Chapter Twenty Seven
Brick twiddled his thumbs before remembering he didn’t know how to twiddle anything. It hadn’t helped. All it had done was take his mind completely off the task in hand and leave him wondering if there were any twiddling courses available. The trio hadn’t yet managed to leave the confines of the alleyway. Spiritwind had enquired as to the next stage of the plan as they were about to re-enter the street, the ensuing discussion had brought them to a standstill. All minds were focused on working out how to find out what was in the boxes the aliens were carrying around. Suddenly Brick had an idea. Perhaps thumb twiddling did work after all.
“We could just look inside one of them?” It was simplicity itself.
“Excellent. Now we have a goal all we need is a technique.” Coincidence moved the planning along. “How do we get a look inside one of them?”
“Wait until we find one that’s unguarded and open it.” The bright ideas continued to flow from Brick. Thumb twiddling had a new disciple.
“I don’t see how it can fail.” Coincidence concurred.
“Two good ideas out of two; are you ill?” Spiritwind had nothing but mockery as congratulation.
“I’ll have you know all my ideas are wonderful. It’s just the world’s misfortune that most of the time they cannot see it.” Brick defended his mind.
“I’ve another interpretation.” Spiritwind bit down on a particularly plump piece of fried chicken.
“Then share your insights in to my awesome brain.”
“Well you know what they say; you throw enough crap at a stick eventually some of it hits.” Spiritwind smiled to himself as Brick weighed up the analogy. It was feasible if nothing else.
“I think you’ll find I’ve been misquoted there. I actually said if you throw enough shi….”
“They. How goes it?” Spiritwind turned to see They stood in the alley. Brick and Coincidence offered their own greetings to the rumour spreader.
“Karma was getting a little tetchy so I volunteered to come and see what was taking so long.” Judging by the direction of They’s face, his words were aimed at Coincidence.
“I’ve been invited to join this part of the mission.” Coincidence beamed.
“You can come too if you want? To be honest the more help we get the better chance the world has of being saved.” Spiritwind spoke nothing but truth.
“I’d be honoured.” They, wasn’t used to being included. His tales usually inspired looks of derision followed by social distancing.
“And so we are four.” Brick made a symbol with his hand. It would have worked better had he shared the symbol with the others and told them to raise their hands in unison upon his signal. As it was he had to lower his arm with a look of embarrassment.
“Do we have a plan?” They, was eager to get started.
“Brick has supplied a grand plan.” Coincidence offered credit and the opportunity to explain to Brick. Brick stopped working on the team symbol and answered.
“We have observed the aliens carrying a crate and believe the key to the mission may well be held within its bounds. We plan to search for one that has been cruelly discarded, and peek inside.” They’s face awaited the next part of the plan. As it wasn’t forthcoming he clapped his hands and smiled.
“Let’s do that then.” Brick took They’s words and converted them into action. He led the foursome out of the alley, raising his symbol once more. Nobody joined in, for the same reasons as before.
“Left I feel.” The group followed Brick as he turned left. The fact turning right would take them back to the building site went unmentioned. After a minute’s stealthy marching Brick grew tired and joined the general ambling pace and posture the other three strolled at. There were no aliens to be seen, and in a frozen and silent world any that approached would be heard long before they would be spotted.
“….he never had a choice in the matter.” They finished his sentence to the ums and ahs of Spiritwind and Coincidence.
“Who? And what?” Brick’s curiosity refused to be contained.
“You, and never having a choice in turning left. Apparently everyone’s left leg is a quarter of an inch shorter than the right, creating a natural lean and inclination to always turn that way when given the option.” Spiritwind ended his sentence with a fizzy chew from a ten pence mix up he’d found attached to a child.
“Oh.” Brick mulled over the information, trying to feel the lean They spoke of. Brick’s personal experiments continued as the group wandered through the streets of Puddleton in relative silence, each lost in their own worlds.
As they moved away from the centre of the town the shops to houses ratio dwindled rapidly. Within ten minutes strolling they were surrounded by suburban bliss. A decision awaited them at the end of the road. One path veered to the left, towards more houses and eventually a highly desirable retail park with ample parking and eateries, whereas the road to the right led towards the hills that concealed an invading alien spacecraft. Spiritwind couldn’t see beyond Mario Perlucci’s ice cream van parked nearby. Fortunately, Coincidence still had his mind on the mission.
“Hide.” Coincidence whispered his instructions with an urgency that contradicted his tone. The sound of voices could be heard bickering their way towards them. By the time Brick realised what was going on, Coincidence and They were underneath a parked car each and Spiritwind was nowhere in sight. Jumping into the ice cream van Brick found his friend, particularly his ribs.
“Cheers for that.” Spiritwind took the blow with minimal reaction. It had become numb from the repeated blows it had suffered throughout the day. Instead Spiritwind focused on the traffic light lolly and screwball he’d already procured from the freezer.
“You should have left a sign saying you were hiding in here.” Brick somehow felt he was the one that had been wronged.
“Would I still technically be hiding if I left a sign saying where I was?” Spiritwind weighed up the merits of each cold treat before choosing which to have first.
“Good point. The sign would become a mere contradiction of itself. Well done for not leaving a sign.”
Spiritwind didn’t acknowledge his friend and opted for the screwball. The voices grew louder, causing the pair to duck further.
After several moments ducking Spiritwind lost interest in the mission. He’d reached the favourite part of any screwball experience, the bubble gum, and invading aliens or not he was going to savour it. He precariously balanced the chilled ball on his flat, wooden spoon; slow, pensive movements guiding it towards his awaiting mouth. As the safety net of his tongue reached beneath it, relaxation allowed the faint shimmering of his hand to cease. Lovingly dropping the confectionary onto the centre of his tongue he left it to rest, the heat from his mouth melting the remaining ice cream. The soft, vanilla essence assumed entirely liquid properties and trickled down his throat, caressing each taste bud as it passed. Only when the ball was clear of ice cream did Spiritwind skilfully lift the strawberry flavoured sphere onto his back tooth, pausing while he lapped up the pleasure it gave him. Once satisfied he bit down, cracking the shell and releasing a puff of flavour into his welcoming mouth. He took a silent moment of appreciation before chewing more vigorously.
Spiritwind opened his eyes with a sigh of delight, to find Brick peering over the counter. He was observing the two aliens that Coincidence had heard coming. Spiritwind sat up and joined his friend’s position.
Two aliens stood at the fork in the road, one nodding in each direction. The body language of bickering was clear in any species. The crate they carried was smaller than the one that had been observed earlier, although its lumbering movements and the strain on the alien’s faces suggested it was full of something. The disagreement remained unresolved as they continued to pull in opposite directions, each wishing to go their own way. After several futile moments they dropped the crate and used their arms to gesticulate at each other instead.
After much debate, one produced a
folded piece of paper and opened it out. Inspecting it, the discussion continued with a new vigour and more excitable pointing. With a double glance, and a stare of incredulity, sheepishness descended across one verbal combatant, the other claimed his right to be smug. He beamed as he folded the document and attempted to slide it casually back into his pocket. Distracted by pride the insertion wasn’t clean. The paper hung halfway, falling to the floor as they lifted the box once more. Too embroiled in the outcome of their spat, the aliens walked away down the path to the right, oblivious to what they’d left behind.
“That looked important.” Brick couldn’t hold his tongue any longer.
“It did, potentially crucial.” Spiritwind could only agree as everyone waited for the aliens to be a safe distance away before emerging.
Brick jumped from the van first, performing a series of rolls to reach the discarded object. Standing up, he grimaced through the back pain as Spiritwind, Coincidence and They approached in a more sensible walking style. Brick had already unfolded the paper and come to a conclusion by the time they arrived. He declared his findings to Coincidence.
“It looks like a map. That’s more than casual fortune on such a mission.” Brick offered all manner of winks and knowing ticks to Coincidence. It took a moment for the concept to realise he was being stared at by the whole group.
“What?” He remained none the wiser.
“Bit of a ‘coincidence’, us finding a map when we’re on a mission without a clue where to head.” The suspicious eyebrows of Brick were partnered by Spiritwind’s. They joined in because it looked like fun.
“I suppose it is.” Coincidence remained nonchalant. “Why do you keep looking at me? Do you think? I haven’t…Well I suppose I might have inadvertently. I didn’t mean to though.”
“It’s very much appreciated whether you meant it or not.” Brick shook the map and stared at it blankly. He turned it round in his hands, checked the back and checked the front again. There was nothing. He twisted it round, pulled it close, and moved it a variety of distances from his nose before huffing defeat.
“Which way then?” Spiritwind failed to interpret the charade Brick had been playing out.
“I don’t know. It’s unreadable. Coincidence, exactly what kind of map have you provided?” Brick turned his ire on the concept.
“Now we never established it was even my….”
“Excuses.” Coincidence had only just got used to being lauded. To suddenly find himself to blame was too confusing to react. “This isn’t like any map I remember from scouts.” Brick held his forehead for a reason nobody understood, least of all him.
“You weren’t in the scouts.” Spiritwind downed a sherbet in riposte.
“Always with the specifics. Right, let’s have another look.” Brick stared at the map again, even more blankly than before. They, came forth with a suggestion.
“Maybe we need to look at it through the eyes of an alien?”
“That sounds a bit messy, and cruel.” Brick refused to contemplate murder before dinner.
“Not literally their eyes, but through the perspective they take on the world.” They accompanied his idea with a few flourishes of his hands.
“We’re straying into the territory of the deep there aren’t we?” Brick expressed his concern with a stern brow. Spiritwind drifted into his own thoughts. At least he knew what was going on in his own mind, to a point. Coincidence still felt unsure if he was the good or bad guy of the group so stayed observant yet quiet.
“Just get on your knees.” They felt a demonstration would be easier. “I meant very much in the physical sense. Maybe it has something to do with their height.”
“That’s a good idea. You should stop talking in riddles you know.” Brick knelt down.
“Perhaps you should stop hearing in riddles. Put a finger on each of those four dots.” They pointed to four circles down each side of the map that differed in texture to the rest of the paper.
“Is he doing that trick? It’s good this.” Spiritwind snapped out of his daydream to nudge Coincidence, pointing at Brick as he did so.
“I don’t know what you expect to….ooh look at that.” Brick’s eyes lit up in amazement as the image moved. A black and white outline of the street sat resolutely on the map, moving in response to Brick. Small blue dots littered the page without explanation.
“Point it in the direction the two aliens headed.” They continued to direct as Brick turned to face the road that led to the right. A large red light shone back from behind the hill ahead. “I’d say that’s the way we should go.” For once, They had an idea nobody thought to challenge.
“Do you think that may be a huge discarded casket? And is it necessary for me to be on my knees?” Brick stood up without waiting for a response. The map worked perfectly at any height.
“I think a big red light may hold more answers than a casket.” Coincidence joined in.
“It’s just that I’m a bit wary of big, red lights.” Brick showed genuine apprehension.
“Is nobody going to hit him?” Spiritwind had been waiting for the conclusion to the practical joke. “What’s the point in getting him knelt down if you’re not going to hit him?”
“It’s a test of manhood in some tribes, taking a hit in the head.” They began a tale as everyone put Brick’s red light concern to one side. “You have to take a hit from a bigger and bigger stick each year, and when you get to twenty five they stop using the back of your head and move round to the front. Most men aim to be married before twenty five as a result. Not much going on in the disco’s for flat noses and swollen mouths. There’s a legend of a granddad who once took a whole oak tree in the face.”
“Did he survive?” Brick equally forgot about the red light and replaced it with intrigue.
“Of course. He was the greatest man that ever lived. It reached a point where it became easier to swing him into the hardest trees they could find rather than chopping them down and throwing them at him.”
A moment of wonder gripped the trio as they imagined how many hits they could take. Brick believed he could handle half a forest straight in the mouth. Coincidence was the first to remember the mission and bring the topic back to it.
“About this red light then?”
“Have I mentioned my wariness of red lights?” Brick ensured the group knew his reservations.
“Maybe investigating it will rid you of your wariness?” Coincidence took the positive approach.
“Good effort Coincidence, but I’ve seen enough films to know a glowing red dot at this stage of an adventure can only offer another obstacle to overcome.”
“Are we on an adventure?” Spiritwind perked up at the thought of the looming car chase.
“What else would you call a day where the world is frozen in time by invading aliens and it’s up to us to thwart their efforts?” Brick had to know.
“Monday?”
“Shall we continue?” Brick led the ignorance of Spiritwind’s comment. “I’m happy to investigate the red dot as long as everyone understands I believe it will only lead to trouble, and I will remind you all of the concerns I am now airing should I be proved right.” The general nods and murmurs of agreement were underwhelming but contractually binding. As the map holder Brick set off at the front, the remaining three followed behind at their own pace. The mission had a direction to add to its purpose, success still needed convincing before it would consider joining.
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