The Anomaly

by Neil Carstairs

  “I don’t think I could cope.”

  “Oh, of course you can. You are a soldier, strong, fit and courageous. Just the kind of man I am looking for.”

  “And you are incredible too,” Stanton kept his voice low, making sure he wouldn’t be heard through the door.

  “Then we sound like a perfect match.”

  An image of Moira, naked as she rode him, forced its way into his mind. He moved on his chair, uncomfortable as he became aroused.

  “Shall I be there at seven?” she asked.

  “That might not work. I live in the quarantine zone.”

  “Oh,” she made a small sound of disappointment.

  “I can come to you,” Stanton said quickly.

  “Would you?”

  “Of course.”

  “I’ll be waiting for you.”

  The call ended. Stanton dropped the phone. He wanted to be with her.

  A knock on the door broke his reverie. A sergeant came in, saluted and said, “Report from the Anomaly team, sir.”

  “Yes?” he hoped he sounded alert.

  “The two missing persons have appeared, sir.”

  “The two...They have?”

  “Yes, sir. I’ve got a vehicle and driver waiting outside for you. I thought you’d want to get down there in person.”

  “Thank you.” Stanton rose as the sergeant started to leave. “One more thing, sergeant. There’s a chap named Congrave. He’s here as part of the intelligence and security team. Let him know and see if he needs transport.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Stanton grabbed his jacket. The two missing persons could only be the two he assumed dead under a pile of rubble. He left the chandler’s building at a trot. He wanted to get down to the Anomaly before Congrave. Whatever had happened, Stanton wanted to be in control, not some jumped up pen-pusher from a hitherto unknown government agency.

  The driver already had the engine running as Stanton climbed in. They were moving before Stanton fastened his seat-belt. The driver seemed more than happy that there were few other vehicles on the road, with no cyclists and the school closed, the 20mph school zone limit no longer applied. They reached the Anomaly cordon with Stanton’s knuckles white. He gave a curt nod to the driver and headed down past the church. There seemed to be quite a few people gathered close to the red paint-marks that showed the boundary of the Anomaly.

  Closer, he saw Joanne Kramer and the sergeant being treated by a medic. Stopping next to one of the scientists, Stanton said, “What happened, Gordon?”

  Gordon Weir shrugged. “They just appeared out of nowhere, as you would expect with this kind of event.”

  “Why are they still here? Shouldn’t they be on their way to hospital?”

  “They can’t get out,” Gordon said. “Our man can go in and treat them, but if they move a few metres in any direction they leave our world and return to the one they’re in.”

  Stanton made sure he kept his face straight, inside he almost jumped for joy. The team that had been foisted upon him from the Department for Environmental Security were nothing but a pain, a thorn in his side. At least now he had some ammunition to use against them. Gung-ho actions like the ones that led to this situation could only be stopped by using disciplined troops. That would be the message rammed home to Douglas Congrave. If Stanton called the right people at the Ministry of Defence, then the DES would be out of Cornwall and hopefully out of his hair for good by the end of the day.

  And by the end of the day he would be in Moira’s arms. Life couldn’t get much better.

  ***

  For a moment, Emily thought there would be a fight. The twins stood in front of her, barring the way down the corridor to the restroom, no, toilets she corrected herself. She needed to go, but right now the only way would be through Victoria and Elizabeth.

  “Going somewhere?” Elizabeth asked with the kind of smile on her face that said she knew exactly where Emily wanted to go, and why.

  Emily didn’t want to say why. She knew, somehow, it would be an admission of weakness. Giving the girls the answer they wanted and the power to stop her. She stared at Elizabeth, ignoring the other sister for now. All the other kids were out in the playground, the noise they made a faint wash of sound that filtered through closed doors. So it came down to Emily against the twins. She felt a twinge from her bladder.

  Behind her, a door opened. The twins looked past Emily.

  “Hello, girls,” Hannah said. “You know you should be outside now.”

  “I was on my way to the girls’ room,” Emily said to her.

  “Well, run along now,” Hannah said. She watched Emily hurry down the corridor before fixing the twins with a critical eye. “And why are you two here?”

  “We need to go as well,” Lizzie said.

  Hannah said nothing. Her eyes never left Lizzie’s face.

  Thirty or forty seconds must have passed before Lizzie said, “Can we go as well?”

  “You need to say please,” Hannah said.

  “Please, can we go to the toilet?”

  Hannah heard Emily open the door and come into the corridor. “Yes, you can.”

  Neither twin could do anything but pass Emily in the corridor. Hannah smiled at Emily and pointed at the door to the playground. The TA followed her young charge into the playground. She watched Emily for a moment and then took the risky procedure of crossing a football game between five Year Six boys to take up her position next to Tim Munro.

  “Everything okay?” he asked.

  “Yep.”

  “Good.”

  They watched children play. Hannah sensed Tim fidgeting next to her. “Everything okay?” she asked with a smile.

  “Look, this is difficult. I shouldn’t say this here, in the playground.”

  “Say what?” Hannah asked as he fell silent.

  “You’re not wearing any rings. I was wondering if you had a boyfriend or fiancée.”

  “Or girlfriend,” Hannah said.

  “Girlfriend?” Tim’s mouth dropped open.

  Hannah laughed. “You have to be open-minded these days.”

  “Yes. Do you? Have a girlfriend, I mean.”

  “No.” Hannah thought about making up a boyfriend. Single life suited her in her day job. But she should get out more. And Tim looked like he might know how to treat a girl nicely. Better, she hoped, than some of the Neanderthal military-types she’d met over at Sheddlestone Hall.

  Tim seemed to have lost the power of speech.

  “Break time’s almost over,” Hannah prompted him.

  He reached down to pick up the bell. When he came back upright Hannah fixed him with a look that seemed to freeze his blood. “You were asking about significant others,” she said.

  “Yes.”

  “No.”

  “What?”

  “There’s no-one at the moment.”

  “Oh,” Tim said in a breathless rush. He looked at a loss for words.

  Hannah looked at her watch. “Break time is over, are you on duty at lunch?”

  “Yes.”

  “Maybe we can continue this conversation then?”

  “I hope so.”

  “Then ring the bell, Mr Munro.”

  ***

  Reuben met Ben at the quarantine boundary, now a permanent army roadblock with welfare facilities, concrete blocks, razor wire and a mean looking Foxhound patrol vehicle. Reuben drove a company Ford Mondeo, picking Ben up when a driver from Sheddlestone left him at the roadside.

  “She’s alive?” Ben still couldn’t quite believe the news he’d been given.

  For whatever reason Kramer’s condition and current location hadn’t been passed onto him. Some half-assed security protocol seemed to be the reason for that. Ben imagined Stanton sitting at his desk and issuing instructions that nothing could be revealed about Kramer and her companion. To anyone. At all. Whatsoever.

  “Yeah. A bit knocked about but alive and kicking.”

  Ben smiled. “I could d
o with a bit less of the kicking part but as long as she’s okay I can put up with it.”

  Reuben didn’t reply. Ben glanced at him. His companion seemed pensive, and Ben began to get a feeling that something might be wrong. “Tell me,” he said.

  “Jo and Geordie are trapped in the Anomaly.”

  “What do you mean by ‘trapped’?” Ben asked, his voice quiet and his skin cold.

  “They can see our world, but if they walk five or ten metres in any direction they return to the world we can see if we walk through the Anomaly.”

  “Fuck.”

  The remainder of the journey passed in silence. A pair of helicopters scooted low overhead. Ben ignored them. He’d gone from hoping Kramer lived to knowing she did. Now it looked like she was as far away from him as ever. Of all the things that could have happened this had to be the worst. He needed to speak to Congrave and find out if the droves of scientists now working on the project had made any progress.

  Reuben parked the car and stayed in place.

  “You not coming?” Ben asked.

  “I’ve got to be somewhere else.”

  “You don’t sound happy.”

  “I’m not.” Reuben shifted in his seat and looked across at Ben. “Stanton is kicking us off site.”

  “Us?”

  “Our unit. Everyone directly connected with the Department. I’m off to pack my bags. Then I come back for you, and we head off to Sheddlestone Hall.”

  “Stanton can’t do that.”

  “He can. He has.”

  “I’ll see about that.” Ben shoved the door open, but as he got out Reuben reached over to grasp his arm.

  “Stay calm, Ben. If only for Jo’s sake.”

  “Where’s Stanton?”

  “Behind closed doors with Congrave. Let them sort it out, okay?”

  Ben slipped back into the car. “It’s not easy.”

  “I know. Go see Jo.”

  Ben nodded.

  Out of the car, the blustery wind made Ben shiver. Somehow the clouds seemed lower than when he’d been left at the roadblock. Their grey underbellies held a threat of rain. As he wandered down to the Anomaly, Ben wondered if rainfall would pass into the other world. From what he remembered the place needed some water. He bypassed a clutch of eggheads clustered around a set of scientific of equipment. Three soldiers were setting up an awning to cover the kit from the weather. Someone must have been looking at the forecast.

  Another squaddie stopped him close to the Anomaly boundary.

  “Sorry, sir. No further than this unless authorised.”

  “I’m authorised,” Ben said.

  “And your name?” the man held up a clipboard.

  “Scarrett.”

  “Nope, not here. Sorry.”

  “Look,” Ben said, keeping his voice low so no-one else heard them. “I’m the only other American here apart from Joanne Kramer who is sitting inside that thing. She needs to see a friendly face even if my name’s not on your list. I go in, talk to her and then leave. Okay?”

  The soldier stared at Ben for a moment and then looked at his clipboard and said, “What was the name again?”

  “Ben Scarrett.”

  Ben watched the Brit make a big show of running his finger down the list of authorised personnel.

  “Well,” the man said with a grin, “looks like your name’s on here after all. Must have missed it the first time around.”

  “Thanks.” Ben patted the guy on the shoulder.

  Ben saw nothing much had changed when he stepped inside the Anomaly. Dusty, hot, dry but with the addition of two small tents pitched about twenty metres away, somewhere inside the churchyard in the real world. Ben recognised Delta Five sitting beside a camping stove as he warmed up a pan. Five looked up and smiled.

  “How are you doing?” he asked.

  “Fine. You?”

  “Been better.”

  “How about Kramer?”

  Delta Five shrugged. He stood up and walked to one of the tents. Ben watched as he knelt and spoke to the occupant. Kramer crawled out. Ben managed to keep his face straight as she came over. Dirty, bruised and scarred she stopped in front of him and said, “About time you turned up.”

  “I know, but you really shouldn’t have made the effort to look so good.”

  Kramer stared at him. “You think?”

  “No,” Ben said, after a moment. “You look like shit.”

  She nodded. He thought that for the first time since he’d known her Kramer looked vulnerable. “Everyone can see us,” she said.

  Ben looked around. “No they can’t,” he said.

  “Yes, they can.” Kramer pointed off to the left. “A couple of soldiers and three of the scientists.”

  “I can’t see them,” Ben said. “And they can’t see me. I’ve disappeared, remember?”

  “Yeah.” Kramer frowned. She looked like she was trying to work out a puzzle. “So how come I can see you?”

  Ben reached out and brushed her cheek with his fingertips. “I can see you and feel you, so who cares how this damn thing works?”

  “I don’t,” Kramer said and stepped into his arms.

  Ben hugged her tight. Her head rested on his shoulder. Her warmth felt good to Ben. He could feel her heartbeat and her breath as she sighed and said, “We’re lost.”

  “No, you’re not. We know exactly where you are.”

  “No. I mean we’re not coming back. For all their PhDs these guys have no idea what this thing is. So we’re lost.”

  “Jesus, Kramer, you’re starting to sound like me.”

  She drew back and studied him. “As long as I don’t start looking like you I’ll be okay.”

  “True enough.” Ben kissed her.

  “In public?”

  “No time like the present.”

  Kramer smiled for the first time since coming out of the tent. “So romantic.”

  “You know me.”

  “Yeah, more’s the pity.”

  “You sound happier already,” Ben said.

  “Must be being with you.”

  “So how big is the tent?”

  Kramer laughed. “Too small for what you’re thinking. And anyway, if you walk towards it then you go back to Cornwall. I go back to the other world.”

  “Damn,” Ben said.

  Delta Five came over. “Nice to see you again, Ben.”

  “You too, Delta Five,” Ben shook his hand.

  “You can call him Geordie,” Kramer said. “He seems to prefer that.”

  “Geordie?” Ben said. “Why?”

  “It’s what they call folks who hail from my part of the country,” Geordie said, and when Ben looked blank, he added. “Tyneside. You know, Newcastle.”

  “Sorry,” Ben said. “I’ve just about figured out which direction the States are from here.”

  Geordie made a disgusted sound and said, “Fancy a brew?”

  “Please,” Kramer said.

  As Geordie returned to the camping stove, Ben said, “What happened with that explosion back at the old mine?”

  “We were pursuing one of your jotunns. We think it hid in the old engine house but as we approached, the place exploded. At least I think it exploded. One second we were outside the building in a grass field, the next we were here.”

  “Right here?” Ben asked as Geordie returned with three metal mugs full of tea.

  “No. Still on the hillside where the mine would have been.”

  “That’s miles away,” Ben said as blew on his drink to cool it. “You were lucky to find your way here.”

  “We were led here,” Geordie said. “Some guy appeared in front of us. It was pretty obvious he wanted is to follow him. So we did. And here we are.”

  “Did you talk to him?” Ben asked.

  “Didn’t get a chance.”

  “What did he look like?”

  Geordie shrugged. “A man. He looked odd because of what he was wearing. Proper old-fashioned clothing, with an iron helmet and sh
ort sword.”

  Ben frowned as he tasted his tea. Geordie brewed it strong enough to stand a spoon in. As he took another mouthful, he thought about Geordie’s description and said, “When you say old-fashioned what do you mean?”

  “Like proper old,” Geordie shrugged. “His helmet reminded me of something Saxons would have worn.”

  “Or Vikings,” Kramer said.

  Ben stared at her. “Vikings?”

  “Sure, you’ve seen the television series?”

  “No.” Ben shook his head. He handed his mug to Kramer. “I need to make a call.”

  “Why?”

  “Because yesterday I had another conversation with the dead guy we think is possessed by a Norse sea god called Aegir and here you are, being led through a wasteland by a guy you think might be a Viking. See the connection?”

  “Yeah,” Kramer said. “I do. Who are you calling?”

  “There’s a local cop up there who’s my contact. He’s not going to be happy, but I want him to make contact with Old Davey again.”

  “Who’s Old Davey?” Geordie asked.

  “The dead guy.”

  Two minutes later Ben stood outside the Anomaly and heard John McGrath say, “You want me to what?”

  “Go down to the beach and shout out to Old Davey. We need to ask him a question.”

  “Can you not come and do that yourself?”

  “There’s not enough time.” Silence told Ben everything he needed to know about how McGrath felt. “It’d be a great, great favour.”

  McGrath sighed. “Okay. So if I get some response I don’t have to invite him home do I?”

  “No,” Ben laughed. “Ask him if he sent someone to help my friends in the desert.”

  “Is that all?”

  “Well, get a reply that makes sense. And if you can tell him they are still stuck. They can’t find a way through.”

  “Okay,” McGrath sounded doubtful. “I’ll not tell anyone I’m doing this. They’ll think I’m mad.”

  “If it works then I’m going to try and recruit you.”

  “Jesus, talking to dead men is not a career I’d want.”

  “It’s not always dead men,” Ben said. “Sometimes it’s chasing demons, other times it’s just plain old paperwork.”

  “Whatever. So your friends are still stuck in the desert and can he help them through?”