by Paul Rice
“Sure!” Ken did as he was asked and the fresh flames soon licked up amongst the curling grey smoke. He wasn’t really thinking about the fire as Mike’s words were in the process of having a quick run around the inside of his head and he had a feeling he that knew, in a way, what was coming next. He sat back down with his arm resting against Jane’s thigh. “So where do we fit in with all this?” He paused to phrase his next words, before continuing. “I mean, you could say that everyone has a potential, which they might not reach, it’s just the way it goes, isn’t it?” As he spoke he began to sense the familiar squeamishness enter his head. It had been a while, but Ken still recognised his old friend from the dreams. “Here we go again…” He thought as he grasped Jane’s hand, feeling her tense as the sensation hit her also. It was as though they became entranced somehow; they seemed to move to some other dimension, still within the walls of the pub but ahead of themselves, just a tiny bit ahead of reality. It was most odd as they could still hear the surroundings, feel the heat of the fire, Ken heard a woman ordering a Gin and Tonic at the bar and he even heard Charlie’s cash till ring as it opened to accept her payment.
Mike spoke softly: “Everything is OK guys, it’s just their way of ensuring absolute secrecy, we look quite normal to everyone else, but actually we are talking ahead of their time, just a few micro-seconds is all, it’s no big deal…” The calm way, in which he spoke, rested their beating hearts. “We have to use the Pub to do this because your place hasn’t been checked out yet, it’s doubtful there are any devices in the Lodge, but with Ken’s previous military history we can’t take chances. What we discussed before could easily be construed, by anyone listening, as talk about the script for a film or something, but this next bit is for our ears only.” He then asked if they were OK with that.
“All good here, Mikey,” Ken said. Jane never made a sound, but he could feel the tight grip she had on his hand.
Mike continued from where they had left off before the dizziness had arrived. “You are right about people’s potential, Ken – but there are certain people who must be allowed to fulfil their destiny! They must be allowed to reach their true potential otherwise we will never advance past the status quo, in which the human race is presently stuck in.” His voice took on a different tone, becoming deadly serious by the sounds of things. “George has shown me countless people who through no fault of their own, have not been allowed to attain their goals. That’s the reason why we will have the future problem, the ever growing usage of oil, the one that we are all now so fully aware of.” He looked at them in such a way that Ken now felt as though they were totally alone. The noises of the pub had faded and now it was just the three of them, and the iciness of Mike’s tale. “Now, whether there are darker forces at work, you know, preventing them from achieving their goals or something, of that no one is quite sure, but George and his side have made a decision to intervene, they have the power to see these people, and they have the power to make sure they get the chance to develop, to make a difference!” His voice had become hoarse with passion and his throat convulsed as he swallowed hard.
“Are you OK, Mikey?” Jane reached across and grabbed his hand.
Clasping it, Mike replied in a calm voice: “Yes I am… it’s just that this is a big deal for me, I’m going to ask you to help me and I’m not sure if it’s fair; I really want your help but that’s just me being selfish. You can say no at any time you want, but it’s still a big ask either way?” He pulled his hand away and ran the palm across his unshaven chin, the dark stubble rasping softly in the quietness of their surroundings. Mike paused briefly before continuing. “What happened to us in the past, back in the desert, the way we behaved when we dealt with Red and the Stone… well, that has made them look at us differently. Not just Ken, but also the human race as a complete species.” He took a breath. “They have passed new laws, ones that allow them to have a limited input on the planets where they can see that goodness and progression is being prevented by the evil actions of a few.” He waited as Ken questioned him again.
“Are you saying that there really is a good and evil battle going on behind the scenes after all, you know, God, the Devil, angels and demons, all the stuff like that?” Ken had never believed in any form of religion, not since the market bomb anyway. Blood covered cobbles, and other things he had witnessed along the way, had taken care of that a long time ago. His head became filled with the scene again. He smelt it. With an effort he managed to twist his mind away from those awful pervading thoughts.
Mike answered him. “I believe so, and something in my mind tells me that it’s going on but I can’t quite seem to make sense of it. George has never confirmed or denied it, either. It feels like a door in my head has been closed and I can’t seem to find the handle. There’s some kind of… of darkness, I can feel it but I can’t quite…” He suddenly changed the subject. “The other thing is that they’ve given permission to certain planets, ones with the ability to see into the future, they have allowed them to help us with this whole situation.” The silence that met him, told of his friend’s confusion.
It didn’t last long. “They can see what’s going to happen to us, they can see that!” Ken whispered, in disbelief.
Jane also cut in to the conversation. “But they have no qualms about using violence when they feel like it, how can that be good – I thought they were all super advanced, totally beyond violence?” She sounded as though she had begun to feel unsure about this, just needed to get things straight in her mind, perhaps.
Mike smiled and said, “Yeah, they do use violence, but very occasionally – don’t get me wrong, I’m not here to defend their corner. I know what they are capable of, but the only time I’ve seen them do bad shit is when there was no other choice and there was always a positive reason to their actions.” Their friend remained calm as he stared at them. The fire was still burning in his eyes and they found it difficult to disagree with him. Mike blinked. “George has given us this opportunity to make a difference, so, in a weird way I guess that we’re quite privileged?” He said, and then gave that little shrug of his broad shoulders once more.
Ken asked: ‘OK, so what are we are supposed to do then, what’s our part in all of this?” He was starting to feel nauseous and his head felt fuzzy. Then Mike told them straight, Ken thought maybe it was to be some long complicated tale, perhaps returning to the Ship, or going back in time or… something. He was wrong in most of his assumptions. Mikes voice filled their heads.
“They want us to prevent certain people here, in this time, from doing the terrible things that will affect the future. They know who is lined up to achieve things, good things, and they know those people who, by their actions, are going to prevent the others from doing these good things.”
“How do we prevent them from interfering with these people, Mikey?” Ken didn’t quite expect the straightforward answer, which he received from his friend.
Without hesitation, Mike replied: “We either kill them or we do something to stop them. George will show us who and why, he’ll provide all the gear and all the information that we need.” He paused briefly and then finished with: “All we have to do is to stop them or prevent them from interfering with the chosen ones!”
The silence between them was like fine crystal; almost see through, non-existent, but there nonetheless. It crackled as the remnants of Mike’s statement almost hummed with its unambiguous clarity. Ken could feel the air thicken with tension. A small pocket of air, entrapped for decades by sap within the log, exploded in the fireplace. Jane jumped at the unexpected noise, it sounded as though it was much nearer than the previous muffled sounds of the Pub’s warm but distant reality.
Then, with a stomach churning wobble, Ken found himself back in the real time, the noise of the bar rolled over him and he swayed in his seat, eyes struggling to refocus on his surroundings. He wasn’t alone in his confusion and discomfort. “I hope that’s not going to happen every time, I thought I was about
to puke for a minute there!” Jane sounded quite ill and Ken felt her sway slightly as he struggled to focus his own blurred vision.
Mike chuckled, “You get used to it, and to be honest we don’t often use that particular method.” He leant forward, finished his drink, and then placed the glass back on the table. Looking at his watch, he said, “So there you have it, there is a lot more to go over, but in essence that’s what this is all about. You have to decide if you want in, or not? Anyway, I reckon that we go back to the Lodge before we discuss it any further. My machine will have scanned your place by now and we should be able to talk openly without any worries?” He stood and walked over to the bar with his wallet in hand. Ken and Jane rose and took their empty glasses to the bar. They said their goodbyes to Charlie, promised not to be strangers, and then the three of them headed for the door, stopping only to gather their coats from the rack on the way out.
A slight breeze had picked up and the clouds were now busy rolling into the horizon where they gathered thickly above the distant hills. Their passing let the huge white moon have things all its own way – the glow of its sheer, almost blue light, cascaded over the countryside. The car park was bathed in the brilliant radiance.
“Whoa, look at that big baby!” Mike said, as he stood and gazed up at the gleaming sphere. It was so clear that the craters from ancient meteor strikes could easily be seen upon its distant surface. “I’ll bet old George and his pals are up there somewhere, laughing their arses off at us whilst we deal with their latest big idea!” He gave a sarcastic wave to the unseen old man and his friends, who he imagined to be floating about in space high above them. “Hi there, George, the food in this pub is excellent, you should come down and join us some time – old boy!”
Ken laughed at the sound of Mike’s sarcasm and wrapped his arm around Jane’s waist; she returned the favour and placed her hand into the back pocket of his jeans. Arm in arm they walked towards the car. Jane looked back over her shoulder. “Come on Mikey, you’ll crick your bloody neck, love!” she said, and then motioned him over with her free hand.
“Yeah, I’m coming, but it’s times like this when you’d have to be pretty narrow-minded, to believe we’re the only ones out here in this universe, huh?” Mike shook his head and then jogged over to catch up with his friends.
Ken grunted, “Yeah, well it’s so fucking lucky for us that we know different then isn’t it – gee, we’re so bloody fortunate aren’t we?” His soft sarcasm cracked them all up and the trio burst into laughter as they clambered into worn leather interior of the old workhorse.
Far above them, in a different place, George was indeed looking down on them. He smiled at the blue screen and shook his old head. Thinking out loud, he said, “Amazing people indeed, I have the feeling that we have definitely made the right choice, indeed!” Turning back to his computers, he continued with his work.
George had plenty of it to do.
Chapter 9 - Learning Curves
They drove back to the Lodge in a gentle silence, each with their own thoughts tip-toeing around their respective minds. Jane handled the big vehicle expertly, she was a natural and it showed. The dim lights of the dashboard reflected off her face, high cheekbones glowing in the soft light as she pushed the Range Rover into the on-rushing bends. Sitting next to her, Ken felt quite normal. He hadn’t felt the same since he had awoken, and if he were to be honest he’d begun to feel more alive, more invigorated, and the sense of the unknown filled him with that much missed sense of adventure. What Mike had just told him seemed to slot nicely into place, it was as though he had been born for this. “I must be nuts!” The thoughts made him chuckle. “What the bloody hell are we doing here – stop the bus I wanna get off!” As if hearing his thoughts the other two laughed softly, too. Ken couldn’t refrain himself and soon their joint laughter rolled around the inside of the car. All of them secretly knew there was most likely not going to be many stops at which they could disembark from this particular bus, not for a while anyway.
As they rolled onto the driveway, gravel crunching thickly under the tyres, both of the dogs bounded around the car in joy at seeing their companions return. “These dogs are just bloody great – you guys don’t even have a gate. Do they ever do a runner, or what?” Mike was amazed by the loyalty of the huge hounds.
Ken replied, with a proud grin on his face. “Nah, they know which side their bread’s buttered on, plus I used to beat the crap outta them when they were pups…”
Jane slapped his arm. “Yeah, you can see how cowed they are can’t you; it’s more like he spoilt them rotten with fresh rabbit and walks!” She stroked Jessica’s big, brown head before locking the car doors and then turned to follow the men towards the house. The dogs had a quick sniff at the vehicle and then went for a prowl around the garden.
As Jane caught them up, she heard Ken saying: “Talking of rabbits, does anybody fancy coming with me, I need to go and bag a couple for the freezer, it’ll only take half an hour and I could do with a spot of fresh air anyway?” They all agreed and went inside to get some decent coats on. Whilst Mike and Jane got themselves sorted out, Ken went upstairs and pulled the cupboard open. It was situated in the second spare bedroom and was an enormous, pine affair. Although it did hold some clothes, there was a much better reason for its existence, one that was revealed by the removal of a false back fitted to the inside. Once removed, it allowed access to the small armoury, which the interior of the cupboard housed. Reaching in, Ken lifted out his prized .222 hunting rifle. Its long, blued steel barrel was fitted with a silencer, a bulbous Optica night scope was also fixed to the top rails of the rifle. It was a far more lethal weapon than its smaller .22 relation. Ken also had one of those in there, too, but tonight he felt like using his favourite toy. Reaching around to the left, he grabbed a box of shells and popped them in his pocket. Habitually, he cleared the weapon and then turned and made his way back downstairs.
Jane and Mike had already put their boots on and were having another ‘little nip’ of some French Brandy from the blue and gold bottle. Pulling a chair out, Ken sat and joined them whilst he loaded fifteen rounds into the slim magazine, once completed he clicked it into the housing on the rifle and then checked the scope. The battery was good but he doubted he would need the night vision mode tonight. Besides, it was a lot more fun using the large yellow spotlight, which sat on the shelf over the back door. Fastening his last bootlace, he said, “Let’s go and have a bit of fun, eh – Mike can give us the rest of the details when we get back, yeah?” He looked up from the weapon. “To be honest, I’m still letting it all sink in, you know?”
They agreed as one, finished their Brandy and then followed him out of the back door. Jane grabbed the lamp, and the dogs fell in behind. Upon reaching the bottom of the long back garden, they stepped up onto an old railway sleeper, which rested at the base of the dry stone wall, and looked over the top. The position gave them a great view onto the slope that rose above them to the rear of the house. Both the dogs sat shoulder to shoulder by the back gate, noses twitching, ears pricked and eyes fixed on some distant spot through the wall in front of them. Mike joined the other two on their vantage point and nearly laughed out loud when he saw the amount of rabbits that swarmed over the moonlit slopes to his front, there were dozens of them. The night was so cold that small wisps of steam rose from the creatures faces as they wandered the hillside. “They are treated as pests locally,” Jane whispered to him. “The farmers are dead chuffed that we take some of them for the dogs, they’ve also said that Ken can shoot on any of their land whenever he wants?”
Ken clicked a round into the chamber: “Light one up!”
Jane looked ahead, picked out one of the animals, and said: “Left, nine o’clock, about fifty yards.” As she used the military jargon that Ken had taught her, Jane held the lamp steady and flicked on the switch. One million candle watts of light cut into the night, with a tiny adjustment she placed the halo of light onto the targeted rabbit. The cr
eature looked up into the light, remaining frozen in its powerful beam. The rest of its cousins simply went about their business without a care in the world. With a soft ‘Phitt’ the rifle discharged its deadly cargo and the rabbit took a little leap and fell dead where it stood. Then the fun really started – as quick as Ken could reload, Jane illuminated another target and the rifle spoke its whispering death again. Within the minute, six of the small creatures were lying still upon the cold hillside. “Right, that’ll do, anyone else want a shot, I’ve got plenty more ammo?” Ken whispered, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a handful of the slender shells.
Mike declined. “Nah, I’m good man, bloody hell, you two don’t mess about do you? I’d hate to be a rabbit around here!” He shook his head and asked Jane: “Do you ever get the chance to shoot?”
“Yeah, I love it!” She said.
Ken laughed. “She sure does, and she’s bloody good at it too, but she prefers it when we go and do some deer stalking with the locals, I’ve got an old thirty-oh-six upstairs and I can’t remember the last time she missed?” Ken slipped the magazine out and cleared the weapon before reaching over and undoing the back gate. He uttered one word, which sent the dogs leaping into the darkness. “Fetch!”
Over the next five minutes their large forms ran from the garden and back up into the field. Before long there was a nice pile of dead rabbits lined up on the garden path. Mike went over and looked at the row of furry creatures. Every single one of them had been head shot. “Still got the touch I see, you old git?” He smiled at his friend.
Ken laughed. “Yeah, I guess so… I can’t see the fucking address book on my mobile phone when it’s in front of my face, but anything more than a foot away is fair game!” He slapped Mike’s shoulder. “OK, lets get these poor buggers hung up and then we’ll sort them out tomorrow?” Between the three of them, they gathered up their prey and headed for the outhouse. “Rabbits are great for the dogs, but you have to make sure they get other protein and dry meal as well, otherwise they get ill, there’s not enough fat and things in rabbit meat alone?” Ken passed comment, as they hung the corpses in the shed.