Saul tried to get to his feet whilst the robotic monster once again approached, kicking Saul in the stomach and disabling him, flat onto the floor of the railed platform. As the Demonicon once again reached down to collect the students’ battered body, Saul rolled and grabbed one of the flailing electrical cables, holding up the sparking end into the Demonicons’ midrift. The electrical supply blew the Demonicon backwards, slightly disorientating it. Nell quickly grabbed a large piece of debris from the drone attack and stepped forward striking the Demonicon with as much force as she could muster, but still the creature was not felled.
The Demonicon regained its balance and stood fully erect in front of the young pair, then turned its attention towards the bridge, walking towards it and examining the structure. It knelt down and began striking at the bridge, where it joined the platform they were all stood upon.
“It’s trying to destroy the access the bridge!” Saul cried and as he did so, ran towards the robot, running up its back and in one free-running movement, used its shoulders as a take-off point, propelling himself up and over the robot and onto the bridge, landing with a rolling thump.
The Demonicon’s head looked around frantically tracing Sauls’ steps and realising the young Sentinel had outwitted it, looking at him with its piercing black eyes. It then looked back at the bridge structure and with two punches destroyed the first few meters of Perspex bridge, sending it crashing in pieces into the abyss below.
Nell and Saul looked over at each other frantically, with the Demonicon crouched between them, separating them. Saul bellowed at Nell, “Run!” The Demonicon once again arose and stood full height, focusing its glare upon Nell, who began to back off, desperately looking around her for an escape route. “Get out of here Nell!” Barked Saul.
“Great advice.” Nell whispered to herself as she turned and bolted towards an adjoining corridor. The Demonicon following with its thundering steps behind.
Saul glanced up from his position on the half-destroyed bridge and looked steely towards the main platform containing the mind-computer. He darted across the bridge towards it and pulled his mobile from his pocket as he strode. E’s head hologram once again manifesting from the screen. As he reached the central console, it became apparent that E’s previous words were coming true. This was not technology he was familiar with. It appeared to be more like a laboratory experiment out of a Frankenstein movie, with the central computer mind encased within a clear glass or Perspex dome. Within the dome floated what looked like an actual brain, but with less walnut-like folds. The brain itself was firing its synapses, which gave off different coloured spurts of light, highlighting its blood vessels and activity. On the exterior of the dome were different circuits, connected to the Perspex and clearly used to channel the intelligent energy being produced into the mechanical installation of the whole space-station structure.
“What do we do with this thing E?” Saul demanded.
“I have the virus ready Saul, as you requested, but I cannot accurately compute how we will deliver it digitally into the mind.”
Saul became panicked as he tried to run through his head any options for uploading the virus, but whilst witnessing Nell on the far platform backing away from the corridor into which she had just run. Emerging in front of her were two chrome, floating drones focusing their weapons directly at her. She was backing away at pace and tripping over debris from the drone’s first attack. Behind her approaching ominously was the thundering Demonicon.
Saul glanced from Nell back to the mind-computer, then immediately back towards the terrified Nell. “We have to help Nell.” Saul shouted at E.
“We must also destroy this computer Saul.” Answered E – calmly.
As Saul stood frozen in indecision, Nell turned and ran directly towards the Demonicon. The drones following her every move and as they opened fire directly at her, she dropped to the floor and slid between the robotic Demonicons’ huge legs. The volley of energy bullets from the drones destroyed the Demonicon into thousands of pieces of mechanical debris.
Saul turned back towards the mind-computer, looking curiously at the large electronic, alien brain. “E – What is this thing made of?”
“It is alien cellular matter, similar in make up to that of human tissue but only at a basic cellular level.”
“So its organic as opposed to any digital hardware I would be familiar with?”
“Yes – in simple terms it is organic, albeit from another organism, which undoubtedly is not of human origin.”
Saul turned and faced the pulsating alien brain, mind-computer contained within the glass dome, immediately lashing out with a kick, smashing the dome to pieces. The alien brain, mind-computer began pulsating wildly and synapses blew off different coloured explosions of activity.
Saul reached up to his wounded head and wiped his hand across the bleeding, then glared at the brain flicking his had out and blood cascading from it. As the blood drops landed upon the brain’s surface, Saul said, “Wait until you get a load of me, you piece of shit! I need no computer virus to bring you down, I’m a walking petri dish of human viruses!”
The blood spattered onto the alien brain surface tissue and the mind-computer began to vibrate, violently.
“An ingenious solution Saul.” E remarked.
Saul quickly turned and spotted Nell frantically squirming her way across the floor towards the lift in which they had arrived. Desperately trying to reach relative safety from the approaching deathly drones, which were repositioning and taking aim. Saul grabbed his phone handset and turned towards the bridge beginning a sprint, which seemed an impossible distance. As the drones clicked their weapons in towards Nell’s crawling figure, Saul shouted “Over here!” The drones buzzed around to see this second organism moving at speed across the bridge. They momentarily veered around, away from Nell and took aim onto the new threat, clicking and beeping their weapons onto the target.
Saul sprinted like an athlete and reached the destroyed section of bridge, leaping into the air and shouting “FORCE FIELD E!” As he took off from his side of the damaged bridge and leapt into the air clearing the crevasse, a blue and white spherical field of energy ballooned out around him from the phone handset, deflecting the incoming volley of white energy bullets. Saul sailed through the air like a long-jumper, hanging to get that extra few centimeters and landed next to Nell. With hundreds of white energy bullets ricocheting off the field, he slumped to his knees, skidding across the debris-filled floor and slid over her, wrapping her in his protective shroud of energy force field. As the bullets rained in and bounced off, like raindrops on glass, he reached out and held the side of Nell’s face with his free hand, then leaned forward and kissed her softly. She closed her eyes and held him as tightly as her arms would allow.
Chapter 11: Exit Strategy
The kiss was long. Much longer than would usually be acceptable when someone was shooting at you. But with E’s protective force field taking the brunt of the onslaught, the pair embraced and held each other with urgency and passion which Saul hoped would last for an eternity.
In fact it only lasted fourteen seconds before E interrupted the passionate pair. “Although I can as energy, appreciate the coming together of two energetic organisms – it is rather urgent that we vacate this base station before it destroys itself”.
Saul and Nell broke away from each other and looked over towards the central console platform, with its mind-computer going bazzerk. The alien brain organism was being infected by the bacteria within Saul’s blood droplets and began to change colour, into dark patches and areas melting down. The associated chaos stemming from the mind-computer’s demise, began to materialise, in the form of large, loud jolting movements of the station itself, sending debris and equipment flying around.
The two students and their energetic companion, made their way into the lift where the drones could not access them and as they closed the lift doors with a ‘swish’, the drones were already firing less as they
became inoperable due the mind-computer’s break down, buzzing wildly around and crashing into walls and equipment. The force field once again zipped back down into the phone handset and as they descended in the lift to their original floor-level, they took stock of the whole situation.
Saul was holding Nell close in his arms protectively, whilst E once again appeared in holographic form from the phone screen. “Saul, the universe is now safe because of your actions, you have truly proved your worth as a sentinel and as a human being of great courage. You should be very proud of yourself.”
“I’m proud of you too,..” Nell whispered.
Saul shrugged and smiled, battered and bruised in appearance once again. “Thank you.” He replied quietly, kissing her on the forehead.
The lift jolted and jostled as it descended and as they exited the doors into their original arrival location, they looked out of the high Perspex window to see the chaotic version of planet Earth in that reality. The station they were aboard was nearer the ground now as it was slowly self-destructing and beginning to crash down into the sea below.
“I think we have approximately one minute of Earth time before this whole structure comes down and so its time to leave.” E calculated calmly. “Are you both ready?”
Neither student spoke, but rather just nodded in approval. Their surroundings began fizzing off into trillions of particles as before and as before everything around them broke down into cellular soup, spinning wildly into a time-travelling tempest of psychedelic colours and blurred movement. The two students and the phone handset disappeared and the gigantic alien structure began to explode and break up into disjointed fragments of debris, eventually crashing into the ocean below, frothing and bubbling.
Chapter 12: Back at the museum
As the transportation back home completed, the rush of sound and noise became still and silent, leaving Saul and Nell stood in exactly the same embrace they had left their future-shock world. It was just a few seconds of disorientation, before both came back into the moment and realised the phenomenon had ceased. It was long enough however, for all of their fellow students stood in the museum listening to their Tutor James Pugh, to notice them stood in each others arms.
All the students began to look around at them in curious horror, as Stephan Debrecht broke the quiet hum and James Pugh’s train of thought. “What the fuck?” Debrecht shouted. “What the living fuck are you doing grabbing my girlfriend charity-boy!” He demanded loudly.
Saul broke his embrace, as did Nell and they both looked around at their amassed fellow students. Embarrassed and confused, Saul stammered,.. “Umm,.. Well,.. You are not gonna believe this but,…”
“Damn right I’m not gonna believe a word you say charity boy!” Stormed Debrecht, stepping forward and punching Saul fully in the face, knocking him backwards into the original relic from which he’d secured E and finally falling to the ground.
Debrecht grabbed Nell by the hand and marched her off out of the exhibit hall to the absolute confusion of James Pugh, the student crowd and mostly Saul. Saul nursed his already bruised head and his new blow to his ego. ‘What the hell was going on’ he thought. He was back in the museum at exactly the same moment he left! It appeared not a second had elapsed. The female students began giggling and nudging each other in amusement, whilst the male counterparts pulled embarrassed and confused faces as they separated like the parting of the Red Sea, to allow their tutor through to calm the commotion.
Saul was still nursing his head blow whilst James Pugh chastised him thoroughly and bellowed at him on the floor in his loud Welsh mining voice. Saul could see his face shouting and his arms gesticulating but his mind was clouded with the end result of their transportation back. As the mature tutor lost his cool above the prostrate Saul, Amy and Ronald came to his assistance, helping him up onto his feet.
“What were you thinking Saul?” Amy blurted.
“I,.. I’m not sure,.. I was doing my phone thing,…when,..”
“Doing your phone thing? Demanded Amy, “Where was your phone? Inside Nell’s top?”
“No,.. No I mean,.. You don’t understand.”
“What’s there to understand Saul, we all saw you with your arms around her you crazy idiot! How did you expect Stephan to react.” As Amy shouted Ronald nodded in agreement, with an embarrassed smile.
“Let’s get you out of here.” Amy added, helping Saul to navigate out of the exhibit hall with Ronald supporting the other side and James Pugh still shouting after them.
Amy was clearly upset with Saul and continued to berate him all the way out onto the steps outside the main entrance, where She, Saul and Ronald all spotted Stephan Debrecht at the base of the steps, shouting wildly at Nell, close-up like a football manager chastising an precocious player.
Saul rushed forward to protect Nell, but Amy and Ronald grabbed him pulling back once again jumping down his throat, “What the hell are you playing at Saul – let it go! Haven’t you done enough already, I have no idea what has gotten into you!” Amy bellowed at him.
As Saul tried to break free from their clutches, the three heard Debrecht shouting at Nell. “We are getting engaged in two weeks and you’re fucking about with charity-boy! You devious bitch!” Nell burst into tears and ran away, down the remaining steps, sobbing, head in hands.
Saul looked around crazily, incensed. “Engaged!” He shouted, “No! No you can’t be getting engaged!”
Nell looked back at Saul at the top of the steps, then shook her head and disappeared with Debrecht following her still shouting abuse, all whilst Amy and Ronald still held Saul at the top of the steps ranting.
Saul ripped himself free from his fellow students grip and grabbed his phone. “E – what the hell is happening?”
The phone was silent.
“E!! – Talk to me, what is going on, this can’t be happening!”
Amy and Ronald looked on confused, as Saul shouted at his phone handset.
“E! Talk to me,… Where are you?”
The phone was simply a phone. No voice, no hologram. Saul fell desperately down to sit on the top step of the museum, distraught and disheveled. His two friends walked slowly away, leaving him to his misery and as they walked back inside questioned each other about Saul’s erratic behaviour.
Saul sat despondent upon the top of the steps outside the monumental museum, then came a familiar voice. “What appears to be the problem?” Asked E, invisibly, from the phone handset.
“OH Thank God! Where were you?”
“I think you will find that God is actually energy, which is constantly surrounding you in,..”
“Shut it E! – Where were you?”
“I was here, same as ever.”
“Why did you ignore me back there?”
“Do you think it wise I appear out of your phone screen with two trusted friends stood alongside you? They are already confused and worried about your behaviour, which they find irrational. My appearance would simply cause more confusion and eventually panic amongst your fellow students, which I might suggest is not advisable in this situation.”
“Yes! Yes,.. OK I see what you mean. It’s just that,…. It would appear that Nell and that fuckwit are,…”
“Getting engaged – Yes, I picked up that bit. Becoming engaged to be married at a later date. Their engagement party is already planned for two weeks time, in the Dorcester Hotel.”
“What? Why the hell didn’t Nell tell me all this?”
“She did not know Saul. Indeed she still does not know and will not know the full extent of Debrecht’s plans until this evening, when he explains his secret plans to her.”
“Secret plans?”
“Indeed, he and his family have been planning this for some weeks and Nell is blissfully unaware. Unaware of the planned engagement and the wedding to follow within 2 years.”
“So that’s it then? Nell returns to the clutches of Debrecht and there’s nothing I can do about it!”
“What do you think?
”
“I think he’s a complete prick!”
“And what will you do about that?”
“What can I do?,.. She has obviously chosen him.”
“My dear Saul,… You have just endured time travel, particle quantum entanglement, defeated Demonicons & Drones and ultimately saved your own universe from certain annihilation. One would assume you can direct your conscious thought towards creating a plan to secure the woman you love!”
Saul looked sharply at his phone handset. “I picked up your increased heart rate, dilated pupils and increased breathing rates, the minute you brought her along on your mission. The physical signs and signals of love have been there throughout.” E explained blankly. “Nell has not ‘chosen’ Debrecht, as you term it. It is what you call an ‘Hobson’s Choice’, if she is to save her father from ruin.”
“What should I do?”
“I don’t know Saul. This is a physical realm problem. You are the sentinel here. If only you could alter reality,..”
Saul thought for a moment, pensively. Then stood up and carried his phone with him as he walked down the steps of the museum. “We’re gonna need those headphones again E.” He said smiling.
Sentinel: The Race Against Dark Energy Page 10