by Dave Lacey
With a week to go, he had rigged a fitness test of sorts – an assault course, which took thirty minutes to complete. It was a tough assignment, and therefore Tom couldn’t argue when they both scraped through. The two men stood before him, leaning forward, hands on knees just about staying upright.
“So. What-do-you-have-…” Jack paused in an attempt to draw breath... “to-say...now?” he asked. He managed to look up at Tom with what was meant to be a smile, but looked more like a grimace. Tom raised an eyebrow before speaking.
“Well, it looks like you may be back to close to three-quarter fitness.”
Jack stood upright, hands on hips, gasping for air but managing to look indignant. “But, and this is a big but–” Tom continued, one meaty hand on his hip, the other waggling an extended finger “– I’m not convinced this is a good idea. You two were damn close to the great void a few weeks ago. This mission is important.”
“We know it’s important, Tom, that’s why we want to go. We’re not treating this as a jolly.” It was Smithy who had regained his breath quickest, and he was deadly serious as he made their case. “We’ve never had this kind of cooperation before, and it’s vital we get it right.”
Tom glowered at them, his arm, hand and finger still extended, but the finger no longer waggling. They could see his thoughts echoed in his features, shifting as though something small lived under the surface. His gaze switched, moving between the two men before him.
He nodded, then spoke. “Okay. You can go.” Both men fell back against the wall of the tunnel, relieved and elated that they had made it. “But–” he continued, “–Millie goes with you. And, you need to continue working on your fitness until you leave.”
“Can we go now?” Jack asked. Tom nodded and turned to leave. Jack and Smithy looked at each other, both managing a smile through the pain. “I never thought we were gonna get the nod on this. Tom’s a great guy, but he can be a real dick sometimes.”
“I’m not deaf, and I’m not that far away either,” they heard from round the tunnel bend. Laughing through their pain, the two men looked at each other and slumped down the wall until they were seated on the compacted floor of the tunnel.
“Yeah, it was pretty intense,” said Smithy. “I’m not sure I’m keen on the idea of Millie going though.
Jack shrugged, wearing a look of indifference. “Let’s be honest, the last time we took her along on a sortie, who came out best?” he asked.
Smithy nodded before answering. “I guess you’re right. Think we’ll find anything? What do you think they have in mind?”
Jack’s head tilted backwards, and his eyes rolled up as he stared at the curved roof of earth above him. It was the colour of chocolate cookie dough, with a consistency that resembled stone. The earth had been smoothed over and was worn in places so it almost shone. “No idea,” he said. “But somebody, somewhere, has something in mind. I’m just not sure if there’s any weight behind it, or whether it’s a fishing trip.”
Smithy frowned. “Meaning?” he asked.
“Meaning, I don’t know if they have a suspicion that something might work against the ‘Landers as a weapon, or whether they are just sending us out there to find something that might be a weapon.” He paused, his body having returned to normal now. For a moment he took pleasure in that post exercise hit of endorphins. “And the two are very different things”, he continued. “If we have a purpose, it means we won’t stop ‘till we find it. And if we do find it, we have a real chance of taking back the planet. I’d die for that cause.” He paused again, his tongue moving round the inside of his mouth as he tried to rehydrate the dry areas.
Smithy grew impatient. “And if that’s not the case?” he asked.
“Well, if we are out there just blindly fumbling around for something that might help us out, then that sounds a lot like a disaster waiting to happen. And I’m not sure I’d give my life for a soft cause.” Jack’s head remained tilted back, but for a second his eyes drifted down to take in Smithy’s face.
Smithy’s expression was hard to read. His eyes were unmoving and he was playing his poker face. Then he spoke. “I agree. And you’re right, there seems little point in us all getting killed for something that’s a maybe.” He paused. “What do we do then?” he asked.
Jack realized that Smithy had changed since the almost fatal shooting. He seemed more serious. Jack wasn’t sure if he liked that.
“At the moment, I say we just go along with things. We wanted to go on the mission, so that’s what we do.” He paused, his head coming back into its natural position and he looked looking directly at Smithy. “But over the next twenty-four hours, we need to find out from Tom what he knows. And, if he knows anything, how it might help us to figure out what this mysterious thing might be.”
The following day, Jack and Smithy followed Tom everywhere. And, bark and curse though he did, there was no escaping them. They had followed him in to a remote working tunnel when finally he snapped and turned on the two men.
“What?” he bellowed, his body fizzing.
Both Jack and Smithy looked startled, as if they had been expecting to have to hound him for a much longer time to find out what it was they wanted. Smithy ducked his head, and from the corner of his eye, looked at Jack. Like a naughty schoolboy, he widened his eyes and jerked his head towards Tom. Clearly he was suggesting Jack should take the lead on this matter. Jack pulled a face, and turned to look at Tom.
“Well...we’ve been thinking, and–” he paused, “Well,” Jack went on, “we figured we might better achieve our aims if we knew a little more about what it is the people up there,” he paused to point a finger skyward, “think might help us to defeat the ‘Landers.”
“Did you?” Tom snapped. “And did it not occur to you, that if I wanted you to know what it was they thought might help us out, then I would have told you?”
“Well, yes, but...” Smithy started.
“Yes? Well?”
Tom didn’t seem to be getting any less angry. And Smithy’s courage seemed to be deserting him again. Jack stood up to his full height, and took half a step forward.
“Look, Tom, I don’t like the idea of going on this little trip and not having the first clue what it is we’re looking for. You know me by now, you know I’m loyal, and you know I’d do anything to help. But...” Jack ran out of words under Tom’s fierce scrutiny. It was like looking into the midday sun. Jack folded his arms defensively and leaned back against the smooth tunnel wall.
Tom’s hands slipped from his hips and a little of his anger subsided. His mouth squirmed this way and that, as he mulled over his decision. To talk or not to talk? Finally, he reached his conclusion.
“Okay, I guess there’s little point in me not telling you. But this stays between the three of us, you’re not even to share this with Millie.” He glowered once more, at Smithy. “And I’m talking to both of you now. Not even Millie, do you understand?” The two men nodded hard. “The idea of not telling people is so they don’t make up their minds before they go on the trip. To some, it will seem like folly. This...solution…some may think it foolish.” Tom paused, and Smithy stepped in.
“Do you think it’s foolish, Tom?” Smithy asked, his face expressionless.
Tom paused before commenting. “I don’t know what I think about the thing itself. But I think the mission is worth carrying out. If this is something that works, if it gives us a chance, then it’s worth trying. Don’t you think?” His face had lost all of its thunder now, and he was simply looking for an honest answer.
“I guess so,” Jack replied. “But much of that will depend on the item in question. What is it?” he asked, almost dreading the answer.
Tom took a deep breath, his eyes widening with innocence and a very here we go sort of expression.
“Plants.”
Smithy and Jack stood in front of him, their faces screwing up in confusion. They weren’t sure they had heard him right.
“Plants? Did you say
plants?” Jack asked.
“Yes. Well, not exactly just plants. They think it might be pollen. They think pollen might be the answer.” Tom replied, licking his lips.
“Pollen? Fucking pollen?” Smithy spluttered.
“Yes, pollen,” confirmed Tom. “You wanted to know, I’m telling you. It isn’t my idea, I’m just breaking the confidence of the people who told me. So I’d be grateful if you’d calm down a little.”
“Fucking pollen,” Smithy hissed in a stage whisper. He placed his hands on his hips and walked back and forth a few paces shaking his head.
“How did they come to this conclusion Tom?” Jack asked.
“Remember your disbelief when Phillippe Lemac, The Mechanic, told you what was going to happen? When he told you about the prediction? Remember how that blew your mind?” Jack nodded. Smithy stopped pacing and looked at Tom. “Well is this so hard to believe after that revelation?”
“No, I guess not,” Jack agreed. “But how do they know?”
“They don’t know, not for certain anyway. But something happened, it was quite accidental really, and it made them think. That and some suppositions made by our friends on the Moon.”
“Okay, what is this watershed moment then?” Smithy asked. His face twisted into a sneer.
“Remember who runs this little enterprise Tobias, don’t push your luck.” Tom was pointing a finger at Smithy now. Smithy turned to face him fully, his clenched fists taut by his sides.
“Okay, girls, break it up,” Jack cut in, his voice soft yet unyielding.
Tom broke the standoff and turned to face Jack. “There was an incursion in one of the communities. The ‘Landers broke through, found their base. It was carnage really, like foxes in a coop.” Tom paused, breathing hard as he recounted the tale. “Like us, that community grew some plants and vegetables in their underground base. One of their guys got cornered in the growing room.
“Two ‘Landers came for him. He had no weapons. As they backed him into a corner, he started throwing anything he could find at them. He started pulling up plants, throwing them, uselessly he thought, but when he reached the area where they were growing some high pollen-producing plants...well…things changed. The ‘Landers started to choke and thrash about.”
“So you’re saying we fight them with hay fever?” Smithy asked, his face twisted. His hands went back to his hips as he stared at Tom and shook his head, incredulous at the revelation.
“You have to admit it does sound utterly ridiculous, Tom,” said Jack. He pushed himself away from the wall, then turned to address Bradley again. “What if they’re wrong? What if it was something else?”
“Look,” said Tom, “this isn’t, wasn’t, my idea. I’m just telling you what I’ve been told. I had trouble with it initially too, but what else do we have?”
“We fight,” said Smithy. “We continue to fight, until there’s none of them left. That’s what we do. We don’t go chasing delusions of a single weapon that might do the job. It doesn’t make any frigging sense. How many are we sending anyway?”
“They are proposing twenty-four fully armed community members, four from each of the five communities gathered for the meeting,” answered Tom.
“Jesus Christ,” said Smithy. “That’s, what, ten per cent of the armed force of our community, and probably about the same for each of the others? What if none of us comes back, Tom? What if it’s a disaster, and nobody and nothing comes back? No soldiers, no weapon?” Smithy’s voice got louder with each new question.
“I’m not an idiot, Toby, so I’d be grateful if you’d stop speaking to me like I am. I had the same doubts as you, the same questions. I was convinced by the leaders of the other communities. But…” Tom paused, “…what other options do we have? We could go on fighting, but how long can we last? They are showing no signs of dying off, and we’re struggling to survive with each new year. Food and medical supplies will just get shorter and shorter in supply.” Tom paused again, for breath.
“Time is not our friend on this. Reports state that they’re beginning to spread out, they’re colonizing the planet, building a permanent home. What does that tell you about their intentions?” Tom looked at Jack and Smithy, who had calmed down. “It tells me,” he continued, “that they have absolutely no intention of leaving, or giving up the fight. We need something that will give us a victory, and a big one at that. Also, the survivors on the Moon had a contribution to make to the theory.”
Smithy jumped in. “Don’t even get me started on those fuckers,” he spat, turning his head away in disgust.
Tom clenched his jaw tight, and bit down on the words that crammed into his throat, waiting for release. He closed his eyes, drew breath, and went on.
“They made an observation that, as the ‘Landers came for us, as well as devastating our towns and cities, they dropped canisters. A few days after those canisters were released, whole tracts of land, all over the world, began to turn bad. They could almost see the crops dying from where they watched. At the time, they thought it was just an exercise in killing us off. Cut off the food supply, kill the occupants.” Jack and Smithy had settled against the wall opposite Tom, more interested now.
“So,” Tom continued, “they didn’t think about it too much. But then, after a year or so everything was pretty much dead. Flowers, trees, vegetables, grasses, most weeds.”
“What about oxygen?” Jack asked. “How have we survived without the trees supplying oxygen? Surely we’d have felt the consequences of this before now?”
“Only half of our oxygen comes from land-based plant life, Jack. The other half comes from the sea, from phytoplankton. And, as there are probably only around five per cent or less of the world’s population left, our demand for oxygen is considerably less than it once was. Plus, there’s not much left polluting the world with carbon-based emissions anymore, so the earth has found a new balance.” Tom gave a weak smile.
“In fact, it’s probably the only plus point of this whole thing, we’re actually not fucking up the planet any longer.” He looked up, coughed, and went on. “Anyway, a couple of years ago they sent down a probe and took samples of the Earth’s atmosphere. There are good levels of oxygen, and there’s good news for hay fever sufferers the world over, and even better news for our invaders it would seem. The pollen count is almost undetectable.”
Tom gave them a few seconds to intervene, then, when nothing came up, he went on. “We’ve seen them wear masks before now. It’s because there are still trace elements of pollen in the atmosphere. They patrol at certain times of the day and night, when it’s easier for them to cope.” He stopped again, inspecting the palm of his hand with great interest.
“This is the best that the various communities close to us here on Earth, and those on the Moon, can come up with. We’re not telling everyone, because so many people will have questions, or raise objections. It’s been decided that it would be best to tell you once you are close to the destination.”
“Which is where?” Smithy asked, his mood considerably better than ten minutes before.
“The seed bank in Cornwall,” Tom said quickly.
Smithy unfolded his arms and pushed himself away from the wall with his hands. “Fuck me, could we possibly get any further way from where we are now, and still be in the British Isles?” he hissed, the veins in his neck standing out like cables, drops of spittle landing on Tom’s arms.
“I’ll tell you what,” Tom shouted, “consider my decision revoked.” He moved forward, his imposing bulk looming over Smithy, his hands hanging like lump hammers at the end of his fists. He stabbed a finger into Smithy’s chest as he spoke his next words. “You can stay here with the women and children. I’m sick and tired of having to justify myself to every Dick,” he poked particularly hard and stared right into Smithy’s eyes, “and Harry.”
Then he raised his eyes above Smithy’s head and went on. “You can fuck yourself, my little friend. Have you any idea, you people, what it’s like to t
ry to keep everyone safe, all the time, and fail, a lot of it?”
Jack chose his moment to intervene. “Tom, please calm down. Don’t listen to my gobby little friend, he certainly means no harm. I think he was just a little surprised at the distance we’ll have to travel.”
“Yeah, well he doesn’t have to worry about it does he. He ain’t fucking going.” And he turned back to glare at Smithy, who finally found his voice.
“Tom, I’d like to take this brief lull in proceedings to apologize. I was merely surprised at the distance we’ll have to...well, whatever he said.” Smithy pointed at Jack. “I’m sorry, alright? I know you’re under pressure, I just wasn’t thinking.”
“I’m going back to my quarters,” said Tom, squinting at Smithy. “I’ll see you both at five.” He turned and walked off into the gloom of the dimly lit tunnel.
Smithy let out a long breath through his puffed cheeks.
“Fuck me,” he said, dusting down the front of his jacket as he gathered himself. “There was no need for that.”
Jack stepped closer and leaned casually against the wall, folding his arms. “You, my friend, are a dick,” he said. He was smiling as Smithy made eye contact.
“So you think this is a bad idea?” Jack asked.
Smithy stopped his fidgeting and stared at the wall opposite him. “I don’t know, to be truthful. I may have overreacted slightly, but it all seems a bit...far-fetched. A bit, what’s the word, tentuous?” He looked at Jack, his faced creased with the effort of finding the word.
“Close, and yeah it does feel that way. But hey, as Tom said, look at what we thought when Lemac told us his big secret?” Jack walked over to Smithy and sat down, groaning as he did so. “So, when you look at it that way, this ain’t so hard to believe.” He paused, clucking his tongue. “And, if it works, then who knows. If our friends on the Moon can weaponize it, this could be it. This could be our big chance.”