back to index or lead on, macduff, lead on
Oh, you made it. Great. Come inside, I'm nearly ready to go.
No, those
boots are fine. It's only going to be a ramble outside city
limits. It'll
be quiet enough; precious few folks like giving up all the
razzmatazz of
the city, even for an hour or so. No, I don't know why either.
Not healthy.
Ah, they're born and bred and marry and die and half of 'em don't
even see
the sky, even those that stay well. Do 'em all good to get some
clean
country air, microbes and all.
Oh, I wouldn't worry. We'll sort it out, like all the rest. Look,
I'm going
to put on my coat and pack; you grab some of those apples and
stuff and get
ready for a surprise. Not telling, but you could put the lights
on. Yeah, I
do know it's 5 o'clock in the afternoon, but why don't you put
the lights
on anyway. Humour me, eh? Use some power, like a good 'un.
Hey, your brothers worked in the power stations, didn't they?
Remember I
was telling you about those things? All those little twists and
puckers
of not-space? Yeah, it is kinda weird. Half the trouble is
keeping them
apart enough to keep the power down to something halfway
sensible, that's
why they keep telling us to use the stuff. Well, every little
helps.
Oh, we'll be off soon enough. Gotta get your surprise first. Tell
you
something, your brothers told me that you liked surprises. Told
us lots of
things. What's the time? Oh, any moment now then. Watching?
Watch the lights! They're getting brighter... too bright. Bang!
There goes
one, and another, and... two at once, in the kitchen. Better get
out,
there's smoke coming out of the walls, where the machines are
gobbled full of
fat electrons until they burst and flash... oh, that smells bad,
into the
street, while the doors still work.
Oh, it's glorious! The alarms are sounding, louder and higher,
hundreds of
them; if it's like this here, just think what's going on in the
heart of
the city, in the underground palace. And now, one by one and two
by ten
those poor sirens are caught in the rapture and seize and sizzle
and
silence...
We'd better get moving. There are crowds now -- see that car
stuck in the
melted plastic on the road? It's a swollen line, bubbling like
hell, like
a bulging vein ready to pop... who needs a siren with noise like
that,
eh? And at the junction with the main road it joins another, and
another.
There must be a main trunk line there. Oh, the stench of the road
in fast
decay. It's not good, it could catch, like the buildings.
Back here, look, down, into the ground. It's safe. Old tube
tunnel, just
some comms cables now, no power, comes out miles away on the old
desert.
Didn't think I was going to leave you here, eh? Close the cover,
it's OK,
I've got a torch with batteries. Don't want anyone else down
here, and
really don't want that stink following us along. I know some of
that smell,
it's not good at all. Out come the demons we sealed in their
plastic
prisons. Best to put this on, breathe normally now, it won't fog.
Shh. No, it's OK. On we go. No, shhhh... I wonder what that was?
Below us,
I think. I didn't know there was anything down there. Isn't now,
eh? We
aren't told the half of it, what goes on. Well, the bastards can
keep their
secrets safe and sound now, for all the good it'll do 'em.
It's longer than I thought. Keep a good pace now.
Yeah, a couple of miles? Quite a wind at our backs, eh? Quite a
wind.
Nearly there.
Listen. I don't like that. No, listen...
NAME OF... Run! Follow me, but run! RUN! This way! NO, YOU IDIOT,
NO
TIME! GET HERE! FASTER!
This is it, quick, quick, out. I'll close it.
Ahhh... I didn't want to do that. At my age. You OK? No, best
leave it
on, force your breath slow... ahhh... oh, no...
Nothing. Just a pulled muscle. Yeah. What you going to do, call
another
doctor for a second opinion? Hey, don't worry, I fixed your ma up
OK, gave
her a year. I know what I'm doing. What I've done.
Look over the ridge. Think they'll save me a bed in the hospital?
What a bonfire... And those flames, they're what, quarter mile
high? Those
colours! Green and gold and blue and red and they dance so
slowly. The
wind's at our backs again, blowing in to the city. Getting up.
That's good.
What? No, there are things in that place that have to burn
proper. You know
what I told you about blast incinerators? You watch, this is
something to
tell people.
Yeah, safe enough. Nobody'll come looking, and I've left some
stuff by the
road over there. We'll pick it up and get gone. Don't plan on
coming back
this year, nor next. No, not to any of the other cities neither.
What? Yeh, there are others. You'll meet them soon enough.
They'll have
people like you with 'em. Don't think it was chance, do you? Heh,
if
they're all like you we're gonna end up hellishly gullible in a
thousand
years. No, I'm joking, they won't all be like you. Half of 'em
are boys,
for a start. You'll make friends, easy.
Yeah. I know. I'm sorry. I had friends there too. Hey, let's get
moving.
Long way to go, but there's no rush. There'll be light to walk
by.
(c) rg