]” Meledrin said.
“[Where are we going?]”
“[To speak with the leaders of this world and gain assistance for our battle.]”
Keeble climbed in the front seat before Meledrin had the chance. He looked very excited by the prospect of riding in a car again, but Kim couldn't even get it started. The engine whined and spluttered and made all sorts of strange sounds, all to little effect.
"Damn it." She thumped the steering wheel. "Damn it."
His excitement stomped on again, Keeble looked as if someone had stolen his brand new bike. His shoulders slumped and he furiously wound the gears on his hand. He stared at the steering wheel as if it was the culprit.
Kim sighed. There were bigger problems in the world at the moment, but this was one more little thing she really didn't need.
"Wait here." Slamming the door behind her, she went back inside and made her way to reception. "I need to get to London in a hurry," she told the harried woman behind the counter.
"Try the trains," she said.
"The trains are running? Trust you Brits to just get on with things."
"I think they only started up again a couple of hours ago."
"So, where's the station?"
Kim got directions and went back to the car. Keeble was lying on the ground looking at the engine. Meledrin was looking on disapprovingly.
"Come on. They've got the trains running again. It's a few miles walk."
“[What's happening?]” Keeble asked.
Meledrin started to follow Kim back towards the gates. “[Apparently there are some things called trains and, according to Kim, they are running once more.]”
Kim watched Meledrin and Keeble as they walked. The elf didn't seem to notice anything at all, walking along as if she were strolling along a street she'd known all her life. The dwarf, on the other hand, tried to see everything at once. He squinted up at the street lights though they weren't even on, then raced over to try to talk to a man with a lawn mower. He examined cars as they went past and poked at a public phone with his mechanical hand. He ran ahead then fell behind, talking the whole while, shooting questions at Meledrin that the elf ignored more often than not.
After a mile, the road they were on ended at a T-intersection.
"It's amazing, isn't it?" A tall, gangly man said, shading his eyes to watch the planes and bats passing high overhead, cutting through the columns of smoke that seemed to be everywhere, like weeds in an overgrown garden. "The greatest event in human history, and this is the most we get to see. They don't even show much on the news. We should be thankful, I suppose."
Turn right, then a short walk to an overpass and down some stairs to the station.
“[I'm hungry,]” Keeble said, as Kim made her way to the ticket window.
"Keeble has questioned me about food. I am feeling hungry myself."
"We can get some in a minute. It'll only be chips or something from a vending machine, though." She motioned through onto the platform. But there was already a train waiting.
Kim got the tickets, almost emptying her account, and hurried her companions onto the train.
“[Where are we?]” Keeble asked as he sat down in a window seat.
“[This is known as a train station,]” Meledrin replied. "And that is a train.]”
“[What's it do?]”
“[It is a vehicle of some description. Apparently it locomotes on metal rails.]”
“[A train? I know what a train is.]” He looked around. “[They must clean the soot off every day.]”
A few minutes later he was bored again, fidgeting in his seat. Kim just wanted to sleep, but the dwarf was ready to go for another week. “[What happened to our food?]”
"Keeble has once more inquired about food."
"We don't have time. I might have some lollies in my pack."
“[I'm near starving.]” The dwarf watched Kim as she began a search. “[Gotta have some food. And ale. Whistler, do I need some ale. You two couldn't organize an explosion in a fireworks factory.]”
The doors of the train slid shut and Keeble was distracted, which was good because the only edible thing Kim could find was half a Mars Bar with fluff coating the end.
“[Hear that?]” he said. “[Hydraulics. That's what that was.]” He leaned over to get a better look at the door. “[Know what hydraulics are? No, course you don't.]” And he was off, telling Meledrin something she obviously had absolutely no interest in. The dwarf kept going anyway, through the next station and beyond.
He finally stopped, falling silent for about a minute. He swung his legs until Kim thought she'd go crazy from the squeaking of the chair.
“[Where are we going?]” Keeble asked when the silence stretched on.
“[A city called London.]”
“[What's there?]”
“[The leaders of this nation.]”
Apparently that was all the inactivity Keeble could stand. He fidgeted and squirmed for a few seconds more then got to his feet and pushed out into the aisle.
"Where are you going?" Kim asked him.
Meledrin asked something as well, probably the same thing.
“[Walking.]”
“[Where?]”
“[I don't know. Do you really think I can get lost?]”
“[Perhaps.]” The elf turned to Kim. "He wishes to go for a walk."
Kim didn't bother trying to stop him. Keeble didn't seem like the kind of guy who would change his mind just because someone asked nicely. Instead she pushed the train ticket into his hand.
"Take this." She showed her own ticket then slipped it back into her pocket. "Keep it with you. Okay. Tell him, Mel."
The elf said something as Keeble started to walk away. He waved over his shoulder as he went.
* * *
Kim flopped down into a seat. "I shouldn't have let him go," she said, not taking her eyes from the scenery flashing by outside.
Meledrin arranged herself opposite. "He did not become lost, Kim. He deliberately left us, I am sure."
"Why? He's got no idea where he is or where he should be. He can't speak the language. He's got no idea about anything."
"That may be so, but I am unsurprised by his sudden departure."
"You're not?"
"No, Kim. For two reasons. Firstly, he is a dwarf."
That was a bit confusing. "Right."
"He is a dwarf," Meledrin repeated, "I am an elf. Our peoples have cohabitated on Sherindel for millennia, virtually next door in worldly terms, and yet we all but never speak. We avoid each other as much as possible. Elves are a high culture, and the little men are arrogant and elitist, despite being the basest of men. I am surprised he stayed as long as he did."
Kim thought that maybe Meledrin was right, but if the woman was indicative of her own 'high' culture, then the elves were no better. "I don't believe this story about elves and dwarves," she muttered. "What's the second reason then?"
"Keeble is not in complete control of his faculties."
"He isn't?" He had seemed a bit distracted at times, but it was a bit hard to tell in different languages.
"No. It is known that without community and organization dwarves quickly become ill and die."
"That is correct. And Keeble failed some type of test set by his superiors and was banished. He spent quite some time wondering alone in the forest. I personally saw evidence of his having commenced tasks that he left incomplete. For a dwarf that indicates a grave sickness."
"You're kidding?"
"I do not kid."
"Bloody hell." Kim shook her head. Elves and dwarves. It was ridiculous.
But back at the hospital she'd watched the reports of the alien attacks. She hadn't dreamed them. So, if there could be aliens attacking earth on the backs of giant bats, then why couldn't elves and dwarves cross from another world through the 'magic faraway tree'?
And, sitting next to an 'elf', she took a deep breath.
"The earth is being attacked by aliens," she said softly. Like everyone else, she was going about her business as if the world hadn't recently gone though the greatest moment in recorded history. Admittedly, it was unusual business, but she was sitting on a train chatting amiably as if she would wake up tomorrow, or next week, and everything would be the same as it had always been.
"What's your world like, Meledrin?"
"Pardon."
"Your world, what's it like?"
"Very much like this one. There are trees and rocks," she waved her hands towards the window, "mountains and streams."
"Obviously," Kim said. "It has to be a lot like Earth or you'd be dead. Carbon based life, oxygen, photosynthesis, minerals, gases. You could probably drop me somewhere on Sherindel, and I wouldn't be able to tell for sure I wasn't on Earth."
Meledrin nodded. "I could inform you that there are mountains that touch white tipped fingers to the sky, lakes that so perfectly mirror the sky that you can shoot birds just by watching the reflections. There are trees that sing the breeze in perfect choruses and fields of crowded sun worshipping flowers in a thousand colors. I could tell you these things, Kim, but the things of simple beauty in this carriage would have more meaning."
"The things of beauty in this carriage?" Kim looked around, not sure what things the elf was talking about.
The Space Between Page 8