by Phil Price
Paul blew out a breath, half smiling as he reached for his coffee. He took a sip, letting the hot liquid burn his throat. The pain felt good. It felt real, because the rest of his body felt numb. “Thank you, Sylvia. I really don’t know what to do. I know where they’re going to be. Should I confront them?”
“Best not to, Paul. It will only make matters worse, believe me, I know.”
“You’re probably right. Plus, he’s a lot younger than me. I may end up in hospital.”
“Just let her do whatever she’s going to do. You cannot change it. Even if you confront her today, she will do the same in the future. I think you need to accept what is about to happen, Paul. As hard as that sounds.”
“Maybe I should do the same. Get myself a mistress. That way we can continue to live-out our sham of a fucking marriage.”
“I know you’re hurting. And I understand why you would want to get some sort of revenge. But revenge never ends well, Paul. It might feel good at the time, but it will do more damage. You’re a great looking guy, and you’re still young. Your boys are grown up. You can start again. There would be a queue of women waiting to date you, believe me.”
He smiled again. “Thank you, Sylvia. Talking about it really helps.” He regarded the woman in front of him. “How about you? Have you started over?”
“No. I was with my ex for nearly twenty years, and I did rather well with the divorce settlement. We lived a comfortable life, which helps now that I am on my own. Our daughter is at University too, so it was a clean break. I am enjoying my life. I have a few close friends. We go dancing on Saturday nights in Cheltenham and have had a few girly weekends over the past few months. I wouldn’t go back to my old life, Paul. I’m enjoying the new me far too much.”
“Good for you, Sylvia. I’m sure the men will be queueing up for you too. You’re a very attractive woman.”
She smiled, blushing slightly. “Thank you. I’m not used to compliments, Paul. But that was nice to hear.” She walked over and kissed him on the cheek, wrapping her arms around him. “I’m here if you need me. Day or night. If you need to unload, or just want a coffee, just say the word.”
Paul was momentarily lost in the woman’s embrace. He drank in her perfume, liking the closeness of her body next to his. They stood there, for what seemed like minutes until Sylvia finally broke the embrace. “I don’t what I would have done, had you not come in. Probably would have ended up making a fool of myself later. Thank you, Sylvia. I may take you up on the coffee one day. When I am less of a wreck.”
“You do that, Mr Lewis,” she replied. “Day or night.” The words hung in the air as the woman headed out of the office, smiling at him as she closed the door behind her.
Hugh walked back from the kitchen, sitting down on the sofa with his steaming cappuccino. He checked his phone, disappointed that there was no missed call from Mr Lewis. He checked the time, Thirty-six minutes, he’s not calling back. He logged into Twitter, pasting the tweet that he had earlier composed, armed with hashtags to enable his message to reach the largest audience possible. He had also tagged several of his friends, along with many government agencies across the world. Before he hit tweet, Hugh uploaded the video clip taken from Margaret’s CCTV footage. He sat there, sipping his coffee as the video uploaded. Let’s see what happens now? he thought as he posted his message, hoping that it would go viral. He didn’t have to wait long for a response. His coffee was still warm as his phone started pinging repeatedly. He checked the time, noting that he needed to pick the boys up from school and nursery. Grabbing his coffee, he headed out into the kitchen, leaving his phone on the sofa. I’ll check out what’s happening when I get back, he thought, as he discarded the empty mug in the sink before heading out of the house.
“Paul, have you seen this?” John Hendry said as he bustled into Lewis’ office.
“What is it?” Paul asked indifferently as other things clouded his mind.
“Take a look,” Hendry replied, handing Paul a piece of paper.
His eyes scanned the page, his pulse quickening as he read the tweet. “Shit. How the hell did he obtain this information?”
“No idea. I have looked at the video on Twitter. It appears genuine, Paul. Somehow, Mr Andrews has figured this out. And now it’s out there.”
Paul’s mobile phone started vibrating, a sinking feeling washing over him as he saw his superior’s name flash up on the screen. “Hi, Karen. Yes, I’ve just read it,” he said as the woman on the other end of the line issued orders. “Understood. We’re heading up there now. I’ll update you when I have more information.” He ended the call, standing up from his desk. “You fancy a trip?”
“Belbroughton?”
“Yes. Karen will handle things at this end. We need to speak to Mr Andrews. And quickly.”
Forty minutes later, the black BMW pulled up outside the row of houses, the onset of winter evident as the two men stepped out of the car. Leaves blew past Lewis as he stepped from the pavement to the path that led to the house. Two short raps on the door signalled their arrival. Both men could hear children playing within as the front door was opened by Hugh. “I wondered how long it would take for someone to bang on my door. I suppose you’d better come in.” He led them into the kitchen, flicking the kettle on. “Would you like a drink?”
“I’ll have a coffee please, Mr Andrews. White with two,” Paul replied evenly.
“Same for me please,” Hendry added as he leant against the kitchen worktop.
“I take it you saw my tweet? I left you a voicemail message, Mr Lewis. I gave you ample time to respond.”
Hendry looked at Lewis, who looked away, almost sheepishly, turning his attention back to Hugh. “You’ve created a real shit-storm, Mr Andrews.”
“That was my intention. I take it by you being here that government agencies are in a bit of a flap?”
“You could say that. Where did you get the CCTV footage?”
“As they say in the movies, I am not at liberty to say. I am not being difficult, I am just desperate. My wife is missing, along with half of the village. That CCTV footage shows that this was no simple abduction. You can clearly see a shape moving across the field, with lighting then a bright light. I’m no expert on UFOs, but it very much looks like the kind of thing you see at the movies. What do you know?”
The question was simple in its delivery, leaving both men momentarily at a loss as to how to respond. Paul sighed, his shoulders relaxing. He was guessing that the man’s admission about leaving him a voicemail message would come back to haunt him in due course. He knew that Karen would want his head on a spike for that lapse. His marriage was collapsing, along with his career. He was at a crossroads. “Honest answer, we simply do not know. That footage is the first time we have seen anything that could determine how they were abducted. There has been plenty of chatter across the wires. Various agencies across the world spotted an anomaly a few weeks ago, but no concrete evidence of extra-terrestrial activity has been found. Until today. Unfortunately for you, Mr Andrews, our own agencies have been alerted. I should imagine that your door will be knocked on again very soon.”
“By who? The police?”
“Not the police, Mr Andrews,” Paul said as he took a sip of his coffee. “I would imagine that MI-5 will be en-route to speak to you.”
“Well, that’s fine. I have nothing to hide and I have done nothing wrong.”
“No, you haven’t,” Hendry replied. “But they will be crawling all over the village by the end of the day. The CIA, along with other intelligence agencies, will be asking very searching questions, Mr Andrews. This could get messy.”
“I’m not concerned about that. I am only concerned about Gemma. My boys miss their mummy. Surely you can see the situation I am in?”
“We can,” Paul replied. But your actions could spark panic, depending on just how viral your tweet becomes. Newspapers will be contacting us, along with other agencies. And not just in the UK. It could create a ripple effe
ct across the globe.”
“And is that a bad thing?”
Paul considered the question before replying. “Are you a religious man, Mr Andrews?”
“No. Not at all. My parents raised me Catholic. But once I grew up, I could see just what a sham it all was.”
“Daddy,” a voice said from the doorway. “I want Peppa Pig,” the toddler exclaimed from the other side of the kitchen.
“Hang on a minute,” Hugh said, heading into the lounge for a minute. He returned, settling himself down at the table once more.
“So, you’re not religious?”
“No. Why?”
“Because, Mr Andrews, half the population of the world is. You only have to switch on the news channels to see how religion dominates our society. People live their lives by the word of many books, many of them with an unwavering certainty that a God does exist. Can you imagine what will happen if all that is suddenly called into question? There could be mass hysteria. Looting. Civil wars. The world as we know it could change forever.”
“All because we discover that there is life out there?”
“Yes. I’m not religious either. Far from it. I am a bit of a science nerd, truth be told. I am fascinated by the idea that we are not alone. The idea that someone is out there. Although, snatching our citizens is not quite the way that I would have liked to have had that confirmed.”
“So, what now?”
“We don’t know. Yes, the footage you have is hard to discount. I’m sure that someone at MI-5 is checking the video, to see that it hasn’t been modified, which I am sure it hasn’t. What happens after this moment is anyone’s guess.”
“But Gemma is still out there. If she was taken by some alien race, how do we find her?”
“Let’s just say that she was taken by an extra-terrestrial race. Why, is unclear. We’ve all read about alien abductions over the years. It’s usually some guy in Montana, who leaves a bar in the middle of nowhere, turning up days later, rambling on about being experimented on. Nothing like this has ever happened before. To snatch a village and disappear into the ether is quite something. And if that is true, Gemma may be a long way away. We’ve barely made it to the moon. Travelling to Mars is still years off. Did you know that to reach our nearest star with conventional rockets would take many thousands of years? If your wife is out there, we’ve got no technology even close enough to ever find her, or the others.”
Hugh let out a sigh, slumping in his seat. “So, she may be lost forever?”
“Try not to think the worst just yet, Mr Andrews. We’re still doing all we can. However, after your little social media stunt today, it’s going to be magnified and discussed by pretty much everyone on the planet.”
“I never did this to cause trouble. I did it to raise awareness that something out of the ordinary may have happened.”
“We know. And for what it’s worth, many other people would probably do the same thing. Just expect a lot of activity in the village. And expect many questions over the next few hours and days.”
Twenty-Seven
The ship landed in the disused hangar, jets of steam expelling themselves from vents on the underside of the hull. A minute later a ramp opened, slowly settling itself on the grey concrete floor of the large space. Hameda strode out purposefully, followed by Ragyi and Ullar. A small huddle of people on the far side of the hangar walked over slowly, the biting temperatures making movement difficult. “Hameda”, one man said. “Welcome to Valkash.”
“Thank you, Jaka. Are we set?”
“Yes,” the man replied readily. “Security is very tight across the planet. However, up here, not many patrols have been seen.”
“Ragyi, Ullar. Show the men the craft in the cargo hold. We need to move quickly if this is going to work.” They did as their leader asked, heading off towards the ship, leaving Hameda and Jaka alone.
“Who will pilot the craft?”
“Ragyi. He is ready to give his life.”
“Does he know that the bomb will probably not destroy the planet?”
“No. I have not divulged that information.”
“Probably wise.”
“How much damage will the bomb cause?”
“To be honest, I can only speculate. The chances that the planet will be destroyed are slim. The temperature down at the core is several thousand degrees. Your man will have to set the timer and just hope for the best. Chances are, he will be dead before the bomb has even gone off. The ship may break up to, such are the temperatures and gravitational forces down there. However, I do think that a successful detonation will upset the terraforming that has been done. All of the enclosures are surrounded by armoured glass. I’ve assessed the depth of the hole, along with the topography of Valkash. I am sure that if your man hits the mark, it will cause earthquakes due to the concussion the blast will have on the tectonic plates under the planet’s surface. Best case scenario, most of the enclosures will be destroyed, along with all their inhabitants and staff.”
“I will happily settle for that. Mass carnage is almost as appealing as a collapsing planet,” Hameda replied smoothly.
“Once your man is in position to move, we all need to get the hell out of here. From this hangar, it will take him two minutes to reach the shaft and another three to four minutes until the bomb detonates. Not a huge window.”
“Then we will be ready to take off as soon as you give the word, Jaka.”
A loud, whirring sound echoed across the hangar as the cargo bay doors opened. A small ship was lowered from the ship, hanging a few feet from the ground as Ragyi and Ullar walked down the main ramp with the bomb. Hameda and Jaka headed over. Jaka spoke first. “You’ll need to set the timer for no more than eight minutes.”
Ragyi nodded, priming the timer. “Then what?”
“My men will type the coordinates into the ship’s navi computer. Once you leave the hangar, the ship will guide you to the pole. It is hard to miss. The shaft is in the middle of an extinct volcano. Take the ship out of autopilot and fly straight into the hole. There will be workers there, but they won’t be able to stop you once you pass into the shaft. Just keep heading down until the bomb goes off. I wish you luck, my friend. For the cause.”
“For the cause,” Ragyi replied, his features grim, yet resolute.
“We will ready our ship, then give you the signal.”
The five men headed off towards a small craft in the corner of the hangar, heads hunkered down against the howling winds that battered the building. Hameda turned, embracing Ragyi. “This will not be in vain. Your bravery will turn the tide in our favour. In generations to come, people will speak your name across the systems. Systems that have been returned to their rightful order. I love you, Ragyi.”
“I love you too, Hameda. I do this for all our sakes. I am not afraid.”
Ullar hugged him. “Go in peace, dear friend.”
He returned the embrace, tears streaming down his face. “And you, Ullar. We have lived our lives close together. I will take many happy memories with me. You need to see this through with Hameda.”
“And we will,” Hameda replied, tears falling freely. “Are you ready?”
“Yes,” he said, climbing into the snug cockpit. “You had better get going. I will wait for the signal before I begin my mission.”
“As you wish. Take care,” Hameda said softly, squeezing his weathered hand. Ullar simply nodded, not able to speak as she walked towards the ship.
A bright light emanated across the hangar, the signal that Ragyi was waiting for. He watched as the small craft lifted off, its twin Ion drives propelling the ship out into the harsh polar environment and off into orbit. The larger ship followed suit, disappearing into the sky, leaving him alone. “Right. Let’s move,” he said, as he pulled back on the controls. The ship rose steadily until it was above the hangar, battered by the polar storms. “Engaging autopilot,” Ragyi said to himself as the craft began its journey towards the volcano on the horizon. “Activati
ng timer.” He kept his vision straight ahead as the clock began its descent, beeping every second as he sped on. The beeping seemed to slow his pulse, relaxing Ragyi as the mountain rose up before him. “Deactivating autopilot,” he said as he crested the barren summit, his eyes taking in the splendour in front of him. The extinct volcano spread out in front of him, the jagged rim looking as sharp as a predator’s teeth. “Now isn’t that something,” he said, as the scene unfolded. His eyes caught the hole in the surface, a black crude circle in the bottom of the crater, surrounded by small grey buildings. He propelled himself downwards, seeing figures waving at him, jumping up and down. A loud warning sound erupted across the crater, the figures scattering as Ragyi shot into the entrance of the dark expense. He flicked on a switch on the console, activating the external lights, allowing him a minimal vista. Ahead he could see a yellow glow, which seemed to increase with each beep of the bomb sat next to him. He checked the clock; less than two minutes showing on the red timer. “Better increase speed,” he said, shoving the throttle to its limits. The front of the craft began to glow, small rocks bouncing off the fuselage and cockpit. One large boulder cracked the glass above Ragyi’s head, and a hissing sound started bombarding his senses as he fought to keep the ship on course. Sweat dripped into his eyes, his clamped hands slick with sweat as they gripped the controls. The outside environment was changing in front of him, the hull of the ship beginning to break apart as he dropped towards the core. The splinter in the glass above him grew like a spider’s web, splaying out across the domed enclosure. “FOR THE RESISTANCE!” the man screamed as the glass imploded, shredding his upper body before it was reduced to ash by the fiery core around him. His charred hands relinquished control of the ship, the hull battering into the molten rock at the shaft’s perimeter. The gamely craft finally lost its fight, breaking up and becoming scattered and singed as the bomb ticked down its final few seconds. A white flash lit the confines, sending a shockwave in all directions. The buildings on the surface were consumed by white heat, the workers vapourised as deep tremors rocked the planet, sending shockwaves towards the fragile surface. And to its core.