Edge of the Vortex

by Donald B McFarlane

  It didn’t take long for the eggs closest to the queen to feel the effects of the warm Australian sun, and within one hour, all four-hundred Wind-Stalkers were quietly munching on the long grass of the Wandoo National Park. And after another hour of eating, their bellies as full as needed to be to move away from their hatch-point, the queen let out a low-frequency squeak that got the attention of the other creatures and slowly started to move west.

  19

  Prince Rupert, Canada

  18 January

  “Cold.” Ryan Beck said, standing next to her husband on the bow of the sailboat.

  Keegan put his arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. “I know.”

  Prince Rupert had finally come into view, raising the spirits of everyone on board. The town, with its small population, relied heavily on the fishing industry, but on that cold January day, there were no boats visible out of port. The recent EMP blast couldn’t have had a positive effect on the community, and Keegan was worried about the kind of reception that they’d face when they landed with a group of alien soldiers in tow.

  Captain Joyce came up behind Keegan. “Do you know where the Tohil office is?”

  Keegan turned his head to the side. “No.”

  “So what’s the plan then?”

  Keegan released his grasp on his wife and turned around, the wind whipping at his back. “I suppose we find the town hall and ask them.”

  The Canadian nodded. “What about Hulo and his men?”

  Keegan nodded. “We leave them on the boat, for now, see what happens in town. Don’t want to startle the natives.” Keegan turned so that he could see the port they were creeping towards. “Any friendly forces in town?” He asked.

  “Doubtful.” Joyce shook his head. “Maybe some Navy personnel, that’s it.”

  “Okay.” Keegan replied, before walking to the rear of the ship. Hulo and his troops had stayed below decks during the voyage for fear that the Coalition would spot them from orbit and cause serious problems for everyone, but now it was time to get the lizard-like Star Guard from Ranch 44 and his forces ready.

  “Star Guard.”

  The alien, still dressed in his full suit of armour, came up from below decks, his weapon still on him, as it was always.

  “We’re arriving at our destination.” Keegan pointed towards the town that was growing larger every second. “It is my intention to take the local forces into town and attempt to raise communications with one of my former colleagues who is in league with an organisation we believe might be our best hope of doing something against the Coalition.”

  Hulo’s reptilian tongue flicked out and then disappeared again. “And what do you want of us?”

  Keegan nodded. “I would like you and your forces to secure the perimeter once we’ve docked and hold it until we return.” Keegan looked at Sergeant Wilson who was at the wheel. “Sergeant, will stay with you as your local liaison, along with my wife?” Keegan shot a quick look to the bow where Ryan was standing. “Her safety is of my highest concern.”

  Hulo looked to the front of the boat, then back to Keegan. “I understand.”

  Keegan moved to the starboard side of the boat, just as it was passing a massive 290-metre-long bulk carrier named Elegant Star. The ship dwarfed the sailboat, and looked covered in rust and looked like it hadn’t been moved in some time. Along the shoreline were giant mounds of black coal with whitish coloured cranes dotting the landscape and snow-covered hilltops in the distance. It was eerily quiet.

  Looking down into the dark, cold waters, Keegan started to wonder what condition the town would be in, and what its inhabitants had been thinking and doing for the last two days. There was always a chance that the presence of outsiders could cause a stir.

  Taking his gaze along the shoreline, he started to wonder where exactly they would be able to dock, and not being a sailor himself, decided that the best course of action was to differ to the individual piloting the ship.

  “Where do you want to park?” Keegan asked Wilson.

  “Park?” He replied with a smile. “No idea.” He gave the sails a quick look, then brought his head back down to the wheel and gave it a slight turn. “We’ll follow the coastline around to the right. If that is where the centre of town is, there should be some visible spots to berth.”

  Keegan nodded. Lots of factors at play, and too many unknowns. Glancing skywards, he noted the low cloud cover that had been up all day. He had no doubt that it wouldn’t provide any concealment from Coalition forces in orbit, but he also doubted that they were looking for a little sailboat at this time. So far, his band of refugees had been able to remain off the radar of anyone who might be looking for them, but one thing that worried Keegan was their lack of information about what was really going on on the rest of the planet.

  He was fairly confident that the Coalition’s move to take, or at least attack Earth had been successful since he hadn’t seen any friendly forces, nor had Hulo been able to pick up any Alliance communications on his gear since the PCS had vanished and the Epsilon made a run for it. Keegan had also noted that since they had left Lasqueti, he hadn’t seen a plane or cars along the roads that were visible every so often from the water. Something had happened, and something was way off.

  Looking back towards the island to his right, he hoped that some answers would be available in Prince Rupert, or at least clues as to what was going on, and if they were fortunate, Gaius Stephenson would have answers.

  “Perimeter set.” The Canadian soldier standing closest to Keegan said.

  Keegan looked at the abandoned ferry terminal with a sigh, it looked deserted. There was also a large warehouse structure just off the water, and it looked grey and unwelcoming. In the adjacent parking lot, several cars sat motionlessly, and there was a single boat at the dock where they had tied up, and several more boats in the five slips to their south. It was very quiet.

  The Canadian troops had disembarked first and pushed out away from the dock, while Hulo’s forces formed a tighter perimeter around the boat. The aliens in their advanced armour moved quietly and swiftly to their positions. Keegan knew that the measures that the soldiers were taking were probably unnecessary, but he also knew that it was right for them to stay on their toes.

  Keegan looked at his wife and gave her a wink before stepping down onto the ferry dock that they had stopped at and walked over to Hulo who had his helmet on with his blast-shield down and in place.

  “Star Guard.”

  The shield flipped up revealing a transparent screen, allowing Keegan to see the alien’s face.

  “Doctor.”

  Keegan still hadn’t gotten used to the hissing sound in Hulo’s voice. It wasn’t that he had a fear of snakes, but it still was off-putting.

  “If everything is set, I’ll be heading into town to try and track down some leads to get in contact with Stephenson.” Keegan looked at the Canadians, almost all of whom were laying down, weapons pointed outwards. “I guess you and Sergeant Wilson are in charge here.”

  Hulo nodded. “Correct.”

  Keegan smiled and gave Ryan a final glance before walking over to Captain Joyce who was the lone soldier who hadn’t taken up a prone position.

  “I suppose we should get started.” Keegan said.

  The Canadian nodded. “How about we take the main road out of here and see where that leads up.” The Captain checked his weapon, then looked back at Keegan. “GPS is down, so unless we find a local, we might as well just head straight into town and see what happens.”

  “I’ll defer to you on any tactical decisions.”

  “I’m sure it’ll be okay. Just need to be cautious that there aren’t any hostile forces in the region on a sightseeing tour.” Joyce smiled. “Alberts, take us out that main road.” He pointed to the only clear road leading out of the ferry terminal area. “Staggered file.”

  Keegan watched as the men that were on the north side of the security perimeter got to their feet, exchanged a few wor
ds and started moving towards the road that led out.

  “Round chambered. Safeties on!” Joyce shouted to his men. “Don’t want to shoot any of the locals by mistake.” He said to Keegan.

  As the soldiers started moving away from the dock, Keegan looked back to see that Hulo was redeploying his forces to compensate for the departure of the Canadians. Keegan wasn’t worried about Hulo being able to defend the boat, and his wife, what he was concerned about was what the locals would think if they spotted the aliens camped out on their little island.

  Moving up the road, and away from the water, Keegan noted that there were cars parked along the hard-shoulder, none of them having looked like they’d been moved in a while. The road itself was grey tarmac with cracks running through it bracketed by trees on both sides. Checking the nearest road sign which read Yellowhead Highway, Keegan shrugged and walked just behind Joyce who was in the middle of his group of soldiers as they made their way out of view of the docks.

  A single cement divider ran down the centre of the road for two hundred yards before ending, leaving the humans surrounded by woods with a single set of power and telephone cables running high above the ground on the right side of the road. After a few hundred metres they spotted a road leading off to the right which looked inconsequential and a few two-story houses that were boarded up.

  After just over fifteen minutes of walking, the group passed the island’s RV camping ground which was deserted. Probably not a shock considering the time of the year, Keegan thought to himself. Three-hundred-fifty more metres up the road the group passed an old petrol station that was boarded up and missing its pumps. It had been out of action for several years by the looks of things, but their first real find was under one-hundred-yards farther up the road.

  “Hotel.” Joyce told Keegan.

  The first men in the patrol had moved just passed the hotel on the left side of the road and then taken up firing positions covering the direction of travel, the hotel, and woods on the other side of the street. There were several cars in the parking lot, and it looked like there might be guests in the hotel.

  “You want to go up and have a look?” Keegan asked.

  Captain Joyce looked at his men and checked their positioning, then looked back to the hotel. “Yeah. Why not. Probably safe.”

  Five minutes later he was walking out of the front of the building with a map in his hand and a smile on his face.

  “We’re sorted.” He said when he reached Keegan. “The manager hasn’t seen any alien activity here, and she said that the town hall is about another kilometre and a half up the road. Or at least the city clerk’s office is, which is where we should be able to get an address on the local Tohil office.” He looked around at his men. “Relax lads!”

  Keegan watched as several of the men quickly took out cigarettes and lit them before they all rose to their feet. “Anything else?”

  “She said the power went out all over town on sixteenth. Nothing is running that’s newer than twenty years old.” The Captain stuck the map in his trouser pocket. “And no one has seen E.T.”

  Keegan smiled. “Well, that’s good.”

  “Yeah.” He looked down the road. “Alberts, take us into town. Simple and nice.” The Captain ordered.

  The soldiers got to their feet, shifted the backpacks on their shoulders and quickly checked their weapons. The group was a well-oiled machine. While not on the same skill-set level as Joe Hunt or Star Guard Hulo, they were still more than competent.

  Keegan took a final looked at the unimpressive three-story building and started after Joyce on the road into town. The road stayed lined with tall evergreens that kept the views to the sides of the road restricted. When they reached 11th Street, Keegan had a clear line of sight off to his left down to the water, but there wasn’t really anything to see. Just water and then another island in the distance covered in more green trees.

  As they got further from the docks, they started seeing more houses. Mostly simple structures, single or two-story jobs that all had a very dated look to Keegan, but the first building that really caught Keegan’s eye was a brown brick building with a black sign on the front of it saying Liquor Warehouse.

  “Hold on a second there Captain.” Keegan said and started veering towards the right-hand curb.

  “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” Joyce yelled back at him.

  “Gift for the guys at the city clerks office!” Keegan replied and walked through the double front doors into the store, and emerged less than five minutes later clutching a bottle in his hand. “Limited selection of whiskies up here.” He said as he walked over to Joyce, showing him the bottle of Johnny Walker Black he had secured.

  “Did you pay for that?” The Captain asked with an inquisitive look on his face.

  “Nope,” Keegan replied. “But everything is fine.” He smiled. “Now let’s go find that office.

  The clerk’s office was closed, but a swift butt-stroke from one of the soldiers opened the glass door to the office and Keegan plus Joyce, and two of his men entered the single-story building on 3 Avenue and made quick work of finding the list of registered companies and where their offices and premises were located in Prince Rupert.

  “Well?” Keegan looked at Joyce.

  “City Hall. Second floor. Office 2.” Joyce put the piece of paper he was holding down and looked out the front doors of the office building they were in. “And city hall is right across the street.” He said dryly and walked back out into the chilly Canadian weather, Keegan hot on his heels.

  “Sergeant Alberts take your squad and secure a perimeter around that building.” He ordered, pointing at the two-story white art deco building that had two sets of three flags flying off its front and simple set of wooden doors just metres from the sidewalk.

  “Cops.” Corporal Lassiter said, loud enough for the whole patrol to hear.

  Snapping his head to the left, Keegan spotted two Royal Canadian Mounted Police moving up the middle of the road, weapons drawn.

  “Doctor Beck, why don’t you go with Sergeant Greenleaf’s section into the town hall and find that Tohil office we’re looking for. I’ll have a chat with the locals.” Joyce said, starting to walk towards the two police officers who had apparently been notified of the presence of outsiders.

  “Sure,” Keegan said, looking at Greenleaf. “Shall we?” He asked, looking at the city hall.

  The front doors of the building were unlocked, and a there was even an attendant sat behind a large desk that was against the right-hand wall in the reception.

  “May I help you?”

  Keegan was slightly startled to see the bespectacled old man sitting behind the small wooden desk reading what looked like an old copy of People Magazine, but he gave the man his full attention.

  “Yes, please.” Keegan looked around the lobby. A few notice boards were hanging on the walls, and a single list of city departments near a set of stairs that was the main feature of the room. “I was looking for the Tohil offices.” He said, tilting his head to the side, in a very inquisitive manner.

  The old man smiled. “Those guys.” He then shook his head. “Messy business they got involved in down there in Portugal.”

  “I think it was Paraguay.” Keegan quickly interjected with a smile.

  “Yep. South America. Nasty business. People getting shot. A real mess.” He put down the magazine he was reading. “They certainly used to be a big fish in town here.” The man leaned forward and put his elbows on the desk. “Used to be very tight with the mayor.”

  Keegan wasn’t sure how much longer this was going to go on for, so he stepped forward and put the bottle of whisky right in front of the man. “Their offices?” He asked more directly.

  “Oh,” the man picked up the bottle and examined it. “The misses loves whisky.” He put the bottle down on the ground next to him out of view. “Upstairs, end of the hall. No one’s in and the doors locked.”

  Keegan looked at Sergeant Greenleaf.
>
  “Don’t worry about the lock.” The hulking Canadian replied with a smile.

  Keegan leaned towards the old man. “Thank you.” Keegan looked towards the stairs, then locked eyes with Greenleaf. “After you.” He suggested.

  The party made their way up the stairs quickly. The building seemed deserted. It may have been January, but Keegan had expected a little more activity in the town hall than what he was seeing. When they reached the first floor and top of the building, they walked down the hallway until they reached a door at the end which had the very underplayed header ‘Transportation Manager’ on the front of the door.

  Greenleaf tried the door handle, but nothing happened.

  “Give it a kick?” Suggested Private Blair.

  Again, nothing.

  “Where is the C4?” Asked Greenleaf.

  “Da what?” Keegan asked with a confused look on his face.

  Greenleaf turned to the scientist and smiled. “Doctor.” He walked up to the wall and wrapped his fingers on the door. “This isn’t the kind of door you pick up at our local timber yard.” He leaned forward and put his ear to the door and wrapped his knuckles on the material. “No.” He stood upright and took two steps backwards, looking at the frame of the door, examining every inch of the moulding, and then finally looked at Keegan. “This door wasn’t meant to be opened if you didn’t have the key.”

  Keegan rocked his head from side to side. “Okay.”

  “Clear the hallway.”

  Keegan didn’t think twice. He quickly moved away from the door as fast as his unathletic body could take him, but before he could scurry more than ten metres when heard the notice: “fire in the hole!”

  The explosion wasn’t subtle. No. It blew the door clean off its hinges, and let a voracious roar tear down the hallway.