The Moon Stealers and The Children of the Light (11 page)

Scarlet had experienced driving her father's tractor
on their land, but it was quite different to the small Mini she was negotiating
along the motorway towards the south of
England
. Although it was a squeeze with the three of them
inside, the small old car was nippy and easy to navigate around the cars that
were driverless and empty and scattered randomly across the carriageway or half
way up the embankment.

Her thoughts were with Edgar, she knew he was ill and
would soon die from the poison running through his blood. She also knew that
she was not likely to see him again.

'He has a good heart,' said Lady Flora, reading
Scarlet's thoughts.

'After all the years he has lived among us, it's a
shame he will die just when the world needs him and no one will know what he
did for them.'

'None of us know our destiny. He may have had an
extraordinarily long life, but his final task is the pinnacle of that life. All
those years ago, King Arthur could not have known what Edgar was destined to
do, but he is about to fulfil the purpose of his immortal life. He is
England
's protector. Stories told of the King's return when
England
was in its greatest need. But he never truly left
you.'

'What if he doesn’t succeed?' Scarlet quietly asked,
feeling guilty.

'He is not alone. Your two friends are also part of
the reason he continues, despite the weak flesh and failing body.'

'What's our destiny?' Peter asked from the back seat.
Although Edgar had been overseeing his own life without him knowing it since
the day he had been born, Peter hadn’t known the knight as well as Scarlet.
'Where are we going?'

'We are going to a place called Burnham Beeches, an
ancient woodland where the Druid's Oak stands. There is an equivalent location
in my world. You will probably see a number of portals in the area Peter.'

'What is the Druid's Oak?' asked Scarlet. She saw a
clear stretch of motorway and put her foot on the accelerator.

'Once upon a time when your world was a more magical
place, there were giant oak trees all over the countryside. They had stood for
more years than anyone could remember and outlived every subsequent generation.
The oaks were sources of great wisdom and the link between humans and the
planet they lived on. It was through this understanding and coexistence that
the humans would learn how to use plants to cure illness and disease. Over the
years the oak's roots grew deep, forming a network that connected everything
together. But slowly as the human race grew and demanded the land to live on,
these ancient giants were either cut down, or choked by the dirty industrial
air. The roots attempted to find their way to the surface to begin growing in
new locations, but they were either trodden down or unable to break through to
reach the sun. Very few ancient oaks remain. The Druid Oak at Burnham Beeches
will give us access to the network of roots that join plant to plant and tree
to tree, from the smallest primrose to the tallest redwood. With the slightest
suggestion, nature can be our castle and the animals our soldiers.'

'But what can I do?' Peter asked.

'Now is the time to embrace the magic inside you
Peter, not hide it. You can open the links and channels between everything that
is invisible to the mortal eye. Scarlet has similar gifts to myself. Whilst in
the Underworld, she learnt to communicate with plants and animals with the
energy of her mind. The three of us have a unique ability to observe nature and
the world around us that most humans choose not to see.'

'What are we waiting for Edgar to do?' Scarlet asked.

'Sir Edgar is a White Knight; his heart is pure and
honest. When he protected us in the forest clearing his sword emitted a wave of
pure white energy. For a soul as black as the creatures, the light was the
complete opposite to themselves. Like magnets, you cannot force opposite
polarity together, they repel each other. The white energy hurt them and forced
them away from us, but it also burnt their eye, and if they cannot see, they
become weak. There are not enough people left on this planet to destroy the
creatures when they are at their most vulnerable, but nature is everywhere, we
will call on the plants to fight on our behalf. Then, hopefully, the human race
will have a chance at survival once more.'

Scarlet continued to drive along the motorway,
following the signs towards
London
.

By mid afternoon the sky was beginning to turn a murky
grey colour and their thoughts returned to the need to hide from the creatures
for the night. They had reached the mid point of their journey but if they
remained on the motorway they would be exposed and easily attacked. Either side
of the road were flat fields, but on the horizon up ahead there were roof tops
and chimneys, indicating a built up area and a greater chance of finding a
hiding place. The signs on the motorway informed them they were approaching
Warwick
.

'We need to get off the main road,' Scarlet said,
conscious of the growing darkness in the sky.

Lady Flora nodded. They drove off at the next slip
road which took them towards a roundabout elevated above the motorway. Scarlet
was just about to take the first exit signposted towards
Warwick
when Lady Flora pointed to the opposite side of the
carriageway. Beneath the roundabout was a narrow path covered in parts with
puddles of shallow water. It cut through a series of trees then went beneath
the road inside an underpass.

'Go into that tunnel,' instructed Lady Flora.

Scarlet turned the steering wheel and carefully picked
her way between some of the cars that had crashed into signposts and traffic
signals. When they were directly above the tunnel Scarlet nudged the car off
the road and slowly edged down the embankment, resting on the breaks all the
way, until the car bumped over a ledge and came to rest on the path below the
roundabout. Scarlet negotiated the small car along the path and into the
concrete tunnel.

'Stop the car,' said Lady Flora, but she had already
opened her door.

As soon as Lady Flora had stepped onto the path,
Scarlet could see the entrances to the underpass slowly becoming covered by a
dense mesh of plants and trees. Lady Flora was sealing them inside the tunnel,
just as she had done beneath the embankment beside the dried up riverbed.

Everything inside the tunnel went pitch black.

Under direction from
Georgia
, Steven swung the car away from the holiday park and
along narrow roads where the verges banked high over each side blocking the
view except for the immediate road in front. They took the route south, away
from the top side of the island were they would be more likely to come into
contact with other members of Coldred’s security teams. After a while they
turned away from the coastline and followed a minor road that would eventually
take them to
Newport
and the centre of the island. The
Isle of Wight
was not a large island, so Steven was happy to get as
much distance between themselves and the two men they had left in the bungalow,
as possible.

After an hour of driving Steven slowed down and began
picking a more cautious route along the roads. Fortunately, there weren’t any
where near as many abandoned cars as there had been when they travelled around
England
.

From the back seat of the car, the walkie-talkie Tracker
had taken from one of the men in the bungalow suddenly crackled into life.

‘This is Jonas,’ announced a mechanical voice
distorted by static.

Tracker picked up the handset, but didn’t respond to
the voice on the radio.

‘You were wise to run,’ continued the voice. There was
a pause. ‘I wanted to let you know that we have been found by our colleagues
and to warn you: if the creatures don’t get you, we will.’

‘They must have been picked up as soon as we left,’
said Tracker to the others in the car. ‘I knew there was something wrong in the
way I answered the radio. They probably use code words.’

‘Don’t worry,’ said Steven. ‘They’re a long way behind
us by now.’

They passed lush green fields that rolled away in every
direction. On occasions they caught fleeting glimpses of the northern coastline
in the distance, together with the reflective blue surface of the
Solent
. As the
number of houses alongside the road began to increase, they assumed they were
approaching the populated town of
Newport
.

Steven drove cautiously, watching for any signs of
movement in the road ahead, but everything was dead and static.
Georgia
scanned the shops for survivors, looking through the
shattered glass windows or open doorways, but saw nothing. There was evidence
that scavengers had looted the shops for food or supplies, but that was
probably some time ago. From the backseat Steven could hear the occasional
click as Tracker loaded the weapons, making sure they were ready to use if
necessary.

Steven parked the car at the side of the road and turned
the engine off.

‘Why have we stopped?’ asked Tracker, leaning forward through
the gap between the front seats so he could see the road ahead.

Steven pointed to the map that rested on
Georgia
’s knee.

‘The north side of the island is divided by the river
Medina
which stretches down towards
Newport
. Osborne House is here,’ Steven pointed to the east
side of the river. ‘The only way to drive to Osborne House is via the car ferry
at the northern mouth of the river where it is widest along the coast at Cowes
or by driving down the length of the river to us here at Newport then back up
the east side.’

‘It looks like we will be joining up with that route
ourselves,’ said Tracker.

‘Indeed. If I was living in Osborne House I would make
sure the roads approaching it were being guarded.’

‘But, if the ports are being monitored so closely, the
community wouldn’t need guards on the approach to the house, would they?’ asked
Georgia
.

‘There may be renegade lawless groups of survivors
that still live around the island. They might try to take food or supplies for
themselves from the community. Remember Coker and his boys in Bewerley?’
replied Steven. ‘When people get desperate they become dangerous. I’m certain
Coldred would have set up some security.’

‘What do you think we should do?’ asked
Georgia
.

‘We should approach Osborne House at night,’ said
Tracker. ‘We have the antibiotics. The creatures keep there distance from us.’

‘But Coldred also has antibiotics. As well as the
vaccine,’ replied
Georgia
.

‘We don’t know how much he may have. He may only be
providing protection to selected members of his community, but that might
include his guards,’ said Steven.

‘If there are survivors living around the island that
are not part of Coldred’s community, for their own safety, they will keep out
of sight of the creatures at night,’ said Tracker. ‘Coldred might not think
night time security would be necessary.’

‘Then we might be safer leaving
Newport
under cover of darkness. We stand a better chance of
reaching Osborne House undetected,’ agreed Steven.

He started the engine again and began coasting down
Newport High Street, alongside the pavements that would once have been packed
by tourists. As soon as the road crossed the tail end of the river
Medina
and entered the east side of the town, they spotted a
small hotel set back from the road. Steven parked at the steps to the entrance.
The gentle purr of the engine had been reassuring in a world that was empty of
noise. As soon as it was turned off, the silence became almost deafening.

They took their hold-alls and weapons from the car and
entered the building. Although they knew there were not likely to be any
survivors in the building, they quickly checked the rooms to avoid any
surprises.

The next two hours were spent in silence in one of the
rooms at the front of the hotel, whilst they waited for night to arrive. They
took turns napping whilst the others performed tedious routines just to waste
the time. There was only so much organising of the hold-all contents and
cleaning of weapons that could be done, and they were all beginning to feel
useless sitting and waiting.

Never before would they have thought they would be
glad to hear the familiar screaming of the creatures in the distant sky as they
emerged in the muted light of dusk ready to hunt. Steven looked out from the
window and watched the black winged creatures skimming over the top of the
houses, dodging the chimneys with an easy tilt of their wing. Live food had
become harder for the creatures to find. So they watched, circling from above
or patiently waiting from a vantage point on top of a building, for any sign of
life.

Steven
,
Georgia
and Tracker each swallowed a second antibiotic tablet
for the day. Although they had taken one as usual that morning, they had agreed
to double the dose for their night time adventure so that the effects didn’t
wear off whilst they were stalking Osborne House. As an extra precaution, they
sprayed some of the diluted antibiotic water that Beth had developed at
Fort
Halstead
, liberally over their clothes.

Steven pushed the door to the hotel open and stood in
the frame ready to move to the car.

Outside, the road was quiet.

Black shadows jumped and skipped along the roof tops,
just visible against the darkening sky. With their weapons loaded and ready to
use, they moved out of the hotel as one group, cautiously working down the
steps towards the car.

A playful chirping erupted from the roof of the hotel.

The humans had been spotted.

In response, other creatures suddenly appeared in the
sky, circling above the road.

Steven and Georgia were the first to reach the car.
They opened a door each, ready to jump in but were suddenly knocked off their
feet onto the road. Steven’s hold-all skidded across the ground away from them
as he desperately held onto his hunting rifle, ready to fire if needed. A black
creature had landed on the roof of the car and was beating its long stretched
wings as it tried to balance on the shiny metal surface. By the limited amount
of light, Steven could just about make out a strange change in the surface of
the creature. No longer was it smooth leathery skin, but seemed to be made up
of interlocking scales, larger and more obvious around its back and head.

‘Wait!’ Steven shouted to Tracker, as he noticed him
aim his shotgun at the creature. ‘Gunshot noises travel over long distances. We
don’t want Coldred’s community to be on alert before we get there.’

A breathy rattling sound seemed to be coming from the
creature as it sucked air into its body, testing a scent it was unfamiliar with.
It hopped off the top of the car and onto the road next to Steven. Once again
it sniffed at the air. It knew there was something different about these
humans, but wasn’t sure what. Slowly and cautiously
Georgia
reached into her bag and began blindly searching for
something, whilst, all the time never taking her eyes off the creature. She
felt a cold canister in the palm of her hand, pulled it out and sprayed some of
the antibiotic solution into the eye of the creature. In a deafening scream of
pain the creature stepped back from the couple on the floor and tried
desperately to shake its head and force the liquid from its eye. As it
attempted to get away, it stretched its wings once more, knocking
Georgia
in the shoulder, as it created enough lift to escape.
It grabbed Steven’s hold-all from the road and flew high up between the houses
and over the top of a roof, taking its reward with it.

The other creatures continued to chirp from the hotel
roof, but kept a safe distance from the humans.

Steven helped
Georgia
back onto her feet.

‘Did you see the changes in their skin?’ he asked
excitedly. ‘They are still adapting. Soon they will be protected from the
sunlight, allowing them to hunt during the day.’

‘That puts us in even greater danger,’ said Tracker, ‘and
will make our job even slower. Which is unfortunate because we now have to work
even faster.’

‘What do you mean?’ asked
Georgia
, dusting herself down.

‘We now have fewer antibiotics. There were some inside
your hold-all that the creature took.’