Rollerskater: Rubric


Jump to: I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX | X


This instalment contains scenes of bloody violence.


There came a voice, outside the Mastiff: “Open fire!”

The exclamation mark was drawn in the air by the staccato of automatic gun fire.

“That’s Monica,” Dolly said. “That’s Monica…why is she so big?”

It’s called the Hallelujah Capacity,” Liberty explained. “All penumbric homunculi are capable of it if their squadron is destroyed or nonexistent. It allows them to take on the strength and power of ten homunculi at the expense of having less energy to work with. Impressive-looking, though, isn’t it?”

“I’ll say,” Dolly replied. “Christ – look at the legs on her.”

Oi!” Chelsea said.

Oh, do forgive me, love, I’m under a lot of stress.”

Dolly peered out of the window. The bullets were smacking into Monica’s legs in puffs of pink powder.

“It’s damaging her,” she said. “The rubric. It’s damaging her skin.”

Rubric and penumbric cancel each other out,” Liberty said. “When they equalise, they reduce into their constituent parts.”

Those being?”

Liberty said nothing.

So, what do we do now?” Dolly asked.

I’ll guide Socks towards the base,” Liberty said.

Guide him?” Chelsea said. “In case you haven’t noticed, we’re all a bit tied up at the moment.”

Liberty smiled.

Yucca,” she whispered.

Something sharp whipped from the floor and broke their bonds.

Oh yeah,” Chelsea said, sitting up. “Forgot she could do that.”

It took me a while to navigate this machine’s under-thing,” Liberty said. Sorry about the delay.”

She made a move towards the door, to leave.

Well, if you’re going, I’m coming with you,” Dolly said.

No,” Liberty said. “Three of us make a bigger target to hit. And you can’t fly. I barely can, with the damage to my wings. And Chelsea can’t see. We can’t risk leaving her on her own.”

“Oi,” Chelsea said. “I may be visually impaired, but I can hear just fine.”

Sorry,” Liberty said. “But I really think it’s in your best interest if Dolly stays.”

Yeah,” Chelsea said. “Guess you’ve got a point there.”

How are you going to get out of here?” Dolly asked.

Liberty smiled again, and the door was pulled open by a vine tightly wrapped around the handle.

Plants,” she said. “Ungovernable.”

In a flash, she manifested her wings, and leapt into the air, flapping them, amid the hail of gunfire. She flew up to Monica’s shoulder, where she quickly shouted something to Socks, who then shouted to Monica—

BRRRT-CLUNK-A-CHING

The enormous android raised her boot, which had been obstructing the roadway, and began proceeding in a south-westerly direction, towards the Ministry of Defence compound.

There was the sound of rapid footsteps against tarmac outside. Dolly placed her ear to the inner wall of the Mastiff.

“Follow that woman,” said a voice outside. “Secure the Mastiff. I’ll take the other two.”

Quick,” Dolly said. “Pretend we’re still tied up. They don’t know.”

Soldiers quickly appeared at the back windows of the Mastiff, inspecting their prisoners. They sealed the back door shut, then turned away. Chelsea sat up while they weren’t looking and flicked the V-sign at them.

Moments later, the driver-side door of the Mastiff slammed shut.

“It would seem that your friend has escaped,” said the voice of the Captain from the front compartment. “The two of you shall not be so fortunate.”

The truck went into reverse-gear, then turned, and they were heading in a north-easterly direction, away from the compound.

“Great,” Dolly said, sitting. “Now what?”

Chelsea felt in the dark for Dolly’s legs, and, finding them, gently took Dolly’s hands in hers.

Don’t worry,” she said, smiling, pressing the tip of her tongue against the gap in her front teeth. “I think I’ve got a plan.”


*


…She did not look like one of the people of the valley – her skin was as pale as milk, and her eyes as blue as the sky, and her hair as purple as amethyst. She wore clothes of a type neither brother had ever seen before. Geb, terrified at the intrusion, shouted for his homunculus guards.

‘They will not be able to help you,’ the woman in wheeled boots said. She placed a hand on her stomach. ‘They are no more.

‘What are you?’ Ur asked.

My name is not important,’ the woman said. ‘It is as I said, Great Geb, Great Ur. You fools have brought about your own extinction.’

She helped herself to the honey-wine.

Put that down!’ Geb roared.

In your culture, this drink is reserved for great warriors, is it not?’ the woman asked. ‘Do you think it wise, Great Geb, to deny the one who just devoured your entire consular guard such an honour?’

Geb fell silent, and the woman poured herself a goblet.

This is preposterous,’ Geb said. ‘You expect us to fear you?’

Not at all,’ the woman said, sipping at the honey-wine. ‘I am not a bringer of death, Great Geb. I am simply a messenger of the gods. In other words, an angel.’

‘I am not familiar with this word,’ Ur said.

No, I suppose you wouldn’t be, Great Ur. But one day, you shall be.’

Get out of here, now,’ Geb said. ‘I am the philosopher-consul of this world. I know not what you are, but I will destroy you.’

‘Brother!’ Ur protested.

The woman in wheeled boots set down the cup and wiped her mouth. She towered over Geb, and looking down at him, placed her hands on his shoulders.

‘The time is coming soon that your world will die,’ she said. ‘It will die in fire and blood. If you relinquish your immortality and your powers over the strings now, you will mitigate the worst of it, and return to being simple men. You shall die, and in time, be forgotten. But if you do not, and I suspect this is so, then know this: Neither of you shall survive what comes. And on that day, I hope that you will know what to do.’

Geb pulled himself from her grip, balled his fists and leaned against the table.

Get out,’ he said.

The woman spoke no more, and left in silence.

Ur was terrified by the prophecy, but Geb, considering himself a rational man, dismissed it as more superstition that he could do without. In his heart, he knew that his people would reign on the earth for a thousand years or more.

Yet, the wheels had already begun to turn. And though, when the time came, the woman with wheels on her feet had been almost forgotten, the fire and blood she promised was soon to follow, and it arrived in a way that none would expect…


*


BRRRT-CLUNK-A-CHING

Monica had a set of rungs that protruded from the side of her face, and footholds on her shoulders, allowing Socks to cling to her. He thought this must be what a pet rat or a hamster feels like sitting on someone’s shoulder, though he didn’t have the advantage of clawed hands. At least, not on both arms.

Liberty had shouted to him that the soldiers were wielding rubric and that they had to get moving if Monica wanted to remain in one piece. She also wasn’t sure if Monica would be able to make it to the base.

Beside him, a small panel just behind Monica’s left ear, with holes like a cheese grater, hissed and crackled. Monica did not speak with her mouth at this size, because if she did, her voice would deafen anyone standing close by.

“The enemy is wielding rubric,” stuttered a voice, as though through a faulty intercom. “Does this unit have permission to use lethal force?”

Socks, clinging to the side of Monica’s head, leaned into the panel and shouted a response: “No! We’re here to rescue Daisy! We can’t risk you using up all your energy!

The intercom crackled briefly as Monica, whose face did not register anything, processed the response. Then there came an answer:

This unit will comply.”

With his penumbric arm, Socks clung to the robot’s face steadfastly, and looked behind Monica at the ground below.

They were being pursued by soldiers in vans, trying to impede Monica’s progress and being frustrated by Monica simply stepping over any barricade they tried to set up. Socks had specifically asked Monica not to step on any of the soldiers, though they still dived out of the way wherever her boots fell.

Behind them, the tarmac had cracked and warped with bootprints, about two metres long by about one metre in width at his rough, and distracted, estimate. Each bootprint was spaced about five metres apart, such was the length of the giant’s stride.

Below him, flying around Monica’s waist, was Liberty, who had told him she had been shot in the wings with rubric bullets, causing damage that compromised her flight capability. The soldiers were trying as much to get a shot at her as they were at Monica.

He looked ahead. They had passed through a village of old stone buildings, and were now close to the compound. They were going to make it.

All of a sudden, the shooting stopped.

Liberty, exhausted, flew next to Monica’s hand.

Catch her,” Socks said into the panel. “She’s tired.”

Monica stopped and held out a hand, allowing Liberty to land safely in her palm. She was then raised to Monica’s shoulder, to meet Socks.

The shooting has stopped,” Socks said. “Where have they all gone?”

The two of them looked down. The vehicles were beginning to turn away.

They must be trying to avoid hurting civilians,” Liberty said. “We did stomp through a town, remember.”

I’ve got a bad feeling,” Socks said. “I always do. My Spidey-sense is tingling.”

Spidey-sense?” Liberty asked, tilting her head slightly.

Yeah,” Socks said, deciding not to explain the reference. “Something bad is going to happen. Monica?”

This unit is awaiting your command,” said the voice in the panel.

Keep going until we reach the base. You understand what you’re meant to do when we get there, yeah?”

This unit has been instructed to walk through the perimeter fence, then break through the roof.”

That’s right. Then me and Liberty will enter the base and get Daisy out of there. Be ready to stop anyone coming after us.

This unit will comply.”

BRRRT-CLUNK-A-CHING

Monica lumbered towards the base. Liberty nearly lost her balance, and Socks, holding on to one of Monica’s rungs, caught her with his penumbric arm.

Don’t you go falling on me,” he said.

Liberty blushed slightly. Thanks, Socks.”

Monica finally stopped outside the perimeter fence. She stood, silent, as if waiting for something.

Well?” Socks said. “What are you waiting for?”

Alert,” Monica said. “Danger.”

What did you say?” Socks asked.

Alert. Danger. Alert. Danger. Alert. Danger.

Danger?” Liberty said. “Why is she repeating that?”

Her question was answered.

Behind a set of perennial trees in the courtyard beyond the fence, a shadow moved. Another building, a wooden shed, opened its roof, with a vweeeooooom-kachunk. A large box folded out from within, and cut into its side, a set of squares, each containing something cylindrical…

Warning,” Monica said, in a calm, almost-aloof monotone. “Assume battle-ready positions.

Is that—” Liberty said.

It is,” Socks replied.

Socks, we won’t be able to get out of the way in time. We won’t be able to—!”

Socks said nothing.

Socks!”

The multiple-launch rocket system fired a salvo at them.

Everything went white.


*


Years passed.

One day, the foreman of the mine arrived at Geb’s consular palace, sweating and panting, looking as if he were about to faint from terror. Geb, who had still not aged a day, and was surrounded by his consorts and homunculus guards, came to the man’s side, and put an arm around him.

‘What’s the trouble, my good man?’ he asked. ‘I’m sure we can put it right, whatever it is that’s troubling you.’

‘Great Geb,’ the foreman said. ‘The mine – it’s—’

It’s what, my friend?

The homunculi, they brought up their barrows, just as they were told…except, Great Geb…the barrows were empty.’

A fault with the homunculi? Surely you know how to repair them?’

There’s no fault with the homunculi, Great Geb…Light-bringer, my most exalted leader…the mine is empty.’

A silence fell across the court.

I beg your pardon?’ Geb said.

The mine, O Great One…it’s run dry. We’ve dug all the crystals from the earth, sir.’

Geb furrowed his brow.

I refuse to believe it. You’re just an idiot, aren’t you? I should have you killed for this.’

Please, Great Geb…don’t let it come to that.’

Show me this mine at once,’ Geb growled.

Geb and his entourage were led to the mine. This episode in the history of the valley became the subject of many poems, songs and works of art that were to follow; it was held as the tipping point – the start of the drama and the fall. Modern analogies can be found in artworks depicting the sacking of Rome. It was the moment the cracks, which had already existed, had begun to widen, and nothing could be done to stop them sundering now.

For when Geb was led into the mine, he saw himself that the seam – the seam his brother had discovered, the seam that he had stained with blood, his blood – was now but bare earth and dust, still mined dutifully by homunculi who had not been told to stop.

Stories vary about how Geb reacted. Some say he wept for hours, so violently that it was thought he had gone mad, until he ceased. Others say he flew into a rage, seized a homunculus, and dashed it to pieces on the rocks. Others, still, say that he simply fell silent, bowing his head, not in prayer, but in resigned despair. It is not known which is true. Perhaps all of it is true. All that is known is that things began to change in the empire soon afterwards.

Geb sent scouts throughout his empire to search for sources of the crystals, but none could be found within its bounds. There may have been some outside the borders, but that would involve conquering new lands – and with a dwindling supply of the crystals, that was no longer a viable option.

Geb became fearful; the crystals meant that his gilded empire, which had until then been unmatched in prosperity and strength, would now surely crumble – for they had reached their limit with the lifeblood that kept their society moving, and without it, the barbarians at the borders would begin to beat them back, until the valley was overrun by men who were, to Geb, impure, savage, filthy-blooded under-men.

Geb quickly began to implement measures to protect the supply of crystals. He first ordered that criminals be stripped of their crystals and ejected from the empire, left among the primitive ones to kill or be killed. When that plundered supply ran out soon after, he extended his order to political opponents. Within months, the once-republic had been reorganised as a fully-fledged empire, and Geb was consul no more – he had appointed himself as emperor.

Ur heard of what was happening in the capital, and quickly raced home to confront his brother.

How can you do this to your own people?’ Ur said. ‘You’re becoming a despot!’

‘That was before,’ Geb replied. ‘This is now. The seam has run out. Without it, we shall once again become mortal, in time – as the crystals degrade, as we meet little accidents…we are going to die, brother.’

Ur tried to convince his brother that there was another way, but his pleas went unheard. His brother had been consumed by the crystals, and his despondency over his encroaching mortality. It was then that he recalled what the tall woman had told him years before. Her prophecy was coming to pass.

Without his brother’s knowledge, Ur fled, and, using his good favours with the military, assembled a small group of generals, telling them of his worries about his brother’s behaviour. He needed their help to stop him. He did not want to kill his brother, but he accepted then that that was a possibility.

The generals agreed, and covertly began to try pulling in resources to depose Geb. This, however, invited disaster: The general’s soldiers, many of whom were loyal to Geb, quickly got word to Geb of the rebellion that was underway among his military.

Geb, enraged by his brother’s betrayal, quickly had him and his co-conspirators captured and brought to his court. There, he sentenced his brother to exile for his sedition. Geb’s love for his brother was great enough that he allowed him to keep his wings, and it is said that he covered his eyes in shame as his brother flew away, until he could no longer be seen on the horizon.

The generals, however, were sentenced to death for treason, to be carried out quickly. Two of the esteemed military leaders were killed right away, to punish the others, who were then remanded and held prisoner in a barracks close to the imperial palace, pending a more public execution the following day.

However, that night, the barracks where they were being held were stormed by soldiers, and they were freed – for they had established, without Geb’s knowledge, a provisional government of their own, with its own military strength.

Now began the time of chaos, the beginning of civil war, the fire and blood the woman with wheeled boots had promised. It was beginning of the end for Geb’s great empire…


*


Click.

Bike stand up.

All muddygrass and scratchypaint. Bike feel sleepyhead. Poor Bike’s acold.

Mistress need help. Bike hear clickyfinger faraway. Mistress taken by the badman.

Mistress. Pretty Mistress. Bike love Pretty Mistress. Pretty Mistress always change Bike oil. Pretty Mistress fix Bike and tell Bike she love Bike. Pretty Mistress hurt. Pretty Mistress in danger.

Dolly. Little Dolly in danger. Mistress love Little Dolly. Make Pretty Mistress sad if Little Dolly hurt.

Mistress sad make Bike very angry. Make Bike very very angry. Make Bike very very very angry.

Badman hurt Mistress. Bike hurt badman.

Bike feel warm in engine. Piston go athumping. Wheel go aspinning.

Bike acoming, Mistress. No worry.

Bike’s magic.


*


There were snatches of radio conversation in the front of the Mastiff, but neither of them could hear what was being said over the engine.

“Are you sure this will work?” Dolly asked.

Dunno,” Chelsea said. “Never done it at this range before.”

Oh, great, so we’re doing this on a wing and a prayer, are we?”

You got any better ideas?”

Dolly rolled her eyes, then looked out of the back window. There was nothing there.

I don’t see anything,” Dolly said. “No, wait…”

Remmm rem rem rem rem remmmm remmmmmmm

A riderless silver motorbike was surging towards the Mastiff. Dolly turned to Chelsea and smiled.

Knew he’d hear me,” Chelsea said, grinning. “Bike could hear me coming from miles off.”

I suppose that makes two of us,” Dolly said.

The bike was getting closer.

One question,” Dolly said. “How exactly is it going to save us?”

Chelsea’s grin fell.

Ah,” she said. “Yeah. Hmm. Hadn’t thought of that. Yeah, er, we’d better assume the position.”

Assume the—?!”

Get your head between your legs, woman!”

The bike screamed past the Mastiff.

What’s it doing?!” Dolly cried.

Her question was answered when the Mastiff suddenly veered to the left, crashing through a fence, rolling down an embankment, through a ditch and into a muddy field.

When it came to a stop, the vehicle was on its side.

There was silence for a few moments.

You alright?” Chelsea asked.

I think so,” Dolly said, rubbing her head. “Thank God they design these things to be bombproof.”

The back door had come open in the crash. Dolly took Chelsea by the hand.

Come on,” she said. “Let’s go.”

Wait,” Chelsea said. “The Captain.”

Right,” Dolly said. “We’ll have to avoid him.”

Cautiously, they exited the vehicle. Dolly had lost a shoe in the crash, and she stepped, barefooted but for pantyhose, into a filthy puddle.

“Urgh…” she said, hitching up the stocking. “Guess that’s these ruined.”

A sound of mud squelching under boot.

Dolly!” Chelsea shouted.

Behind her, there was a loud sound, like the word bang, but it went on forever.

Everything went white.


*


The war was perhaps the first instance of total war in history. Many thousands of lives were lost, and the instability in the capital led to the loss of large swaths of land, fracturing the empire along multiple axes: internal, external, borderline, gestalt.

Settlements were razed to the ground overnight by homunculi, repurposed from their roles as simple labourers into nigh-unstoppable machines of death, fitted as they were with weapons that even today defy scientific understanding.

It must be noted that both sides made use of them. Likewise, both sides committed unthinkable crimes. There were no good men in this war, only murderers. No saviours, only destroyers.

It is said that fires became so common at the time that the sky went red with ash and smoke. There is some evidence that the war was so devastating that, for a time, it altered the climate, such that it was always cold, and the summer never came in many parts of the world. Crops failed. Famines struck the land. Cannibalism became commonplace. The world, as promised, was ending in fire and blood.

Geb, desperate to end the war, sought an alternative to the crystal.

He needed something that allowed the conservation of what was available, while retaining many of the benefits. He and his army of researchers went into seclusion. It is thought that this legend is the origin of the myth of the philosopher’s stone, and that the philosopher concerned in the name of the stone was in fact Geb himself. But what Geb researched was not conventional alchemy, for he alone knew all the secrets the strings had to offer him.

After much searching, a solution was discovered, but it was not a pleasant one. Geb discovered that through the power of the strings, human blood could be ontologically intertwined with the crystals, producing greater quantities of crystal at an approximately three-to-one ratio.

It allowed many of the same benefits as its predecessor – agelessness, massively decreased vulnerability and increased strength, but at a cost – for the crystals permanently altered the body, at least in those who survived the process, such that it was no longer constructed of flesh, but crystal. Furthermore, it permanently altered their relationship to the strings, such that they could not maintain their body’s structure without maintaining the blood-link. Thus, all who incorporated this new crystal into their body were cursed with an insatiable addiction to blood.

Nevertheless, the new crystal gave the empire a significant advantage. Within months they had recouped much of their losses, and in so doing, ingrained themselves into the memory of a wide variety of human cultures, adopting tales and myths of half-human monsters that fed on the blood of humans.

Thus, the first vampires came to be, and among them was Geb, upon whose blood the first crystals had been based. They were almost unstoppable, but they were held back by one weakness: the old crystal could neutralise the old, disintegrating the flesh of the vampires. Thus, the vampires began to use the darkness as a weapon, adopting nocturnal lifestyles and hiding whenever it was light.

With this new development, the civil war began to turn in favour of the vampires. Many innocents were slaughtered in service of their blood-addiction; many people of the valley were destroyed.

For a time, it seemed all was lost…


*


Stillness. All sound and then nothing.

Was this death?

No.

The rockets – all of them frozen just at the moment of impact. The barest whisper of flame, rivets popping, an explosion in a tin can—

A sensation of falling, like nodding off in your chair and your limbs jerking you awake.

He was falling. He was – oh my God, I’m falling!

No.

A look to his right. The girl. Her wings half-flap, her golden hair blown by wind that wasn’t suggested by the stillness. Her face, fixed permanently in a scream of mortal terror, arms encircling him, hands grasping for him. Still as a marble sculpture.

Time had crawled to a stop.

Sorry about the intrusion,” someone said below. “Had to wait for a fissure in the time-stream before I could get through. Had to be the moments leading up to your death in this timeline. I’m sure you understand.”

His eyes moved. He became acutely aware of the fact he couldn’t move any part of his body but his eyes. Even his face was frozen. His mouth was open. It felt dry.

Below him was a man in black and white clothing, his black and white hair in a page-boy shoulder-length bob. Around his shoulders was a cat, half-white and half-black.

Magpie.

Learned the trick from a friend,” he said. “There’s a knack to it. I suppose now’s as good a time as ever to make use of it.”

Squeezing his hands together, he was able to mould the air into a semi-solid brick, which he stepped on, repeating the process until he reached the rocket lowest to the ground. He climbed atop the rocket, then, like stepping stones, hopped from rocket to rocket until reaching the rocket closest to his rescuee.

Well?” Magpie asked. “What d’you think?”

There came no reply from the frozen face.

Ah, yes, right, forgot. Give me a second.”

Magpie clicked his fingers, and there was the sensation of muscles loosening.

What the hell is going on?” Socks said, blinking for the first time in what felt like a century. “And why am I – I can’t breathe, but I can talk…”

Takes a bit of getting used to,” Magpie said.

I can’t move my arms and legs…”

Well, of course you can’t. If I unfroze the rest of your body, you’d go kersplat on the ground.”

Am I dead?” Socks asked. “Are you the Grim Reaper?”

Hope not,” Magpie said, with a wry smile. “No, I’m just here for a visit.”

Right. What for?”

A warning,” Magpie said.

Really? Now? I could have used a warning about ten seconds ago, to be honest.”

Listen, my lad,” Magpie said. “Being blown to bits by a rocket is the least of your problems right now.”

What the hell are you talking about?”

Dark days are ahead, boyo. Things are heading south – and quickly. There’s still time to avert the worst of it, but you need to act quickly.”

What do you mean act quickly?” Socks asked. “I’m about to be blown to bits!”

Just passing the message along,” Magpie replied. He reached into his pocket, withdrawing a banana-yellow envelope. Oh, and a friend told me to give you this,” he said.

“I can’t take it,” Socks said. “Can’t move my arms, remember?”

Not to worry,” Magpie replied. He touched the envelope against Socks’s forehead, and pressed. Socks felt a strange tickling sensation in his scalp. Magpie pulled his hand away and the envelope was gone.

You’ll know when the time is right to open it,” Magpie said, with a smile. “But not just yet. Now, best get back. I understand you’ve a friend to rescue.”

A friend to rescue? Magpie, I’m about to die, if you haven’t noticed!”

Are you?” Magpie asked, with a knowing expression.

Socks blinked, puzzled. Then his mouth fell open.

And the penny drops,” Magpie said, grinning.


*


Everything went white.

Socks opened his eyes. Behind a set of perennial trees in the courtyard beyond the fence, a shadow moved. Another building, a wooden shed, opened its roof, with a vweeeooooom-kachunk. A large box folded out from within, and cut into its side, a set of squares, each containing something cylindrical…

Monica, disengage Hallelujah,” Socks commanded.

This unit will comply,” came the response.

What?!” Liberty exclaimed. “What are you doing?!”

Liberty, do you trust me?”

Liberty blinked, blushing again.

I…I suppose so, yes.”

Good,” Socks said.

Monica shrank away below them, and in the same instant, Socks leapt into Liberty’s arms, and she, flapping her wings, caught him, and managed to get some air.

The rockets fired.

Liberty flapped her wings and flew above the rockets quickly enough that the vast majority of them surged past, puttering out and crashing to the ground behind them in fireballs. Others, however, were able to account for the change in target, and came surging towards them.

“It figures they’d be guided rockets,” Socks said. “No, wait! That’s brilliant!”

Brilliant?” Liberty said, banking to avoid them. “What do you mean ‘brilliant’?!”

We’ve lost Monica,” Socks said. “But we still need to blow that roof in!”

Liberty looked behind, and her eyes lit up with recognition.

I get you,” she said.

Great,” Socks said. “Because I’m pretty sure I can only do what I just did once, and those rockets are getting scarily close…”


*


Everything went white.

Dolly blinked. They were back inside the Mastiff.

She felt for her shoeless foot. It was dry.

“What happened?” Chelsea asked.

I don’t know,” Dolly said. “But I don’t think we’re getting another miracle today. Don’t move.

Dolly grabbed her shoe. It was a brown leather brogue, but more importantly, it had a hard leather outsole, and a cork footbed.

She crept over to the doorway, her breath turning to steam on cold December air.

Come on,” she whispered.

A sound of mud squelching under boot.

Wearing a black military suit and mauve beret was their captor, holding his Desert Eagle at the hip, ready to fire.

The Captain, for his part, saw the movement in the corner of his eye, but before he could pull the trigger, he was clocked in the side of the head by the brogue. He fell back into the mud.

Dolly stepped, barefooted but for pantyhose, into a filthy puddle.

“Urgh…” she said, hitching up the stocking. “Guess that’s these ruined.”

Is he down?” Chelsea asked, following her out.

No,” Dolly said.

The Captain, righting himself, pointed his gun and fired, missing.

Definitely no. Quick, round the other side of the van.”

They went to the windscreen-side of the Mastiff, and crouched.

It was silent.

“Use your ears,” Dolly said. “He’s coming. But he can only come from one side.”

Both of them fell silent and stood very still, not daring to make a sound.

To their right came the sound of boots treading along the chassis-side of the vehicle.

Quick, this way,” Dolly said, taking Chelsea’s hand and leading her to the roof side.

Slowly, they began moving around the van, trying to stay just out of sight while making as little sound as possible.

“Wait,” Chelsea said, as they reached the rear-side, where they had started.

They stopped and listened.

“Why can’t I hear footsteps?”

The Captain stepped out from the chassis-side, pointing his gun at them. He had coaxed them out by pretending to follow them.

“It would appear the road ends here,” he said, his finger slipping on to the trigger. “Your next of kin will be informed.”

remmm rem rem rem remmmm remmmmm

The Captain turned.

A silver motorbike rammed into the Captain at speed, knocking him face-down into the mud, then it skidded, coming back round and stopping in front of the two women, its engine purring.

You took your fucking time,” Chelsea said.

The bike simply leaned on its kickstand, grumbling.

What now?” Dolly said.

Now we get to that base,” Chelsea said. “Daisy’s waiting for us.”

The two of them climbed atop the bike, and Chelsea revved the engine.

Suddenly, The Captain pulled himself from the ground, despite his injuries, pointing the gun.

He found himself face-to-face with a Sherbet Fountain.

You should have stayed down,” Dolly said, coldly.

A jet of flame burst from the plastic container.

The motorbike sped away.


*


…Ur, meanwhile, had fled to a land far away, and built a domicile into the base of a great tree in a forest, where he lived off the land in relative peace and quiet.

The peace was disturbed one morning when he awoke to see a figure standing by his beside, as tall, strangely youthful, and unearthly as she had been the first time he met her.

The pale woman, with hair of amethyst, and golden wheels on both feet.

You,’ Ur said. ‘What are you doing here?’

All that was prophesied has come to pass,’ the tall woman replied. ‘You must return to the valley at once.’

I am not welcome in the valley, and you know this as well as I,’ Ur replied. ‘I will be killed immediately if I return.’

You do not understand. Your brother has undergone a transformation.’

‘A transformation?’ Ur asked.

He feeds upon the blood of the innocent to sustain himself. He has already killed many thousands for their blood. It will not be long before the world is overrun by him and his loyalists. There is only one that is strong enough to stop him.’

Ur sat up, holding his head in his hands.

Why can you not do it?’ he asked.

The tall woman frowned, wringing her hands.

Because this is how it must always be,’ she replied. ‘You cannot understand, Great Ur. You must take brave heart and destroy your brother, before he destroys the world.’

Ur stood, stretching, then turned to the woman.

What is your name?’ he asked. ‘I never asked you, all those years ago.’

The woman fell silent for a time.

I am known by many names,’ she said. ‘But you may call me the Envoy.’

The Envoy?’ Ur replied. ‘The Envoy of what?’

Of Entropy,’ she replied. ‘Of Time itself. I am impermanence.’

Ur nodded, understanding.

There are legends of you in the strings,’ he said. ‘Some think you a goddess.’

All goddesses die,’ said the Envoy. ‘But Chaos shall outlive them all.’

Ur rose from his bed and took to his door.

Shall I see you again?’ he asked.

Perhaps,’ the Envoy said. ‘If you survive.’

Ur took flight then.

For days and nights he flew, watching as the sky grew redder and redder from perpetual smoke and flame. Below him, he watched as human settlements went from whole, to damaged, to razed. The cries of women and children rang in his ears, and the sight of dismembered limbs and gouged organs brought him to tears of unfathomable rage. It motivated him to keep flying, even as he became exhausted.

At last, he reached the valley.

The once-great city-state had been utterly destroyed but for a few buildings, among which was the imperial palace. The ground was strewn with dust, debris, unburied corpses, pieces of broken homunculi, the malnourished, the diseased. Geb had taken and taken from his people until there was nothing left – nothing left but fire and blood.

Ur arrived at the imperial palace and immediately directed his rage at Geb’s followers. He made short work of them, smashing his way through their ranks. Ur, the last great warrior of the valley, pulverised – in many cases literally – the vampires, dashing them to pieces with the aid of penumbric.

After much fighting, Ur finally reached the main hall, where his brother lay in wait, surrounded by his praetorian guard.

Ur was drenched in his own blood – the first blood of his own that had been spilled in many, many years.

Brother, stop this now,’ Ur said. ‘You have become the adversary that we feared would come.’

Geb peered down at his brother. Ur saw that his brother was unrecognisable, hairless and pale, his body withered. He knew then that all that remained of his brother was a husk, and his humanity had been emptied from him.

Do you remember the day I disturbed the seam?’ Ur asked. ‘You were so wise then. We should never have dug these crystals from the earth.’

The crystals gave us power,’ Geb replied, his voice a thin rasp, like the sound of cold wind on old stone. ‘We were wise to dig them from the earth. But we were unwise in our distribution of them. Only the best of us should have been given such power. People like you and me, not the common, uneducated fools who gossip and steal from each other. I recognise that now. I have rectified it.’

‘Rectified it?’ Ur growled. ‘You’ve destroyed half the world.’

Not destroyed,’ Geb replied. ‘Purified. A clean slate. We, the superior beings, shall emerge victorious. I understand, now. The point of humanity is not simply to become the best human you can be. It is to transcend humanity altogether.’

‘Geb, my brother—’

I am showing you mercy, brother. Join me at last, and we will rule this world forevermore.’

Ur stood firm upon the ground.

I will not join you in this madness,’ he said. ‘I will put an end to it.’

Don’t be a fool,’ Geb said. ‘We are kings, you and I. We were born to rule this world. You cannot tell me you give it up.’

‘All we have ever done is kill people, even in our greatest of days,’ Ur said. ‘I shed innocent blood to expand this empire. I never wanted to be a warrior, brother. I was a mineworker.’

Then you have been overtaken by cowardice,’ Geb replied. ‘And it will be the end of you, brother.’

I am no coward,’ Ur said.

The praetorian guard advanced on Ur.

‘Is this how it ends, brother?’ Ur said. ‘Sending your guards to cut my throat, because you don’t have the boldness to do it yourself? And you dare call me coward?’

‘That’s enough!’ Geb roared. ‘If you will not join me, then what choice do I have?’

There is always a choice,’ Ur replied.

There was a long silence. Geb stopped his guards from attacking with a wave of his hand.

Brother,’ Geb said, carefully. ‘I love you.’

Ur’s eyes stung with tears.

I loved you, once, also,’ Ur replied. ‘But I cannot love you any more. Not like this. Look at you, now. What I see before me is not my brother. It is a shell. It is evil. My brother was not evil. He was wise and kind.’

Ur turned his back on his brother for the final time.

I will not be the one to start a fight with you. If you wish to destroy me, then you will have to be the one to strike first.’

Turning, Ur fled the palace. None followed him.

Now the animosity between the two brothers outweighed their love for each other. And soon, the ruined world would quake at the coming of a new and terrible force


*


The roof came in, but nobody was hurt. On any other day, this would be good news.

Rubble and dust filled the air, and the soldiers raised their guns, only for them to instantly disintegrate in their hands.

She was small, but by God, she was fierce. Despite her wings, in her blue-glowing eyes they did not see salvation, but extinction. The Angel of Death had descended on Corsham.

You have already insulted this vessel with your weapons,” she said, in two voices at once. “Do not insult her any further. You will take us to the prisoner immediately.

“I’d do as she said, if I were you,” said her accomplice, a skinny man with a flat-top and an arm made of white crystal. He was wearing a Kraftwerk T-shirt. Far from what you’d expect a terrorist to look like.

Radio the Captain,” a soldier growled.

I said immediately,” the angel-girl said.

Do as they say,” another soldier said. He gave a nod to the others, communicating something so that the intruders could not hear.

The two of them were led through mazey subterranean corridors by unarmed soldiers. (Something of an oxymoron in that, was a private thought a few of them shared – what are soldiers with nothing to defend themselves with?)

This had once been a fallout shelter. It now stank of damp and dust. They’d burned a few million just removing asbestos from the place – the joke had been that removing the asbestos was probably more hazardous than if a nuclear bomb had gone off over Swindon.

After a long walk, they finally reached the inner chamber of the compound.

There was a large, plastic cube that bulged out at the edges like a hot air balloon, far more modern-looking than anything around it. Attached to it were various machines – one blowing out warm air, another dripping water, yet more bleeping.

What the hell is that?” the man with the crystal arm asked.

It’s the cell where they’re holding your friend,” a soldier replied. “We know what she can do. It’s a self-contained environment. Virtually impenetrable. Don’t worry, she’s perfectly comfortable. There’s a bed in there. A telly. A well-stocked fridge. This ain’t a gulag.”

The man with the crystal arm walked up to the cell, placing a hand against its white plastic surface.

“Let her out,” he said.

We can’t,” another soldier said. “We don’t have the release codes. Only the Captain and the Defence Minister have them. This facility exists on their authority.”

Then contact them,” said the angel-girl.

That’s a great idea,” said one of the soldiers, smiling. He walked over to a satphone on the wall and punched in a number. It rang quietly for a few moments. “Hello. Is the Captain there? Oh, Warrant Officer Carlson. Yes, we’ve got a situation here. They’ve got into the base, sir…”

The soldier suddenly went pale and covered his mouth.

Yes, sir. Understood, sir.”

Calmly, the soldier walked over to a panel in the wall.

What are you doing?” asked the man with the crystal arm.

The soldier ignored him, opening the panel and pulling a switch. An alarm began to sound and red lights began to flash.

The angel-girl collapsed to the ground, covering her ears.

Move, move, MOVE!” the soldier shouted to his comrades.

He met the eyeline of the man with the crystal arm, and the man’s expression said What have you done?

He said nothing, and ran away.


*


The Captain jolted awake to the sound of tyres. He rolled on to his back, his face caked in mud.

He rubbed at his face to get the dirt off it. He couldn’t see out of his left eye. He rubbed it, and then he realised that his left eye had ceased to exist, and there was now an empty socket where it had once been.

Before him was another Mastiff, and soldiers leapt out of it.

Are you alright, sir?” one of them asked.

No,” the Captain said, wheezing. “I’m injured. I can’t stand.”

Stay down,” said a voice from behind the soldiers. “An escort is on its way.”

Mister Carlson stepped out from behind them, tight-lipped but somewhat anguished.

“I’ve just been on the satphone,” he said. “The Corsham base has been compromised. It’s a matter of time before they break the prisoner out, and that gigantic thing is still causing trouble.”

Then go back and fight,” the Captain said. “Don’t just stand there.”

No,” Carlson replied. “Captain, sir, I’m afraid the situation has become untenable for the purposes of national security. Due to your injuries, I am hereby relieving you of your duties under the Anomalous Persons Directive, Section Nine Eight Three Gamma.”

“I’m conscious,” the Captain said.

With all due respect, Captain, you are missing an eye, you sound like you have a punctured lung, and you cannot stand or walk unaided. You are unable to fill your duties at the moment. I’m taking control.”

What are you doing to do?”

Carlson frowned regrettably.

“There’s nothing else for it,” he said. “We’re initiating Protocol Omega.”

There was a long pause. The field fell silent.

No,” the Captain said. “Mister Carlson, you are making a mistake. It does not have to come to that.”

From where I’m standing, Captain, it already has.” He turned to a soldier. “Get me the satphone.”

The Captain tried to stand.

Carlson, sto—” He winced, collapsing under his own weight and slipping into the mud.

Stay down, Captain,” Carlson said. “That’s an order.”

“Mister Carlson, listen to me,” the Captain said. “This is madness. You do not want to do this.”

Not madness,” Carlson responded. “Captain, a man almost set me on fire using his mind the other week. This isn’t madness at all. I’m trying to restore a little sanity.”

Please, Carlson…”

But the Warrant Officer was ignoring him. He was handed the satphone.


*


When the end came, it was overwhelming.

Geb despaired at his brother’s rejection of his truth. He had lost the only person he knew better than any other. In his anguish, he began to utter a sacred chant, one he had not used since the time of gods. He threw himself violently against the walls and floors of his palace, placing himself into a deep trance, so that he could commune with the strings.

When he at last succeeded, he told the strings, in their own language, that he would bargain with them: He no longer wished to have an ego, or a self, or to feel pain. He only wished to be immortal. He only wished for power. He only wished to exist forever.

The strings brought him his reward.

The true form of what Geb transformed into is not known, but it was known by many names by every people that saw it: The Devouring, The Howling Maw, The Destroyer, Formless-and-Empty, Crawling Chaos, and the name by which it is known today.

Ur had gathered a small group of survivors from the devastated landscape, men and women not yet killed by Geb’s brutal disciples. They were about to take their leave, when a woman screamed, pointing to the heavens above them.

For in the dark skies, an object like a large red sphere, appearing to be the size of the Moon, was suddenly made manifest.

Thus, the final form of Geb became known as the Blood Moon.

In an instant, several men and women doubled over in agony, and before the eyes of the others, were transformed into monstrosities of teeth and red crystal. Others, still, collapsed and died in pain. And a small few – Ur among them – were spared this fate. At the closing of things, Ur had but five left with him – three men and two women.

As they gazed up at this monstrosity in the sky, and its hateful gaze bore down on them, they knew at last.

The end of days had come…


*


Socks threw a punch with his crystal arm at the cell wall, but it didn’t even change shape.

The alarm had ceased sounding, but now they were alone in the cavernous complex.

Damn it,” Socks said. “We’ve come all this way. We can’t get her out of here.”

Why did they all run away?” Liberty asked. She was seated on the ground, resting, with her wings retracted. Whatever had possessed her during the siege at the university had possessed her once again after the rocket attack. Socks had elected not to ask her about it. She looked exhausted.

I don’t know,” Socks said. “But we’d better get out of here as soon as possible. I can’t get through the walls of the cell.”

Socks threw another punch, and the walls simply reverberated.

It’s made out of something extremely strong. It’s no use.”

Socks bowed his head.

Maybe this was a waste of time,” he said. “K-Os was right. We weren’t prepared for this.”

We’re still alive, aren’t we?” Liberty said.

We are,” Socks replied. “But I don’t know about Chelsea and Dolly…they could be locked up somewhere by now…I don’t understand why the government hate us so much.”

Because they are afraid,” Liberty said. “They are afraid that their systems and their order are fragile. They are afraid of being swallowed up. Which is silly. It’s like a pebble on the banks of a river being frightened of being swallowed up the riverbed. No matter how much the pebble resists it, the river will one day wear away the bank, and the pebble will vanish into a greater system.”

You should write a book,” Socks said, smiling slightly.

Well, thank you. But the wisdom isn’t all mine. My father taught me a lot of our people’s wisdom, before he was taken. So much he has left to teach me. I’m only just twenty years old. I have so much more to learn from him.”

We’ll find him,” Socks said. “I promise you that.”

Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” Liberty said.

Socks turned back to the cell.

I just wish I could find a way to get in here…” he murmured.

remmmmmmm rem rem rem rem rem remmm remmmmmm

Socks looked to Liberty, and she looked to Socks.

Remmmmm remmmm rem rem rem remmmmmmm

Move,” Socks said.

Good idea,” Liberty replied.

The two of them leapt in the same direction.

With a shrieking of tyres and a roar of engines, a motorbike came careening through the tunnels, roaring across the floor of the chamber. Its riders leapt from it as it went careening into the wall of the cell, punching a hole through it in a shower of sparks.

Glad you could make it,” Socks said.

Shit,” Chelsea said. “That sounded bad. How bad is it?”

The bike’s wrecked,” Dolly said.

How is that possible?” Socks asked. “It’s magic, isn’t it?”

Clearly they’ve got stronger magic,” Chelsea said. She was trying to conceal her sadness. “Hand me part of the bike, now.”

Dolly quickly knelt, retrieving the bike’s smashed front headlamp from the ground, and handed it to Chelsea.

Looks like I’m gonna need a new bike,” Chelsea said.

Um,” Liberty said. “Sorry to interrupt, but…”

From in the crack in the cell wall, a white tendril had wormed its way out.

The wall was wrenched open, and standing inside, barefoot and in a white prisoner’s jumpsuit, was a girl with silver hair in shoulder-length curls.

Well?” Ella Foe said. “I don’t know what you’re all standing there gawking at. We’ve got a government to overthrow.”

We missed you too, Ella,” Dolly said. “Is Daisy alright?”

She’s retreated a bit. I think the isolation was getting to her. I don’t think right now she should be at the wheel, do you?”

Fair point,” Dolly replied.

Liberty positioned herself in front of Ella. Socks noted, privately, how eerily they resembled each other, both clad in white and barefoot.

I’ve brought you something,” Liberty said.

She closed her eyes, and the neck of a bass guitar suddenly appeared in the centre of her chest. She pulled on it, withdrawing it from her body, and handed it to Ella, who promptly slung it around her neck.

It’s good to be back,” Ella said.


*


There was not a section of the British military in which the words “Protocol Omega” did not inspire fear and revulsion. It was hoped that it would never have to be deployed.

The Captain still wanted to believe that it wouldn’t be.

It was a deceptively simple protocol. At any point, at the sole discretion of the Prime Minister, the Defence Minister, or the officer in charge of SAID-MI5, it could be triggered through the simple utterance of a few code-phrases through a communications line.

Once those phrases had been verified, a Royal Navy Vanguard-class nuclear submarine closest to the target would be ordered to arm a single ballistic missile, carrying with it a specially-reduced payload of a single one-hundred-kiloton W76 thermonuclear warhead. Once supplied with the targeting coordinates, the missile would be launched high into the upper atmosphere, reaching its destination in a matter of minutes, if not seconds. The warhead would then be ejected from the missile and fall to Earth, detonating one kilometre above the designated ground zero.

Within a four-hundred-metre radius, everything would be vaporised instantly by the initial thermal blast.

Within a one-kilometre radius, every building would be flattened, as if with explosive charges, by the rapid change in air pressure brought on by the thermal blast. Everyone in the buildings would perish, crushed by falling rubble.

Within a two-kilometre radius, the radiation exposure would, if the blast wave was survived, cause severe radiation poisoning and near-certain death from ionising gamma rays.

Within a three-kilometre radius, most unfortified buildings, such as residential houses, would be destroyed. Here, the chances of survival were slightly greater, but not by much.

Within a five-kilometre radius, fires and third-degree burns would be almost guaranteed. Those who were not killed by the fires would wish for death.

Within an eight-kilometre radius, windows would be blown out, blinding and lacerating anyone happening to look through them at the bright flash and the fireball now rising over the horizon

By the Captain’s estimate, at least five thousand would be killed by the Omega bomb, and at least fifteen thousand would be injured or maimed. They were well within the radius of destruction. This was suicide, and Carlson was uttering the code-phrases into the phone.

“Carlson…” he whispered, defeated. “Stop…”

Carlson’s eyes swivelled to look at him, but he did not cease murmuring into the satphone. He looked away.

“Thank you,” he said. “I will send you the coordinates immediately. Advise Wiltshire Council to sound air-raid sirens across the county. I will give the order to launch when ready.”

Air-raid sirens will not do anything…” the Captain said, more numbly than usual.

But it at least means what we’re doing isn’t a crime,” Carlson replied. “I’m sorry, Captain. I wish things could be different.”

“Yes,” the Captain said. “On that much, we agree…”


*


Ur’s allies were killed within hours.

Torn to pieces by vampires, struck by lightning caused by the Blood Moon’s influence, dashed on the ground, devoured by deformed beasts that were once men and women, and tortured to death.

Ur was alone, and the Earth was screaming.

In desperation, he fled the valley and flew far, far away, pursued all the way by the Blood Moon, which hung in the sky no matter where he went. His brother, or whatever was left of him, it seemed, was intent on saving him for last.

Crashing to the ground, Ur found himself in a foreign land, one that had been unconquered by his people. He was in a vast woodland, where he could hide from the Blood Moon’s gaze.

He begged the strings for help, and there came no reply.

Ur threw himself against the trees in anguish, gnashing his teeth and weeping madly. He prayed to gods he had not believed in for years. He begged forgiveness. He collapsed to the ground, his body bloodied and broken.

As he lay on the forest floor, looking at the sky, he heard a whisper on the wind.

Blood,’ it said.

Ur sat up in terror, fearing that Geb’s sentries had come to tear him asunder, also.

Then he felt the sting of the wounds on his arm.

He looked down at them.

It was then that he understood.

Blood.

The same blood as his brother. They both shared the same blood. And his brother’s blood was what fuelled the monstrosities he had made, what fuelled that which he had become.

Ur knew what he must do.

He left the forest, then, and sought guidance from the strings.

A pathway, like an artery, ran right across this strange land.

He begged that the strings help him to construct a great machine – one not visible to the eye, but that existed in the world-between-worlds, the world outside all consciousness and ken, outside dreams, outside perception. A machine powerful enough to seal anything away.

In whispers that felt like raindrops on his skin, Ur received his reply: The strings would help seal the evil away, but at a cost.

Himself.

In early legend, it is said that Ur did not flinch. But it is not known whether that is true. Some say that he wept, as all men do, in confronting his mortality.

In any case, Ur said yes. And the machine was constructed.

Stone circles and nodes of power were constructed along the pathway, focal points that drew in the Blood Moon like a fly to a honeytrap.

Ur screamed to the Blood Moon that it could avoid this fate, if it chose.

But the Blood Moon said nothing. It only screamed silently, as it disappeared from the world and entered the void, a timeless hell where it would languish and starve forevermore.

Geb had got his wish. He would live forever. He would live forever in agony unendurable.

The gaps between the worlds snapped shut, and Ur instantly felt himself weaken.

He fell to the ground in the centre of a great stone circle that had been built around the entryway.

As he lay on the ground, dying, Ur felt a warmth pass into his body.

Your body shall complete the seal,’ a voice said. ‘But your spirit must survive.’

What do you mean?’ Ur asked.

‘Those that come after you will remember your story,’ the voice replied. ‘They shall be the ones who guard your secret. And in turn, your power will guard them. You will protect this world. You will protect the secret of the strings. You shall be eternal. But not in this form.’

‘I don’t understand,’ Ur replied. ‘Am I to die?’

No,’ the voice said. ‘Half of you shall be given to the sky. And half of you shall be given to the earth. And this is how you will pay your penance to the world, for the damage your folly has wrought. You shall not be one, but two. And from generation to generation, you shall come to knowledge of how to live in harmony with the world, not exploit it for your own gain. You shall take many forms. You shall be born and die many times over. You shall assume many names. But your blood shall pulse through the veins of the chosen, Great Ur. That is your punishment. That is your reward.’

‘I see,’ Ur replied. ‘Then I accept it. I give myself to you. It is done.

From afar, the Envoy watched silently as Ur’s body vanished beneath the Earth. The man who fathered a civilisation died and became immortal in the same instant.

Peace, once again, returned to the world, but the scars would last forever


*


As they left the compound, they saw that the sun was setting. The winter solstice was approaching. Socks realised that the anniversary of that first day was soon to come.

Come on,” he said. “Monica will protect us.”

Sure enough, the gigantic homunculus was standing firm. Socks had ordered her to re-engage the Hallelujah Capacity after their brush with death.

Something’s not right,” Liberty said. “I can taste it in the air.”

Just nerves,” Chelsea replied. She was clutching part of the destroyed bike’s engine. “We’ve got our girl back, that’s what matters.”

I’d like to get out of here in one piece,” Ella Foe said. She breathed deeply. “It’s been so long that I felt the outside air. Bracing.”

How’s Daisy doing?” Socks asked.

Well,” Ella replied. “A little shaken. She may come out to say hello in a little bit. She’s grateful.”

I’m glad to hear it,” Socks replied. “Man, this day has gone much better than expected.”

There came a sound over the horizon, carried on the wind.

HrrrroooOOOOOOOooooooooooooon

HrrrrrrrrroooOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooon

What the hell is that?” Dolly asked.

Socks knitted his brows.

Sounds like an air-raid siren,” he said. “Like from World War II.”

What on earth are they sounding an air-raid siren for?” Ella Foe asked.

Whatever it is, it can’t be good,” Chelsea said.

Wait,” Socks said, stopping in his tracks.

What?” asked Liberty.

The base,” Socks said. “Dolly said it was based in a fallout shelter.”

Right,” Dolly said. “But what does that have to do with…”

The significance behind the mournful wail of the sirens dawned on her.

Oh,” she said. “Oh, shit.”

What?” Chelsea asked.

“They’re going to bomb us,” Dolly said. “They’re going to drop a bomb. On us.”

We can run back into the shelter,” Liberty said, optimistically.

They don’t sound sirens like those for any old bomb,” Dolly said.

Surely you don’t mean…” Ella Foe said.

A nuke,” Socks said.

All of them fell deathly silent.

Can’t we do something?” Ella said. “Liberty, you were able to stop the soldiers’ guns back at the university. Why not an atom bomb?”

It doesn’t work like that,” Liberty replied. “I can only counter so much harm. I would be destroyed if I even attempted itand we would all still perish.

“Then that’s it,” Socks said. “We’re gonna die.”

Dolly and Chelsea looked at each other and embraced. Tears ran down Liberty’s cheeks. Socks looked into the face of Ella Foe, and while her face was forgiving, he knew that her other face, Daisy’s face, hidden behind her eyes, was judging him.

Above them, the sky turned blood red.


*


Darkness was coming. On the horizon, an orange sun was just beginning to fade from view.

It would soon be joined by another, just as hot, just as bright – but far closer.

The groaning of the sirens sounded all around them. The apocalypse was coming to a small region of England.

The soldiers had elected not to attempt escape. They were caught in the open and close to the major blast radius. When the bomb went off, they’d be dead, one way or another.

Carlson had given the communications line the coordinates. Somewhere off the coast of England, in the North Atlantic, a submarine’s launch tube doors were opening, and the missile was armed for launch. All that was left now was to launch the missile.

Secretly, frantic telephone calls were being made to heads of state, to consulates and embassies, warning them that the blip that would soon be appearing on radar screens all around the globe was not a nuclear first strike, but a strike aimed solely at the country of origin. Once all that had been cleared, the launch would go ahead.

Though efforts were being made to stem the flow of videos and social media posts talking about the sounding of air-raid sirens as far from the epicentre as Swindon, the news was getting out. The danger was not just in the attack itself. It was in what it would precipitate.

Mister Carlson,” the Captain said, desperately. “Stop the launch.

Carlson ignored him.

Carlson,” the Captain said. “Don’t make me do this.”

Carlson’s lips parted.

“Please, Mister Carlson, I am giving you a chance—”

Carlson’s tongue touched his top teeth, to utter the L in the incantation that would kill thousands—

PIMF.

The right-hand side of Carlson’s head exploded in a shower of blood and bone.

The satphone splattered into the mud.

In the same instant, Carlson’s body dropped to the ground. Blood gushed from the open skull.

Captain…?” asked one of the soldiers. “What have you done?”

The Captain ignored him, holstering the Desert Eagle and using what was left of his energy to get hold of the satphone.

He wheezed, fighting against the pain that was searing through his broken body.

Disengage,” he hissed into the receiver.

Say again, sir?” the person on the other end replied.

“This is the Captain of SAID-MI5. I just killed Warrant Officer Carlson for ordering an unnecessary nuclear launch. And I am now telling you to disengage. Protocol Omega is to be withdrawn immediately. Do I make myself clear?”

Y…yes, sir,” the person on the other end replied. There was the sound of frantic shouting. A minute later, the person returned. “We just got word back. The missile has been disarmed. There will be no attack.”

“Good,” the Captain said, breathing a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

He threw the phone away, and it landed once again in a muddy puddle.

“Captain…” one of the soldiers said. “You…you killed him.”

He was going to kill all of us,” the Captain spat. “I just saved your lives. Now, get me an ambulance. And cover the body.”

He collapsed on to his back, wheezing in pain.

Idiot,” he whispered, to nobody in particular. “Imbecile.”


*


THIS HAS BEEN A TEST OF THE WILTSHIRE NUCLEAR ALERT SYSTEM. PLEASE REMAIN CALM. IT WAS ONLY A TEST. REPEAT. THIS HAS BEEN A TEST OF THE WILTSHIRE NUCLEAR ALERT SYSTEM. PLEASE REMAIN CALM. IT WAS ONLY A TEST. REPEAT…”

They had been sitting, resigned to their fate, when they heard the announcement echoing over the horizon, softened and distorted strangely by the Doppler effect of a Mastiff driving past with the message being repeatedly barked through a bullhorn. They stood, watching the vehicle drive away.

Fuck off, it was a test,” Chelsea Rose said. “They were going to blow this place to shit.”

Dolly scratched her head.

They must have got cold feet at the last minute,” she said. “They changed their minds.”

Nevertheless, it shows what this government is prepared to do to stop us,” Socks said. “The government is willing to blow up part of its own country if it means stopping us.

The sun had set, and it was now dark and cold.

So, now what?” Ella Foe asked.

We can’t go home,” Socks said.

They all looked at each other.

So we’ll have to flee,” Liberty said. “Get as far away as possible…”

They all fell silent, looking at each other. Their victory had been a hollow one, in the end. They had escaped with Ella, and with their lives, but now they were even greater danger than before.

Above them, Monica Eno finally ran out of energy, shrinking down into a small crystal on the ground. They were alone. They were unprotected. And they were without K-Os to shepherd them.

Well,” Chelsea said, humourlessly. “Best get a shift on, then, eh?”

Socks and Liberty looked at one another, and left the courtyard together, picking up Monica’s crystal form on the way.

Dolly, Ella and Chelsea left the courtyard also, making sure to travel in the opposite direction.

They all vanished into the darkness, that cold December night.

Nothing would ever be the same again.


*


…That was the story of the people of the valley, and how their rise and fall precipitated much human culture that was to follow. Though they are forgotten, their legacy remains: their winged forms were the template for the angels in the consciousness of early civilisation.

Their successors, the vampires, are also known in most human cultures of Eurasia, in some form or another.

Many apocalyptic revelations are thought to be based upon cultural memories of the fall of this civilisation.

The story of a great civilisation that fell and was destroyed by its own hubris was later adapted by the Greeks into the tale of Atlantis; to the point that until recently, the people of the valley were sometimes called the ‘Atlanteans’, though this was a term they never used for themselves while they still existed.

The story of two brothers who founded a great civilisation survives in the legend of Romulus and Remus, and the story of two brothers who formed an antipathy towards one another, resulting in the destruction of both, survives in the tale of Cain and Abel. Uncountable myths and legends precipitated from the deaths of the men who had been gods.

But the story is not over. Not yet.

For Ur still lives, his spirit imbued into the bodies of two people, both blessed with Ur’s gift of wings, both possessing great power over the natural forces of ordered chaos that govern this world.

They now live by Ur’s final maxim, rejecting violence and living simply, embracing peace and maintaining a connection with the natural world. They have charged themselves with maintaining this peaceful existence, lest the destructive power that brought a civilisation to ruin rise once again.

However, Geb’s followers were not completely destroyed when their great leader was banished. They still roam the world even now, seeking the day that they might take their vengeance against the usurper that stole what they believe to be their rightful destiny from them.

And as for the Envoy…well, I’m sure you’re quite aware who I am…


*


…right, Harri-Bec?”

The living room was almost silent. The sun had long since set, and a street lamp from outside was providing the only light in the room. On the mantelpiece, a mechanical clock ticked quietly, chiming half of Westminster Quarters.

“So, that’s where the vampires came from?” Harri-Bec asked. “From a war that nobody even remembers?”

“Nobody but a few,” K-Os replied. “I would not be telling you this if I was not sure of its truth.”

I believe you,” Harri-Bec said. “I’m just angry that you kept this from me, after what happened to me.”

I…didn’t want to believe they were returning,” K-Os said. “But I somehow knew this day would come…when Liberty’s father was taken, I knew straight away that something was wrong. Why else would the government go straight for a man hiding in the hills?”

“So it’s true,” Harri-Bec said. “The vampires have already taken power.

Yes,” K-Os said. “And they need Liberty’s blood to free Geb. What’s left of him, anyway.

So why aren’t you protecting her?”

Because I’ve left her in safe hands,” K-Os said.

Harri-Bec’s eyes widened.

Socks,” she said.

The very same.”

Are you sure that’s wise, K-Os?”

Yes,” K-Os said. “Call it a hunch, I suppose.”

Harri-Bec eyed K-Os suspiciously. There was something she wasn’t being told.

So, what’s our next move?” Harri-Bec said. “I’m assuming you know about the new Prime Minister.”

Yes,” K-Os said. She played idly with the hem of her skirt. “To tell you the truth…I don’t know.”

“Well, ye’d best figure it oot, hen,” said a voice from across the room.

A man, dressed in red, had been sitting, very patiently and quietly listening to K-Os. This was the first time she had heard him speak.

He leaned forward out of the shadows, peering over his glasses frames at her with eyes as blue and piercing as her own.

“Efter aw – Armageddon’s a-comin’.”

The room fell silent once again, but for the ticking clock. Under the house, there was the soft rumble and clatter of a train rolling past. Beneath their feet was a world wholly unaware of the tumult that was soon to come.

Nothing was ever going to be okay.


*


At 10 Downing Street, a bottle of Chateauneuf-du-Pape was uncorked and poured into a glass.

Yes, I am aware of the situation,” the Prime Minister said, holding the telephone receiver. “I don’t know why Carlson called for Protocol Omega to be triggered. He was a fucking idiot. The Captain was right to do what he did. No, Regent, quite frankly, I think he should be promoted. He’s got one eye left and he still managed to shoot the bastard in the head. Would it be insensitive of me to say I’d need an atom bomb going off over Wiltshire like a hole in the head?

The Prime Minister guffawed and sat down, crossing his legs on the pouffe, sipping at the wine.

Flippant? Who’s being flippant, Regent? Need I remind you that it was I that let you stay in my Cabinet? That’s right. Now, down to business. I want troops on the streets yesterday. I want you to find these people and I want you to put them down like the dogs they are. I’ll go to the Hague for it if I have to, I don’t care. I want a police recruitment drive. I want armed coppers on every street corner of this fucking island. And, yes, to answer your question, we should hasten the deployment of our recent…acquisitions. Have I made myself quite clear?”

The Prime Minister smiled to himself.

Now, Regent, we’ve been over this. You’re not to call me Mortimer any more. It’s Prime Minister. There’s a good boy. Now, leave me. I’ve got some unpacking left to do.”

Barnabas Mortimer placed the receiver back on the hook, then returned to his glass of wine. He inspected it a few moments, then took a large gulp, staining his lips and teeth red.

He saw his reflection in a mirror above the mantelpiece, and grinned. The grin developed into a chuckle, then into a roar of laughter.

“‘Less than a worm,’ eh, Gabriel?” he shouted, to the empty room.

He threw his empty glass to the floor, and threw his arms up in jubilation.

Well, just look at me now!


Another time, another place…


Creative Commons Licence
This work is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.


ARC THREE: NEW CULTURE
I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX | X

Click here to go to ARC FOUR: BLOOD MOON