NO ORDINARY ROOM

by Bill Williams

  Jamie declined the offer intending to make good use of the time alone with Geoff to talk things over with him. It would blow his friends mind, but he had to give him a proper explanation, especially if he was going to be in more danger. He would be breaking his promise to Koolebron and Soupinpota, but he couldn’t keep this to himself any longer.

  Jamie waited for his mum and dad to drive off and then he grabbed two bottles of cold drink from the fridge, handed one to Geoff and suggested that they went up to the computer room. Jamie was hoping that Soupinpota might have erased the details of what happened on the field from Geoff’s memory, but he was about to be disappointed when they had settled in upstairs.

  Jamie what really happened out there today with those birds and snakes. I just can’t get my head around how it could be an experiment that went wrong.’

  ‘I need to try and explain what’s been happening, Geoff and I don’t expect you to believe me, but I’ve got to try. Just remember what happened to us in the woods and on the field today before you think I’m mad.’

  ‘Whatever you’re going to tell me, mate, don’t get too technical. I’m not into computers and stuff like you are or anything to do with physics if that’s what the experiment is all about.’

  Despite Geoff’s promise to give Jamie a fair hearing he was soon nodding his head and laughing as Jamie tried to explain.

  ‘Let me get this straight. You have been in touch with someone in outer space. Now, someone else in outer space, who goes by the weird name of Devilmortex might be trying to kill you or frighten the life out of you and probably me as well. But when you and Leanne were attacked by sharks they weren’t real sharks, just images, but those snakes on the field were real and so were the giant birds. Do me a favour!’

  ‘I said you wouldn’t believe me, but how do you explain those birds. You’re the expert perhaps you have the answer.’

  ‘How would I know? But it’s all, what do you call it, fantasy and so farfetched.’

  ‘Geoff it’s the truth. I’m not kidding about any of this. I’m really scared and that’s why I’m telling you when I shouldn’t because I am breaking a promise.’

  ‘If you are serious about this stuff, Jamie, then your mate, Soupinpotty, or whatever he calls himself is going to help you, isn’t he?’

  Jamie was a bit sheepish before he said, ‘There’s something I haven’t told you about Soupinpota.’

  Geoff sighed, ‘Something tells me this is going to be more mind blowing stuff.’

  ‘Just a bit,’ replied Jamie and then continued. ‘In the beginning Soupinpota pretended to be in outer space and then he told me that he came from near Scarborough, but he really does come from outer space.

  ‘You’ve told me this, Jamie,’ Geoff said, thinking that his friend was feeling a bit stressed by events.

  ‘So, what do you think he looks like?’

  Geoff shrugged his shoulders and the said, ‘I don’t know. A little green feller with a big head, I suppose.’

  Jamie nodded his head. ‘He probably looks more like that.’

  ‘Like what?’ Geoff asked.

  ‘Like that,’ Jamie replied, nodding his head once again in the direction of his computer. ‘Soupinpota is a computer, Geoff. He’s a blinkin computer that acts and talks just like an ordinary kid even if a super intelligent one.’

  ‘You mean he’s a robot that’s been programmed to be human?’

  ‘Sort of and he even has a sense of humour. Not exactly a Liverpool sense of humour, but he’s good fun, or at least he was until all the troubles started. He can speak any language on earth and I expect quite a few galactic ones.’

  ‘So how is he going to protect you from the nutter who sent the bird and snakes after us and why is this Devilmortex after you anyway? I suppose he’s a computer as well.’

  Jamie explained that Devilmortex was a computer who had effectively turned nasty and to make matters worse his powers were increasing all the time.

  Geoff was looking really worried. ‘Jamie, if this is for real then you’ve got to tell someone. You should tell the police, the army or anyone who can stop him, or should we say, it!’

  ‘The authorities would be powerless and the only hope is that he will be traced then he will be ‘closed down’ and that will be the end of it. Anyway, if I told anyone else I really would be breaking my promise to keep it a secret. I only told you because you have got caught up in it.’

  ‘Could old Devilmortex somehow nobble your mate, Soupinpotty and the super computer, Koolebron that you mentioned?’

  ‘I suppose so,’ Jamie replied. He had been so preoccupied with his own problems that he hadn’t considered that perhaps Soupinpota could be destroyed and not just lose some of his powers. What would happen if Devilmortex was joined by an army of rogue computers and decided not just to attack him, but others who were not connected to the Koolebron communication project? Perhaps the Americans could launch an attack on Titantula.

  ‘Jamie, Jamie, Anybody in there,’ Geoff said, clicking his fingers in front of Jamie’s face.

  Jamie flinched. ‘I was in a bit of a dream world there for a minute.’

  ‘Perhaps you should at least tell your dad about all of this. He might have an idea what to do and he’ll be on his guard.’

  Jamie explained that his dad would laugh his socks off and have Jamie grounded. There was no point in trying to warn him because according to Soupinpota there wasn’t much they could do to evade Devilmortex. Hopefully, Soupinpota would thwart any attacks by Devilmortex while Koolebron led the search to root him out and destroy him. Jamie had decided not to tell Geoff that his brain was actually in outer space, because that really would have blown his mind.

  * * *

  During the next two days the two friends confined their activities to a kick about in the garden and lots of sessions on the computer. There was no news from Soupinpota, but thankfully no sign of Devilmortex.

  ‘Do you think they could have fried each other’s chips?’ Geoff asked Jamie when they discussed it during a break from the computer.

  ‘What do you mean?’ asked Jamie.

  ‘I thought all computers had chips in them.’

  ‘Very funny, Geoff. You’ll soon be a computer freak like the rest of us and talking of chips, did you phone Alice last night?’

  Geoff’s face had that hound dog look when he replied, ‘I did, but she was out at her keep-fit class according to her mum.’

  ‘Well that’s good news, isn’t it.’

  ‘Not really. If she gets too, erm, you know, attractive, she might pack me in. I know that, Clive Moseley, whose dad owns a chippy on Rosamund Street, fancies her.’

  ‘That’s bad news Geoff. Perhaps she’ll end up in an arranged marriage so that they can create a chippy empire.’

  Geoff’s frown deepened when he asked, ‘Do you think so?’

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  Jamie was looking forward to another day of computer games and watching some films after the horror of recent events. So far, Devilmortex had only attacked them out in the open, so perhaps if he and Geoff stayed indoors for a few days they would be safe and Devilmortex might lose interest in them.

  Jamie had just shot down Geoff’s last plane and Geoff was threatening to get even in the next game of Air Combat when Jamie heard the shout from his dad summoning him to come downstairs. His dad wasn’t usually home this time of day so he wondered what was up and told Geoff that they he had better go and see if anything was wrong.

  Kevin greeted the boys with his usual smile and had a surprise question for them. ‘How would you two like to earn a bit of cash by working at the farm for the rest of the day?’

  Jamie pulled a face. ‘You mean mucking out the pigs?’

  ‘It’s got nothing to do with pigs,’ Kevin replied.

  ‘And it’s definitively not with the pigs,’ Jamie asked, seeking fresh reassurance.

  ‘I wouldn’t mind working with the pigs.’

  ‘Good on you, Geoff
, but our Jamie needn’t worry. Mr Rosser planted some young trees in the small woods at the back of the farm last year and they need staking. I’ll bring you home with me when I finish at three and you’ll have some extra cash for the holidays.’

  Jamie was thinking that it would help him buy those new trainers he wanted and he couldn’t hide away from Devilmortex forever, but he still gave a reluctant, ‘All right.’

  ‘Don’t worry about your clothes there’s plenty at the farm,’ Kevin advised.

  * * *

  When the boys arrived at the farm Kevin insisted on showing Geoff the pigs while Jamie did some pig impersonations behind his dad’s back.

  ‘He’s a beauty, Mr Tranter,’ Geoff said admiring one of the pigs.

  ‘You’re a good judge, Geoff, but Miranda is actually a she and she’s a champion.’

  Once the boys were kitted out in their bright blue overalls and oversized boots Pat Rosser took them across to the small woods and pointed out the young trees he wanted staking. The tools, wooden stakes and rubber strips to tie them with were all there and he handed them some gloves which he told them to wear to stop them from getting blisters.

  ‘I’m just going to run over to Blake’s farm with your dad, Jamie. We should only be gone about an hour and your dad will bring you some more drinks and biscuits when we get back.’

  A few minutes later Jamie watched the red pickup truck driven by his dad trundle out of the farm yard.

  ‘Come on then, Farmer Geoff, let’s get these trees a tied up,’ joked Jamie in his best attempt at a local accent.

  They worked as a team and soon got into a rhythm, taking turns to hammer the pointed stake into the ground while the other one held it in position. Jamie had to shout at Geoff a couple of times when he feared that the hammer would strike his hand as Geoff was distracted by a bird flying near them.

  ‘At this rate we’ll run out of stakes before they get back,’ Jamie figured as he noted the diminishing pile of wooden stakes and then added, ‘We’ll do one more then have a drink in the woods out of the hot sun before we start doing some tying.’

  ‘Aye, aye, captain,’ Geoff joked and then playfully hit his bossy friend with one of his gloves as they walked towards the woods a few yards away.

  As Geoff straightened up after retrieving his glove from the ground, he looked towards Jamie. ‘What was that sound?’

  ‘I was about to ask you the same thing,’ Jamie replied and then suggested that they sat on the trunk of a fallen tree that he could see further into the woods, so that it might give Geoff a chance to see some birds.

  ‘Have you noticed how it has suddenly gone dark in here and there’s that sound again,’ Jamie said as he handed Geoff his drink.

  The boys strained their ears trying to identify the sound that was now louder and then they realised it was the sound of the wind that had suddenly started swirling around the woods. The wind increased and the boys were startled by the cracking noise of the branches and then the crashing sound as some of the trees were uprooted and fell close to the boys who soon became trapped by the trees

  ‘What do we do, Jamie?’ Geoff asked, with fear in his voice and then asked, ‘Is this Devilmorty up to no good again?’

  ‘I don’t know, Geoff, it might just be a storm. Let’s try moving some of these fallen branches to see if we can get free.’

  Geoff’s face hadn’t lost its terrified look as he moved forward with Jamie. Their hands had just gripped the large branch when it rose from the ground driven by a sudden powerful swirling wind. For a moment the boys kept hold and they were six feet off the ground when another burst of wind caused them to lose their grip and they dropped on to the cushion of rotten leaves and fallen branches.

  ‘Not a bright idea,’ Jamie reflected on his suggestion after he had recovered from being winded. His point was reinforced when more branches and leaves started falling on to them. Geoff was the first to start shouting for help as he realised that they would soon be buried alive. Jamie joined in the shouting, sensing that their only hope was if his dad and Mr Rosser came back soon.

  The branches had reached up to their necks when Jamie announced. ‘They’ve stopped, Geoff. Look above there are no more branches left to fall.’

  ‘I can’t move my head, Jamie.’

  ‘I’ll see if I can wriggle free, Geoff and try to help you.’

  Jamie struggled to free his hands and then felt the branches beneath them giving way and they began to sink and started sputtering when the leaves covered their faces.

  ‘Hang on, Geoff,’ Jamie shouted once more, followed by. ‘I’ve got one arm free.’ Jamie had tried to sound confident, but they would be in serious trouble unless they could clamber on top of the branches before they were suffocated. Jamie was looking towards the sky that had been cloudless when they had entered the woods and now he was seeing giant flashes of lightning and then the woods suddenly became silent. The movement of branches beneath them had stopped and then it dawned on Jamie that for the moment they were safe.

  ‘Don’t move, Geoff,’ Jamie advised, forgetting that neither of them could budge at present, ‘I think we’re going to be all right and my dad will be back soon.’

  Jamie didn’t know whether the smell of the smoke reached his nostrils before he heard the crackling sound of burning wood and the boys began coughing and spluttering in between their screams. Jamie had managed to reach over to his friend’s face and tried to shield it with his hand. Geoff shook his head, objecting to what he thought was his friend’s attempts to silence his screams, not realising that it was a vain attempt to protect him from the thick smoke.

  Jamie concentrated on trying to free himself, hoping that he could then help Geoff. He had just managed to climb to the top of the falling branches when he saw the red and yellow amongst the smoke and recognised Devilmortex’s favourite bird, the Trioptica.

  * * *

  Kevin smiled as he carried the bag containing drinks and biscuits towards the woods, wondering how the boys had coped with their first real job. He had seen the smoke on his return and had thought it was in a field on the next farm, but now he realised he had been mistaken and threw the bag to ground and started running towards the woods that were partly hidden by a large cloud of smoke.

  ‘You stupid lads, what have you done?’ he shouted out even though the boys were nowhere to be seen.

  Kevin’s dread turned to relief when he saw Jamie and Geoff emerge from the smoke and stagger towards him. As they drew closer he saw their reddened eyes and faces that were blackened and scratched and he suddenly became very angry at the thought of what might have happened to them and roared at his son, ‘Jamie, why did you light a fire in the woods? You stupid, lad, I thought you had more sense than that. What will Mr Rosser think? You were supposed to help him, not burn his woods down.’

  ‘It wasn’t Jamie’s fault, Mr Tranter. He didn’t start the fire,’ pleaded Geoff in defence of his friend.

  ‘You stay out of this, Geoff. I know what Jamie’s like trying to show off. I expect he thought he would impress Mr Rosser by burning the dead wood.’

  ‘It wasn’t like that, Dad. The fire was started by lightning. You must have seen it.’

  ‘Lightning! What lightning? Look at the sky. You’ll have to do better than that. Anyway, there’s nothing to be done here, so we’d better get back to the farm and get you tidied up. You’d better think what you’re going to say to Mr Rosser.’

  When Kevin and the boys reached the farm Pat Rosser broke off talking to Jim Hanson one of his neighbours and they came hurrying towards them.

  ‘Thank goodness, the boys are safe. Jim was just telling me about seeing a freak lightning flash strike the woods as he was getting ready to deliver some supplies to me. The boys could have been seriously hurt or even killed.’

  ‘I’ve never seen anything like it,’ Jim said and explained his shock at what he’d seen. ‘No rain, a cloudless sky and a bolt of lightning hit the woods. I say lightning, but it could
easily have been a missile, except the sky was clear and I would have seen it. Those boys must have had a guardian angel looking over them.’

  ‘Well it put an end to my plans for those woods. I don’t expect there’s much left of them now.’ Pat Rosser said and then he smiled before telling the boys that he would pay them extra for their ordeal.

  Jim Hanson told them that he’d also seen some bright colours in the sky above the woods.

  ‘I expect it must have been resin burning off when the trees caught fire,’ Pat Rosser suggested.

  ‘I expect you’re right. No other explanation really because it couldn’t have been a rainbow. For a moment I thought it was a giant bird, but the smoke must have been playing tricks with my eyes. We seem to be getting more and more freak weather these days. Perhaps there’s some truth in all the claims about global warming.’

  Jamie was busy receiving the apologies from his dad for ripping him off a strip and falsely accusing him of starting the fire. He was also remembering seeing the giant Trioptica bird lower the dazed Geoff to safety and then free him and lay him alongside Geoff. There was nothing wrong with Jim Hanson’s eyes and he must have seen the bird sent by Soupinpota to pluck them to safety.

  The boys had been cleaned up before they left the farm and apart from red eyes and a few scratches they were none the worst for their ordeal, at least not physically, when they arrived home. Debbie created a fuss and blamed Kevin for taking the boys to work when they should have been enjoying their holiday. Kevin made allowances for Debbie’s upset and said that the boys could live off their experience for the rest of their lives.

  ‘They can tell their grandchildren how they battled with a forest fire and lived to tell the tale.’

  * * *

  Geoff was with Jamie when he tried unsuccessfully to contact Soupinpota and Jamie told Geoff that Mr Rosser and his neighbour were probably right about what happened in the woods was just some freak weather.