Chapter 2
"What am I doing here?" Carla thought as drill sergeant Dobbs screamed down at her. The pain in her arms was intense as she forced herself to do more press ups. Her eyes lost focus and sweat poured out of every pore as she focused on just getting through this. One thought rolled around her mind "Why did I agree to this?"
Pardon? You got a lot of work for check out girls in MI5 then?
I don't work for MI5 and we want you to be an Operative, like me.
You said you were a Spook I thought that was MI5, the other lot do stuff out of the country don't they? You want me to be James Bond? I don't think so.
Frankly, we'd love the choice but you fulfil the main criteria.
Oh yeah what's that?
What you just told me. You remember what happened last night, just like I remember what happened the night before I stopped being a teacher and started working for MI8.
MI8? Never heard of them?
No. We're quite good at that.
The gun kicked in her hand as she fired off another shot down the range.
"Good work Jackson, keep it up." Dobbs purred behind her. He'd been much nicer recently, still an overbearing prick at times when she couldn't meet some insane demand, but more often simply there to give her a little bit of encouragement and keep her going. As she fired of another shot, her grouping much better than last week, she imagined the figure was the smug bastard Ekhard. One of these day's she'd get even with him for setting her up like this.
Seriously? You used to be a teacher, and now you work for MI8 who no one knows exist?
Seriously.
And you want me to work for you because I can remember what happened to me?
Yes. Most people don't, they blank it from their minds or... worse. But a few rare people can cope with the strain. We need them.
Why?
Because things like last night, Haemorrhages, happen all the time and we are the only people who can stop them.
Why not send the army in?
They'd go mad.
Like Sam?
Yes. Sorry.
She stood at the thick steel doorway looking into the bright white padded cell. Sam was lying on his side, drooling and wriggling in his straight jacket. She could see tears in the padding in places, flecked with blood and spittle. As she looked at his forlorn figure she felt the pain again, the stabbing in her gut. A hand fell on her shoulder, she turned. Ekhard stood there, immaculate as ever in his black silk suit.
"We've got an event Carla. You're to come along as an observer. The camp has already been informed." He turned away before she could say anything. She stood for a second, raised her hand middle finger extended, then shook her head and walked away from her lover and his personal hell.
But what happened? How come you know about it? Why isn't it in the news? What-
Calm down. We can't tell people. For most people the more they know the more dangerous it is. We have to keep it secret to protect them.
Oh.
Do you understand the concept of alternate realities.
Like what if Hitler won the war? Things like that?
Yes. Things like that. The... the walls... membranes between our world and the others is thinning. Sometimes it breaks and... things come through.
Things like those flying octopuses?
Squid. Yes. Things like that, and other things, terrifying things.
What the Care Bears never come through?
If they have we haven't found them. No it's always... bad.
Why?
We don't know. We just don't know.
Ekhard a young man in a leather jacket he introduced as Brad and Carla got off the train to be met by a couple of white suited Research wing members. Brad lugged the large black sports bag he'd not let his eyes of all trip over his shoulder and smiled.
"So what've we got?" he drawled. The taller of the two scientists looked at him and pursed his lips.
"We can confirm and outbreak in the village. From the information we've been able to ascertain it would appear to be a Clockwerks scenario." Brad laughed while Carla wondered what they were talking about. Clockworks? What would be the problem with clockworks? Ekhard turned to her.
"Stay by me, don't take risks. I'll explain as we move in. Brad what have you got for us?" The younger man laughed and dropped the bag, carefully, to the ground. He unzipped it with a fluid motion and pulled it open to reveal a selection of shotguns, pistols and grenades.
"I thought you'd never ask."
That thing, the Fish thing.
Fistula.
Yeah, that. That's from another world?
We think so, we aren't sure what they are. Sometimes a Haemorrhage is a short term thing, the membrane between worlds splits for a short time and then heals itself. But other times, something comes through but stays there as well, the Fistula holds the breach open. Unless we destroy it... well it just keeps on getting worse.
And you want me to do that? Walk into rooms full of flying squid or other stuff to stop these, Fistulas?
Basically yes.
Well it's a tempting offer but I think I'll pass.
The three of the carefully, made their way along the winding country road toward Little Haddingly. Clara gripped the handle of her pistol as she trailed Ekhard, flinching each time the barrel of the shotgun slung over his shoulder jerked. The sky ahead of the was dark with roiling cloud, Ekhard pointed at them.
"Edge effects, weather patterns between worlds messhing into a storm. Or that's what Research say." he said. Brad laughed, then darted forward to next corner to see what was ahead.
"What do you think?" Carla asked of the gangely ex school teacher. He stopped and smiled.
"Sometimes I think whoever's doing this just likes storms." he looked at her "Scared? I was my first run."
"Why were you talking about clockworks? Do you know what's in there?"
"Sometimes we can get some info, people escaping from the area what little they can tell us before they blank out. Or pictures, photos are... safe enough."
"And? What's it got to do with clockworks?" Ekhard smiled, looked up the road to see if Brad was coming and sat down on the grass verge. He patted the ground beside him and Carla knelt there.
"This will be covered in the last part of your training, but you should know now. Some of the alternates seem more likely to cross over than others. Clockwerks is the code name for one of them, we tend to give them names that stick in the mind." He rubbed his chin and stared at the clouds ahead of them. "We don't have much information but what we do know is this world is ruled by... I guess you would call them robots. Machines that we think once served Napoleon but have now enslaved the people of their world."
"Why?"
"Their power source and their weak spot, within their chests there are crystals, we've never been able to study them but we know what they're made of." He paused, shook his head and looked at her, his face torn between telling her and letting her stay just a little bit innocent.
"What? I'll know soon enough."
"True. It's blood, they are powered by human blood." Brad ran back, he was slightly out of breath but his face had lost it's customary grin.
"We're almost there, there's a copse up ahead and then the first buildings." Ekhard nodded, with quick hand signs he gave signalled they should move forward in silence. Brad and Carla signalled agreement, she felt a small knot of fear in her gut, wrapped around the pain that had been there all day. This was why they had walked, so they could approach in silence. Keeping close to the high hedge they continued to follow the lane, around them the air picked up, rain began to batter them and the skies darkened.
The house was old, timber framed with small windows. There were large gashes running down the front exposing the wood beneath and the door had been ripped out. Brad, after a rapid bout of hand waving with Ekhard, slunk in shotgun at the ready. Ekhard pointed Carla to stay there while he checked round the back. She knelt down. Then handle of her gun was slick in her hands, she tried to blame the rain but she knew it was sweat.
She froze when she heard the scream, her gun jerking up and pointing down the road into the darkness of the storm. Brad ran out of the house, Carla pointed down the road, he nodded, motioned her to stay where she was and ran on. She looked around, should she follow or wait for Ekhard? She bit her lip as she crept slowly forwards, her gun in front of her like a steel talisman. When Ekhard put his hand on her shoulder she almost fired off a shot before she knew what was happening. Together they advanced into the village.
I understand.
Really. I don't want it.
No. I do understand, I didn't want to do it at first. It's a lot to ask. So what are you going to do?
Go home, live my life.
Forget it happened? You can't. It'll gnaw at you, the knowledge, the dreams-
Shut up.
No one will believe you, they'll think it was a power cut that's what they will remember-
Shut up.
And if you talk too much they'll lock you up.
SHUT UP!
Sorry.
No one will remember?
No, most of the have forgotten already, some have... some are like Sam and...
What?
The couple opposite?
Mr and Mrs Bradley? What happened to them?
I'm sorry. We didn't get there in time.
They found the body two houses further down the road, both had been attacked like the first, both where empty and then they came across it. A shrivelled husk in tweed trousers and a white shirt, twisted up in a terrible curl dry and lifeless. The chest had been ripped open but the organs inside were just as bloodless, it looked like it had lain there for years. Ekhard bent down and pulled something out of the trouser pocket. A wallet, the drivers licence for James Kelly, 47 the address the house they knelt beside. Carla looked down at the mummified corpse and then into the face of her colleague.
"What?" she mouthed. He shrugged then pointed up the road. She could make out a shape further ahead in the storm. A huge shape, moving with a shuddering gait. Then there was a deafening roar and the shape shivered. Without a word Carla and Ekhard started to run. As they got closer they could make the thing out, legs taller than a man held aloft a bulbous structure of metal and wood that glistened in the rain. It turned with a jerky motion trying to chase a figure darting below it, one of it's legs was bent and a huge hole was open in it's side from which black liquid gushed onto the ground. Ekhard stopped and raised his shotgun, grimly he drew a bead on what looked liked the things head. Carla stood beside him and did the same, aiming for what looked like a many faceted eye.
As they both let loose a volley of shots Brad jumped up underneath the monstrous mechanical beast and seemed to grab hold of it's underside. Carla couldn't take too much attention as she was focused on the horrendous head, watching as it lurched toward her. She could see bits of it flying off as their bullets slammed into it but still it came on. Then Brad slammed into the two of them, slippery with the slime from the beast he bore them to the ground as the grenades he had wedged into it's underbelly went off. The world went white.
What do you mean! You bastard!
Miss Jackson. Please calm down.
Calm down, you cold bastard you let them die.
Sit down you stupid girl! Sorry. It's been a long day.
Oh god they're dead? Couldn't you have done anything?
I... I wish we could. I'm sorry I shouted. It's just...
What?
We are very stretched, we try but... it's so hard.
How many of you are there?
Operatives? People like use who can do the job?
Yes.
Fifteen.
Oh.
Including you.
Carla stood up, she looked down at the slime that was covering her, slick and red, deep red.
"It's blood! It was full of blood!" she screamed. Falling to her knees. She tried to clean her self off but the explosion had covered her from head to toe with congealing blood. She knelt in the road looking at her hands and trying to remember why she was here. Ekhard gripped her by the shoulders, she looked up to see his face, lined with stress and covered in gobs of blood.
"Come on, we've got a job to do." he said, smiling a crooked smile. Brads scream of warning mingled with the crack of muskets, Carla felt things whisking over her head as Ekhard's body was cut in two by the volley of fire. As his body fell to the ground she looked up the road at the metal figures kneeling one hundred yards away. As they stood and, with clockwork precision began to reload their muskets she picked up Ekhard's shotgun. Screaming she ran towards them firing from the hip.
Really?
Yes.
Fifteen? How often does this happen?
It's almost once a month now.
Oh my god.
I really hope he's listening.
Heh... Ok. What else can I say. Ok. I'm in.
Thanks. You can call me Ekhard.
The soldiers reloaded with steady movements as Carla charged towards them. She realised they would be ready to fire before she reached them, at this range the slugs from her gun where almost useless. Still she ran on screaming, trying to blot the pictures from her head.
In slow motion she watch the figures begin to kneel, now she could make them out, twisted manikins of wood, metal and bone with grinning skull faces. Tubes ran over and their bodies, connected to the pulsing red stones in their chests. She felt her finger spasm on the trigger, saw one of the metal faces jerk back and steady itself. The guns raised to the steel killer shoulders, the eyes glowed red. She screamed a last shout of defiance and closed her eyes.
She staggered forwards a few steps, felt the rain and wind around her dying down and opened her eyes. The metal soldiers were collapsed, rusting and flaking away before her eyes. She looked around, Brad stood near by next to a steaming black mound.
"Good distraction." he shouted. Carla turned back up the road and ran to Ekhard's body, she knelt next to the tall teacher and fumbled for his hand, slick with blood and rain water but already cold. His eyes, once piercing and full of life and wit were glassy and staring into the sky.
"Maybe now you know what's going on." Carla murmured and looked up to see Brad walking over. "Fourteen." she said softly. He lowered his head but she saw the tears just before he did.