Trust

by David Moody

  *

  It was another ninety minutes before anything significant actually happened. The ever-expanding crowd on the hill had continued to grow and had reached such a size now that it was standing room only. Tom was uncomfortable. He needed a piss, but he didn’t dare move. It – whatever it was – could begin without warning at any moment. Siobhan and Rob weren’t going anywhere. He was sure he could find a bush to pee behind or even run to the house and be back out on the cliffs fairly quickly, but he didn’t fancy his chances of finding Rob and Siobhan again when he returned. He wished he’d brought a radio with him. He had his phone, but the signal was poor up here and when he did manage to get online, updates were sparse.

  ‘Here we go,’ Rob said suddenly, the binoculars still pressed to his face.

  ‘What can you see?’ Siobhan asked. ‘Come on, Rob, let me look.’

  He passed the binoculars over, knowing that they wouldn’t be needed much longer.

  ‘The shuttles have almost stopped,’ he explained. ‘They’ve been slowing down for a while, but it looks like they’re finally done now.’

  Siobhan watched as the white lights from the rear of the last two shuttles sped across the water, quickly catching up then overtaking the slowest few human boats in the ragtag fleet now heading back to land. Around them, those people who had radios and better Internet connections started to react to events.

  ‘Dad would have loved this,’ Tom said to his brother, his voice tinged with sadness.

  ‘I was just thinking the same thing,’ Rob replied.

  ‘Remember how he used to go on about little green men and stuff like that? Got it all wrong, didn’t he? They’re not little and they’re not green.’

  ‘I don’t think he was being literal, you idiot. But you’re right, he’d have been lapping this up. He’d have been in his element, right in the middle of it all. Knowing Dad he’d probably have been out there on one of those boats.’

  ‘Never one for sitting at home watching TV, was he?’

  ‘If he hadn’t been able to get here, he’d have been online researching every aspect. He’d have known more than anyone.’

  ‘You think?’ Tom said. ‘You lot seem to know a fair bit yourselves.’

  ‘They’ve made it easy though, haven’t they? Imagine what it would have been like if we hadn’t had access to all that information? There’d have been panic on the streets. If there hadn’t been so much on TV recently, people would have assumed the worst, wouldn’t they? They’d have assumed we’d been invaded.’

  Tom considered his brother’s words. He was absolutely right, of course. To have withheld information about this most visible of close encounters would have been a huge mistake, doing infinitely more harm than good. He was actually looking forward to it easing up now, to seeing more typical news stories again. He longed to have a conversation with someone which didn’t feature aliens in one way or another…

  The noise of the crowd was increasing as news spread like wildfire from those following events on radios and computers and phones. The launch of the ship was imminent. People scrambled further up the hillside to get a better view. Excited kids were hoisted up onto their parent’s shoulders. Others climbed trees or stood on walls.

  The wave of excitement was just beginning to die down to a hesitant hum of expectation when, at precisely eleven-seventeen, it began.

  Without warning, in a fraction of a second, the ocean for miles around the rear of the immense alien ship was illuminated by a flood of searing, incandescent brilliance as the engines were fired. Rob watched in wonder as it began to move, turning a slow and graceful three-quarter-circle towards the shore. Billions of people observed from every last corner of the globe as the beautiful black machine lifted its nose to the stars and began to climb at a ferocious speed and an impossibly steep angle. All telescopes and binoculars were discarded as it approached. For a few seconds it was so large that it filled the entire sky, appearing almost near enough to touch. And then it accelerated with incredible force, and the whole world seemed to shake. People steadied themselves as the air pressure changed and as a hot, downward wind buffeted them. Necks craned as it climbed higher and higher, unnaturally quiet and incomprehensibly fast. And then it was gone. In less than two minutes the incredible ship had disappeared completely from view.

  Tom continued to stare into space, genuinely overcome by the scale of what he’d just witnessed. It had somehow surpassed the spectacle of the ship’s arrival. He wondered if that was because this time he’d been surrounded by other people and not out here on his own, exposed.

  As a huge wave of spontaneous cheering and applause filled the air, Siobhan grabbed his hand.

  ‘What did you think?’ she asked. He struggled to find the right words.

  ‘Incredible…’ was all he could manage.

  ‘Fucking amazing, wasn’t it?’ Rob said. ‘Did you see the size of that thing? And the noise – the lack of noise, I mean – Christ, how could anything that big be so quiet?’

  ‘And the light,’ Siobhan enthused, ‘did you feel it? It was warm. It was beautiful. You could feel it on your skin. I’ve never known anything like it.’

  They both looked at Tom expectantly.

  ‘It was like that last week when I was out running,’ he said finally. ‘I thought I was done for when I saw it.’

  ‘Come on, would they really have let all these people be out here like this if they thought it was dangerous?’

  ‘No one knew anything about it last week, though. I could have been buggered, burned to a crisp.’

  ‘Oh, but it was huge,’ Siobhan continued, barely listening to him. ‘I mean, I’d started to think there’d been so much build up it was going to be a let-down, but it wasn’t. If anything, it was even more amazing than I imagined. Didn’t you think, Tom?’

  ‘I kind of knew what to expect.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘And that was what I got.’

  ‘Bloody hell, you could try and show a little enthusiasm at least,’ Rob sighed. ‘What did you want, more lights and lasers? A few explosions? Star Wars music?’

  Tom didn’t bother to answer. All around them the crowds began to shift. Still gripping Siobhan’s hand tightly, he began to lead her back towards home. She pulled back.

  ‘What’s the rush?’

  ‘Need a piss,’ he answered honestly. ‘If we go now we’ll beat the bulk of the crowds.’

  ‘I want to stay for a while,’ she said. ‘It’s great out here. You go on ahead. Come back out when you’re done.’

  Much as Tom didn’t want to leave her, he couldn’t wait any longer. Rob sensed his predicament. ‘We’ll stick together,’ he said. ‘Don’t worry, she’ll look after me!’

  ‘Okay.’

  Before he could leave, Siobhan hurled herself at him and wrapped her arms around him, squeezing tight.

  ‘Tom Winter,’ she whispered, ‘you’re a miserable bugger but I love you. Now go and have your piss then get yourself back here!’

  ‘I’m not miserable,’ he protested, ‘I’m just—’ She interrupted him with a kiss and a playful shove away.

  Tom began walking back home, weaving through the sea of meandering figures. Many people were still rooted to the spot, standing motionless and looking up into the clear, star-filled sky, perhaps hoping to catch one final glimpse of the alien ship before it was gone forever. Some people were in tears, others grinning like idiots. He wished he could match their emotion, but the discomfort in his bladder was getting worse. In fact, he decided as he pushed his way through a bottleneck by the war memorial, he now felt positively anti-climactic.

  ‘Well that’s it,’ he heard someone say, catching a snatch of excited conversation as he tried to push past a group of revellers, ‘they’re here to stay now.’

  CHAPTER 9

  The barbeque the following evening was at Clare’s house, but the location wasn’t important – being in each other’s company was all that mattered. Every member of this close-knit
group of friends benefited from these regular informal get-togethers. They were a chance to relax in private with some of the people most important to them; a chance to forget about everything else for a while and unwind. Clare was more than happy to play host. It didn’t involve any huge amount of effort or outlay on her part, and staying at home also had two very clear benefits: not only did it mean she didn’t have to leave the party early to get Penny to bed, but it also meant she could drink. And Christ, after this week full of work pressures, stupid ex-partners and bloody alien invasions, she really needed to drink.

  The day had been pleasantly warm and bright, down a few degrees on yesterday, feeling almost like summer’s last fling. The atmosphere was peaceful, a stark contrast to last night’s crowds. Although she lived mid-terrace, Clare’s neighbours on either side were no trouble and the street was always relatively quiet. There were fields beyond the low fence at the end of her garden, which made the small square patio feel as if it was part of a much larger open space. There was a train line a couple of hundred metres out into the fields, running parallel with the row of houses, but the trains were infrequent and the noise low enough so as not to intrude.

  The six adults – Tom, Siobhan, Rob, Clare, James and Stephanie – sat out on the patio by the light of a few scattered candles and the glowing embers of the long-abandoned barbeque. The children were indoors, ensconced in front of the TV.

  ‘It’s so good to be able to talk to someone over the age of eight for a change,’ Stephanie said. She cradled her sleeping baby Felicity on her lap.

  ‘I’m older than eight,’ James protested, still picking at the remains of the food despite everyone else having finished almost an hour ago.

  ‘Mental age or physical age?’ Rob asked, deliberately winding him up.

  ‘You don’t count, Jim,’ Steph said, ‘and you know what I mean. I’m talking about different faces. I spend all day, every day surrounded by the kids. Much as I love them, it’s damn hard work. It’s nice to have a break.’

  ‘Tell me about it,’ Clare said, finishing off her third large glass of wine. She watched Penny through the living room window. She was sitting wedged between Bethany and Mark, James and Stephanie’s older kids. ‘I know I’ve only got one child and I work, but I know exactly what you’re saying. I love Pen more than anything, but there are times I could scream.’

  ‘We haven’t been out anywhere together for months now, have we, Jim?’ Steph continued. ‘I mean, he’s been out and I’ve been out, but we haven’t been anywhere without the kids in tow for ages.’

  ‘We’ll sit for you one night, won’t we?’ Siobhan said, surprising Tom. She was lying next to him on a plastic sun-lounger. He almost choked on his beer.

  ‘Suppose…’

  ‘We should sort something out,’ she continued, ignoring her boyfriend’s reticence.

  ‘I’ll drop Penny off as well, shall I?’ Clare joked.

  ‘Don’t push it!’

  ‘Think I’ll give it a few more years before I think about settling down,’ Rob said, stretching out on his deck chair. ‘Listening to you lot is enough to put anyone off.’

  ‘We’re not that bad, are we?’ Clare asked, concerned.

  He shook his head. ‘Not really. I like my freedom too much, that’s all. It’s like last night. I stayed out for hours. Didn’t have to get back because anyone was waiting for me.’

  ‘Where were you last night then?’ James asked, scowling.

  ‘Out on the cliffs. The alien ship. Remember?’

  ‘Jim’s sulking because he didn’t get to go to the pub with you lot,’ Stephanie laughed.

  ‘No one went to the pub,’ Tom said.

  ‘So did you get to see it?’ Siobhan asked.

  ‘Oh, we saw it okay,’ Steph explained. ‘We watched the build-up on TV with the kids then took them out into the street and watched it fly over. Amazing, wasn’t it?’

  ‘I’ve never seen anything like it,’ James agreed.

  ‘Me neither,’ said Rob. ‘Kind of humbling, wasn’t it?’

  ‘I was just lost for words,’ Siobhan said. ‘Can’t explain how it made me feel. It was the sheer size of it, you know? I just can’t get my head around how something so huge could travel so far and so fast.’

  ‘What about you, Clare?’ Rob asked. ‘Where were you last night?’

  ‘In bed.’

  ‘In bed! You’re kidding me… You didn’t see it?’

  ‘I told you, I’ve had a bitch of a week. Standing outside for hours just to watch something I could see on TV didn’t seem to make a lot of sense.’

  ‘What about Penny?’

  ‘Oh, she didn’t miss out. She was full of it. Jim and Eileen next door had their grandkids over and they went out into the fields to watch it and took Penny with them. Sorry if you think I’m a miserable bitch, I don’t mean to be. Fact is I lay down for a few minutes and fell asleep.’

  ‘So you didn’t see any of it?’

  ‘All the noise they were making out back woke me up. I thought they were in trouble so I went running out. I got there just as it flew over.’

  ‘Amazing, wasn’t it?’ said Steph.

  ‘It was big, I’ll give you that.’

  ‘We went right up onto the hills,’ Rob said, excitedly remembering the events of last night. ‘Got stuck next to a right boring bastard, didn’t we?’

  ‘He wasn’t that bad,’ Siobhan said. ‘Just don’t think he got out much.’

  ‘Anyway, don’t worry, Clare,’ Rob continued, ‘you’re not alone. Tom didn’t think the ship was all that impressive either.’

  ‘I never said that.’

  ‘He wanted more lasers and lights and special effects. You know, the full Close Encounters thing.’

  ‘That’s not true. You’re putting words into my mouth.’

  ‘You couldn’t wait to get away.’

  ‘I couldn’t wait to have a piss. We’d already been out there for hours. Anyway, I couldn’t see any point in staying once the ship had gone. There was a lot of hanging around for something that was over in just a few seconds.’

  ‘Well we stayed out a while longer,’ Siobhan explained. ‘There was a fantastic atmosphere out there. There were camera crews and everything. People started playing music and mucking about.’

  ‘See, Jim?’ Stephanie sighed. ‘Now that’s what I miss. A little freedom.’ Her back stiff, she sat upright and gestured for James to have the baby. Clare intercepted. She took the child and cradled her gently. Tom watched her. She was leaning forward, instinctively protecting the little girl, shielding her. She didn’t even know she was doing it.

  ‘Ever thought about having another?’ Stephanie asked.

  Clare shook her head but didn’t look up from the baby’s face. ‘The time’s gone. I always said I wanted another, but Aiden didn’t. And as you know, shit happens.’

  ‘I think it’s the most amazing thing,’ James said, starting to sound like he’d had more than enough to drink.

  ‘She certainly is,’ Clare said quietly, still staring at Felicity. Perfect skin, all creases and folds as she frowned in her sleep, mouth moving constantly as she dreamed and chewed on nothing.

  ‘Sorry, Clare, I was talking about the aliens,’ he said. ‘But it is like when you have a kid. Them being here has changed everything.’

  ‘We were talking about this last night,’ Steph explained, hoping to make more sense than her half-drunk husband. ‘You’ll know this, Clare, it’s like when you have a baby. It’s the strangest thing. As soon as your child’s born and you get them home, you can’t remember what it was like without them. It catches me out every time, even when I’m expecting it.’ She looked into Fliss’ sleeping face. ‘It just feels so right when you’ve got them with you. So natural.’

  Rob agreed. ‘I was saying something similar to you, wasn’t I, Siobhan? We’ve spent too long looking inwards, and now it feels like we’re ready to start broadening our horizons. We get so wrapped up in our own routines and
problems that we miss the fact we’re part of a much bigger picture.’

  Clare glanced up and saw that he was looking at her. Was he trying to make a point? ‘Life goes on though, doesn’t it, Rob. I can’t just drop everything because there are aliens on my doorstep.’

  ‘And I’m not suggesting you should. It’s going to be a gradual change, but I think things are going to be different from here on in. We’ve never been in a situation like this before. It’s like they’ve come from nowhere and handed us a hundred years of progress on a plate.’

  ‘Is that necessarily a good thing?’ Tom asked. ‘I’m not saying it isn’t, but isn’t the process of finding stuff out for yourself as important as getting the right answer?’

  ‘Fuck me,’ James slurred. ‘Who invited Einstein?’

  ‘Einstein?’ Rob protested. ‘What are you on about?’

  ‘He was a philosopher, wasn’t he?’

  ‘No, he was a scientist. Bloody hell, Jim.’

  ‘Same difference.’

  ‘Just look at little Fliss,’ Tom continued, ignoring them both and gesturing at the baby still being cradled by Clare. ‘Imagine these aliens produce a pill which gives you fifteen years of schooling in a single dose. Would you want her to have it?’

  ‘Not sure…’ Steph admitted.

  James was too drunk to answer.

  Tom continued, regardless, ‘If it was my daughter, I wouldn’t want her to.’

  ‘Why not?’ asked Stephanie.

  ‘Because it just wouldn’t be right, would it? Going to school isn’t just about getting qualifications. Obviously a lot of it is, but what about the friendships? What about the other things you learn? Relationships… wearing a uniform… dealing with authority… taking knocks… all the practical stuff.’

  ‘This is all a bit rich coming from someone who does fuck-all for a living,’ James said, the booze making him sound more antagonistic than he actually meant. Tom didn’t think he merited a response. Was he jealous? Angry?