A World Apart (31 page)

“In here!” whispered Zoom as he hurried down the alley, Neville still in his own memories carried on walking along.

“No…Nevillle!!” screamed Zoom, seconds later triggering alarm bells, echoing through Neville’s ears, waking him from his daze as he placed his hands on his ears to cover the malicious noise. Neville examined where Zoom was standing earlier, advancing to the alley to rejoin Zoom.

“You have alerted the surveillance team” instructed Zoom as the alarm bells gradually increase in noise.

“We have around fourteen minutes to get out of this area. We need to find some mode of transportation” informed Zoom, Neville astonished by the high level of security, looking worryingly towards the skies.

“I bet there’s a disused car or bike around here” said Neville enthusiastically as the idea rushed out of his mouth.

“It’s a risk, I cannot access the file to locate such vehicles and use them” replied Zoom, as if they were extinct.

“Well, there from my time so I can drive them” said Neville as though Zoom hadn’t already thought of that. Zoom ignored the comment and they both settled down for a while near a skip that contained potent fumes, Neville covering his mouth and nose as he reached level with Zoom. Red and orange lights lit the road underneath them, something was approaching and it was making Neville’s insides do somersaults. Zoom began plotting a route by searching the location of the surveillance patrols. The screen that Zoom was operating informed Neville where the patrols were coming from, showing them heading right for them at all angles.

“They’re getting closer aren’t they?” asked Neville, anxious, scared and unsure what the green and red dots were on the screen of Zoom.

“Just a few more seconds” replied Zoom calmly and collected.

“Follow me” squawked Zoom as he sped off out onto the streets, crossing the road and heading underneath a fence and heading further into the field, Neville struggling to keep up.

“Come on, we don’t have time!” added Zoom, Neville closing his eyes as they crossed another field, Neville leaping of the fence this time. Neville fell as he caught his leg on a loose piece of barbed wire, catching and grazing his right knee.

“Stay low” instructed Zoom, as there was deadly silence apart for Neville’s pounding heartbeat and occasional groan. The field they were in dipped in the centre, creating a trough, full of rubble, disused tyres, old clothing and litter scattered carelessly amid everything else. In the middle of the trough appeared to be a shack of some sort, rusty and torn from the outside and the look of danger on the inside. The scrap metal door blew freely with the breeze, slapping the window frame that looked ready for replacement decades ago. Gusts of cold wind surged up and around them both, only making Neville shiver as the hairs of his arms fluctuated.

“Remain still” said Zoom softly. Neville attempted to hold his breath but this made his heart race sore and his cheeks turn violently purple. Neville managed around a minute before he let out an almighty gasp, accompanied by a few slurred words that Zoom found hard to decipher. It felt like an age to Neville as they both lay in the trough, avoiding making any sudden movements or noise. They listened intently for any indication of life around them, hearing thinks swoosh past them, just like sounds of a plane and a helicopter.

“I think they have disappeared” said Neville after around five minutes of no overhead noise.

“Just one more” replied Zoom after a short while.

“It appears the object is stationary” added Zoom, puzzled by what it could be.

“Hold on, I will retrace the imagery from the time we arrived” said Zoom, as Neville shuffled up the embankment of the trough to reach level height with the patrols.

“It was here before we arrived” declared Zoom uncontrollably loud.

“Well that means it cannot be a part of the surveillance team then” said Neville, working out what Zoom had implied. Neville carried on to the top of the trough so he was level with the rest of the field. Neville looked in the distance and noticed lights coming from a few houses. The green they were both on was very overgrown and morbid. Neville smiled outrageously as he went to observe the object found on Zoom surveillance screen.

“Hey Zoom come up here, it’s ok, there’s no one around!” exclaimed Neville at the top of his voice. Zoom began moving, still vigilant to the surroundings, his head swirled and he went to meet Neville stood broad on the field.

“Look, those houses over there and I’ve found this motorbike” deemed Neville, Zoom unable to comprehend with his rapid talking. Before Zoom could say or do anything, Neville started walking towards the motorbike that was crumpled on the field, tyre marks ran back to a desolated fence back towards the streets. Something bit Neville on the shin, making him scratch just above his knee without looking. The grass was a peculiar green, healthy but blotchy in place. The field edge contained tall oak and pine trees and a wire mesh surrounding the perimeter. A telecommunication pole leaned from the field over the years of erosion and subsidence. The stones and steel work of a railway track ran behind the field, heading towards the station in the distance. Neville tried to figure out what bike type it was as he moved parts around. A badge fell onto the long grass that bore the letter ‘H’ in silver slick writing, which had rusted over the years but still good in places. Neville cast his mind back and remembered the company, as well as one being parked on the same street as him as a boy.

“My neighbour had one just like this. Different colours mind you, orange and white it was. It used to shoot past everyone” said Neville, sounding ever more child-like as the day progressed.

“Don’t be silly Neville, these were before your time” spoke Zoom, not understanding what Neville meant. He started to place parts of the bike on the grass, repairing the damages areas and attaching the others. Once he was happy he propped the bike upright using the stand provided underneath the motorcycle. Neville noticed a piece of wire sticking out of his shoe so he bent down and yanked it out and placed it into the ignition and turned slightly until there was a jolt and a roar of the engine. The motorbike gave a silent chatter as it started and quietly chortled whilst Neville collected his things. Black smoke pilled out of the motorbike’s exhaust, clearing its throat.

“Hey…Hey!! Who said that humans were obsolete now” cried Neville jokingly to Zoom. Zoom didn’t say anything and continued to look at the houses, searching for details such as life and any activity present, although Zoom’s screen started flashing with an error message.

WARNING

‘Restricted Access’

220-DPL1.4

A soft woman’s voice came out of the speakers of Zoom’s side’s instructing the programmer to reset Zoom. Neville looked around him, unaware where it was coming from, the noise of the motorbike drowning out the sound of the voice. He quickly jumped onto the worn saddle on the motorbike and revved the engine, the sound was deafening but it was slowly improving.

“Zoom, come on we can get away on this” shouted Neville over the top of the ragging engine noise. Zoom looked like he had frozen, the lights had dimmed and his eyes were red and flashing spontaneously.

“Come on!” forced Neville, trying to get Zoom’s attention but he was not responding to any external stimuli. Neville worryingly kept urging Zoom to hurry up; Neville was still unaware of where the woman’s voice was coming from. In a burst of desperation, Neville revved his as hard as he could and wheel-spun forward, flicking mud spontaneously into the air. Zoom, completely transfixed on the houses in the distance was about to be left behind by Neville. Neville cast a look over to Zoom and sped off without looking back, as he headed towards the lit houses on the horizon. He felt so bad at leaving Zoom there, but he has no choice in the matter if he wants to survive. Neville patrolled up streets and side roads, passing abandoned cars on his way, searching for any sign of life. Neville started to slow as he approached some traffic lights, stopping in the central reservation and placing a foot down on the road. He thought of Zoom being captured and destroyed as soon as the surveillance team realise he is a defect machine, feeling deeply guilty and saddened for him, especially all the help he has given Neville, he probably wouldn’t have survived if it wasn’t for Zoom’s defective support.

The wheel skidded as Neville turned the handlebars one hundred and eighty degrees, heading as fast as he could. He was returning to Zoom, he couldn’t leave him alone there. Neville’s cheeks tingle as they turned a harsh red, the breeze as he travelled on the motorcycle was very intense. There was no stopping Neville, his foot firmly on the accelerator, ploughing his way through the fence to the field with no remorse. Once he had dodged the bumps and dips in the field he looked around for Zoom. Neville scanned further in the distance and around the field edge but he was nowhere to be seen. He thought that Zoom might have decided to follow him and walk off. Neville disengaged the motorcycle and headed towards a glimmer in the undergrowth not far from where they were standing earlier. Stretching to reach, Neville picked up the shiny object which appeared to be a small rectangular glass object. He looked closely on the reverse of the object and noticed numbers flickering at random, stopping occasionally and then turning green. It was extremely heavy for such as small object, very delicate also, as Neville placed it in a loose jean pocket. Neville walked back over to the motorcycle, completely intoxicated by the contents of the small object. Neville gazed around panicking to see Zoom, as he saw a piece of paper. The corners of the paper rocked with the thorn branches as the wind got behind them. Neville snatched it abruptly from its home and began reading.

“
Two glasses of life have distinct differences.

It could be over a bridge, over a damn, in a pool next to a man.

No life or death would empty the glass.

01417788200346921

Z
”

Neville stood and observed the text before him, making him feel paranoid at the thought of someone watching him or playing a prank on him.

“What happened here?” mumbled Neville to himself rhetorically as his hand warmed in his pocket from the glass object. He wondered why he suddenly felt so cold and frightened, realising there was a heavy mean cloud approaching and a blistering wind. Neville felt so angry with himself for leaving Zoom alone, if hadn’t of sped off he could have saved him, thoughts rushed through his mind of him being slaughtered or used to find him. He took a minute to reflect on all the weird things that had happened since he had arrived, shaking his head at the thought of being in America fighting for a few cents for a warm drink and assessed the situation here in England as a surreal one. Neville pondered over where Zoom could be, placing a thumb and finger delicately on his chin and cheek, pausing for a plan. He was distracted by some bushes where he had found the note a few moments ago, so he walked up to it and lifted the bushes instantly, becoming more and more impatient as the night grew long. Underneath the bushes were small tracks that lead to the top of the embankment and died as they became faint. Neville was so desperate to see Zoom now, as it was gradually getting darker. Neville felt a few droplets of rain splatter on his cranium, gentle at first but then harder, making him place his jumper over his head to bloke the droplets. He had no choice but to leave Zoom wherever he was and find shelter for the night or keep on moving. It had only been around twenty minutes since Neville last saw Zoom, Neville’s departure made his guilt expand like a hot air balloon.

Instead of heading for the city, he travelled around the houses close by that were adequate to sleep in for the night. After a few hours of circling the blocks a few times, he started to feel sleepy, his grip on the motorcycle weakened, so he pulled alongside a milk float and sat there for a while. As his foot touched the ground it was wrapped by a piece of newspaper caught in the swirling wind. A nearby shop kept the time of half past two, it had stopped a few decades ago thought Neville. He wondered whether to depart back to his home or simply wait for morning and head off. He gazed at the stars, seeing a shooting star for the first time, as he looked at the moon and chuckled at the face it formed.

“Cock-a-doodle-do” awoke Neville as he heard three times from a nearby farm. He opened one eye cautiously, looking up at the blisteringly warm blue sky and stretched his aching muscles. He had no idea where he was, for a second he believed he was still dreaming. He looked around and saw debris of houses, soon realising where he was as it all looked familiar now. A deep sense of dread built in the pit of Neville’s stomach about what might be watching him right now, or what may be hiding in the overgrowth. A flock of birds flew overhead as Neville watched them still lying down. He thought about getting up from where he was lying. He had fallen asleep on a bench opposite a newsagent shop that was amazingly still erect. Neville stumbled like a newborn finding his feet across the road and into the shop. Neville entered and started to rummage through the food that was still in the correct places. All the food had gone rotten and created a stench so foul that it would make you ill if you smelt too much. He was so hungry he was so tempted to eat a chocolate bar or crisps but he refrained and took a few things that were less out-of-date compared with the others and started unravelling and eating, feeling his stomach celebrate at receiving some nourishing food at last. Over the road was a bridge made from limestone, with a river flowing below it, which ran into the heart of the city. Deserted boats bobbled lightly as the sun reflected off the wooden outer coating. Neville felt so alone, he rushed to a nearby telephone box, quickly lifting the receiver to be disappointed by a droning monotone. Neville wanted to explore the country as quickly as possible to see if there were signs of life anywhere. He walked over to his motorcycle and jumped on and started, disturbing nearby birds that flew away. Thoughts of his parents flashed through his mind. He was sure where he was heading now, there is no turning back.