by Nick Cook
His gaze narrowed on me and then the others, lingering on Domino. Ethan had given up any pretence of trying to hide him.
Hammond turned to the bald man behind him. ‘Williams, do you know anything about these people?’
‘No, sir.’
‘I see. Gatecrashers then. In that case, Williams, can you deal with—’
Chloe held up her hand. ‘You don’t understand, General Hammond. Claire Baxter said you’d help us.’
‘Claire sent you?’ he asked. ‘But where is she? She was meant to be here tonight.’
‘We don’t know where she is,’ I said. ‘I got separated from her and my dad after we were ambushed during a meeting at the Royal Festival Hall.’
General Hammond stared at me. ‘Claire’s in trouble? An ambush?’
‘Everything bad that’s taken place in London over the last twenty-four hours is linked to something awful that’s about to happen,’ Chloe said.
Gem gestured to me. ‘This strange fog and the power cuts – they are all linked to his dad’s work.’
‘And who is your father exactly?’ Hammond asked me.
‘The physicist Martin Stevens,’ I replied.
His brow crinkled. ‘Hang on, isn’t he the scientist who died researching dark energy? Something to do with his experiment blowing up?’
I couldn’t read Hammond’s neutral expression, so the only thing I could do was press on.
‘Yes, that’s him, but far more happened during that explosion than has ever been reported. You see, his Dark Energy Collector – the DEC for short – let something into our world.’
Hammond frowned at me. ‘I see. Does it also have something to do with the wolf pack that’s been causing havoc in the city?’
‘Yes, but they’re anything but wolves. They’re just one example of a parasitic species that have slipped into our world because of the DEC experiment.’ I took a large mental breath as the others gave me encouraging looks. Now I had to push to the finish. ‘They’re called the Shade and they’ve infected people, especially those in positions of power, throughout our world. They’ve even managed to infiltrate our government – all the way to the very top – and probably the military and police too.’
His pupils became pinpricks. ‘A conspiracy you say…and does this by any chance have something to do with Prime Minister Alexander Langton’s death?’
‘It has everything to do it. And now the Shade are about to launch a major attack on our world from a location somewhere here in London, which will destroy all life across the city. That’s why we need your help to track this DEC experiment down and stop the Shade – whatever it takes.’
Long moments ticked past as General Hammond scratched his trimmed beard. He scrutinised each of us in turn as if we were pieces on a chessboard and he was thinking about which move to make next.
‘You’re sure you haven’t been spending too much time on some conspiracy websites?’ he finally asked.
‘Everything they’ve told you, and there’s so much more too, is the absolute truth,’ Gem said.
General Hammond gazed at her for what seemed like minutes. ‘In that case –’ he reached across and picked up a bottle of champagne from a nearby table – ‘you’d better tell me everything from the very beginning.’
I let my shoulders drop. ‘You believe us then?’
He gestured at the main museum doors. ‘Something strange is definitely going on out there. And I’m a good judge of character – I got that from my years in the army. I also think I know the truth, however incredible, whenever I hear it.’ He turned to Williams. ‘Will you let my guests know that I’m going to be slightly delayed?’
‘Of course, sir.’
General Hammond returned his attention to us. ‘There is a small office we can use, away from the questioning eyes of my guests.’
We followed him down the stairs, through an archway and out of the atrium. For a moment I thought I saw something flicker on the other side of the glass above us, but when I looked I could see nothing there.
A sense of relief spread over me as we walked. At last, we’d found somebody who might help.
Chapter Twenty-Four
General Hammond sat behind a desk, a half-empty flute of champagne in his hand, his lips thin as he listened to Chloe’s and my accounts of the Shade. We explained how they had slipped into our reality because of the DEC. His face had only darkened as he heard about the fallout from the original experiment. Ethan and Gem had chipped in with their parts of the story too. And Sentinel, once we explained who and what he was, had added a running text commentary to our discussions, providing the necessary facts and figures.
Hammond took a sip of his drink and shook his head. ‘There’s just one thing that I don’t understand about any of this. How can something this big have been kept hushed up for so long?’
Chloe drummed her fingers on her glass of sparkling water. ‘It’s a good question and one that a friend of ours, Inspector Clarke…’ Her voice caught and she stared up at the ceiling, unable to continue.
I reached over and squeezed her shoulder. Chloe gave me a broken smile back.
‘Clarke tried to publicise what had really happened, but the press refused to print the story,’ I said. ‘Then, before he knew it, he was on a most-wanted list.’
‘And where is Clarke now?’ Hammond asked.
Chloe pulled away from me and flashed tear-filled eyes at the general. ‘He was murdered by the Shade yesterday.’
Gem hung her head as Ethan gave me a sideways glance. It wasn’t hard to see she still blamed herself for his death, even though she hadn’t been directly involved. Guilt by association, in her mind at least.
Hammond handed Chloe a white-silk handkerchief from his pocket. ‘I’m really sorry for your loss.’
She gave a slight nod and wiped away her tears.
He gazed at the bubbles rising up in his glass of champagne. ‘It sounds to me as though the Shade have had the press in their pockets too. And for that to happen…’ He stood up and walked to a window, his hands clasped behind his back, and stared into the fog swirling outside. ‘This has to involve our new prime minister, Joanna Whittaker – probably most of her reshuffled cabinet too. Plus the current senior officers of the military.’
‘That’s what Clarke thought. It’s all in his notebook,’ I said, fishing it out of my pocket and pushing it across the desk.
Hammond picked it up and flicked through it. ‘Thank you, Jake – this looks like just the evidence I need.’ He focused his attention on me. ‘So what about this DEC experiment of your father’s? You really believe that the Shade are constructing a new machine?’
‘We’re certain of it,’ I replied. ‘According to Clarke’s notes, Langton’s Genesis Security company imported some key scientific equipment into London about a month ago. The freak weather patterns, power cuts and disruption all point to it being placed somewhere in central London. Somehow we need to locate the position of the new DEC and shut it down before it’s too late.’
Normally this is something I could do, or at least narrow down the search area, but with the lack of power and mobile signals within central London, I am effectively blind to its precise location, Sentinel messaged.
I held up the phone for Hammond to read this information. ‘And that disruption is no doubt part of the Shade’s plan to make it harder for us to track down the experiment.’
‘In the short term, the best I can do to help you is to contact some trustworthy former officers and ask them to start searching central London. However, it could take some time to find them. In the longer term, I can set wheels in motion to get the right people primed to purge the government of anyone who’s been infected.’
I gave him a weighted look. ‘But time is something we may not have much of. This strange fog that’s blanketing London is exactly like the weather we had in Stoneham when the Shade were in the process of opening up the portal. For all we know, we could already be too late.’
&nbs
p; ‘I’ll do what I can, but even if we locate it, have you made any plans for what happens next?’
Ethan waved a chicken leg at me that he’d helped himself to on our way to the office. ‘You haven’t told him about your dad’s new machine.’
Domino was watching every movement of Ethan’s hands, licking his lips with big sad eyes.
‘Dad’s built a counter-measure to the DEC called Waverider,’ I said.
General Hammond leant towards me. ‘And what does this Waverider do exactly?’
‘The short answer is that it can stop a new portal being opened. And that’s why we’ve come to London with the prototype.’
Chloe nodded. ‘Martin plans to build a whole network of them to protect our world from the Shade once and for all.’
‘I see…’ Hammond drummed a fingernail on the lip of his glass.
Despite everything we’d told him, I could tell that he still wasn’t completely buying it.
‘Maybe a demonstration would help convince you that we really are on the level,’ I said.
‘What did you have in mind?’
‘Something like this.’ I focused and shifted.
General Hammond gasped and dropped his glass of champagne. It smashed on to the floor. Then he stared at me as I reappeared.
‘You just vanished!’
‘As I told you, we have certain abilities thanks to Sentinel altering our DNA.’
On cue, my phone screen lit up and I showed it again to Hammond.
I can assure you that everything you have heard is the complete truth, Sentinel messaged.
Hammond leant back, closed his eyes and massaged his temples.
The office door crashed open and Hammond’s assistant, Williams, burst in.
‘What on earth is wrong, man?’ General Hammond asked.
‘Strange wolves, sir. A pack has been seen massing outside the gates.’
A man’s scream came from outside and we all rushed to the windows to look.
One of the guards was sprinting towards the museum’s entrance and at least twenty shadow wolves were streaming after him.
‘That’s surely all the proof you need, General Hammond?’ Gem asked.
‘Yes, yes it is.’ He turned to us. ‘Right, we’ve got to get everyone out of the museum as quickly as possible. Follow me.’
We all dashed after him through the corridors of museum display cases. As we rounded a corner we almost collided with the guard we’d seen running outside, coming the other way.
He stared at us, gasping for breath as he bent double.
Hammond grabbed the guard’s shoulders. ‘Talk to us.’
The man’s eyes latched on to his. ‘Bob… Bob tried to stop those wolf things coming through the gate. But they attacked him and he dissolved away to nothing…’ He stared at the floor. ‘It was terrible. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.’
‘Ray, isn’t it?’ Hammond asked, his tone now gentle.
‘Yes… They came after me too, but I managed to lock the main entrance before they got in here.’
‘Good man. You’ve bought us some valuable time.’ Hammond stared into Ray’s eyes. ‘But I need you to do something else for me.’
‘What?’
‘Is there another exit from this part of the museum?’
‘Yes, there’s a number of fire exits at the back.’
‘Excellent. Right, Ray, I need you to lead everyone through to safety.’
His nostrils flared. ‘Of course, General Hammond.’
‘OK, everyone else follow me,’ Hammond said.
‘Looks as if he’s taking over,’ Chloe said.
I felt a prickle of irritation too. ‘Once a general, always a general, although something like an evacuation is probably best handled by him for that very reason. But the rest is still going to be riding on our shoulders. Whatever Hammond’s good intentions are, he isn’t an Awoken.’
Chloe nodded. ‘You’re right but you never know, he may surprise us yet.’
We rushed into the crowded atrium, full music from a string quartet playing on a small stage. General Hammond jumped up on it and clapped his hands. The band fell silent and a hush fell over the room as all heads turned towards him.
‘Ladies and gentleman, it seems that some wild creatures are trying to get into the museum.’
A gasp rippled through the crowd.
‘You mean those wolves, don’t you?’ a man said.
Even though I couldn’t see him, I recognised the voice of the old guy we’d followed into the museum.
A long howl echoed from somewhere outside.
‘There’s your answer,’ Hammond said, his face stern.
Panicked cries spread through the crowd.
Hammond’s voice thundered out, ‘Please remain calm. Ray here will lead you all out to safety.’
The guard gestured with his arm for people to follow and the crowd surged after him like a flock of scared sheep.
‘We need to make a stand against the wolves to give the others a chance to get away,’ I said.
‘You think you can slow down these wolf creatures?’ General Hammond said.
‘Absolutely, but Ethan and Gemma should go with the others,’ Chloe said.
‘No way. Even if my powers aren’t developed yet, my place is still with you guys,’ Ethan said.
‘That goes for me too,’ Gem said looking at Chloe and me. ‘But listen, if it comes to it, you need to make me a promise.’
‘What sort of promise?’ Chloe asked, narrowing her eyes on Gem.
‘That if somehow the Shade do find a way to take control of me again you kill me rather than let them capture me again. We can’t let them turn me back into a weapon to use against you.’
‘I promise you with my whole heart I’ll never let that happen,’ I replied.
‘But if it does, then you mustn’t hesitate – you must end my life. The stakes are too high for anything else, Jake.’
My heart clenched. ‘Are you sure that’s what you want, Gem?’
‘Yes, yes, it is. I couldn’t live with the alternative.’
‘In that case…’ I slowly nodded. She was beyond brave.
‘You’ve got it,’ Chloe said.
Gem bit her lip and then gently kissed me on the cheek. ‘Thank you, Jake.’ Her eyes lingered on mine before she tore them away and nodded to Chloe.
The orchestra abandoned their instruments with a crash of scattered music stands as General Hammond jumped down off the stage.
‘Williams, you go with the others,’ Hammond said. ‘Get everyone as far away from the museum as possible.’
‘What about you, sir?’ Williams asked. ‘My place should be by your side.’
‘Right now you need to be with those people. They’ll be scared out of their wits and will need your brand of unshakeable calm to guide them through this.’
‘Yes, sir!’ Williams snapped him a salute.
‘Good man. We’ll be right behind you, but I need to see whatever this is with my own eyes.’
‘Of course, sir.’ Williams crossed to the musicians and started to herd them after the rest of the guests.
Ethan’s face tightened. ‘You still don’t believe us then?’
‘It’s not that,’ Hammond replied. ‘But I need to look this terror in the face so I can begin to build my own understanding of our enemy.’
‘I see.’
The musicians kept glancing back at their instruments as Williams led them away, along with the very anxious-looking Chinese ambassador.
Hammond turned to face us. ‘Right, that’s the last of my guests sorted…’ His gaze locked on to something behind me.
Domino let out a low growl and the hairs on the nape of my neck rose.
We all turned slowly. Less than thirty metres away, from one of the archways, a wolf with black eyes stared at us.
‘One of the Shade creatures, I presume?’ General Hammond said under his breath.
‘Yes – a Changeling that was o
nce human,’ I replied.
Hammond shook his head. ‘What happened to the world I thought I knew?’
‘That’s how we all feel,’ Chloe said, bringing up her hands to ignite a spark.
I did the same and we advanced towards the wolf, each with a burning plasma ball held between our palms.
‘Everyone else get out of here while we deal with this,’ Chloe said.
A short scream came from behind us and a familiar flat taunting voice spoke. ‘I’m afraid you’ve left it too late for that.’
I spun round to see Gavin holding a struggling Gem in his arms. Before I could move, he bent to her head and whispered into her ear.
Gem shuddered and her eyes became vacant.
Gavin smiled. ‘You know what to do, Gemma.’
A blank expression filled her face.
Gavin turned to us. ‘If you were wondering how, Mathews left a hypnotic word trigger in her mind.’
Chloe stared at her. ‘Gem, don’t…’
But the air had already started to thicken around Gem. Her demon with burning eyes materialised and its scream crashed into my mind. My strength flowed away in an instant. Ethan, Chloe and I collapsed to the ground.
I gasped. ‘If you hurt her, Gavin.’
He laughed. ‘If I were you, I would be more worried about what she can do to you.’
But General Hammond, unaffected by the crippling mind-storm, stepped forward. ‘Let Gem go now, lad.’
‘Why would we, when she is so useful to us?’
Hammond crossed his arms. ‘And when she isn’t useful any more?’
Gavin’s eyes became slits. ‘Then we’ll kill her of course.’
Hammond darted forward to grab Gem.
In response, the demon around Gem casually flicked out a clawed hand and sent Hammond sprawling to the ground.
Ethan yelled a pure war cry and, legs quivering, stood up.
Domino leant in against his legs, whining up at his master.
Gavin gave him a slow clap. ‘Very impressive, Awoken, but you have wasted your breath.’ He signalled to a wolf and without hesitation it leapt at Ethan.
Chloe and I, still pinned down, could do nothing but watch.
Yet Domino could still move. He snarled and jumped at the wolf, crashing into the dark creature. Dog and wolf locked into combat, a whirling blur of shadow and flesh, bite against shadow-slashed attack. The two creatures tumbled past Ethan, and the wolf lashed out a claw.
