The Moon Stealers and The Children of the Light (23 page)

As soon as Lady Flora could sense no more creatures outside,
the underpass they had used for the night quickly reopened ready for them to
fly away. They continued on the motorway heading south towards
London
, stopping only once for more fuel but continuing again
almost immediately. Lady Flora had no way of knowing how long it would take
Edgar to reach Avalon so she wanted to get to the Druid's Oak as quickly as
possible to prepare herself.

'We need to ask for directions,' Lady Flora said.

They were approaching a place called
High Wycombe
. Scarlet slowed the car down.

'But, there's no one to ask,' she replied.

'Park the car beside those trees.'

Scarlet did as she was instructed and manoeuvred onto
a slip road beside a small clump of silver birch trees.

'Of all the trees, the silver birch is the most
sociable. Did you never wonder why they group together and live so closely to
humans in their towns and cities?' Lady Flora opened her door and stepped
towards the trees. She placed a hand on the smooth white bark and closed her
eyes. Scarlet and Peter watched from inside the car and patiently waited. When
she was done Lady Flora gave the tree a playful pat like a dog receiving praise
for retrieving a stick, then she got back into the car.

'Look for signs to
Slough
and we
will find Farnham Common and the entrance to Burnham Beeches,' she announced.

Scarlet drove along the motorway until she saw a sign
for
Slough
. Taking that exit, the road became narrower and wound
its way through clumps of woodland until they reached a more built up area. The
name of the town was Farnham Common and it wasn’t long before they caught a
glimpse of a brown tourist sign for Burnham Beeches. They turned right and
followed the road until they came to a crossroads where a black and white
fingerpost pointed them towards an area where the road became engulfed in the
shadows of the trees. The road narrowed until they could go no further. A metal
gate blocked their path and only a cattle grid allowed pedestrians into the
ancient woodland.

Scarlet turned off the engine.

Everywhere was so silent and dead. It was like they
were living in a vacuum where nothing dared make a sound. It was mid afternoon
and the path they were going to follow was already dark, making them vulnerable
to creatures hunting in the forest.

They all looked at each other, exchanging glances that
shared the fears they were all too scared to voice.

'Well, we're not going to be much help if we stay
inside this little car,' said Lady Flora as she opened her door and climbed
out. Scarlet and Peter reluctantly followed. They took some water and snacks
from the bags in the back and began to tread the path into the wood.

The path wound through dense old woodland. The trees
on either side were tall and blocked out a lot of the light from the sky,
preventing them from being able to tell if day had turned into night. They all
grabbed a fallen branch or stick, knowing that they might need a weapon for
protection.

The woodland was eerily quiet. No birds made a sound;
no insects foraged amongst the fallen leaves. They felt tense as they crept along
the path, not wanting to betray their presence by talking. They were twitchy
and nervous, constantly checking behind them, as well as scrutinizing the
shadows amongst the branches of the trees for signs they were being hunted.

Eventually the dense covering of trees began to thin
as they approached a small clearing. Other trees had been pushed aside to give
one tree a greater prominence and presence.

'Wow,' said Peter. 'I've never seen a tree so wide!'

They stood and stared at a tree that wasn’t as tall as
those behind it, but the impressive thing about it was the sheer width of the
trunk, wider than any they had ever seen before. Old, gnarled and covered in
grey-green moss, this was the Druid's Oak. It looked like a giant foot of an
elephant, lined and ridged, but solid and unmoving. Seeing the size of the tree
for themselves, they could understand why the roots of the Druid's Oak could
stretch so far beneath the ground.

Peter sensed something behind them. He turned and saw
what the others could not. Glittering between two Mountain Ash trees, as if it
had been caught and stretched between their twisted branches, was another
portal to the Underworld.

'At least you wont have far to get back to your own
world,' he informed Lady Flora. 'There's a portal between those two trees.'

'Then I hope we succeed,' she replied.

Stepping off the path she trod carefully between the
cowslips and ferns towards the thick twisted bark of the oak. She placed her
hand on the old tree and listened.

'It is old and frail. There is not much life left in
it,' she reported to the other two.

'Will nature be strong enough to fight and succeed?'
asked Scarlet as she too placed a hand on the dry bark. She could hear nothing
more than a faint noise, like the wheezing of an old man in a deep sleep.

Peter stood beside Lady Flora. He placed a hand on the
tree in the same way as the other two, but felt and heard nothing, so removed
it immediately. He nervously looked into the sky, hoping not to spot a
creature.

'Do that again,' Lady Flora said to Peter.

'But nothing happened, I didn’t hear anything,' he
said.

'On your touch it was like opening a door to a room
full of people all talking at the same time. Your ability to see portals also
helps to open the gates of long forgotten and even longer used paths between
these great and ancient plants. Please, I need you to touch the tree again so
that I can talk through it.'

Peter nodded and placed two hands firmly on the tree trunk
once more. Again he couldn’t hear anything, but he watched the facial expressions
of Lady Flora. Her mind flashed at lightening speed through the vast tubes
within the tree trunk, narrowing as she dived deeper and deeper into the earth,
until she burst into a hundred million separate sparks of electricity that
travelled along the fine root system miles beneath the surface. Each spark
fluttered into the joining roots of other plants, gathering information and
inciting support. The strain on Lady Flora immediately began to tell. The
colour of Lady Flora's skin was beginning to fade and turn grey.

There was a rustling sound amongst the leaves of one
of the neighbouring trees. In a world of silence, any sound was enough to cause
the hairs on the back of Scarlet and Peter's necks to stand on end. They both
turned in unison and stared up at a large shadow partially hidden amongst the
branches at the top of a Beech tree.

Scarlet grabbed a large thick branch and held it in
front of her. 'We have to protect Lady Flora whilst she wakes the trees up.'

Peter nodded and grabbed his stick too.

The shadow pulled itself through a gap in the branches
and stared down at the humans. In the diminishing light, the single white eye
glowed brightly back at them. The creature chirped playfully then leapt out of
the tree towards the children. It swooped down, arching the leathery wings and
thrusting its hooked feet forward ready to sink them into its prey. The two
children stood their ground and waited for the creature to approach, then swung
their sticks in a frenzy trying desperately to strike the creature.

It turned tightly in the small clearing and gained
some height in the sky. Using its speed together with gravity, the creature
dived towards them once again, ready to attack. Peter jumped out of the way,
but Scarlet swung her thick branch at the creature, glancing its side slightly
and knocking it off target.

An ear piercing scream cut through the night air. The
creature took a few seconds to regain control of its flight but once it had it
turned, ready for a third attempt. The activity and noise had attracted
attention from other creatures. The tree tops around them had become alive with
numerous chirping sounds and screams. An immeasurable number of black bodies
seemed to dirty and darken the green canopy of the woodland, with every eye
trained on the humans.

The children looked desperately in every direction.

They were surrounded.

Everywhere they looked the trees shook with excitement
as the creatures anticipated the imminent kill. At its third attempt, the
creature dodged the children's sticks, but managed to grasp one in its claws,
which it dropped as it circled round once more.

A glow on the horizon drew Scarlet and Peter's
attention.

Somewhere in the distance a white glow was racing
across the sky towards them. As soon as they had seen it, the light had sped
past them, onwards to other parts of the sky.

'The light of the White Knight,' muttered Scarlet.

'He has done it,' said Lady Flora as she let go of the
tree. She looked pale and drained as if she had aged many years during the small
time they had been there.

'Then let's call on nature to fight back,' said
Scarlet.

Lady Flora kissed Scarlet on the forehead. 'I never
realised the ancient network would be so weak. It has been asleep for such a
long time that it is difficult to wake up. I must become part of that network,
merge with it totally and live within every cell, leaf and branch that is part
of it; otherwise the plan will not work. Help me into that crevice where I can
sit amongst the Druid's Oak.'

Scarlet didn’t quite understand what she meant, but
she held Lady Flora's hand, making her steady as she placed the toe of her shoe
into a deep crack in the Oak's bark and lifted herself to sit in the tree.

Overhead another wave of white light rippled across
the sky. The creatures had taken flight from the trees and were trying to
outrun the light, no longer interested in the humans. They seemed to be flying
erratically and disorganised, some of the creatures would clash in mid air with
their siblings and fall in a tangle of wings and claws to the ground.

Lady Flora positioned herself in the junction of the Druid's
Oak where the trunk split. The green robe that covered her body seemed to merge
with the green moss of the tree. She joined her hands together as if in prayer,
placed them against the tree trunk then rested her face against them using them
like a pillow.

'Make the future better by not forgetting the ways of
the past,' Lady Flora said to Scarlet as she closed her eyes. For a moment it
looked as if Lady Flora was just sleeping amongst the tree, but as Scarlet and
Peter watched, her robe began to stiffen and dry, her skin paled further into
grey and the tree claimed her body as part of itself.

Instantly the world changed.

The plants seemed to shine brighter and stand taller
than they had before. A breeze blew through the trees at Burnham Beeches that
sounded like the deep sigh of a world waking up. The creatures that were trying
to outrun the light were shaken from the tops of the trees, smothered in
hawthorn bushes and swallowed into the ground.

The woodland was alive and fighting back.

Scarlet and Peter watched as, with every pulse of
light, the creatures began to vanish from the planet.

Scarlet looked up to the crevice in the tree. She was
sure that she could still see the outline of Lady Flora, but it faded with
every moment she watched. She placed a hand gently on the bark of the Druid's
Oak and listened. She could hear millions of voices all talking at the same
time, and every one she recognised.

‘Shoot through the glass and aim for the two that
stand up to fire,' Tracker instructed Steven. 'That will give our friends in
the corridor a chance to move forward and take advantage. The two guards that
are loading can then be quickly overcome.’

Steven nodded.

They stepped back from the glass window and took aim at
the two people that were currently crouched down loading their guns. As soon as
they stood that would be the cue for them to fire whilst the other two would
momentarily have empty guns.

They waited.

The guards guns released more their bullets into the
corridor. Every shot was agony for Steven and Tracker as they realised it could
have killed another survivor. As bullets from the few armed survivors lodged
themselves into the bookshelf in front of the guards, large splinters split
from the wood. As soon as their cartridges were empty, the guards crouched down
beneath the furniture whilst the other two sprang up ready to continue the
defence of the room.

‘Now,’ Tracker whispered.

As soon as he said the word, they both pulled their
triggers and two bullets span along the long barrels of their rifles and cut through
the night air. As soon as their metal tips struck the glass panels of the doors
they shattered into a million pieces, but did nothing to reduce their momentum as
they continued into the Council Room. Although the guards registered the
shattering of glass, they had no time to react. As one of the bullets struck a
guard he was thrown forward, the bullet lodging itself into his shoulder. As he
fell forward a shard of wood that had splintered from the book shelf slid
effortlessly into his throat. The second bullet struck the other guard in the
thigh, instantly causing him to collapse to the floor. He dropped his gun and
clutched at his leg.

Wanda and the other remaining guard suddenly panicked.
They had never considered an attack could come from behind them. They both
fumbled desperately with bullets and magazine cartridges trying to push them
into their guns as fast as they could.

Tracker kicked what remained of the external doors
into the room causing them to slam against the internal walls shattering what
little glass was still left inside their frames. Both Tracker’s and Steven’s
guns were trained on Wanda and the other guard. Knowing they were helpless to
fight back they put their guns on the floor and raised their hands up in
surrender.

Cautiously some of the survivors began to creep along
the corridor towards the double doors. A pool of sticky blood was accumulating
around the slumped body of the guard that fell onto the splintered wood. The
survivors with guns moved forward and also pointed them at the two unarmed
guards. Some climbed over the bookshelf, searched the guards and removed any other
weapons they had.

‘Where's the American?’ Tracker asked Wanda as she was
pushed into a chair.

‘He’s not here,’ she replied with a look of disgust on
her face. She examined the features on Tracker's face and slowly they began to
register some recognition in her memory. ‘I know you from somewhere.’

Steven walked around the room. He stood next to a
highly polished dining table where the occupants had been eating. ‘He was
here,’ Steven shouted to Tracker. ‘Six plates of food, but only five people.
But where could he have gone?’

‘You should be dead,’ spat Wanda. ‘We left you and your
friends out for the creatures! How…?’

‘Your leader hasn’t told you everything. There are
ways to survive alongside the creatures.’

‘What are you talking about?’

‘This is not the only community of survivors,’
explained Tracker. ‘There is another that we know of where everyone is free,
safe from the creatures and growing. You and everyone else here are just part
of the American’s plan for control.’

Steven looked around the room. Access into and out of
the Council Room was through the double doors leading off the corridor, as well
as the other pair that Steven and Tracker had burst through. But, at the end of
the room beside the fireplace was another door that must have led into an
adjoining room. When they had been out on the patio Steven remembered passing
another room with two windows facing the garden.

‘This is not a community,’ continued Tracker, ‘this is
just a house full of slaves and the American is playing God, choosing who lives
and who dies. As soon as you or anyone else isn’t required you will be disposed
of. It might be because you get ill, injure yourself or simply grow old.
However it happens you will only be permitted to live for as long as you are
useful.’

Steven walked over the plush silk carpet towards the
door beside the fireplace. Behind it Coldred could be armed and waiting to
fight his way out.

Georgia
suddenly stepped along the corridor and appeared behind
the overturned book shelf. She looked into the room, saw Steven and spoke to
him.

'We've barricaded the external door you put that chair
through and we’ve managed to wedge the door closed on the corridor side as well,’
she said.

‘Good,’ replied Steven nervously as his hand reached
for the handle of the interlinking door.

‘But that’s only solved one part of the problem,’ she
added. Her voice quivered slightly as she spoke.

They all turned towards the shattered doors of the
Council Room that
Georgia
was staring at. On the patio outside, they could see
a crowd of creatures stalking their way up the steps ready to enter the room,
drawn in and excited by the scent of the blood that had pooled around the
bookshelf.

Tracker felt a wave of terror and panic wash across
everyone inside the room. He knew that the instinct for most of the survivors
would be to turn and run, but unless they secured the room, the creatures would
feast on everyone that hadn’t taken an antibiotic.

‘We have to stand together,’ shouted Tracker to the
survivors. ‘Grab whatever weapon you can find. We must try and block the patio
doors.’

The first creature lurched up the steps, stuck its
head through the door frame and sniffed at the blood scented air. Its single
white eye darted erratically around the room, assessing the potential victims.

It took a step into the room.

No one dared move or draw the creature's attention.
One of the survivors who had taken a gun from one of the guards, quivered
nervously. The creature released a low breathy gasp like a muted scream in his
direction. The fear it created caused the man's body to shake uncontrollably. The
index finger on his right hand contracted in a spasm of fear that released a
shot towards the creature. It missed and lodged itself into the ceiling,
releasing a shower of plaster dust. With lightening speed the creature turned
towards the survivor and with a powerful thrust of its wings lifted itself into
the air ready to pounce.

Tracker released a shot from his own gun. The force of
the bullet knocked the creature from the air and back out of the patio doors.

But more creatures came.

They began to enter the room together. All the guns
began firing, but for every creature they hit, two more replaced it. Quickly
the room filled with the sharp smell of the acidic juices of injured creatures that
had collected on the priceless carpet, dissolving it to nothing more than a
moth eaten rag. Those nearest to the external door were the first to be eaten,
overcome by creatures that swarmed into the room. There were so many around the
patio doors that no part of the lavishly decorated wall could be seen.

The guns continued to fire, but ammunition was not
going to last for very long.
Steven
,
Georgia
and Tracker knew the fate of the survivors was
rapidly approaching. Maybe they had been wrong to try and lead them to a better
future.

Amongst the gunfire and screams of the desperate
victims came a new sound. At first it sounded like a low rumble similar to an
earthquake far away in the distance. But the sound grew so quickly that it seemed
to overtake everything else.

The creatures heard it too. Their animal instincts
told them that something different was happening. Those that were outside the
room trying to climb over the mountain of bodies to get in began to fly away
instead. In the gaps that emerged, the survivors could see a bright light,
almost like daylight. But, in the panic, they thought their eyes were deceiving
them; only moments before the sky had been black. Creatures fell back, no
longer interested in the human feast inside the Council Room. Outside the light
was so brilliant and white that it illuminated everything to look like an overexposed
photograph. The humans squinted as more light flooded into the room. The
creatures withdrew and began flying into the sky. Momentarily the white light
dimmed, but was instantly replaced by another, even stronger wave. They watched
as the creatures fell from the sky or flew blindly into one another. Those that
had remained on the ground int the garden seemed to be chirping in a vulnerable
way. Some fell down the steps, whilst others stumbled into the plants of the
garden.

Those that remained inside the Council Room watched
with amazement. With every wave of white light that passed through the sky they
felt an overwhelming feeling of happiness and hope in every fibre of their
bodies. The light was like a sponge, cleansing the planet and washing the creatures
away.

They then watched in amazement as something else began
to happen. The creatures that stood on the grass or amongst the shrubs seemed
to be swallowed up by the earth, as easily as if they were standing on quick
sand. In the fields that stretched out beyond the back of Osborne House,
branches of trees seemed to be moving violently in a non existent breeze,
batting the creatures from their flight towards the ground. Confused and
blinded, the creatures lashed out at an imaginary foe, but grey tangles of
roots burst through the ground, binding the creatures helplessly before being
sucked into the earth.

‘Well that appears to change things slightly,’ said a
deep gravely voice from the side of the room. Steven suddenly felt the edge of a
cold knife pushing against his throat. He didn’t dare swallow, every slight
movement made him take an intake of breath as the sharp blade cut lightly into
his skin.

On hearing the voice Tracker turned away from the
window and stared across the room and into the eyes of Coldred. He was directly
behind Steven holding a knife to his throat. The door to the room that Steven
had been about to search was still slightly ajar. Whilst their attention had
been drawn to the strange pulsating white light, Coldred had taken the opportunity
to emerge from the adjoining room and take Steven hostage.

‘As you can see,’ Coldred said loudly to the group of
survivors in the room. ‘These people that you follow have cost some of your
colleagues their lives. By giving you false hopes and feeding you lies, they have
let the creatures into the home that I kindly gave to you. A home that was
secure from the creatures. A home where you were fed, clothed and cared for.
You are my family and I only want the best for you all.’ Coldred smiled to the
survivors, trying to regain their support. ‘But, I am not the tyrant they think
I am. Every child rebels against a parent at some stage, and I understand that.
Therefore, I am willing to let you stay in my family, under my protection. Join
me once again and I will overlook this small demonstration of rebellion, but if
you persist in being disloyal, know that you will be destroyed. The creatures
have created a future of uncertainty. You need someone to guide and protect
you, not a group of social misfits.' Coldred pointed to Tracker, 'this one, who
has some weak link to royalty, has shunned attention and duty and hid himself in
some big mansion in Yorkshire, whilst this woman only has one functioning arm.
Or, maybe you think this one could be your leader. Steven Knight worked at MI6
waiting for evidence of alien life forms, but by the time one appeared on our
planet it was too late. He wasn’t prepared. But I was! Even his parents didn’t
want to stay with him so he wasted his whole pathetic life looking for them. Do
you see how useless they would have been leading the community? Turn you
weapons on these three and join me once again. Join my family.’

There was a pause before anyone moved. One of the
survivors, lifted his head and stared towards Coldred and Steven. He put his
hands in his pockets, stepped forward and began threading his way between
everyone else towards the American.

Everyone watched. Coldred began to chuckle. ‘This is a
wise man, anyone else going to join my family?’

‘You know nothing of family. Let go of my son,’
muttered the man who now stood behind Coldred. The American turned and looked
into a pair of old eyes, there was an icy stare in them that appeared
threatening.

Without warning Coldred removed the blade from
Steven’s throat and swiftly twisted his body round together with the knife as
he attacked the man. The survivor, Rhys Avall, moved surprisingly quick. He
thrust his foot into the back of Coldred’s knee causing it to violently
dislocate. The useless and flaccid knee could not support Coldred and he fell
towards the ground. The impact knocked the knife from his hand and spun it
across the floor.