Martin sighed. “I see what you mean. So it’s hopeless?”
“I did not say that. As luck would have it, I have already considered the possibility that the recall device was faulty. I believe that I have a solution.”
Mr Slater pulled out his pocket watch and activated a few tiny switches. Valiant Star, with a roar of engines, began to move.
“I have been meaning to set up the remote activation for a long time,” said Slater, smiling. “Let me just check the coordinates…”
Darcy looked out of a circular window; the clouds were rushing past vertically. They were travelling upwards.
“Where are we going?” said Darcy.
“The Planet Wormwood.” Slater laughed. “Well, the official Axis designation is Planet 9320B, but the first colonists called it Wormwood.”
Mr Slater took out another cigarette and lit it. He took a deep drag, and faced Martin and Darcy.
“A few hundred years ago, the Axis Lords were using Wormwood as their main communications hub. The planet lies almost directly in the centre of the Blue galaxy, so it was a convenient spot. All communications were channelled through the planet—it was a sort of relay station. However, one day the Axis Council announced that Wormwood was no longer to function as a communications base. The circumstances surrounding the closure are shrouded in mystery, but it is well-known that none of the Axis Lord workers ever left the planet.”
Darcy swallowed. “So something killed them?”
“Perhaps, Darcy, perhaps. And I must warn you that visiting Wormwood is likely to be extremely dangerous. If it were not for the approaching ships, I would never ask you.”
Martin paused. “So, I assume that Wormwood is still hooked up to the Axis communications network? All we need to do is connect the recall device and we can use the Axis network to send a signal to Abaddon?”
“I could not have put it better myself,” said Mr Slater, smiling. “Oh, you might want to see this. We are about to break through Earth’s atmosphere.”
Martin and Darcy jumped up and approached the window. They were high above the clouds. Suddenly, they were in space. The ship climbed higher and the Earth beneath them became smaller.
Martin gazed out. “It’s beautiful.”
Mr Slater, who hadn’t gotten out of his armchair, smiled.
“Yes, it certainly is.”
Darcy looked down at the Earth. Now it was barely visible—nothing but a blue and green marble floating in space.
*
Planet Wormwood was darkening when Valiant Star landed. The ship door opened, and Mr Slater climbed out, followed by Martin and Darcy. Alien birds were singing in the thick jungle, and strange insects were chirping in the undergrowth. Martin could hear the burble of nearby water. Darcy glanced around at the jungle. It was so… fresh, so untouched. The air smelled wild and exotic. The last few slivers of sunshine were pushing through gaps in the canopy.
“It’s almost night-time,” said Mr Slater. “I always seem to get the timing wrong.” He paused. “That’s interstellar travel for you—jetlag like no other.”
Martin grinned. His old teacher seemed much happier, much more relaxed, now that he had left Gateway School.
“It’s good to see you again, sir,” said Martin.
“Likewise. But please—enough of the sir. Michael is my name, or at least, my human name.”
It was always weird when you met teachers when they weren’t teachers anymore. And it always felt strange to call them by their first name.
Mr Slater walked around in a wide circle over the soft ground composed of decomposing plant life.
“We can sleep in this clearing,” said Mr Slater. “It seems safe, but the jungle can be a trickster. One of us must keep watch at all times.”
Darcy glanced at Valiant Star. “Can’t we just sleep in the ship?”
“If you like, but I would rather sleep out here.”
Martin held Darcy’s hand. “So would I.”
Darcy glanced around at the dark jungle. It seemed so mysterious, so inexplicable. But she knew that Martin really wanted to sleep outside.
“I suppose…”
Darcy tailed off. A strange feeling came over her. Something was happening to her. It was as if someone was taking hold of her mind. It had happened a few times before—the time she had brought Tyler to Martin’s flat, the time she kissed the guard, the time she had set fire to the grass… but she had been too scared to tell Martin the truth. Now someone was taking control of her mind again—
“I’ll sleep inside,” said Darcy suddenly. “You can sleep in this horrible place if you really want to.”
And with that, she marched back inside the ship. It wasn’t actually her doing the marching. It was as if someone had actually seized control of her limbs.
“Is something the matter with her?” said Mr Slater. “I do not pretend to be an expert on human behaviour, but she seems to be acting rather strangely.”
Martin sighed. He had been worrying about the same thing. Darcy had been different lately. And he was scared that it meant she didn’t love him anymore.
“I don’t know,” he said, shrugging. “I’ve tried to ask her if anything’s wrong, but she just says that she’s fine.”
They fell silent for a few seconds. Then Michael Slater pulled a tiny capsule from his pocket.
“Watch this,” he said, squeezing the capsule between his fingers.
The capsule suddenly began to expand. Slater dropped it onto the jungle floor as it got bigger and bigger. Eventually, it had grown into a kind of mattress with a duvet cover attached.
“Here you go,” said Slater, handing Martin another capsule.
Martin activated it, and another bed had appeared within a few seconds. Martin and his old teacher lied back, listening to the sounds of the jungle as the final light rays faded.
They both sat up when they heard the main door of Valiant Star open. Darcy was walking towards them, carrying a tray of three steaming mugs. She had gained control over her consciousness again. But what had actually happened? Had someone actually taken control over her? It was a terrifying thought. She knew she should tell Martin, but she knew he would panic.
“Sorry about earlier,” she said. “I made some hot chocolate.”
Martin stood up and walked over to Darcy. He took the tray, put it down, and hugged her.
“If anything I’ve done to upset you, I’m sorry,” Martin whispered in her ear.
“No, no, you haven’t,” Darcy replied.
“You just haven’t seemed like yourself lately.”
“I know. I’ve just been tired, that’s all. Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.”
Martin sighed and kissed her on the forehead.
“I shall put you a bed up in a moment,” said Slater.
“No,” said Darcy. “I’ll share with Martin.” She looked at her boyfriend. “If… if that’s OK?”
Martin grinned. “Of course it’s OK.”
Darcy and Martin slipped into bed and sat together, sipping their hot chocolate. She clutched him tightly. The jungle seemed to take on a magical quality, a sparkle. When they had finished their drinks, they laid back, watching the stars.
“I will take first watch, if you like,” said Slater, smiling at the couple.
“Thanks,” said Darcy.
Something weird had been happening to her over the last few days, but the boy she loved had his strong arm around her, and she felt that nothing could harm her. She smiled. At that moment, she couldn’t have been happier.
Slater pressed a switch on his pocket watch and an invisible shield appeared around their small camp.
“That should keep out the insects,” said Slater.
They split the night into three watches. Slater took the first, Martin took the second, and Darcy took the third. When it came to his turn, Martin was still awake. He hadn’t been able to sleep. Instead, he had been talking to Slater in a low voice, as the nocturnal jungle animals made strange noises.
Slater glanced at his gold pocket watch. “Well, my time’s up.”
The Axis Lord got into his bed and closed his eyes. “Good night, Martin.”
“Good night, sir.”
“Michael.”
“Good night… Michael. That still sounds weird to say.”
Michael Slater laughed, and Martin quietly got out of the bed without disturbing Darcy. He stood listening to the ambience of the planet Wormwood.
*
Martin was still awake when the first streaks of sunlight pierced the trees. He hadn’t wanted to wake Darcy, so he had taken the last shift himself. He wouldn’t have been able to sleep anyway. Slater had disappeared inside Valiant Star to make some coffee. Darcy opened her eyes as the light touched her eyelids.
“Morning,” said Martin gently.
She smiled. “Good morning.” Her eyes were wide and alert. “God, I feel great! I’m not usually a morning person, but I feel really awake.”
Martin wasn’t a morning person either, and he hadn’t slept at all during the night. And yet, he felt wide awake, too. More than that, he felt brimming with energy.
“Intriguing, isn’t it?” said Slater, coming out of Valiant Star. “I have read the Colonisation Report. All of the Axis workers on Wormwood reported the same thing. A sense of well-being, a vital energy.” He placed his pocket watch against his wrist. “I usually have a slightly irregular heartbeat, but on this planet my heart is running like clockwork.”
Michael Slater handed Darcy and Martin a cup of coffee each, and they began to sip it.
“What causes it?” said Darcy. “The feeling of wellness, I mean.”
“Who knows? Could be a number of things. Higher than normal oxygen, lower than normal gravity, a bombardment of negative ions… anyway, are you both hungry?”
They nodded, and Mr Slater pulled down an armful of purple vines.
“Wormwood vines are very flammable,” he said, making a bundle of them on the ground in the middle of the clearing.
Slater turned to Darcy. “Would you do the honours?”
He stepped back, and Darcy thrust her hand towards the pile of vines. A flame shot from her fingertips, igniting the vines. Mr Slater took a plastic packet from his pocket and ripped it open. It was a packet of bacon.
“Wow, bacon?” said Darcy, who was feeling very hungry.
Slater nodded.
“Did you buy that on some alien planet?” said Martin.
“No,” said Slater. “Sainsbury’s.”
Slater fashioned a sort of grill out of long sticks on a platform and propped it up over the fire.
“The sticks won’t burn,” he explained. “These twigs are actually living creatures, and they’ve evolved over the centuries to become resistant to heat.”
“Oh, lovely,” said Darcy, giving the sticks a suspicious glance.
The smell of cooking bacon soon filled the clearing.
“Doesn’t cooking outside put us in danger?” said Martin. “What if some wild animal smells the bacon and ends up eating us instead?”
“That could happen,” agreed Slater, nodding. “And we could have cooked in Valiant Star, of course. In fact, I have a Sustenance Machine in there. But this is more fun.”
“Yeah, I suppose it is,” said Martin.
As soon as they had eaten breakfast, Slater pressed a button on his pocket watch and a hologram appeared. It was a map.
“I created this map based on the data in the official reports,” said Slater. “I had very little to go on, but no Axis Lords have visited Wormwood for over two centuries.”
Slater had prepared backpacks for them. Each pack contained a supply of water, rations, matches, and other provisions.
“You shouldn’t need them,” he said, “but there will be many strange creatures in the jungle. It is always better to be alive than dead.”
“I’m not sure that’s the exact expression…” said Darcy.
They began to trek through the jungle. The air was hot and moist, but they didn’t get too tired. Maybe the gravity was weaker there, because Martin felt an extra spring in his step.
They eventually came to a wide clearing. The canopy was almost non-existent here, and the sunlight shone straight upon them. Slater pointed out beyond the jungle towards a mountain. It was covered in some sort of dense yellow fog. At the foot of a mountain was a great crumbling structure that looked almost like an Aztec temple.
“That is where we are heading,” said Slater. “We should be there in less than an hour.”
They sat down to rest for a moment before continuing. Slater walked in front, cutting through the vines and hanging branches with a laser knife.
Suddenly, something shot out from the trees.
CHAPTER 6: THE UNDYING MAN
With a lightning-fast reflex, Slater caught it. It was an arrow. If he hadn’t caught it, it would certainly have pierced his heart.
“Good catch,” said Martin, his own heart racing.
Mr Slater smiled. “I was wondering when this would happen.”
“What?” said Darcy.
“When the Axis colonists first arrived they reported a local race of savages called the Hag-Mundi. Harmless enough, mostly, but were considered to be quite mischievous.”
“They almost killed you!” said Darcy. “That’s more than mischief.”
Michael Slater smiled. “It’s perfectly understandable. We are in their territory. They are simply guarding their patch, so to speak.”
“They’re still dangerous,” said Martin. “If one of them shot an arrow at me I don’t think I’d be able to catch it.”
“Don’t worry.” Mr Slater turned in the direction from which the arrow had been fired. “Now listen here!” he shouted. “We come with great magic, and great power! If you try to kill us again we will summon a great evil upon your tribe! Let that be a warning to you.”
Slater pulled a small silver ball from his pocket and threw it into the trees. A second later, there was a massive bang, and lots of smoke.
“You didn’t kill them?” said Darcy.
Slater shook his head. “Of course not. That was a Sound Grenade. It is not in any way damaging—just extremely loud. It should prevent any further trouble from the savages.”
Sure enough, no more arrows were fired at them as they made their way towards the crumbling structure.
“The Axis Lords called this place the Ziggurat,” said Slater. “It’s a temple. It was built many years ago by the primitive inhabitants of this planet. It is where the Axis Lords installed their communication technology. You will notice that it is quite an advanced design. My people could never work out how a race as backward as the Hag-Mundi could have possibly had the imagination to build it. The shape almost seems specifically designed for transmitting information.”
They approached the Ziggurat. There was no tree cover there, and the hot sun beat down upon them. Slater led them around to the front of the structure. The entrance was sealed by a wide stone door.
“It is sealed with an Axis lock,” he explained. “Only Axis Lords can open it up. That’s why the Ziggurat is not swarming with savages.”
Michael Slater touched the stone door and it slid open, roughly—it hadn’t been opened for a very long time.
They stepped inside the Ziggurat. It was cool and dark; Martin immediately opened up his pack and drank some of his water. He hadn’t been able to relax out in the jungle; he had been half-expecting them to be attacked by a wild animal.
“So why are we here?” said Darcy, looking around.
The interior had a sort of disintegrating grandeur. Seven cracked stone pillars surrounded a red globe that stood on a raised platform. Slater turned the lights on, and Darcy gasped. It was amazing. Everything was made from stone or gold. A large painting on one of the walls caught Martin’s eye. It was… no, it couldn’t be.
Martin stepped closer. A man’s face had been painted on one of the far walls; something that looked like an altar stood beneath
it. What was it? A sort of shrine, perhaps. But Martin was sure that he recognised the face in the painting.
It looked like his dad.
But it couldn’t be. Charlie was just an ordinary man, a former alcoholic who was now doing a normal office job. Why would his face be painted in a crumbling temple on an alien planet?
“This technology. It’s… wonderful.” Slater walked over to the red globe. “This is a relay device.”
As Slater walked around, examining the technology, Martin looked away from the painting and touched Darcy’s shoulder.
“You OK?”
Darcy nodded. She was OK for the moment, but she was scared that she would lose control again—scared that someone would take control over her again…
“Martin, pass me the recall device, please,” said Slater.
Martin took the blue triangular prism from his pack. Slater walked over to the red sphere.
“If I place the recall device inside here and activate the machine I should—wait, what am I thinking? We must record a message first.”
Slater pointed the blue prism at Martin, as if he was holding up a video camera. “I will imprint a message in the recall device.” Slater paused. “Well, go on!”
“Er… right,” said Martin. He coughed. “Er… hello Abaddon. We, er… we need help. There’s… a fleet of ships heading towards our planet—Earth—and we were wondering if you could come and help us out. Er… if not, sorry to bother you.”
“Perfect,” said Slater.
He carried the recall device over to the red globe and opened it, putting his hand inside. The Axis Lord frowned. He withdrew his hand; it was covered with some sort of white powder.
“What’s that stuff?” said Darcy.
“It doesn’t matter,” said Slater, wiping his hand on the ground. “Come on, help me tip it out.”
Martin and Darcy helped Slater tip the heavy red globe upside down and shake out all of the powder. When it was empty, they placed it back on the platform and Slater put the recall device inside it. The Axis Lord walked over to a control panel and paused for a moment, looking at all of the controls. Then he pressed a switch, and there was a loud humming sound.
Martin King and the Prison of Ice (Martin King Series) Page 5