Out of Time (The Adventures of Eric and Ursula Book 4)

by A. D. Winch

  Ursula held on to the cables with one hand and twisted her body around until she faced the duct. She bent her knees towards the wall and then pounced forwards. The smoke impaired her sight, but she could see the duct. The moment that she felt the warm metal touch her fingertips she frantically grasped for the clip. Her fingers locked into place. Her body swung forward, and her face collided with the metal. She hung in the air, high above the floor. The metal groaned, and the duct shook. She tried to swing her legs under the duct and into the entrance, but it was impossible for them to bend into the right position unless she dislocated her knees. Another groan from the metal warned her to work fast.

  There was just enough room to wedge a foot above the duct and between the clip and the ceiling. She spun around, so she was no longer facing the clip and then curled her legs up above her head. Her stomach muscles screamed as she wedged a foot beside the clip. She was going to support her whole body weight using only her toes. Dust fell past her face, and the duct moved. Fear gripped her, and she acted instantly.

  Ursula let go of the clip and put her hands on the side of the duct. She felt down it until her fingers reached the entrance underneath. She took hold of the edge, made sure her grip was secure and removed her foot. As she brought her body slowly down, the clip dislodged from the ceiling. Dust and stone sprayed over her, and the duct dropped. Her fingers gripped so tightly to the metal that they turned white. She told herself that she was not going to fall as long as the duct held. The metal continued to groan while she swung in the air, but the other clips held and she did not drop any further.

  Ursula took a deep breath and inhaled the smoke. She was coughing wildly as she pulled herself into the duct. It was big enough to crawl in, but she knew that she had to move fast, or the smoke would overcome her. In the distance, she could hear the sound of steps as whatever she was chasing tried to escape. Ursula did not wait and crawled after it. The duct headed towards the wall covered in surveillance screens and the rapidly growing fire. Inside the metal chamber, the temperature rose and beads of sweat formed on Ursula's brow. She reached a turn in the tight channel, and the duct headed upwards. Above her, she could hear the sound of something climbing. Wedging her back against one metal surface and pushing her feet against the opposite, she began to climb.

  Eric had only been out of the surveillance room for a few seconds when he heard footsteps marching in his direction. A door to his right was slightly ajar, and he snuck in. He could see nothing inside the room once he had closed the door but could hear the footsteps going past. The sound became quieter. When he could hear it no longer, he opened the door quickly and ran out, right into the back of a lone soldier. The soldier fell forward but twisted as he fell, so that when he hit the ground he was already pointing his assault rifle at his attacker.

  Eric didn't wait to be shot. He sprang into the air, somersaulted over the soldier and landed with his feet on each side of the soldier's head. As the soldier tried to change the position of his gun, Eric jumped on his chest, and the soldier let out a loud groan. Eric reached behind his head, grabbed the weapon and pulled it out of the soldier's hands. It swung round, and the butt smacked into the soldier's nose and stunned him. Eric let the rifle fall to the floor. He sprang up, grabbed the soldier's feet and pulled him back into the room where he had been hiding. A minute later he re-emerged. He had put on the soldier's desert-coloured jacket over his desert fatigues and placed the helmet on his head.

  A voice through the helmet said, "Targets are no longer in the hangar. Stay in position. We are tackling a blaze."

  Eric ignored the order. He picked up the weapon and ran back along the corridor. No one stopped him until he reached the entrance to the hangar. Another soldier stood before him, blocking his way. Eric did not stop.

  "Why have you left your post?" the soldier asked angrily.

  It was only as Eric barged into him that he realised this fleeing soldier was actually one of the targets. He was bundled to the ground but as the target attempted to step over him, he reached out and grabbed White King's foot.

  Eric fell and tried to shake off the soldier's grip. He looked in front of him, and he could see the hangar and the lab. Everyone was standing around the crashed drone. They tried to move it further into the hangar; away from the last camouflage netting so it could be brought down. The longer he remained here, the more chance he would have of being seen, especially if the soldier began to shout. This gave him an idea.

  "Hey! Help! Help!" Eric yelled. "We’ve been infiltrated. They're in disguise. Help! Help! He's got me."

  Eric brought his other foot down hard on the soldier's helmet. The blow forced the soldier's head into his neck and painfully compressed the discs in his spine. Eric followed it with a kick to the soldier's hand. He alternated until the soldier let go and then sprinted away.

  The soldier smiled, turned onto his front and positioned his assault rifle. He made sure it was secure; put his finger on the trigger and his eye to the sight. He would have to fire only single shots due all the vehicles, people and fuel around. He couldn't risk causing an explosion or wounding other personnel. However, he was confident that one shot was all he needed.

  White King skidded across the hangar, but he had a clear shot and pulled the trigger. The bullet left the gun, heading straight for the target's back. Just before it hit, White King dived on the ground. The bullet zoomed over his head, and the boy leapt up and continued running. The soldier fired again. This time White King jumped and the bullet passed below him. The soldier could not believe it, and his mouth fell open in shock, but he did not stop. He fired in quick succession, adjusting the position of his weapon slightly, so one bullet flew toward the target's head, another towards his leg and two more at his arms.

  The cries for help had caused personnel in the hangar to turn towards the noise. Now, they watched in the green gloom as one soldier shot at another who was running towards the lab.

  "Help! Help! It's the enemy!" yelled the fleeing soldier.

  They did not know who was who and did not understand what was going on. The running soldier dived onto the floor. He rolled as he did so, and three bullets punctured the lab's inflated wall near just above his head.

  Eric saw the lab's entrance. It was only a few metres away, but he knew that the soldier shooting at him had worked out that it was best to shoot around his body rather than directly at him. If he got up now, he didn't think he would be up for long. He lay on the warm rock floor and thought about what he should do. His calf hurt, and he was certain that he had already been shot once. He had no desire to be shot again. For the time being, it was best to play dead.

  Ursula reached the top of the duct but was finding it hard to breath. Smoke surrounded her, but as she scrambled along a horizontal section, she could see it escaping through an opening. She followed the smoke, climbed over a grill on the floor and found herself back in the hangar. Fresh air filled her lungs as she collapsed against the rock wall.

  Whatever she was following was nowhere to be seen. She looked under the vehicles around her and then at the lab opposite. A hole had been scorched into the material, and the burnt edges fluttered as air escaped from within. Ursula picked herself up and ran towards the lab. She pulled the material apart and dived through.

  Eric lay waiting. Some of the personnel who had been around the drone were walking and then jogging towards him. He could sense their curiosity; they wondered what had happened and wondered what they should do. They could also see smoke behind the inflated lab, and some brought fire extinguishers with them. The soldier also got up and walked towards him. The assault rifle's sight remained at his eye and pointed directly at White King. Eric could not see him, but he could sense that the soldier was happy; confident that he had successfully hunted down one of the targets.

  Eric waited until he had a line of people fanned out beyond him before he jumped up. The moment he did, the soldier pressed his finger on the trigger. White King was in his sights, but he paused bef
ore firing. Behind the target were OSS personnel. If he missed, it was inevitable that he would hit them. He moved his finger away from the trigger, and Eric sped towards the lab's entrance.

  The changing room was empty, and the lab looked deserted when Eric entered. Martin Meyer's alien collection still littered the floor; the two pods and dart had not moved, but there were no people around. Eric entered and skidded to a halt as he heard Ursula's voice in his head.

  "Stop! It is by the dart-shaped UFO. I can sense it."

  Eric looked towards the dart. There was a shadow on the floor, but he could not see anything else. As they watched, the dart opened. Silver rolled back like waves, and then the shadow vanished.

  "It's going to escape!" Ursula shouted.

  "To the pods!"

  They ran towards them and met between their craft.

  "Remember what I told you," Eric said, tapping one of the pods. "It seems to listen to your thoughts. Control it with your mind, and remember what Larsen wrote."

  "You speak about it as if it is alive!"

  "Who says it isn't? Larsen called it an organism."

  From the door to the changing room came a loud commotion.

  "We can't wait," Eric said quickly, removing the red cushion from under his clothes. "Think it open and get in."

  Back to Contents

  ***

  Chapter 25 - Taking Flight

  Ursula focused on the pod beside her and imagined it opening. In spite of everything Eric had told her and that she had read on the plane, the idea that she could control something with her mind seemed too fanciful. Johan had tried to explain to her how soldiers who had lost their limbs were already controlling robot hands with their thoughts, but Ursula felt a hand and a spacecraft were two entirely different objects. Johan and Eric had not agreed. Despite her doubts, she continued to focus, and the pod nearest to her opened. Like the dart, the silver body rolled away like waves. Ursula was both stunned and excited.

  "Don't just stand there. Get in!" Eric urged as he disappeared into his pod.

  The hole that had opened was the perfect size for Ursula to crawl through. She climbed over the support that the pod rested upon and then hoisted herself inside it. The curved interior was difficult to stand on, and she had to bend her head over and hunch her shoulders to fit.

  "Close it!" she heard Eric say in her head.

  Ursula looked at the hole and imagined it closing. Right in front of her eyes, it began to shrink, and the light in the pod reduced until she could see nothing. The commotion outside could no longer be heard and apart from her breathing, she could hear nothing.

  OSS personnel were entering the lab. Another unit had joined the soldier who had shot at Eric, and some of the mechanics walked in behind them.

  "Where is he?" someone shouted.

  "Spread out! We'll find him," the soldier ordered.

  Both children were hidden, and Eric was confident that they would not be found. Ursula heard him talking in her mind.

  "Think the pod invisible, and you'll be able to see what is happening outside."

  She focused on what he had said and imagined the pod's walls acting like a one-way mirror. Instantly, the darkness faded away, and rapidly growing beams of light entered the pod.

  It is easy to control this machine, she thought, and the realisation surprised her. Eric had been right, and Johan's comparison with the robot hands had been correct. It was not as instinctive as moving the fingers on her own hand, but it was not too different.

  The nerves she had felt when she first entered the pod slowly passed away. She began to feel more assured in her new location and watched the soldiers outside. They were swarming over the lab, kicking the alien artefacts across the floor and searching every space. One of the soldiers found the hole in the lab's outer wall that she had crept through earlier. He summoned the others, and she adjusted her footing to watch. As she did so, she kicked something soft. It was a red cushion like the one Eric had, and she sat down upon it. Instantly, the material moulded to her shape and wrapped around her until she was held in place. She was distracted by it, and the pod was plunged back into darkness. For an instant, Ursula wondered what had happened, but then she realised that she had fixated on the cushion. She focused on seeing outside and the pod walls became like windows again.

  In her mind, she heard Eric cry, "The dart's getting away! We have to follow it."

  Ursula looked to the side and saw the dart rise from its stands. It continued upwards and pushed against the lab's curved roof which bulged, stretched and looked in danger of splitting. The dart continued to rise and push. The material began to smoke where it was touching the shiny surface and then the dart glided silently out of the lab, leaving a singed outline behind.

  Eric's pod rose. It moved smoothly upwards and left through the new hole in the roof. The lab began to deflate as air escaped through the large opening, and the roof drooped towards the floor, scattering the people below.

  "Picture your pod moving in your head," she heard Eric say.

  Ursula looked to the right and imagined the pod moving right. It shot in that direction and bounced into the lab's falling wall. She was now further away from the hole. She looked left and willed the pod to go that way slowly. It followed her command but did not stop until Ursula realised that she had to stop it. Her pod hovered near to the changing room entrance, and the falling roof covered her. She looked towards the hole and imagined herself moving carefully through it and stopping before she hit the hangar's rock ceiling. The pod followed her command exactly. The lab's roof rippled over her, and she was soon outside.

  As Ursula looked below, the lab collapsed onto the floor like a huge rug. Everyone was staring up at the UFOs. Some were pointing; others stood in shock, and then the soldiers started to shoot. Bullets bounced off the pod's hard shell, and they soon stopped; fearful that a ricochet may send a bullet back towards them. Eric's pod hovered above their heads and slowly moved across the hangar in pursuit of the dart. Ursula imagined her pod doing the same, and it obeyed her instructions.

  "It is like having another limb," she said to herself with a smile, growing more used to the control she had.

  She heard Eric laughing.

  The OSS personnel had ceased to be interested in the crashed drone and were now all watching the three alien craft. Someone lowered the remaining camouflage net across the hangar entrance, but the dart simply burned a hole through it. The children followed in their pods.

  Outside in the early morning sun, the dart stopped. It continued to hover above the desert runway, hanging motionless in the sky. Eric and Ursula stopped next to it. In the distance, a lone jeep skidded to a halt. Doctor Khan had seen the objects in her rear-view mirror, and she looked over her shoulder at the alien craft she had been working on.

  The dart suddenly shot into the sky. There was no firing of engines nor rockets being detonated. The only sound was of the air being pushed rapidly away, like a strong wind being forced down a narrow corridor. The surfaces of the dart faintly glowed red as it surged upwards and then stopped. The pods were only just behind.

  Once again, the dart hung in the air, now a kilometre or so above the Earth's surface. The two pods stopped on either side of it, waiting for its next move. Eric and Ursula looked down. Beyond the small mountains and the desert, they could see vehicles driving out of Roswell town towards the base, and a helicopter heading their way from the airport.

  What will they say if they see these craft? Eric thought, but he needn't have worried.

  The dart shot upwards again. Eric and Ursula followed. They could match the dart's tremendous speed but inside their pods they felt very little G-force. There was a pressure exerted on them, but the red cushions protected their bodies from the worst strains.

  The dart continued to rise until the mountains merged with the desert, and Roswell could only be seen as a blemish on the landscape. People were far too small to be visible, as were cars and buildings. Only the long grey lines of th
e freeways could be seen criss-crossing the desert.

  Once again, the dart stopped. It gently rocked in the wind as if waiting for the pods. Eric sensed that it wanted to go higher still and break out of the Earth's atmosphere, but something was keeping it back.

  "Are you okay, Ursula?" he asked from the confines of his pod. Even though he was in a separate craft, he spoke as if she was right beside him.

  His words reached Ursula's mind, and she replied, "Yes. I think I'm getting the hang of it now. What's the dart doing?"

  "I don't know. Let's wait and see."

  "We're a long way up. Do we have enough fuel?"

  "I've no idea. Hopefully, we have enough to follow it." A picture appeared in his mind of his and Ursula's increasingly greying hair. "We need to get those samples, and soon."

  It was eerie to be so high above the ground. There was no noise, and the window-like exterior of the pods gave the impression that everything inside was floating. Neither Ursula nor Eric had ever been scared of heights, but this experience was something altogether different. They were both on edge; unsure of where they were, what they were doing and where they were headed.

  The dart rotated until it was almost pointing at the rising sun. Orange light reflected off its right side, and Eric had to darken his pod's exterior so that he wasn't blinded. He could feel that the dart was about to leave and got ready to follow. A second later it was gone, and he and Ursula continued their pursuit.

  Both children sensed that the dart was not going to deviate from its current course. The pods were reacting perfectly to their thoughts, and they both began to gain in confidence. Ursula was loving flying and relaxed enough to look around her pod. She remembered the last time she had seen it, buried in a hole in Pompeii. She had managed to stretch inside and reach the CDs but then had dropped them all. Since then, she truly felt she had experienced another entire life; one so different from her time growing up in Paris that it didn't seem possible. When her thoughts returned to the present, she saw that her pod was falling behind and she willed it to fly faster.