Chapter 17
The sun was setting as Ford and Emcan reached the hospital, Ford and Emcan had presented their credentials to the Colonel in charge. He listened gravely to Ford's request for a chance to interview some of the survivors, considered for a few moments before agreeing – on the conditions that the interviews would take place the following morning and that he be interviewed first. The Colonel's English, although accented, was passable. He then handed them over to his adjutant who took them on a brief tour of the facility. Having noticed how tired Ford was looking, he also showed them to the camp beds that he'd arranged for them.
Having spent most of the day travelling, Ford was asleep in minutes.
Straker and Johns had decided to pull in at a roadside café for coffee. Whilst there, they had taken the opportunity to change out of uniform. All the time they were in a public place, the subject of their visit was strictly taboo. Instead, they exchanged small talk, mainly concerning the current political situation and the likelihood of war.
"'Course, I reckon it's the Martians meself", the café proprietor informed them as he brought their coffees over.
"Oh?" Despite himself, Straker was curious
"There was a flying saucer over near Henley's farm yesterday.
"Is that far from here?
"'Bout five miles. You take the London road then turn off onto Stubbington Lane. You can't miss it
Bill had chatted incessantly, with no response. The girl seemed to be lost in a world of her own. So much the better; she'd be so much easier to subdue. The road led through a forest. He patted her knee; no response. This was so easy. He pulled the van off the road into a forest clearing.
He pulled on the handbrake and killed the engine. The sudden stillness roused Catherine from her reverie. She looked around; Fear gripped her. The stench of the man's breath made her gag as he lunged toward her. Somehow, she managed to slide the door open. Half stumbling, half falling, she escaped from the vehicle and bolted towards the trees, the man close behind.
"So what do you think" asked Straker
"We're so close; It seems a pity not to have look" replied Johns
"You believed him?" This was the moment of truth
"I find it difficult to believe that, in a universe this vast, there aren't other civilizations out there." Replied Johns." We're just starting to reach out into space. Who's to say other civilizations haven't already done so? With the satellites and probes we're sending up and radio broadcasts radiating out into space, Mankind has drawn attention to itself. Any intelligent species is going be curious."
Straker reached over the back of his seat for the attaché case.
"I'm surprised we haven't already received a visit" Johns continued.
Are you sure they haven't? Asked Straker,
"There's been no indisputable proof;" Replied Johns. "The photographs I've seen have almost always been fake or at least open to interpretation…" his voice tailed off as Straker passed a small photographic print, the twin of that seen by the cabinet minister, just before the fatal car crash.
"This one is real." Replied Straker. "Aliens come to Earth and they're hostile."
Gasping for breath, Catherine ran. Instinctively, she knew her life depended on escaping. Not daring to look back, she ran through the forest.
Straker glanced at his watch.
"We're late."
Although Johns had willingly volunteered to join the nascent defence force, briefing him had taken some time.
Straker put his foot down and the car surged forward
Somehow, Bill had outflanked the girl, leaping out from behind a tree and savagely dragging her to the ground. Without thinking, she brought a knee up to connect with his groin. Grunting with pain, he rolled off.
Somehow, she struggled to her feet and ran towards the edge of the forest, her attacker staggering behind. Gasping for breath, he leant against a tree and cursed as she climbed through a hole in the fence that surrounded the forest
Sensing freedom at last, Catherine put her head down and sprinted
Straker slammed his foot onto the brake pedal. The tyres screamed as the wheels locked…
Catherine turned to face the sound, just as the car caught her a glancing blow
Straker winced as the girl rolled off the bonnet to land in a heap on the road, her head striking the road surface.
The two men leapt from the now-stationary car
"There was nothing I could do," exclaimed Straker. "She just ran out in front of me!"
He knelt down to check her.
"Her eyes opened and she tried to focus on Straker's face.
"Flying…" she gasped, "Flying Saucer…" she lapsed into unconsciousness once more as Straker and Johns looked at each other
Fighting the urge to see what had happened, Bill scuttled back for the safety of his van.
The minibus arrived at last at its destination. Heavily laden with bedrolls, tents and miscellaneous items of camping equipment, the vehicle looked as if it would be perfectly at home on a military expedition.
Frank Reynolds, proudly attired in the uniform of a Scout Leader, climbed out of the cab, stretched and looked around. The woods were much as he remembered them. He opened the rear doors and his troop jumped out, eager to begin a weekend of outdoor fun, cooking and field craft. His deputy, who had been navigating, climbed up onto the roof and started tossing the equipment into the waiting hands of the scouts
It was more than an hour before the fire crews had damped down the fire in the tunnel. The RARDE Appliance, based less than half a mile away, had arrived within a minute of the alarm. Appliances from Sevenoaks had arrived six minutes later. A cordon had been placed around the compound and would remain in place until the cause of the explosion had been determined.
In the still late-afternoon air, a thin column of steam rose from the hole that had been blown in the tunnel roof. The red flags, used to warn of blasting activities, hung limply at the tops of their flagpoles.
Content that the area was safe, the fire crews rolled up their hoses and stowed them in their appliances. The three men watched as the appliances drove back up the hill to the fire station.
"Right, Gentlemen, " Halliday informed them, "I want answers, Fast! Oh, Bill, you'd better get onto the Pattern Room and warn them about that thing."
"Right, sir."
Johns had had the presence of mind to use the car's radiotelephone to call for an ambulance. As with all such incidents, the police had also been alerted and had arrived just after the ambulance. As the driver of the vehicle involved in the accident, Straker had been breathalysed and then questioned.
The skid marks had been carefully measured and the car examined. Particular note had been taken of the fact that it was a left-hand drive model, although that was not that uncommon in this part of the country with its numerous American air bases.
Eventually the police snapped shut their notebooks
"Well, sir," The senior officer informed Straker, "That appears to be that for the moment. I'll have to ask you to come down to the station to make a statement. Don't worry," He smiled, "You're not under arrest. Constable Morton will drive your car."
Straker passed the keys across, before climbing into the back of the police car.
The attendant climbed into the back of the ambulance. The driver closed and secured the doors behind him. Before he climbed back into the cab, the driver trotted across to the police car.
"We're done here. The young lady has a fractured skull. I'm going to take her to the Harville Hospital.
The police officer made a note of the information, thanked the ambulance driver and started the car.
The ambulance pulled away, two-tone horns blaring and blue lights flashing.
The police car pulled away, Straker's car following close behind. The noise of the engines faded and the lane was deserted once more.
Bill stopped. There was someone sitting in the passenger seat of his van. Instinctively, he circled around the van. Satisfied that he wasn't about to fall into a police ambush, he strode up to the passenger door. He snatched the door open. The passenger was a young man, in his twenties, Bill guessed.. The boy turned to face him, his face expressionless.
"What're you doing in my van?" Bill demanded.
Silence
"I ain't a ruddy taxi service"
Silence
Bill didn't like the way the kid seemed to look straight through him. He grabbed the kid's shoulder
"Look, get out. This is my…"
Tim's arm shot out and his hand clamped around the older man's throat, crushing his larynx.
Bill's face turned purple as he gasped for air that would not come. His hands batted feebly at the younger man. Nothing he could do was effective against the vice-like grip.
As consciousness faded, Bill was aware of the boy's eyes staring, boring into his brain…
Satisfied, Tim released his grip and the lifeless body slumped to the ground.
With the enhanced powers the Aliens had given him, he'd been able to read the human's mind easily. Now he knew which direction to look for Catherine – and the missing Mechanism.
He climbed out of the van and set off once more.
Hickmott's call came just in time; the Alien gun was already warm when the late-working technician, who'd taken the call from RARDE, grabbed it from the display in the Pattern Room. Dashing outside, he had just enough time to hurl it into the middle of the deserted car park and dive to the ground before the weapon detonated with a deafening roar.. A blast of hot air passed over him and the ground shook. Shakily, he got to his feet and gingerly walked to the still-smoking crater. More than thirty feet in diameter, the crater was some ten feet deep.