by Gary Russell
She raced after him, knowing she couldn’t stop him, but whatever had got him going, Lucy wanted in on it, too. Yeah, chemists never had this much fun.
The cold air hit her as she reached the outside; she only had a T-shirt on and a short skirt and leggings. She shivered as she saw her father looking up into the sky, hand shielding his eyes against… what? It was pitch black, and only the stars that managed to poke through the treetops gave any light.
And then something green flashed. Then red. Then yellow.
And she saw what her father had seen. Three spheres of light, about the size of footballs, but translucent, see-through. Like chunky bubbles, zipping around a great speed, making noises like radio-controlled aircraft.
Professor Skinner ducked slightly as the red one buzzed him, and then it shot off into the woods. A second later both green and yellow followed suit.
‘Lucy, go back inside,’ he commanded, and then turned and ran after the lights.
But Lucy wasn’t going anywhere other than after her beloved dad, so she pelted through the long grass until she was at the edge of the wood, the tall thick beech trees obscuring the view. She was about to call out for her father when she heard that buzzing sound again.
Then it stopped.
Silence.
Nothing. No buzzing, no wind, not even an owl.
And no dad.
‘Dad?’ she whispered. Then louder, braver. ‘Dad? Where are you?’
And then someone touched her shoulder, and she jumped but then relaxed, expecting to see her dad behind her.
Instead, what stood there made her scream with fear…
Chapter Three
Games
It was the morning after the party and Alan was sitting in his pyjamas staring at a cup of tea in front of him on the kitchen table. Maria, dressed already, was waiting for some toast to pop up out of the toaster. Neither of them said anything. It had been like this for the last few days, silence. Maria doing breakfast before school. Alan staring at tea that she made and he never drank.
This wasn’t because he was miserable or sad, but because he was anticipating something. The arrival of a letter. Since moving to Bannerman Road, Alan had been trying to shop himself around job-wise. He was working at a local computer firm but it wasn’t taxing him, and since getting caught up in Sarah Jane’s world he felt, just as Maria did, that the daily mundanity of life, held no excitement anymore. Alan Jackson had started applying for jobs in central London with big companies, such as CapitolSys Technologies. Now, after a particularly gruelling interview, he was waiting everyday for a letter from them to come through the letter box.
As the toast leapt out and was expertly caught by his daughter, Alan heard the letter box go on the front door. ‘I’ll go,’ Maria said, dropping the toast onto a plate in front of her dad.
He looked up as she came back in, a couple of things in her hand. She passed him a thin white envelope. ‘I think it’s come,’ she said. This was not a great leap of deduction, because the envelope had the CapitolSys Technologies logo in one corner. ‘What if it’s “no”?’ he said.
‘Then it’s “no” and nothing’s changed, has it?’ Good old Maria, practical as ever. When did she get such a grown-up head on such a young body? Since meeting Sarah Jane, he guessed.
He started to open the letter, then stopped. ‘This is one of the biggest computer systems corporations on the planet. This new London office — a job like that could change our lives.’
Maria shrugged. ‘More than they have already? I mean Xyloks, being turned to stone, alternate realities? Anything else is just money.’
Alan laughed. ‘You know, you’re right.’ Of course she was right. She was Maria. His marvellous, clever and sophisticated daughter. ‘How much of a shocker can this be?’
And he tore the letter open and read it.
And read it again.
And once more for luck.
Then he passed it wordlessly to Maria.
Who read it.
And read it again.
And once more for luck.
‘This is amazing,’ she said finally.
Alan nodded. ‘I said it would change our lives. But this would be so much more.’
And Maria hugged him. ‘Dad, it’s fantastic.’
‘Are you sure?’
She laughed. ‘What are you asking me for?’
‘Because this isn’t just a job offer, Maria. It can’t just be up to me. This decision involves you. Even your mum.’ He took her hand. ‘And Sarah Jane, Luke, Clyde… all of that will be over.’
And Maria turned away and looked out of the living room window. Across at Sarah Jane’s house. And up at the attic window.
Over?
In that attic, Clyde and Luke were spending their Saturday morning in front of Mr Smith’s screen. On it, tiny red and green dots ran back and forth from one another. In each of the boys’ hands, they held cordless futuristic controllers, like on a video game. As Clyde twisted his controllers, the red army moved. As Luke moved, the green ones responded.
‘You are so done for,’ Clyde hissed.
‘Non, Monsieur le Due,’ Luke replied in perfect French. J’ai diverse vos armees. Vous etes surpasses en nombre compl'etement. Je vais vous exterminer’
Clyde stopped his armies doing anything. ‘You what?’
‘I’ve divided your forces,’ Luke translated. ‘You’re outnumbered and don’t stand a chance, Wellington.’
‘See, that’s your problem, Boneparte,’ Clyde retorted. ‘All mouth and no trousers.’ And Clyde made a clever manoeuvre and half of Luke’s green forces vanished.
‘Good move, Clyde,’ said Mr Smith.
‘Cheers,’ he said but stopped because a voice behind them said, ‘What is going on?’
Sarah Jane stood there, having just come back from the shops. ‘Is this a good use of Mr Smith’s time?’
‘It’s our history project for the weekend,’ explained Luke. ‘On Monday, Clyde and I have to demonstrate the different battle strategies used at the battle of Waterloo.’
‘I wanted to do the Battle of Hoth,’ Clyde grinned. ‘But for some reason Mrs Pittman reckons that Star Wars isn’t “historically accurate” or something like that.’
‘I see.’ Sarah Jane stepped towards them and removed the controllers from their hands. ‘I’m not sure this was quite the use the Wallarian Trader had in mind for these. Besides, I need to speak to Mr Smith.’
‘Of course, Sarah Jane,’ the smooth computer said, as his screen adopted its usual geometric imagery ‘I have saved the boys’ schoolwork for later.’
Sarah Jane nodded. ‘Good. Now, there’s a report on the news about a village called Goblin’s Copse. Apparently it was buzzed last night — by strange lights in the sky. Did you detect any spacecraft activity?’
‘No,’ Mr Smith said after a beat. ‘But lights in the sky can of course have many explanations other than those of terrestrial nature.’
Clyde laughed. ‘The alien computer that debunks flying saucers? Now I’ve heard everything.’
‘If every aerial phenomenon reported as a UFO was in fact alien craft, Clyde,’ Mr Smith said, ‘I assure you Earth would be at the centre of a solar gridlock backing up to the outer rings of Saturn.’
‘All the same,’ Sarah Jane decided, ‘I’m off to check up on it. Coming boys?’
They were out of the attic and halfway down the stairs before Sarah Jane reminded them that they couldn’t stay long. ‘You still have homework to do,’ she said, grabbing her car keys and a coat as they went out of the front door. She smiled, following after them.
Who would’ve thought you’d have a family of teenagers running around your feet, Sarah Jane Smith? And enjoy it!
‘Goblin’s Copse,’ Clyde was saying as he clambered into the back seat of the little green convertible Sarah Jane drove. ‘Great name.’
Luke nodded. ‘Place names are often based on local legend and superstitions that go back hundreds of years. It
doesn’t mean we’re going to find a character from European folklore sitting on a mushroom.’
Clyde sighed. ‘Sometimes, Lukey-Boy, you suck the fun out of everything.’
‘Only sometimes?’ Luke grinned back, and Clyde smiled at his best mate. He could never tell when Luke was serious or teasing him. Luke had won that round.
‘Going somewhere exciting?’
Maria was standing by the driveway.
‘Hello,’ said Sarah Jane. ‘Off to the Tycho Project. A radio telescope.’
‘Fancy a drive to the countryside? Strange lights in the sky, a creepy sounding village and a radio telescope. What’s not to enjoy?’ Clyde called from inside the car.
Luke got in beside him and Maria sat in the front passenger seat.
Sarah Jane noticed Maria took a deep breath as she did so.
‘Better catch it while I can,’ Maria said quietly. Sarah Jane gave her a puzzled look, then reversed the car into Old Forest Road and drove away.
On the corner of Bannerman Road, as he put stuff into his dustbin, Alan Jackson watched the car head off with his daughter aboard. And frowned.
Then he got his mobile out and dialled. ‘Chrissie? We need to talk. You free this morning?’
Goblins Copse was a small village on the Buckinghamshire/Berkshire border, quiet, charming and, as far as Clyde was concerned, dull as ditchwater. A few houses, a small shop and a pub. As they drove through the main street, a couple of locals stared at them as if they’d arrived from outer space. ‘We don’t want none of your kind ’ere,’ he said in a mock country accent.
Maria smiled, but Sarah Jane threw him a look in the rear-view mirror as she drove. ‘Be nice,’ she said.
‘This way,’ Luke said as they passed a sign with the Tycho Project logo on it, which said 1 1/2 miles.
After a while they reached a private driveway, with a cattle grid embedded in the ground. Sarah Jane slowly drove across it and down a windy lane, through the trees until they came out into a small clearing.
In front of them was a small and run-down looking square white building, with a couple of small outbuildings, equally shabby.
On top of the main building was an admittedly impressive rotating radio telescope.
‘That’s it?’ Clyde shrugged. ‘I was expecting something a bit more modern and hi-tech.’
‘It’s a privately funded telescope,’ Sarah Jane explained. She pulled up and the kids followed her out. ‘The Project is a network of telescopes around Europe searching for friendly life from outer space. This one was converted from an old Cold War listening station.’
‘So instead of listening to the Russians, it’s listening out for aliens,’ Luke added.
‘So how come they never spotted any? I mean, it’s not like they’re rare these days.’
‘Space is a big place,’ Sarah Jane said. ‘All the radio telescopes in the world can’t monitor it all.’
Clyde nodded. ‘So what you’re saying is they’re always looking the wrong way.’
‘And let’s face it, most aliens don’t want to be seen,’ Maria added.
‘Until they’re ready to jump us,’ Clyde said, grabbing Maria’s shoulders like he was a monster. ‘Grrraaaghhhh!’
But Sarah Jane wasn’t joining in the banter. She was looking out into the woods. ‘Let’s hope they’re not going to do it again,’ she said. Then smiled tightly at the kids. ‘Come on.’ And she led them into the main building.
And as they went in, she gave a final look around, hoping she was wrong and that nothing was watching her.
Unfortunately, Sarah Jane’s instincts were on the nose and as she and the kids disappeared into the building, the creature watching from the edge of the woods, invisible to the naked eye, lowered the binoculars he was using and smiled.
If he had been visible, Sarah Jane might have seen a thick black tongue protrude from his mouth and lick his lips. ‘Intruders,’ he rasped. To be dealt with.’
And silently he wandered back into the trees, expertly not moving a branch or disturbing a bird or anything.
Because Commander Kaagh, last survivor of the Tenth Sontaran Battle Fleet, was still a member of the Special Assault Squad and not being discovered was what he excelled in.
Chapter Four
Breakdown
The radio telescope’s control room was deserted. Clyde was holding up a mug of tea. ‘Stone cold,’ he reported.
Luke was staring at the screen. ‘According to these records, the antenna was in place to observe Rigel Beta Five last night at 22.08. But there seems to have been a burst of interference.’
‘Around ten o’clock. That’s when the villagers reported seeing the lights.’
Maria was looking at a discarded MP3 player. ‘Everything is operating, though. It’s as if something happened out of the blue. As if they just left, suddenly, dropped everything and went.’
‘Lottery win?’ suggested Clyde.
Sarah Jane threw him a look.
‘I’m just trying to remain positive. It’s either that or we assume the people of Rigel Wotsit don’t like telescopes being pointed at them and came down to sort it out. But I prefer my lottery theory.’
Maria smiled at him. ‘What would we do without you,’ she said quietly.
‘Good thing for you I’m not going anywhere then, isn’t it?’ He winked at her.
Maria realised Sarah Jane was staring at her, an expression on her face Maria couldn’t read. Had she guessed? Was she angry? Confused?
Maria opened her mouth as if to speak, as if to tell them all what was going on, when the door to the outside slammed open with a crash that reverberated throughout the building.
They looked round to see a teenage girl in a T-shirt, short skirt and stockings stumble in. ‘Something in the woods,’ she stammered. ‘There’s something in the woods.
And she was unconscious on the floor before anyone could get to her.
But Clyde was there first. ‘Water? She needs water.’
‘Down there.’ Luke was pointing into the corridor to a door saying “Rec Room”.
‘Good boys,’ Sarah Jane said and helped Clyde carry the poor girl towards the recreation room.
Luke eased the door open.
There was a couch, a coke machine (with an ‘Out of Order — Again’ sign stuck to it), a pool table and a water cooler. Bits of electronic spares were dotted around in various doorless cupboards, handy if anything went wrong in the control room, Maria supposed.
Amongst the bric-a-brac, she found some mugs and got cold water from the cooler and passed it to Sarah Jane, who tipped a bit onto the unconscious girl’s lips.
With a cough, she came round. ‘Thank you,’ she managed and took the mug from Sarah Jane.
‘You’re welcome,’ said Clyde, moving directly into her line of vision.
Maria sighed to herself, and smiled as well. Pretty girl + Clyde Langer = flirtation. Bless him.
‘Have you seen my dad?’ the girl asked.
Sarah Jane was immediately reassuring. ‘He’ll be around. The place was empty when we got here but he won’t be far away. My name is Sarah Jane Smith, I’m a journalist. Who are you?’
‘Lucy Skinner. My dad is Professor Nicholas Skinner.’
If Lucy was hoping Sarah Jane would recognise his name, she was disappointed.
‘He runs the radio telescope, let’s me come here for long weekends when no one else is around. Last night, there were lights. In the sky.’ Lucy closed her eyes as she remembered something terrible, guessed Maria. They circled the whole place and we ran after them. Into the woods. But I lost him… I lost my dad and —’
Lucy gasped as more memories flooded back. ‘Something in the woods. It chased me. I fell, hit my head. Dad! Maybe it got him.
Sarah Jane reached out and took Lucy’s hand, to calm her. ‘It’s all right, Lucy. Tell me what you saw in the woods.’
But Lucy looked up, bewildered. ‘I couldn’t see it. But I knew it was there. I could sense it, mov
ing around me.’
‘What, like the Invisible Man?’ Clyde said.
Lucy nodded. ‘And it took my dad. It must have.’
‘Don’t worry,’ Clyde said suddenly. ‘Me and Lukey-Boy, we’ll go look for him. He’ll be okay.’ And as he and Luke turned to go, Sarah Jane was up in an instant, easing them out of the Rec Room. Maria smiled at Lucy. ‘Can I get you anything?’ Lucy shook her head. ‘I’m fine, I just need to close my eyes for a second, get my bearings.’
She lay back on the couch and Maria went to get her more water but when she came back, Lucy was fast asleep, so Maria left her there and went after Sarah Jane and the boys.
Clyde was indignant, because Sarah Jane was trying to stop him heading out of the Tycho Control Room. ‘It might not be safe,’ she was saying.
‘Oh come on, it’s just an old building, what can go wrong? We’re only going to look for Lucy’s dad.’ But Sarah Jane wasn’t convinced.
Luke laughed. ‘I think Clyde wants to impress Lucy.’ He leaned closer to Sarah Jane. ‘I think he fancies her.’
Clyde could cheerfully have throttled Luke for that. ‘Actually,’ he said firmly, ‘I just want to check he’s not out there, hurt. We could just look around the complex.’
Sarah Jane nodded. ‘All right. Have a look around the Tycho buildings. But don’t go into the woods.’ Clyde gave a mock salute. ‘Received and understood, boss.’
And giving Luke a murderous look, he wandered off into the daylight, Luke at his heels.
As they entered the sunlight, Clyde went left, pointing for Luke to go right. Luke frowned. ‘Have I annoyed you?’ he asked.
‘No,’ Clyde lied.
‘I have. I’m sorry. I was only joking about you fancying Lucy.’
Clyde sighed. Course he was. Trouble with Luke was that sometimes he didn’t know when to make a joke and when his timing was well off.
‘I’m fine,’ he said. ‘Ten minutes, then back here.’
Ten minutes later they were indeed back at the entrance, having discovered absolutely nothing. No sign of Professor Skinner, lights or aliens.
