The Watchers (28 page)

Jesus sat on a boulde
r
while Mia and Tom fell to their knees on the beach. “You said something could be done to save them,” Mia said.

“I only know what I’ve been told by the nymphs.”

“Go on,” Tom prompted.

“It’s the solstice in a few hours. And on each solstice every year, new Watchers are born.”

Mia contemplated his words. “That’s right. Uriel told me that. He said they were born from the earth and that they have evolved from the decaying bones of their forefathers. He said they rise from the ground from under fields of corn and that they all rise together, as one, on the same day as our summer solstice. He said it is the charge of the sun that makes them complete under the soil.”

“So, what does that mean?” Tom asked.

Jesus leaned forward. “They planned the meeting with the leaders on the eve of the solstice for that very reason. All of them across the planet have done the same. They knew that if anything went wrong, if they were destroyed by weapons, they would be able to regenerate their structure of seven, by replacing the dead with Watchers born on the solstice.” Jesus paused for breath.

“Then, that means they will be okay. Uriel and the others will survive.”

"Only if a new-born is compatible. They say it's a mind thing..." Jesus was speaking quietly as if he was worried a Watcher would hear him divulging their secrets. "But that's not the only thing, that's happening," he said. "It was dependent on the responses of the leaders, but in a few hours, on the morning of the solstice, when the sun rises, they're bringing more Kudos down."

Alice Burton watched the famil
y
leave the room, escorted to the suites reserved for guests. The royals mainly. Alice couldn’t imagine Keri complaining about the décor. It had the most luxurious and tasteful decor Alice had ever seen. She’d stayed there herself once or twice. Keri had a lot to learn. She was too spirited, too independent. Complains too much. She may have to do with her what she did with the Shepherd boys. Get rid!

An aide approached her. An urgent private telephone call. She took her mobile from her pocket and pinned it to her ear. “What is it?”

The secretary of defence spoke quietly. Ma'am, I'm still at our headquarters in Bristol." Alice nodded. She had instructed him earlier to remain in the centre of it all to keep an eye on things while she went back to London. "You asked me to update you on the situation."

“Yes, Mike. I want to be kept informed of any developments. “You know that shouldn’t have happened tonight. The Watchers were peaceful.”

“Yes, Prime Minister, but as we explained before you left London, your safety was paramount. Your security men were being contained by the Watchers, so anything could have happened. And then there was the girl in the car...”

“Yes, I’ve been briefed on that. She wasn’t their child, Mike. We’ve got another civilian here. It’s Sarah, the girl who was abducted a few weeks ago from her caravan in Taunton.”

There was a pause. “I see. Right, I’ll make arrangements for her to be debriefed and then we’ll inform the parents.”

“No, Mike, we can’t do that. We’ve already got civilians mixed up in this. The two kids who were at the rendezvous, as well as Harry Rains. Harry I can handle, but we don’t know who the kids are.” Alice recalled their bodies lying on the floor when the shooting began. She wondered if they were still alive. “The more we have involved, the less likely we are to keep a lid on all of this. We’ll have the press crawling all over us if the child turns up.”

“What do you suggest?”

“I don’t know yet. We’ll keep her here tonight and I’ll get back to you.”

“Prime Minister...there’s something else...”

“Go on.” Alice rubbed her eyes. She needed some real sleep.

“Another crop circle has appeared. Just an hour ago in fact.”

“So?”

“This one’s different,”

"How? Come on, Mike. Why do I need a conversation about a damn crop circle at this late hour?"

“Apologies, Prime Minister. Our satellites picked it up. It’s only visible on ultra-violet. This one is not on a crop of corn, it’s more of a pattern etched on ordinary grass.”

“Okay!”

"It's two circles intertwined."

“So...?”

"It's at Avebury. It would appear the circular images in the grass has joined the two circles of stones and now there's something happening."

“What exactly?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you, Prime Minister. There seems to be an exodus; thousands of people flocking to Avebury. The strange part is they can’t even see the circles from the ground or with the naked eye. It doesn’t make sense.”

“So what do you expect me to do?”

“I just think we need to get the military in on this.”

“See to it then. I’m off to get some sleep. Brief me in the morning.”

They headed toward
s
the majestic village of Avebury. Jay was rubbing his eyes. He’d only just managed to swill his face with cold water before they’d left the hotel. “I haven’t even had coffee,” he complained.

“Don’t worry, I brought a flask.” Maggie pulled out her thermos and unscrewed the lid. “You can drink it while you’re driving.”

Jay grimaced.
She’s probably put milk in it.

She passed him the cup as soon as he hit a straight stretch of road. “Look, black! Just how you like it,” she said.

He grunted and sipped. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” Maggie said with a light-hearted American accent.

Jay didn’t comment. He was more interested in how much traffic was on the road. “There’s a lot of traffic about,” Maggie muttered.

“Well, it is the solstice...you’d expect it to be busy, wouldn’t you?”

“Not here. Most of them go to Stonehenge.”

Some cars passed them. They were all speeding but there was nothing coming towards them on the other side of the A361. Everyone seemed to be heading towards Avebury. It didn’t make sense.

“Maybe you should put your foot down,” Maggie said.

“Got it.” He placed his coffee in the cup holder and then he sped into the night.

The air-spirits arrived out of nowhere
.
They crooked their fingers and they were smiling again, playing with the three standing on the beach. Mia felt herself being lifted into the air. It felt so safe and comfortable she felt as if she wanted to go to sleep, like sleeping on a cloud of marshmallows. She saw Tom and Jesus being lifted up behind her until all of them were flying through the air on the currents of the maidens who floated and played beneath their weight.

They were heading toward the mountain where they had been taken only the day before, where the land looked like heaven and a tree became a portal leading to Swallowhead Springs. As they neared the landing place at the side of the cliff face, Mia suddenly realised what was happening. She shouted for them to stop. “No, I don’t want to go back. Stop! We were told we could stay. Stop, please!”

The air-spirits didn’t hear. They simply laughed and released them and Charlie onto the rock terrace and flew away, waving as they went.

“Don’t go, don’t go,” Mia was crying. She clutched her stomach with her arms as if the pain was too great, but then while Charlie licked her hair, she felt someone’s arms around her shoulders.

It was Jesus. “We have no choice. It seems as if they want us to leave.”

“Why? They said for us to come back with them. They said there was nothing for us up there now.”

Jesus shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“Come on,” Tom said quietly as if all the fight had been knocked out of him.

And so they all walked through the tunnel to heaven on the other side. It looked as it looked before, with perfect green rolling hills above a river raging with crystal clear water below them. The great yew was there, so Tom took Mia’s hand and led her towards it. She went along with him, giving in to the inevitable.

“We can’t get through.” Tom was running his hands over the bark, trying to find the spirit door. “I can’t find the door.”

It was then, Mia knew. "They mean for us to stay," she screeched, pacing around the grass. "They mean for us to stay," she shouted again before she and Charlie ran over the brow of the hill.

Jay hit a traffic jam
.
Vehicles were now using both sides of the road to reach their destination. He looked at his watch. It was 4.00am. “We’re not going to make it,” Maggie said with a whisper.

He couldn't bear the look on her face. It was as if all her dreams had been shattered. "Of course, we will, hon. We're only a short distance away, we can walk. Look! Others are doing the same."

It was true, people were abandoning their cars. “I’ll not get there with this,” Maggie patted her artificial leg.

Jay had never seen her feel sorry for herself before. It didn't suit her. Without any thought to the consequences, he pulled into the side of the road. "Right, get out of the car. Come on, get out." He pushed his door open and ran around to the other side of the car. "Leave your bag, Maggie," he said, rolling his eyes. She got out and he put his arm around her waist. "Right, put your arm around my shoulders. Put all your weight onto your good leg and walk with me."

“What do you think this is, a three-legged race?”

“That’s exactly what it is, sweetheart,” he said with a huge grin on his face. “Come on. We gotta find the entrance to the otherworld haven’t we? We’ve got to find Fran.”

Maggie nodded, her eyes glistening. "Yes, American boy. Yes, we have."

Tom was spellboun
d
by the vision he saw. He had chased Mia over the curve of the hill and there below them next to the river was a cluster of homes, like huts made of straw. It looked like a model of a medieval village on a table of green baize, with no people to bring it to life.

The huts were side by side, some were square and some were round. They looked random and yet they were not. They fitted together like a wall of tiles, with rounded pieces to break the monotony of the design and small walkways between them, as if they were the grouting.

A wide single dirt road ran alongside the river and dotted about were wells pumping water, and bays of rocks, built like rounded barbeques, burning fire. The place looked like it was awaiting its population. Beyond, was a forest of green and next to it, square fields displaying yellow corn. And unlike the Watcher's world, there was the sound of birds singing and the clucking of chickens.

Tom remained on the top of the hill until he saw a woman and a child appear from one of the huts. It was Fran, and next to her was Keri’s daughter, Elizabeth.

So Tom ran, calling Fran’s name.

Maggie was breathles
s
when they finally arrived at Avebury. Everywhere was mayhem. Police were trying to break up the crowds making their way into the village and helicopters were hovering in the sky above the stones. There were all sorts of characters. Some dressed like pagans coming to worship the sun, but others were normal, parading about as if they were in a shopping mall. There were men and women, black and white, children, and elderly couples with smiles on their faces, holding hands as if they were finally walking towards the light.

Jay didn’t get it. He was there to help Maggie realise her dream, but he didn’t ever believe in her theory of her quest to find the entrance to the otherworld. Now there he was witnessing a rally of crazy people, like her, trying to worship the sun as it rose in the sky over Avebury.

He looked at his watch. It was 4.40. Three minutes!

In one last attempt to reach the final destination, he took hold of Maggie and as she took the weight off her prosthetic leg, he hitched her onto his side. Then he charged forward, barging through the crowd to the centre of the circle of stones.

They were in the southern circle. People were pushing their way forward, not in panic, but with intent, like they were stepping onto an elevator, waiting for everyone to get on so that the doors could close.

As the early morning sun brightened the sky, Jay kept hold of Maggie. Something was going to happen. He could feel it, and he was sure everyone else could feel it. At 4.43, as the sun's rays shone down as if God was casting his eternal glow, some three-dimensional lines became prominent in the grass, like circular tracks with curved shadows marking the route to the otherworld.

Suddenly people were moving in one direction. They were turning and turning as if they were walking a spiral, like a Cretan maze, a spiral going downwards, taking the people, to the world beneath them; taking the Kudos to Caer Sidi.

The Kudos came out of the ye
w
as if they had stepped out of an elevator. They looked dazed and confused but they were radiating happiness. They followed the path down to the river, guided by the air-spirits who flew over their heads, laughing and playing, making the hair of the Kudos blow about their faces. People dispersed around the village in an orderly fashion, going to huts and claiming them as their own. The air-spirits guided them, crooking their fingers while the Kudos laughed back at the playful spectacle.

It was a moment of joy and nobody knew why. It was an exodus to heaven where leaving behind their possessions, loved ones and friends, somehow didn’t matter. They had transcended to another world, another plane, and they were content.

A voice came out of nowhere amongst the calm and peace of the procession leading into the village. “Kid?” a man’s voice announced. “Kid?”

Tom turned and saw...he blinked. He wondered if he was seeing things...but no, it was Jay, his buddy from New York City, no less. “What the hell?” Tom paced towards him. An old woman was hanging off his side. She was limping and laughing at the same time.

“Kid?” Jay was screwing up his face. “You know this happened to me once before. I was on vacation in France and I bumped into my neighbour in a cafe in St. Tropez.”

Tom looked about as they stood facing each other. “Bit different now, I think.”

Jay nodded. Then, planting Maggie safely on the ground on her two feet, he pulled Tom into his arms, holding him there as if they were brothers bound by blood.

Tom laughed as Jay spluttered his embarrassment. He looked over Jay’s shoulder. “You may want to brace yourself.”

“I can see that.”

“No, I mean prepare yourself for another reunion.”

As if Jay knew exactly to whom he was referring, he slowly turned. “Fran,” he whispered. “Fran!”

He took a step towards her and then he stopped. Maggie was standing at his side. He turned towards her and saw she was smiling. She had done what she said she would do and despite all the hardship of getting to where they were now, there was nothing Jay Pullman would rather have been doing. He bent down and kissed her on the cheek.