“What the fuck,” Laura said looking up into the rain soaked sky “How did you escape?”
“Because of me.” Richard said beaming onto the deck.
All hell then broke loose.
The Star Ship Velociraptor hovered over the USS Eldiridge as it beamed Charlotte’s people up as a huge fire fight took place on the deck with all hell breaking loose. Bullets were flying about all over the place as old Taylor and young Taylor went to toe to toe in hand combat while Laura and Charlotte were also locked into their own fight to the death. As if that was bad enough a swarm of Pterodactyls started to attack them. As the last of Camp Lucy went up in to the spaceship Milton’s radio crackled to life “Milton I’ve got all your people. You can blow up the machine now.” Milton whistled over to Charlotte who punched Laura in the face sending her flying off the USS Eldridge and was then eaten by a passing Pterodactyl.
“Charlotte its time to go,” Milton shouted just before the ship tipped onto its side sending everyone flying down the deck. Charlotte just had time to grab onto a railing as the did Milton and Richard but old Taylor wasn’t so lucky as he fell through the air. Both Milton and Troy starting climbing towards the detonator that was balancing on a ledge. Troy was above Milton and started kicking him in face and didn’t notice the machine starting sliding towards him.
“That time machine is mine. I’m going to be rich.” Troy shouted as he stamped on Milton’s hand as he grasped the railing. A sound of squealing metal on metal cut through the rain soaked night sky as the machine picked up pace sliding down the deck that was now at at forty five degree angle. Troy was seemingly oblivious to the machine sliding straight for him as he managed to cause Milton to lose his grip so that he now clutched the railing with just a few finger tips. His radio sparked to life again
“Milton get ready to beam up,” but it was too late as he slipped from the railing and fell through the air. Troy started laughing but his victory was short lived as the machine crushed him to death until it too fell from the ship and whizzed past Milton and plummeted into the sea. Luckily Milton didn’t share the same fate for David beamed him onto the spaceship along with Richard, Taylor and Charlotte.
They all let out a yell of triumph as the spaceship hit outer space. Taylor and David were in the pilots seats while Charlotte sat in the Captains chair. Richard was no where to be found but Charlotte guessed that was probably with their daughter, Ellie.
“We nearly at the tear,” David said as they flew through space “get ready to fire the nuclear bomb. We can blow it up with a torpedo.”
“Fire,” Charlotte barked. Taylor fired the bomb and David shot a torpedo at it. They watched a soundless explosion through the view-screen as a split second later the shock wave hit the ship “shields are down to fifty percent.” Milton said taping the controls clearly enjoying himself as the shock wave rocked the ship just before they saw a tear opening on the view screen.
“Set a course through that tear,” Charlotte said “we’re nearly home.”
London 2016
Charlotte woke up back in her old apartment. It seemed like a lifetime ago since she’d slept in her own bed. Beyond getting back having a hot shower was the only other thing that had kept her going. She nearly jumped out of her skin when a man moaned beside her; it was David. Had they had sex? Come to think of it she couldn’t remember much more then opening the tear. Where was the ship? Where was Taylor and the others?
“Hey.” David said sounding as awkward as she felt.
“What happened last night?”
“Don’t you remember the crash landing and ditching the ship into the ocean after we dropped Taylor off in 1945?”
“No but I’m sure it will come back to me,” Charlotte said getting up making sure the bedding was wrapped around her “I’m going to take a shower.”
“Don’t mind me.”
Making sure Charlotte was still in the shower and she couldn’t hear him David made a phone call to his boss “We’re back”
“Was there any complications?”
“There was a few hiccups but everything went like clockwork in the end.”
“Does she know yet?”
“About her powers? No but it certainly would’ve made things easier”
“I’m sure I don’t need to remind how important it is the other me never finds out that she can open tears in reality and that she’s now the most dangerous person on the planet. Have you got her DNA?”
“Yes everything is going according to plan” David said looking at a vial of Charlotte’s blood.
“Good I’m opening a small tear now.” A small window opened in mid air beyond which he could see a world burning with fire. David handed the vial of blood to the other Charlotte who was on the other side.
“I’ll be in contact again soon” the other Charlotte said through the tear ”We’re nearly at the end game.”
To be continued in part 3…
Into Thin Air
Part 3: The Super Patrol
By Mark R Silgram
Contents:
Chapter 1 -Patient X
Chapter 2-Paper clips and Goblins
Chapter 3-Me, Myself and I
Chapter 4-Hail Taylor!
Chapter 5- The Man
Chapter 1 - Patient X
A needle dropped onto a record and the song “Everyday” by Buddy Holly blared out as a group of surgeons set to work on a young girl who looked no more then seventeen years old. She lay strapped to a hospital bed with an oxygen mask over her face. Her hands and legs were strapped to the bed not for her own safety but for the protection of everyone else in the facility. A heart rate monitor beeped softly in the background while surgeons proceeded to extract her powers. No one knew her real name she was only known as Patient X and she was considered to be extremely dangerous. Knowing she could wake up at any minute the surgeons worked quickly with beads of sweat glistening on their foreheads. They had already witnessed first hand what her mum and her superhero friends could do and it had taken the entire fire power of the base to control the situation.
“Are you sure she’s out cold?” One of the surgeons asked nervously through his mask clicking his fingers over her face to make sure.
“We gave her enough sedative to floor a T-Rex don’t worry about it.”
“Okay people let’s just focus on what we’re doing shall we,” The chief of surgery said. “We’re nearly-” But he never got to finish his sentence as he screamed clutching his head as blood poured out of his ears.
“She’s waking up,” One of them screamed. “Quickly put her under again!” He was then flung into the air before every cell in his body exploded. The room was quickly flooded with blood and body parts as the rest of the surgeons scrambled for the exit as they pushed and shoved each other out of the way. An ear piercing alarm sounded as soldiers raced into the hospital room spraying Patient X with bullets. The bullets hung in the air like they were frozen in time before darting back to their owners cutting them down where they stood.
“Oh god please help me!” The last remaining surgeon whimpered kneeling on the floor praying as Patient X stood over him. Shooting out a hand she grabbed his wind pipe and proceeded to squeeze it while her eyes burned into him. Smoke started billowing out of his eye sockets as he started melting. Within a few moments he was nothing then a puddle of melting flesh.
“That’s enough Ellie,” Charlotte shouted running into the room. “it’s time to go home.”
A motorbike burst into the operating theatre its wheels skidding on the pools of blood as Lieutenant Charles Taylor grabbed both of them and threw them onto the back before strangling the throttle. “We don’t have much time.”
“No shit!” Charlotte shouted over the roar of the engine as they gunned it down a corridor.
“I hope your boyfriend doesn’t stab us in the back.”
“Will you and David ever get on?” Charlotte said as they took out a soldier with an Uzi as they raced past. “He’ll be there!”<
br />
“Why can’t you just open a tear?”
“Because they’re using a dampening field or some shit like that to block my powers after the last time we attempted this.”
“All the more reason to have a backup plan.”
“Watch out!” Charlotte shouted before they came to a screeching halt a few a metres away from The Man who was aiming a rocket launcher at them.
“If you want something done do it yourself.” The Man moaned under her breath like she was telling off her husband for forgetting to take out the recycling. The Man was Head of Operations at The Rainbow Corporation who owned the military base. “You were right to be worried about me Charlotte!”
“Ellie do something about this bitch.” Charlotte said rolling her eyes. But Ellie remained motionless like she was frozen in time. At first Charlotte couldn’t figure out why and then a familiar face stepped out sending an electric bolt shooting up her spine.
“Well this is exciting,” Troy beamed with an evil grin rubbing his hands together. “The gangs back together again.”
“We saw you die,” Charlotte said dismayed. “And you were never part of the gang.”
“The Man opened a tear to David’s time ship giving me a chance to slip away while you were all fighting.”
“What have you done to my daughter?”
“I’ve frozen her in time you’re not the only one with powers you know. Don’t worry it’s only temporary just long enough for us to talk without getting turned into soup.”
“Yeah well freeze this you son of bitch.” Taylor said firing his gun
“I don’t think your dinosaur of a boyfriend gets it.” Troy said plucking the bullet from mid air.
“He’s not my boyfriend!”
“Enough,” The Man said clearly exasperated. “Troy take them away.”
“Gladly,” Troy said prodding them in the back. “Move it.”
“You bastard!” Charlotte screamed spitting in his face.
“I’ll let you have that one.” Troy said before slapping her across the face. That’s when a tank came crashing through the wall knocking Troy and The Man out cold unfreezing Ellie. The hatch opened and out popped Milton.
“Look what I found man,” Milton beamed like he had just unwrapped a toy at Christmas. “Quick get in we don’t have a lot of time David’s found his time ship.” But before they could make a move they were surrounded by soldiers armed to the teeth.
“I’ll take care of these mum.” Ellie said jumping off the bike.
“Go,” Taylor said revving the bike. “We’ll be right behind you.”
“Ellie you promised me you wasn’t going to use your powers again,” Charlotte said disappointed “It’s going to kill you.”
“But mum!” Ellie moaned like she’d just been caught smoking.
“Don’t mum me you’re grounded after this.”
“As soon as we’re out of danger I’ll go cold turkey I promise.” Ellie said as she launched a bunch of soldiers into the air with a wave of her hand. The more they used their powers the more it drained their bodies. Just thinking about how ill Richard became made Charlotte feel sick to the stomach. That’s why Ellie was ageing so fast. She was supposed to be thirteen but her biological age was now seventeen; she had aged four years in twelve months!
Taylor gunned the bikes engine with Ellie on the back again with her arms around his waist. They were to rendezvous in hanger thirteen that’s where they were keeping David’s ship.
“So what’s your power?” Ellie said as they raced across the military base.
“Apart from being an excellent pilot?” Taylor said with a laugh. The truth was far too horrible to contemplate. What happened in 1945 would continue to haunt him for the rest of his life and he had no intention of going back there again. Even so the thirst for blood was becoming ever more difficult to control. Feeling Ellie’s breath on the back of his neck was almost enough to trigger him. He could almost imagine what it would feel like biting into her neck and draining her blood. His heart began to pound loudly in his chest as everything else vanished and he was left with this unshakeable thought. A tire burst from a bullet round sending them both flying off the bike. Luckily Ellie just had time to turn the ground into jelly breaking their fall.
“Are you okay?” Taylor asked as he helped Ellie up. A helicopter flew overhead raking the ground with machine gun fire. The Man wasn’t going to let them go that easily. Where the hell was Charlotte and Milton?
Charlotte opened the hatch to the tank and was pleasantly surprised to find that they had teleported on to the time ship. Looking around the USS Velociraptor it felt like she was home again. She couldn’t believe that it had been just over a year since they had flown through that tear in space after detonating a H-Bomb.
“Welcome abroad,” David beamed happy to see them alive. “Told you I’d get it back didn’t I?” He said as they both hugged and kissed one another.
“I still expect to see Spock every time I’m on board your ship man.” Milton said as he stroked the controls like he was in love with them.
“Ignore him he’s Star Trek fan boy.” Charlotte said with a laugh.
“We’re not out of the woods yet,” David said grimly “we’ve still got to rescue Taylor and our daughter from that madman.”
Taylor and Ellie were in a world of pain as they were surrounded by military vehicles and helicopters all armed to the teeth.
“I don’t feel so good,” Ellie said looking pale right before she collapsed into Taylor’s arms. Again everything but Ellie’s throbbing vein on her neck vanished. Maybe he could just take one tiny bite just so he didn’t feel so ill. As if in slow motion he watched as the soldiers started running towards them barking orders to kneel down and put their hands on their heads. Fuck it any moment now they’d be surrounded Taylor thought as his fangs glistening with saviour began to pierce her neck.
Chapter 2 - Paper clips and goblins
Six months earlier….
Cumbria. Present day…
It was Charlotte’s first day working as receptionist and she hoped she’d make a good impression dressed in a smart suit. When they first arrived back from Dinosaur World they had no money and didn’t exist on any government database. By now she would’ve been declared M.I.A by the military so she couldn’t even go back to her old job. Milton had got some of his dodgy mates to print fake passports and birth certificates for them and David had used his time ship and crew to get a winning lottery ticket. They bought a nice house in a tiny village in the Lake District and got Ellie into a private school but when she started ageing at an alarming rate David thought it might be a good idea if they kept up the appearance of a “normal” marriage complete with day jobs, family days out and arguments over who took the bin out and who’d sleep in the wet patch. She choice a receptionist job at a local GP so she could overhear any local gossip that way if anyone was suspicious of them then at least they’d have a bit of time to fuck off.
She was busy filing when an old man shuffled in with a hoodie pulled over his head. He smelt like he could’ve done with several baths and his fingers were caked in dirt.
“Can I help you?” Charlotte smiled even though the smell of him was making her nearly heave. “Have you got a doctors appointment?”
“You don’t remember me do you?” The old man rasped his lungs sounding like they were full of tar.
“If I can please have your name or date of birth and I’ll be able to look you up on the system.” Charlotte said sticking to her training like it was glue.
“I can’t tell you too much for it’ll be like a nuclear bomb going off,” He coughed horribly before continuing his rant. “they’re watching us.” He pointed to the CCTV with a withered hand. It was then that Charlotte noticed that his other hand was covered in grimy bandages. It reminded her of someone but she couldn’t figure out who.
“I can get the doctor to take a look at that for you if you like?” Charlotte said.
“No!” The
old man snapped clearly distressed.
“Then if you don’t have an appointment or want medical assistance then I must you ask you to leave.”
“I’ve seen what happens next and we don’t have a lot of time Charlotte.”
“How do you know my name?” Charlotte said getting spooked
“It’s on your NHS name tag.” The old man said pointing to her tag before picking up a chair and throwing it at the reception window smashing it.
“I’m calling the police!”
“I know exactly what you’re going to do next Charlotte because I can see the future.”
“Richard is that you?” Charlotte said as she dropped the phone in shock.
“Whatever you do you must never ever open a tear,” the old man said backing away. “I must go I’ve already said too much,” He went to leave but changed his mind. “How I can explain?” He mumbled to himself then he snapped his fingers “It’s like once you’ve got an idea in your head its very difficult to get it out of your head like elephants. No that can’t be right can it? Think of an elephant instead? I don’t know just don’t think of your powers or they will destroy you!”
“What the fuck are you going on about?” What elephants? What fucking powers?” But before the old man could say anything else he collapsed clutching his chest.
Charlotte watched the old man being put into an ambulance as she sipped a very hot sweet tea. Apparently a cup of sweet tea helps with shock but she thought fuck that she needed a whole bottle of vodka! Who was he? Was he really Richard? No it couldn’t of been him for the old man looked like he was on the wrong side of ninety. And what the fuck was banging on about ideas and elephants for? The film Inception popped into her her had he just seen that? That was a film about elephants and ideas wasn’t it? Her boss told her to go home but after she helped sweep the glass away she had more or less forgotten about the incident. Just another day at the office she supposed.
Into Thin Air: Omnibus Edition Parts 1 - 3 Page 7