by Karl Fish
‘Awake. Awake. Awake.’
The men’s senses began to regain control. They were beginning to resist the influence that the smoke and light had seduced them with. Startled and confused, they were greeted by real smoke and fire.
‘OK, that’s just the start,’ Jennifer advised Noone. ‘We now need to help them out of here.’
‘Wait, what’s that? A radio exchange?’ Noone asked. Jennifer duly nodded ‘Do you know how to work it?’ he questioned.
‘Of course.’
‘Contact Ambledown 71273.’
‘Why?’
‘They’ll send ambulances, supplies, and anything we will need. Please, Jennifer. Do it now, quickly. We have to go straight after.’
*****
‘Belle, this is Tink. I’m leaving now. To the best of our abilities, we have evacuated. Wish us luck.’
‘Any news of the children?’
‘Those we are aware of are as safe as they can be.’
‘Good luck,’ Belle finished, sickened to think of where Agatha may be.
‘Come on, Wilson. We’ve done all that we can,’ Tink advised him.
Tink replaced his headset and headed to the door with Sheriff Bott.
‘Ambledown, Ambledown, are you receiving? Over,’ came the crackling voice of a female over the exchange.
The two men stared at each other.
Tink scrambled back to his head-piece. ‘Belle, we are leaving, as advised.’
‘Going where?’ came the rasping male voice as it took over.
‘Nathaniel, is that you? Nathaniel?’ Tink replied.
‘We’re in a bit of fix, old friend,’ Noone replied. ‘Send supplies to the Silvera Institute as soon as you can. We need transport, ambulances, food, drink, for at least 100 men. Gideon is in bad shape. Be quick, this place will be burned down within no time at all.’
‘Nate, I hear you loud and clear, but the bombers are coming. We’ve had to evacuate or hide. Ambledown is compromised. It too is burning and lit up like a beacon. I’m so sorry. We cannot assist.’
‘I don’t understand, Tink. How do you know? About the bombers, I mean. If they hit that factory much more than the village will be lost.’
Tink patched through to Miss Soames. ‘Belle, I have Nathaniel Noone on the other line.’
‘Belle? How the hell are you involved with this?’ Noone spoke through, his voice distant.
‘Long story short, Nate. Thompson has killed Draper and foiled his plan, but that inadvertently redirected the bombers from London. Unfortunately, they are heading for Ambledown as we speak.’
‘That was bloody kind of him. Christ’ Noone blasphemed, punching the desk. ‘How do you know, anyway?’
‘I am talking to them. They think I am Dove?’
‘Dove? Who is Dove ? Oh God, I am so confused. Belle, what are they looking for? How are they coming?’ Noone asked once more.
‘They’re coming along the coast. They will head towards anything that is lit up.’
‘Anything?’ Noone asked back.
‘I believe so,’ Belle replied for the last time.
‘Belle, you tell them to search for the brightest of red lights. That’s the brightest of red lights. Over and out.
‘What the hell, Nathaniel?’ Jennifer looked at him.
‘Just get the men out of here. Come on, hurry. Get them out of here. We’ve little time.’
Chapter 59
Well red
‘Geschwader Führer eins, das ist Taube. Kopf fur rot. (Head for red.) Wiederholen. (Repeat.) Kopf fur rot, (Head for red,)’ Belle said calmly into her microphone
‘Das ist Geschwader Führer zwei. (This is Squadron leader two).Wir sehen das violette licht. (We see the violet light) Sollen wir vorrucken? (Shall we advance?)’ came the second pilot’s voice.
‘Ja,’ came the first squadron’s commander.
‘Nein.’ Belle reinforced. ‘Nein, nein, nein.’
*****
Tink and Bott sprinted up the Steep towards The Keep. A lead Messerschmitt flew between the buildings directly towards them. Its first rounds peppered the cenotaph before moving onwards to the brewery.
The enemy pilot scanned below as the purple bunting still burned brightly, but the deserted streets offered no real targets.
‘They’ve come!’ Wilson called out, dashing upstairs to join Eric and the children.
‘Eric, we just heard from Nathaniel. He’s safe.’
‘Aggie, Gideon, Pop ?’ Eric replied quickly.
‘He didn’t really say. Just mentioned lots of them needing help.’
‘Hurry up, you bloody bastards! Do your worst!’ Eric screamed towards the ceiling.
*****
‘What were you thinking?’ Jennifer turned to Noone. ‘We’ll all be killed.’
‘No, we won’t. Now get going!’ he yelled at her. ‘Save as many of these men as you can.’
‘Nathaniel, you can’t. It’s a one-way ticket. The heat from that thing will burn straight through you.’
‘We’ll see. Now give it to me,’ Noone ordered her. ‘Now! Then go.’
Jennifer passed the magnifier over.
‘Follow me. Follow me,’ she repeated. ‘Help those who cannot help themselves and follow me. An air-raid is coming and we are not safe!’ Jennifer James called out as she disappeared back into the Institute and up the steep incline to the front of the glass and steel structure. She was redirecting the men to the safety afforded via the cliffs.
Moving through thick smoke, and back to the hidden sacrificial chamber, Nathaniel clasped the magnifier and hid it well, should the moonlight unexpectedly present itself. Descending the stairwell into the dimly lit stone chamber, he retrieved the ceremonial staff. The Scarlet Scarab was still intact. Its emission was subdued temporarily without its elemental source. He approached the body of Salazar motionless on the floor and kicked him for good measure before finally retrieving the ceremonial staff.
He placed the magnifier around the staff’s neck, making it spin and refracting above the scarab’s head. The prism directly above allowed the moonlight to pour through. The magnifier fed life into the crystallised rock and the beating heart of the anthropoid pulsated as it stirred once again. Noone sprinted from the chamber as the deep-red illuminations grew hotter and hotter, turning the chamber a superior shade of scarlet and the beginning of an unfathomable furnace. The laboratory above burst into flames. The secrets of the scrolls disappeared in mere moments. From out of the fire, phoenix-like, the brilliant beam flew out brightly into the atmosphere above, lighting up the night sky with pyrotechnic exuberance.
The flames burned down the corridors, chasing Noone with ferocious intent. With the orderly’s body now having been removed from the entrance, Noone exploded out of the building as the gulf of energy erupted like a volcano, sending him through the air crashing across the gravel driveway.
*****
‘Das ist Geschwader Führer zwei. (This is Squadron leader two). Das Ziel war falsch. (The target was fake.)’
‘Ja, ja. Das ist Geschwader Führer eins. (Yes, yes, This is Squadron Leader One). Schau zu deinem horizont. (Look to your horizon.)’
The fighter pilot raised his aircraft and peered out towards the sea. There on the coast, mere miles away, the scarlet beam of light tore through the clouds with atomic power, lighting up the night sky.
‘Attacke, attacke, attacke,’ came the German pilot’s voice.
*****
Eric quivered with the rest of the huddled children as the first shots were fired. But little came after that. He waited and waited, even though patience was not his strongest virtue. Instead of rounding and a revisionary attempt to attack the deserted village once more, however, the fighters’ engines roared off into the distance.
‘Sod this!’ Eric exclaimed and ran further into the tunnel. He made light work of the tight stairs that led to the hidden room within The Keep. He peered through the archers’ windows of The Keep. Lead and glass caught the purple
hues from below, but they were at too acute an angle to see much more than just that. He turned and peered at himself in the mirrored doorway, ran towards it and pulled it open from a gap at its base. The tunnel beyond, of soft torchlight, led to the roofs of Ambledown. He snuck through a window and climbed between chimney pots until he perched himself to find the perfect vista. Over the cliffs and into the distance, a stark red light burned brightly into the sky. Rumbles of thunder came from its surrounding clouds. A full arsenal of enemy aircraft tore towards it.
*****
‘Get as far away as you can. Find cover, shelter, anything,’ Jennifer encouraged the men as they ran, hobbled and wheeled their way from the burning mass of the Silvera Institute.
The wooden panelling of the laboratory and its exquisite collection of books were mere firelighters to the spreading furnace that now took on the concrete and glass. Lit up in brilliant red, it was an obvious target from the air, as it burned brightly across the English Channel.
‘Nathaniel, can you walk to the jeep?’ Jennifer asked, helping him by his elbow.
‘Luckily for me, you missed.’ He smiled back, pointing towards the bullet hole in the flank of his coat. Looking up from his gravel-worn face, the melted man saw Aggie sobbing over the slumped body of Gideon in the back of the jeep.
‘No, no!’ Nathaniel cried out, running over.
‘He’s alive, just,’ Sir Wallace called back. The influence of poison had left his bloodstream with the new intake of fresh air.
The barks of Luna and intermittent caws of The Lady directed his gaze past the vehicle. Archie Goodfellow, assisted by three other men, pushed the hulking if somewhat broken frame of Pop Braggan in a wheelchair.
The rumbles then began. In the distance, and along the cliff-tops, the Luftwaffe was coming. The scouting Messerschmitt indiscriminately took fire at the men desperately trying to leave the hospital. Its furious machine gun cast clouds of gravel dust as it passed the driveway to the burning Institute.
‘Hide! Seek cover!’ Noone called out.
The pilot looped his plane high in the air readying for a return run. The Scarlet Scarab continued burning brightly as the magnifier increasingly provided celestial power from above. It was a power source that no one could understand or explain. Positioning the beam directly at its centre and between himself and the fleeing hordes of terrorised servicemen below, the pilot smiled and thrust the engines forward, faster and faster towards his prey. His thumb upon the trigger as he steadied his aim through the crisscrossed sight.
As he hit the scarlet beam of light that so kindly guided his way, the plane immediately ignited into a ball of flame, tearing the hull in half, and exploding the fuel tanks as it did so. The plane disintegrated into the night sky and fell into the furnace below. The oncoming entourage of support fighters had no time to move. Meteorites of molten Messerschmitt peppered their planes and ignited them into flames, setting the sky alight. The larger bombers, lethargic and slow to turn, narrowly missed the crashing shells but inevitably were too late to evade the ferocious scarlet beam. A crescendo of destructive violence exploded and engulfed the night sky as the passing fleet exploded within their very own munitions. The Luftwaffe party was spread to the winds in glorious Technicolour.
*****
‘Take that, Adolf!’ Eric whooped and cheered from the rooftops miles away. The destruction and flames spread far across the south coast.
‘Das ist Taube. Jemand?’ (This is Dove, anyone?) Belle asked as the screams of enemy airman disappeared into the static.
‘Is he going to be alright?’ Aggie turned to Sir Wallace James who was nursing Uncle Gideon.
‘I will ensure he is,’ he replied.
‘He’ll be fine, Agatha,’ Nathaniel Noone replied. He stepped forward as the red skylight lit up the true horror of his melted face. He winked at her through his remaining good eye. ‘I’m Nathaniel, by the way.’
‘I know. Nathaniel Noone. My uncle always advised me to trust Noone.’ She leaned over and placed a peck on his cheek.
Chapter 60
The Seven Sisters
‘Belle, are you still receiving me? Over,’ Thompson asked nervously. ‘Any news from Ambledown?’
‘I’m still here. Nothing but silence, I’m afraid,’ Belle confirmed.
‘Bear with me,’ Thompson advised, leaving the exchange and once more journeying to the top of St Paul’s.
Far away, from the coast, a red light shone brightly into the sky. Billowing clouds were casting dark destruction along the vista. He had heard of such bombs and their devastating ability but did not understand the enemy’s ability to deploy them. He sprinted back to the microphone and receiver.
‘Belle! Belle!’ he shouted urgently.
‘I’m still here,’ Belle confirmed.
‘I’m sorry but I think Ambledown was hit. I’m so sorry.’
Belle sat there in silence. Agatha’s voice repeated itself in her head. She had been trying to fathom the secrets and lies that had kept her hidden all these years, but now it was all lost.
A static crackle from her radio broke the depressing silence.
‘Ello, ello … Isbelle?’ came the young cockney voice.
‘Eric?’ Belle responded immediately.
‘Present and correct, Miss.’ Eric laughed back. ‘We’re all safe. Ambledown is on fire, but most people are accounted for. Gotta go.’
‘Eric, Eric? Agatha? Is she there with you?’ Belle asked.
There was a momentary pause before the relay spoke to her again.
‘Belle, this is Tink. Eric has just left for the Institute, which, on last account, people were being rescued from. We haven’t heard from Nathaniel since the bombs and they were one hell of an explosion. I’m heading there now too.’
‘Thompson, can you hear me? Over,’ Belle said, switching the relay.
‘Go ahead, Belle.’
‘Ambledown is safe. A different, second target, however, was hit.’
‘Understood. I must leave for Whitehall. Stay where you are. I will come for you, I promise,’ Thompson assured her.
On leaving St Paul’s, the sheer volume of dispossessed and disoriented people dawned on Thompson. Had that attack been successful in the capital, thousands of citizens would have been lost, if not the war.
*****
The Silvera Institute burned brightly. The red beam that tore through the sky had been quashed as the crashing fuselage of the Luftwaffe’s bombers collapsed into the steel and glass structure. The Scarlet Scarab was crushed and buried beneath monumental carved stone. The magnifying glass had been discarded into the embers.
The Institute continued to burn as the many servicemen began to make their journey by foot into the countryside and towards the market town of Ambledown.
Jennifer James was accompanied by Nathaniel Noone at the front of the Americans’ service vehicle. Gemima was huddled across him. Aggie cradled Gideon’s head in the rear while Sir Wallace maintained his pulse and dressed his injuries as best he could. As the full beams sped down the country road, a large ambulance truck blocked their path. Its lights blinded Jennifer into an emergency stop.
A shadow approached them. The bun on top of her head was reminiscent of a governess.
‘Holster your weapons!’ she ordered, pointing a weapon directly towards them.
Aggie looked on in disbelief.
*****
Whitehall was as dazed and confused as the rest of London. A disoriented army of people were aimlessly wandering around. Thompson spied the nervous Miss Nevis crouched idly against a wall outside. Clutching a cigarette and shaking nervously.
‘Hilary, are you OK? Hilary?’ Thompson asked, but was met with a blank stare as she pointed towards the entrance.
Thompson entered Number Seven, which was the now unprotected realm of Wink Waverley and Colonel Malling. Alighting the vast subterranean corridor, he was greeted with dozens of civil servants still in subdued paralysis, non-functioning. The Protocols were a
shambles; complete disarray. He searched room after room until finally he happened upon the tiny broom cupboard that held Wink, Malling and Lady James. All of them had succumbed to the Ethereum. Immediately realising his mistake, he sprinted out of Number Seven, but Hilary had disappeared, forever.
*****
‘Please, put down any weapons you may have,’ the woman continued with the shadow of her weapon pointing directly at them. ‘Raise your arms, slowly.’
Nathaniel tossed his guns and placed his hands in the air.
‘Hahaha. Fancy being disarmed by an old lady with a broom handle, Nathaniel Noone,’ she cackled.
‘Florrie?’ Aggie yelled with excitement. ‘Florrie, is that really you?’
‘Hello, dearest girl,’ Florrie replied, putting the broom handle on the floor.
Floods of tears erupted from Aggie and streamed down her face. Small droplets dripped onto Gideon’s brow and encouraging the tiniest curl of a smiling lip.
Florrie whistled loudly and from the rear of the truck, five other women presented themselves. They were Aggie’s teachers, Fairfax, Grace, Woes, Fargo, and Lovegood.
‘Governesses? What are all of you doing here?’ Aggie asked, confused.
‘I really should explain,’ Florrie replied. ‘We all should,’ she said and smiled, encouraging her sisters.
‘We are the forty-two,’ they all replied together. The women all smiled towards Aggie and helped her out of the jeep. This, in turn, enabled them to lift Gideon onto a stretcher and to the rear of the ambulance.
‘Are you joining us, Nathaniel?’ Florrie asked.
‘I’ll go back to the village. No doubt Eric is already on his way and will require an explanation.’
‘And them?’ Florrie asked pointedly, towards Jennifer and Sir Wallace James.
‘I’ll take them with me,’ Noone replied. ‘They have their own loved ones to inform.’ He smiled towards them both.
