Slimer (22 page)

    'Brace yourself,' he warned Linda when they were about thirty feet above the water. 'I'm going to cut the engines. It's the only way I can be sure of setting us down without possibly driving this thing straight under the waves. The rotors will keep turning and should let us down pretty gently but there's still going to be a hell of a bump…'

    He cut the engines and the helicopter began to drop like an express elevator. It would have been a perfect three-point splash-down if a sudden gust of wind hadn't tipped the machine over, causing it to come down on its side.

    At the moment of impact Linda received a violent blow on the head and lost consciousness as water began to rush into the cabin. The next thing she knew she was outside with Paul's arm supporting her. Somehow he had got her out of the helicopter.

    Choking and spluttering she looked up and saw another helicopter hovering above them. A man was being lowered on a cable towards them…

    Very soon he was in the water beside them and slipping a rubber brace under her arms. Then suddenly she was being wched upwards to safety. She felt numb, dazed. She stared down at the heads of Paul and her rescuer in the water almost disinterestedly. Then she noticed that there was no sign of their helicopter. It had obviously sunk.

    A terrible thought occurred to her.

    She didn't feel the strong hands that pulled her into the helicopter nor did she acknowledge the concerned questions of the three men in the cabin. She could only think of one thing.

    And when she saw Paul being winched up out of the water empty-handed her fears were confirmed. They had lost the cassettes!

    Without them as proof would anyone believe their story? And what if the creature was still alive and making its way towards the mainland? Without the cassettes as evidence they'd never be able to convince the authorities of the terrible danger it presented. No precautions would be taken against its possible infiltration… no one would be on the look-out for it. Its planned invasion of humanity would meet no opposition. It would be like a fox loose in a chicken yard, and it would spread…

    Linda sat shivering on the cabin floor, oblivious of the heavy coat that someone had placed round her shoulders. She knew the nightmare hadn't ended, but only just begun.