by Phil Price
Pete did the math in his head. Site manager beats safety manager hands down. I manage people. He’s just a nerd with a clipboard. He may be a useful ally though. I will reel him in. “A noble job. I wanted to go into safety a few years ago.”
“Why didn’t you?” Martin countered.
“Timing. This job came up so I took it. We have a few safety managers where I work. They are always fighting the good fight.”
“That’s what we do. Do you think your family are okay back home?”
The question caught Pete off-guard. His wife and children had been at their caravan in Weston-super-Mare when he had been taken. He was only at the festival so he could buy a carved pumpkin for their home. A pumpkin that his two children, Tabatha and Rex, would have loved. His wife, Jenny, would have made cakes and treats for the local children as they turned up at their impressive detached bungalow. It would have been a typical family Halloween. Pete may even have ventured out of his study to participate. Or he would have observed from the lounge whilst watching the football on his new Ultra High-Definition television. He missed his family, which added to his usual prickly demeanour. If only this had happened a day later. I would have been in Weston with the others, he thought sadly. “Yes, I do”, he replied after a few seconds of melancholy. “But I’m glad they are not caught up in all this. They are probably worried sick. Plus, they would have to have gotten a train home, as I was due to collect them the following day. Fuck! What a mess!”
“Don’t worry, Pete. We will get out of this.”
“How? You heard what these people said. We’re on the other side of space. I don’t claim to be an expert on this. But if it takes a satellite thirty or forty years to reach the edges of our solar system, how the hell do we get home?”
“When you put it like that, yes, it sounds bleak. But there must be something we can do. I for one do not want to spend the rest of my days in a fucking bowl, surrounded by things that look like they come from a Hollywood movie. I want to get home. And soon.”
A few hundred yards away, Lawrence and Tristen were hunkered down next to the access door at the edge of the village. The next enclosure they found offered no excitement for the brothers, who decided to head back towards the centre of the village, darting through fields to remain out of sight. They sat there, obscured from sight by a low stone wall, which they had erected a makeshift shelter over. No one could see them. Not humans, nor aliens. They were completely hidden. Lawrence looked at his younger brother, knowing that he had to take Tristan on his adventures or risk the little shit telling their parents about what they were getting up to. So here they were, hiding out away from everyone else. Their mother had told them that throwing stones at the monsters was strictly not allowed. Something they reluctantly agreed with. But she never said that they could not look at them. “Just keep quiet Tris,” Lawrence said. “We don’t want anyone to find our secret base.”
“Okay, Lawrence,” his brother said sternly, his blue eyes set defiantly. Lawrence leaned forward, ruffling his brother’s curly blonde hair as a noise to their right startled them. He placed a finger to his mouth, telling his brother to remain quiet. He did so as a large pair of legs strode past them. The elder brother peered around the side of the shelter, watching in awe as the giant with four arms headed towards the village. His vision shifted left, eyes widening as he saw that the access door still open. “Stay here,” he said before silently padding over to the door.
“What are you doing?” Tristan asked quizzically.
“Just gonna take a quick look,” his brother replied, ducking into the door before it closed.
Tristan scrambled out of their hideout, looking to his right at the giant alien, his long strides propelling him towards the village hall. The young boy turned left, smiling at his brother who was standing behind a glass door. “Come back out Lawrence. Mummy will be cross if you are caught.”
His brother mouthed something, the sound sealed off by the door and glass walls. On the other side, Lawrence looked at a control panel next to the door. It was different to the one of the other side. Lawrence had watched many movies where a handprint took the hero through security doors on his journey towards a happy ending. On this side, only a glowing green button presented itself. He leaned forward, pressing the button with his index finger. The door hissed open, and Tristan skipped from the village onto the metal walkway. He banged his feet on the ground, a hollow reverberation echoing through the thin confines. “Shh!” Lawrence hissed. “We don’t want anyone to hear us.”
“Look,” Tristan said in awe.
Lawrence looked past him, along the metal walkway. “It’s huge,” he said as he took a step forward. The gridded walkway disappeared into the distance on both sides as far as the eye could see. They walked a few hundred paces ahead, coming to a stop at a recess in the walkway. There a large, rounded plate sat gently glowing on the floor. “It looks like a lift,” Lawrence said, noticing a virtual control panel shimmering on the glass wall. He pressed a button, and the platform dropped down several feet until they could see another walkway below. It was deathly quiet, except for the occasional beep of an unseen machine below. “We’d better not go too much further,” Lawrence said. “We may get lost in here. Mum and Dad would flip-out.”
“Okay. Shall we go back?”
“Yes, I think we should,” the elder brother said readily. They were about to turn back when a loud thump to their left echoed through the thin passageway.
“Look at that!” Tristan said, pointing through the glass.
“Shit,” Lawrence said. “What the hell is it?”
“Dinosaur,” the younger sibling said matter-of-factly.
“It’s not a dinosaur. They died out millions of years ago. This must be a creature from another planet.” They both watched, feet frozen to the floor as a silent roar emanated from the mouth of the reptilian-like creature. The boys had to crane their necks to look at it, such was its height. “It’s the size of a bus. How many legs does it have?”
“Six I think. Look at its teeth.”
Lawrence looked into the yellow eyes of the creature staring back, noting the feral look the beast had. It advanced again, bouncing its huge skull against the glass. The thing shook its head from side to side, turning away from the boys as it plodded through thick vegetation. “Let’s see where the big green monster is heading,” he said, pulling Tristan after him. A minute later, they were stood by the door that led into the alien enclosure, trying to see where the massive creature had disappeared too. “It’s probably camouflaged by the forest.”
“What’s calloflaged?”
“Camouflaged. It means hidden. It’s probably looking for its dinner.” They stood for a few minutes, watching the strange forest pulsate in front of them. Trees and large purple plants seemed to sway back and forth as rain splattered against the glass.
“Look,” Tristan said. “It looks like a rabbit.”
Lawrence followed his brother’s pointed finger to a gap in the undergrowth. A small brown mammal appeared, seeming to sniff the air. It was no bigger than a house cat, its nose unusually long, set underneath large dish-sized ears. “He’s cute, probably making sure the big lizard has walked off.”
“Let’s take a closer look,” the younger brother said.
“No, Tristan. We’ll be in trouble if we go in there. And we may get stuck on the other side. Do you want the monster to come back and eat you?”
“No. But he’s gone now. Come on. Just a little look,” he pleaded as he pressed the button next to the door.
Before Lawrence knew what was happening, Tristan darted through the open doorway. “NOOO!” he shouted. It was the last noise that his baby brother heard. The younger boy collapsed to the floor a few feet from the doorway. Lawrence watched in frozen horror as his prone brother snapped in half from his sitting position. “TRISTAN!” he screamed, watching as gravity bore-down on the eight-year-old, crushing his body as if he were in an invisible press. Without thinking, Lawren
ce ran to his brother’s aid, not understanding what was happening. Not comprehending the physics involved. He fell next to him, the oxygen in his lungs being crushed down to a molecular level by the atmosphere around him. The last thing he saw before his skull imploded was a lumbering pair of reptilian feet crashing through the forest in front of him. Then, darkness.
Nineteen
1000 miles from Centauri II, orbital station
“That’s impressive,” Ragyi said as he peered through the window.
“It’s like a mini star,” Ullar added, taking in the giant orbital station that floated in the vacuum of space ahead of them. “So bright against the darkness.”
“It will be even brighter soon. Ragyi, are you sure that your contact will come through for us?”
“He will give his life for the cause. Once I send the signal, he will lock onto our position. He will deactivate a small section of the shield for a few seconds, allowing us to pass through. It’s standard procedure. Freighters come and go. But most freighters have clearance codes. We don’t. That’s where Fazit comes in. He will let us through before creating the diversion we talked about.”
Hameda nodded, remembering the plan. Once on the other side of the shield, the martyr would start a fire in one of the hangars, creating a panic. They knew their window was short. Ten minutes at best. Ragyi had assured his leader that they would have enough time to fire the magnetic warhead at the underside of the orbital. Once it was in place, it would detonate two minutes later, releasing a payload of fifty kilotons, destroying the station. Once obliterated, the shield that would halt their escape would vanish with the station, along with the millions that now called it home. For Barajan, she thought as she gripped the arm-rests of her seat.
“We’re 100 miles from the orbital,” the pilot said.
“Sending the signal. Move to within one click of the shield,” Ragyi replied, pressing a button on his palm pilot. A minute later, it beeped. “Shield down. Head for the underside of the structure as quick as you can.”
“Heading up now. Preparing warhead. There will be a few patrolling craft, looking for threats. Let’s hope this old freighter doesn’t draw suspicion. If it does, we have no way out. They will be armed. Things could get a little bumpy.”
A few minutes later, the freighter hovered fifty feet below the massive structure. They looked up through the cockpit window, in awe of the size of the object that they were about to destroy. “It’s huge,” Ullar stated flatly. Like a small satellite.”
“Not for much longer,” Hameda said. “Pilot, are you certain that you can make this work?”
“Yes. The device is highly magnetised. We don’t really need much propulsion. Polarity will do our work for us. As soon as it’s attached, I will get us the hell out of here before the patrols spot us. I’ll head vertically away from the blast zone. Any crafts in the vicinity will be vaporised.”
“Good,” she cooed. “Whenever you’re ready.”
The pilot swiped a finger across the heads-up display, pressing virtual buttons in front of his swarthy face. “Warhead deployed.” Then a few seconds later, “warhead secure. Let’s move,” he said, depressing the thruster with his right hand. The ungainly freighter ploughed through space, heading towards the other side of the orbital. Two minutes later, they felt the concussion from the blast. A ripple in space fanning out in front of the craft, buffeting them in their seats. “I hope the shield is deactivated,” the pilot said nervously. “Or we’re all dead.” A few tense seconds flew past until he breathed out. “We’re though. The shield was shut down when the explosion took hold. Initiating rear camera.”
The three others watched the carnage unfold behind them. The orbital silently breaking up into many smaller parts, large explosions decimating the interior landscape. The detail on the screen was such that Hameda could almost see the countless thousands being sucked out into space as the station fell apart around them. She smiled, not in joy for the innocent victims, but in the success of what they were about to achieve. “Pilot. How far to the nearest wormhole?”
“Not far. We should reach it in twenty hours. Once through, Biflux is another two days travel. Once we’ve hit it, we will take another wormhole that leads to the system where Valkash lies. If things go smoothly, we should have obliterated the remaining two main targets in six days.”
“Excellent. Head for the wormhole. I think this calls for a celebration. Ullar, inform the galley that we require dinner for four, including our pilot, Ragyi.”
“Yes, Hameda,” the man said expectantly.
“Go to my quarters. And de-robe.”
Later, the three of them sat around a white table as plates were cleared away, drinks refreshed. The space was low and grey, similar tables dotted around the room. A small window offered a limited view of the outside void. A void that was flying past at 6,000,000 miles-per-hour, propelled by a twin ion drive. Hameda had a perpetual smile etched across her face, Ragyi also. It was only Ullar that seemed level and neutral. She knew what had just taken place in her leader’s quarters. She was not jealous. She took men and women, regardless of race or colour, into her bunk. She decided to break the warm glow that emanated from her friends. “What happens after Valkash?”
Hameda looked at her and smiled. “The factions will come back together. The Lomogs think they are scattered, which in essence, they are. However, I have been in contact with them. They knew that I was loyal to Barajan. Once they see what we have achieved, they will form a solid union with us.”
“Where will you base this union?” Ragyi asked.
“Lundell.”
The others sat back, smiling at each other. They had both visited the small moon that was in orbit around Biflux. They knew that it had a large base there that the Lomogs had quickly inherited from the Biflex people. It shared the same atmosphere with its host planet, with rainfall and one significant ocean. It was perfect. “What about security?” Ragyi countered.
“Minimal. The Lomogs rely on Biflux for their security. Once hit, the Biflex people will be in a state of disarray for a while. By the time we have returned from their attraction, the factions will be in orbit around Lundell. I will save one warhead, which will accompany us as we seize their base. If things go badly, I will detonate it, taking all of us at once. Then, no one will rule. But I don’t think it will come to that. We will have a dozen ships, with over a thousand loyal fighters. The tin-framed bastards won’t know what’s hit them.”
Twenty
2104 ambled towards the village hall, his arms swinging gently in the artificial breeze. He’d passed two male humans who were stood chatting on the outskirts of the village. He’d greeted them politely before heading further into the village, to find the leaders. A minute later, his lumbering gait brought him to the village hall, spotting four females standing outside. “Greetings,” he said respectfully.
“Hello,” Caroline replied, dwarfed by his bulk. “What have we done now?”
“I don’t believe you have done anything? I was merely paying you a visit.”
“Good. Because we have a request.”
“I am listening,” 2104 replied readily.
“Some of the villagers need medicines. Others can only eat certain foods too. If we’re to stay here, we need the things that were available on Earth. Like alcohol, underwear and medication to start with. Does that sound okay?”
2104 keyed a command into his wrist pilot. “The order has been sent through”
“Thank you,” Caroline replied, feeling a little easier. “Is there anything else that you need to talk to us about?”
“I am here to let you know that you can expect your first visitors very soon. Look up at the dome.”
The four women did so, wondering exactly what it was they should be looking at. “And?” Katie said, slightly confused.
“Over there is a doorway,” he said, pointing into the distance. “When the craft approaches, the door will open, placing the visitors into an ante-chamber. Once pressu
rised, the door will open, letting the visitors observe your village from the safety of the pods. They…“ 2104 stopped talking as his wrist started vibrating. He looked down at the device strapped to his beefy forearm, his brow knitting in concern. “That cannot be possible?”
“What’s wrong?” Gemma asked, slightly concerned.
“The perimeter door has been breached. The alarm is sounding. Someone from the village must have somehow gained access.”
“But how?” Gemma asked, her concern growing.
“I do not know. But if they are inside the walkway, then they have.” His voice died in his throat as he took off away from the women, sprinting at full-pelt towards the invisible walls that held them all captive.
“I don’t like the sound of this,” Gemma said, following the alien away from the village hall. The other three women gave chase, Katie lagging behind because of her sore ankle.
A minute later, 2104 reached the doorway, panting slightly. He looked left and right across the walkway beyond the glass, checking for signs of life. Ahead, a large green reptilian creature had its snout in the undergrowth, oblivious to the sets of eyes that were watching it. “Well?” Caroline said, trying to regain her breath as she came to a halt next to him.
“I can see nothing wrong from here,” he said as the others came to a stop next to them. “The door into the control area is closed. And I can see no signs of intruders.” He was about to speak again when he noticed something in the next enclosure that stalled his words. “Oh no!”
“What?” Sarah said. They all followed 2104’s pointed finger, watching in horror as the creature in the next enclosure lifted its head, a pair of blood-soaked jeans hanging from its jaws.
“Fuck! Is that what I think it is?” Gemma said, her stomach turning to lead.