An Extra-Ordinary Beginning (The Adventures of Eric and Ursula Book 1)

by A. D. Winch

  Neither Agent Ypsilon, who was driving nor the other agents noticed that the trailer was no longer attached to the Fiat. By the time they realized, they were too close, and it was too late. The trailer hit their right headlight, as they tried to swerve around it, and they were forced off the road. Agent Ypsilon hit the brakes just before the Yukon, plus trailer, smashed into a group of young trees. The agents looked up to see the Fiat disappear from view. Thrusting the Yukon into reverse, Agent Ypsilon tried to separate from the trailer but it had somehow become attached. He drove forward and back, but the trailer refused to move. Only when he crashed it back into a tree did it come off. The Yukon did a wheel spin and roared away, continuing upwards in their pursuit of the Fiat.

  The Vesuvius car park was situated about one hundred metres below the summit of the volcano and was on a slope. It was the furthest point accessible by car and, except for a parked van, was deserted. To reach the summit visitors had to walk past a wooden ticket office, through a chained entrance and up a steep path.

  The Fiat skidded to a halt under a tree, sending gravel spinning into the air and drawing a half-circle on the ground.

  “Get out! Head towards the summit!” shouted Alexander.

  Eric jumped out of the boot first and then sped round to the rear door to help Ursula. She put her arm around his shoulders, and they moved as fast they could towards the entrance. They did not look back.

  The path up to the summit was covered in loose pumice and would have been difficult to walk on in full health, but for Ursula it was even harder. Eric provided much support, but it was still difficult to keep a steady footing. Apart from the noise of the Fiat’s engine ticking over, everything was silent.

  After a few minutes, Ursula realized that Alexander and Andrea were not with them, nor were they following. With Eric’s help, she turned round to look back down at the car park.

  The Fiat was accelerating towards the road which led back down the volcano, when the Yukon sped around the corner towards it. The Fiat continued to speed up and, just outside the car park entrance, they collided with an almighty smash. Steam floated up from the crumpled bonnets, and they could see two large cracks on the Yukon’s windscreen.

  Neither Eric nor Ursula spoke. Instead, they turned away from the scene and headed up the path as fast as they could. The sun had risen higher in the sky; the sunlight was becoming stronger and, despite tears in their eyes, it was becoming easier to see where they were going. When they reached the summit, they turned around to survey the crash below and frantically tried to locate Andrea or Alexander. They were nowhere to be seen. Unfortunately, the same was not true of the three OSS Agents who were walking unsteadily past the wooden ticket office. Revolvers were being waved back and forth by the agents, but their hands were too unsteady to fire a shot. Ursula did not want to hang around and motioned Eric forward.

  The view from the summit would have taken Eric and Ursula’s breath away if the preceding events and climb had not already done so. They could see Naples, the glistening sea of the Amalfi coast, fields that looked like they had been crocheted together on a blanket, lonely villages and Pompeii. From where they stood all looked miniature, shrunk down to the size of models.

  Wincing in pain with every step, Ursula pulled Eric towards the crater. A small, chain fence stopped them from getting too close, and when they looked down, they understood why. It was a massive circular hole with sheer rock and earth walls.

  If you toppled over the edge, you would not be coming back, thought Ursula and she moved on, taking Eric with her.

  “We have to get back down again,” Eric said and looked away from the crater towards the volcano’s slope.

  “I know, but we can’t go the same way. They’re following. We’ll get to the other side of the crater and then go down. But I need a short break first.”

  “Let’s head for those,” suggested Eric, pointing towards a high pile of sharp looking rocks half-way around the crater. “We won’t be seen there.”

  As they walked, puffs of steam rose from the sleeping volcano and a soft, grinding noise could just be heard. Neither of them really noticed; their eyes were fixed on the rocks, and when they reached them they collapsed.

  Just above Eric and Ursula, the dawn sun was shining brightly, and its rays started to revive them. They basked in the warm sunlight as they sat against the rocks and, after a few minutes, were ready to leave. Eric stood and helped Ursula up. Her left ankle felt better, and she was able to put more weight upon it. When Eric offered to support her, she declined at first but then placed a hand on his shoulder.

  They took another look at the crater. A large cloud of steam rose up from the depths and floated past them. Slowly they continued on. Neither of them spoke. They trudged in silence around the summit to the other side of the crater and the furthest point from the OSS. Occasionally they looked behind them but no one was following.

  Back to Contents

  ***

  Chapter 28 – Rendez-vous

  “What shall we do now?” asked Ursula, looking at the green countryside stretching out far below them.

  Eric did not answer but gazed out in the same direction. He was confident that he could see on the horizon the small forgotten airport where they had landed only thirty-five hours earlier. It seemed like a lifetime ago.

  “We can’t go back to the car,” he finally said. “We must head for the plane. Alexander and I agreed that we would rendez-vous there if anything happened. Captain Hudson will get us out of here.”

  “Eric,” began Ursula hesitantly, “I think Alexander is okay. I can feel that he is fine.”

  Eric concentrated hard on Alexander and, like Ursula, felt the same. Worryingly, neither of them could sense anything from Andrea.

  With slightly lighter hearts they looked into the distance at the walk that lay ahead of them. It would take them down the volcano and through the countryside but first they had to get down from the summit.

  The steep slope was covered in small pumice stones, like a carpet of marbles, and there was no path down it. They lost their footing in the first few steps. Eric dug his heels into the volcanic stones and stopped them rolling all the way down. It did, however, give them an idea.

  Instead of trying to walk down they crouched onto their right legs and put the other out in front of them. Ursula draped her injured left leg over Eric’s shoulder to protect it and then they pushed off with their hands. They began to slide slowly down the volcano as if on an invisible sledge. They picked up speed as they slid, but Eric controlled this with his front foot which he used as a brake. Great clouds of dust followed them as they descended and, from a distance, it looked like a small eruption or an avalanche.

  The slope came to an end two hundred metres below the summit. Eric and Ursula ground to a halt upon a large pile of pumice stones which they had pushed down the volcano. They had been so focused on the countryside further afield that they had taken little notice of what lay below them. If they had seen their destination, they would have stopped but the dust cloud shooting up around them had blocked their view.

  They were standing at the bottom of Vesuvius’s first crater. It had exploded two thousand years previously and had sent stones and ash fifteen kilometres into the sky towards Pompeii. After the gigantic explosion, it had healed itself, and the gaping hole in the earth was no more. The ancient crater was the size of ten football pitches and was surrounded by sheer cliff faces, as high as a six storey building. Boulders and rocks as big as houses, some almost the same shape, lay next to rocks the size of footballs. Scattered amongst them were tall trees and round spiky bushes.

  “We go straight,” said Eric confidently and pointed forwards.

  “I know that,” replied Ursula, “but that’s easier said than done.”

  There was no direct route the way Eric was pointing. A family of rocks and boulders, all of different shapes and sizes, blocked their path. For a few minutes, they just sat, looking at their options and appreciating t
he morning sun. No matter what way they went they would have to climb around or climb over huge lumps of stone.

  From behind they heard the pitter-patter of pebbles rolling down the slope and then stones began to rain down on them. They jumped up and moved a safe distance away. Ursula’s ankle felt stronger, and she felt pleased until she looked back up the volcano. A short distance from the summit and running towards them were the three OSS agents. Two of them had open wounds on their foreheads, but they no longer looked drunk.

  Ursula stood transfixed, looking at their pursuers and only when Eric pulled at her arm did she turn away.

  They sprinted off in the direction Eric had been pointing to, using the smaller boulders as steps up to the bigger ones. Some of the boulders and rocks were uneven, some were smooth, some were very jagged and some contained holes. Skilfully, Eric and Ursula ran around them, over them and leapt between them like mountain leopards. Not once did they stop and look behind them but they could sense that the agents were getting closer.

  The rocks and boulders were further apart, and the jumps between them were growing in distance. They landed safely on a flat rock the size of a tennis court and sprinted across it. Ursula was leading, her ankle feeling much stronger, but as she neared the edge she skidded to a halt. Eric did the same.

  In front of them was a gap of over five metres. A large, curved boulder lay on the other side about a metre lower than them.

  “We won’t make it,” Ursula said and desperately looked for another way down but failed to find one.

  Eric scoffed, and he continued to disagree as they ran back the way they had come.

  Suddenly an OSS agent appeared on another rock in front of them.

  “Stop!” he yelled and waved a gun in their direction.

  “It looks like I will have to prove you wrong,” Eric told Ursula and spun around.

  He sprinted away from her and the OSS agent, towards the gap. Faced with no other choice Ursula followed.

  Eric leapt a second or so before Ursula and flew through the air towards the next boulder. His feet hit it first, but he landed on a steep curve rather than the flatter top. He lost his balance and began to topple backwards, his arms flailing wildly above him.

  Ursula saw him starting to fall when she was halfway into her jump. Instantly she dropped her right hand and as she reached the boulder she caught hold of Eric. Their fingers clasped tight around each other and Ursula pulled Eric on to the boulder where she landed on top of him.

  “I told you that you wouldn’t make it,” she said, looking down at Eric.

  “You didn’t give me a chance to get my balance,” he replied gruffly.

  However, his thoughts said something different and Ursula knew he was grateful.

  There were no more large rocks or boulders for them to jump onto and they had almost reached the ancient crater’s cliff face. They were too far away to jump directly onto it and too high up to jump down safely. To make matters worse, the boulder was too smooth to climb down. They were stranded. As Eric looked over one of its sides, he saw a leafless, fallen tree leaning against the boulder.

  “Over here,” he shouted.

  When Ursula saw it, she was not impressed.

  “It’s only resting against the boulder. It won’t take our weight.”

  A gun shot echoed around the crater, and they looked up to see the agent pursuing them about to make the jump onto their boulder.

  “I don’t think we have much choice,” remarked Eric and gently lowered himself onto the dead tree trunk.

  It moved slightly but held his weight.

  “Come on,” he urged Ursula.

  Hesitantly, Ursula joined him. The moment she stood on the tree it dropped a few centimetres. The two of them held their balance and, like tightrope walkers, pigeon stepped down the trunk.

  “It’s just like doing the beam in gymnastics,” said Eric smiling.

  The moment the words were out of his mouth the tree dropped half a metre, leaving Eric and Ursula standing in thin air. They dropped back onto the tree, their feet slipping underneath them as the tree rolled, but they managed to hold their balance. They were still too high for a safe fall.

  “Since when have beams moved?” asked Ursula pointedly after catching her breath.

  Eric did not reply. Gently they stepped forward but with every step the tree dropped a little further. Each time they held their balance. When they were closer to the ground, they jumped. The tree crashed to the floor at the same time, scattering brittle branches around them.

  The OSS agent looked down from the top of the boulder. There was no way to jump down and no way back. The two children looked up at him and were tempted to smile, but they didn’t. For a moment, he considered ignoring orders and just shooting both the kids for the trouble they had caused. On reflection, he decided that Agent Angel would then shoot him. He fired a shot at Ursula but missed. The children turned and fled towards the side of the crater.

  At the base of the sheer cliff face, the children stopped to look up. It was like a multi-tiered cake with three layers consisting of solid rock, dry earth and damp earth with stones. Each layer was about the same height as two floors on a building, and none looked particularly easy to climb.

  We have to go up, thought Ursula.

  “Race you,” challenged Eric.

  He wasn’t joking and immediately began to climb. Ursula just looked at him and then began to climb too.

  Why do you have to turn everything into a competition? she thought.

  “Because that’s what boys do,” Eric replied, speeding up, but Ursula was already ahead of him.

  After climbing past the first layer, they both sensed danger below them. They looked down and were greeted by a smiling OSS agent pointing a gun between the two of them.

  “I don’t want to have to shoot the two of you,” the agent yelled in a southern states accent.

  “Then don’t,” shouted back Eric and tried to catch up with Ursula above him.

  The spot where she was about to put her hand suddenly exploded, showering her in shards of rock and earth.

  The voice below yelled up again, “When I was a kid I was brought up to have some respect for grown-ups, and to call them ‘sir’ and ‘ma’am,' mister smart mouth. You’d better be remembering that, or the next bullet hits your girlfriend. Now come back down here the two of you before you fall and hurt yourselves.”

  Ursula looked down at the agent but made no attempt to descend.

  Eric smiled and, imitating the agent’s southern drawl, replied, “I’m pleased you are thinking of our safety ‘sir’ and ‘ma’am’ but if you want us you’ll have to come and get us.”

  As soon as Eric had finished speaking the agent began to climb.

  Ursula was still ahead of Eric but around halfway up they reached a layer of crumbling, dry soil. There were no handholds or footholds, and the only way to get past it was to find stones or fossilized roots that were wedged securely in the earth. This slowed them right down. Roots they tried to hold on to simply fell out, stones they put their feet on gave way under their weight and the ones that held did not feel very safe.

  At all times, they made sure they had at least three points of their body, either two feet and a hand or vice versa, secure against the cliff face. One mistake was all it would take for them to fall and, at three floors above the ground, they did not want to do this. Their caution and reduced speed, allowed the agent to catch up with them. By the time, Ursula had climbed over this layer the agent had almost reached them, and Eric was still behind her.

  “Stop right there,” ordered the agent.

  He lunged for Eric’s foot and only narrowly missed it. Eric tried desperately to find another handhold to lift him out of reach, but each stone he grabbed at fell out of the earth the moment he tested it. Below him, the agent had a secure footing on the rock layer and was not having the same problems as Eric.

  The agent’s second lunge was successful, and Eric’s foot was held in a
vice-like grip. Eric said nothing but Ursula knew he was in trouble. Eric shook his foot as hard as he dared, but the grip just got tighter. The stone supporting Eric’s other foot was beginning to loosen, and his right handhold was creeping out of the soil.

  Urgently, Ursula looked around her. There was nothing she could throw at the agent, and she could not go back.

  Throw stones Eric, she thought and looked down.

  Eric was clawing at the earth trying to find stones he had not already dislodged. At the same time, he was still shaking his left foot, trying to lose the agent. Only having two body points next to the cliff face was very, very dangerous climbing, and Eric knew this as much as Ursula.

  No matter how hard he looked, he could not see any more stones. Eric placed his right hand back on the stone that was creeping out of the earth. He moved it quickly up and down until it came free. The agent was still below and with all the strength Eric could find, he launched the stone at him.

  The stone hit the agent right between the eyes. The force was so great and the shock so unexpected that he let go of the cliff face and fell backwards. He landed with a loud, unpleasant thud on a spiky bush which cushioned his fall. Ursula heard obscenities being screamed at them, but she knew the agent was not going to risk chasing them again.

  Eric did not hear anything; he had other things to worry about. He was swinging wildly and about to fall himself. The only possible hand holds were above him and out of his reach. With no other option, he sprang from his one foothold and leapt upwards. His fingers felt around a stone and gripped it. His other hand did the same and, as he kicked at the earth, he found two footholds as well. They held, and Eric lay flat against the cliff face, his heart beating so hard that he thought it would force him off. When it had slowed down, he joined Ursula and together they climbed the remaining half of the cliff face.

  On reaching the top and flat ground, they both lay down and looked up towards the sun. They were both breathing hard and lost in their own thoughts. As their breathing returned to normal Eric faced Ursula, pointed to himself and declared that he was the winner. Ursula simply laughed.