The Constant: Episode 1

by Booth, Trevor

  As they grew in confidence they would travel further from their home, spreading out their wings looking for different kinds of food, it was in this exploring that Nathan discovered a broken down water mill, the wood had rotted with half of it buried in the water, surrounding the river was more rock ruins, grown over with moss and weeds.

  The kids were fascinated by the water wheel, they hadn’t seen anything like it before, in fact it had been a very long time since any of them had seen other people, Nathan was nervous. This wasn’t the kind of technology he would expect to find here.

  There were large vines that surrounded the area, Nathan pushed some of the vines aside and behind them was a small area that had been cleared out, built against the hill side was a brick house, with a wooden front door, the wood looked new.

  The kids ran past him and headed straight for the house.

  “Wait” yelled Nathan, but it was too late, the kids had burst through the front door, Sandra and Nathan quickly caught up, the house seemed abandoned, there wasn’t much inside just a few hay bales and few pieces of dusty furniture lying around.

  “Come on, it’s going to get dark soon” said Nathan, his eyes darting left and right, he quickly gathered up the kids and ushered them out of the house.

  There was something strange about those ruins, something that didn’t feel quite right to Nathan, he couldn’t help himself, the next day he returned, and again the day after, each time the place looked exactly the same, but there was a feeling he just couldn’t shake.

  One afternoon, while the family was sleeping, Nathan returned, he walked through the ruins like he had before, he went to the house and opened the door, something was out of place, a stool that had once sat covered in dust in the corner was sitting alone in the middle of the room, it was wiped clean, with a single piece of paper on the middle.

  Nathan picked up the paper, it had one thing written on it, the number 43, written in large writing and underlined, Nathan’s face turned white, he quickly looked around the room, his head darting from side to side, trying to see if anyone was there, but the light had started to fade and he couldn’t see anything.

  The wind blew gently through the trees, rustling them by the window, he slowly walked towards it, the floor boards creaking ever so slightly as he did, his heart raced, he had not felt this kind of fear for a very long time, he peered out the window, the wind was cold, the hairs on his arm stood on end.

  His focus was intent on the trees when, Bang! The door slammed shut behind him, Nathan spun around, standing behind him was a man in a dark cloak, a hood was pulled over his face, Nathan gasped with fear, he leapt out of the window and ran through the trees as fast as he could, he didn’t once look back, he ran as far as he could from his home, just in case he was being followed.

  For nearly an hour he ran before running out of steam and stopping by a large group of rocks, he ducked behind them and sat down, he sat there for a long time, peering out to see if he had been followed, all he could see in his mind’s eye was the man in the hood, what did he want from him? And why did he write that number down, of all the numbers.

  The walk home was long, he looked over his shoulder the whole way, by the time he reached his house it was quite late, he opened the door and to his surprise his family was all still asleep, they had been asleep this whole time, blissfully unaware of what had happened to Nathan.

  Rather than wake them Nathan took his place by Sandra’s side, snuggled in tight and tried to force the horrible image of the hooded man from his mind.

  The next morning the sun rose through the kitchen window, Nathan opened his eyes, the butterflies still in his stomach from the previous night, Sandra and Sarah lay at his side still sleeping, he looked across at his son Michael staring out the living room window.

  “What are you looking at?” asked Nathan but Michael did not reply, Nathan carefully got to his feet, trying not to wake the girls, he walked over to the window and looked down at his son, Michael was fixated on something.

  A cold chill ran down Nathan's neck as he turned his head to face the window, standing outside were twenty men, all dressed in black from head to toe, each armed with two large swords, Nathan gasped, he picked up Michael and ran to the girls, he shook them with frantic urgency.

  “It’s time to go” said Nathan, Sandra and Sarah knew what he meant by the look on his face, this was not the first time they had seen it, there was not a thing that needed to be said, they jumped to their feet and ran for the bedroom.

  Chapter 5

  The Tidal Path

  The wind blew in sharply over the cliffs edge, the landscape that surrounded this area was baron, only shrubs and grass lived here, Nathan and Marteen peered over the edge of the cliff, the water smashed up on to the rocks below.

  Nathan pulled his scarf around his face, the wind so cold his mouth had gone numb, Marteen shivered, trying to breath warm air into his hands, Nathan handed Marteen his scarf.

  “Here, you probably need this more than I do” said Nathan,

  “Thank you, we don’t get days like this back home” Marteen replied.

  The sun had been up for nearly two hours and Nathan was starting to worry, just to the south of them was the old castle the butler was talking about, wind and rain had torn this once mighty building down to nothing but a few stone walls, the two had not gone inside yet, something was holding them back.

  Before long the rain started, it came in sideways and hard driving the pair to seek shelter inside the crumbling castle, there was no longer a roof but they could hide behind one of the walls, shielding themselves from the rain.

  As the day rolled on Nathan felt less and less confident that the butler was going to appear, maybe he had sent them here to die, maybe he thought this was a more humane death than the one that the duke was going to impart on them.

  The wind whistled through the ruins, scattering in all directions, whispers could be heard on the wind, Nathan was starting to get spooked. Marteen was huddled up, so cold that he did not notice anything around him.

  The whispers grew louder, it sounded like a young girl whispering but he couldn’t make out the words? Nathan got to his feet, he followed the sound of the whispers through the ruins, they grew louder the further he walked, he wandered through what was once a great kitchen, rusted old pots, some pieces of wood and a crumbing stone sink still lay around in the rubble.

  The closer he got to the cliffs the stronger the wind got, he reached a single wall that stood on the edge of the cliff defying the wind, there was a small metal grate on the floor, the whispers were coming from down the hole.

  He knelt down and peered into the hole, it was completely dark, he turned his ear, listening for the whispers, the wind dropped momentarily, and the voice became clear.

  “Forty Three” it said, Nathan jumped back with a fright bumping into the butler and Marteen standing behind him, Nathan spun around.

  “What is it?”, “You didn’t hear that?” asked Nathan, both Marteen and the butler shook their heads, “Come, let’s get out of this wind” the butler said.

  He pulled back the branches on a shrub that lay against some of the rubble, he moved some blocks out of the way and below as an old wooden door.

  “This castle used to have many hidden tunnels” said the butler as he pulled the door open, inside it was pitch black, he took a glass prism out of his pocket, he squeezed it hard and light suddenly burst out of the it in all directions, he held it over his head and began to descend the stairs.

  Marteen and Nathan looked on, their jaws wide open, “Come on” the butler said.

  Nathan and Marteen walked down the stairs behind him.

  Sitting on horseback only a few hundred feet away, was the duke and a dozen riders.

  ***

  Once Nathan and Marteen had cleared the doorway, it shut quietly behind them making Nathan jump.

  The butler had stopped a few feet in front of them putting the prism on the ground, Marteen leaned down and gen
tly picked up the prism, he studied it closely, it was an amazing device, it put out enough light to light up their surroundings but it wasn’t so bright that it would hurt his eyes to look at it.

  The butler quickly took the prism off Marteen, “That is not a toy” he said rather sharply, “Where did you get that from?” asked Nathan, “It has been in my family for generations”, “I’m not quite sure of its origins, all I was told was that it was only to be used in front of a member of the nine and even then only if there is no other option”.

  “I am no member of your nine” said Marteen rather abruptly, Nathan looked at him like he wanted to smack him over his head, “of that I am quite aware” said the butler, “however you travel in the service of one, there is no greater calling”.

  It was at this point Nathan became completely confused, there was something strangely familiar about the way the butler spoke but he couldn’t put his finger on it, he couldn’t bring himself to say that he wasn't a member of the nine, he had no idea how he’d react.

  They walked down the stairs for only a few meters before coming to a large dining room, a wooden table gathered dust in the middle, a candle chandelier hung above it, the chairs that had once stood next to the table were all smashed and laid in pieces across the room, immediately behind the table was a deer’s head, it’s fur still as fresh as the day it was slaughtered.

  The butler placed the prism on a small “V” shaped glass at the centre of the table, it grew brighter, lighting up the whole room, Nathan walked around the walls of the room looking at the paintings, each a portrait of different men but they all looked oddly similar, at the end there was a blank painting, in the top right hand corner was the number seven.

  “That is where I was to go” said the butler, “these are my forbearer's, the Smyth family tree, stretching back six generations”. “Did you say Smyth?” Nathan queried, “Yes, Reginald Smyth is my name, this was once our castle, we weren’t always servants, we were once a proud family” the butler said sadly.

  “What happened?” asked Marteen, “It is a long story, one for another day perhaps” replied Reginald, Nathan stared at the first painting, there was something familiar about the man staring back at him, this painting was well worn, the face had become blurred, but Nathan could not shake it.

  “Why have you brought us here?” asked Nathan, “You have never heard of the Nine have you?” he asked, Nathan did not respond, “It’s okay, I had suspected you didn’t know of us, that does not mean you are not a member” said Reginald cryptically.

  “Did you bring the device?” he said holding out his hand, “What device?” asked Nathan, “The one you took from the dukes tomb. Nathan reached in and took the small disc out of his pocket, he handed it to him, “that is how I know you are a member”

  Reginald pulled back the deer’s head from the wall revealing a large bronze door, “I have looked at this disc for many years, I knew exactly what it was for but never have I dared take it” said Reginald.

  Reginald held the device in front of Nathan, “You can have the honours” he said encouragingly, Nathan took the disc and looked up at the door, in the centre of the door was a carved out circle, exactly the same size as the disc, Nathan looked down at the disc and hesitated.

  “What are you waiting for?” asked Marteen.

  “Yes, what are you waiting for” said the duke from behind them.

  They all spun around in surprise, Reginald drew a sword from under his belt. The duke looked at him without surprise, “I thought that might be your reaction”, he stepped aside and behind him was Ingrid, her clothes were ripped, barley covering her body.

  The duke took a dagger out and held it to Ingrid’s throat, “None of us want to see harm come to such a beautiful young girl” The duke sneered, he ran his hand under her clothes, grabbing at her breast, Ingrid cringed.

  “Let her go!” said Nathan with authority, “The stranger finds his voice at last” said The duke, “I’ll tell you what, take me with you and the girl can go free”, Nathan narrowed his eyes in thought, “Fine, now let her go” he conceded , “Honestly, do you think I got where I am by being that trusting” said The duke, “The girl comes with us, if any of you think about double crossing me, I will use her and when I'm finished nobody will ever want her again”.

  “Enough of this!” said Marteen, he moved like lightning, swiftly pulling Ingrid from the dukes grasp, snatching the dagger from out of the dukes hand, pushing Ingrid aside and turning the dagger back on the duke, “And why should we take you scum?”.

  The duke recoiled, “Get on your knees” said Marteen, The duke quickly dropped down, shivering like a coward, Marteen pushed the sword into the duke’s neck, only just breaking the skin, “Before you end me, there’s something you need to know” The duke pleaded, “Off course there is” said Reginald, “this is the part where he bargains for his life, shortly before he stabs you in the back”.

  “You know me too well but this time you do have need of me, that disk is only half of the key. I keep the other half in my mind, so let me live or never open the door, there are also ten of my personal guards waiting for me upstairs so if you try to leave here without me they will kill you!” The duke sneered nastily, Reginald walked around him, clearly frustrated, “It’s a Fibonacci lock isn’t it?” he questioned. The duke smiled evilly.

  “What is that?” asked Nathan, “It’s a very sophisticated lock, like a combination, without the cipher, the key is useless” said Reginald. Marteen suddenly snapped, he spun around the duke and lifted him off the ground all the while keeping the knife against his neck, the duke dangled in the air in fear.

  “Wait, Marteen, what are you doing” Reginald said looking worried, “At the very least he is going to apologise to this young girl” said Marteen, The duke looked down at Ingrid shaking below him “apologies for scaring you, said the duke unconvincingly. Marteen shook him slightly making him squeal, “I truly am sorry my dear” the duke said more sincerely.

  Ingrid got to her feet and looked the duke in the eye, “Does that please you” asked Marteen, Ingrid’s lips curled up, almost grinning before she kicked the duke in the testicles with all the force she could muster, Marteen dropped the duke to the ground, smiling as he curled up in pain.

  “Ok you've had your fun, now can we open the door” said Nathan, The duke struggled to his feet, nervously skirting around Marteen and Ingrid. He reached his hand out to Nathan who reluctantly handed over the disc.

  The duke walked over to the wall and held the disc near it, “Do you know how many years I have studied this disc, so many hours poring over it, trying to unlock its secrets, “Find the door and you will have your answer” my father would always say, he always was a cryptic old bastard”.

  “Stop wasting time” said Nathan, the duke gently placed the disc in the hole, the door grabbed it tight and spun the disc, two panels opened on the door revealing six cogs, three on the left and three on the right, the smallest at the front and the larger behind.

  “Now enter the code” said Reginald, “Here’s the funny part, I never was much good at problem solving, that was my brothers strong suit” said the duke, “So let’s get him down here” said Nathan, “Impossible” said the duke, “Why?” asked Nathan impatiently, “Because the duke here, in his infinite wisdom had his brothers head removed from its body” said Reginald, Nathan sat down on the floor staring at the cogs, “If only my daughter were here, she loved this sort of puzzle”.

  Chapter 6

  The End of Us

  Nathan stood in the doorway of his home peering outside, he and his family had prepared for this day over and over but he still couldn’t stop his heart from racing, he knew the people that were outside, he knew what they were capable of.

  Sandra and the children moved with precision, Nathan had drilled the importance of this into them, they were good kids and they would do anything to help their father.

  The men stood outside the house, for the life of him Nathan could
n’t work out why they were just standing there, why they hadn’t already attacked, but he wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth, the extra time was a god send.

  For five minutes they stood and watched outside, waiting, Nathan and his family were very clever and this house was well protected, he turned around, Sandra, Sarah and Michael were standing in the doorway to the bedroom, the kids were huddled up close to their mum, she had her hands on their shoulders calming their nerves.

  “It’s ready” said Sandra,

  “What did we get?” asked Nathan, not that it mattered he thought to himself, “It’s not stable, it’s shifting between twelve thousand and fifteen thousand” she said, “that’s a big gap, but I guess it will have to do”.

  Nathan walked towards his family, it was a moment that he was never going to be able to forget, at first it felt like time was slowing down, everything went very quiet, he could distinctly remember the looks on his families’ faces, the look of disbelief.

  Then came the cold. Icy cold, Sandra and the kids were staring at Nathan’s stomach, he looked down to see blood pouring through a hole in his clothes, an arrow was sticking out of him, he dropped to his knees, the sound of screams broke the silence, he turned to look through the window, the men had made their way towards the house, Nathan tried but was unable to get to his feet.

  “Go” he shouted, but Sandra and the children just stood like stone, “GO!” he screamed, “I’ll hold them off, please” he said desperately, Sandra suddenly came to life and forced the children into the bedroom, she turned back to Nathan with fear in her eyes, “I will find you, I promise” said Nathan, Sandra smiled at Nathan, a smile he’d seen a thousand times before, only her eyes told the truth, the water welling up in them told him more than any words, he knew this was goodbye but he smiled back at her, the two trying to convince each other that it was all going to be okay.