Polly Pippin and The Tunnel of Death (15 page)

She walked to the docks and sat on the sea
wall outside a workman's café, drinking warm, tasteless coffee
feeling desperate.

'Well, you are the last person I would have
expected to see here.' Polly looked up into a face she had come to
love.

'Piers!' she cried. But she was so wrong -
it was Zack.

Harry the Hand had been sitting in the tree
outside Byzantine Crescent spying and had seen Polly leave home.
He'd immediately transmitted the fact that Polly had gone out for a
walk on her own, and Zack had followed her. I have to be very
careful, Zack thought. Polly is smart, I have to fool her she has
to believe I'm Piers, my stupid pretend twin.

'Polly, I'm so sorry, I had to go away to
sort my head out. Zack is getting on my nerves.' He sat, took her
hand and kissed it.

Polly immediately pulled it away. 'Piers,
it's not good enough. I did not know there was someone in the
cottage that night, and you didn't give me a chance to explain, you
just stormed off.'

'I know that now Polly. I was totally wrong
and, I might add, very jealous.'

Zack was delighted with his performance. He
was so good, even he was starting to believe he was the moron
Piers.

'Polly, I have something very serious to ask
you.'

Polly looked at who she thought was Piers,
love pouring out of her eyes. Zack could hardly stop from laughing,
but now was the time to get Polly in his clutches.

'Polly, let's put that all aside. It's just
us now.' He stood, went down on one knee and, to Polly's utter
amazement he said. 'Will you marry me, Polly?' And out of his
pocket, he took the most magnificent diamond Polly had ever
seen.

'Piers, I hardly know you. How can I say
yes?'

'Because you know you want to. You do love
me, I know you do.'

Polly was confused. She thought she loved
Piers, but she was young, and getting married was another matter.
'I need time, and I have to consider the movie. Sorry Piers.'

'Well, Miss Polly, you had your chance. So
now its time to move on, you're not the only girl on the block.'
His face was black as he turned on his heel and walked away.

Polly watched him go. How Piers had changed.
But was it Piers? She thought. Or was it his dreadful twin Zack? I
wouldn't put it past him to pretend he was Piers. Tears filled her
eyes as she watched the ships come and go. She sighed and seriously
thought about smuggling herself aboard and going as far away as the
ship was going.

Turning the knife

Knox was waiting for Zack to return home,
and he was not happy.

'Any luck with Polly?' Knox said as Zack
walked in.

'No, the bloody bitch turned me down, and
I'm sick of waiting for Rekrap to get his priorities in order. All
he thinks about now is the movie.

'It's time to finish this fiasco. Read
this.' Knox handed Zack a document.

'What is it?'

'It's from one of our warriors. While we are
sitting here like idiots, they have just about destroyed
America.'

Zack started to read.

There is no communication
- no TV, no radio, no phones. We have neutralised the energy.
People are in the streets, all scared and most looking for trouble.
Fighting has broken out, and thousands have locked themselves in
their houses. Many have been killed by anyone looking for food.
Screams constantly fill the air, and the gangs, formed by look
alone, have joined together. Of course, no one knows we started it,
or what it was all about, but the fighting spread like wildfire.
Within a week, thousands were dead, shops were looted and water,
being the most valuable commodity, was hidden in cellars and
cupboards. It was unbelievable.

Families were leaving the
cities in droves but with nowhere to go. There are no means of
transport, and hostile gangs met them. They were killing those who
did not answer the criteria of colour, race or creed. Food soon ran
out, and when people could not get what they needed, they killed
and burned. As far as the eyes could see, bodies and vehicles lined
the streets. Even the most revered and famous were on the run. No
one was safe. Money had no value and was being burned to keep the
people warm at night.

Even raping had lost its
interest for those who had raped, and valuables that had been
stolen and hoarded were offloaded. Vicious gangs foraged near and
far for the smallest amount of water or food. As the food got
harder to find, fights broke out, even among gang members. Animals
that had been locked up had broken free and wandered. There was
plenty of food for the grass eaters - those that did not get caught
and killed for food. Dogs formed packs and were shot and eaten till
ammunition ran out, then they ran wild. Soon it will all fall our
way, when there is nothing left to eat and no law and order. Only
in the most remote areas is there some form of law. But the numbers
are few and can be worried about later.

We have also been informed
that the Middle East's back has been broken. It's simple, but
drastic, we just neutralise the energy.

Stay in touch,

Commander
Seymour.

~

'Whew,' Zack said. 'And we sit around
waiting for Commander Rekrap to finish with a stupid movie. I think
we should forget about Byzantine Crescent, the twins and the girls.
There are much more exciting things to do, so let's head to the
U.S. of A.'

The cavalry arrives

Xavier, Event and Salute were just about to
rescue the boys when the surprise attack by the Rebels left them on
the losing end. They fought long and hard, the battle covering
hundreds of miles. Several times, the Rebels surrounded one of the
Freeflyers, and each time the Freeflyer either fought his way out,
or one of the other Freeflyers came to the rescue. Now the three
Freeflyers were back-to-back, waiting for the moment of
capture.

'It is time for you to fold your wings,
Commander Xavier, Event, Salute.' The Rebel Warrior spoke kindly
but with a hard edge to his voice.

The flurry of wings from behind was not
heard till a loud voice cut in. 'I think not, Commander Pope. Not
this time anyway.'

The Rebel Warrior Commander and all the
Rebels turned to see Commander Rhettnor and his Freeflyers had
surrounded them.

'Not this time anyway,' Rhettnor
repeated.

It was no point continuing the fight. The
Rebels were now outnumbered.

'We arrived just in time,' Rhettnor said,
his relief showing, as he grabbed the three Freeflyers Xavier,
Event and Salute. 'That was close. I thought we had lost you to the
Rebels.'

'Sir, could we speak? It's important.'
Xavier told Rhettnor that Event and Salute had not betrayed
them.

'I knew that. I had to go along with the
plan so no one would be put in danger.'

'Well, you fooled me, Sir,' Xavier said.
'But can we go back and find the snow shack and rescue Piers and
Hamish?'

Rhettnor had a serious decision to make -
whom to send to save two uninitiated Freeflyers from the snow shack
that could be anywhere, as the battle had covered many hundreds of
miles. He knew the shack belonged to the Rebels and would be
camouflaged, or by now invisible and all sorts of traps could be
around. 'Event, Salute, you have a vague idea where the shack is.
Go back there and rescue the boys. I am sorry Xavier, but I need
you and I wouldn't take you with me if I wasn't sure Event and
Salute could rescue them.'

Event and Salute were already on their way.
It wouldn't be easy, the Rebels had a habit of either hiding things
or moving them.

Commander Rhettnor left with Xavier, knowing
he had left the boys' rescue in the capable hands of Event and
Salute.

Shack in the snow

The three men woke the following morning,
unaware of what had gone on outside the shack the night before.
Heavy snow was falling, and visibility was nil - so no exploring
today. Luckily, the shack was proving to be a pretty good shelter.
It had many treasures, food and hidden cupboards under the bed, in
an alcove in the roof and under the floorboards.

'If we had three of those beautiful women
you met here, I could stay here forever,' Piers said over
breakfast.

'Well, I couldn't. Christ knows what they
are doing to the movie without me there,' Steve replied.

'Well, so long as that poncy Brad Capriole
stays away from my sister, I don't give a rat's bottom. I needed a
holiday, so I will enjoy this.' Hamish buttered a fourth piece of
toast, leaned into the fire and warmed his hands. He picked up a
book he found and read, 'The Lost Boys.'

'Now that's funny. But all jokes apart, I'm
not even sure how long I've been gone. You can bet my family will
be worried sick,' said Piers, as he looked out of the window and
tried to see through the thickly falling snow. 'Hamish you're
familiar with the terrain. Any guesses as to where we are?'

'None whatsoever,' Hamish said. 'However, if
we wanted to chance it, I did notice some snowshoes in that back
cupboard, so when the snowfall eases, we could have a look
together, you in Steve.'

Piers went to the back of the shack and
pulled out three pairs of snowshoes. There were also some heavy
coats, warm hats and mittens. 'When do you think the snow will
ease, Hamish?'

Hamish was standing, looking out of the
window and suddenly stood stock-still. 'Shhh,' he said. 'Shhhh! Can
you hear that?'

'Piers tiptoed to the window and looked out.
Seeing nothing, he strained his ears. Like Hamish, he heard a faint
sound. 'I wish Xavier were still here with us,' Piers whispered, he
was more than worried, he was scared to death. He would have been
even more than scared had he known the secret of the shack in the
snow.

~

Commander Pope, surrounded by his most
powerful and favourite Rebels, was complacent. Even with Rekrap
putting off the 'Capturing the World' agenda, things could not be
better. In any case, he was more of a hindrance than help. Pope was
secretly pleased the movie had wrapped itself round Rekrap, it kept
him out of his hair.

He lay back in his favourite chair. 'We
should leave them in the shack for a while, it keeps them out of
the way, and it's three less to worry about. Besides which, the
shack will take care of them when the time comes,' Commander Pope
said. 'They will never find a way out,' he laughed, and they will
end up freezing to death. The hut will get it's sacrifice no matter
what.'

'Right, and I'll tell you what. Rekrap is
good at the ole 'transforming,' the captain said.

'Well, he should be, he has the transformer
tucked away somewhere. The devil help anyone who upsets him, he
continually forgets to switch it off.'

'One wonders who else will fall foul of
him,' the captain said.

'Maybe we should have a quick look at what
he's doing now and try and get all the weapons off him. We should
also try and find out where Event and Salute are. And I wonder if
Rekrap knows where he zapped Piers and Steve, probably not, but
lucky we do. Are you ready to go, Captain?'

'Yes Sir. I'm ready and willing Commander.
Let's go and find old Krappy,' came the reply, and in the twinkling
of an eye, they were gone.

Polly throws a tush

Brown Sugar Café was unusually full that
day. Freeflyers and Rebels alike, all incognito, were trying to
listen in to what each other was saying or plotting. Polly was in
her element. Mr Rekrap and Brad were sitting on each side of her,
asking her opinion about the movie and who else should star in it.
Polly was seeing less and less of Alison, and she had just about
forgotten about Piers, and his ridiculous proposal of marriage, if
that was him.

Alison had confided how worried she was to
Miles, who was also worried sick as to where Piers was. They
decided to combine forces, and linking arms they walked into the
café as if they did not have a care in the world.

'Hi, Polly, Brad, Mr Rekrap, how are you?
Nice to see you here.' Alison stopped to say hello.

Only Polly looked up. She gave a weak smile.
'Oh hi,' she said indifferently. 'We're having an informal meeting.
I'll see you at home later,' she said and looked away.

Feeling she had been dismissed - and she had
been- Alison walked over to the far side of the café and sat down
next to Miles. She told him about Piers proposal of marriage to
Polly the day before.

'That can't have been Piers. There is no way
he would have spoken to Polly like that. And where is his twin… and
mine, come to that?'

'Polly said she had a feeling it was Zack
pretending to be Piers.'

'She's probably right, and I think we should
have a meeting. Now who have we? Lily and Lucy and…' Miles
stopped.

Alison giggled. 'That's about it, Miles. You
the twins and me. Anyway, I'm dying for a cup of coffee, and one of
Lily's special cakes.'

'You're on, Alison.' Miles got up and walked
towards the counter. As he did, he accidentally brushed against Mr
Rekrap's cape. And that was all it needed. Miles disappeared, and
so quickly no one saw it happen. Mr Rekrap had once again left the
transporter on.

'So, are you totally happy with Brad as your
leading man, Polly? I think maybe I could do a better job.' Mr
Rekrap was just about sitting on Polly's lap.

Brad looked at Mr Rekrap in horror, and
before Polly could answer he said, 'would you like another coffee
or cake, Mr Rekrap?'

Mr Rekrap totally ignored him, got out the
script and started to look for places he could be included. Polly
moved away, coughing as she did, hoping Mr Rekrap would not
notice.

'I have to go now Mr Rekrap. Could we meet
again tomorrow? You make the changes to the script. I'm sure I will
love what you do. Let's hope Steve gets back soon so we can start
filming.'