Ellie Quin Episode 5: A Girl Reborn (21 page)

‘I don’t know….I don’t know! Frasier?’

The chimpanzee shook his head. ‘There really is nowhere to go.’

‘What about World Three? said Ellie.

Jezz turned to her. ‘Full of giant scorpions and killer bears?’

‘Maybe they’re all still knocked out?’

As if in answer to her that, downhill from them, the large entrance leading to World Three began to slide open. They turned to look at the opening leading into the dimly lit passageway, hoping that that was
all
they were going to see, but a moment later the first of them emerged from the gloom; Ellie’s bears, Jez’s dark coloured gremlin-men and several giant scorpions.

Jez wilted, her grasp on Ellie’s wrist loosened. ‘That’s it then…we really are totally screwed!’

The menagerie of creatures began instinctively to veer towards them, drawn by their human scent, by an instinct to hunt and kill.

Above them, at the top of the meadow, Shelby and Gray appeared, accompanied by a dozen of the garden jimps, still clutching their rakes, watering
cans and pruning shears. Below them, Ellie and Jez’s freak show creations were spreading out across the field, now into the shadow of the nearest of the oak tree’s low boughs, then back out into the pleasantly warming sunlight once more.

‘Jez,’ said Ellie. ‘Oh God, I’m so sorry.’

‘What for?’

‘Bringing you along. You should have stayed with Aaron.’

‘Don’t be such a limp-gimp.’

‘You’d be
alive
Jez…if you’d never picked me up off the street in-’

‘I’d still be shaking my toosh for pervos in that cruddy bar, El’.’ She hefted the shear-blade in her hands. ‘I’ve seen more of the universe with you than I ever would’ve done on my own.’

Ellie reached out and clasped her hand. ‘Thank you for everything. I love you, Jez.’

‘Yeah, yeah…let’s not get all mooshie yet.’ She swiped the blade through the air. ‘I still reckon we got a chance here. Right monkey?’

Frasier flexed his arms. ‘I shall endeavour to do my best.’

‘Anyway,’ Jez grinned and swished her blade through the air again. ‘We’re not going to die here, Ellie….I totally
know
that.’

‘How?! How the hell can you possibly know-’

‘That boojam? Remember him? Kazammo, or whatever his name was? He said we’d
get out
of the system. So we
can
’
t
die here!’

Ellie turned to look at her, incredulous. She really did seem to believe in that superstitious nonsense. There was something heartening in that. Something to lace her fingers though and grab hold of. Jez seemed to live her life thinking it was like a sopa-dram with her as the heroine….too beautiful to die, the leading lady always lived to see a happy ending. It was stupid. It was child-like-stupid, it was typical Jez, but it was something.

She nodded to herself.
Okay
…
so now would be a good time for a happy ending to make an appearance then
.

The creatures were now fanning out around them. Uphill of them, Gray and Shelby and the jimps came to a halt. ‘Hey there, ladies!’ called out Gray. ‘Nice running…but I guess it’s game over now.’

Shelby stuck a finger in the air. ‘Hmmm…next time we do a war game, shall we try a hide-n-seek scenario? What did you call it…Fox and Hounds?’

‘Yeah, Shelbs. Good idea.’

The sky flickered with movement. Mother’s
active
face was gone and replaced with the I’m-busy-knitting-animation once more.

‘Gray,’ tried Jez once more. ‘You let me and Ellie live, and we’ll both be your flesh slaves. Anything you want, do you understand?
Anything
at all you want…?’

‘What is it with
girls
?’ Shelby curled his lips in disgust. ‘It's like they think all we think about is sex.'

'Yeah, man…like we're just dumb sex-obsessed apes.' Gray winked at Frasier. 'No offence, mate.'

'Shall we just finish the game?’

Gray shrugged. ‘Yeah, okay, man. I’m getting hungry anyway. I fancy a big fucking juicy prot-burger after this.’

They advanced on them, the jimps dutifully following behind. Ellie turned round, the bears,
her
bears were now waddling towards her. She recognised her two ‘lieutenants’ Jonny and Max among the wall of fur and claws and teeth. ‘Hey! It’s me! It’s Ellie! Your General!!’

Her desperate plea made no difference, they advanced regardless; half-sized hairy soldiers with the dead-eyed expression of desensitised killers.

And then…all of a sudden they stopped. The bears, the little all-black stick men, the scorpions. She turned to look at Shelby, Gray and the jimps. Them too. Everyone, everything, frozen like statues.

‘Huh?’ Jez looked around. ‘What’s…?’

Ellie looked up. Mother was still knitting.
Something
’
s happened. She
’
s occupied with something else. Something going on elsewhere?

Ellie turned to the young men. ‘Shelby?’

He stared straight through her. Not appearing to hear her. Swaying gently, like someone stopped mid-stride, trying hard to remember if they’d left the front door unlocked, or an unnecessary appliance on.

‘Shelby? Gray?’

No response.

Then, as if summoned by some unheard voice, Shelby, Gray and the jimps turned on their heels and began to jog uphill towards the flower gardens. The bears, the gremlins and the giant lumbering scorpions surged forward. Jez braced herself to swing at them, but they brushed past, completely oblivious to her.

‘What’s…what the hell's happening?’

‘I suspect Mother’s summoned them,’ said Frasier.

‘I didn’t hear her.’

‘It’s in the air. She’s attracting them somewhere else…for some reason.’

They watched the creatures clambering in among the hedgerows, disappearing from sight. Further up the hill Ellie saw Gray and Shelby climbing the path and stepping back onto the edge of the plaza, and finally disappearing from sight.

Then, a moment later, they heard the first crack of gunfire.

One shot, followed by another. Then rapid fire, one gun. Then a second. They heard a high-pitched keening. Ellie saw the lumbering scorpions hastening up hill, clambering up through the garden to the lip of the plaza and onto it. She heard another, deeper weapon thudding percussively, one of the scorpion's giant claws exploded in a shower of muscle tissue and chitinous shell.

‘My God…somebody’s come to our rescue!’ screamed Jez. She turned to Ellie. ‘I told you! I told you!!! We don't die!’

Or to kill us
. Ellie thought. Who? The Administration?

As the other scorpions clambered up onto the plaza, the heavier sounding gun, thudded again and again and again. The bears were now clambering over the lip and out of view, charging, oblivious to fear and danger towards whoever was shooting up there. The guns rattled staccato shots out over each other, the air was thick with the mewling dying cries of the small creatures.

The unseen slaughter lasted five minutes, and for five minutes Ellie dreaded it coming to a faltering end. While they heard gunshots…whoever was up there, was killing fabricants, whittling them down, improving their chances of survival.

Finally, with one last shot peeling around the biome’s curved sky, it stopped. They waited silently, standing stock-still in the meadow, wondering whether their mysterious saviours would appear…or whether they'd see the first of the fabricants reappearing to come back downhill and finish their work.

'Look!' gasped Jez.

The silhouette of a figure appeared at the edge of the plaza, raised a hand to shadow his eyes and surveyed the landscape below. Then several others stepped up beside him, shouldering guns and looking around.

The first figure spotted them.

‘Whoever that is…he’s just seen us,’ said Jez.

‘I know.’

Alone, the first figure made his way down the steps onto the pathway, temporarily out of sight as he descended into the gardens, then a minute later he emerged from the hedgerow at the top of the meadow.

Ellie stared at him as he stood where he was There was something vaguely familiar about him.

I know him
.
We've met before
.

An old man, lean and agile for his age, but with a pale and creased face, shadowed with the bristles of an un-tamed salt and pepper beard. He waded through the tall grass towards them, hands spread out showing he meant no harm

He drew up a dozen yards short of the two girls and Frasier.

‘Who the fregg are you?’ gasped Jez breaking the protracted silence. She quickly tempered that with a friendly grin. ‘Not that we’re ungrateful or anything. But seriously, who are you?’

The old man completely blanked her. His gaze settled firmly, almost
reverentially
on Ellie.

‘Hello again, Ellie,’ he smiled.

‘Hey? What?’ Jez gawped. ‘’Again?’ You…you
know
her? You know Ellie?’

He ignored her and stepped slowly forwards, stopping just in front of her. ‘How are you doing?’

She managed a weak nod. ‘I’m…I’m okay, I guess.’

‘You remember me?’ He narrowed his eyes. ‘Do you remember?’

She nodded slowly. ‘You're….you're
Mason
.’

‘That’s right,’ said Mason. ‘I’ve come to take good care of you. You really have no idea how important you are, do you?’ He held out a hand to her. 'Together…you and I, we're going to change the universe.'

CHAPTER 28

Deacon arrived in the cruiser’s infirmary, flustered and out of breath. Councillor Hayden was right beside him.

Both of them had been awoken by Dr Takeo-Jones. On the ship’s time cycle it was Night-Plus-four hours. Five minutes ago Deacon had been fast asleep on his gel-cot dreaming of Councillor Hayden. They’d been making love in a wood, naked and entwined. He’d been simultaneously aroused and revolted by the dream.

‘Goddammit!’ He barked at the technician. ‘What’s so damned important you needed to scare me out of bed at this time of bloody night?’

‘Candidate six!’ he replied. He beckoned for him and the Councillor to follow him into the lab. ‘I just decided to check in on her…there’s blood!’

‘What?’

He hurried past the other growth tubes towards the last one in the row, waving his hands for them to hasten over. ‘She’s haemorrhaging!’

Deacon and Hayden hurried over. Councillor Hayden leant towards the glass container, peering into the murky, cloudy liquid inside. The protein soup was normally a bright pink colour, but right now it was a dark crimson.

‘What the hell have you
done
to her?!’

‘Nothing but what we agreed!’ replied the Doctor. ‘I continued with the ageing process!’

‘Well stop it then!’

Dr Take-Jones scowled at Deacon. ‘I’m not an idiot! I have! I already stopped the process!’

Hayden cupped her eyes and leant against the glass. ‘What’s her approximate age now?’ She had trouble seeing through the foggy red liquid. ‘From what I can see she doesn’t look that old to me.’

‘She isn’t…I would say she’s about twenty-five to thirty. It’s not a precise figure but, certainly
Six
isn’t any older than that.’

‘Is this a mutation? A ruptured tumour?’ asked Deacon.

Dr Takeo-Jones shook his head. ‘Last time I looked, there were no signs of…she was looking perfectly normal last time I checked on her.’

‘Where’s it coming from?’

‘I suspect a blood vessel has ruptured or…’

Councillor Hayden pressed her face up against the side and peered deep into the darkening red liquid. She could see the faint outline of the girl, still tucked into a foetal position. She squinted, trying to make sense of the dark outlines hanging in the liquid, then…she saw it, a fresh curl of blood curling up from the lower half of her body.

She gasped. She immediately understood what she was seeing.

Deacon turned to her. ‘What is it? What can you see?’

Hayden continued peering into the murky liquid. ‘My God…’ she whispered. ‘Good God….no.’

‘Councillor?’ prompted Deacon rubbing his tired eyes impatiently. If it had been anybody else, he would have sworn at them to stop gawping like an idiot and explain themselves. ‘What is it?’

She turned round to look at him. Eyes wide. Quite clearly shaken. ‘Mason…the
crazy fool
!’ she whispered.

‘We need to get her out of there!’ interrupted Dr Takeo-Jones. ‘We need to try and stop this haemorrhaging before she dies.’

‘She’s not
dying
, you idiot,’ she replied. ‘She’s
menstruating
!’

The word was one Deacon hadn’t heard in a long time. It was archaic. A word that belonged to a bygone era. He only vaguely recalled it had something to do with…

‘My God!’ whispered Dr Takeo-Jones. ‘Are you sure?’

‘She’s
fertile
,’ she explained. She stroked her forehead, massaged a temple and closed her eyes. ‘Mason you stupid, fucking, reckless bastard!’

‘Fertile? You mean, she…?'

'Yes!' snapped Hayden. 'She could make a goddamned baby!' She turned to him, ashen-faced and genuinely horrified. ‘Mason's made a fertility bomb.’

To be continued…

In

ELLIE QUIN Beyond The GATEWAY
(Book 6 in the Ellie Quin series)