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I
Late November,
2012
Their hosts
arrived and one was missing. Young chap,
son of one of the local shepherds, had had a fall and was in hospital.
‘Thank
goodness for that,’ said Sam and everyone understood.
The tall one
[they were never named] said that it was worse.
To fall into the clutches of a local hospital would see you at risk of
being taken for experimentation, spirited away forever. There were many tales.
They were all
very concerned for the lad.
There was a
piece of good news but they daren’t announce it ahead of time. On the next visit, they’d mention it.
II
Fifteen days
later, the stone moved at the entrance to the main room and there were their
hosts again. Emma went to put the kettle
on as she always did but this visit, they were intrigued.
Four blow-up
airbeds were brought in, a quantity of bedding, a box of twelve bottles of
Italian red and one more lamp. The sight
of the wine had their eyes popping out.
The fact that the hosts hadn’t commandeered it was also not lost on
them.
Sam assured
them that it had all been noted and one day they were going return the favour
in some shape or form. Their hosts waved
it away.
He asked if
they were staying overnight and no one said anything. Hugh asked how the young lad was. He was fine and they’d got him back.
The hosts
finished their cuppas and took their leave.
III
December, 2012
Two days
before Christmas, the entrance stone rolled back and into the room, in climbing
outfits, stepped Geneviève, Jean-Claude, Anya and what presumably was her
Italian.
No one knew
whom to embrace first and in the hubbub, the hosts were forgotten until Hugh
slipped over and shook their hands profusely.
Words finally
came and Anya explained, ‘It’s bad out there now. People are hiding wherever they can and
anything which even looks like a cave isn't safe. It’s all coordinated in Europe from one
central point. Massimo -’ ah, that was
his name, ‘he got my mother out and we’re on the way to join her and some of
his family who are left. Don’t ask how
we got here – there's a network.’
‘Ponyatno.’
‘Is it
possible to eat something light now?' asked Geneviève, then we’ll then sleep
and tomorrow we can talk.’
‘Of course,'
said Emma. 'How long do you have?’
‘Until
midnight tomorrow. I see a child. Yours, Hugh?’
‘Both are
mine. Explanations tomorrow morning.’
They ate the
quick supper, then Sophie took them through to the water source. ‘It’s
primitive, I’m afraid.’ No one was in
the least concerned.
The beds had
been made up in the third room and the light was doused thirty minutes later.
.o0o.
It was late
rising for those without babies.
An hour after
the necessities had been done, they all assembled in the big room and Geneviève
cleared her throat.
‘The last time
we were all free people, four people here today met in a farmhouse near
Fontainebleau. Not one is with the partner he or she chose.' She spoke
bitterly.
'No need,'
Emma spoke softly, going over and sitting with her on the long divan. Geneviève
looked around at everyone. 'We have much to thank our hosts for ... bringing us
together like this. Let's think about
that for now and for the time we have together.'
Anya gave her
little cough, which was really only her cough but everyone thought she was
asking for their attention. When she realized they were all waiting for her to
speak, she went red and stuttered but finally got the words out. 'We ... cough ... we were able to move about
because ... cough ... Massimo was ... um ...'
'I was working
for the Italian authorities,' he admitted. 'This is how we were in Iceland and
now we are to go home. Anya's mother is there.'
People looked
at Anya and she added, 'In Vicenze.'
'Ah,' said
Hugh and she looked straight at him. Was
it an appeal, a last ditch appeal or was it the realization that when they did
that, this would be the last she'd see of anyone outside that town?
Attention
turned to Jean-Claude and Geneviève, the latter who spoke again. 'We were in
Strømsø, we found a boat to take us, it would have cost Jean-Claude dearly but
it was the dangerous more - we were looking for a way out.'
'I had a name,
a friend from the past,' Jean-Claude continued the story, 'it was our final
chance, so we thought and I made contact with him. He was hiding, just like us. He found a place on the boat to Iceland for
us and we arrived at Akureyri, it was not difficult to remain hidden. Then came a very great risk once more.' His English had deteriorated somewhat, Hugh
was thinking. 'Our host asked if we
wished to meet this man they spoke highly of although his English and mine ...
well, excuse us please.
Our host was
sure the man was on the right side and he had helped others, so I said
yes. Geneviève was to remain and I was
to go to the farm near Grenivik. It
might have been the last time she and I would be together so you can imagine
our parting.'
'It was awful,
Hugh, Emma.' Then she forgot she'd not
included the other two and nodded towards them quickly, which they
acknowledged, Sophie with a smile. 'Well, it was awful, as I say. And all that day I was alone and not wanting
to go on.' She paused, gathered herself
and continued. 'Jean-Claude had gone
before sunrise and he came back in the night.'
'I told
Geneviève that I'd met the man, that he knew of another couple and had spoken
with them if they wanted to meet us. He
had not used names, of course and he had lied about where they were staying. My instincts said that this seemed too easy,
too ... ah ...'
'Too pat,'
supplied Hugh.
'Oui. I said that we were interested in principle
but that now I needed to go back and ask my wife. He understood but I was not able to return
until the night.'
'Jean-Claude
spoke to our host and nothing happened for two days. Our host then came to us and said it was
safe, it was not a trick. He asked if he
could give the man a name to give to the other couple. I said yes - Barbizon.'
'It was a slow
process,' continued Jean-Claude, a very slow process. We had to be careful, of course.'
Massimo took
up the story, in his lyrical voice. 'I
did not like this and yet Anya wanted to give him the word Shadzhara and I
finally said yes. Our hosts had also
agreed the man was un amico. I said yes
and the name was given. Three times the
women gave more names and then we all agreed to meet, in Akureyri. This was when we now heard about Hugh and
Emma, forgive me, Sophie and ... er ... Sam.'
Anya added,
'Naturally, I wanted but Massimo warned me, warned us, that this all seemed too
possible, too easy, to get us all together like this. And he did not seem to want money, which
could be good, could be bad.'
'A very great
risk you all took,' commented Hugh.
'Yes but look
at the alternative and we have taken risks before, have we not? First, the four of us met and then we all
thought we would do it. Massimo was the
problem because he was one of the other side and they had to do much checking
on him. It took weeks but one night, we
were given two hours to be ready. We
were always ready.'
'You could
write a book,' observed Hugh.
'No, you could
write a book,' she returned, with a smile.
'I'm,' began
Emma again and then stopped. 'I'm just
happy it was possible.' They looked from
one to the other and it became a bit obvious but they had run out of
conversation for now. At least, they'd
run out of the type of conversation you could have en masse but all were dying
to meet with others one to one.
.o0o.
With the
morning jobs done, with Jean-Baptiste and Little Emma playing on the only rug
in the place and with all seated around the rug on the divan and chairs, it was
time to get down to their situation.
It was Hugh
who asked Massimo to give his thoughts on their chances of getting away from
here and getting back to any sort of life.
' 'Non c'è
alcuna possibilità. There is no
chance. It is difficult to
describe. Perhaps Anya ...'
She took up
the tale. 'The government still throws
people from their houses because they can't pay but there is no more prison
because the prisons are full.
The people
have bad food and no exercise. They
cannot rebel, fight back because their soup stops if they protest. So they don't and the situation continues. My mother and I have been lucky because of
Massimo but now he is suspected and he must return.'
She paused and
Jean-Claude took up the story. 'That is
true, that there is nothing to return to.
If we go back home, we go to our death, sorry Geneviève but it is the
truth. We are planning to go back to
Fontainebleau because we wish to be in what was our home when it ends. You four people in this cave - this is your
only safety for now.
There is one
small safety - that there is no order anymore and so they are disorganized in
the centres.'
'Newspapers?'
'Yes,
controlled by the State, of course. They
are free and make excellent toilet paper.
If someone reports you have done that with the paper, you are executed
in the central square of the town.'
'So,' observed
Emma, 'our hosts here are doing far more than even we knew, to bring us food
and to protect us here.'
'They speak
highly of you all,' said Jean-Claude.
'You were championing the cause of the oppressed and that is always
going to find a grateful people. You are
luckier than most.'
Silence now
descended on the room, until Emma indicated for Geneviève to go with her to
another room and that was the signal for everyone to pair off for discussion of
those matters only between two people.
.o0o.
Supper time
saw Sam asking, 'Is there no sport?'
'Oh, there is
sport,' said Massimo. Manchester United
still play Real Madrid on the television channel but it is a controlled
spectacle for the television. There are
old films to make people feel good, unless they need recruits for the next battle
and then they play a political documentary about the enemy.
'Well,' said
Emma, 'isn't this fun?'
.o0o.
Midnight was
approaching.
Those who had
no particular connection with others now held their farewell conversations –
Hugh and Massimo had little to say but they kept it pleasant, ditto Sam and
Jean-Claude. They all wound up a bit
early, with about an hour to go and so drinks were poured and passed
round.
Now came the
important farewells. Hugh was the
shakiest of all but as he nodded to Massimo and approached Anya, she
imperceptibly pulled back, chafing at the bit and Hugh knew her back to front.
‘Never could stand partings, could you?’
She smiled weakly and accepted his handshake.
He nodded to
Jean-Claude and was allowed to approach Geneviève. She had tears in her eyes and he was
struggling too. He shook her hand and both had to control themselves. Emma now spent some minutes tightly entwined
with Geneviève, exchanging assurances, hands on the others' faces.
The visitors
dressed, donned their packs, the rock slid back, the hosts came in, spoken
farewells were said and they were gone.
Hugh just
stood there in the middle of the floor, unable to move. Sam it was who handed him a wine and he sat
down with the other man. Sam had his own
memories too at this time. Hugh toasted,
'To them.'
Little Emma
now awoke, which woke up Jean-Baptiste.
.o0o.
Sam was in bed
when she joined him, he watched this woman, his woman and of course knew that
she wasn't, not in her eyes, nor in his.
It was an arrangement, a nice arrangement but an arrangement. Yet there was a growing affection, a
groundswell of affection, a shared purpose, a shared future.
She cuddled up
to him and didn't look directly into his eyes.
There was silence for the best part of a minute, he caressed her and
then she spoke. 'Can we do this, Sam? The next few weeks, the next few months?'
'If you want,
we can. We're in the same boat, Sophe,
we've both had losses, only yours is next door.'
'Let's go to
sleep. Sam. Hold me close.'
.o0o.
Next morning,
they all felt empty but there was Jean-Baptiste who seemed to be coming down
with a sniffle and Little Emma was also showing signs that way. It took all of the morning and the men
bringing the lunch to the ladies until there were any spare minutes.
Even now, no
one was interested much in sex or talking or anything and there were only so
many cuddles you could fit into the day.
With the children being so comparatively docile, probably due to having
mama and papa on call 24/7, the only real worry was the milk supply. Baby food came courtesy of old stocks in the
village but these had to run out sooner or later.
It was
OK. They just rested up for the
afternoon, punctuated with set breaks for sustenance, then Little Emma awoke
and cried and coughed and was snotty, which needed attending to. Jean-Baptiste woke up, heard Little Emma and
thought he'd make it a duet.
Thus it went
on into the late afternoon, by their watches and they did try to stick to the
usual time frame, just to keep their sanity.
As a rule, the
'evening' would see one of the women look after both babies one day and then
they'd swap the next. Not a bad plan but
if, say, Little Emma would wake up and mama was not there to hold her, then
even though Big Emma was good with her, sometimes it didn't work and Sophie
would have to come through.
Occasionally,
the men would go in one room and take turns, in rotation, to look after the
progeny and the women would try to get some much needed sleep together but then
one of the babies would not play ball, despite everything the men would try -
all the silly faces and gootchy-goos - and that would disturb the women's night
off.
It worked
enough times to keep them all fairly relaxed but the sniffles were an added
pressure. This evening, Jean-Baptiste
was propped up in their bed, something he liked very much indeed and he looked
from one to the other, a captive audience and then sneezed, before that
familiar smell wafted across and Hugh would get the cloths.
Emma was
anxious that he would only put up with Jean-Baptiste in their bed for so long
but from her point of view, when Jean-Baptiste was in there, they never seemed
to have any dramas and this was the point, the point in their lives when she
preferred to have this situation, rather than the lovemaking and the old life. He knew that and took the line that it made
the time they did eventually have together more special.
She was
sensible enough not to let anything get in the way of that, she knew how much
store Hugh placed by that time together and she needed it too but Sophie was not
quite so scrupulous with Sam's time and they once heard words from next door.
...
Sam was in
just such a position now, with an unencumbered Sophie but Sophie was
tired. Would she go through with it for
diplomatic reasons or would she ask him to desist? She sighed and went through with it.
The old nausea
had returned a few times now and certain things were stirring in the back of
her brain, things which she'd thought had finally disappeared but they clearly
hadn't. On these occasions, she'd had to
distance herself from Hugh and Emma because they'd pick up on it quickly and
then the whole comfortable existence they currently had would be dashed.
She didn't
want that for Emma or for Little Emma, she had to keep herself under
control. Sam was the issue. Not a nasty bone in his body and yet he could
be obtuse and when he was, he was in increasing danger. She'd snapped at Sam earlier in the evening
and hoped the other two hadn't heard.
...
Hugh moved
closer and whispered to Emma, 'I'm worried about Sophie - that same problem
girl is reappearing.'
Emma whispered
in his ear, 'I know. I've seen it. Should we warn Sam?'
'Might be
counterproductive - what if I take Sophie and talk it out with her?'
'I don't want
her becoming dependent on you again.'
'Then you take
her for a walk and talk it out.'
She
sighed. 'No, it has to be you ... do you
think you can?'
'I have no
idea. I'll try tomorrow, at the
spring. And Emma - you don't need to
tell me, you don't need to fear. OK?'
'OK'.
.o0o.
11:12 a.m. saw
Emma approach Sophie and ask for water.
Sophie took
the tub and loped away on those lithe feet but approaching the entrance to the
outer cave, she sensed Hugh was there and she propped. Fully one minute she paused, sorting it all
out in her mind. He made no move on the
other side and she knew he knew she'd hesitated and there'd only be one reason
she'd hesitate.
She had no
choice. She couldn't grab the water,
make small talk and disappear because they were such a close and closed
foursome. She had to let Hugh talk to
her but she feared dependence again. She
hoped Hugh was well aware of that.
Stepping
through, she put down the tub and turned to face him. 'Do you want me on your hands again?'
'Can't be but
we still need to talk it through. How
far has it gone? What's come back? Can you still tell me?'
She deflated
and leaned her bottom against the wall.
'There seems to be something right at the back of the skull, something
you never completely took away. It's
even hiding from me, Hugh. It knows I
know.'
'Only that
one?'
'I'm not
sure. That whole side has been dormant -
I thought dead. There might be other
horrors there I don't know. This
personality I'm in now has lasted a very long time by itself - it's quite
strong.'
'Perhaps this
time we're moving into now means that the sleeper must awake.'
'Then you are
all in danger.'
'Yes. How far can your love for Little Emma, for
me, prevent you?'
'This is
another personality altogether - the two don't know one another. They know of one another but they don't
actually know much about the other.'
'Understood.'
'This is
probably one where I'll have the battle inside my own head. The religion on the island - that helps, that
might be the difference. My child, Emma,
you - you'll not stop this other personality - it will hate you.'
'Would it hurt
Little Emma?'
'Never. Both because it knows nothing of a child and
because any child would be wanted by them.'
'Sam?'
'If he was
seen as a threat - yes. I know you're
thinking of warning him but I'd say it would be unwise.'
'Yes, I think
so too. Can this other personality hear
this now?'
'Of
course. It uses the same sensory
apparatus but it doesn't have access to the same memories. You need to know, Hugh, that that is not good
for you. You'll see me in front of you
but it won't be me in the head. That's
almost impossible for most people to get their brains around.'
'I can. Will this personality harm Emma, Big Emma?'
'Yes, very
much so.'
'Jean-Baptiste?'
'Especially
him. You don't need to worry for now -
it's just that I know it is there and it's hiding. It came back a few times on the island too
but I never recognized it then - it was only observing. They have very little way to trigger it, it
would need certain words and images and so far, these have not been present.'
'Your
recommendation?'
'Sophie wants
none of this going on in her head.
Sophie wants life to continue the way it is, with the children growing
up and all that. Yet I know it can't
continue. It might be better if Sam and
I go somewhere else, Hugh. You do
understand that, don't you?
'Yes.'
'I can tell
you this - once I feel it is becoming active, it will immediately try to take
over, so that I can't attack it. I would
try to warn you and you would have to do something. You might have to do something ... terminal
... to me. Hugh?'
'Yes?'
'Do you still
love me, even after I've told you this?'
'Love doesn't
depend on that. Yes I love you like
crazy – you know how much but you know my priorities - save Jean-Baptiste, then
Big Emma, then Sam, then your mind.'
'What would
you ... do to me? How far would you go?'
'As far as was
necessary - you know that. I'd try, with
Sam, to get you tied up, as you were on the boat Sophie-Fleury. You know that's the most humane way.'
'Yes. I'm
grateful that it happened and I regret nothing, not even on top of that hill,
in our bower. That was your problem with
Emma but sorry - it was not mine. For
me, it was very important. I love you,
Hugh.'
'And I
you.' She touched his forearm and he
looked into her eyes. 'As Sophie, I'm telling you now - do what you have
to. I know you'll do it from love. Don't fall for the error though, Hugh, of
thinking you can reason with that personality.
It was placed in there by them, it has the memories they wanted it to
have, it follows their agenda.
Understand that please.'
'I
understand. Time frame?'
'How can I
know? Something else seems to be
frightening it as well because it just hid again now.'
He tumbled to
it and spun round.
From the
depths of the cavern, the expected Gabriella appeared. She touched Sophie's forehead and addressed
both of them. 'You are wise to agree to
part because only through this will the children be safe. This is the ultimate love between the two of
you. Tell Sam, Magdalena, that you're
not feeling well. There is no need for
more.
You should
both be ready to leave, with your families. I shall return just before the
time.'
'When?' asked
Hugh.
'I do not know
but I do know that Magdalena will be herself until after she departs, no one is
in danger until that time. There is
every chance it will never happen, away from Albus, Belus and Jean-Baptiste and
the longer it doesn't happen, the more it is exposed, this personality, until
it withers. You’re best chance now is
to part. I'm sorry, Magdalena.'
She touched
both their foreheads and returned whence she'd come.
'Handy having
an angel about,' he grinned and she relaxed.
He took her in his arms and kissed her, stepped back, looked into her
eyes and sighed, 'You're so beautiful,' she smiled, he turned and went back to
Emma. Some minutes later, they heard her
go past.
'Well?' asked
Emma. He told her all that had happened,
saw her blanch at points but finally nod her understanding and relief. She noted, 'Gabriella was in with Sam
before. I think it is best it has
happened this way. It's better to know,
isn't it?'
'Yes,
Fayette.'
She smiled at
that. 'There are some minutes now, maybe
half an hour. Could we speak? About us?'
'Listening.'
'You know I
said from those earliest days in France that I was always going to come to you
if things changed.'
'Yes.'
'You never
asked me why or what began that. You're
so unquestioning at times.'
'Please tell
me.'
'I always knew
he didn't take me seriously enough. He -
Michel I mean - he would have moments, periods of being perfect but it always
went back to before. I could have lived
with that, with our child, with the Section - it was all right. I knew he had made love to some women but as
that's how we came together anyway and as it seemed to be an instant thing and
he didn't see them again, then I accepted it.
I didn't know
how bad he actually was until near the end. I thought you did well to get Nikki
back but you did it by showing her what Michel was really like and
unfortunately, you showed me that too.'
She paused and
he nodded for her to continue.
'I was already
thinking about you at that time and that's the truth. I saw you with Mademoiselle and though you
have a problem with women, you're stable and you'll listen and learn. You can be, well ...'
'Trained?'
She
smiled. 'I had feelings, Bebe but there
were barriers, of course. When Michel
was with me in that last safehouse ... I was the one who found him out. Only Mademoiselle knows of this. I thought he was contacting Nikki again, you
see and that’s why I was suspicious, so I looked and then I almost died – he’d
been sending out messages, uncoded. He
was either a total fool or he was the enemy.
Hugh, can you
imagine how I felt ... in my utérus? But
I couldn’t show him I was devastated so I picked a fight over nothing and told
him I didn’t want to see him for two weeks.’
‘You poor
girl.’
‘Mademoiselle
checked the recipients of his messages and one was Nadine. She then began to think it through and this
was her great strength, Mademoiselle – I don’t think you ever had a chance to
see it in her because you weren't together long enough but she was very good
this way. She was more convinced about
Nadine because she’d been thinking about it already and the confirmation
devastated her. They had to be invited
to expose themselves and the rest you know.’
‘I always
wondered.’
‘I’m getting
away from the question of you though.
Are you getting tired of me talking?’
‘The day I
become tired of you talking, I’ll tell you.’
She placed a
very soft punch on his cheek. ‘For a long time, I could not think of you nor
anyone else and Paul was with me. He’d
virtually killed my husband, the father of my child and that took a lot of
talking through. I didn’t blame him and
even thought of him, at one point, as a father and husband but it was not quite
right with Paul. Nice man, sad about the
state I was in.
That’s when I
decided on you and wanted a chance of seeing you up close. I One2Oned Mademoiselle and you saw what
happened.’
‘So she
conspired against Nikki and me.’
‘Your union
with Nikki wasn’t in anyone’s interests except for the two of you.’
‘Wasn’t that
as it was meant to be?’
‘Yes, Hugh but
I still needed to put in my claim, as you say.
I suppose I had to know how it would feel with you. When I lost the
ability to stop, I had to put distance between us. All the rest you know.’
‘What did you
actually have planned after that?’
‘As I said to
Nikki, I wasn’t giving her carte-blanche and if she tried any tricks like
Michel again, I would be there. I didn’t
use those words and it wasn’t a threat – she didn’t take it that way but I’m
sure she was determined not to lose you to me.’
‘I would never
have come to you like that, Emma, just on principle. Also, I seriously had this thing in my head
about you being Miss Perfect and it really was a problem.’
She sighed. 'I knew it, I knew it, I knew it. I knew it all along. I saw my own cheekiness, as you call it, I
was not easy. In fact, the less chance
there was for me, the more I liked you.
You have to remember that your reputation was not so good - when you went
to Nikki and dropped Mademoiselle - and in your head, that's what you did, Hugh
- everyone knew it, even Mademoiselle, despite all your words to yourself -
your reputation then was not good but the way you treated Nikki - I wanted that
too. People saw that and shrugged their
shoulders. C'est la vie.
Mademoiselle began
to feel old, unwanted, unloved - even at her age - and she was caught between a
Philippe who was a useless prospect, you with Nikki and Thierry hadn't come
into her mind. With her work and her
troubles, there were simply no men.
Don't be offended by that - it wasn't the reason she accepted you - even
she didn't know, in the early days, that the men had dried up in her life. It was only after Nikki took you that it
nearly killed her.'
'I'm so sorry
I caused this.'
'Don't
be. It happens.' She lay back on the bed. 'I didn’t really have a plan, you know. I didn't conspire to break you two up, I
promise I didn't and it is important to me for you to understand that.' He nodded but she still felt he didn't
understand. 'Hugh, haven’t you woken up,
even yet? I've told you that I was in
love with you, from when I walked out in the forest at Fontainebleau with you. You never really knew how much.'
He was lost
for words. He tried to speak. He failed.
She went on,
in her soft, light voice. 'Everything bad I’ve ever done to you was from hurt
and pain or trying to help you and getting it wrong. And when you looked elsewhere - at Sophie, at
Sara - it hurt more than you ever knew. There
was my hurt pride, yes, as with anyone but because I loved you, it was like you
were putting a knife into me and twisting it.’
‘Emma …’ He tried again but gave it up. Then he changed tack. 'I do remember one
thing very clearly. It was one night, on
that first island. You used to speak
Michel's name in your sleep and why not?
I'd have been surprised if you hadn't.
But this night, you said mine and I really think that might have been
the point where I changed.'
She laughed.
'Now for another confession. I'd wait
until I knew you were asleep and I'd stroke you with the back of my fingers
between the neck and shoulder and say your name to myself.' She giggled. 'Part
of that was to drive Michel out of my head though.'
'We do these
things to our partners - we go through a life and all that life we might have
it wrong, not completely understand, even though we were always talking. We hurt each other so much.'
'So now you
understand about that night in the tree. I was destroyed, Hugh, heartbroken. I need you to know this - it was worse than
when you had me arrested. You see, when
you sent me to detention, while I pretended I didn't understand and that you
had done great wrong to your wife, I knew in my heart you had no choice. But still I was going to punish you. With that morning in the tree - I wanted to
die at that moment and seriously thought about it. Then you'd finally understand. You had no idea about that, none. You knew I was unhappy but I’d been unhappy
about many things you’d done. This time
I was going to end it but didn’t know how, which way. Then the missile came.'
'I'm so
terribly sorry.'
'I feel a
thousand times better now that I've said that ... and that you listened to me ... and understood. I really do.
It's a weight off my mind.'
.o0o.
When they
eventually went out to the living area, Sam and Sophie weren’t there but
Gabriella was.
‘Will you both
sit down?’ They did and it was obvious
that she knew of what they'd been speaking.
‘At five epicentres in these islands there will be seismic damage five
days from today. Those who are doing
this are not your concern but the safety of Jean-Baptiste is. It will not help you to go deeper into the mountain
because it is situated along the fault line.
This retreat has kept you safe until now but it has served its purpose.’
She stopped
speaking. ‘And?’ asked Hugh.
‘The only
place you can be is airborne and the only way you can be airborne is in a
dirigible with thermal cloaking and the only way you can be in one of those is
if it comes to this hill and the only way it can come to this hill is if the
men working for you in the towns and huts are to cast one loose from its
moorings and travel here in it.’
‘Thermal
cloaking?’
‘Yes and radar
cloaking. Do you wish to know
this?’ They both nodded. ‘Radar and light waves require two separate
systems with coherent 360 degree spherical control and a refresh rate that does
not allow a fully formed wave to occur if reflected. You only need know that under certain
circumstances, you will be invisible to the enemy. The airship was already invisible to radar
but the addition of silver thermal cloaking made you susceptible to radar
again, which in turn meant that radar cloaking was again necessary.’
‘But we can be
seen by eye.’
‘Yes, that
will always be so and thus you must needs travel by night and stay down during
the day. The design is based on the Year
2000 Cargolifter and there were ten built.
You will be collected by one of these.’
‘The four of
us?’ asked Emma.
‘The two of
you.’
‘You’d better
tell us.’
‘Magdalena’s
child by Samuel will seek to destroy the child by you, Belus. Your child by Magdalena, Albus, will remain
with her and shall be unharmed. She will
seek for you, one day and find you but not in this time, nor in this
place. Don’t ask me to explain because
you have not the capacity to understand.’
‘Is she
special?’ asked Hugh.
‘Yes and she
bears the name of Belus, right under the nose of the Star Child who fails to
realize who she is because Magdalena knows never to tell him. He comes to love his older sister. It’s as well until she is ready but as I
said, neither in this time nor place.
You must not be downcast, Albus, when you part from your child, for in
that parting is her delivery from death.
She will be well, she will thrive and you will see her again, she will
acknowledge you and you will acknowledge her.
That is immutable. You should
spend some time with her in the next days and leave Magdalena some token by
which you will know your daughter again one day.’
‘I suppose
I’ll not see Sophie again?’
‘It must needs
be so. It is, as I have said, to protect
Jean-Baptiste.’
‘This is like
something out of science fiction,’ muttered Emma.
Gabriella
ignored that and continued. ‘Magdalena
already knows these things and has known them since the days of the Seven. She would always become the enemy one more
time, when the time was right. You,
Albus, have already had your discussion with her.’
She turned to
Emma. ‘You have now told Albus all and he has told you all. There is no reason now for you not to be as
one and it is necessary because very difficult times are ahead - you must work
as one. Your sole task now is to protect
the child.’
‘That’s clear.’
‘Now,’
concluded Gabriella, ‘the children have been sleeping, as have Magdalena and
Samuel. The time is nearly over. I shall appear again, in some days.’
She moved to
the door, opened it so that it rolled aside, went through and reclosed it. Hugh thought that that had been unnecessary
but if she chose to go out that way, then fine.
.o0o.
They were
packed and ready, bags always near the door but they suspected there might not
even be a door when it came time to flee.
Until now,
they’d always relied on sentient humans to organize the fine detail but relying
on an angel was just weird. ‘Going
anywhere?’ ‘Yep, we’re waiting for our
angel to arrive, in her invisible dirigible.’
On the other
hand, no one was willing to claim that it was only a ruse, that it was just a
hallucination.
IV
It began with
a gentle bump, followed several seconds later by rumbling and then it died
away. All four did a quick check of the
rooms again and went to the toilet, then changed the children.
A sudden large
jolt, followed quickly by strong shaking of the rock wall, lasted about a minute.
The shaking was violent beneath their feet and it was difficult to stand
up. Now it increased, rather than
decreased, as if it had started far away but had rolled their way. Their rock door fell away and to their
horror, something they hadn’t expected, armed people, rushed through but
suddenly dropped to the floor.
Gabriella
said, ‘Quickly,’ the babies were papoosed on their mothers’ backs, Sam went
first, then Emma and Sophie, then Hugh.
Sophie turned to him and kissed him deeply, then turned and asked him to
say goodbye to baby Emma. He kissed his
child one last time, handed Sophie the rabbit's foot his grandmother had given
him, they caught up with Emma, Sam propped and quickly shook Hugh’s hand,
another like Gabriella appeared and Sam and Sophie went out through the front
entrance.
They themselves
went upwards, on some sort of lifting mechanism which had no substance but they
could feel it bodily, which frightened them because if it was mechanical and
they reached the top, what then?
They did reach
the top and came out onto the hill through a fissure, not expecting the stench
and the dull yellowish light filling the hills and valleys, the smoke, the
noise of the earthquake building, building.
They saw the
dirigible hovering and didn’t know how the hell but it moved towards them, two
lines shot into the rock, Hugh had a quick look, tried to shake Gabriella’s
hand, to her amusement, two harnesses came down the lines, they both strapped
in, Jean-Baptiste in his arms and up they went.
In the
metallic undercarriage where they’d crunched to the floor, they now stood up
and unbuckled, ran for a rivetted metal ladder and climbed up into the main
room.
The area was
large but fairly sparse, carpeted, with seats here and there, bolted into
place. Of people, there were none to be
seen, Emma made ready to feed Jean-Baptiste, reaching into the papoose for the
bottle; Hugh sat on the other side of the table.
They heard a
noise, looked at one another but she decided to continue anyway - it was an
older chap with military gait, all bonhomie. ‘Welcome, welcome. Charles Seward, ex RN. Probably wondering why
I’m in this thing, eh? There are
others. This is a pickup run right now
and you’re the last.’
‘Destination?’
‘We’ll be
told. No light, no communication,
nothing electronic please. When you’re
ready, make your way to where I just came from and your quarters are up the
gangway.’
He turned and
went back. Emma continued to feed
Jean-Baptiste, Hugh looked on and smiled.
Suddenly there
was a huge thump and the ship shook right through, Emma was thrown to the floor
and had the sense to keep Jean-Baptiste above her, Hugh took him but the ship
was now buffeted in waves and through the window, they could see that eerie
orange light and heard one hell of a noise.
Bang.
Far below, a
tracer was thrown up and missed them by maybe 100 metres but that was still too
close for comfort. ‘Let’s go up,’ he said, taking the papoose, she carried
Jean-Baptiste, a female face popped out of a little room and told them,
‘Eleven.’ They looked about and the
young woman pointed the direction they were to go.
Bang.
This time a
bit further behind them but still it shook the ship. They ran down the central corridor and duly
found N11, went inside and closed the door.
If they thought it would be some sort of sanctuary, they were mistaken
because at the end of the four metres by three cabin was a long, thin,
horizontal window with no curtains and everything out there was eerily
visible. Hugh went over and looked down,
then beckoned her over, with Jean-Baptiste.
She glanced down, then looked away and lay down one of the two
berths.
‘It’s …
horrible,’ she said. ‘I’m so tired,’ she
added. He cuddled her and she cuddled
Jean-Baptiste.
Someone
knocked on the door and a female voice called out to them. They said to come in and it was the same
woman as before.
'Food,' she
said, placing a tray on the dresser. 'I
shall come for you tomorrow, at 08:00, with breakfast. At 08:30, I'll return and take you to the
cockpit. You'll find the toilets. Is that all right?'
They nodded
and went over to tuck into the light repast.
During the
night, the dirigible flew on, the disturbances dies away, the night became
darker out there and they finally thought they could get some sleep, Emma with
the baby and Hugh on the other bunk.
V
Sophie looked
at Sam as they struggled down the hill and couldn't help but think they were
getting the economy service, without the safeguards.
The smell from
the valley was appalling and she recognized rotting flesh - it had been part of
her so-called 'training' all those years ago.
She shuddered in the yellow light, he was more than worried, glancing
over his shoulder every few steps, slowly stepping down the hill with their
guide, one of the boys with the hosts.
They seemed to
be heading for one of the huts but now came the most enormous explosion and the
whole ground opened up in front of them, Sam cried out, she screamed and Little
Emma began wailing. The guide suddenly
changed direction and clambered over a rocky outcrop, expecting them to follow
suit.
'Hurry,
hurry,' he urged, as Sam held Little Emma whilst Sophie climbed over, he handed
her the child and climbed over, himself ... and thus they made their stumbling
way down into the valley. They assumed
the guide knew what he was doing and that Gabriella knew what the guide was
doing.
Little Emma
now set up a constant howling and Sophie could do nothing but hold her close
and make soothing noises, every so often letting out a shriek as a piercing
noise would rend the sky and then, behind them, the whole top came off their
hill, the guide quickly ducked under an outcrop and they followed suit.
The worst
part, they now realized, was that there was fear in the guide's eyes and they
saw that he had not the least clue where to take them now. Down to the
river? Was that any better? Back to the top of the hill?
Then, from
above, something came down and it was a rope but it was metal. They all stopped and looked up and it must
have come from over the hill behind them - the one which had not lost its top -
and it was a dirigible. There was now no
time to think what to do - Sophie pressed against Sam, he wrapped the end of
the cable around the three of them and tied it over and over, they felt
themselves lifted off the hillside, away from the boy and as the airship made
its way into the open space, very, very frightening to both of them, they were
also lifted, winched, it seemed and it was all Sophie could do to hang on to
Sam with one arm, Little Emma with the other and to shut out the horror, as she
had all those years ago, as she had done so many, many times.
At the
undercarriage, hands reached out for them and they were hauled to relative
safety, not knowing where they were going, with whom and whether the ship would
even surviving the increasing buffeting from the explosions which admittedly,
were now falling behind.
.o0o.
They found
much the same onboard as the Jensens had and about half an hour later, Sophie
found herself with a bit of time to herself.
She went downstairs to the landing deck and sat on the floor, against
the wall.
Now she turned
inwards towards her intruder, the one who hid and popped out when she wasn't
concentrating. 'You will not win this,'
she spoke, in her head. 'You will not
because my new personality is too strong.
I know you can hear me. You are
programmed but now you are out, you have only so much time to do what you must.
Suddenly, in a
rage, a rage she now remembered from the sessions, the personality stormed out
and threatened to consume her. She
fought it, as real to her as if she was fighting physically, the personality
was trying the flood approach, filling every nook and cranny and yet she kept
mouthing, 'Sophie, Sophie,' and then 'I, Sophie, I, Sophie, I Sophie.'
It withdrew, then
just as Sophie relaxed, back it came, worse than before and she gave a scream,
she was prone on the floor, kicking and threshing, repeating, 'I, Sophie, I,
Sophie, I, Sophie, over and over and a change came over the battle.
The
personality, the creature, whatever it was, made one final lunge at her mind
and she went into convulsions, not even
able to chant her mantra and yet she kept her mind on it, over and over.
With a silent
scream, the creature kicked this way and that, as if trapped, Sophie opened her
mouth and it was gone. Totally
gone. She knew it, knew it was over but
also knew she was exhausted.
That's how
Sam, with Baby Emma, found her, in the middle of the landing deck.
Chapter 20 here … Chapter 22 here
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