by Joni Parker
After several hours, the fog lifted slightly and sirens blared. Several police vehicles with yellow and blue squares painted on the sides drove up, blue lights flashing. Two men boarded the ship, one was Captain Jonas and the other was an admiral in a naval uniform with fancy gold stripes on his sleeves.
Several men shouted, “Attention on deck!”
“Carry on.” The Admiral shook hands with the sailors as he stepped on deck where Ecstasy was standing.
“Request permission to come aboard.” Captain Jonas saluted.
“Welcome aboard. I see you found help.” Ecstasy snapped a return salute.
Captain Jonas turned around. “Admiral Collins, may I introduce Ecstasy, the captain of this unusual vessel? Ecstasy, Admiral Collins is from the Ministry of Defense. How are operations inside?”
“Nearly done. My little ship is getting very crowded.”
“Excellent, may I show the Admiral?”
Ecstasy smiled and opened the door for them. Inside, several young men were standing and watching the activity.
“Attention on deck!” The sailors snapped to attention.
“At ease, men,” Captain Jonas said. “Admiral Collins is here to welcome you back.”
The Admiral stepped forward and shook hands.
Inside, Leftenant Malloy and Alex continued to work. The Leftenant set a passenger from the bin on the floor near Alex. She administered a drop of potion and waited.
Alex looked up and smiled at Captain Jonas. “We’re almost done, Captain.”
“This is Admiral Collins from the Ministry of Defense. This young lady’s name is Alex and she’s administering the potion that restores our people to normal size, Admiral.”
“I see that. A pleasure to meet you, Alex. Please tell me what you’re doing.” Admiral Collins knelt beside her.
“My grandfather gave each person the shrinking potion, so I’m giving them the counter-potion to make them large again. They only need one drop.” She carefully opened a woman’s mouth and let a drop fall onto her tongue.
A few minutes later, the woman regained her normal size. Leftenant Malloy placed the last passenger on the floor. It was Jeffrey. She gave him a drop and put the stopper on the bottle. Then she stood up to stretch.
Admiral Collins was taken aback when she stood up—she was as tall as he was. “You’re quite tall, aren’t you?”
Alex managed to smile as she yawned.
“Could I have a look at this potion?” The Admiral pointed to it.
Alex handed him the bottle, shaking it slightly. “There’s not much left. Lord Odin gave me just enough.”
The Admiral took the stopper out and smelled it. “May I have this?”
“I guess so. Everyone’s done—back to normal.” Alex helped Jeffrey to his feet.
“Shall we go, Admiral?” Captain Jonas raised eyebrows.
Admiral Collins smiled and nodded. “Come along, Alex.” The Admiral took her by the hand and led her outside.
The sailors were talking excitedly. Jeffrey joined them and was eagerly shaking hands.
One man was passing out some clear bottles of water and handed one to Alex. She looked at it curiously. It was very cold and the label on the bottle said it was water, but she didn’t know how to open it. A man standing nearby twisted the top off, so Alex did the same. It was refreshing—clean and cold. After another drink, they left the ship. Admiral Collins and Captain Jonas thanked Ecstasy and asked him to come along. He did in exchange for the promise of a free lunch.
Captain Jonas gathered all the sailors around him. “We’ll accompany Admiral Collins for processing. Board the coaches. They want to speak to all of us first and get our paperwork completed. Do not call your families until we give you permission. We must be able to explain your return. You’ll be allowed to call later. In the meantime, be patient and don’t leave.”
“Don’t you think they’ll believe us?” The men laughed.
“I’ve asked our guests to come with us. Thank you for your help.”
His men applauded and Ecstasy took off his hat and bowed.
Alex saluted them like an Elf. “Captain, Ecstasy and I should return home right away.”
“No, join us for lunch. Get in the coach.” He guided her to the closest one.
Alex stared at it with apprehension. It was twelve feet high, made of metal with blue and white stripes painted on the side. The wheels were black, large, and wide. But there weren’t any horses anywhere. Alex looked up the street for them.
One of the sailors came up from behind and encouraged her inside. Alex stumbled up the steep steps and sat in the front seat behind a man in uniform sitting behind a large wheel. Jeffrey bounded up the stairs and slid in next to her. The coach vibrated, making a loud rumbling noise. The diesel fumes smelled terrible. Alex felt uncomfortable, especially when the man in front grabbed a lever and closed the door. Alarmed, she stood up, but Jeffrey forced her to sit down. As the coach moved, Alex stared at him, her eyes wide.
Were they safe?
Chapter 8
TOP SECRET
Nervously, Alex glanced around, paying particular attention to the man in front of her. He moved his hands around the large, black wheel and turned to glance out the window to his side and to the other side. The coach pulled away from the river and drove along the shore until it turned left. The river receded in the mirror, replaced by tall brick and glass buildings on either side. The coach led the way down a street, crowded with pedestrians, coaches, and smaller vehicles. The top floors of the buildings were still covered in fog.
“You aren’t scared, are you?” Jeffrey nudged her side.
Alex straightened. “Me? Of course not. What is this thing?”
Jeffrey shrugged and turned to a man behind him for an explanation.
“It’s called a coach.” The sailor pointed to the smaller vehicles outside. “The smaller ones are cars. Are you all right, Miss? We’re quite safe. As a matter of fact, we’re home!” He slapped hands with the man next to him.
“Where are the horses?” Alex asked.
“We don’t use them anymore.”
“Left too much poop in the streets.” The other man laughed.
Alex didn’t feel reassured; Jeffrey laughed.
“Look ahead of us, lads,” the first young man said. “There’s old Nellie. Admiral Nelson was the most famous British admiral in our history. He’s standing up there above Trafalgar Square waiting for us.” He pointed through the front window.
Alex saw a tall, round beige column with a statue of a man on top, his left profile showing. Then the coach turned to the right between two brick buildings.
“Hey, where we going, mate? The Ministry’s the other way,” a young man shouted from the back of the coach.
The driver ignored him, but the other men in the coach shouted for an explanation. The driver remained silent as the coach continued between buildings and turned left, heading for a large metal door that opened from the bottom up. The coach entered and turned left again, descending to another level until it stopped before a gate, which opened slowly from the middle. Dozens of men in camouflage uniforms stood to the side, wearing dark red berets and cradling black rifles in their arms. The sailors on the bus rose in alarm.
“What the fuck are you doing? Where are we?” One irritated young man shouted from the back.
“Yeah, where are we?” The men in the coach shouted at the driver, but he continued to ignore them. He stopped the coach and opened the door. A tall man in a gray camouflage uniform came on board.
“All right, calm down. My name is Captain Wells, Royal Marines. Welcome home.”
“Where are we, Captain?” One of the men stood up in the back.
“This is a classified area. We need to debrief you before we let you go. No one’s going to believe this one.”
“I hardly believe it me-self and I was there. Where are we now? I never saw anything like this before.”
“Top secret. Follow me. Miss…
” He nodded at Alex.
The sailors stood up and filed off. Alex watched them pass by. One man stopped in the aisle and motioned for Alex and Jeffrey to move ahead of him.
Alex’s eyes watered from the acrid fumes. She got off the coach, climbing down the steep steps, following the others into a building through heavy glass doors, only to stand in line at an archway. More men in camouflage uniforms stood to the side, watching the arrivals closely. They were armed with pistols and large black rifles. Alex grew uneasy. She waited her turn and watched the sailors go through an arch, but thought it was strange when they didn’t disappear on the other side. What kind of an arch is this? When it was Alex’s turn, lights and beeping noises went off. Several men in camouflage quickly surrounded her.
“Stand over here, Miss. Are you carrying anything made of metal?”
Alex pulled out her necklace and small eating knife. “My necklace and my eating knife.”
“We have to confiscate your knife.” He took it from her and gave it to another man. “We’ll have to scan you. Come out here and hold out your arms.”
She held out her arms and the man waved a metal wand over her. It beeped when it went over her cloak pin as well.
“Oh, I forgot my pin.”
“Thank you, Miss. Go inside.” The man pointed to the right.
Jeffrey caught her arm and pulled her along, smiling smugly.
“Jeffrey, how am I going to eat without an eating knife?”
“With your fingers?” He shrugged.
They caught up to the sailors and went into a small theater. Captain Jonas pulled Alex to the front of the room and waved at Ecstasy and Jeffrey to join her. The room filled with the young men and women brought back from Seaward Isle. They sat quietly, patiently waiting, but with smiles on their faces.
From the back of the room, a man shouted, “Attention on deck!”
Everyone stood up. Admiral Collins and several other men in similar uniforms marched into the room. Each had varying number of gold stripes on their sleeves. Alex bit her lip, trying to recall the naval officer rank system. All she could remember was the more gold on the sleeves, the higher the rank.
“At ease. Be seated,” Captain Jonas said. “On behalf of the sailors of Hunter Dawn 2031, I wish to extend my personal thanks to Ecstasy for transporting us in his ship and to Miss Alex for assisting us.” He nodded at them and the room erupted in applause. “Next, Vice Admiral Teller, the Commander of NATO exercise Hunter Dawn 2031 and Rear Admirals Wescott and Collins from our Administrative Division, wish to say a few words. Admiral Teller.” The Captain stepped back.
Admiral Teller wore a naval uniform with one thick gold stripe and two smaller ones on his sleeves; his skin was chocolate brown and his dark hair was cut so short his scalp was visible. He was about the same height as the other men, but thinner and leaner. He cleared his throat.
“Thank you, Captain. A warm welcome home to the sailors of NATO exercise Hunter Dawn 2031. Our prayers have been answered. We were extremely concerned when we discovered you were missing and conducted an extensive search of the area. I’m relieved to see all of you in good health. Admiral Wescott and his staff are standing by to begin a short medical exam. After that, they’ll debrief you and you’ll have some paperwork to complete. All of you will be sworn to secrecy under the Official Secrets Act of 1989. We’ll tell you what you can say to your families and friends to explain your return. Then you’ll be released to go home. Do not to speak to the press or provide any other explanation for your return. Remember, this is top secret. It’ll be handled officially from our end.
“To our guests, thank you for your help in returning our sailors. We’re most grateful and we welcome you to the United Kingdom, which is comprised of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Admiral Collins will help you. Thank you once more.” The Admiral wiped a tear away as he stepped back.
Admiral Wescott stepped forward. He had a wide gold band on each of his sleeves. “Sailors of Hunter Dawn 2031, welcome back. Follow me and we’ll take care of your medical exams and debriefings.” The Admiral marched ahead and the sailors rose to follow him.
Once the commotion died down, Admiral Collins stepped to the front. “To our guests, welcome to London. I’d like to introduce Captain Bennett of my staff who will lead you through your processing. I must ask for your patience. We’ve never had a situation quite like this before. We simply want to gather some basic information from you and we don’t intend to keep you long. In addition, we’ll provide you with proper documentation so your journey here will be much easier. Captain Bennett, take over.”
The Captain stepped forward as Admiral Collins took a step back. He had four smaller gold stripes on his sleeve. “Good morning, my name is Captain Bennett, Royal Navy. My staff has been augmented with officers from Scotland Yard who will gather some data from you and complete your processing. I ask for your patience.”
Alex raised her hand. “Captain Bennett, Ecstasy and I will be coming back later. Can’t we do this then?” She didn’t want to do this at all; she was anxious to leave.
He shook his head. “No. We need to understand what happened here. Detective Sergeant Pennington, come here.”
An attractive blond woman stepped forward. She wore a suit, but it wasn’t a naval uniform and her shoes had extremely high heels. But even with those heels, she was still shorter than Alex.
The young woman extended her hand. “Please to meet you. I’m Detective Sergeant Elizabeth Pennington, Scotland Yard. I’ll escort you through the process, Miss Alex.”
“Just call me, Alex.” She shook her hand, which felt cool and limp. Alex wanted to be friendly, but wasn’t certain about this woman. Handshakes said a lot about a person.
“Come with me.” Pennington turned away.
Ecstasy and Jeffrey remained seated as Alex waved and followed the woman.
Chapter 9
INITIAL INTERVIEW
Alex followed Pennington down the hall to a metal door. Pennington waited for her, wearing a forced smile, tapping her foot impatiently. After touching a button on the wall, the doors opened and Pennington waved Alex inside.
Alex went in and stared at the mirror on the wall as the doors closed. Panicked, she spun around and put her hands up to stop them, catching them just before they shut. The doors opened and Alex breathed a sigh of relief. Pennington pulled her hands back to allow the doors to close.
“Haven’t you ever been on a lift before?” She chuckled.
The doors closed once more and the small room moved down. Alex broke into a sweat and her heart raced. Her knees buckled slightly when the downward motion stopped and the doors slid open. She breathed in the fresh air with relief.
“Follow me.” Pennington left quickly.
Alex followed, relieved that the journey was over. She touched the walls as she was led into a room without any windows, filled with cloth-covered partitions that divided the larger room into smaller cubicles. It seemed somber with a harsh bluish light from above.
The woman pointed to a chair for Alex and sat down at the other end of a table. She turned on a small light and put earphones on her head.
“Speak into this, please.” She put a silver-looking rod on a stand in front of Alex and pointed to the tip. “Please state your full name, last name first.”
“My name is Alex. I just told you a few minutes ago.” She glanced around as the low, gray walls closed in around her.
Pennington rolled her eyes. “Just follow my instructions, please. Say your last name into the microphone.”
“What’s a microphone?”
The woman pointed to the silver rod.
“Alex.” She pronounced her name slowly.
“Last name first, please.” Pennington stared at a computer screen with gritted teeth.
“Dumwalt, my father’s name was Count Stephane Dumwalt.” Alex nodded.
“Count?” Pennington raised her eyebrows. “Say his last name and spell it for me.”
/> Alex leaned forward and spoke to the silver rod. “Dumwalt, d-u-m-w-a-l-t.”
“Where is he?”
“Dead. He died when I was four.”
“Where was he born?”
“Somewhere in the mortal world. He never told me. He was the Count of Oltria.”
Pennington turned around and tapped the keyboard in front of her with her fingers. Alex peeked over her shoulder and saw her father’s name appear on the screen, then the words, Count of Oltria. No results found.
“Hmmm.” Pennington drummed her fingers on the table. “When were you born?”
“The spring solstice, 985.”
“Do you mean 1985?”
“No, 985.”
“What day?”
“The spring solstice.”
Pennington continued tapping her fingers impatiently. “Where were you born?”
“On Seaward Isle.”
Pennington went to the next question without typing any information. “What city?”
“There wasn’t a city. It was in my father’s fortress.”
“What about your mother? What’s her name?”
“Cadwin, she was the daughter of Themius the Titan and Lady Lestin of the Water Elves.”
“Themius, the Titan. Right.” Pennington checked the Internet for a Titan by the name of Themius. No results found. She gritted her teeth. “Lady Lestin? Who’s she?”
“I told you. She’s a Water Elf. She lives in Eledon and she just got re-married to Lord Odin of the Tree Elves, so he’s now my grandfather.”
Pennington pressed her lips together and spun around in her chair. “I want the truth, not this crap.” She grimaced.
“It is the truth.” Alex stared at her curiously.
“Stay here. I’ll be right back.” She pointed her finger at Alex and left the cubicle, going out the door.
A few minutes later, Pennington barged into another office where she found Detective Sergeant Smith interviewing Jeffrey. “Smitty, I need to speak to Inspector Tyler right now. Where is he?”
“What’s the matter, Pen? Can’t handle it?” He laughed.
