by Sharon Sant
As he sat, motionless, struggling to comprehend his situation, he became aware of a low, constant hum. At first it was barely perceptible but, gradually, the sound pushed its way into his consciousness. Still seated, he spun around looking for the source of the noise. A few feet away, two small, round, stubby metallic structures were planted into the earth. They looked like bollards. He got up to investigate. Looking closer, he could tell that they were where the sound was vibrating from. Elijah could see that a narrow, vertical, roughly rectangular section of the air in the space in between looked different, in a way he couldn’t explain. It seemed agitated, unpredictable; at the centre the effect was intensified. Beyond that, the atmosphere looked normal again. He moved patiently around and around the configuration, fixed on it, mesmerised by its inexplicable weirdness. Slowly, against his instincts, he stretched out a hesitant hand and inched towards the disturbed air to touch it.
Something large was thrown with bullet force from the spot in front of him. A savage blow to his chest knocked him backwards through the air. Winded for the second time, he struggled to catch his breath, ready to fight. He pulled himself up to find Sky, face down on the grass beside him. For a moment she didn’t stir, then, with a groan, she turned herself over and sat up, rubbing her shoulder. She gazed around stupidly, looking first at Elijah, then at their surroundings and then back at Elijah.
‘How did you get here?’ Elijah asked.
‘I followed you.’
‘How did I get here?’
Sky shook her head in bewilderment. For a moment they sat in mutual stunned silence, then Elijah’s face split into a broad grin. ‘Nice though, isn’t it?’
Sky stood up to survey the landscape. ‘It’s not right though. Something’s not right here.’ She chewed her nail absently, as though she were speaking more to herself than Elijah.
‘What do you think that is?’ He pointed at the twin structures anchored into the ground. ‘I think that’s where you’ve just come from… at least, that’s where I was when you attacked me from nowhere.
Sky wandered round the space thoughtfully. It was there but not there, seemed to be two dimensional, flat like a mirror, yet there was space inside it. ‘I don’t know… it’s weird, like there’s something different about that space; you can’t exactly say you can see anything but you know something is there. And that sound?’ She stretched out a hand towards the disordered, shuddering air.
‘Wait.’ Elijah put his hand over hers. ‘Let’s look around first. Maybe we could bring the others here. I’m guessing that might be possible, seeing how you followed me here and I saw you come from there, we should be able to get back from there.’
‘What if it doesn’t take us back, though?’ Sky whispered.
‘It will,’ Elijah insisted with forced confidence. ‘And if it doesn’t, well, there are worse places to be stuck.’
‘I didn’t mean that… it might be a really random thing… you know… take us somewhere completely different.’
‘We’ll worry about that when the time comes,’ Elijah reassured her, taking her hand. ‘This is like some mad story. It’s too good not to take a look.’
They stood together, scanning the horizon in all directions. Within reasonable walking distance there was nothing but fields, beyond that the distant roads, and the glint of a vast expanse of rooftops even further than that. The only landmarks of note were the odd twin structure and the massive oak trees set up on a low ridge that Elijah had noticed earlier.
They made their way up to the ridge to see if there was anything on the other side. As they neared the edge, it dropped sharply away over the far side, thus hiding a small collection of temporary-looking buildings from view. Instinctively, they both dropped down onto their bellies, out of sight, and surveyed them from the safety of the ground. There didn’t seem to be much activity, though there were signs of life. A thin line of smoke drifted from behind a row of low buildings at the south end of the encampment. A dirt road led down to the camp, skirting the ridge further along, and a high wire fence ran along the outside edge, stretching away into the distance, also seeming to encompass a large portion of the fields where Elijah and Sky had found themselves.
Elijah gasped at the number of cars and jeeps parked within the compound. ‘Look at all those funny old cars!’ He gazed thoughtfully for a moment. ‘What do you reckon they run them on?’
Sky shrugged. ‘No idea. Everything is weird here – look at that lot.’ She indicated the cabin roofs bristling with electrical cables, masts and aerials. ‘What do you think all that is for? Must be using a fair bit of power from somewhere.’
Elijah and Sky watched intently for about half an hour, only speaking in low whispers to express amazement, every now and again, at some new sight.
‘I don’t think we can stay here.’ Sky said.
Elijah nodded. ‘I think you’re right. Still…’ he mused, ‘I’d love to know what’s going on down there.’
Sky frowned at him. ‘The others!’
‘Ok, ok. Let’s go.’
Together, they scrambled back down to the field where the gateway (this, they agreed, seemed to be a natural label for the point where they had entered this place) waited. Fervently hoping that she was wrong, Sky followed Elijah to the strange spot, which still emitted a trance inducing hum whilst the air shuddered and danced.
Elijah took Sky’s hand. ‘We’ll do it together, that way, wherever we go, we should get there together.’
Sky nodded, her breaths shallow and rapid. She clasped his hand so tightly that her knuckles were white. ‘One… two… three!’
They stepped forward as one. Once again, they were assailed by the sensation of instantaneous constriction and release, the odd feeling of somehow tearing apart, only to snap back together. They found themselves hurled into darkness, landing on soft ground carpeted by old pine needles.
Elijah was the first to his feet; he hauled Sky up, his eyes straining to pierce the gloom. He scented the tang of pine and felt confident that they had arrived back in the same forest they had started from. Looking back, he could just make out the towering firs that marked this side of the gateway.
Thinking quickly, he made a mental note of their features, and then he had a better idea. ‘We’ll leave a marker… just in case.’
‘In case what?’
‘You never know when we might need to come back again.’ Elijah felt around and snatched up six large pine cones from the ground, arranging three at the base of each of the twin trees in a triangular formation. When he had done, they set about the difficult task of finding their way back to where the others had been, and where they hoped they still were.
They had barely gone six feet when Elijah stopped Sky with a hand on her arm, his blood cold. They saw the pinpoints of light bobbing in the darkness and Elijah heard her breath quicken in time with his own. Someone was still searching the forest for them.
‘We have to go back,’ Elijah breathed in Sky’s ear.
‘No –’ She began to argue, but he cut her off.
‘We can hide until we figure out what to do. We’re not leaving them; we’ll be doing more good there than getting ourselves caught.’ He tugged at her hand as he turned back. In the darkness and in the grip of panic, the way back was frightening. They were disorientated, even over such a short distance there was a real fear of getting lost or injured as they stumbled over the uneven ground. They didn’t even see the gateway until they were upon it, and were thrown across the ground on the other side, into the sunshine. Elijah lay upon the sweet grass with his eyes closed, trying to catch his breath and calm his shattered nerves.
‘Elijah!’
Something in Sky’s fearful whisper filled him with a renewed sense of panic. He opened his eyes to find the muzzle of a rifle pointing right at him.
Seventeen: The Capture
The CMO officers were on them so quickly, it was as if they had solidified from the surrounding gloom. Their ranks had swelled from earlier th
at day at White Lodge. Rosa, noticing that Sky, Elijah and Rowan were missing, screamed into the abyss of the forest for them to stay away, hoping they could hear her, wherever they were. A heavy-set man, with a face that looked as if it had been hewn from limestone, barked out orders for the woods to be searched. The friends huddled in a circle. They weren’t bound, but were outnumbered, and thoughts of escape seemed futile. Xavier and Francois conversed in barely audible whispers.
‘You two can stop that!’ An officer pointed a torch beam in turn at them.
‘You have to let my brother go, he’s seventeen,’ Xavier snarled back in the vain hope that Francois would be allowed to leave.
‘I don’t think so. Does he have proof?’
‘If you asked at White Lodge they would tell you.’
The guard laughed. ‘The only information we have had concerns minors, and I presume that to be all of you, unless I’m told otherwise.’
‘But –’
The man held up a hand. Xavier fell silent and shot Francois a baleful look.
Time passed. Whispered conversations were terminated by fierce looks or grunted instructions to be quiet. From the snatches of dialogue they heard between the officers, it seemed, to their silent relief, that none of the missing three had been caught.
Rosa’s head lolled on Jimmy’s shoulder as she dozed. Francois picked at the grass and stared out into the darkness. Xavier remained tensed, alert, turning over endless plans, determined not to miss an opportunity for escape. No one knew how long had passed when the officer in charge gave orders to move.
‘Up you lot, let’s go.’
Two of the men held long metal canes with insulated handles. They looked a bit like walking sticks and emitted a low, steady hum. Xavier eyed them warily. Jimmy shook Rosa, who woke quickly without a sound. Francois stood, grabbed a hand, and pulled her up. They were marched away, the forest floor glowing back at them in white pools of torchlight, the contours of the land thrown into sharp relief. Night creatures scurried away from the daggers of light, flitting shadows in the corner of the eye.
One of the CMO officers swore as a branch snapped back in his face and Xavier barely suppressed a grin in Rosa’s direction. It was seen.
‘Want the prod do you?’
Xavier scowled and glanced at the cane in the man’s hand.
They stopped, finally, at a dirt road, a filthy cut on the skin of the forest. The moon peered from behind a cloud momentarily and shed its milky light on the blue van waiting for them.
‘I see the CMO get proper engines,’ Xavier whispered to Francois.
A grate of metal and someone slid open a side door.
‘In.’
A prod was waved at Jimmy. He glanced quickly at the others and, seeing no argument, climbed in.
Everyone else followed. The door slammed and the engine throbbed into life.
Eighteen: Impossible Conclusions
Elijah and Sky were taken back to one of the portable buildings they had seen beyond the oak trees. A young soldier, probably not much older than Francois, Elijah mused, stood inside the door, watching impassively. Not being told to sit, they stood close together, self-conscious in the centre of the silent space. The room was a dreary affair, scuffed walls and meshed windows, fitted with basic office furniture and some threadbare grey seats. The sun struggled to penetrate the dry air through the tiny windows, giving the place a cramped, gloomy feel. A laptop sat idly on a desk, a mobile phone casually discarded next to it, and other stationery items littered the surfaces. There was the bitter smell of old coffee layered over the burnt synthetic odour of chugging office equipment. A curled, half eaten sandwich languished on a small side table. Elijah eyed the sandwich longingly, mentally savouring the now unfamiliar taste of fresh bread. Then, he noticed the calendar on the wall, open at May. He wasn’t sure what the exact date was, but he knew that May definitely wasn’t right.
Curiosity made Elijah momentarily forget the trouble they might be in as he studied their surroundings. He was forcibly reminded by the entrance of a formidable looking man who was obviously someone with considerable authority. The officer motioned for them to sit. Though he was scary, he was quite clearly wearing a luxuriant but ludicrous brunette hairpiece. Had he not been striding up and down in front of them in such an intimidating manner, it would have been difficult not to laugh.
‘Do you know why you are here?’
Elijah and Sky looked at each other blankly.
He continued. ‘You have been caught trespassing on Ministry of Defence land. Did you know where you were?’
Elijah shook his head.
‘Where are you from? I’ll need to contact your parents.’
They continued to regard him apprehensively but didn’t reply. They couldn’t tell him they had no parents, or no address. The last thing they needed was for him to find out they were Runners. And if they told him how they had got there, he would think they were lying.
The officer shot questions at them in the same vein for another ten minutes, becoming increasingly exasperated at their silence. Striding off towards the door, he spoke in low tones to one of his men and then swept out of the building. The soldier at the door didn’t speak, but watched Elijah and Sky closely as they fidgeted and stole timid glances around them. Elijah found his eyes drawn to the sandwich again. He hadn’t eaten since early that morning – at least he thought it was that morning. Right now, he couldn’t be sure of anything, even time itself. Whenever it was, he was hungry.
He had just decided that a request for something to eat could not possibly worsen the situation, when the door opened. A man and a woman entered; quite obviously not military personnel. Elijah stiffened at the possibility that they may be CMO, but they were both wearing white coats and didn’t particularly look like burly child-catchers. Still, he eyed them warily, and then glanced across at Sky, who, judging by her expression, had obviously been thinking along the same lines.
The woman, a pale, delicate looking redhead, almost slender enough to snap, spoke to the soldier at the door. She had a serious, measured tone, but reassuring too, with a soft, musical Irish lilt. ‘You can leave us – thank you.’
The soldier nodded uncertainly, and left. Elijah could still see his head and shoulders outside the window.
The woman smiled warmly at them before she and the man seated themselves. ‘My name is Dr McKee. This is my colleague, Dr Sethi. Major Smyth tells me that you have been a little… uncooperative.’ Her expression barely hid a conspiratorial smile. ‘I realise this may be a frightening situation for you, but we only want to clear up a few points, and then we can get you home.’
Dr Sethi, a dark eyed man with a huge beard and an amiable expression, spoke. ‘The sooner you talk to us sensibly, as Dr McKee says, the sooner we can get you back to your families.’
‘We don’t have families.’ The statement was out before Sky had meant it to be. Elijah gave her a sharp nudge. ‘I think it’s ok, Elijah…’ she continued carefully, looking at their interviewers, ‘I don’t think you are CMO, are you?’
‘CMO?’ Dr McKee turned to her colleague in puzzlement. He shrugged. ‘Look,’ Dr McKee continued patiently, ‘We can’t help you if you don’t help us. You must live somewhere, with somebody… relatives, foster parents, children’s home?’ Sky shook her head. ‘Alright then, how did you get onto this land?’ Sky and Elijah exchanged glances, not sure how to reply.
‘We don’t want to involve the police, but if you don’t talk to us we’ll have no other choice,’ Dr Sethi added, clearly becoming frustrated by the unwanted drain on their time that Elijah and Sky represented. ‘We only want to know how you got in here and what you have seen. That’s not so difficult to answer, is it?’
Elijah and Sky remained silent. They both knew that what had happened to them sounded mad; people didn’t just pop from one place to another through thin air – but they had no other explanation to offer. Dr McKee raised her eyebrows at Dr Sethi.
‘Looks like i
t’s going to be a long afternoon. Coffee?’ Dr Sethi nodded shortly. Dr McKee turned to Elijah and Sky. ‘Would you like a coffee? Elijah nearly fell off his chair.
‘Real coffee?’ Sky squeaked.
Dr McKee narrowed her eyes. ‘Yes. Don’t you drink coffee? I could get you something else.’
‘No… yes, I mean, yes. Yes, please. I think.’
‘In an unofficial capacity, you can call me Grace.’ Dr McKee crossed the room and lifted a steaming pot from under a percolator. She returned and placed it on the desk, then handed a cup each to Elijah and Sky. ‘And strictly unofficially, why don’t you at least tell me your names? If we’re going to spend the afternoon together, I think it would be more comfortable all round if we dispensed with formalities. Sugar?’
‘Elijah.’ Elijah spooned sugar into his cup and sniffed at the drink. It smelt worse than the tea Xavier had given him, months ago, but he was thirsty and sipped it anyway, wrinkling his nose. It tasted worse too, though the sugar was good. He reached over and heaped in four more spoonfuls for good measure. Grace raised her eyebrows.
Sky, too, regarded her cup with suspicion. ‘My name is Sky,’ she said peering into her mug.
Elijah felt emboldened by Grace’s easy going manner. ‘I don’t suppose we could eat that sandwich if no one else is…’ he began tentatively, pointing at the dried up remains of someone’s lunch. ‘Only we’re really hungry.’
