The Second Wheel

Once the gate has closed, Agnes, Gail and Knotty waste no time in gathering the silversilk, winding it into large spools over branches from the trees surrounding the pool. It feels like a dance, as they unloop threads from the trees, passing each other, winding the silversilk tightly, watching their spools grow. The General, thinking it is an intricate game, joins in, following each of them for a while, swapping partners & following the next person as their paths cross, happily barking.

Within half an hour, they have all the silversilk gathered & are on their way back to the 4WD where, over the radio, a very agitated Jack is shouting for more chains & rope. 'I don't think I can stop this one from breaking free in time! The hill is collapsing & it's working itself loose!'

'Hang on Jack, we've got something that can help! We should be able to get to you in about three quarters of an hour!' Agnes responds, starting the engine & checking the others are safely in the vehicle.

'Just get here as fast as you can! We need to clear airspace from this area just in case this wheel breaks loose!'

By the time they reach what used to be Silbury Hill, the second wheel is almost half out of the ground, the air reverberating with the sound of it rotating. Agnes calls Jack over and points to the back of the 4WD. 'Spinner has given us enough silversilk to make a huge net, we can trap the wheel with it & then transport it back to base!'

'Sounds like a plan, lets go!' Jack signals to the away team and they all set to work, creating a net with which to catch the giant's wheel. Once finished, they load it onto the waiting helicopter and it flies above the hill, dropping the net as the wheel shakes free of the ground. The moment the silk hits the wheel a strange phenomenon happens. The wheel, which had been speeding up and rising in the air, suddenly starts to squeal, as though a brake has been applied, the net threads pulling tight around it and slowing it to a stop until it rests, just below the helicopter, neatly secured.

Knotty stares at the ruined mound of the hill below it. 'What'll you do with the hill? It's surely not a pretty sight now!'

Jack nods in agreement. 'That's the best bit of being part of a super-secret organisation. By the time we open the roads and airspace, the away team here will have rebuilt the hill and no one will know anything has happened at all. Now, who wants a lift back in the 'copter with me?'

But Gail, Agnes & Knotty shake their heads, looking up at the ominous big silver disc suspended above them. 'That's OK, we'll take the 4WD back, see you back there!'

By the time the two wheels are secured with the silversilk at SG:UK HQ, reports of seismic activity are coming in from all over the globe. Agnes, Gail, Knotty and Jack are standing in the atrium, looking at a holographic map of the world where all the quake epicentres are being mapped.

'Is anyone else seeing a pattern?' Gail remarks after watching for a minute or two. 'Look, the quakes start here and then radiate out across the globe.' She points to the map. 'It is the Lion Gate We were right!'

'Yes, it is and after Silbury Hill collapsing and the emergence of another wheel, we can work out the size of the object causing these quakes.' The voice from the atrium walkway, makes them all jump. Professor Peter Cromwell leans over the rail, 'I've just had military intelligence on the phone, they have a transport ready to fly you all to the site. I suggest you take as much of the silversilk as you can, the object is big enough to destroy the Mediterranean basin and if we don't get it under control, it will be heading to join with our silver discs. There's a military transport waiting in the quarry for you. The General can stay with me. You all need to leave now!'