A World Apart (40 page)

“Really? What are they doing about it?” questioned Rue as he politely placed his fork into an undercooked square of carrot.

“Patrols everywhere apparently, searching for him high and low, no idea why they are making such a fuss though” replied Andrew, taking a large gulp of orange juice.

The boys froze as an older girl walked passed them and headed for the canteen area; her name is Sun-Hi. She would flock her hair from side to side and pronounce her walk if she knew any of the boys were watching. Her skin is as fresh as a handful of natural spring water. Her parents came to England in the earl eighties, as her mother was connected to the fashion industry and they followed the work as well as the fame. She on the other hand came into the world in the year of nineteen-ninety-nine. Her mother Sen-Win Hi and father Sey-Yung Hi died in a tragic aeroplane crash on the return from a promotional evening from America. Despite the hurt within her childhood she was taken under the wings of foster parents Brian and Angella Weelmouth. A kind and honest couple from southern England, that work hard and play hard. They enjoy theatre and art, Brain has the gifted talent of oil painting, and has had three in the national art gallery in London, whereas Angella is musically gifted with instruments like the cello and violin.

Sun-Hi was overwhelmed with the support that they gave to her. Not to mention the vast sums of money heading her way every so often.

Andrew and Rue were temporarily disengaged from the world that much that they didn’t see their friend Seef approaching.

“Hi!” said Seef as he banged his tray of food down beside Rue.

“Oi, guys come on. You know she knows it!” added Seef, identifying where their eyes were directed at.

“We know, but it is a nice sight!” replied Andrew, obtaining a disgusted look off a female guard as she walked passed.

“So, what have you been up to Seef?” asked Rue, intrigued as Seef is always up to something or other. Seef is around five and a half feet tall, average build and is a scientific genius. He is unpopular with the ladies but is renowned for his scientific breakthroughs to aid the production of surveillance equipment and services.  

Mid-afternoon settled in only to be woken by a deafening walling and flashing green lights. Officers and workers rushing around into other buildings as fast as they could and disappearing. A stream of robotics paraded down the main building, heading for the docking bay. Silver in their complexion but built like a human. A metallic clap on the ground identified their density and possible strength. Heading off the main cargo hold and down onto the island, heading off into the forest ahead stealthily, crouching and virtually silent. As soon as the slithery robots scattered through the terrain the wailing and flashing lights halted. Captain Ingle came out of the shadow and walked towards the control room clutching some confidential papers underneath his arm. As the light faded the frost swooped in leaving its breath on everything possible. He reached for a heavy clock on a nearby rail and headed for the balcony that overlooked the front cargo hold. A south-easterly wind bruised and battered him from side to side, rippling up and down his clock. A sense of regret dawned on the Captain, although he reassured himself that he was doing the right thing. He opened the pale documents and started to shred the paper with his hands and tossed it over the ships edge as he watched it plunge into the mouth of the ocean.               

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Neville collects his belongings and heads back to the car he saw earlier, only to find that the body is no longer there and there are robots stood looking at him intently.

“Come quietly” said a soft voice from underneath the glove compartment. Neville moved a few inches, only to notice the robots replicate his move. With a sudden sprint he leapt into the car and began sparking the cars ignition to get it started.

“Come on…come on” cried Neville as he frantically tried to start the engine. At last the car revved up, but the robots were closing in on him and could be seen sprinting at full speed in the rear view mirror. He jammed the car into gear and pressed down on the accelerator with his hand, forcing the car into a skid as it sped off down the road. A loud clamping noise from behind Neville made him jump and temporarily lose control. A robot had caught up with him and had jumped onto the thin covering material of the roof. Neville looked up and saw the material rip and a mechanical hand jolt through as it connected with his neck. The car swayed off into the muddy side road, throwing stones and rubbish flying into the wind behind. The robot had full grip of Neville and wouldn’t let go at all costs. Neville was being hoisted out of his seat except his seatbelt was halting him, cutting into his stomach and shoulder. A creature dashed out from under the passenger seat, grabbed hold of the robot and jammed a sharp stick into the wires, releasing his grip on Neville. Neville resumed his seat and attended to his shoulder, he was in so much pain it felt as though it was dislocated. The creature was an odd creature wearing rags and no shoes. His hair messy and oily like his ugly yet kind face.

“! s’R.I.A esoht nrobbutS” spoke the creature, smiling and looking condescendingly at the mangled robot in the rear view mirror.

“What?” replied Neville, in slow motion.

“Ah, English! Sorry, thawt you were one of vowz” replied the creature. 

“What are you?” added Neville, looking intently at the creature before him.

“A gangloi ov course! Have vou not heard of me! I vam in charge of retrieving things vom your time to mine” replied the creature, picking an ant out of his toes and eating it at once.

“What has that got to do with me?” replied Neville, disgusted at what he just witnessed.

“It vas more to do wiv you than you know” said the creature defiantly. Neville hands vibrated violently against the steering wheel as his speed increased. He seemed to be ignoring the creature as he faced looked determined. He grabbed an out-of-date atlas from under his seat and began looking for Hordon. He found it, all he had to do now was to work out where he was and he would be there in no time.

“I am here to help you” cried the creature as he fastened his seatbelt after seeing the speedometer rise several miles per hour.

“You’re not real so please leave me alone!” replied Neville looking straight ahead at the empty road. A heat wave could be spotted shimmering off the road in the distance where there was a decline in the road’s surface. 

“I am… Neville!” replied the creature.

“How do you know my name?” cried Neville, taking his eyes off the road to look at the little gangloi.

“I’ve seen your brother…Edward” replied the creature, knowing that this would attract his attention. Neville slammed the breaks on as the car screeched into the soil area off the road.

“My brother? Why…why would you say these things!” questioned Neville.

“I haven’t seen him since I was six years old, he could be dead now for all I know” added Neville, his blood boiling under his skin at the thought of the creature mentioning one of his siblings.

“I think not my friend” replied the gangloi as he pulled a shiny silver ball from under his rags and held it out for Neville to examine. Neville looked closely to see a young boy and two girls coming out of what looked like a dome, there were some adults in the background.

“How do I know that this is real?” replied Neville, shrugging off the images on this magic ball.

“Look closely at what he is holding!” replied the gangloi, placing a crooked finger on the ball towards Edward’s hand. Neville shot back into the door panel as he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. There placed in the clutches of Edward’s hand was a family photo identical to Neville’s.

“So, there you are, I am no liar” added Gangloi smiling briefly.

“I have little time before the A.I. R’s come back for me. Remember, when you reach the house do not be fooled by a means of entry!” said Gangloi, reaching for something on his back.

“Here, I can give you this, but you must remember to bring it back. Only use it when you want to see the truth!” said Gangloi, handing Neville what looked like a torch as he vanished into an explosion of thick white smoke.

“Wait, what…” shouted Neville, desperate to find out more information. He started the car and started to drive again, noticing that the fuel tank had only half of a tank of fuel left.

Neville was bound to his seat as his eyes felt heavy, letting his mind run away with the road in front of him. He had been driving for over three quarters of an hour and was approaching the first junction. A wonky handmade sign directed Neville right down a road that bore no tarmac as expected, just gravel and soil which could be heard as the tires glided over the land, sounding like a million ants scuttling at once. Twenty minutes later and Neville was approaching a sign that welcomed him to Horndon. He was pleased to be there as it was falling dark quickly and he wanted to find shelter before midnight. The A.I. R’s were at the back of his mind, occasionally popping forwards and making his heart race at the thought of one being near him. The village consisted of around thirty houses, most of them demolished and ruined. A phone box and bus stop were the highlight of amenities of the village, accompanied by a swing and a round-about for the small minority of children present. A crackling came from the radio Neville had found. He braked sharply and pulled out the mangled radio, carefully trying to sustain its durability.

“Red 44JL X118P this is BG9. Children surrounded in the house. I repeat zone 3.dpo Code 113 do you copy” said a hurried South American accent.

“This is Red 44JL X118P I hear you loud and clear. What’s your status?” replied an older voice, trying to get his breath back. Neville eyed the back of the radio device and lifted his foot off the brake as he passed the village and headed east towards London.

Neville followed the patrols communications which lead him to a deserted street. He lent forward to get a closer look at where the patrols may be, noticing an upwards torch light coming from a house on the hill at the very end of the street. Something was odd about the street, it was identical to the one behind him, the same houses, same cars outside, everything exactly the same. Neville edged the car forward to avoid alerting the patrols of his presence. The cold breath of Neville’s and the silent roar of the engine were the only noises around. He parked the car near a house at the end that had four candles in the window and horrid curtains. He was so nervous that the palms of his hands sweated continuously. The probability of him being caught was extremely high, which made him conscious of every move. Over ten patrols were tacitly positioned in front of the house, waiting for their instructions. A chubby man got out of an expensive shiny black car and was greeted by an older man in patrol uniform. Neville switched the volume up on the radio so he could listen in on their conversation.

“What’s the status Roger?” asked the chubby beige coated man; his face covered by a large black hat. Neville placed his ear closer to the speaker of the radio.

“The children are inside. We are waiting for final orders” replied the Scottish man, his beard fledged across all over his face. Neville thought of Gangloi had said to him as his words swirled around his mind. He knew that he had to enter that house and see his brother, but just how could that be possible what with the patrols surrounding the house. Gangloi’s words sank into the darkest crevices of Neville’s mind, where he tried to piece together what was going on. He yanked the handbrake up tightly and left the car ticking over as he held the device that Gangloi had given him in the shape of a torch as the words came back to him ‘…see the truth…see the truth…’ as he tried to locate some sort of activation button but could not find one. He pointed it towards a house and a blue light lit the dark skies, which alerted a patrol who turned around. Neville ducked under his steering wheel and aimed the torch down to the floor to hide the light; however, the light had gone out moments before. The patrol resumed his stance and forgot about what he had seen, Neville luckily escaping his stare. Neville looked at a small black marble strip on the handle of the torch, and letters began to form.

‘Truth of Existence’

Neville couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He had pointed it at a house on the street and now it was telling him whether it was true. Neville was overly excited by what had happened and scrapped around for some paper and a pen within the car. He came across some in the glove compartment and started to write down something he has wanted to find out for years.

‘Are my parents alive?’

Neville waited anxiously as he aimed the truth torch at the piece of paper that was sat beside his feet on underneath the steering wheel. The blue light sprang to life and as soon as Neville lifted it away it was gone. He braced himself and looked at the marble strip. Waiting for that piece of information he thought would never be answered.

‘This lies in the hands of the beholder’

Neville lifted his fingers one by one from his face to look at the words written on the truth torch. He was outraged and shone the light frantically down towards the paper to check the answer.