Ebbe needed to drive. She had told a lie to Fearless Leader and it seemed easier to paper over the fabrication by not having to speak. The need to navigate meant every direction necessitated talking, and talking inevitably led to more talking, about where and what and why. Ebbe reasoned Anthony would soon distract himself with the possible fate of Moon Face, and the chance that Grim Reaper would be able to free himself and cause more trouble.
Ebbe was herself worried about Moon Face. She had hoped he would prove to be an key asset and now he was probably dead, brain dead or paralysed. It seemed unfair that Shakes and Grim Reaper survived the melee unscathed. But, fate always did have a morbid sense of humour. This impromptu road trip for one. Jorge getting custody of Sam. How long had it been now, since I've since my little boy, Ebbe asked herself, not really wanting to hear the answer.
The shuddering as the Land Rover came to a halt, shook Ebbe from her thoughts, much to her relief. Anthony had found a lay-by opposite an outcrop of Beech trees. For miles all they had seen was bush lined road. It had struck Ebbe that she truly detested those cramped country roads, winding their way through claustrophobic woods and miles of farm land, hidden from view by unruly bushes. How delightful it was to see a valley tumbling away far into the distance, the sun just threatening to break over the horizon and flood the quilt-work of farmed fields with egg yolk orange. It was nothing, Ebbe felt, compared to the magnificent sunrises that lit up the plains back home. When the sun chose to bless those wide open spaces with its morning glow, it was as if the world was being born for the very first time.
But today, at least, the ubiquitous clouds had stayed away and allowed Ebbe to wallow in the morning light, something she had not done for a long time. The truth was, she had been afraid to, because she feared it may reveal to her the awful truth she already suspected. Ebbe didn't usually do fear, it seemed a waste of energy, but in this case, it was a wholly justifiable and inescapable fear. Everything she had researched, all the facts and figures she had checked, led to one inescapable fact. She had opted to tell Fearless Leader that she needed to take him to Kielder Observatory because a lie worked better with a grain of truth. He may know the observatory wasn't all that far away from here, he could obviously connect pictures of the moon to an observatory, and, technically she did need to show him the skies. But not there. All the public observatories were heavily monitored.
God, Ebbe hated being a paranoid conspiracy theorist, but when all was said and done, governments are afraid of the truth. It was the governments that created paranoia by starting to cover up something that cannot be obscured. Sure, individuals can be silenced, information withheld, explanations fabricated, but all of that takes effort, money and men like Fearless back there. Ebbe wondered why it never entered their silly little minds to just reach out to the people they try to suppress. Why not just ask us, what does this all mean, what can we do about it and will it help to tell the world? After all, what use is clinging onto power, if everything is going to end? But people fool themselves with the what ifs. What if we're wrong? Ebbe liked to call this the Jaws Syndrome; people in power unwilling to cause panic for fear of adversely affecting business and politics. What if there is no shark? What if we drive away tourists? What if we drive away business? Sensible in theory, but it quickly leads to irrational behaviour. Even if there is a shark, how likely is it to kill someone? Why risk livelihoods on the off-chance. It suddenly struck Ebbe that Moon Face reminded her of Roy Scheider from the film. Maybe that's why I liked him, she pondered.
It was only as this thought crossed her mind that Ebbe realised that she had been staring directly into the rising sun, with Shakes beside her doing exactly the same.
A sudden choking feeling swarmed over Ebbe, her throat contracting as if she were going into anaphylactic shock. Desperately trying to suck in gaps of the cool morning air, Ebbe stumbled aside, her head fogging, patches of light obscuring her vision. From the corner of her eye she was vaugely aware that she had stumbled to the right, away from Shakes, who had turned to look at her, but had done nothing to assist. Ebbe tried to shout out to him, possibly for help, possibly to give him a piece of her mind, she wasn't sure which at this stage.
Her waving hand found the smooth bark of the nearby Beech trees, and, with a mighty effort Ebbe managed to steady herself. She forced the smiling face of Sam wearing his favourite cowboy outfit into her mind. She needed a happy memory and his fifth birthday party had remained a particularly vivid recollection. He had begged her for a fancy dress party for months,purely because he wanted to dress as a cowboy after seeing a John Wayne film on TV. Which one was it? True Grit, Ebbe thought, though she wasn't completely sure, they all seemed the same to her. But Sam had become obsessed with all things cowboy and had already set his mind on being one when he grew up. Never mind that he lived in Cape Town and his mother was an astronomer and his dad was a marine biologist.
Ebbe felt her breathing returning to normal, although her mind was still swimming, presumably from the lack of oxygen. Thank you sweetheart, she said to the smiling little cowboy in her mind. As her clouded vision began to return Ebbe couldn't resist pulling out a tattered photograph from her hip pocket. She didn't even notice that she had started to cry as she looked at the picture. In it, a boy of about eight was sitting astride a log, pointing up at the sky, his face excited. It wasn't the best picture of Sam, he was a small figure in the corner and you couldn't see his beautiful blue eyes. The focus was clearly on the sky, which was the desert sky, just as night was approaching. Just after the magic hour of sunset, but before the light dissipated completely. The North star was just visible, if you knew where to look. Ebbe knew where to look without following the pointing finger of her excited little boy, but her eyes always followed it regardless. From his rosy cheeks, across to his shoulder, along his stubby little arm and from the finger at an almost perfect right angle, was the faint star.
Ebbe was suddenly aware she wasn't alone. She hadn't heard him approaching and that told her it must be Fearless Leader. Shakes was too twitchy to be sneaking silently through the woods.
"Fearless?" She almost whispered, shocked to hear her own weak, tearful sounding voice. "Er... Anthony?" She corrected, feeling daft for using her nick name directly.
"Ma'am?" Came the polite response, confirming it was Fearless as suspected. I've got to connect with this man, Ebbe told herself, it's good if he sees me in this fragile state. What greater power does woman wield over man than that of her emotions?
"Ebbe," she insisted, feeling the need to ensure they affirmed their status as friends, on an equal footing, rather than based on any other power dynamic.
"Ebbe. Look," Anthony began. But Ebbe really felt now was a good time to reveal something. She looked vulnerable and he would instinctively want to listen to what she had to say. He may even believe it.
"Anthony," she started, but as quickly found herself unable to say the words. It occurred to her that she had yet to say any of it out loud. She wanted to scream it out, to tell this man to stare at the sun and tell her what was wrong with it. He may not see it at first, we all get attuned to our environment and see what we care to see. "Anthony," she tried again, aware that he was holding back what he wanted to say, sensing, as she had hoped that she was finally going to explain what all her doomsayering was about. Why is it so hard to say, Ebbe cursed. Am I too suffering from Jaws Syndrome, too fearful of reactions to shout shark?
Ebbe stepped closer to Anthony, his face drained of colour in the shade of the trees, his eyes boring into her intensely. "Anthony," she started again, hoping the next words from her mouth would be to tell him the sun was not bright enough, that the sun was fading. Just as the moon was shrinking and stars were coming and going like blinking led lights. Bloody hell, tell him!
"Ebbe," Fearless Leader interjected, before himself pausing, as if awaiting permission to continue. Fine, I had my chance to tell him, and I blew it. He's got more worldly concerns on his mind. Moon Face most likely. He's had time to check him out and has discovered the bullet entered his brain and never left. It was obvious to Ebbe, but she hadn't wanted to get involved in the discussion. "Art has a bullet lodged in his brain.
He could be paralysed. If we don't get him immediate medical care, he
could die," Fearless said, exactly as she expect him to.
For a second Ebbe wondered whether to knock back the concern about his friend with her galactic issues. But instead the scene with Roy Scheider being mimicked by his son at the dinner table popped into her head and she made a snap decision.
"Then we must
find him a doctor," Ebbe said, "I'm rather
fond of Moon Face."
And with that she quickly turned about face and marched off, slipping the photo of Sam back into her hip pocket without a second glance.
As she strode through back to the Land Rover, Ebbe realised she had completely blind sided Fearless Leader yet again. She found herself smiling to herself with satisfaction as she turned back to shout after him.
"You coming?"
But before either of them had reached the vehicle, a screeching shout echoed across the valley, sending a shiver down Ebbe's spine. In a split second Anthony's vast bulk sprinted past her like a freight train. In a blur she saw him launch himself upon the figures tussling in the back of the Land Rover.
Ebbe watched with wide eyed awe as Fearless Leader wrenched Grim Reaper from Shakes and tossed him to the ground. Tentatively she stepped forward, wanting to hear what was being said. But as Grim Reaper hissed something and gestured to Shakes, she suddenly sensed a wall of cold air hit her back. Before she turned, Ebbe could see Fearless and Grim Reaper staring up at the sky, terror reflected in their eyes. Fearless dropped his gun and staggered backwards. Grim Reaper was rooted to the spot, his eyes agape.
This is it, Ebbe told herself, it has begun.
