Whispers in the night, p.32
Whispers in the Night, page 32
He was now an hour and a half out but as his compass told him he had started on his circular inward journey there was no cause for alarm, though he was aware that Cameron and Jonas might be worried at the broken contact. After a brief interval he pushed on again, moving toward the faint crimson flicker which came and went within the haze. He was stumbling over black tree roots now, twisted into grotesque shapes.
Then the going eased up and he was in shallow ooze, his thick boots sinking in barely to the ankles. But he was aware that something unusual was happening. The faint pulsating beat had again commenced, the glow on the horizon had strengthened and he noticed that odd indistinct shapes were keeping pace with him beyond the splintered ranks of trees. He altered course abruptly, so that he was facing directly toward XK24 but that left the strange manifestations in his rear, so that he was constantly having to look over his shoulder.
He had progressed in this way for perhaps twenty minutes or so when the mist momentarily parted to his left and he saw a vast brown shape slithering slowly through the swamp, sending sheets of scummy water cascading over the blackened roots of the trees. Watson stopped, his heart pounding, his mouth dry. He could not believe his eyes. The viscous, glistening carcase came closer and he could see the vast, squamous head, like that of a slug; the central eye in the forehead opened to disclose a white, filmy disc.
Watson’s instinct for self preservation returned then and he broke into a shambling run through the thick slime, the perspiration pouring from him and blurring the helmet visor. The thing did not seem able to move very fast and he soon left it behind but there were other similar monstrous shapes ahead and he altered course to the right, a direction which would still bring him safely back to base. But now the slug-creatures had been joined by other, more potentially deadly entities. These resembled a mass of tangled brownish ropes where the bodies should have been, with what appeared to be miniature hands and feet in human terms, depending from their extremities.
As Watson rounded a tree-bole he was confronted by one. It had two toad-like heads from which malevolent pink eyes stared implacably into his own, and it made a sibilant mewling noise which seemed to emanate from pairs of yellow antennae on its foreheads. A thin crack which served for a mouth, opened, revealing two sinister rows of spiked teeth. The mouth on the righthand head remained closed. Something glittered in one of its paws and Watson saw with sick horror that it was a disembowelling knife, such as he had seen during surgical operations which were sometimes shown on the monitor screens.
As he stood irresolute, his will momentarily paralysed, he saw that the toad creature had been joined by others and they stood in a menacing semi-circle around him and in each miniature right-hand paw glittered the same incredibly sharp knife that the first one carried.
The mewling cries came again and then they were advancing toward him. The spell broke then and Watson gave scream after scream. With suddenly gathered strength he seized the nearest tree branch and swung himself clear, dropping into the ooze on the far side, where there was the only open space. Then he was running for his life in the direction of base.
14
“Watson’s back.”
The cry echoed along the steel corridors of XK24. Cameron and Jonas were running toward Central Control, where they saw on the monitor screens the mud-covered figure of Watson staggering into the air-lock. Behind him could be momentarily glimpsed dark forms rapidly receding into the mist. Then Elaine Russell was on the screen, explaining to Cameron that Watson was too ill to speak at the moment. A surgeon was attending to him and he would be taken immediately to the base hospital. As soon as he could speak she would let them know what he had to report.
She looked white and strained, Cameron thought, as she asked haltingly what had happened to the voice-link. Cameron explained that there was nothing wrong with the base equipment and that they had lost contact after about an hour. It had to be a malfunction in Watson’s helmet and he would await a report from the technicians responsible. Stevenson, who was on duty switched off the monitor then and Jonas and Cameron walked back to the Station Commander’s private office, where they slumped into padded chairs and stared silently at one another for what seemed like an interminable interval.
Cameron was the first to speak.
“This is it, then, Jonas. You saw those things on the screen. Fortunately the technicians involved would not have read them as being any different from our previous traces.”
The Flight Commander nodded.
“Serious stuff, nevertheless.”
“Serious as it could be. I’ve already erased all the monitor copies except for the master here, which we’ll keep confidential.”
Cameron got up and poured two glasses of strong spirit.
He smiled bleakly.
“This is becoming a habit.”
He pushed the other glass across the steel desk surface to his second-in command.
“And we don’t want anyone talking to Watson until he’s fit to see us.” Jonas gave him a long, hard look.
“Got you. I’ll have a guard put on his room.”
He shifted uneasily in his chair.
“But you’re thinking about the Destruct Button?”
Cameron’s face was grey now but the spirit seemed to be reviving him.
“Maybe,” he said slowly. “But let’s hope to God nothing happens before the President’s inspection.”
There was a faint glimmer of a smile on Jonas’ lips and Cameron inwardly admired the man’s iron control.
“I see you’re believing in God, too,” Jonas said. “It might be a good idea if we got the President to press the button. It would show we’re fully in control and might even lead to promotion if we can wipe out these creatures.”
Cameron shot him a bleak smile.
“You have a point,” he said softly. “It certainly seems that XK24 has the biggest concentration—or infestation—call it what you will—of these things. But if anything went wrong it could be disastrous. The President expects formal ceremonies, a banquet and all the trimmings, plus a pat on the back from the senior officers on the station. You know what these politicians are.”
Jonas took another sip at his glass, his brow furrowed.
“Yes, I do know,” he said heavily. “It seems to me we play it by what Watson reports as soon as he’s sufficiently recovered.”
“Rort’s off duty,” Cameron said. “He’s his Watchmaster. I’ll get him to go down to the hospital in an hour or two and check things out with the Russell girl.”
When Rort came back he and Cameron were closeted together for over an hour. A short while later Cameron called Jonas back to his private office in Central Control. Jonas had not seen him so gloomy since he had arrived at the station.
“Bad news?”
“As can be,” Cameron said. “According to Rort, Watson was chased by weird-looking creatures to within a few hundred yards of the main doors. He’s given a rough description of their appearance. I will have electronic likenesses prepared in the strictest secrecy. There were no clear sightings on our screens. They were too cunning for that.”
“What are we talking about?” asked Jonas. “What are we up against?” Cameron shrugged.
“He says their bodies are like a loose assembly of rope-like appendages resembling an octopus and that they have heads like toads. Two heads in each case. It sounds too fantastic for words, but I suppose we must take account of his shocked condition. He almost lost his life, it seems. The huge shapes we’ve been picking up as vague shadows are enormous creatures like vast slugs, according to him.”
Jonas made a deep rasping noise way back in his throat.
“Are you sure he’s in his right mind?” he asked. “Obviously he’s seen something out there. But he’s been under great stress...”
Cameron stopped him with a look.
“We’ve got to believe what he says. He’s given us the clearest sighting we’ve ever had of what faces us. This is the reason the frontier chain exists. Many of the earlier people who went out never returned. It seems we must soon use the Destruct Button.”
Jonas leaned forward until his eyes were boring into his superior’s. “But why have they waited so long?”
Cameron made a hopeless gesture.
“Perhaps they were preparing something,” he said ominously. “We have to assume they are now ready. If they came to within a few hundred yards of XK24 it’s the clearest warning that we ignore at our peril.”
He got up suddenly and paced around the office, tension in every line of his body.
“I shall have to get authority from the President,” he said at last. “It is time to act!”
15
“Ladies and gentlemen, the President!”
There was thunderous applause in Central Control from the select audience of senior personnel, some with their wives, at the conclusion of the President’s inspection. He had spent a whole day touring the complex, making speeches, and presiding at a glittering lunch party attended by over 300 people. A tall, blond-haired man in his early fifties, with a well-scrubbed face and wary blue eyes, he had made an extremely favourable impression in his finely tailored light blue uniform with gold braid on the shoulders and a few discreet military decorations on his uniform breast.
Now he rose from a long table, a glass of wine in his hand and gave a toast to the assembled guests. There was no room for them to sit down in Cameron’s suite so they were having a light buffet with white wine before the special ceremony. Beyond them, past the locked sliding doors, the work of the station went on with watchkeepers closely regarding the monitor screens and throwing switches; the same weary routine which had persisted for more years than anyone could remember. No-one gathered at the private party knew what was about to happen apart from the President himself, Jonas, Rort, Cameron and Elaine Russell.
Watson was present too, now completely recovered from his ordeal. He had been the centre of attention when his exploits had been explained in private to the President, who had personally decorated him with the Star of Light, one of the highest honours the world could bestow. As he stood next to the President, flustered and embarrassed at being the focus of all eyes, Elaine gave him a reassuring smile and then glanced across at the Station Commander and his senior personnel as they waited for the President to make his speech.
In the event it was short and succinct. There were the usual platitudes when he praised the staff of XK24 for their efficiency and eternal vigilance; commended several senior officers, including Cameron, Jonas and Rort, and presented a number of certificates of commendation, including one to Elaine Russell, which was greeted with a storm of applause. She was seen to whisper something to the President but even those nearest could not make out what she had said, which merely reinforced the suppositions of some of those present, that she was very highly placed in the hierarchy and one of those in the great man’s confidence. When the presentations were over and the last of the applause had died away, the President became even more grave and a deep hush fell upon the room. Rort thought he had never seen the leader so grim and determined.
“A number of you here today, realise the seriousness of the situation on this section of the frontier,” he began. “I do not need to impress upon you all the importance of your task here and of the threat to us all that lurks outside. Of course, the higher echelons at XK24 are au fait with the situation, but for the benefit of the majority of you, I am going to explain matters a little more fully.”
He went on to describe the great system of explosive mines that had been laid in the swamps years before as the main line of defence. He added that Watson’s mission out there had been vital and it was time to put a stop to the menacing situation that had arisen in the sector guarded by XK24. The defences had been laid with one purpose; to destroy the alien forms of life that were massing to attack the station and breach the defences. XK24 guarded the most menaced and vital sector of the line, which was why the central authorities had given it such high priority, both in its forms of defence and in the quality of the personnel. That was something of which they could all be proud.
At the conclusion of this opening he glanced round at the serious faces in the room. He caught Cameron’s eye and gave him a wan smile.
“What only a few people know is that we have an extremely important piece of equipment here in Central Control, one of only three in the entire chain of command stations. It is called the Destruct Button and to disguise its real purpose it is coloured green, unlabelled and kept within an unbreakable glass dome to which only the Station Commander has access. When that button is pressed the swamp area at a safe distance from XK24 will erupt in a series of devastating explosions and fires which will destroy whatever is massing out there. So lethal is this barrage—it covers an area three miles deep and two wide—that our scientists estimate it will secure this section of the frontier for at least the next ten years.”
He held up his hand as a thin ripple of applause interrupted him. His face was solemn as he glanced round the assembly.
“The time has now come for me to press that button, ladies and gentlemen, and rid the world of one of the vilest scourges it has ever known. You will be privileged spectators who will see everything happening on the monitor screens outside. If you will follow me I will then perform this necessary ceremony which is one of the most vital that has ever been entrusted to mankind.”
There was a long silence followed by muffled conversation as the President followed Cameron and the other senior officers toward the sliding doors. Once in Central Control, where all personnel were now standing to attention by their equipment, Cameron led the way down to the far end. He operated a lever and a steel panel slid open to reveal a shining dome, beneath which gleamed the Destruct Button. There was an awed hush as Cameron unlocked the base and opened the dome.
He held out his hand in a courteous gesture that seemed inexpressibly sinister to those present.
“The President!”
The tall man in the blue uniform took a deep breath and glanced round at the ranks of intent faces.
“A great moment in history,” he murmured.
He pressed the button. For perhaps ten seconds nothing happened while everyone held their breath. Then there came the dull boom of explosions which appeared to echo along the steel corridors outside. Smiles of triumph were erased in a second as the monitor screens went dead, leaving the technicians dumbfounded. Sparks were running up and down the instrument panels and there was the smell of burning insulation. A little dust descended from the ceiling in filmy clouds. The President sagged against the console, consternation on his face. Cameron hurried to his side.
“What has happened...” the former began in a trembling voice.
There were further explosions and distant screams.
“For God’s sake!” Rort said.
All those present were suddenly arrested by a steely voice which cut through the chaos outside with startling clarity. It was Elaine Russell, whose face was shining with delight. In her hands she held a flame-gun and as she swivelled it, the ashen-faced gathering cowered back against the far walls.
“Yes, Mr. President, the Destruct Button has been the means of ensuring your own doom! You have merely destroyed the titanium doors and our people will be here shortly. We have spent many years locating those explosive charges and replacing them in the area round the station entrance. Our artificial mist that blanketed your monitor screens was to hide our activities. You suspected something but you really did not know what was going on.”
“You she-devil!” Jonas shouted, stepping forward. He was brought up by the swivelling of the gun barrel and the menacing look in the girl’s eyes.
“Why have you betrayed us to these creatures? One of our own!”
Elaine Russell shook her head.
“I am not one of you! And neither is Watson now!”
At her motioning he stepped forward to join her. All those in Control fell back in horror, listening to the agonised screams and the chaotic pounding of running feet that was going on outside.
Then something even more terrifying happened. Elaine Russell shed her human envelope like a snake shedding its skin. The two toad-heads with the pink eyes swivelled toward her stricken captives and she moved the congeries of whip-like appendages, still keeping the flame-gun levelled in one diminutive paw. The same dreadful metamorphosis had also taken place in her companion and the thing that had been Watson slithered over to join the monstrosity that had been Elaine Russell. A nauseating stench emanated from them. The pink eyes glowed, as she screamed, still in the same human voice she had always used.
“Over the generations you have made us what we are, with your atomic bombs and radiation! Yes, you have created us; now you must pay the price! You have two hours to live as human beings! Then you will be our slaves for ever!”
THE SUMMERHOUSE
1
Belinda put down her book with a sigh, blinking in the bright sunshine. She was a girl of about twelve years old, with vivid gold hair, tied back in a pony-tail; and with china-blue eyes which stared with deceptive vacuity at the people she met. Her pink dress, draped across bronzed knees, was dusty where the hem had dragged across the old wooden floor of the summerhouse. Far below, a sheer drop from the cliff edge, Atlantic rollers beat furiously at jagged rocks, before being turned into white foam.
Few people ever came there and she now regarded it as her own private domain. During the long school holidays she would laze away the afternoons, eating sweets, watching the smudged horizon for the faint wake of ships, and then returning to her current book. This was one of the major ways in which she could forget some of the problems which had begun to darken her ideal life with her father and mother. Daddy was a prominent businessman in his mid-thirties and the family lived in some style in a Georgian house with a large garden overlooking the sea.
