Arboles Borealis (Trees From Space)
Transcript of Arboles Borealis (Trees From Space)
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Prologue
I think it is difficult to explain how a world ends. Or, for that
matter, how a new one begins.
All I can promise is to do my best.
In our particular case, history will prove that selfish people and
limited resources do not sit well together.
Too much pollution and the crazy exploitation of our planet led
to lots of angry weather; hurricanes, earthquakes, floods and wild
fires amongst many other things. The droughts, famines and social
unrest that came next seemed destined to lead to one terrifying
conclusion: total war.
And so with the arrival of a new global war the world we know
reluctantly disappeared.
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Chapter One
Our story begins in a future not very, very far away in anotherpoint and curve of the universe where a solar system spins formed
not unlike our own. There in that solar system on a blue and red
planet an alien spaceship readies its engines for take-off. The four
extra-terrestrials on board push buttons and pull levers with their
long, thin purple-veined tendrils. They root their eight legs to the
floor as the spacecraft begins to shake and lift itself off the ground.
Like a shooting star in reverse, the scout ship breaks through its
planets outer atmosphere and up into the vacuum of space. With a
small correction to its course the ship fires its main boosters and
surges forward on a heading towards a little blue planet that we
know as Earth.
Half a minute later a million other spaceships blast off following
very closely on the trail of that first ship.
* * * * *
As the alien craft launched itself into space, two children left
their temporary refugee tent on planet Earth to take the ten minute
walk to their much larger school tent. The boy held the smaller girls
hand and they both wore little home-made rucksacks on their backs.
The mousey-blonde hair of the boy scruffily stuck up at different
angles whilst the long white-blonde hair of the girl moved lightly in
the wind. Ben, for that was the boys name, was focused on the
creature in his green shirt pocket when his sister, Samantha, tugged
on his arm angrily. She asked her question again for the umpteenth
time. The same question Ben had been ignoring since breakfast.
Why do you have to take him to school?
Ben thought about answering, because he knew who his sister
was talking about, but decided to be obtuse instead.
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Whos Him? The cats father? he asked irritably. Ben did not
really understand what the phrase meant, it was only that he had
heard his Mum say it to his stepfather once when they were talking
about his real Dad.
Elmo of course, Samantha replied, and then for good measure,
Who dya think, you dimwit!
Ben tutted, frowned and shook his head, What do YOU reckon,
Samantha?
Ben only called his sister by her full name when he was angry
with her. He knew it made her angry too and he smiled inwardly asthat was what he secretly wanted to do. Another bit of him also knew
it was wrong, but for some reason he could not stop himself.
Dont call me that! Sam cried, You know I dont like it. The
little girl fought back her tears as she spoke. Only Daddy ever called
me that! She turned away as they walked, attempting to hide her
crying face.
Suddenly feeling very guilty, Ben stopped his sister and lookedinto her watery olive shaped eyes, Im sorry Sam. I know. I dont
mean to be mean. Please, forgive me?
He offered his little finger. Sam looked at her older brother for
a moment and then slowly hooked her dainty finger into his. Suitably
joined, they sang; Wake up fake up! Dont want to be so vain. Make
up, make up! Never do it again. Whilst they shook their linked hands
vigorously up and down.
Sam smiled but then turning serious she said, You know, I
wont forgive you properly until you answer my question. She stared
at her walking feet as she added, Its just that Petr and Pavel make
fun of me because of your ratand if you just left Elmo at home
then maybe theyd stop picking on me.
Ben was silent for a moment. He knew his little sister was right.
There were two other boys in the camp who were as old as Ben and
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they spent a great deal of their time teasing the younger children.
They were brothers. And they were bullies. Ben did not like them at
all, but they left him alone in the main, reserving their taunts for those
far smaller and weaker than themselves.
Listen Sam, you know how Elmo gets if I leave him behind and
you know how he is too. Its true that Petr and Pavel pick on you little
kids, but if they do anything to you, all you got to do is call me and Ill
come and help, Ben said earnestly. You know I will too. Like when I
rescued Elmo. They dont scare me.
This was not really true because the two bullies did scare Ben.
He was being brave for the sake of his sister, like that time he took the
brothers on. Ben hated fighting but it had seemed like his only choice
after he found the bullies torturing a little rat one day during school.
The young louts had caught it in a trap and had tied a piece of thread
to its tail. They were letting it run away a short distance and then
violently pulling the animal back with the cord. Ben had heard the
pitiful screams of the rat from around the corner and then when he
saw what the bullies were doing he had flown into a blind rage.
It had been an unusually bright sunny day but the rats
tormentors had not seen Ben until the very last second as they were
concentrating on the animal so much. As he flew at them, all red
faced fury, Petr was busy kneeling and tugging the rat from side to
side with Pavel grinning at his shoulder. Ben had crashed into Pavels
lower back at full speed, leaving the boy in a crumpled breathless
heap. Petr, meanwhile, remained rooted to the spot gawping in shock
with his mouth and eyes wide open. Ben lifted himself off Pavel and
panting angrily took the string from Petrs trembling fingers. He
punched him in the stomach, once but really hard, and picking up the
rat he caringly placed him in his shirt pocket. Leaving the bullies
sprawling in pain on the ground he took the terrified rodent home to
safety.
That had happened over a year ago and, against his stepfathers
wishes Ben had nursed the rat back to health. He named him Elmo,
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which was the name of his old dog, and he had made a little collar
with the rats name on. He fastened it round the brown, furry neck of
his new pet friend. Elmo was very grateful to Ben and loved to sit in
his shirt pocket. In fact the rat hated to be away from Ben for even asecond. He would shriek and run round in circles until his beloved
owner appeared again.
Since then there had remained an uneasy truce between Ben
and the brothers. Ben knew they bullied a lot of the other kids, even
his sister sometimes, but he basically kept out of their way as it
seemed the safest option. Now that had all changed. His sister had
mentioned them to him and being her older brother, Ben felt he hadto do something; but what that thing was he did not really know.
As it happened Ben did not need to worry much about planning
what to do. That day the teacher asked for volunteers to stay behind
after class to help organise the schools sports day and Ben wanted to
help so he told Sam to wait for him outside as the teacher had said it
would only take a few minutes. However, when Ben left the school
tent later with the other children Sam was nowhere to be seen.
Scratching his head he imagined that she was still angry with him for
earlier and had decided to just go home.
Ben wondered, as he walked, whether he was going to tell his
Mum about Sams disobedience, when he suddenly heard a muffled
shout coming from his left. He stopped and centred his hearing
towards the spot where he thought the noise had come from.
Listening intently it came to Ben again, a hand covered scream, which
was followed this time by hushed voices. The sounds were fairly
close it seemed, about four tents away, and as Ben advanced towards
them he was full of both curiosity and trepidation.
Holding Elmo, Ben was on his tip-toes as he crept up to the
corner of the tent. Carefully peeking around the edge of the canvas
and looking through the cords he saw Petr with his hand clamped
over his sisters mouth, which was crammed full of what looked like
cheese. Her arms were trapped at her sides by Petrs other arm and
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Pavel had her legs held at her ankles. Another younger boy, Jaroslav,
was clutching Sams knapsack close by. With a frightened squeak, and
before a startled Ben could stop him, Elmo was out of his hands
scampering away between the tents. Ignoring his pet, Bens gaze wasquickly drawn back to his sisters plight.
Breathless and still the three boys shared looks that were all
nervously flicking back and forth. Briefly Ben wondered why they all
seemed so anxious; it could not have been for him surely. Then he felt
the red cloud fogging his thoughts and heating his body with anger.
Explosively he sprang like a cat from his crouch towards them, his
face a snarling beast as he kicked Pavel in the small of his back. Therewas a loud crack as shoe connected with bone. Pavel screamed in
agony and lay rolling on the ground clutching at his spine. Instantly
Ben was on Petr before the bully had a chance to react. As Bens fist
connected with the other boys face Sam was finally freed from his
sweaty hands. Spitting cheese she half choked the word, Ben. And
then with a quick, deep breath the girl shouted, No, its a trap!
The warning came too late. Suddenly there were small
starbursts of pain detonating all over Bens body. He found out later
from Sam that there were three other boys there, but to him it felt like
a small army was kicking him to death. The air left his lungs with a
whoosh after a foot caught him just under the ribs and he lay
defenceless and gasping for breath. Feebly trying to cover himself
with his weakened arms the kicks rained on until Ben was close to
passing out. The last thing he heard was Petr saying something about
Pavels back and how he was going to have to pay big style. ThenPetrs foot smacked into his jaw wickedly and Ben slipped gratefully
into unconsciousness.
* * * * *
At the same time as our heroes particular ambush was taking
place on Earth a similar drama was being played out many light-years
away. The alien spacecraft was now traversing another nameless
nebula on its unbending course towards our planet. Their journey
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had so far been an extremely quiet and very uneventful affair which
was just about to change; for lying in wait, and eager to pounce, was a
small gang of space pirates. They were hiding their vessels behind
five large asteroids in the rocky ring of the closest planet as theymonitored the spaceship with greedy anticipation. The pirates could
not believe their luck, out here in the middle of nowhere a lone
spacecraft ready to be attacked and looted. Silently they watched as
the ship cleared their positions. Then as soon as the alien craft was
past the attack order came and initiating their engines they began
speeding after them.
Without any panic or histrionics the aliens immediately went tobattle stations and began evasive manoeuvres. The Weapons officer
on board rapidly pushed some buttons and brought the weapons
systems online as the Pilot twisted the ship one way and then the
other. By now the five pirate ships were attempting to direct their
fire onto the crafts main thrusters. The Pilot was finding it difficult to
avoid the pirates plasma cannons as the occasional deep red flash
would light the view on his screen. So far the spaceships defensive
shields were holding but it was only a matter of time before theyfailed. The Pilot communicated its concerns to the Captain who
relayed the thoughts to the Weapons Officer, who in turn blinked its
eight eyes in affirmation.
The pirates were now sending repeated radio transmissions
calling for the aliens to desist or die. At the same time, and like a pack
of hyenas hunting their prey, they were also attempting to encircle
the ship. Concentrating on its computer display the Weapons Officerconfigured and got sequential target locks on all of the pirates space
crafts. Without waiting the alien fired. A huge blinding flash filled the
pirates vision as the alien weapon hummed and powered up.
Blinking as they recovered their sight the pirates watched as a
multi-coloured column of rainbow light shrank down to a singular
pinpoint of brightness which shone beautifully in its formation. This,
fortunate in a way, was actually the last thing the space pirates ever
saw. Within the space of a millisecond the beam had leapt like a
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lightning bolt between the five chasing ships. At its touch and in
quick succession they instantly froze and began to shimmer. Then
with a slightly different but small and insignificant slurping pop, each
and every one of them imploded into dark matter.
Without pausing to survey the mini-black holes they had just
created the alien ship continued on towards its Earth-bound
destination. The fleet followed.
Chapter Two
Sam was helping her brother as they entered their familys tent.
The other boys had run off pretty quickly after they had seen
that Ben had lost consciousness, and Sam had sat waiting at his side
until he slowly opened his bloodied eyes.
Oh Ben, Sam cried in delight when he had blinked awake, I
thought you might be dying!
Uhhh, my head, Ben returned, feeling his bruised and swollen
face gingerly with his fingers.
Ben, are you ok? Sam asked looking with concern at her
brother. You look terrible, and your foots really bad.
Saying nothing and trying to get up Ben had seen that his left
foot was unshod and bleeding from a cut. He pushed Sams proffered
hand away and took a deep breath before standing. After pausing to
get his balance back he tried to walk but this only opened the wound
more and he immediately collapsed to the ground gritting his teeth
against the tremendous stinging pain. And so, after a moment, Ben
grudgingly accepted the offer of help from Sam and with him leaning
on his Sister like a crutch, they had wordlessly struggled back.
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Their mother was at the low table in the corner of the tent that
they called the kitchen. She had been chopping vegetables and now
she put the knife down and flicked a loose strand of blonde hair
delicately behind her ear. Ben watched his mother and marvelled athow she managed to do everything just as good now as any time
before the accident.
The accident. It had happened a little over five years ago, Ben
was just eight and the war was still raging. Their father was away
fighting whilst they remained back in the relative safety of their
mountain valley home.
It was a very small but normal village in the Czech Republic;
stone built buildings with grey tiled roofs lining several winding
streets. Ben and Sam had been born in the country as their parents
had emigrated there just before all the troubles. Ben remembered
playing in the village fountain when the sun had been really hot,
which was most of the time. Then one day his mother had told him
not to go outside anymore because the Leaders had, for once, actually
agreed that the solar radiation had reached very dangerous levels.
After that Ben had to stay inside most of the time. The only exception
was the three half days of Special school, which soon became two,
then one and finally none at all. The sun had got too hot and you
could only go outside if you were totally covered, which for their
mother, had made every shopping trip a hot, sweaty and difficult task.
There was no television, neither digital nor satellite and the radio
only broadcast war news. So Ben was stuck inside a dark house with
nothing to do but play and look after his little sister.
Samantha idolised Ben. Her first actual word had been his
name and she followed him everywhere in the house. Sam loved him
so much that she would copy him a lot of the time, even imitating her
older brother when he threw his temper tantrums. She would cross
her arms and screw her face up just like he was doing, then uncannily
she would stamp her foot down at exactly the same moment as Bens.
On the first occasion this had happened, Ben had been immediatelysurprised out of his anger. He had passed a puzzled expression from
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his sister to his mother and then back again before all three had burst
out laughing. Their mother had then scooped both of them up tightly
in her arms and exclaimed, I love you two so much, and with tearful
but smiling eyes added, When Daddy gets back well be the happiestfamily in the whole world.
Sam continued to do this mirroring trick for the following two
years and at times they would all finish like that first time; laughing
together happily. On other occasions however, Ben would find
himself getting angrier and even though he knew he would feel better
if only he could laugh, he was not be able to stop the rage rising and
filling his body. When this happened Ben would go bright red andrun out of the room usually shouting something like Its not fair or
Everybody hates me.
On the day of the accident the tantrum followed pretty much
the same routine as before; his mother had told him off for eating
some snacks without asking and Ben could only see contradictions in
her argument. She was always saying the number one priority in life
was good health. Ben thought eating well was part of this and had
decided that it meant he could help himself because he was hungry.
He had been trying to explain this logic to his mum but had found that
it was making less sense now, and his frustration was boiling towards
anger. His face began turning beetroot and as his foot followed its
usual course he sensed his sister behind him. He spun round as soon
as they had stamped their feet and, looking at Sam, had screamed I
hate you.
Sam stared at her brother for a second and was frightened. She
had never seen him quite so angry, and when he began charging
towards her she turned to flee as quickly as she could, which at three
years old was not very fast. Ben saw his sister attempting to escape
and this only made him more determined to get her. He accelerated
to within a grabbing distance as they both emerged from the house,
and that was when it happened. There were three loud crackling
bangs above their heads and just before the first bomb hit Ben saw
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three little dots high in the sky speeding away into the yellow grey
clouds.
The force from the explosion hit Ben and Sam from behind like
a giant fist of hot air and debris. They were thrown off their feet and
landed in the garden about five metres away from the house. The
noise and smell that hit them a split second after the blast left their
ears ringing and noses running. The huge shock of the event meant
the two siblings found themselves sitting statue still on the ground
with their mouths hanging open in fearful wonder.
Deafened, coughing and blinking red eyed through the dust the
two children looked around at the village they had known all their
lives. Now it was unrecognisable. Everywhere their gaze turned they
saw collapsed buildings, mangled cars and trees splintered and
broken or completely uprooted. It was when Ben saw the village
fountain, half missing and spraying water sideways that his thoughts
worriedly sprang to his mum.
It seemed as if Sam had read his mind because they both rose at
the same time and looked towards their ruined house. Staringthrough the thinning cloud of pulverised brick and mortar they saw a
small mountain of rubble in the place where their home used to be.
The bomb had not hit the house directly and as such a few of the walls
were still standing. Surprisingly the kitchen wall remained fairly
intact and still boasted a window frame which the two children ran to
look through.
The view that greeted them did not leave much room of hopefor their mother. The only familiar item that could be seen was the
misshapen kitchen sink which sat half buried and upside down with a
wood beam resting on top. Broken tiles and shards of glass lay
amongst smashed plates and twisted cutlery. There were thin jets of
water arcing from punctured copper pipes and sparks firing from
loose electrical cables, but apart from that there were no other signs
of movement.
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Time stood still for Ben and Sam as they wrestled with hitherto
unknown fears and emotions. Their thoughts flew in the face of
reason as they both refused to believe the worst.
She just cant be dead. Ben sobbed.
Sam remained frozen by his side and felt a solitary tear roll
down her dust covered cheek and drop to the floor. Maybe this was
some kind of magic catalyst because suddenly it appeared as if a tiny,
miniature dragon had exhaled a short puff of smoke heavenwards
from the middle of the pile.
Holding their breath the two children stared at the spot forwhat seemed to be an age until eventually another small cloud
appeared. Ben began to jump up and down excitedly.
Sam, dya see that too? he asked impatiently.
With a lost light returned to her eyes his sister nodded rapidly
in answer and then followed on her brothers heels as he immediately
sprinted into the house.
Ben was frantically pulling at the debris with his bare hands as
Sam put her palm forcefully on his shoulder. She stood there, eyes
bright, with her finger in front of her lips. Ben stopped digging and
recognising the sign for be quiet bent his head to listen. As if on cue
there was a much muffled, almost inaudible cough from beneath their
knees. Nervously they both shuffled slowly backwards and, as one,
lent in closer to where the sound had come from.
Mum? Ben called. Is that you? His voice was shaking with
adrenaline fuelled worry; scared that his mind might be playing tricks
on him. The eerie reply that greeted them was a profound and silent
stillness. They sat, feeling alone and cheated, waiting for anything
like an echo of that ultimate sound. Seconds passed into minutes and
then, just when their hopes were beginning to fade, it came again. But
this time in place of a cough the very faint, weak but unmistakable
voice of their Mother rose to meet them.
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* * * * *
After Ben had gone for help their Mother was rescued fairly
quickly from her temporary tomb. She was very badly injured and
they took her directly to the emergency field hospital close to the
village. Her spine had been broken in two places and her left arm
crushed by the wooden beam. Even after numerous operations the
Doctors could not manage to save her legs or arm but they did
manage to save her life.
Following more surgical interventions and months of agonising
recuperative therapy she was finally released from her Doctors care.
She was given a joystick controlled wheelchair and the family were
assigned a tent in the newly set-up refugee camp where Ben and Sam
had to help their Mother with simple chores like getting dressed,
washing and going to the toilet. After a while though, she became
more confident in her own abilities and with time required the
childrens help less and less. Now she was also practically capable of
carrying out every task she and her husband deemed necessary of a
wife and mother.
Ben was staring at his Mum, the pain in his face and body
momentarily forgotten as he felt a huge surge of pride, when he saw
her turn to look at him. Her features slowly changed from that of
calm, serene beauty to one of horror and disbelief. Ben. She
blurted, then recovering her composure only slightly, added, What
on earth has happened to you!
Moving over to the two children she tenderly touched thebattered and bloodied face of her son. Wincing as her caress sent a
few painful shockwaves shooting along his nervous system Ben
unsuccessfully tried to open his mouth. Seeing that her brother was
having difficulty speaking Sam began to explain what had happened;
the boys trap, her as bait, Ben rescuing her and then the beating, how
she thought Ben dead, and finally the struggle home.
Oh my word, their mum said looking with a slightly puzzledexpression at Sam, Thats really terrible. Then after a short,
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questioning pause she said, Its also extremely hard to believe. And
you know how your father is. Hes going to get very angry if its not
the truth. Turning to Ben she asked, Are you sure you havent just
been picking fights with Petr and Pavel again?
Ben and Sam shared a quick glance of raised eyebrows until Ben
shook his head and tried to speak again before grimacing against the
pain throbbing from his swollen lips.
No Mum, its true! Sam answered for her brother.
Well I hope it is, their mother replied worriedly, Because
your father will definitely have something to say about it when hegets home, then softening her expression she added, But before all
that, lets take a proper look at my little man and see if we cant get
him cleaned up a bit.
Chapter Three
What a load of twaddle! Their stepfather shouted. What a
pile of tripe and nonsense!
But they swear its what happened, explained their mother.
Dont you think we should believe them? At least go see the otherboys mothers and ask? She reasoned.
No, I dont think we should believe them! Remember the
rubbish he spouted about that damned rat? Was all a charade, the
boy attacked those kids without any provocation; he just wanted to
steal their pet. Im telling you Irene that son of yours is a bad egg, and
now hes dragging his sister into his backward world. Their
stepfathers voice swung from anger to outrage. Youre too soft onhim Irene, He claimed. You molly-coddle him. He needs discipline;
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needs to learn how to be a man! At this he balled up his fist and
struck his chest.
Their mother looked at Ben and Sam and then turned to her
husband and said fairly forcefully, No, I dont think Im too soft on
him. Look at him; hes a mess because someone did that to him.
Someone attacked my son and if they say these six boys did it then I
believe them. She held back her tears as she pressed on, For once,
Kazimr, I think you should listen to me and go see the other boys
mothers because if you dont.... then, I will.
All right woman. Stop with your crying. Ill go and see them,
conceded their stepfather. But if I find out theyve been lying to me
then Im going to have to teach them some respect and none of your
whingeing and whining will stop me, okay? He concluded. Then he
turned to Ben and said harshly, You hear me boy, you got some hard
lessons coming if you be messing with me, understand? Now get to
your room.
Ben limped to his room which, basically just two canvas walls,
were dividing him from the rest of the family. He sat grumpily on hisground-mat bed and tried to block out the noise by stroking a
sheepish Elmo who had returned to his master after the bullies had
run off. Unfortunately this did not work and Ben listened as his
mother was treated to a barrage of shouting from his stepfather. He
was arguing about Ben, claiming that it was because he had been
without a male influence for too long, that because of his supposed
learning difficulties they had spoiled him, and all this had helped turn
him into a right little brat. Then Kazimr said something that made
Bens temper instantly rise from smoulder to boil; Maybe it was
lucky that his father got killed, gave me the opportunity to sort him
out before it got too late.
The young boy, squatting on his bed, covered his ears against
the insults and began to shake with a fury that felt unlike any he had
felt before. How could he say that about my Dad? Ben raged
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inwardly, then, How could he say all that to Mum? The idiot knows
my Dad was a hero cos it was himwho brought the medal here!
It seemed like ages now but was factually only two years since a
grey and solemn Kazimr had come to their tent and they had thought
they were in trouble. He was head of the camps Security Force and
he was always harassing people about things like wasting water,
saving rations or the after dark curfew. It was Kazimr himself who
had decided to create the Security Force because he had argued the
refugees needed some form of protection and direction. Nobody had
objected to the idea in principle and the Security Force was officially
inaugurated with Kazimr in charge. Consequently the majority ofthese new policing vigilantes were drawn from his friends and all
they did nowadays was to go round waving their guns and telling
people off. It was strange but Ben had felt that they were far better
off before these guys had actually shown up.
After a time and claiming a need to share the workload Kazimr
had decided to create a younger version of themselves; the Security
Force Cadets. A good few boys had eagerly joined up with the
prospect of handling weapons and explosives at the forefront of their
minds. Ben had decided he would rather not. He had thought that
whatever Kazimr was teaching could not have been that good
because from the start both Petr and Pavel had become his favoured
students.
Now the bullies teacher was standing there, at the opening to
their tent, with a telegram from the European Alliance Military
Command and a hand written letter for each one of them. He stood at
attention and passed the envelopes to their mother who was now
openly weeping. Mum, whats wrong? Ben asked, wondering if this
man could upset people just by being there.
Looking with an irritated expression at Ben, he began, Mrs
Simmons, his narrow lips spitting the words out underneath a
grey-white handlebar moustache, On behalf of the EAM Command I,
Kazimr A. Hubnik, Security Force Commander, am hereby authorised
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to convey the sad news that your husband has been killed in action.
Their mother sobbed loudly and she was visibly trembling as the
security chief pressed on, We inform you that he died a hero; whilst
pulling two of his injured men from an ambush he was shot by anenemy sniper. He died instantly and without suffering.
Ben and Sam began to cry too, their thoughts refusing to accept
these fateful words. It just could not be; Mum was always talking
about Dad coming home, and now here was this horrible man telling
them that they would never see him again. Ben wanted to stop him,
kick him, tell him he was wrong, anything to cease the sickening
drowning sensation he felt. Please go away. We dont need you.Ben aimed mentally at the man standing in front of them.
Agitated, Kazimr paused for a moment and then swallowed
before continuing, Posthumously your husband, Richard F. Simmons,
Sergeant First Class, has been awarded the King William Cross for
Exceptional Valour on the Battleground. He stopped and handed
their mother the medal. Then half-leering with his dark beady eyes
he took her delicate hand into his hairy grip. My sincere condolences
Irene. he said. If theres anything you need, anything at all, just send
one of your kids to get me and Ill be here quick as a flash. Youre the
priority now, you know Irene, for the family and all that. He added
with a thinly disguised sneer before releasing her from his sweaty
grasp. He left promising that they would see him very soon.
Three months later their mother and Kazimr were married. To
Ben and Sam it seemed like a cruel joke; to lose their father and to
have him replaced by this other, lesser man, but their mother seemed
sort of happy. The honeymoon period, though, was short. It only
lasted for about seven weeks and then, for some reason, it changed.
One day they were to be rudely awakened by their new step-father
screaming for his breakfast, and demanding to know why his uniform
was not cleaned. It did not seem to matter that their mother was in a
wheelchair; Kazimr wanted a normal wife who behaved as he
commanded. These demands had not changed since that day, withtheir mother following a strict routine of cooking and cleaning and
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trying to make sure the children did not upset their new father too
much.
Unfortunately, and against all of the familys best attempts,
Kazimr still got upset a lot and would usually shout for a bit and then
disappear for hours. Just like now; he was still raging at Bens mum,
repeating the same argument over again and only pausing for quick
rasping breaths. Ben could not bear to sit there any longer and hear
his stepfather shouting at his mother like that so he decided it a good
time as any to escape. Placing Elmo safely in his shirt he lifted the
exterior wall of the tent and shuffle-crawled out underneath into the
moonlit night. After his eyes adjusted to the darkness and he hadtaken a deep lungful of warm, slightly humid air he sprinted off,
keeping low and scooting from tent to tent; his intention to avoid the
curfew patrols completely.
Silently and without incident Ben reached the ruins of their old
bombed village and rested for a minute to get his nerves under
control. He had never tried to get to his secret place at night and now
he was having doubts about the need for this escapade. He could
sporadically see the beams of the torches moving in the near distance
as one Security Force team carefully searched their surroundings
whilst they patrolled. As the distant grinding noises from their
torches dynamos floated towards him on the air Ben started to
worry. His mind flicked fearfully to the future and then returned to
his familys tent and the angry voice of Kazimr and he knew if he had
stayed he might have done something he would later regret.
The problem now was the five kilometre stretch of open,
slightly hilly ground called No-Mans Land that lay between the
abandoned village limits and the black face of the mountain which
housed his goal. Ben could see the torch lights slowly fading as the
patrol group moved away from him but he had no way of knowing if
the next patrol were that close behind them. He started trembling, his
breathing rapid; a feeling of panic beginning to well up inside of him.
Before the SF Cadets were formed he had never really worried aboutavoiding the single patrol that Kazimr sent out every day. However
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the fervent desire of the younger recruits to catch and punish
someone meant Ben was now more than a little preoccupied with his
own well-being. He started to imagine the things Kazimr, Petr and
Pavel would do if they caught him in No-Mans Land and he began tosweat and go dizzy.
Weakly Ben plunged into his pocket, his hand shaking against
Elmo who squeaked in protest, and dug out a crumpled photograph of
his dad. It was the only one he had and it had become a bit scratched
over the years but his fathers image could still be made out fairly
well. Ben looked into the rugged but handsome face of his dad and
begged him for some kind of guidance or assistance. There was noanswer immediately and Ben felt himself slowly growing fainter
when unexpectedly from out of nowhere he remembered something
his father had once told him.
It was from a now solidifying memory when his dad had held
his hands firmly after one of his tantrums and looked hard into his
eyes. Ben adored looking into those blue eyes, so full of light, life and
love, even on those occasions when his father was angry with him.
This time though his Father had been extremely consternated and
very serious. Ben, you have to calm down son, he said, then
continued You know youll never be able to truly grow up until
youre able to beat those rages.
But its something I cant control Dad, Ben argued. If I cant
control it how can I beat it? He reasoned. Smiling his father had sat
him on his knee to teach him about the importance of concentrated
breathing. It was weird, Ben thought for a second, because even
though he had completely forgotten that days lesson until this
moment he now remembered those instructions perfectly to a word.
A little laboured at first, but like his father had taught him, Ben
managed finally to slow his breathing to a deep and steady rhythm.
He clasped his hands over his belly to feel the air moving in and out of
him, inhaling through the nose and exhaling from the mouth. At the
same time he imagined a cool stream of blue healthy air going in and
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hot red angry air coming out with every breath. The doubtful
thoughts still remained but it seemed as if they were becoming lighter
and less solid. In time the worries appeared either to float away or
evaporate completely. Surprised, Ben sensed his body relaxing andso, pushing the last remaining doubt about careering into the second
patrol group from his head, he decided to make a run for it.
* * * * *
Whilst Ben was making up his mind and only one galactic
branch distant from our own, the aliens on board their spaceship
were also debating their next move. Having up to now encountered
nothing similar to that of the space pirates, the lone craft had just
come upon an expansive green force-field that spread away in all
directions as far as they could see. Up, down, left and right; it stood
blocking their path like an immense wall in space. The initial scans
revealed that the energy was being generated from thousands of huge
metallic globes that floated in the semi-transparent greenness.
The Science Officer explained that the massive force-field
circled an entire spiral of the galaxy. It spoke through its verticalmouth in a loud, crackling monotone; each word seemed to be a
single drawn out syllable. The alien argued that they had to pass
through this energy-field in order to reach Earth otherwise their
missions chances of success would fall to zero. Though there were
some concerns over what would happen if they were to cross into the
green light the Science Officer was fairly convinced that it was simply
a motion detection system. The ships computer, however, warned
that it could actually be something far more sinister. It was a form of
light energy that they had never encountered before.
The Captain stood pensively, listening to all of the arguments
and conjecture. Then, standing taller, the alien commanded the Pilot
to manoeuvre the ship closer to the most immediate sphere. The
Pilot responded, starting up the ships thrusters, and the craft sped
alongside the wall of green energy towards the nearest globe. As they
approached their objective the Pilot slowed the ship. They watched
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curiously as red, yellow and blue lights on the balls surface began
flashing randomly; noticeably speeding up as they drew closer.
Bringing the craft to a halt directly in front of the sphere the Pilot
turned questioningly towards the Science Officer as the lights startedstrobing violently. The answer was a quick, stiff shrug.
Even though the aliens ship was absolutely dwarfed by the
silver orb the Captain ordered the Weapons Officer to fire upon it.
With the press of a button the command was followed and the bay
doors swung open on the crafts underbelly. Four large sleek missiles
dropped and then surged towards their target. Closing in on the giant
ball they broke apart and each missile then released a further fiftysmaller rockets which sped at different angles towards the globe. The
detonating impacts from the multiple strikes sent explosions
blooming across its surface.
What followed was as dramatic as it was unexpected; the giant
orb began to shake violently and huge energy bolts started shooting
over it like an overloading Frankenstein machine. Amongst all this
chaos a short range automated signal was received from the sphere.
The repeated transmission was in a language of colours and the ships
system was finding it extremely difficult to translate. The Science
Officer shifted four eyes from the communication monitor to the
Pilots view screen as a particularly large blast rocked their craft. The
orb appeared to be in the throes of blowing itself apart.
Instinctively the Pilot retreated to a safer distance as the metal
globe in front of them began to crack and suffer much larger
explosions. Now, from their two hundred kilometre vantage, they
could see miniscule specks from inside the sphere floating out into
space or into the fluttering force-field where their existence was
ended with a quick, tiny flash.
The globe was collapsing in on itself and appeared to hold its
breath for a second whilst it shuddered. Then, rapidly expanding to
beyond its limits, it blew up. The blast was immense and shook the
aliens spaceship as its shockwave pulsed passed them. At the same
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time a flash of intense green energy was sent radiating over the
force-field in every direction.
The aliens watched the green energy-wall shiver as the bright
wave-like pulse began to strike the neighbouring globes. With the
destruction of each orb the force-field visibly weakened and the
shockwaves grew in number as each spheres destruction caused
those adjacent to follow suit. Like soap bubbles in a wash-bucket; as
one burst the next ones popped and on and on until eventually all that
was left was clear space.
Diminishing, the fading green energy wall in front of them
flickered brilliantly once and then died completely as the last giant
ball self-destructed at some far-off point. Now all they could see on
the view screen was general cosmos and the scorched remains of the
globes spinning gently in the emptiness. Somewhat surprised, the
aliens cheered their success. It had worked far better than expected;
from their single shot they had managed to collapse the entire energy
grid.
Then the Science Officer spoke. The computer had justmanaged to translate the coloured radio transmission. Now playing
over and over again was the message; PLEASE STOP. WE ARE
NON-VIOLENT SPECIES. WE HAVE NO WEAPONS. THESE ORBS ARE
OUR HOME. PLEASE STOP. Silently the aliens looked at the Science
Officer who responded by widening his eyes. After a brief wait, and
without any obvious remorse over the apparent extinction of an
entire race of intelligent beings, the Captain ordered the Pilot to
retake their original heading.
Chapter Four
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Sprinting as fast as he could across No-Mans Land, Ben was
enjoying himself. The fears of being captured completely gone from
his head, he now ran with his eyes closed. He had never felt more
alive. His heart was beating strongly and Ben listened to the bloodsurging past his ears with a natural exhilaration. It seemed to him
that everything was as one, his body and mind relaxed in their mutual
activity of maintaining his balance and velocity in the darkness. Even
so, every now and again he would hit a patch of uneven ground and
stumble, almost falling. Each time, and with his eyes still tightly shut,
Ben sensed his legs taking quick, stuttering steps until they regained
his bodys centre of gravity. Then grinning even harder; on he went.
Bens joy would have been short lived though had he known
that roughly four hundred metres away the other patrol group was
slowly moving towards him. They were supposed to be following the
same route as the first team but had managed to lose sight of them a
while ago. Since that time Petr and Pavel had been whispering
disparaging remarks to the other cadets about Jaroslavs dad who was
supposed to be leading the young boys of the patrol. Blind idiot cant
follow a straight line...or a torch light. Petr now said under hisbreath.
Yeah, Pavel added equally hushed. Dude needs to take
orientation training again or summink. What a twonk.
Shut up! Jaroslav interjected angrily, after his patience had
finally run out. Youre the blooming twonks. He fired.
Jaroslavs father, embarrassed, turned to his son, Jaroslav? Areyou talking in the ranks? Then, with his voice trailing off weakly,
You should know better than that son. The other cadets sniggered
in thinly veiled contempt at his avoidance of dealing with the real
problem. Then either oblivious to the older boys insults or ignoring
them completely he told the surprised group that Petr and Pavel were
being put temporarily in charge before he left claiming he was off to
search for the lost patrol.
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With the two bullies in command the patrol had managed
thirteen seconds of dragging themselves around No-Mans Land,
half-heartedly shining their torches at imaginary enemies. More fun
was to be had in tripping each other up or punching one another onthe arm. From this general bodily harm some sadistic rules had
developed where any boy who dropped his torch was deserving of a
quick beating from the rest of the group. Having invented the game
Petr and Pavel had then focused all of their violence on Jaroslav,
repeatedly punching his torch holding arm in an attempt to loosen his
grip.
Jaroslav had been resisting solidly until, somewhat inevitably,Pavel struck a point on his elbow that had sent a numbing tickle
shooting up to his shoulder and down to his fingers. With a cry of
pain and despair the boy watched as the torch slipped from his hand
and started to fall to the ground. Before it had even reached halfway
Petr and Pavel were on him, pushing him to the ground and then
laughing raucously whilst kicking him on his torso. The two other
boys quickly followed, gleefully adding their fists and boots to the
game. Jaroslav lay on the ground, curled into a ball in an instinctiveattempt to protect himself from the blows. He did not cry, knowing
from past experience that this would only make things worse.
Ben was still running. He was also still heading directly
towards the group of thugs whom at this moment were initiating the
beating of their companion. Unaware of the danger laying in front of
him Ben felt as free and as light as a speck of dust in the breeze.
Eyelids clamped closed he maintained his speed until he blindly halffell into a particularly large divot and his legs went splaying. He
opened his eyes as his knees gave up and buckled under the effort of
staying upright. Thrusting out his hands, he tumbled head first
towards the ground, wincing in anticipation of the impact.
Skidding to a stop about twenty metres away from the boys,
Ben lay wondering if what was in front of him was exactly that which
he had glimpsed as he fell. Slowly lifting his face from the dry,powdery earth his fears were horribly confirmed as he stared at the
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boys attacking Jaroslav. Silhouetted, with his back to him, Pavel
seemed like a windmill with his arms spinning round in great arcs
and thudding into the boys thighs. Opposite him Petr was on his
knees roughly slapping Jaroslavs face whilst the other boys weretaking turns at kicking his ribs. As Ben watched the four assailants
laughing gleefully he wondered why Jaroslav was not crying out or
screaming or anything.
All of a sudden Petr stopped and indicated to the others to do
the same. Breathing heavily whilst he stood the bully smiled and then
frighteningly turned his gaze and pointed in Bens direction. Scared,
Ben held his breath and pressed his body into the ground as much ashe could; hoping that if he was still enough Petr would not be able to
see him anymore. He closed his eyes and imagined he was a big rock
lying there as naturally as anything in the world. Though panicking
Ben really need not have worried; Petr was actually just pointing at
Pavel and paid absolutely no attention to the bit of dark uneven
ground behind his brother.
Time dragged for Ben as he refused to lift his head or even open
his eyes in case the slightest movement drew the attention of one of
the patrol. Fortunately, for the terrified boy, the cadets had totally
lost their bearings during the impromptu beating and were now
heading back the way they had come. After a while Ben could hold his
breath no longer and he gasped in a big gulp of air. Breathing out
slowly he opened his eyes and, surprised, saw that the group was
moving off away from him and he sighed hugely with relief. Not
hanging around to see if they returned Ben quickly picked himself upand, diverting his course to keep their torches as far from him as
possible, he continued his trek onwards.
Ben was struggling as he neared his goal; the brief encounter
with his old enemies had left him strangely weak and drained of
energy. He could not remember the last time he had felt so frightened
and the experience was something he did not want to repeat again.
Without desiring to, Ben remembered the day they had found outabout their Fathers death and how he had been crippled from the
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sadness and loss he had had to endure. The strength of his terror at
being discovered a moment ago matched the feelings of that fateful
day and now all he wanted to do was arrive at his destination and
sleep.
Reaching the craggy face of the mountain Ben felt his spirits
returning to their former levels. He stood rapidly, excited, looked
around slowly in the dark and then glumly slumped down to the
ground. With all the tension Ben had forgot his torch at home and
now did not know how he would be able to find the way to his secret
place in the black of the night. He cursed himself for being so stupid
and began to feel his anger rising as he repeated the same thought,simultaneously banging his forehead with his fist. Then recalling the
breathing thing from earlier he stopped and went to his shirt pocket.
However this time, in place of the photo, Ben scooped Elmo out with
his hand.
Listen Elmo, I think were stuck unless you can help, he said
earnestly. I really, really need you to find the way to our secret
place. You got to do this for me; please youre my only hope.
Elmo looked at Ben in a very curious way and then started to
clean his whiskers with his front paws. Ben, self-consciously felt a
little ridiculous but pressed on regardless.
Elmo, my little friend, do you think you can do it? He queried,
wondering at the same time if he actually believed the rat was
capable of understanding what he was asking. Halfway through his
question, and causing Ben to start, Elmo leapt from his masters handto the floor and began snuffling around. After a couple of long
doubtful seconds the rat scampered off among the boulders and Ben,
half shocked, followed fast on his heels as best he could. After a
couple of scary Elmo, I dont see you moments, and a few minutes of
scrabbling, they reached the mouth of the cave that led to their secret
place. The rat had returned each time Ben called, his head popping
out from behind a rock and then, secure in the knowledge that his
master was there, had immediately taken to his route again.
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Having arrived, a somewhat amazed and exhilarated Ben had
grabbed his pet and kissed and praised the little animal for being such
a clever creature. Lovingly placing Elmo back into his shirt Ben
started to clamber over the pile of rocks that normally hid the cave,but which now in the dark were more of a curse than a blessing.
Carefully he picked his way up to the top of the mound and felt for the
large loose stone that guarded his secret. Ben silently thanked his
Father. For it was he, or more justly his photo, that had led him to
this place.
The photograph had come with the letters that his Father had
written, delivered to them by Kazimr. After the Security Force manhad gone Ben was left alone as his Mum and Sam both wept
inconsolably together on their Mothers bed. He had tried talking to
his Mum but she had just looked at him before bursting into much
greater floods of tears. Not wanting to upset her any more Ben had
left. He took his letter with him and went to the edge of the camp,
next to the fenced off ruins of the village, where he could be alone. He
had had to sneak past Jaroslavs dad who was, as usual, sleeping on
guard. Sitting down, he numbly opened the envelope and read theletter. Apart from the photograph there was nothing new in it; he
knew his Dad loved him, he knew he would have to grow up now, he
knew he would have to take care of his Mum and sister, and worst of
all, he knew that his Dad was totally gone forever.
Feeling sick in his stomach and with tearful eyes Ben fumbled in
the envelope for the photo that the letter had claimed was there but
found nothing. Frantically, head turning rapidly, he scanned hissurroundings but saw only the red dusty earth that was there every
day. Desperately he stood up and looked towards the no go zone of
the abandoned village and saw it. Lying about thirty metres from him
was the small white pictured square that was all that remained of his
Father. Not thinking twice about breaking the Security Forces rules
Ben immediately climbed over the fence to collect his valuable
treasure.
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It was as Ben reached for it that a curious wind blew up from
nowhere, gusted past him and lifted the photograph into the air and
further into the ruined village. It landed, again roughly thirty metres
away, and rested with the upright image of his Father appearing tolook at him. Although a little puzzled Ben once more went to retrieve
the picture and once more it scooted away in another gust. The photo
danced past the burnt out and rusted shell of a car before skipping on
and over the village fountain which now lay broken underneath a fine
covering of yellowish grey-green lichen. Finally Ben caught up with it
as it came to rest outside their old house. Noticing the absence of any
kind of breeze he made his move, diving down to clutch his prey, but
once again the wind beat him to it. This time though the photo did
not fall but danced and flipped in the air as it was carried away from
the village and high into No-Mans Land. Luckily, Ben found a gap in
the bottom of the fence and quickly wriggled out after his prize.
With the wind gusting much more constantly Ben had trouble
keeping up. He was afraid that he might lose sight of the white dot in
the yellow grey sky that seemed to be blowing towards the mountain.
There was no thought of turning around, at least not until he had thatphoto back in his hands. Sometimes the wind would die a little and
the photograph would flutter earthwards, but then the breeze would
strengthen and lift it upwards again, although fortunately never quite
straying out of Bens view. Eventually, as they both reached the rocky
base of the mountain the wind took the photo on a whirlwind spin to
the top of a pile of boulders and stones that sat pyramid like against
the foot of the rock face. The photograph spun, somersaulted
delicately and finally wedged itself between two smaller rocks right at
the summit, where it sat daring at Ben to climb.
Back on that day Ben had dared to climb. He had found a large
circular stone right at the top which he had rolled sideways to free
the photograph. After grasping his treasure he had noticed that there
was a dark space behind where the boulder had been. He moved
some more rocks and, surprised, had found the entrance to a cave like
tunnel. Clambering down the other side of the rock fall wall Ben had
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come to stand in a cavern twice as high and twice as wide as he.
Small stalactites hung from the ceiling whilst smaller stalagmites
lined the ground. In the near distance a small triangle of daylight had
tempted Ben to enter. Walking towards the light, Ben had followedthe path of an old narrow streambed and arrived at a hole leading up.
Without a pause he had climbed through and emerged upon a scene
that appeared to him as if from a dream.
It was a sunken plateau and it was an extremely beautiful one.
Nature, against all the odds, had produced an enclosed
micro-ecosystem and it was flourishing due to the minimal sunlight
being magnified by the silica laced rock of the mountain. If Ben hadunderstood the science he would have enjoyed the irony of a good
greenhouse effect working inside a bad one.
Instead Ben gazed around, stupefied; there was lush grass
everywhere with little blue, yellow and white flowers dotted about.
Bushes lined the sides of a narrow stream that was fed from a small
waterfall, its source a fissure midway up the cliff wall opposite. There
were squat trees, with big red and black berries hanging beneath fat
healthy leaves. Honey bees buzzed about diligently collecting their
pollen and cream coloured butterflies flapped past gently in the air.
Ben could not stop himself from rolling in the grass, laughing and
breathing in the wonderfully clean, green scented air that surrounded
him. Relaxing by the second, Ben lay out and, as he drifted off to
sleep, had sworn to himself that this place would forever be his and
nobody elses.
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Chapter Five
Ben! A voice was calling to him from an unreal, faraway place.
It was a warm, safe sound and Ben needed to reach it. But something
was chasing him; a big strange creature that was moving slowly but
steadily after him. Ben was trying to run but he was finding that his
legs could not move; they felt like they were stuck in a big pot of glue.
A flash of lightning would illuminate his surroundings momentarily.
Occasionally it would be bright enough to blind him. Even though he
was scared to death he risked a look behind him and saw a large, dark
spidery shadow with eight legs and numerous thin tentacles reaching
out to grab him. Now he started to panic. Then the voice called again,
except that this time it appeared much closer and Ben felt a glimmer
of hope. Then a great frightening weight dropped into his belly as,
reaching him at that moment, the monster roughly grabbed him in its
octopus like arms and started pulling him towards its huge red gaping
mouth. Ben!
Jerking awake from his dream Ben stared into the worried face
of his sister who was shining her dynamo-powered torch into his
eyes. Rapidly blinking the sweat from his eyelashes he nervously
searched his surroundings for any sign of the creature but saw only
the shadowed, worried face of his sister. With calm returning Ben
began to work out that he must have fallen asleep by the waterfall
after finding his way to it in the dark, and then he had had thatnightmare from which Sam had thankfully shaken him. She was there
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by his side now and he started to babble rapidly about the monster he
had seen. Then he stopped and frowning with confusion asked, Uh
Sam, what? Where...how come youre here? Why...how did you...you
know, find me?
Umm, well...I kind of followed you once. She answered.
You did what? When did you? Ben demanded to know of this
trespassing in his secret place.
Looking at her brother seriously, Sam replied, Ben it was a long
time ago. Then even more seriously she said, Look, forget about all
that now, thats not why I came. You need to come back home, itsMum; Kazimr ran off to some security emergency and knocked her
out of her chair and shes hurt and... Stopping to gulp back a sob Sam
continued, And Im not strong enough to get her back in the chair on
my own.
He did what? Ben screeched, leaping to his feet, then grabbing
his sisters hand, added, Come on Sam, lets go.
Before retracing their tracks Ben had called to Elmo who hadbeen gorging himself on the reddest berries he could find. At the
sound of his name he had come scurrying down from his feast and
scampered over to his owner to be carried in his usual place close to
Bens heartbeat. The children, although being careful not to be seen,
had not wasted much time in returning home.
Rushing in they found their mother had managed to pull herself
onto her bed. She was now lying there weeping softly with a bloodstained hand held to her head. As soon as she realized the children
were there she tried to stop her tears and regain herself. She turned
to Ben and, with a forced concern, asked, Benjamin. Where have you
been? Your father is really angry with you...and so am I... She
touched her ear and coughed softly before continuing, You cant run
off like that...its dangerous.
Ben ignored his mum and, waving for Sam to join him, went tohelp her back into her chair. After they successfully performed the
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manoeuvre without too much trouble Ben stood in front of his mum
and stared intently into her golden green eyes. Listen Mum, he said
firmly, Dont worry about me, like thats not important now. I mean,
what happened to you? Look at your head. Its bleeding. And Samsaid it was cos the stupid idiot pushed you out of your chair.
Oh Benjamin, please...you have to stop this thing with Kazimr.
Really, he is your father now.
NO HE IS NOT! Ben was unconsciously shaking with fury.
That man isnt my father...he isnt ever going to be my father, no
matter what you say.
It was his mothers turn to start shaking as she turned away and
barely whispered, My word, give me strength...between the two of
them...theyre killing me...please... before she started sobbing softly
into her hands. Ben was about to touch her shoulder and say sorry
when Sam grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the bedroom.
Listen Ben, thanks, but I think you should go now. Not too far
though, and just for a little bit, you know, just until Mum has calmed
down. I can fix her head. I dont think youre helping here right now.
Ben looked vacantly at his sister before he seemed to reach a
decision. No, youre right Sam. He said determinedly, But I do
know somewhere I can help...Im going to go see that idiot right now.
No Ben, I didnt mean that... Sams voice trilled as she grabbed
for him but it was too late. She watched, painfully torn for a moment,
as Ben stomped out of the tent. After the briefest pause she shruggedand quickly went to get a dressing for her mothers injury.
* * * * *
It did not take Ben long to reach the large tent that housed the
Security Force Headquarters. It sat in the centre of the encampment
and had been converted from the old emergency field hospital at the
orders of Kazimr. It was never hard to find because during the day
you could see a huge red flag flying from it and at night it was lit by
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six huge church candles, four at each corner and two burning either
side of the entrance. Striding into the tent Ben did not feel the glow
from the large flames as he would normally have felt. Literally, his
hatred towards Kazimr was centrally heating him from within.
Having entered the tent, however, Bens anger was overcome
momentarily by surprise. The place was in chaos. Security Force
members were rushing backwards and forwards, pointing at maps
and screaming about enemy invaders and unidentified aircrafts.
Some SF officers were anxiously readying the large arsenal of
weapons and then handing them off to other equally agitated looking
SF men. Ben stared, as hastily given orders were spat out and then, ingroups of three, these heavily armed men disappeared into the night.
Bo-OY! Bens attention was drawn back to the tent as Kazimr
addressed him with a shout. What the blazes do YOU think you are
doing here? Cant you see that THIS is a situation critical and we dont
need any stupid brats getting in the way? Further we are about to
implement an emergency curfew so get out of here and home before I
boot you there!
What? Like you did with Mum before? Ben challenged back
determinedly. The five remaining officers in the HQ turned their eyes
from the young boy towards Kazimr.
Huh. What in damnation are you blathering on about now
boy? You realise that we dont have time for any of your nonsense
fantasies! Now shut up, go home, and expect a punishment when I get
back!
NO! Ben shouted, Mums got a bad cut on her head cos of
you...
Oh do be quiet you STU-pid boy! Kazimr ordered as he went
to grab Ben.
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...and its cos you pushed her out of the chair! Ben finished
and, only just failing, attempted to duck away from his stepfathers
clutches.
Grasping him roughly Kazimr lifted Ben up by his collar and
span him round to face him.
WHAT ARE YOU SAYING TO ME BOY? WHAT TRIPE ARE YOU
SPOUTING FROM THAT BACKWARD HEAD OF YOURS? I REALLY DO
HAVE TO TEACH YOU SOME MANNERS DONT I? AND, LOOK BOY,
YOUR MUM AINT HERE TO PROTECT YOU NOW! He was shaking
Ben by his neck as he spoke and enjoyed watching as the blood
started to drain from the boys startled face. Jaroslavs dad began to
say something and the other officers started to follow his lead.
Kazimr loosened his grip slightly, which was unfortunate for him
because Ben was reflexively kicking out with his feet and a lucky
boot caught the old man right between his legs.
As his step-father furled groaning in pain to the floor Ben took a
few stuttering steps backwards rubbing his throat and gasping in air.
Leaning, hunched over, on a table and taking deep shudderingbreaths he felt the oxygen slowly returning to his lungs. Then sensing
something behind him Ben was half turning when a sharp whack
exploded on the side of his head. It was if a sun had exploded to the
left of his vision and was firing miniature stars across his eye line.
Then another sunburst, though this time more fierce, as Kazimr
caught the boy again with his hand.
With the second blow Ben went flying and Elmo tumbled fromhis pocket as he hit the ground. The stunned boy lay there for a
minute before he rolled over weakly and saw Kazimr pointing his
handgun at him. Now Ben was scared. He recognised in his
stepfather what his sister must have seen in his face all those years
ago just before the bomb. It was pure hatred and Ben knew from
personal experience that there was no reasoning with that specific
emotion. His eyes focused on Kazimrs trembling trigger finger, Ben
did not move, nor did any of the other men in the tent.
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From the entrance a rapid blur drew everybodys attention
except that of Kazimr whose fury remained fixated on the boy in
front of him. Suddenly, though, the rosy cheeked face of Sam was
between him and Ben and he faltered in his hatred for a second.Kazimr lowered the gun and took a couple of paces backwards. He
stood with his head down and slowly shaking from side to side,
apparently calming himself. Then without warning he quickly lifted
his hand and pointed the barrel towards the children. Samantha
screamed and dived in front of her brother on the floor. The
desperate cry of NO from Jaroslavs dad was drowned out by the
loud retort of the gun as Kazimr fired.
Noticeably shaking but satisfied the Security Force Commander
wordlessly left the tent, stepping over the bodies of Ben and Sam. As
the canvas door flapped shut the other men rushed over to the
children. Aghast, they saw a small bloodstain spreading out from
under their huddled forms on the hard-earthed floor.
* * * * *
For about fifty seconds the officers hovered nervously, notknowing what to do. Then with a great surge of relief they saw that
both of the children were uninjured. Shakily Sam got up first and it
was as she helped her Brother to his feet that they both saw him.
With a dreadful realisation they now knew that Kazimr had not been
trying to shoot them. He had actually been trying to shoot Elmo, and
he had succeeded. With deadly aim the bullet had completely
removed a front leg and the little rodents body now lay there lifeless.
Ben went to his pet and, kneeling, cupped him in his hands and
began to cry. After a silent and short wait Sam knelt down next to her
brother and started to whisper in his ear. Ben responded by nodding
and shaking his head silently until it seemed a decision was reached.
Ben wiped away his tears and stood holding Elmo to his chest. Sam
grabbed his shirt tail and together they solemnly left the SF HQ tent.
The five astonished men were left wondering what, just exactly, that
had all been about.
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Chapter Six
The two children were as when they had left the Security Force
HQ, except that this time they stood on the edge of the old village.
They were looking out across No-Mans Land towards the mountains.
Back in the HQ tent Sam had suggested to Ben they bury Elmo like
they had with his old dog. She thought the best place would be
where the rat had been happiest in his life; under the red berry tree.
Ben agreed. So now they watched as randomly dispersed SF groups
noisily hand cranked their torches in their eager search for an
unknown enemy. There were at least twelve patrols bumbling about
at various points but it appeared that it would not be too much
trouble avoiding them.
Ben was about to start the trek to the mountains when he
suddenly stopped and desperately blurted, But, without, Elmo.. I
cant find... the... way! His breathing became more ragged with each
word.
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No, its alright Ben. Sam had removed her hand from her
brothers shirt and now she held his arm. I know how to get there,
like I did before, remember?
Huhh, yeah...right... Ben replied, halting the panic attack a
little, before asking, But how.. do you know.. in the dark? His boyish
face held a puzzled expression.
Oh Ben, sometimes you can be so clever and other times so
daft! Sam said smiling at her brother. Its pretty easy. Look up at
the mountains. You can still see the peaks, yeah? Well, if you aim for
the middle of those you get to the big boulders, you know? Then we
just go to the right of those and the cave is right in front! Ben stared
at his sister with undisguised admiration but said nothing. Instead he
took her hand gently in his as they set off aiming for the big V that
stood slightly less black in the nights skyline.
Skirting the various patrols by zigzagging their course the
children arrived at the cave entrance just as Sam had promised.
Folding his handkerchief around the body of the animal Ben
delicately deposited his dead pet into his pocket before theyclambered up the rocks. With Sam lighting the way Ben dealt quickly
with the rolling stone and, silently, they both entered the secret cave.
They quickly reached the triangular hole at the other end and exited
up to the sunken plateau.
All of a sudden and without a murmur Ben stopped his sister
from walking further by placing a palm flat on her chest. Sam
furrowed her eyebrows and asked, What?
I dont know, Ben replied. But somethings different. The
place feels...uh, you know, different. The boy was unsure of what but
something was not the same and he was pretty sure of that.
Yeah, well it would, wouldnt it? I mean, normally youd have
Elmo here and... Sam caught herself and changed tact, And, like
were here for him too so it should feel a bit weird...you know?
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Ben was not really listening to his sister, he was peering at the
dark shapes and shadows that lay before them. It was puzzling but it
appeared to Ben as if there were more trees than before. Then,
screwing his face up at himself, he decided that this was justimpossible and started towards Elmos favourite red berry tree. A
little nervously, she was flicking at her hair and shining the torch
rapidly from side to side, Sam followed her brother.
As the two children crept along at a snails pace they pressed
into each other in an instinctive attempt to feel safer. Ben did not like
this at all, it was not right to feel bad in his special place. The young
boy had a very strange feeling of being watched and not just by onepair of eyes. Imagining the faces of Petr, Kazimr or Pavel jumping out
on them Ben turned to his sister for a little confidence. Unluckily this
did not work, for Sam was more uncomfortable than Ben and the half
petrified stare on her young face scared him even more.
Ben, Sam said. I don like this.
Yeah, me too, Ben replied.
Im not sure this was such a good idea. Sam ventured, hoping
that her brother would suggest they forget about the burial idea and
go back home.
Yeah, I know...but yknow, were here now...and... Ben lifted
his dead pet out of his pocket for emphasis as he spoke. The siblings
were silent for a moment as they looked at each other and then two
loud, crackling noises made them both jump;
CCRRKKHHHHHHEEEEEE, then after a long pause,
CCRRKKLLLLLLLLLOOOOO! It was an extremely familiar sound but
yet extremely unknown at the same time. It reminded the children of
wood splitting or loads of twigs snapping underfoot but then it came
from somewhere above their heads which totally reversed their ideas
of normality.
The two children were statue still; Sam gripping Ben in a bear
hug of fear and Ben, half expectant and half hoping the sound would
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not return. After an interminable pause the sound did come again,
though this time sounding slightly closer, CCRRKKHHHHHHEEEEEE!
At this Ben jumped even more than before, spilling his old friend
Elmo to the ground. He bent to his knees searching frantically for hisrat when something big seemed to move in front of him. He looked
up and saw a large shape silhouetted in the darkness which filled
most of his vision. It was a dark form that had eight thick legs and
lots of thin tentacle arms that were rippling in the air.
With a growing terror Ben recognised the creature from his
dream. Speechless from fright he saw Sam shakily moving the torch
towards the shape. He wanted to halt his sisters hand but he foundhe was frozen, the dream becoming more real by the moment. The
continuously dimming beam of the torchlight, not much helping their
fear levels, finally came to rest upon what was in front of them.
It was huge, at least as high as their old two storey house, and it
towered over the children. Sam kept pumping the torch and with
each new pool of illumination a little more detail was revealed. It had
a dark deeply wrinkled skin covering a wide tubular body which was
topped by what seemed to be a thick white afro. Moving slowly, were
at least eight vertical eyes, their corners pointing up and down, which
lay randomly dispersed over the body. They held no white, but were
brown with their colour darkening to black at their pupils and sat full
of a translucent yellow liquid that dripped glistening in the light. All
of the eyes were focused on the two children in front of them.
Then, like in the dream, the creature rose up on its legs and,
creaking, moved slowly closer. As it neared them a long slit, as tall as
Sam, opened in its body which roughly grew to resemble a diamond.
From deep inside a fiery, red glow shone out onto the faces of the
stunned children, and finally with a gust of hot air rushing past them
the creature roared its ear-splitting CCRRKKLLLLLLLLLOOOOO
again. As the thing closed in on them it reached out to Ben with long,
smooth tendrils that sat just beneath its hair. Like snakes in the air
they wriggled towards the terrified boy who thankfully found hecould now move. He awkwardly grasped his Sister by her arm and,
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eyes popping after feeling the light flicks of the creatures touch on his
head, they ran desperately for the way out.
After reaching the relative safety of the cavern tunnel the two
children sat momentarily to recover from their fright. They passed
looks of incredulity and fear in equal measures as their heartbeats
maintained their accelerated rhythms. Presently the siblings calmed
sufficiently to share very nervous whispers querying if the creature
had followed them or even if it was real. Eventually Ben grew brave
enough to raise his head and risk a glimpse. Crouched by his side Sam
was horribly aware of the change in her Brothers face as she watched
it transform from bravado to worried shock. Closing her eyes, andthinking she must be mad, she took a deep breath and resolutely rose
to share the view.
If she had ever seen a moving picture Sam might have likened
the scene in front of her to one from a horror film. Not having had the
experience her mind was finding it hard to convert it into anything
comprehensible. The creature remained exactly where they had met
it, the red glow from its mouth seeming to give it a visible aura.
Slightly bent, its tentacles were all fixed on one point on the ground.
From their vantage the children could not quite see what the thing
was doing but they saw five or six tentacles lifting something up from
the grass. Confused, it was only when the white handkerchief slipped
from the object that the siblings realised the creature had got Elmo.
The youngsters remained transfixed as the thing, groaning and
crunching, lifted itself up to its full height. Its eight large, long legs
formed a kind of tee-pee structure and rooted themselves to the
ground. After the body of Elmo was borne slowly down by the
creatures wormy limbs it slowly and noisily placed the rat inside its
cocoon. Then with loud creaks the legs closed together and sealed
the dead animal in. A red glow from within broke out through small
cracks here and there and seemed to grow in intensity until it reached
its zenith. For about five minutes it pulsed as if it was breathing and
then it stopped.
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What is it doing? Sam asked her brother.
How should I know Sam? Ben replied. Maybe its how they
eat or something. He shuddered at the thought.
Suddenly the light shone out brighter from inside as two of the
legs creaked apart and a steamy cloud escaped upwards. After an
indeterminate wait the glow slowly died and then, unexpectedly, a
very familiar sound was heard by the fearful children. It was a
squeak. And it was Elmos squeak! Before Ben had time to question
the impossibility of this his old pet came leaping through the hole to
reacquaint with his owner. Surprised, Sam shrieked as the totally
alive dead rat scrambled past her but she soon found herself smiling
in delight.
Ben was also grinning happily as he stroked and caressed his
old squeaking friend. At the same time he examined the little animal
for any signs of scars or wounds. Ben was particularly careful about
the newly returned leg and he felt around, delicately lifting Elmos fur
to see the skin, but found absolutely nothing. Nothing, that is, except
for two little lumps in each front paw, of which Ben ended upignoring.
For at that moment, a cracking footstep sounded above them
and a clump of dark veined tentacles came floating at his sister
through the hole.
It was a terrifying few seconds. The creature managed to grab
Sam with a few of its tentacles and began to drag her upwards.
Striking at the wriggling tubers with the torch, Ben helped Sam to
finally struggle away, and they gratefully watched as the rubbery
limbs whipped up and out. It dawned on the children that the thing
was too big to fit in the hole and they retreated rapidly. In defeat the
creature let out two great roars, the first came as the siblings made
their way back along the tunnel; CCRRKKFFFFOOOORR. The second
came as they rolled the stone back to hide the entrance;
CCRRKKYYYUUUU!
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The strange sounds still reverberating in their spinning heads
the adrenaline filled children made home faster than they ever had
before. Sneaking into their rooms they both immediately fell into a
surprisingly deep and peaceful sleep.
Chapter Seven
...was Petr and Pavel that spotted the UFO! Flying over
No-Mans Land last NIGHT! Blooming MASSIVE apparently, with
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lights and guns and rockets, AND it landed somewhere near HERE in
the mountains.
Ben awoke, bleary eyed, to the voice of his step-father.
THATS where I was Irene. I AM the Security Force
Commander. I HAD to coordinate matters. THIS could be an advance
enemy force and Im NOT sure you understand the importance of
finding THEM, Kazimr said, emphasising the occasiona