months on end to go to work? It’s bad enough just being out for the day.
And I wouldn’t even go to the end of our street for my lot!’
I laughed and shut the door. James turned the car around in the dusty farm yard and stopped when he was level with me. `Thanks for the lift. I’ll give you a call.’ `See you at the pub on Friday?’
I knew that I had to make an effort to try and stay away from the pub but he’d put me on the spot. `Probably,’ I said, being deliberately noncommittal. `See you there,’ he smiled, knowing full well that I wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation of a pre-weekend drink.
James drove away and I watched him disappear before turning and walking towards the farm house.
10
In spite of the huge and sudden increase in the population levels of Thatcham, no-one in the village went to The Badger’s Sett that Friday evening. Ray Mercer wasn’t even there. In fact, for the first time in living memory (apart from when the cellar had flooded two winters back) the pub was closed.
Exactly one week had passed since the arrival of the alien visitors and preparations were well in hand for the jettison of their useless, crippled transport away from our planet and out towards the sun. Although no exact time scales were available, we were assured that it would happen tonight. Across the world the media reported that, within the next two or three hours, the massive machine’s silent engines would be fired for the final time.
A vast crowd had gathered on the sprawling hills and cliff tops overlooking the ocean to watch the monumental event.
During the last few days the flow of bodies into Thatcham and the surrounding villages and towns had been relentless and had increased still further once the launch date of the ship had been revealed. Even now with only hours to go and with the entire area heaving with people I could still see apparently endless columns of cars snaking along country roads towards the coast.
They were so tightly packed that the headlamps of one car did little more than illuminate the back bumper of the one in front.
Many had simply stopped and parked up on grass verges.
Everyone wanted to be as close as possible to the alien ship when it finally left our atmosphere. People clamoured for a chance to see an alien or, at the very least, some distant alien activity. Everyone wanted to be there to witness history being made. Although I hadn’t seemed to match the excited fervour of most people, I too didn’t want to miss anything. This was a chance to be a part of something that would be permanently etched into our history books and, in all probability, into the alien’s history books too.
Robert and I sat amongst the excited masses on the cliff-top not far from where I’d stood and watched the ship first arrive.
We crouched down together on a small patch of dry, brittle grass and waited impatiently for something to happen. `Bloody hell, did you see that one?’ Rob gasped as a jet of brilliant white light suddenly shot across the distant horizon from left to right. `I saw it,’ I replied, finding it increasingly difficult not to sound bored. I had seen the last flash of light, and I had also seen the last twenty or thirty identical flashes before it. The aliens were stripping their ship - removing anything of value and using their small, silver shuttles to transport it back to the shore. `There can’t be much more left for them to do now,’ Rob said, babbling like an excited child. `Christ, they’ve had all week to empty the bloody thing.’ `Think they’ll keep those shuttles here?’ I asked as I lay back on the grass and looked up into the clear, dark sky. My head was suddenly filled with images of the incredible, sleek ships struggling to fit in with the flow of our own
And I wouldn’t even go to the end of our street for my lot!’
I laughed and shut the door. James turned the car around in the dusty farm yard and stopped when he was level with me. `Thanks for the lift. I’ll give you a call.’ `See you at the pub on Friday?’
I knew that I had to make an effort to try and stay away from the pub but he’d put me on the spot. `Probably,’ I said, being deliberately noncommittal. `See you there,’ he smiled, knowing full well that I wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation of a pre-weekend drink.
James drove away and I watched him disappear before turning and walking towards the farm house.
10
In spite of the huge and sudden increase in the population levels of Thatcham, no-one in the village went to The Badger’s Sett that Friday evening. Ray Mercer wasn’t even there. In fact, for the first time in living memory (apart from when the cellar had flooded two winters back) the pub was closed.
Exactly one week had passed since the arrival of the alien visitors and preparations were well in hand for the jettison of their useless, crippled transport away from our planet and out towards the sun. Although no exact time scales were available, we were assured that it would happen tonight. Across the world the media reported that, within the next two or three hours, the massive machine’s silent engines would be fired for the final time.
A vast crowd had gathered on the sprawling hills and cliff tops overlooking the ocean to watch the monumental event.
During the last few days the flow of bodies into Thatcham and the surrounding villages and towns had been relentless and had increased still further once the launch date of the ship had been revealed. Even now with only hours to go and with the entire area heaving with people I could still see apparently endless columns of cars snaking along country roads towards the coast.
They were so tightly packed that the headlamps of one car did little more than illuminate the back bumper of the one in front.
Many had simply stopped and parked up on grass verges.
Everyone wanted to be as close as possible to the alien ship when it finally left our atmosphere. People clamoured for a chance to see an alien or, at the very least, some distant alien activity. Everyone wanted to be there to witness history being made. Although I hadn’t seemed to match the excited fervour of most people, I too didn’t want to miss anything. This was a chance to be a part of something that would be permanently etched into our history books and, in all probability, into the alien’s history books too.
Robert and I sat amongst the excited masses on the cliff-top not far from where I’d stood and watched the ship first arrive.
We crouched down together on a small patch of dry, brittle grass and waited impatiently for something to happen. `Bloody hell, did you see that one?’ Rob gasped as a jet of brilliant white light suddenly shot across the distant horizon from left to right. `I saw it,’ I replied, finding it increasingly difficult not to sound bored. I had seen the last flash of light, and I had also seen the last twenty or thirty identical flashes before it. The aliens were stripping their ship - removing anything of value and using their small, silver shuttles to transport it back to the shore. `There can’t be much more left for them to do now,’ Rob said, babbling like an excited child. `Christ, they’ve had all week to empty the bloody thing.’ `Think they’ll keep those shuttles here?’ I asked as I lay back on the grass and looked up into the clear, dark sky. My head was suddenly filled with images of the incredible, sleek ships struggling to fit in with the flow of our own
Similar Books
