by Angela Timms
With a silent efficiency they grabbed the equipment and left the building through the bar area. They all had to duck to get through the slightly low doorway and Kel managed to bump his head.
The lights from solar lanterns gave them enough light to see their way to the gate. A quick look around reassured them that nobody was about. The lights were on in what looked like a barn attached to the house which had a small porch outside between two outbuildings. They could see a television set through the window and the glow from a fire. Alongside the house a path led up the hill which disappeared into the darkness. The grassed area in front of the small barn they had just left was well illuminated and they could see a black vehicle with its lights off waiting for them.
The driver of the four wheel drive vehicle spotted them and turned his lights on. They headed for the vehicle and opened the boot which had been popped unlocked. When the equipment was safely stowed they jumped inside and the driver pulled away on dipped headlights. Two ponies, a black Cob and grey Welsh Mountain viewed them with some suspicion over their fence then went back to eating the grass as the vehicle drove off into the distance.
It was pitch black outside the vehicle. All that they could see out of the window was what was illuminated by the yellow glow from the headlights. The grey of the road and the rough green grass of the verge, a slight bank and the sheep fencing along the ridge were as interesting as it got. Occasionally they came to a wilder bit where natural rock broke through the pasture. Sheep clung precariously to ledges and bolted in fear as the glowing monster came past them. Nimbly they sprang up the mini cliff faces to bound off across the field above.
The journey passed in silence until they reached the helicopter port. The gate and field were in darkness other than a single helicopter which had its lights on inside, its headlights illuminating the field and the car park where they pulled up.
They climbed out and grabbed their bags and equipment out of the back of the vehicle before the driver drove away. A tall thin man in his late twenties came over to greet them. He was wrapped up warmly in a duffle coat and thick fur lined hat. Their frosty breath making clouds in the chill of the moonless night. Above the stars were pristinely bright and the lack of cloud cover meant that they were clearly visible.
The man smiled and held out a clip board with white papers clipped to it. “The flight plan is done; the paperwork is all in order. If you’d like to get on board I’ve done most of the preflight checks. Just make yourselves comfortable and we’ll be taking off very shortly.”
They stowed their luggage away and as soon as they had their seatbelts on the pilot finished the pref light checks and within moments the blades began to rotate. They lifted into the air with hardly a jolt and glided swiftly forwards, ascending into the chilled night air. It was cloudless; the stars were bright pinpoints in the deep blue of space. Kyla couldn’t help looking out in wonder and down on the lights of the buildings below. Soon enough they were over water and after a few miles they approached the tiny three mile long island of Lundy. At about four hundred feet above sea level it looked like a flat lump of rock sticking out of the sea. The island was mostly in darkness but there were pinpoints of light around a grouping of buildings on the southerly point and a lighthouse to the south.
The pilot brought the helicopter down to land with grace and precision. They disembarked and this time sorted out the bags so that they carried the ones with their own names on them. They shared the rest of the equipment between them. It was dark and hard to walk on the uneven grass, there were no street lights. Nobody had a torch they could reach so they had to make their way by starlight until they came into the golden glow provided by the windows of the Marisco Tavern and made their way past the outbuildings to the front door.
It was a two story building made of old stone with a slate roof. There was one door which opened into one end of the building and another in the center which was the entrance to the bar which had “Marisco Tavern” and a large lantern over it.
They looked at each other and bunched up around the door. Kel was first through, followed by Kyla and then Rennon and the others. The door was old wood and although painted it showed the marks of many harsh winters. The stone outside was in stark contrast to the well-worn floor inside. The warm smell mixed with dust, paper and the smell of alcohol gave it a familiar warm tavern smell. Kel’s boots made a heavy sound on the wooden floor which echoed inside. The room was well lit, bright after the darkness outside and that end of the tavern was empty.
He took a sweeping look around. To his right there was a round table with four chairs around it which fitted into the area in front of the window beside the door. It was unoccupied. side wall was a recessed bookcase with books higgledy pigledy just beside the door in the back wall which led to another small room.
He could hear the bubble of conversation and the strumming of a guitar to his left so he turned that way. The bar ran all the way along from that room into what looked like a bigger room beyond to their left. The others were following him past another small table on his left which was situated in front of the window.
They walked in silence through into the main bar and as they entered they were met by a sudden silence and everyone looked up. Kyla gasped and realized that they must have looked a bit intimidating. She smiled and raised a hand nervously, smiled and waved. She was so so glad that she had been provided with suitable clothing before the mission as looking around she fitted right in.
There was one long table which ran parallel to the bar across the middle of the room and smaller tables beyond it set against the large Further along the and games stacked paneled glass windows which ran the full length of the room and across the far end of it there were round tables. There were very few customers in the room. The most noticeable was an arty looking man with long white hair and a long white beard dressed in bright multi coloured loose fitting clothes who was sitting at the end of the long table strumming a guitar thoughtfully in front of the large log fire which roared in the fireplace to the left and next to the staircase which led to the balcony which spanned the end of the roof above them. There was a middle aged woman who dressed younger than her years who sat close to the musician, hanging on his every word. Her long hair was swept up in a ponyt ail and she in turn sat next to a grey haired man in neat walking clothes. They looked up as the visitors came in and the grey haired man raised a glass. “Welcome friends, welcome to Lundy.” He smiled and the others raised their glasses as well.
Kyla stepped around Kel who seemed riveted to the spot. He relaxed. “Thank you, we’re very pleased to be here. Is there someone serving at the bar?”
The white haired man looked up and stopped strumming. “He’s just gone to sort something out upstairs. He’ll be back in a minute. You arrive on that helicopter? I’m Nathan by the way.”
Kyla nodded. “Pleased to meet you Nathan, I’m Karen.” Nathan raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t fancy the Oldenburg then?” Kyla smiled. “I have a problem with sea travel.”
A thin, dark haired man had appeared behind the bar. “Ah, you must be the party booked for the Castle. Your rooms are ready any time you’d like to go there. Here are your keys. Would you like a drink or to eat or would you rather go and settle down? I’ll be serving food until 10pm so there’s no rush.”
Kyla looked at her watch that Rennon had bought her for her birthday; it was 8.30pm so they did have time. “We would like to settle into our rooms first. Thank you. I’m Karen; this is Karl, David, Connor, Damien, Eric and Daniel.”
The barman smiled. “Good to meet you. I am Neil and my wife Jackie does the cooking. I’ll get Samuel to help you with your bags and show you to the Castle. Do you have a torch? It can be a bit dark getting around. The main path is alright though.”
Kyla smiled. “Thank you. We show us the way.”
Samuel was a rotund chap dressed in a sweat shirt, faded jeans and army boots. He emerged from the back room behind the bar when he heard his name, pulled an army parka o
ver his shoulders and was fully wearing it by the time they stepped outside. “Follow me, it’s not too far. Do you need me to carry anything?”
Connor put a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry lad, we have it would appreciate someone to covered.” Samuel forged on ahead and they walked away from the main grouping of old stone buildings and out onto a narrow dirt path. As they left the other buildings they came to the Church on their right. It was truly impressive for a small island, more of a cathedral. It was in darkness, the white stonework silhouetted by the dark night sky and a myriad of stars. They could see some sort of a statue up in the tower but any detail was lost in the darkness. The path was well worn and the grass lush around them, well as much as they could see in the dark.
Samuel turned to face Kyla as he was walking. “You’ll like the Castle. It is an old building. It was built by Henry III in about 1250 and paid for by the sale of rabbits. It was a Royalist stronghold in the Civil War. It was also supposedly used to keep illegally transported slaves during the slave trade. It has been done up a lot since then and I’m sure you’ll be really comfortable there. Is this your first visit?”
Eric was walking beside him. “Yes, first trip.”
The castle was a square old grey stone building with well-defined irregular natural stonework. It didn’t seem to have a door but as they got closer it was possible to see that the entrance had a stone wall built across the front of it. Behind this the well-worn stone steps descended into the castle courtyard. The steps could be closed off by a wrought iron gate.
They filed around the wall and down the steps to the stone courtyard. It was neatly kept and bare. Two cottages faced each other, the other stretched across the far wall. Each had its own set of door and windows.
Samuel had led the way. “Stay there, I’ll go and get some lights on for you.” He left them standing there and went to turn some lights on. The courtyard illuminated bit by bit as he went from cottage to cottage and by the time he had gone into the last one the cobbled courtyard was well lit.
Samuel turned his torch off as he left the last building. “Do you need anything else or shall I leave you to settle in?”
Eric had just put his bag down. “Thank you. We’ll be fine, see you later.” Samuel waved as he leapt up the stairs and disappeared off into the night. Kel shut the gate behind him and went back to stand beside Kyla. He took her bag off of her and set it down. “Well, let’s go and take a look around.” Kel went first, Kyla behind him and the others wandered on behind them. They took the right hand door first. There was a small lobby with stairs going up and an open door to the right which opened into a comfortably worn sitting room furnished with a sofa and two chairs. To the left was a neatly organized kitchen furnished with fitted kitchen units underneath the window which faced the courtyard and a country cottage style worn wooden table and chairs against the opposite wall. A light painted dresser held various useful kitchen utensils, plates and canisters. A door on the far wall led to the toilet and a small latticed glass window which opened to the outside of the Castle and a steep drop down to the grass below.
Kel walked through and opened the window and looked down. “Well nobody is going to be sneaking in through that window in a hurry.”
Connor stepped up and looked down as well. “Well I guess this place is fairly secure, that size of a window and with that drop I doubt anyone could get in through there. That’s the only window to the outside I can see on this level. I might as well check out upstairs.”
Up the stairs there were two bedrooms, one either side of the landing. Each had two neatly set up single beds. Their small latched windows opened onto the central courtyard with no windows to the outside.
Eric pushed down on the bed to test the springs. “Not bad, quite comfortable.” He tried the other one. “This one isn’t too bad either. I can’t say that the view is that great though.” He smiled and sat on the bed and bounced a bit.
They filed back down the stairs and checked out the cottage the other side of the courtyard and it was almost the same except that there was only one bedroom upstairs also with two single beds. Daniel and Eric wandered into the bedroom. Daniel was looking out of the window into the courtyard.
“Well I guess there’s going to be a bit of room sharing going on. Let’s see what the other building is like and we can sort out who goes where.”
The end cottage was similar with a kitchen downstairs and a sitting room and bedroom with two single beds upstairs.
Connor wandered out into the courtyard and returned with one of the boxes they had brought with them. “Which house shall we use as our base of operations?”
Kyla took a look in the box while Connor held it open for her. “Well the cottage on the right has a smaller sitting room but a fairly big kitchen and the toilets are downstairs. That would be the easiest. Shall we go there and then decide who gets what room?”
Connor closed the lid and they moved into the kitchen of Castle Keep South. Connor put the box on the dresser behind the table in the kitchen and filled the kettle with water and set it to boil. They all took a seat and looked around the room. It was comfortable, very country kitchen and rural, the decorations chosen with care to fit in and feel comfortable. Connor went to the counter and picked up the kettle. “I’ll make the tea then, so what does everyone want?” He put the kettle down and pulled out a notepad and paper from his pocket. “I’ll write down what everyone likes and then whoever is making the teas or coffees won’t have to ask every time.”
Kel looked up. “Hey, good idea. Mine’s coffee, black with two. Kyla?” Kyla was busy looking around the room. “Oh, white with no sugar.” Eric piped up. “Same as me.”
Damien nodded. “Me too.” Rennon smiled. “And
me.”
Daniel shook his head. “Can’t stand tea, I’m a coffee sort of guy. White with one.”
The kettle clicked off and Connor took the mugs from the dresser and the provisions from the box and poured the drinks and soon they were seated around the table in quiet conversation.
Daniel took a mouthful of his coffee. “So, who wants what room? We’re going to have to share so I would assume we’d want to stay in our own groups. So that would put Kel and Rennon sharing, unless either of you are with…”
Kel and Rennon shook their heads though Kel gave Kyla a very long and meaningful look.
Daniel put his cup down. “Well I would assume that if you’re going to be in a room on your own you’d probably feel better and be safer if you have the room in the South Keep that is opposite them?”
Kyla nodded.
Daniel looked to Connor, Damien and Eric. “So that leaves us to decide who shares with whom in the East and North Cottages. Any preferences or shall we flip for it?”
Connor looked up from his coffee. “I’d say let’s think this one through. It’s likely to be a quiet mission but just in case let’s put one combat trained person in each room if we are going to split between cottages. So Daniel would you like to share with Eric or Damien?”
Daniel shrugged. “Who snores?”
Everyone bar Damien piped up. “Damien.”
Daniel looked at Damien. “No offence mate but shall we flip for who gets Damien?”
Damien laughed and got a coin out of his pocket. “Sure, Heads or Tails Daniel?”
Daniel took a mouthful of his drink.
“Heads.” Damien flipped. “Bad luck Connor.”
Connor smiled. “Them’s the breaks, don’t worry about it mate, I’ve probably slept through worse, you didn’t meet my ex-wife did you? So, shall we get our stuff and get settled in.”
Kel grabbed Kyla’s bags as well as his own and headed off up the stairs. Rennon gave Kyla a very knowing look, she smiled and shrugged. Connor and Eric saw what was happening and gave each other a look and they laughed, grabbed their bags and headed off for their rooms.
Kel put Kyla’s bag on her bed and she followed him into the room. Rennon took his bag and went into his room across
the landing and closed the door. Kyla went to the window. “It’s a lovely night; I hope the weather holds for tomorrow.”
Kel stepped up behind her. She could feel the heat of him against her back and relaxed. “So you decided to stay, I’m glad. We’re all glad.”
Kyla turned to face him. “Thank you. It feels right for me.” Rennon was at the door. “Which bed do you want?”
Kel looked down at Kyla and she smiled at him and whispered. “You had better go. We can talk later.”
Kel hesitated and looked surprised then he left the room. Kyla went to her bag and unzipped it. She then looked down at what she was wearing. She hadn’t had much chance to think about it, she’d just thrown the clothes on and grabbed her bag to go. The jeans were comfortable, faded but decorated with a Diamante pattern on the pockets. The sweatshirt was comfortable and the hood looked warm and useful. The clothes in the bag were all fairly similar and felt soft and looked warm. Her ski jacket was practical and very warm; the lining was thick though it was lightweight. She threw it on the bed and left the bag on the other bed and unpacked a few things into the drawer before stowing the bag down beside the bed.
She then sat on the bed and let the atmosphere wash over her. The air was slightly salty smelling and the sound of the gulls filled the momentary silences. She took a deep breath of the fresh air and felt the calm of the normality of the room. It was basic and that was somehow reassuring.
About half an hour later they were all downstairs. The equipment had been moved into Castle Keep North and had been set up and Rennon and the two science specialists from Earth were connecting wires and taking readings, turning dials and noting the results.
Rennon stepped back. “Well, that was fairly conclusive. You will see from the readings on that module there that there is extensive EMP activity in this area, to be specific to the side of this castle. It may very well be that there is some sort of equipment located somewhere around here.”