by Eli Ingle
“That’s right. I guess you’ve never really noticed before because you’ve usually been at home when it’s gotten dark … but yes. This city rarely sleeps.”
They arose back onto the streets. Gas lamps burned brightly against the gathering darkness, providing light for their walk home.
Arriving back at the Ministry, Rusty led him back up to his personal chambers and left. Rigel found that the day had exhausted him more thoroughly than he had expected. Thinking about Laurie, he wished that he could have seen him off properly, but he knew that it was not possible. Everyone at the Ministry was trying to keep it as low key as possible, hoping that the press would not notice that they had left. Rolling over in his bed, he looked out over the dull glow of the city and wondered what the next day would bring.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Tap. Tap. Tap!
Tap!Tap!Tap!Tap!Tap!
Rigel opened his eyes suddenly. A dull throbbing filled the air whilst the incessant tapping on the window rattled the frame. Throwing his covers off, he hurried over to the window and opened it.
Outside, a flying machine was hovering by the window. Tapping on the glass was Laurie, grinning wickedly.
“What are you doing?” hissed Rigel, horrified and delighted at the same time.
“Well, I was thinking it over and I know you’re safe now and we’re supposed to protect you ….”
“But?” asked Rigel, half laughing.
“It didn’t seem right going off on another adventure without you! It’s so boring. So I was wondering if you might like to come?”
“But I’m supposed to stay here.”
“Please? For old time’s sake?”
“Old time’s sake? We got back a few weeks ago.”
“Aw, come on!”
“Alright, fine,” laughed Rigel.
“Excellent!” Laurie cried, clapping his hands.
“But if we get killed I’m telling them it’s your fault.”
“Fair enough. Come on, come on! Climb aboard then.”
“Alright! Alright! Just let me get changed.”
“Okay, I’ll go and get Rona.”
Rigel shut the window. Throwing off his pyjamas, he pulled on his clothes and wrote a quick note.
Gone off with Laurie. Am fine. Back soon. Love, Rigel.
Hurrying back over to the window, he opened it and climbed out, assisted by Laurie. Rona was already waiting for him, grinning broadly.
“This is exciting,” she said. Rigel nodded in agreement.
Just as they were about to set off there was a bang: Rigel’s door being thrown open. Rusty was hurrying to the window, shouting.
“I came as soon as my circuits noticed what you were doing. Come back here right now! This is very naughty. Come back now!”
“Sorry, Rusty, got to go. Quick Laurie, drive!”
The machine jolted forwards, the engine whining as it picked up speed. Rusty was yelling as he hung out of the window.
“You come back here right nooooooooooow!”
Leaning too far, he fell out of the window and down into the courtyard below. He hit the floor with a loud crash, pieces of metal bouncing everywhere. Rona gasped.
“Do you think he’ll be okay?” she asked, leaning over to look at him.
“Of course it will,” replied Tink. “It’s a robot.”
“I do feel a bit bad leaving him though,” admitted Rigel. “He saved me earlier today.”
“Ah well.”
“We’re bad people,” said Quimby.
“We are,” agreed Opal. “But isn’t it fun?!”
“And exciting, isn’t it?” said Rigel.
“That it is, Rigel,” replied Laurie. “Tink, hit it!”
The ship blasted forwards and in a flash of white light had left the world entirely.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Red light and the sky burning like fire.
This was Rigel’s first look at the new world into which they had arrived. Thunder cracked through the huge black rainclouds, so heavy they seemed to be groaning with the weight. Huge chunks of flying rock, like pieces of burning fire, burnt their retinas as they flew past the windscreen of the flying machine. Every dial on the dashboard seemed to be beeping and every light was flashing. Tink was shouting orders to the other pilots as the rocks nearly collided with them.
“Land it. Land it now!” the little mechanic screamed, spinning the wheel.
“We can’t, sir – there’s lava pouring everywhere!” replied L’aroche, sweat dripping from her forehead.
The Kolya rumbled as it hit a shimmering wave of boiling sulphuric air.
“How do we even know this is the right place?” asked Rona.
“We’ve been doing a lot of calculations in preparation for this visit,” replied Laurie.
“Really?” she asked.
Laurie scowled at Rona.
“It might look like we sit around doing nothing for most of the day, but we do a lot of work that seems invisible, and without it most of these plans would fall apart.”
“There’s a plan?” asked L’aroche.
“My contribution is sleeping,” added Tink helpfully.
“Shut up, Tink,” muttered Laurie, looking at a dial that was spinning without apparent cause. “Which direction should we be travelling in?”
“From my calculations from our records, there should be a settlement about ten minutes up ahead,” said Opal, unrolling a hand-drawn map.
“We should probably start using the biometric beacon, boss,” said Tink.
“Oh yes …. Well kids, if you want the real reason we’ve brought you here: we need your skin.”
“Excuse me?”
“After conducting several tests we realised that you and Rona have a unique DNA signature that we haven’t encountered before. It’s reasonable to assume that any other Light Ones will have a similarly unique genetic code. By that reasoning, Tink created a biometric beacon. With that, we will put some of your DNA into it and take it around with us and it should give us some indication of whether there is another Light One nearby and their general location,” explained Laurie.
“Who’s a clever boy?” asked Quimby, pinching Tink’s cheek. The mechanic bit the pilot’s finger.
“So you need our skin?” asked Rona.
“And your blood … but only a little bit.”
Tink walked over to a locker on the wall and opened it. With an air of delicacy, he lifted out the beacon and brought it over to the children. It looked like a glass medicine capsule the size of two fists. Inside were two spiral tubes that looked like a strand of DNA. The capsule was attached to a metal rod that had twists of wire spiralling down the shaft. Tink held it out to Opal, who held it steady. The mechanic pulled out two hypodermic needles with brass thumb loops at the end of the plunger.
“Will it feel like a sharp scratch?” asked Rona.
“No,” replied Tink. “It will feel like someone sticking a sharp needle into you and then ripping out a chunk of skin.”
“Thanks for your reassurance,” grumbled Rigel as he rolled up his sleeve.
“Everybody say ‘ahh’,” said Tink, as he stabbed the needles into the Light Ones.
“Argh!” shouted Rigel.
“Argh!” squealed Rona before swearing at him.
“Watch your language. Now I’m going to pull the needles out. Ready?”
“No.”
“Good.” He yanked the syringes and the children cried out in pain. Rigel thought that some kind of barbed hooks must have come out of the needles while they were in their arms because as the tip of the needle was removed, it pulled a chunk of flesh out with it. Quimby hurried over and sprayed their wounds before bandaging them tightly. The spray made the wounds sting but before Rigel could even say ‘ow’ the pain began to be numbed.
“Antiseptic and anaesthetic,” smiled the pilot.
“I love you,” said Rigel as the relief cours
ed up his arm.
A clinking noise made them look over to Tink, who was emptying the contents of the syringes into the spirals inside the beacon. Once the device was full, the mechanic screwed the lid back on and tucked the signalling tool under his arm. Quimby cleared the medical apparatus away.
The ship swerved as Laurie piloted it around another fireball. A rhythmic and insistent beeping was coming from the control panel.
“Find out what that is for me, Tink, would you?” Laurie called over his shoulder.
The mechanic hurried over to the beeping instrument and flicked a switch. A hesitant but loud crackle filled the room from the loudspeakers. Underlying this sound was a beeping pattern. Slow, slow, slow. Quick, quick, quick. Slow, slow, slow.
“It’s a distress signal,” said Tink after listening to it.
“Can you locate the source?” asked Laurie.
“Hang on.” The mechanic plugged a pair of headphones into the control panel and fiddled with some dials. “About thirty degrees east, five miles ahead.”
“We’ll bring her down there. Man your stations!” ordered Laurie.
The pilots hurried to the controls and attempted to keep the ship as stable as possible whilst still avoiding the raining fire from above. The ship rocked backwards and forwards and then with a hiss of pistons and landing gear, it settled on the ground. Laurie clicked several switches, the engines lost power and the gear groaned as the ship’s weight rested on it. Tink wiped a rivulet of sweat that was running into his eyes before sighing and leaning against the control panel.
“That was close,” commented Laurie idly, as if nothing in particular had happened.
Rigel and Rona hurried to the windows, but the smoke and fumes from outside made it almost impossible to make anything out.
“What’s happened here?” asked Rigel.
“End of the world, it looks like,” said Rona, standing beside him.
The smoke cleared slightly, showing a volcano that towered in front of them, dominating the main part of the view. It was spewing thick clouds of black dust into the air along with the huge fireballs that were raining down from the sky. The swirling black clouds encompassed the whole sky. Seeping from the top of the volcano were rivers of lava, thick and glutinous, that crept insidiously along the ground. Not one living thing was in sight and Rigel was not surprised – he had an immediate desire to fire up the engines again and leave. Rigel shivered; L’aroche put her arm around him.
“Are you sure this is the right place?” Rigel asked, sounding too hopeful.
“Yes, unfortunately,” Laurie replied. He pointed at the dashboard which was glowing green as if to emphasise the point.
“We can’t go out there.”
“We’re going to have to.”
“You first then.”
“No … I think Tink should go first,” said Laurie, tugging his collar.
“I’m not going out!” replied Tink.
“Why not?”
“I’ve, er, got lots of important stuff to do,” he said.
“Like what?” asked Laurie, crossing his arms.
“Er, wash the windows and … er … restock the coal, check the water pressure ... darn my socks …”
“Get out there!” snapped Laurie, giving him a push. Tink fell outside with a yelp and landed on the floor. “How is it?”
“Hot! Ow, Gods, it’s hot out here!”
“Well at least the air’s not poisonous.”
“What if it had been?!”
“Quiet, Tink. Come on everybody.”
Reluctantly, the crew moved out from the ship and towards the door, jumping down outside one by one. Tink had not been lying – it was unbearably hot. The air seemed to dry in their throats and their faces hurt from the heat on their exposed skin.
“Everyone back inside!” ordered Laurie.
Everyone scrambled back in before the captain shut the door.
“It’s not good; it’s too hot out there. We’ll have to put on the heat suits,” he instructed.
Not understanding what a heat suit was or where they were located, Rigel and Rona followed the others to the equipment room. After the others had sorted themselves out they were given two suits to wear. They looked almost like fire-fighting equipment, with heavy boots and thick padded material, but the similarities ended there – each suit was an all-in-one and the helmet was like a huge iron gas mask with tubes running to all the other parts of the suit. Thick goggles were fixed above the breathing mask. Rigel eyed his wearily. It looked like a vision out of a nightmare.
“Put it on,” said Laurie. “Don’t worry, I know it looks awful but it’s actually surprisingly comfortable. Try it.”
Reluctantly, they put the suits on, helping each other to button them at the back. Once his suit was on, Rigel found that the material felt cool on the inside even though it was incredibly thick and seemed to be lined with fleece. He wiggled comfortably in it. He put his helmet on, which felt more claustrophobic. When he exhaled, the air was chilled and distributed through the body of the suit, cooling it further. Giving a thumbs up to Laurie, he made his way back to the door with Rona and they climbed down the stairs outside.
“Now remember,” said Laurie, sounding tinny through his helmet. “These are fireproof and will probably protect you from a bit of the lava but they’re not heavy duty, alright? Then let’s go.”
Walking along the cracked stone ground, Rigel was overwhelmed by the strange feeling of it all. Stepping over a small lava stream, he followed the group whilst also looking around them. He was not sure where they were supposed to be going but he was at least happy enough to follow Laurie and Tink’s lead. The fireballs falling towards the ground would occasionally smash into the floor, sending tennis-ball-sized sparks towards them, but the frequency meant they had enough warning to run away from any immediate danger of being burnt. A hellish red glow filled the air and gave their surroundings a surreal appearance. A crack in the ground was venting the gas into the air and obscuring their view. When a waft of air blew in the other direction they could see further ahead.
The jagged shapes showed that some kind of structure was up ahead. The children walked towards it, their heavy boots thudding on the cracked ground. The pilots and mechanics joined them, making an unearthly procession as they walked away from the ship. The group stopped walking as the dark shapes were on either side of them. Rigel moved over and, with extreme caution, prodded the surface in front of him. It became slightly compressed as though it were made of soft material. Tink was examining it a few metres away.
“What is it?” asked Laurie, shifting from foot to foot. He seemed agitated, as if eager to leave.
“I think it’s a balloon,” replied Tink, staring at the material, “but I don’t know how it hasn’t broken …”. He pulled out a flick knife and carved out a square of the thick material. A deep rushing filled the air.
“Get down!” shouted Spanner as he rugby-tackled the little mechanic to the floor.
A jet of fire shot out of the balloon where Tink had been standing a moment before. As he watched, Rigel saw the huge balloon slowly deflate until the gas inside was gone. The fire sputtered before going out. Tink leant up on his elbows and sighed, the sound rattling through his breathing mask.
“Fascinating!” he exclaimed. “They’ve made the material fireproof so, even in the event of disaster, there would be no huge explosion!”
“Fascinating?” shouted Spanner. “Fascinating?! You nearly just had your face melted off, you inconsiderate heimskur fífl!”
“I’m sorry,” the mechanic muttered.
Beneath the balloon, Rigel could make out the twisted metal structure of what remained of the flying machine.
“I wonder what brought it down,” he said.
“Not the firestorm, it would seem,” said Rona. “Come on.”
Moving away from the wreckage, they carried on forwards. As they walked they passed another four wreck
s and no signs of life.
“Whatever happened here happened fast,” commented Opal.
The cracked vents in the floor were growing less frequent, making the air clearer. Rigel looked around and saw the volcano in the distance. Amongst the billowing tower of smoke rising from its top, he saw a jagged fork of lightning. The boom of the thunder rippled through the air and shook the sky.
“There are more things up ahead,” commented L’aroche.
Black shapes shimmered in the hot red air. The group passed through what looked like the remains of a gate and found themselves in a small village square. Surrounding them on all sides were the remains of black houses shaped out of the volcanic rock. Basalt formed the building blocks, and the glassy sheen of obsidian seemed to have been melted in-between the blocks to hold them together. How this was possible, Rigel could not guess.
“Split up and look around,” Laurie instructed. “Then we’ll fire up the beacon.”
“Why don’t you just turn it on now?” asked Rigel.
“Well, unless you want an IV between your arm and that beacon then that’s not a good idea. The blood in there won’t last very long,” replied Tink.
“Come on, you,” said Opal, grabbing Rigel’s arm.
Rona left with L’aroche, Tink with Spanner, and Quimby with Laurie.
“I don’t think there’s anyone here,” said Rigel, looking over his shoulder.
“Of course there isn’t,” replied Opal. “But the captain likes to feel as if he’s doing something productive when in fact it’s perfectly obvious the same thing happened to this town as what happened to the city we found Iselt in and the one we found Rona in. There’s a pattern here, but Laurie’s either too naïve or optimistic that we aren’t going to find the same thing again. Come on, let’s have a look in here.”
They stopped at a house with the door leaning crookedly in its frame. Opal grabbed the handle and pushed. It came away from the frame and fell to the floor, booming and sending up a cloud of dust.