Polly Pippin and The Tunnel of Death (23 page)

Hamish grabbed Polly and pulled her down
next to him before she could say another word.

'Feisty, aren't you, Polly?' the handsome
man said. 'But you are boring me. If you want to save all your
lives Polly, you have a choice. We are very anxious to get hold of
Piers and Miles. You will be sent out to locate them, subdue them
and bring them back here. It will be dangerous and difficult, but I
am sure you can do it. After all, Piers is in love with you
Polly.'

Hamish and Steve stood. 'I'd stand a better
chance of finding them,' Hamish said.

Steve thought the opposite. Sod Piers and
Miles. If they choose me, I will run as far away from here as I
can, and I won't be back.

'No, it can't be either of you. It has to be
the one who's on death row. Our little Polly.'

'I'm up to it,' Polly said. 'Can I say
goodbye to my brother and friends… privately please?'

'Of course Polly. We are not heathens.' As
the Rebel retreated, he said, 'You have two minutes.'

'Hamish,' Polly took off Fifi's collar, 'I
noticed her collar has a transmitting unit. So hide it and keep it
turned on at all times.'

'Shhhh, he's coming back.'

Polly shoved Fifi under her jumper.

~

'Right Polly, are you ready? You know what
you have to do. Either bring or direct Piers and Miles here. They
will think they are rescuing Hamish and Steve. You have twenty-four
hours from now.' He handed Polly a self-transparency watch. 'The
red knob is the on and off button. The watch sometimes anticipates
your needs, which proves to be very helpful at times. While you're
gone, your friends will be well cared for, I can assure you. My
able assistants will obey their every needs and wants.'

'Great, they can send them home,' Polly said
sarcastically.

'Before you get into more trouble, Polly,
you had better go. You have twenty-four hours from now.' Flash,
bang and she was gone, leaving three people with expressions of
surprise tinged with fear on their faces. What no one had noticed
was, that Polly had hold of India's hand.

Time to Choose

Earth was in total disarray. Not a Freeflyer
was in sight, and Piers, Miles, Polly, India, Hamish, Lucy and
Steve were missing. Things could not possibly get any worse. But
they did. Rhettnor sat overlooking the English Channel, his
thoughts were also in disarray. What shall I do next? Who is the
most important one to rescue first? I don't know. I'm getting old,
I don't think I can do this anymore. The Rebels are winning hands
down, there is just not enough of us to hold them back. Every able
Freeflyer we do have is defending the First Universe. Whatever was
wrong with Sreip must be catching, I feel the same as he did -
dreadful. He stood and stretched his legs, wondering what to do
next.

'Commander! Commander!' A young Freeflyer
ran up, looking very frightened. 'We know where Miles is. He is in
Zack's hands.'

Rhettnor jumped up. 'Where is he, man? Speak
up.'

'He is in their Earth home - the Garden of
Eden. Miles had a fight with Zack and knocked him out. Zack came
to, and was about to half kill Miles and then de-pneuma him, but
Knox stopped him.'

'How do you know this?'

'You won't believe it.'

'For God's sake, man, spit it out.'

'Knox told us.'

'Knox?'

'Yes. Knox.'

'It's a trap?'

'No sir. We shone the truth beam on him. He
was telling the truth.'

Rhettnor was on his feet and in the air
before the younger Freeflyer had opened his ankle wings. He sent
out a SOS. In the scope line of the communication band were Sreip
and JB. They were within two scannuls and headed directly to the
Garden of Eden.

'Only two of you? Well, that's better than
nothing,' Rhettnor said. He was very embarrassed, he knew he had
been very hard on Sreip earlier.

'Commander.' Sreip and JB saluted.

'I wondered where you had got to Captain
Brummell. Mmmm. Well, any suggestions?'

'Sir, wait for reinforcements, Sir?' JB
jumped in.

'Oh pu-lease.' Rhettnor sounded as
frustrated as he felt.

A familiar sound made him glance up, Xavier
and Selim had landed. Selim rushed to Sreip and threw his arms
around him. 'That's enough of the fond hellos,' Rhettnor said.
'It's time to organise an attack.'

~

Out in the garden under a beautiful old oak,
Knox and Miles sat very close, chatting like old buddies, sharing
experiences.

Zack took one look at them and was furious.
Knox thought he had calmed Zack down, but Zack was pretending, he
hated Miles and was mad as hell. He went to grab Miles, he was
going to shake his eyes out of him, but Knox stepped between
them.

'Let's think about it, Zack.'

'What are you saying, Knox? Move out of the
way before I move you out of the way.' Behind Knox, Miles stood,
ready for a fight.

'I'm saying I don't want to hurt Miles, he's
a good bloke.'

'He's a good bloke? What the bloody hell are
you talking about, Knox?'

Knox pulled Zack aside. 'I like him,
Zack.'

Zack lost his temper. 'You like him, the son
of our mortal enemy, and you like him. Sorry to do this, Knox.'
Zack pushed the 'on' button of his transporter unit hard. It
clicked twice as he directed it at Knox and Knox was gone. Zack had
condemned him to twenty-four hours of encapsulation. Now it was
just him and Miles. He reached for his disintegrating gun.

~

Seconds later, five Freeflyers burst in. It
was perfect timing.

'Well, well, well. If it isn't Zack and
Knox.' Commander Rhettnor rubbed his hands together. 'Got you, both
of you.'

Miles ran up to the Commander. 'It's not
Knox. It's me - Miles.'

'Backup sir.' A Freeflyer pointed his
dissembler directly at Miles.

Miles was confused, but Zack wasn't. 'Good
try, Knox.'

Miles spun round. 'I'm not Knox and you know
it, you just zapped him. I'm Miles Winsor, Zack, tell them.'

Zack looked at the Freeflyers and shrugged
his shoulders.

'Before I send you to the Garden of
Consolation, I'm going to question you individually, and it won't
be pleasant.'

'Zack tell them, I'm Miles. Zack and Knox
fell out, and Zack zapped him,' Miles said.

'As if. Look I don't have time for this,'
the Freeflyer said. He sounded as if he was at the end of his
patience. 'We need to find Piers and Polly ASAP. Take them to the
interrogation area.'

'No,' said Miles, 'you're making a big
mistake.'

'You can go awake or mindless, Knox. Take
your pick.'

Miles fell silent. Zack was in his element,
the Freeflyers were doing his job for him. They thought Miles was
Knox.

'Come on, Knox, it's over for us. Let's
accept our fate,' Zack said. As soon as Miles was marched out, Zack
sent a message to Knox. A wicked smile crossed his face, in
twenty-four hours, Knox, posing as Miles, would be free to roam. He
would be welcome in Byzantine Crescent and learn the invisible
secret. Under the circumstances, things could not be better.

Piers leads the way

Piers stirred. The little bear cub had sat
by his side, patiently waiting for him to wake, and jumped on him
the second he opened his eyes.

'Ah! Finally, our visitor awakes.'

Piers rubbed the sleep from his eyes and sat
up. He certainly felt better. 'How long have I slept, Sir?'

'About two days lad. Let's eat then
talk.'

'Thank you, Sir.'

'I am Lord Girdur.'

'Thank you, Lord Girdur.'

'As soon as you have eaten, the bears will
take you to safety.'

'Thank you, Lord Girdur, but I must go back
and try to save Hamish and Steve.'

'The shack has disappeared, and that means
the Devil has got his victim or victims.'

'There's no such thing as a devil on
Earth.'

'Describe to me your version of the devil,'
Lord Girdur said.

'Well, he epitomises evil - the exact
opposite to God. That's if you believe in God and the Devil.'

'On this continent, we think the devil is
the head Rebel from the Dark Universe.'

'I still have to look for them, I can't
abandon them.' Piers defended his decision.

'Well, if you want to commit suicide, I
can't stop you. I can advise you, however, and I hope you listen.'
Lord Girdur chose his words carefully. 'Piers, you will never find
the shack, it's probably invisible for another year. And as for
finding your friends, do you realise how big this continent
is?'

Piers remembered Hamish had said exactly the
same thing to him.

'You would have a better chance of finding
them if you went home and came back with as much help as you can
get. And my home will always be open to you Piers.'

'Can you get me back to England?'

'If that's what you want and good, you are a
wise lad. We will get ready. Then it will be time to say goodbye to
the bear cub.'

'Please don't zap me Sir.'

'I haven't got that power, Piers. We will
have to do it the hard way. We will walk. Back there are all the
warm clothes and snowshoes you will need.' He pointed to a
cupboard.

Piers looked at the little bear. As much as
he wanted to take her with him, he knew he could not on such a
dangerous trek.

'Don't be sad, Piers. You will see her
again. Come now. Let's eat, and then pack the sled and get going
before this long day dies.' Lord Girdur was, as he usually was,
stirring some food in a bubbling pot, and it smelt delicious.

'You are coming with me?' Piers sounded
surprised.

'Of course! Did you really think I would let
you go alone with the bears? It's like a maze to the unfamiliar
eye.'

'No, no, of course not.' Piers got up. He
still felt a little shaky, but he was hungry and knew that once he
had eaten, he would feel a lot better. 'You have a very interesting
life, Lord Girdur, but don't you ever feel lonely?'

'Do you think you have been my only visitor
this century, Piers?'

'Sorry Sir.'

'Come sit at the table and eat. The food is
good, it's healthy vegetables and healing herbs.'

'It smells fantastic.'

Piers ate his meal and was given a second
helping. It was so good he felt like licking the bowl like the cub
did.

'Ready to go, Piers?'

'Yes, Sir.' He clicked his heels and
saluted.

~

Lord Girdur opened the door and with Piers
help, pulled the sled out of the shack. He looked out, it was
bitterly cold.

'No dogs?' Piers asked.

'You should know the answer to that. I do
not have any animal do a job I would not do for myself. In my
opinion, all animals large or small should not be used for work or
our pleasure.'

'Such as?' Piers asked.

'Haulage by elephants, horse racing, pulling
sleds, camel riding, etcetera, etcetera. There are hundreds of
examples.'

'I agree, Lord Girdur, and I'm not an
animal, so give me one of those reins. And before we go, I have
much to thank you for, and I do with all my heart.'

Lord Girdur looked up at the overhanging
clouds. 'Right, the weather is reasonably good, so let's get going.
We have a long journey ahead of us.'

'Goodbye little Daphne. I hope to see you
soon,' Piers said. He bent down and hugged the little bear. As he
stepped out into the cold day, she ran to the door, stood on her
hind legs and whimpered.

As they left, Piers had tears in his eyes.
'You are a good man,' Lord Girdur said. 'I'm glad I was able to
save you.' And within a very short time, they had disappeared over
the horizon as they trudged through the snow.

The past revisited

Polly woke, and much to her surprise, she
was out of the Tunnel of Death and back in the cottage with India.
'Don't say a word, Indi. Just stay holding my hand.' India was so
excited she jumped on Polly.

'We mustn't forget why we are here.' They
got up, rushed to the house and burst in, yelling 'Hello, hello' as
Alison was walking down the stairs.

'Ali, I can't believe they let us go.'

Alison walked straight past the girls and
into the kitchen. 'Good morning Gemma. Any news of Polly, India or
Lucy?'

'No. I called the police, and they are
totally useless. They don't believe us, and I'm so fed up,' Gemma
said as she buttered her toast.

Polly and India walked to the door. 'Tra
la,' they both said, striking a pose. No one even looked up.
'Alison?' she questioned. No response.

'I am going to Brown Sugar later. Coming
with me?' Alison plonked down at the kitchen table. 'Lily is
working today, so we can discuss things with her. She must be
worried sick about Lucy missing.'

~

Polly and India ran in and threw their arms
round Alison, but their arms went straight through her.

'Oh my God! What's going on?' She looked at
her feet. 'I don't believe it! We are invisible! It must be the
watch.' Why, she thought, would they make me invisible? Well, I
suppose it gives me quite a bit of freedom. However, I have to
think of a way to communicate with the girls. Alison and Gemma left
to go to the café, and as Polly watched them go, she felt a wriggle
in her pocket. 'Fifi, thank goodness for you. Right, Sherlock Fifi
Holmes, we will follow Alison and Gemma to Brown Sugar Café. I
wonder if I can eat or drink. I'm dying for a cup of coffee. I bet
you would love a milkshake, Indi, and you a little treat Fifi.'

While Polly was getting used to her new
persona, Indi had a little sleep. How the hell am I going to find
Piers and Miles? And if I find them, how can I communicate with
them? Scheisse, I will never find them, and if I don't, my brother
and Lucy and Steve will die. I need help! Please, someone help
me.

The front doorbell suddenly jangled, which
made Polly jump out of her skin. Thinking it could be Mrs Hart she
raced down the hall.