Eye of the Storm

by Mark Robson

  ‘You’re amazin’!’ Carrie breathed when Niamh finished her story.

  ‘I agree,’ Tony said, his blue eyes twinkling.

  Niamh shook her head. ‘Not amazing,’ she disagreed. ‘Foolish, lucky and scared is more like it. After everything that’s happened today, where am I? Almost back where I started! I did learn one thing though. When the police caught me on the bus, I had a really clear feeling from Sam that he has found Mum. Wherever he is, Mum’s there too. My problem now is trying to decide if that’s a good thing or not.’

  ‘Of course it’s good,’ Carrie said immediately. ‘If nothin’ else, you know they’re both alive. You know that they’re together.’

  ‘I’m beginning to wonder about that,’ Niamh said hesitantly. ‘What if it turns out I’m some kind of medium and what I’m sensing is Sam’s ghost?’

  The room fell silent for a moment and Niamh shivered as a sudden chill ran through her body.

  ‘That’s nonsense and you know it,’ Carrie said eventually. ‘You told me earlier that you were sure Sam was alive. Didn’t you say you felt he’d been in danger? What sort of danger could frighten a ghost?’

  Carrie was right. Of course Sam was alive, and perhaps more amazingly, so was her mum. The sudden ache in Niamh’s chest as she considered this made her realise just how much she missed her mother. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if she could find them both and restore their family after all this time? The ache became twisted with a sensation of guilt as she realised just how little credence she had given her dad’s search for her mother all these years. He had never given up, but Niamh and Sam had never tried to help. How had he kept his hopes alive all this time when no one around him had shared his belief?

  ‘Yes, but I’m no closer to finding out where they are,’ Niamh grumbled, clenching her right fist and hammering the side of it repeatedly into her left palm. The feeling of helpless frustration was overwhelming. ‘When I was waiting for the bus earlier, I got a strong sense of where Sam might be. I think he and Mum are a good distance north of here, but how am I going to get out of the Keys?’

  ‘You might not be able to physically search for them right now with the cops all out lookin’ for you, but there’s no reason not to do a virtual one,’ Tony offered, looking thoughtful.

  ‘A virtual search? What, you mean on the internet?’

  ‘Well, maybe in part online,’ he said. ‘You told me this mornin’ that your dad is an expert on the Bermuda Triangle, right?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Well, do you think there was anythin’ in what he was investigating? Is there somethin’ weird going on out there?’

  ‘Before now I didn’t really believe there was, but since the boys’ disappearance it’s impossible not to think about that. I keep getting these images and feelings from Sam that make little sense.’ She paused, trying to find the right words. ‘On the day he disappeared, I felt something happen to Sam. And now I feel a definite sense that he’s found Mum. I don’t understand how they can be together again, yet I know they are.’

  ‘So what if your dad was on the right track? Couldn’t we follow up on his research? Maybe we could find somethin’ he missed. Did he have notes or anythin’?’

  ‘Dad’s spent years researching and he was incredibly thorough,’ Niamh said, giving a shrug. ‘It’s hard to imagine we’d find anything that he hadn’t gone over a hundred times already, but it’s worth a try. He had loads of notes on his laptop, but the police are bound to have taken his computer from the house by now.’

  ‘Back-ups?’ Carrie asked.

  ‘There are back-ups,’ Niamh answered, her voice suddenly thoughtful. ‘He had back-ups on disks, pen drives and on the PC back home in England. Getting them shouldn’t be too big a problem. I know Dad’s password and there’s someone I could ask to try and get into my house. If the police there have seized the home computer, then we may be sunk, but. . .’

  ‘You never know, Niamh, a fresh perspective on his notes might cough somethin’ up,’ Tony suggested enthusiastically.

  ‘Nice image, thanks for that! But you’re right. I’ll try anything that might help me work out what’s happened to Sam. It’s well past midnight in England, but if I can borrow your phone to send a text, Carrie, I’ll see if I can get a friend of mine to help us out in the morning.’

  ‘Sure.’

  Writing the text to Beth was not as easy as Niamh imagined. There was no end of stuff that she wanted to write, but after several false starts, she settled on sending a brief message asking her to log on to Facebook in the morning, which would be early afternoon in England; that way they could chat online and Niamh could explain properly. She started and ended the message with **URGENT**.

  That should get her attention, she thought.

  The idea of being able to find something that her dad had missed seemed ridiculous and yet the prospect of trying excited her. What if between the three of them they could see something he had overlooked? Given how many mystery buffs around the world had studied the Bermuda Triangle looking for clues to all the missing ships, planes and people, the idea that three teenagers could do any better at finding a reason for the disappearances seemed ludicrous. However, it did give Niamh something positive to focus on while she waited for the police to lose interest in looking for her and she could head out and continue her search for the boys.

  ‘Done?’ Carrie asked.

  ‘Yes,’ Niamh replied, as she handed back the phone. ‘We can’t do anything tonight, but with any luck, I should be able to get Dad’s notes sent through to us tomorrow.’

  They chatted for a while, but it was not long before Niamh was yawning so frequently that Carrie suggested she go to bed.

  ‘Sorry,’ she apologised. ‘It’s not the company, I promise.’

  ‘It’s not your fault,’ Carrie told her. ‘It’s Tony’s. He has the same effect on all girls. Come on. I’ll show you to the guest room before he puts you completely to sleep.’

  ‘Ha ha! Very funny, sis,’ Tony drawled, pulling a face at his sister. ‘Night, Nia— Tamsyn.’ The correction was a timely reminder to all of them that they would have to be careful.

  Carrie led Niamh out of her bedroom and left to the neighbouring room. Niamh glanced over her shoulder just in time to see Tony blow her a kiss. She raised her eyebrows momentarily and then rewarded him with the best smile she could.

  The guest room was relatively small, but very tidy. The lilac and cream linen on the bed looked fresh and inviting and Niamh sank down on top of it with a big sigh.

  ‘Heavenly,’ she said, laying back and closing her eyes.

  ‘You know where the bathroom is,’ Carrie said. ‘And you can wear more of my clothes tomorrow until we can get across to one of the local stores and buy you a few supplies.’

  ‘Thanks, Carrie. You’re the best,’ Niamh said sleepily. ‘What time do you normally get up?’

  ‘Between eight and nine usually, but Mom and Dad are normally up and out by eight.’

  ‘If I’m not up by eight-thirty, could you wake me, please? I’ll need to get on the computer and speak to Beth at about nine.’

  ‘Sure thing. Sleep well.’

  Niamh thought there would be little danger of her doing anything other than sleeping well, but after wearily removing her clothes down to her underwear and slipping under the covers, she found it remarkably hard to relax enough to slide into sleep. The events of the day kept playing over and over in her mind. So many things had happened, but one thing her mind persistently returned to was the kiss with Tony. She replayed the memory time and again until it was etched in her mind so brightly that it was hard to think of anything else.

  Eventually, she got so annoyed with her preoccupation that she berated herself. Oh, get over it, Niamh! It was just a kiss. There are far more important things to worry about than a boy! And holding that thought in mind, she finally relaxed enough to cross the barrier into sleep.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Sherri unclipped the rope
from her harness and used the carabiner to clip her inertia reel on to a nearby cupboard door handle. ‘Come on, Sam. We’ve come this far. I’m not leaving without David.’

  ‘Wait for Nipper,’ Sam urged.

  Sherri didn’t listen. She was already at the door and cracking it open. With her tight-fitting black outfit and her furtive movements, she looked like a cat burglar. Her hair was scraped back and tied in a neat ponytail and her eyes were constantly on the move. Nipper, on the other hand, could never look anything like a cat burglar. He was making quite a bit of noise as he attempted to scramble up and through the freshly created window without dropping the cutter.

  Sherri threw him a sharp frown. ‘Keep it down!’ she hissed. ‘We don’t want to wake the entire science lab staff. Come on, Sam. The corridor’s clear. Follow me.’ And she was gone, slipping through the door and out of sight.

  Sam grabbed the cutter from Nipper, struggling with its weight as he dragged it into the room and marvelling that the raptor had held it with one arm. With both hands free, Nipper all but leapt into the room after it. The raptor glanced at the door through which Sherri had disappeared and then at Sam. Baring his teeth, Nipper gave a short burst of quiet clicking noises. Sam did not need to understand the raptor language to guess that Nipper was saying something about Sherri, and he doubted it was complimentary.

  There was no time to waste. Sam detached his inertia reel and secured it next to Sherri’s. Nipper followed his lead and they both went to the door. Sam peered out. The corridor was empty in both directions. Which way had Sherri gone? There was no obvious way of telling. With a gesture to Nipper to go left, Sam turned right and ran lightly along to the next door. It was slightly ajar. Inside he could see a dim light and hear the sound of low voices.

  Sam peered in through the narrow opening. Sherri was inside, being held at knifepoint by a young man who was wearing nothing but a pair of sleeping shorts. She had her hands in the air and was whispering urgently at him, but the man did not look impressed. Sam backed away from the door for a moment and waved frantic gestures at Nipper who was already some distance down the corridor checking doors. It took a few seconds to catch his attention, but as soon as the raptor saw Sam’s signal, he raced swiftly and silently back.

  Sam didn’t wait for Nipper to arrive. He stepped in through the door.

  ‘Another one!’ the man said. ‘And this one barely more than a boy! How many of you are there?’

  ‘Enough,’ Sam said, keeping his voice much lower. ‘Is this David?’

  ‘Yes. I’m sorry. He surprised me,’ Sherri replied. She began to lower her right hand. Sam could see the pistol holstered at her lower back. ‘I didn’t expect him to be sleeping with a big knife under his pillow.’

  ‘Keep your hands up,’ David ordered, waving his knife menacingly.

  Sherri complied.

  ‘Seems pretty paranoid,’ Sam observed, walking forward slowly. ‘I wonder why someone would keep such a big knife in their bed.’

  ‘Stop right there!’ David ordered, turning the knife towards Sam. ‘I don’t want to hurt anyone.’

  Sam stopped. Nipper appeared at the door, but Sam raised his hand in a gesture that kept him at the threshold. Strangely, this felt like a situation he could handle. His four and a half years of tae kwon do training might not be much use against raptors, but from the way David was holding the knife, Sam could tell he was no fighter.

  ‘David, we’re not here to hurt you,’ Sam said softly. ‘I’m sure Sherri will have told you that.’

  ‘Stay back, Sam,’ Sherri ordered. ‘I promised your mother I’d keep you out of trouble.’

  Sam ignored her and took another slow step closer, keeping his hands up where David could see them.

  ‘I know who you are and I want nothing to do with the anti-Imperium group,’ David said, turning his knife towards Sam. ‘You’re all traitors. Get away from me. Leave me alone.’

  ‘Traitors to what, David?’ Sam asked.

  ‘To the Imperium of course!’ he replied, waving the knife first at Sherri and then at Sam. ‘You’re saboteurs who create chaos, trying to destroy all the good work that we’re doing.’

  ‘That’s not true,’ Sam said, keeping his voice unflustered and moving another slow step closer. ‘It’s what the Imperium want you to think. Yes, we want to stop some of what they’re doing, but only the stuff that’s doing more harm than good. The Imperium know that their energy programme is causing a global catastrophe, but they’re shutting their eyes to the facts and working hard to keep everyone else in the dark. Worse, their actions are causing problems in my home world – the world your grandmother came from. Don’t get me wrong – much of what the Imperium scientists are doing is wonderful. Your flight technology, for example, is fascinating. We’d love to understand it and help you develop it further.’

  ‘You would?’ David asked, his frown deepening. ‘Why? What’s your interest in flight?’

  ‘Personally, I’d like to use it to find a way home,’ Sam replied. ‘We saw your flying machine outside the city. It looked very impressive.’

  ‘Did you cross in an aircraft?’ David asked eagerly, his eyes lighting up at the prospect.

  ‘No, we were on a boat.’

  ‘Shame,’ he said, clearly disappointed. ‘I’d love to get my hands on a flying machine from your world. My work is a starting point, but it’s nothing like the machines that my grandmother flew and I know from the other human scientists here that aviation has progressed a lot in your world since then.’

  ‘From what I saw, it’s more than just a start. You’re a pioneer, just like she was. If you come with us, we can help you develop it and take you with us into a world where flying machines have developed far beyond anything even your grandmother dreamed of.’

  ‘Jet aircraft,’ David said, his eyes going distant. ‘I’ve heard about them of course – planes that can travel several times faster than the monorail trains. It doesn’t seem possible.’

  ‘But it is. Imagine flying through the air, as you do in your machine, but so fast that not even a bullet fired from a gun could catch up with you.’

  ‘I don’t fly in my machine,’ David spat, his eyes still flicking between Sam and Sherri, trying to determine who was the greater threat.

  ‘What?’ Sam asked, genuinely surprised. ‘Why not? Don’t you want to fly the machine you created?’

  ‘I do,’ he said instantly, his eyes suddenly burning with an inner fire as his passion came to the fore. ‘But the raptors won’t let me. They say I’m too fragile and too important to risk.’

  ‘Come with us then,’ Sam urged. ‘Help us replicate your machine and you’ll get to fly your creation, I promise.’

  Nipper barked a low warning from the doorway.

  ‘We’re out of time, Sam,’ Sherri gasped. ‘We’ve got to get out of here. Someone’s coming.’

  In a flash, Sam whipped his left leg up into a crescent kick that swept the knife from David’s hand and sent it clattering across the room. Without pause, he stepped in, grabbed David’s wrist with a hooking motion and twisted his arm behind his back.

  ‘Please don’t try to fight,’ Sam urged. ‘I don’t want to hurt you, but if you make this difficult for us, then I will. Now, let’s go!’

  ‘Nice move,’ Sherri observed. ‘You’ll have to show me how you did that sometime.’

  She pulled her pistol from the holster at the small of her back and ran to the door.

  Sam steered David after her, pushing him forward as fast as he could without losing control. Nipper took over from there, picking David up and tucking him under his arm, much as he had done with Sam on the day they had first met. Raptors were approaching at speed along the corridor behind them. Nipper was too encumbered by David to fight, so running was the only option.

  Sherri aimed and fired a quick volley of shots down the corridor at the approaching raptors. One went down, but the rest barely hesitated in their charge.

  Nipper led the way, sp
rinting the few steps along the corridor to the room they had entered through. Sam ducked inside after him with Sherri close behind. Sam slammed the door behind her and wedged it shut with a nearby stool. It wouldn’t hold for more than a second or two, but he hoped that would be enough to allow a clean getaway. Sherri grabbed Nipper’s inertia reel and clipped it on to his harness.

  ‘Put me down!’ David protested. ‘I don’t want to go with you. Leave me alone!’

  ‘If I were you, I’d pray that Nipper doesn’t drop you,’ Sam said, grabbing his own reel. ‘It’s a long way down.’

  ‘What the? What are you doing? Arghhhhh!’

  David’s cry faded as Nipper leapt out through the window and dropped from sight. There was a loud bang and the door shuddered as someone tried to open it.

  ‘Go!’ Sherri ordered Sam. ‘Get out now!’

  With a last check to ensure his rope was properly connected, Sam ran to the opening in the wall and jumped into space after Nipper. This time he actually enjoyed the falling sensation. The wind rush and the heart-stopping rate of descent lasted no more than a second or two before the retarding action of the arresting gear kicked in and he swung back towards the wall of the building. The high-pitched screaming protest of the rope through the inertia reel gradually died as his plummeting descent slowed. He kicked off from the wall once . . . twice, slowing each time. The ground rose up to meet him, but to his surprise, it did not stop rising as he expected. He impacted the pavement, still travelling faster than he would have liked.

  Legs buckling under the impact, the shock of hitting the ground took Sam’s breath away. Lying flat on his back, he watched Sherri’s descent. She was slowing faster than he had and Sam suddenly realised what had happened. In their rush to escape, he and Sherri had grabbed the wrong reels. The one he had clipped to his harness had been set for Sherri’s diminutive form, so it hadn’t slowed him as much as he expected. Sherri had the opposite problem. The one she was now attached to was set for his heavier weight and she had slowed to a stop some five metres above the pavement. There was nothing he could do to help. She was stuck.