“No it’s ok Miss Mathews,” Alicia said. “We’re not staying long just doing a bit of study for the race we’re in.”
They hurried along into the corridor.
Roy’s dad stuck his head into the kitchen, paper under arm and slippers on his feet, “Was that a girl’s voice I heard?”
“Roy’s got a female friend.”
He shook his shock away, smiled and went on his way.
“I’m gonna freshen up and change,” Eric said then peeled off into the nearest door.
The five entered into the next door down. The door had a picture of the Hubble telescope above the words ROY’S ROOM. Roy pulled the door shut behind them.
A single wooden bed was pushed up against the far wall in the corner. The image of the Tardis stretched out on his Quilt cover. Straight ahead a large desk faced the window, a computer sat on top, books and paper stacked beside it. All the other furniture had figurines of game heroes and space influenced models on top of them. But the first thing that drew the attention of the others was a large impressive ceiling high book shelf, full of books.
“Whoa! That’s a lot of words,” Tony said in awe.
Roy powered up his computer then joined the others who had formed a circle, Tony, Nadia, Joel on the carpet and Alicia on his bed. Roy eyed Alicia on his bed, paused, changed colour, gulped then sat down beside her completing the circle.
Joel pulled out the mysterious object and cautiously laid it down on the carpet in the center. “Looks like one of those watches people use to keep in their pockets,” Nadia suggested.
“Yeah, except it doesn’t open,” replied Joel. He flipped it over, the other side an exact replica of the other. “I don’t know what this is but I do know is humans didn’t make that chamber.” Joel drew all their attention, “with force fields and stuff. I recon Aliens built it. That was all made to ensure the protection of this object,” Joel pointed at the disk. “This must be one important object. And there are people out there who want it pretty bad.”
Roy stood up suddenly as if remembering something and sat down at his computer. He taped away then retreated allowing the others to view the screen. “This is the website I was telling you about.” He presented a picture on the right of the screen.
“THERE IT IS!” shouted Alicia.
“The patterns a bit different but the rest is exact,” Tony said. “What does it say?”
Roy summarized, “It virtually says it was found by divers in a ship wreck off the coast of Greece in the thirties. It was dated to eighty B.C. It was x-rayed and found to have cogs and gearing technology not available until the sixteen hundreds.”
“Aliens,” Joel pointed out once again.
Joel picked up the object and passed it around; each one studied the symbols and markings before passing it on. The object returned to Joel’s hand.
“Must be one hell of an antique,” Nadia said.
“And very expensive,” Eric added, standing in the open door way. “He’s the plan. Give me a couple of days and I’ll find a buyer for it.”
“We can’t sell it,” Joel said. “We don’t even know what it is”
“Don’t care. You guys owe me one for what I did back there and that’s the one,” Eric pointed at the thing in Joel’s hand.
“Maybe it’s a communication device like a phone or a com thingy like in Star Trek,” Joel held it up to his mouth. “Hello there,” he laughed. Joel flipped it over and did the same. But this time Joel felt the breath he exhaled when he spoke drawn into the small hole in the center of the object rather than around it as expected. Joel pulled it away from his face and looked at it with renewed curiosity. He then felt a slight vibration in his palm. The disk made a sound. It was a sound of a mechanism turning, interacting and clicking together inside.
The bronze coloured object began to glow as the sound and vibrations intensified. The others shot up from their comfortable spots and scattered up against the walls and furniture as far away as they could.
Expression of terror took over Joel. He was too terrified to hold the object but even more terrified to drop it. He settled for a bizarre dance, legs running on the spot followed by a pigeon toed squat and then back into running on the spot. He’s face twisted and contorted leaning back away from his outstretched hand holding the disk.
The objects action intensified further to a point where the room shone copper and the window hummed in its frame. A complete and pure white light consumed everything, a white light that even Nadia could see through her closed eyes. Then in a flash it was gone, retracting back into the disk.
The sound and vibration ceased.
The six searched themselves in shock checking if they were still as they were.
The computer monitor popped and the image collapsed into a tiny dot in its center.
There came a sudden cry from Roy’s dad in another part of the house, “AAARRRGGGHHH! THE PLASMA!”
Roy’s mum’s voice followed, “NO! THE MICROWAVE!” she yelled. “AND THE FRIDGE!” then, “No its ok the fridge still works.”
Joel quickly but carefully tipped the disk out of his hand and onto the carpet. He dusted his hands and stood up, “ok let’s sell it.”
Alicia protested and indicated that they have to find out more about the extraordinary object before they go get rid of it. “It could well be a dangerous weapon,” she remarked.
“Even more reason to get rid of it,” Eric threw in.
Alicia rolled her eyes, “Chickens.” She poured out the contents of a wooden Tardis sitting on Roy’s desk, bits of stationary and a pile of IKEA led pencils scattered out on to the desk. She scooped up the disk into the Tardis and shut the little blue door. “I’ll keep it hidden at my house until we find out more about it and the people after it.” She looked at each one, “If nobody’s got any objection that is.”
They all shook their heads with fright.
“I’ll drop all you guys off at home,” Eric suggested still in disbelief. “But I’ll take Dads car, less conspicuous.”
Roy stayed behind and attempted to fix his computer. The others walked out the way they came in.
Roy’s dad was hunched over on his knees in front of his big-screen TV weeping and banging his head down onto the TV cabinet, cursing power surges and all its relatives.
Chapter 22
Tony was a little taken back when he entered his kitchen and saw his grandfather seated with his parents at the prepared dinner table. Grandad only comes on Mondays he thought.
Tony’s dad read his expression and answered, “He was causing a bit of trouble at the home so he’ll stay with us tonight.”
Tony nodded, went to wash up and joined his parents at the dinner table. He watched in pain at his grandfather’s face. He watched it cycle through expressions of bewilderment, joy, emptiness and then tears of sadness.
Dinner hurt like hell.
Before returning to his room he placed a comforting hand on his Grandfather’s shoulder and said in a soft voice, “goodnight Nonno.”
Tony’s grandfather cowered in fright, “please no hurt me.”
His memory maybe gone but the man Tony grew up listening too and loving wasn’t. Tony withdrew his hand and recognition made a quick pass by, “Hello Tony, you grow into a big boy.” Tony smiled at his old friend then it passed again. “What are you doing in my house? Take my money but don’t hurt me,” his Grandfather spat.
Tony lowered his head, “Goodnight,” he sighed with hidden tears.
In the depths of sleep, a consistent dream persisted Tony’s mind. A haze of colours merged to form balls, some linked, and some touched to form clumps. He tried to push the annoying sights away from his mind but they only left momentarily. When they returned they were accompanied with an overbearing feeling of desperation and a firm teacher like voice telling him that this clump of coloured balls is the answer to what you seek. Tony finally recognized what the balls were; he remembered seeing a similar model on Mr. Farly’s desk (the biolo
gy teacher). The balls were molecules. It was the cure to all his pain. Tony in his excitement awoke himself out of asleep and the molecules vanished, his mind began a desperate battle to remember the combination and the sequence but it weakened and he lost. This is what it must feel like to Nonno everyday the thought. The dream so real, the prospects so certain and adamant, he began to cry at what he lost.
**
Nadia let out a chuckle as she lay asleep comfortably tucked away in her bed. Her mind sat back and as if watching a movie, she enjoyed the show flicking before her closed eyes. The images and even mild sensations of ancient Egypt flicked past. She giggled with excitement; Egypt her favorite subject. Nadia watched men rolling blocks of rock on logs, men slicing solid rock with saws, vinegar and sweat, scribes meticulously etching walls for eternity to read. But unlike what she was told, these were men not of slaves but the expressions of determination and comradery showed they were men of the king and of Egypt.
Nadia also saw groups of women sitting in rooms brushing and grooming each other in laughter. Nadia could not hear what they were saying but knew they were gossiping just like the ladies of today. Children played with handmade wooden toys and one little girl wore a gold coloured butterfly in her hair delicately made from a thin metal. The room wasn’t like the Hollywood movies with polished floors and wide spaces, but dusty, small and much more beautiful because it felt real.
**
Joel found himself standing on a small folded hill amongst a staggered plain of green and brown colours of nature. The sun was soft and warm on his face, the sky blood red. He felt a real sensation of being taller. He tried to explain it to himself as if hovering but his feet were still on the ground. He thought for a while then found the right word and corrected it, lighter.
A distant noise to his right made him turn. He saw four huge dinosaur looking animals about a kilometer away strolling pass. A giant black shadow swept across the dinosaurs, he looked up and a pterodactyl glided over-head, its head searching for food.
A realization struck him, that’s how those dinosaurs were able to fly and on land dinosaurs were able to grow so heavy and big. The gravity is lighter here.
The next feeling he dreamt was that he held a hand around something. He looked down and in his palm was an object identical to the disk he had found earlier that day, but this one was polished black not bronze. Looking closer he suddenly noticed his hand was a pale shade of white and the finger nail on his little finger was crushed and cracked with a scare that ran down around the top half.
The last image jolted him awake.
**
Alicia sat up in her bed in the darkness of the night. She threw her legs over the side, her over sized T-shirt she used as a pajama straightened out as she stood. She sat herself down at the desk, laid out the contents of her pencil case, opened up her A-3 scrap book and began to draw. Her hand moved precise and fast with only brief pauses to pick up a different coloured pencil; which all glowed the same dull colour in the darkness.
Her eyes still shut tight.
Chapter 23
The five kids waited by the fence for Dave, the same spot they had always waited but this time the building and students enclosed inside the fence seemed much smaller and separate from themselves.
Nadia was the first to note the feeling out aloud. The others just nodded. Their eyes focused on nothing, their minds reliving their own experiences of last night. Each child waited withdrawn into their own silence.
Nadia once again was the first one to speak, “Last night I had a dream I was in Egypt.” The others sprung out of their trance like state. “Not Egypt today but a long time ago. I saw them building a pyramid.”
“I had a dream too,” Joel said excitedly. “I saw bloody dinosaurs. It felt so real. I think it’s got something to do with that disk somehow. How about you red? Did you have a dream?”
“I didn’t have a dream but when I woke up I had apparently drawn something on the pad I keep next to my bed.” Roy took out a piece of folded paper from his pocket, unwrapped it and showed it to the others.
The image drawn in pen was what looked like a tube around the outside of a circle. In the center was a small stripped circle. Roy explained he didn’t know what it was and the others couldn’t shed any light on it.
“I drew something too,” Alicia said in an uncharacteristically tentative voice. Alicia crouched down and took out a neatly folded A-3 size paper from a folder that was slid vertically down the inside of her bag. She stood and peeled it opened. The others immediately were taken back by the vivid colours and clean lines of the picture before they actually interpreted the image.
The main picture showed a city hidden under ruble and partially overgrown with greenery. Another in the top left corner depicted a deserted country town.
“I use to draw pictures with the same theme when I was seven,” Joel said. “Things blown up and stuff. Never looked as good as this one thou.”
“I woke up in the middle of the night and a voi…” Alicia paused unsure if she should say it. They might think I have fallen a few sheep short of a flock. Stuff it who cares what they think anyway. She continued, “I heard a gentle voice telling me to draw this.” Alicia’s scared face waited for the jokes and laughter to be fired at her. There were none. Roy placed his hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.
“Tony, how about you?” Nadia asked.
“Nothing, just a bunch of different sized balls of colour all stuck together.” Tony quickly changed the subject avoiding any scrutinizing questions. “So when Dave rocks up we go directly to the University and win this dam game.” The others took the hint and didn’t push.
They sat silently in the car as they headed towards the finish line. Dave talked on his phone as he drove relaxed and with one hand on the wheel. As they continued on Alicia started to look out the back and side windows with growing agitation.
Joel couldn’t handle it any longer, “what the hell are you doing?”
“Umm I think we’re being followed”
The others started to imitate Alicia’s action but Alicia quickly stopped them, “way to go double-0-sevens, don’t make it obvious.
“So what if we are, we don’t have that stupid thing with us anyway. You hid it,” Tony said.
“Well?” Alicia rolled off her tongue.
“Don’t tell me you brought it with you?” Nadia pitched in.
Alicia nodded.
They were suddenly jolted hard against their seat belts. They recovered from the initial shock and then pain snapped across their chests and shoulders. The reason for their violent and painful interruption that forced Dave to slam on his brakes was parked across their path in the form of a green sedan.
“WHAT THE HELL!” Dave yelled.
The green car seemed to have come out of nowhere and now waited a few feet from the Four-wheel drive.
“GET OUT THE WAY PEANUT-BRAIN.” Dave cursed, hanging out his window and waving his fist.
“No, no Dave,” Alicia said and lent forward and pulled Dave back into his seat. “You have to get us out of here, NOW!”
“What’s going on here?”
“Please, NOW!” Alicia said in one finale desperate plea.
Dave stared over his shoulder into Alicia’s petrified eyes and then nodded. He put the steering wheel into full lock to the left and pushed in the accelerator. There was a sound of crunching metal and plastic as the Four-wheel drive lunged forward and clipped the front of the green sedan. Dave found an open passageway down the road and took it as fast as he could.
The passive trailing car now turned aggressive and charged. The car edged closer as they drove on. Dave weaved in and out of traffic hoping to put more space between them and the car.
The surrounding traffic objected to their antics with blaring horns and drivers yelling in clear and precise hand gestures.
The lighter and faster car kept gaining. It reached them and then pulled out alongside the Four-wheel drive.
Inside were a man in the driver’s seat and another shorter one in the passenger side. The shorter man motioned for them to pull over. Dave answered back by using the Four-wheel drive’s bigger and heavier body and ramming the side of the car.
Alicia let out a scream, Tony swore and they all held on tight. Dave nudged the car once more and pushed it onto the side walk. The driver fought the controls to get it back onto the road but failed. The car hit a vacant bench broadside. The car flipped over and over, bouncing, skipping and hopping on its crushed sides. The chilling noise of carnage stopped everyone in their tracks apart from one lone Four-wheel drive that continued to drive on.
**
“STOP THE CAR!” Joel yelled. “This is getting out of control.”
“No, can’t stop now,” Dave shot back.
“What! Let us out now.”
“I mean I know a place where we can hide a bit and assess what’s going on.”
Dave slowed the car to normal traffic speed and the others relaxed ever so slightly but still confused and scared to question Dave further.
They were driven on and on. Dave was on his mobile as he drove the five kids past unvisited shops, strange houses, down unfamiliar streets then past rickety asbestos clad factories. The car finally slowed and turned up a wide driveway that led into an old truck yard.
Dave hung up his phone and tucked it back into his pocket.
The yard looked abandoned derived by the unkempt broken and rusting iron sheets that made up the warehouse that occupied the left side of the yard. Three trucks sat quietly by a newer building a few hundred meters to the right. An expanse of cracked and broken bitumen littered with water filled potholes lay between the newer building and the old one.
Their vehicle bounced and swayed over the potholes as Dave drove into the old warehouse through an open roller door. Dave stopped, hoped out and released the pull chain and the roller door unraveled and closed shut against the concrete floor.
The warehouse was surprisingly dark for this time of day, the only light came from beams of yellow daggers stabbing through holes in the roof. Newly disturbed dust swam in the yellow spikes of light.