Chapter 16 - Part 2

Anthony investigated Ebbe's pale, angular face for any hint she was taking the piss. If she were, it was out of character, and frankly, her face seemed the picture of reason. Her eyes unwavering in their piercing intensity, seemingly boring a hole through the dumbstruck Carter. 

If there were any humour in this scene, it was certainly seeing that fatuous politician reduced to a mumbling fool by this petite framed woman. Anthony saw the switch of power jump like a spark of static electricity. In that split second Carter's shoulders had slumped from being taught and proud, to quivering and frail. Ebbe, in contrast had seemingly grown in stature, commanding the attention of the room like a conductor.

"Let me see," he finally spoke, wanting to understand what had so shaken their esteemed leader. He knew better than to immediately question the frankly bizarre assertion that they were not on the planet earth. That was a tad too much to comprehend, no matter what he had seen of late. Let's peek through this magic telescope of hers before I make myself look stupid, he decided.

Ebbe said nothing, only gesturing to show he was more than welcome to see for himself. Slinging his gun over his shoulder, to rest on his back, he stepped towards the eyepiece with unexpected trepidation. 

Fear no man, fear no beast, fear no unknown, he repeated an mantra his dear old mum had cooed to him as a young boy to allay his concerns about the unseen terrors in the dark recesses of the bedroom at his grandmother's farm. I am fearless leader, he added, which brought forth a little smile to his lips. 

Crouching to squeeze into the sculptured seat, he glanced at his colleagues, all watching him as if he were walking to the gallows, to be strung up by the neck until dead. Their eyes wide, like deer who've just heard the hunter step on a twig. 

His eye wrapped around the black scope and he took a few seconds to adjust to the view. For a moment his brain couldn't discern anything noteworthy. He could see white and grey contours, dappled with black pits. It was only when he pulled his eye away and looked up at the blackness above that he understood it was a portion of the moon within the eyepiece. With renewed understanding he looked back and concentrated on the image. It struck him as odd that Ebbe had focused on a hunk of the moon, and left a portion of black space in the lower left corner. Was it the moon, or the area of space she had been aiming at? What was he missing? Had the scope been adjusted since Carter peered through it and immediately saw something that drained the blood from his smug face?

No, it was no toy telescope that could be bumped by a careless elbow. This beast would only move if its master, Ebbe, commanded. And the master was not one to make careless mistakes. She aimed it where she did for a reason, and it was he, being a layman who could not see the stars for the solar system who was missing what was presumably in front of him.

But wait, there! The segment of space within the viewfinder was not the simple black void he had first imagined. There appeared to be an image, some sort of structure, or design, faint, but definitely discernible. Was it behind the moon? Or opposite? Impossible to tell without understanding the scale, but it appeared to be some sort of honeycomb configuration. The more he stared, the more obvious it became, until the pale white glow of the moon started itself started to look more like a two dimensional overlay upon this structure. 

He forced himself away from the telescope to discover he had begun to shake. He clenched a fist forcefully, physically rejecting the nerves that the unearthly sight had started to instill.

Unearthly, he pondered, staring out at his team through a light, hollow head. Unearthly. That was exactly what Ebbe had said. But what did she mean? Surely there was some other explanation, a space station, or satellite, maybe, yes, maybe an alien craft. Maybe the telescope is simply defective. Surely that was it, the lens was structurally damaged and the honeycombing was being falsely projected back to their ignorant eyes to mis-comprehend.

But Ebbe was no fool. Ebbe would know if it were faulty equipment. That would be the first thing to check. It's what he would do too. 

"Could it be the lens?" he asked, wanting to be sure she had eliminated the obvious.

"First thing I checked," she responded patiently, just as he suspected.

"Why do you say..." he stumbled over his words. It sounded too far fetched to be discussing the concept this was not Earth. Because if it's not Earth, then what in God's name is it?

"Call it an educated guess," Ebbe answered, clearly understanding exactly what he was trying to ask. "The discovery of the control room only further backs up my theory that we are living on an unnatural construct."

"Day to night," Anthony mumbled, marvelling at the thought that buried beneath the English countryside was a machine that could determine the time of day in the sky above, his head giddy with an influx of thoughts, his stomach churning like a raging sea.

"I can't be sure, of course.The technology beneath our feet is beyond all my wildest comprehensions. It's akin to seeking the Holy Grail and instead finding God himself," Ebbe enthused, gesticulating with wild-eyed enthusiasm. 

She enjoys this, Anthony chuckled inwardly, finding the thought somewhat comforting. 

"So, o' fearless leader," he began, forcing himself to make light of the moment, for fear of losing his sanity in an abyss of the unknowns that were encroaching upon him like dark demons, "what do we do now?"

Ebbe's eyes lit up, and her mouth curled into a sly grin, which reminded Anthony of the look a shark gets as it's about to kill. 

"Carter here is going to get me a spaceship," she declared dramatically.

Chapter 16 - Part 1

The observatory was shrouded in darkness, with only small streaks of light penetrating the murk. Plastic sheeting rippled gently, briefly revealing the dated grey computer equipment below. The vast telescope was aimed at the closed ceiling, patiently awaiting a view of the night sky. 

A brilliant white flash illuminated the entire chamber in an instant, before retreating back to a single point in the centre of the room, leaving behind a party of seven. Three of the team, Art, Jake and Krank, immediately stepped forward in three separate directions, guns pointed ahead, primed for any potential ambush. As the trio swept the room, Anthony lit a flare, filling it with a red glow, which threw quivering shadows of Ebbe, Carter and James across the towering walls.

"Hello sweetie," Ebbe cooed gently, as she made her way to the telescope, running a hand lovingly across the eye piece and checking her fingers for dust. "Some white light would be appreciated Gannymede," she shouted to James, who nodded, and scurried across the floor to a side wall, where he flicked a few switches. After a few seconds, several strip lights on the side of the walls started to blink into life, finally bringing a clean white light into the building. 

"Clear," Art yelled from the left. This sentiment was echoed by Jake and Krank, and all three swiftly returned to Anthony's side. 

"A little help?" Ebbe shouted to anyone willing to listen, as she started to pull the plastic sheeting away from the computer panels. Anthony nodded to Art and Jake, who both immediately stepped up and began pulling away the thin sheets and tossing them to one side.

Anthony eyed Carter with suspicion. He didn't like the way he was watching Ebbe, and he didn't like the way he seemed unperturbed by the events that had unfurled in the last few minutes. What reasonable minded man would remain so calm when transported across space and time without a word of warning? Besides, Anthony had an innate distrust of politicians. Especially their esteemed leader, who had surely reached his position by duplicity and corruption. Anthony could tell Ebbe a thing or two about her friend, that was for sure. 

"Secure the room," he barked to James and Krank. James gestured to Krank, who followed, James leading him towards a pair of large metal doors with frosted glass panes. Krank tested the door, and found it was locked. Wordlessly the pair planted small amounts of explosives where the two doors met. Before taking up position, one either side, a few metres from the doorway, guns trained on the entrance.

Anthony acknowledged their confirmation that the only way in was now protected, and started to feel a little more relaxed. He turned his attention back to the prime minister, Hunter, as Ebbe had called him. Carter seemed blissfully unaware Anthony was eyeing him with mistrust as he slowly spun around, taking in the vast chamber that housed the telescope.

"Need any help Ebbe?" Anthony asked. She didn't answer, but he was pretty sure she shook her head. The lady was in her own world now, that was for sure. 

"Pretty cool, eh," he said to Carter, who was staring up at the ceiling in awe. At first he got no reaction, and was about to ask again, when Carter turned and offered a wide smile that Anthony found hard to dismiss as anything other than a politician's mask.

"Spectacular," Carter agreed, "I've often wanted to visit, but the job rarely permits a getaway."

"All those foreign visits," Anthony replied suggestively.

"Quite so," Carter responded bluntly, refusing to rise to Anthony's jab at recent headlines. "Though with Ebbe's box of tricks, I could visit Russia, China and the US in the same day." 

"It's some next level sci-fi shit ain't it!" Anthony enthused. While he had the man engaged on strange phenomena, Anthony thought it was a good chance to check how extensive the lapse of gravity truly was. "It's been a few days of crazy shit, don't you think sir? What with the sun, and the gravity."

Carter nodded thoughtfully.

"It's been the most difficult few days of my term so far," he confirmed. "Ebbe, dear girl, do you need any help?" he then shouted, before turning back to Anthony, "pardon me," he said, before striding off to Ebbe without awaiting a response from either. 

Slimy son of a bitch, Anthony thought. Typical politician, never actually confirmed or denied anything. Look at him, leaning over Ebbe, placing his arm around her shoulder, as if she were a vulnerable waif, in need of his protection. My God, he snorted, she's actually playing into his act. He watched, wide mouthed with incredulity as the hard-edged Ebbe twirled her hair, and even seemed to giggle girlishly at something he whispered into her ear. Is this the same woman who defied his V6 and placed herself in the line of fire? 

"Jealous mate?" Art remarked with a wide grin plastered on his craggly face.

"Fuck off," Anthony spat, "she's playing him like a violin," he countered. 

"Whatever you say," Art grinned.

"At least you talked less when you were in a coma," Anthony joked.

"He doth protesteth too much," Art chuckled. Anthony responded by jabbing him gently in the ribcage with the butt of his gun. "She's an amazing woman," Art added, his grin dropping away.

"No mate," Anthony corrected, "she's so much more than that." 

Art turned to eye Anthony with a lopsided smile. With an amused snort, he returned his attention to Ebbe and Carter.

"I suppose you're right mate," he added, rubbing the back of his head.

Ebbe suddenly stood and gestured dramatically at the ceiling.

"Release the Kraken!" she intoned with mock authority, as a loud hum began to vibrate through the building. A sliver of light peeked through the emerging crack in the ceiling above. The whirring vibrations intensified as the dome split apart and daylight spilled through. The mechanism shuddered to a halt once the roof had opened to the full width of the telescope. A eerie silence fell upon the room, as all the occupants stared up and out at the light blue sky now visible.

"Gentlemen," Ebbe started, "you have all seen recent phenomena that defies your understanding of the world as you know it. Am I correct?" 

Everyone nodded, and mumbled she was correct.

"Sadly, you are all far beyond the curve in this matter. Some, I believe, have been aware of our precarious situation for some time now, but out of ignorance, or fear, or out of greed and malice, they have opted to shield the world from the truth. Now, I fear, it may be too little too late to reveal to all humanity what the few had learned. What do you think, Hunter?" 

"Ebbe?" Carter replied with a frown.

"Your government have had a team protecting that control room for years now, have they not?"

"I, I..." he stuttered, much to the delight of Anthony. Gotcha!

"To be fair, I never expected it to be you who'd order my assassination," Ebbe added bluntly, much to Anthony's surprise. Instinctively he reacted, anger boiling up within. Stepping forward, he aimed the tip of his semi-automatic at Carter with a scowl.

"You son of a bitch," he cursed.

"Ebbe, I can assure you," Carter began to plead.

"Hiring a strike team to attack your own men was a stroke of genius, I must say," Ebbe continued, her steely gaze fixed upon Carter. "Eliminate me, and take control of the cubes below, all under the radar. Tricky tricky." 

Anthony flicked a glance at Ebbe and she nodded back him, her eyes gesturing to Carter. The woman was a natural at this, Anthony thought, before signalling to his team that they should encircle and restrain the prime minister.

Within seconds Carter Huntington was tied up on a swivel chair, his hands behind his back, his feet secured tightly together with a plastic pull-tie. 

"Lucky for you I'm not the vengeful sort," Ebbe glared at Carter, before turning back with a sweep of her hand, to gesture at the sky, "besides, sad to say that I shall be needing your help. And," she paused and turned back to face him, "if you're wondering why you would do any such thing, I shall show you why you have no choice, through the lens of this telescope."

"You'll have to wait until dark to show me a missing moon, and by then my team will have found us, and you and your team will be nothing more than a bad memory for me to digest," Carter scoffed.

"Wrong again," Ebbe smiled, eyes sparkling.

A bright white flash blinded the men, all turning their heads with a shout of surprise. When they turned back to the telescope, Ebbe was absent. 

"What the?" Jake rasped incredulously.

Anthony just watched the area she had been standing only seconds later intently. He was certain she would be back shortly. She had simply returned to the control room. 

"Dear lord," Carter gasped, shifting uncomfortably in the chair. 

Every member of the team slowly followed his line of vision, and all allowed their guns to drop to their sides. Through the wide opening in the roof, the formerly light blue sky had began shimmer, wave and within seconds vanished. In it's place was the night sky. In the time it takes to blink, the mid-morning had jumped to the dead of night. 

Before Anthony had time to process this switch, a blinding flash announced Ebbe's return. 

"Now, Prime Minister," she continued as if nothing had changed, "give me just one minute," she added before taking a seat beneath the telescope and silently adjusting the view-piece. Everyone watched in awed silence, seemingly unwilling to comment on the newest impossibility their minds were having to process.

"There!" Ebbe declared with satisfaction. "You first Hunter," she said, giving a nod to Anthony that his legs could be released. 

Anthony slowly unsheathed his blade and leaned in towards Carter. He held the sharp blade close to the prime minister's nose and let the man catch his own reflection in the weapon, before lowering it to cut the binds. 

"No funny business," Anthony hissed after the cut released Carter's feet. 

Carter opted not to respond, and instead stepped up obediently to the viewing chair, his hands still bound behind his back.

"This is a little awkward," he suggested, shaking his tied arms before he sat.

"Deal with it," Ebbe replied harshly, "now look," she commanded.

Carter exhaled, and shuffled awkwardly into position, grumbling a little as he did. 

"What? What the?" he muttered incredulously. He pulled his eye away from the lens with a heavy brow, his eyes fixing upon Ebbe. "What, what does it mean?"

"I'm not entirely sure we are on planet Earth," Ebbe responded point blank. 

Chapter 15 - Part 1

A cool breeze whispered though the tall grass, making it sway back and forth gently. Crickets chirped to each other, and the scent of wheat drifted from surrounding fields.

Ebbe and Anthony were sitting in the meadow, their backs to the crashed helicopter, both munching silently on energy bars he had scavenged from the wreckage. To the right of them, Art, Jake, Krank and James had congregated, and were also chewing contentedly on the bars, chatting and joking as they did.

Ebbe gazed up at the sky, purposely trying to clear her mind from the buzz of recent events. The day she had driven home in her Land Rover, to be confronted by a group of armed men, tasked with her, and her loved one's, slaughter, seemed an age ago. It seemed a million more mysteries than she had contemplated had sprung up over night, like a dam being deluged with more water than it was designed to retain, slowly cracking and beginning to leak. That meant the water was certain to burst through shortly, but what that actually meant was still beyond her mental reach.

It doesn't matter, she concluded. Watch the sky Ebbe, watch the sky. That's where the mystery began, and that is where it shall end. 

Clouds had lackadaisically filled up the light blue expanse, leaving only small gaps where pillars of light streamed out, highlighting random patches of countryside like a spotlight. 

"Rays from heaven," Anthony said for no reason, as if sensing what she had been looking at.

Ebbe nodded in agreement, she may not believe in heaven, but the sentiment seemed fitting. Anthony had not yet asked how Moon Face was walking and talking, nor had he asked how they had appeared from thin air. She appreciated that right now. Especially because the desire to know was written all over his face. His green eyes were practically quivering with intrigue every time he looked into her own. He also kept glancing over his shoulder at Moon Face, who was currently laughing raucously with Krank.

"Moon Face," she whispered under breath, thinking maybe she ought to refer to him by his actual name. Though perhaps saving a man's life was enough to allow you to call him whatever you liked. 

"Do we still need to go to this observatory?" Anthony questioned after a long silence. 

Ebbe turned and studied his tired face, wondering how gaunt she must look herself. He had asked a good question. The whole point of going to Keilder was to show what she had learned, but now things were so advanced, it seemed a moot point. But yet, she could not truly explain the phenomena that had filled up their lives with so much recent drama. She could explain what was wrong with the view from that telescope. And ultimately, if a mission to fix the problem was to be arranged, the money men needed to understand how far reaching the issue was. Men of power tended to have isolationist viewpoints that didn't allow for the sort of thinking she would require for her ultimate goal to be realised. Facts that even a layman could understand were needed. She had a team of laymen, ready to have their minds expanded. There was one more man she also needed to convince, and she may now have a way to get him where she needed, without having to send in her new recruits to extract him from his always well-guarded locale.

"We do Anthony," she confirmed, turning her eyes back to the rays of sunlight streaming through the clouds. "Fearless Leader," she added, more to herself, with a little chuckle. She couldn't really remember when she started assigning nicknames to people, rather than use their own. It was just more efficient in her mind. Names were arbitrary, random designations. Her nicknames had reasoning and logic behind them. What did Anthony mean? Beyond being a random collection of vowels and consonants. Fearless Leader was so much more dramatic and descriptive. Gives a man something to aspire to. 

Ebbe turned and surveyed the rest of her team. Grim Reaper, Moon Face, Chum, and young Ganymede. Those names all meant something to her. Jake, Art, Krank and James; they meant nothing, just a sound.

"What's my name?" Ebbe pondered out loud, lying back, crushing the stalks of grass behind her.

Anthony turned and almost looked as if he may lean over her and land a kiss on her lips, their eyes locked in a brief tryst, before he too leaned back and stretched out with a content sigh. 

"Ebbe!" he declared, baffled about having to state the obvious.

"No, I mean, what name would you give me?"

Anthony's thick brows sunk low with confusion.

"I don't get you," he admitted, sliding his left leg up and crossing the right over it.

"You're Fearless Leader, Art is Moon Face, Jake is..."

"Grim Reaper," Anthony chucked, "I remember." He sat back up and studied Ebbe with such intensity she was certain she was starting to blush. 

"I don't know," Anthony said with a sigh, "Brains?" he shrugged in defeat.

"Oh please!" Ebbe grumbled, "be original!" 

Anthony waved his hand, his way of showing he couldn't do any better. Ebbe smiled and also sat back up. She caught him eyeing Moon Face again.

"It was the machine below the house," she decided to offer, "it cured him."

Anthony shook his head vigorously. 

"No," he retorted bluntly.

"No?" Ebbe replied in confusion.

"No! It was you," he explained, fixing his stern green eyes upon hers, "I know it was you. Whatever you may have used, however you may have done it, It was you." The pair allowed the words to linger in the late morning air momentarily. Ebbe found herself unable to respond, taken aback by the sheer earnestness of his declaration. 

"If you say we need to see this observatory I trust you also have a way of getting us there quickly?" he finally continued, as if he had been giving her time to digest his initial statement. Ebbe swallowed, and offered a gentle bob of her head to confirm his assumption.

"In which case, Miss Nystrom, my team is your team," he broke his attention from her, and stood, turning immediately to offer his hand to her. She waved his hand aside and picked herself up. The pair stared out at the countryside.

"It looks so ordinary," Anthony commented. Ebbe agreed with a single nod. "You're wrong you know," he added, causing Ebbe to turn to look up at him, his frame suddenly seeming more impressive and comfortingly muscular. "I'm not Fearless Leader," he paused, his ocean green eyes unblinkingly focused on her, "you are." 

Chapter 13 - Part 1

"It's a goddamned bullet!" Krank's deep guttural voice exclaimed, the bass dampened by the lack of echo.

Ebbe rubbed her head and blinked, trying to adjust to the blinding white light, unable to see where the mountainous man was.

"What is?" she mumbled, her voice sounding coarse and alien.

"Ebbe!" the voice exclaimed, followed seconds later by his beaming face leaning into view, as if he had been right beside her the whole time, somehow masked from view. "Jesus, Mary and Joseph, you gave us a bloody good scare. How do you feel?" 

Ebbe rubbed her temples and stretched, pulling herself into a siting position. Her instant reaction was to say she felt rough and tired, because somehow that's how she thought she ought to feel. But she felt strong, rested, calm, and confident. It was as if she had a received an injection of adrenaline and endorphins, mixed with a few shots of vodka. A large hand was offered to help her off the slick white floor, but she refused it, and lifted herself off the floor with ease.

"I'm okay," she offered, preferring not to discuss the finer points of her unexpected health. "You were saying?" she asked, opting to deflect the question.

"Yes?" Krank replied blankly.

"Something about a bullet?" she pressed, curious to know what he had been looking at.

"Oh! Hell, it's over here," he gesticulated clumsily to the small black object wedged into the wall, close to where you might expect to see the ceiling in the average house. "It shot out of the bloody cube, and whacked itself into the wall. Whaddya say about that?"

Ebbe didn't say anything. It didn't make sense, but what did these days? For the bullet to have made it's way from the basement, to this room, would involve some sort of space displacement, on a scale that would surely tear the structure apart. It's akin to having a wormhole open up in your living room, simply to use as a waste bin. Yet, what had happened, had clearly happened, evidence of this was embedded in the otherwise pristine wall. 

"James, Jake and Art?" Ebbe suddenly thought to ask. 

"Here!" James piped up, though it was hard to discern from where, when the sound just died at source. Ebbe turned 360 degrees, only to find the trio seemingly right where she had been previously looking. 

"This place," she started.

"We know," Krank replied before she could finish. "Disconcerting ain't it!" He strode over to the cubes and waved his hands over the shimmering black objects, "it's why no one ever stays down here too long, drives you crazy! Bad enough sitting up in the house above it. Something," he paused, pulling his hand away from the cubes suddenly, as if he had burned himself. "Something unnatural". 

Ebbe stared at the shimmering blocks of pure black, hypnotised, her mind calculating furiously. She had seen the Greek letter lambda inside the cube she had used. That had been used to denote many concepts in science, but the one that struck her was a subatomic particle. These were particles smaller even than an atom, at a quantum level, where matter and energy behave very differently. Could it be that these objects were some sort of quantum control panel? If so, what on Earth did they control?

"What on Earth?" she repeated her thought out loud, an idea beginning to form. 

"What's that love?" Krank responded.

"What on Earth? On Earth!" she repeated.

Krank shrugged,  before wincing at the pain this re-ignited in his broken limb. 

"Fuck!" he cursed, "forgot about that bastard."

Ebbe slowly walked up to the furthermost cube and gently waved her hand through the black mass. She took a moment to assess the sensation, before moving on to the next, repeating the same experiment.

"What's she up to?" James asked, pointing Krank to her methodical actions.

"Hey, hey, lady! Last time you did that we all ended up dancing a merry jig on the ceiling! Don't be jabbing any more pretty little hands in to those things!" Krank shouted, trying to sound angry, but actually sounding scared.

Ebbe didn't react, continuing her meticulous, short survey of each cube, one by one. 

"What the hell?" Krank grumbled, as the group watched her vanish from view as she side-stepped to yet another cube. He turned to James, who shrugged, before gesturing to Art, as if saying he had been assigned to protect him, and nothing else. Krank, rolling his eyes, turned to Jake.

"Don't ask me buddy. The bitch is crazy if you ask me," he paused and twisted his face into a smiling grimace,"it's why I like her."

Krank threw his head back in despair, and was about to head in her direction, when her voice seemed to emanate from the walls.

"Come over here," Ebbe gestured to him.

"What?" came Krank's blunt response.

"Just come here man," Ebbe replied irritably, "I want to try something."

"What?" Krank queried suspiciously. 

As abruptly as she'd vanished, her petite frame re-emerged from nothingness deep within the room. With an impatient wave of her hand, she gestured to Krank to head her way. With a heavy sigh he nodded back, before turning to Jake and James.

"Hold on to something fellas. You know, in case she sends us, up," he said with a comical frown, before he turned tail and reluctantly made his way deeper into the room.

"Lady," he boomed as he approached, "this better be good,"

"Oh, I think it is," Ebbe replied, "give me you arm."

Krank eyed her suspiciously. 

"Please tell me you're not going to do what I think you're going to do," he grumbled, refusing to offer either arm.

"I don't think you could even comprehend what I think I'm going to do. Now, stick your arm up here you oaf," she retorted, patting the base under another identical black cube.

"What if I refuse?" Krank asked impudently. 

"Arm," Ebbe replied, jabbing a finger at the white base, above which the shadowless cube hovered.

Rolling his eyes, Krank resignedly offered his right arm, pausing before shoving it directly into the cube. 

"The other arm, idiot," Ebba scolded, shaking her head. "What the hell am I supposed to do with your good arm?" 

"I don't know do I?" Krank grumbled, before grabbing his limp left arm, pausing before daring to lift it, "Ebbe, what are you?" She jabbed her finger at the base, causing him to break his sentence. "This better be bloody worth it," he grumbled, before grasping the broken limb and lifting it onto the based with a strained shout. "Jesus Christ!" he exclaimed out loud, biting his lip at the pain. 

"Now stay still," Ebbe commanded.

"Really? I was thinking of doing bloody river dance love!" Krank replied sarcastically.

Ebbe didn't hear. She was focused intently on the next cube down. With the care of a surgeon, she slowly slid her left hand into the dusky cloud. Within the murk, she could see the free-floating Greek letter Eta appear, just as it had moments earlier. Focusing hard on Krank's arm in her mind, she grabbed at the letter, just as she had when the base's gravity had vanished. 

Last time, it had been as if she was part of the basement, as if she was all the matter contained within that room. Now, she was inside Krank, in his blood, in his bone, his marrow. It was deeper than that, she was within the atoms that bonded together to make him. This time, there was no danger to distract her, no gun pointed, no bullet. There was flesh and bone. It wasn't that she was within him, she was him. The sensation was impossible to comprehend. Ebbe could no longer sense her own body, even the thoughts that had been her own seemed lost. What had she become Krank for? Why was she here? 

She sensed damage, and she recalled seeing a broken arm. That was it. She was there to repair the snapped bone. But she didn't know if she could. Or How. A transfer of energy. A transfer. That's what she had planned. To fix something you need to replace the damaged parts. 

For a second she released the phantom letter gripped within her left hand, and in the same instance, was pulled out of Krank, and was standing where she had actually been standing all along. Fighting the wave of dizziness that had floored her the first time, she immediately thrust her right hand into the adjoining cube. Another Greek letter, Xi, floated almost imperceptibly into view and once again Ebbe took hold. She needed someone who she didn't care for. All she could think of was Shark man. Immediately she found herself back in the basement. But not as part of it, this time she was within a body, as she had been with Krank. She was bound to the sub-atomic particles that made up this body, and yet she could see through his eyes. They were looking up at Anthony, poised at the top of the basement steps. She sensed that in his hand was a gun, pointed directly at Anthony. 

Wasting no more time, Ebbe slid her left hand back into the first cube and grabbed Eta again. Double concentration was required. Her mind felt as if it were divided perfectly in half. She was no longer Ebbe, but Krank and Shark man. Not their thoughts, nor their motions. She was simply a sub-atomic passenger, unable to influence their actions. 

All she needed to remember was the break. Even at the smallest scale, the snapped bone, the torn flesh within, was identifiable. Now the swap. 

Ebbe couldn't hear if Shark man shouted, swore, or whether he remained conscious. But the micro-second she rended bone and flesh from within him and used it to re-bond the broken radius bone within Krank, she was thrown out from them both, as if she was ejected from both cubes. Stumbling backwards she tumbled to the glossy ivory floor, her head reeling.

"What have you done?" Krank exclaimed out of her sight, "Ebbe? What? How?" 

His towering frame honed into view, and he offered her his left hand, his teeth showing in a wide grin.This time Ebbe opted to accept and allowed herself to be pulled up. But he didn't let go, and pulled her in for a crushing squeeze.

Finally releasing her from his bear hug, he practically dropped her back to the floor, where she landed with a surprised stumble.

"You bloody legend," he beamed, flexing his hand and swinging his arm, testing it out. "How in the bloody name of all things blessed did you do that?"

Ebbe shrugged, unable to offer anything that would even approach Krank's scientific understanding. She stared at the cubes, debating whether she should truly try what she was contemplating. 

"I think," she started, having finally made her decision, "I can save Art."

Chapter 8 - Part 2

Ebbe stared, aghast, at Chum's limp body. She swore her heart had skipped a beat, out of shock, as she'd seen him tumble down the uneven stone steps like a sack of potatoes. It also sounded like something had cracked as he landed, suggesting to her that, even if he had been alive when first thrown, he wasn't upon landing. Before she had time to make any further observations she heard voices, clearly in voracious disagreement with each other; one she recognised to be Anthony. 

"You've just condemned you and your pals. You know that right?" Said an unfamiliar voice. It was deep and rasping, probably the result of a heavy smoking habit.

"If you wanted us dead you'd have blown us to kingdom come, not knocked on the door and played peeka-fucking-boo," came Anthony's defiant reply.

"Get down there," the other voice demanded.

Ebbe glanced over to James, to see how he was holding up. She was surprised to see he had refused to be distracted by the commotion on the stairs, and was keeping his sights trained steadfastly on Shakes. Shakes was, on the other hand, utterly unperturbed by the threat posed by James' weapon and was focused fully on Anthony as he emerged at the top of the stairs, and made his way, somewhat nonchalantly, down to the basement floor.

Ebbe returned her attention to Anthony, who caught her eye as soon as he was level with her. Much to her surprise he gave her a cheeky wink, presumably suggesting things were actually going to plan, despite appearances to the contrary. Ebbe's mind raced, replaying the hideous image of Chum's bulky body tumbling down over the thick stone slabs and slamming with dead weight to the dirt floor. Nothing she could see suggested that was a carefully orchestrated fall, part of some great bluff. What was Anthony playing at? All she could presume was he had reached a similar conclusion to her; they had all been played and now he was playing right back.

Attempting to reassure herself that things were in their favour, Ebbe tore her eyes away from Anthony and sized up his captor. He was a tall, slender man, with a neatly trimmed beard, dressed in standard army fatigues. He was holding a pistol in his right hand and a grenade in the other. The latter gave Ebbe great cause for concern in this contained space, with nothing suitable to take cover behind. The man, with his thin pale face and dark pitted eyes, reminded Ebbe of a shark. As he reached the base of the stairs, several armed men also began to emerge through the hole and began trotting down the steps with quiet efficiency. Five men reached the bottom and pointed their automatic weapons at Ebbe, Anthony and James.


Shark man gestured with his gun to James with a quizzical look.


"Seems we have a turncoat," Shakes said by way of explanation, before standing, clearly confident James was no longer in a position to fire. 


"Interesting," Shark man rasped in a voice that Ebbe found irritating. "Check him," he gestured to Chum. Shakes duly made his way to the body and knelt down. He quickly stood and shook his head.


"Dead," he said bluntly.


"What a pity," Shark man responded, clearing his throat a little, "seems we underestimated you Bishop."


"I tried to tell you," Anthony replied.


"Because of you I've failed my mission," Shark man began, waving his pistol as he spoke, "what do you suggest I do now Bishop?"


"Go home, have a cup of tea and a scone," Anthony replied, his voice heavily laced with sarcasm.


Shark man laughed briefly, but stopped so abruptly Ebbe doubted it was genuine. 


"He one of yours?" Shark man asked, gesticulating the gun towards James.


Anthony turned and looked James up and down briefly.


"Never seen him before in my life," Anthony replied.


Shark man soaked up this reply before turning to Ebbe. He strode up to her and lifted the grenade up to her face, rubbing it's smooth curved surface against her left cheek. She shuddered as the cold metal brushed against her soft flesh, but tried to remain steadfast, attempting not to be intimidated by his actions.


"But you have. Haven't you?" Shark man said to Ebbe, more declarative than questioning.


Ebbe opted not to answer, but knew that her face had given away the truth.


"It seems there are factors in this operation all of us are in the dark about," he mused, finally moving away from Ebbe. 


"Aren't there always?" Anthony interjected coolly.


Shark man turned and gave a wry smile.


"Quite right, quite right," he agreed, suddenly seeming to Ebbe quite genial and unconcerned about their presence. "I suppose I ought to make a report," he continued, now speaking to himself rather than anyone in particular. "How tiresome," he began, now clearly addressing Anthony, "that we must gather instruction from above even on the matter of killing you and your friends. We are just monkeys in the zoo, are we not?" And with that he nodded to his men, who all turned silently and marched obediently back up the stairs.


"Disarm the child and follow me," Shark man said to Shakes, who gave a short nod. 

Shakes turned and with remarkable stealth made his way across the room to James. Without saying a word he snatched the weapon from James' limp grasp, turned and was about to walk away when he changed his mind. Instead Shakes turned back to face James and with a sneer gave him a brutal shove in the chest, using a flat palm. James tumbled to the ground in an instant, and, before he turned, Shakes kicked the loose earth at a cowering James. Finally he turned, the look of pleasure on his face giving Ebbe the creeps. 


"Pathetic," Shakes spat as he passed Ebbe and strode up the stairs. 


Shark man didn't seem to give them a second thought, opting to stride up the stairs. He reached the top and then bent down and gave a toothy grin. 


"On second thoughts," he said, before tossing the grenade into the basement. Ebbe felt the muscles in her body loosen as she watched the small device bounce on the steps, almost in slow motion. Wanting to run, dive or simply fall to the ground and curl up in a ball, Ebbe instead found herself rooted to the spot. Her legs felt like jelly, yet she was unable to move.


Anthony on the other hand was already sprinting towards the grenade, genuine fear clearly visible in his eyes for the first time since Ebbe had met him. As the hatch above closed, shutting off the natural light that had been filtering through, Anthony dove onto the grenade. Ebbe held her breath and waited for him to split open, wanting to scrunch her eyes closed, but finding she was too scared to do anything but watch, agog, knowing at best he could prevent everyone else from dying, and admiring his bravery.


But it seemed that the device ought to have exploded by now. Instead Anthony was fumbling with something under his chest and was remaining defiantly unexploded. He let out a sudden shout of relief before standing, two objects clutched in one hand each. Anthony nodded to Ebbe, his face caked with dirt and sweat, his eyes wide, his chest rising and falling fast. She managed a small nod back, but her body was still refusing to move, when what she really wanted to do was run up to him and jump into his arms.


If Anthony wanted any such thing, Ebbe couldn't tell.


"How you doing James?" Anthony asked, making his way across the room. Strange, Ebbe thought, had anyone mentioned his name since Anthony had arrived in the room. She thought not. 

"Not too bad sir," James replied, dusting himself off and standing.

"Good job son," Anthony said before thrusting a hand in James' direction, "hold this will you?" Anthony was about to hand whatever it was over, but paused, "you do know how to hold this?" he quizzed seriously.

Ebbe, feeling curious, finally found herself relaxing enough to move, shifted to the side a bit and craned her neck to see what Anthony was grasping. She quickly regretted having done so. Anthony was holding a grenade in each hand. He was attempting to pass one to James. Ebbe felt her head start to swim; the constant threat of death was starting to take its toll and she found her legs buckle and give way. She tumbled to the floor, only just managing to thrust out an arm and catch herself enough to not fall too hard.

"You need one finger at the base, and these three fingers clasped over the lever, and the thumb here," she could hear Anthony instructing in the corner. She half expected to hear an explosion moments later and found herself scrunching her eyes tightly closed. But as before the explosion didn't arrive. Instead she gasped when an arm gripped hers and pulled her to her feet firmly. Her eyes burst open to find Anthony now by her side. 

"Part of the plan?" She managed to mutter to him. He looked at the remaining grenade in his left hand and shook his head.

"We don't have much time, these things could go off any second, and if they don't he'll soon wonder why," he said by way of response.

"Much time to do what?" Ebbe quizzed curiously.


"I'll show you," a new voice boomed from the other side of the room. Ebbe turned with a start. Much to her great surprise she saw Chum propping himself up against the stairway, a big grin plastered across his face.

Chapter 8 - Part 1

Ebbe stared at the reflection of the waning moon, looking like a chipped pearl drifting on the gently lolling water. She allowed herself a little wistful sigh, thinking back to the days when she had the luxury to soak up such moments. Now it was merely a snatched opportunity as she made her way back to the observatory, two hot cups of coffee defrosting her hands pleasantly.

The crunch of the leaves and the snap of the bracken beneath her feet always made her smile. It seemed so much more agreeable to have sound and texture underfoot, rather than the insensitive solidity of a pavement. It was for this, more than the need for the bad coffee served by the café on the tiny viewing station up the path, that brought her out into the cold air. That and the need to escape the observatory for a couple of hours. Kielder Observatory was of course, not so far away and that had a magnificent telescope. It was even easily accessible by the public. But that was also the problem. What Ebbe wanted to look at, she wanted to look at without herself being observed, without the questions and the probing. People could never just let you be in such places. Besides, such places were bound to be watched. Ebbe had already sensed via the chatter on the usual paranoid websites that the government wasn't keen on anyone taking too much interest in the skies. 

Ebbe suddenly froze on the spot. To the far right, up a small slope and in a tiny opening amongst the towering trunks disappearing into the dark heights above, was a petite deer. Ebbe suspected it was a Roe deer, probably not fully grown yet. She watched fascinated as it tentatively trotted towards something indiscernible on the ground. It dipped it's neck, legs still relatively straight and gave a curious sniff. Without warning the deer gave a scared jump backwards and turned to flee, before pausing and and slowly, perhaps bravely, turning back to face the mystery foe. Ebbe found she was holding her breath, perhaps out of fear she would spook the creature, but she had no choice but to exhale. She did so with utmost care, though she was well away from the deer, and, if her smell had not spooked it she presumed a little breath would be harmless. But it was such a rare experience Ebbe was not willing to risk it even for a breath. She was trying to guess what the young deer could be battling. Her guess would be either a frog, toad or spider. Again the deer stepped forward. Ebbe admired it's dark brown, almost black winter coat. From her perspective she couldn't discern any antlers, but that may be because of it's young age or just the distance between them. Ebbe was sure they only had very small antlers, but she couldn't remember. Something spooked the animal and it's sharp little head bobbed up and Ebbe could see the bulging black eyes, like river polished stones, peering in her direction. Again she found herself holding her breath, sure it wasn't her who had caught it's attention. She strained hard, also trying to listen, and yes, somewhere is the distance she too could hear voices from behind. Laughter and chatter somewhere far in some distant part of the wood, bounced from vast trunk to trunk until Ebbe had no idea where the origin was. Her little Roe seemed more sure, however, and with a kick of it's hind legs it vanished from sight. 
Ebbe waited, staring at the same spot, in the vain hope it would return. But she knew it had been spooked and regardless of it's small, unseen foe, it was not going to come back so readily.

With another heavy sigh she continued on her well trodden path to the observatory, giving a quick glance all around to ensure the voices really were somewhere distant. Unable to make out anything or anyone nearby she crunched and cracked her way back to the barely visible concrete entrance. It was a simple concrete structure shrouded in creepers and vines. In the centre was a rusting metal door that to an outsider looked as if it hadn't been opened since World War Two, when the former bomb shelter was built. They would, of course, be right. Ebbe took a swift turn to the left and made her way to the side of the structure, draped like a green waterfall, with lush vines. Here Ebbe stood waiting patiently, staring at the dark leaves. Hunter green Ebbe thought as she stared at one thinly veined leaf in particular. Makes sense, she concluded, hunter green would be the one that best serves as camouflage for those sneaking about in such a forest.

Growing impatient Ebbe gave a low cough, more a clearing of her throat and shifted her weight. The formerly warm cups were starting to feel decidedly tepid in her hands are her unexpected interlude. Never mind, it's bad hot or warm, she told herself.

Clunk! The sound of a solid bolt being lifted and then a squeal as the metal slid out from the catch and released. The draped foliage began to shiver before being swept aside and an opening became evident. A young man dressed in fatigues was grinning apologetically as he held the door open.

"I think I saw a Roe deer," Ebbe said as she stepped through the entrance gratefully, glad to feel the heat envelope her as she did so. The lad shrugged as he always did when Ebbe said pretty much anything. She had concluded the extent of his knowledge was terrifyingly basic. Barely scraping secondary level, she thought. Either that or he knew but wasn't much for talking. Ebbe had yet to truly pin down this old little guard she had inherited. "Do they have Roe deer in this forest?" she persisted, in the small hope she may eventually stumble across something he was interested in discussing.

"Dunno," came the blunt answer behind her as he slammed the thick door shut again. The natural moonlight was cut off and they were in a tight corridor lit by yellow lights lining the walls.

"They do have antlers don't they?" Ebbe continued, no longer caring if he knew the answer or not, but wanting to say something out loud to someone. Even though she was ahead of him, she knew he had simply shrugged, clearly not feeling the need to answer. "It was adorable," Ebbe finished, sensing she was pushing her luck.

"I like deer," came the unexpected reply. 

Ebbe stopped abruptly, to be immediately bumped by the young lad who had not expected her to halt so suddenly. She maintained her balance, steadying the sloshing liquid in the coffee cups. She turned, beaming from ear to ear.

"James! What did you say?"

The bewildered lad stared at her mouth agape.

"I. I like deer?" He stuttered, obviously a little taken aback.

"That's simply marvellous my boy! Truly wonderful," she beamed at him before turning tail and striding down the corridor, humming The Girl From Ipanema quietly.

The pair emerged into a cavernous room, in the centre of which was a vast telescope, stretching from a small chair and expanding until it reached a cathedral-like dome, with a large split down its centre. 

"Hello sweetie," Ebbe chirped, "James likes deer! Did you know that?" As she chattered to the equipment she turned and thrust out one of the cups. The still baffled James tentatively took the coffee and with a sideways glance made his way over to the CCTV desk on the far right. Ebbe smiled and popped the lid from her cup and swigged the coffee down in two big gulps. "Yuck!" She spat with a mix of disgust for the taste and satisfaction at the warmth.

James seated himself and sipped his own cup, eyeing Ebbe with suspicion, seemingly cautious of what she may say next.

"Let's crank the old girl open and check which stars are still with us eh James?" Ebbe shouted across the room.

James shrugged, as he always did.

"I'll tell you what I love James!" Ebbe shouted as she pressed the button that started the domes opening mechanism with a creaking gasp. "I love an 8.1 metre aperture pointing at Io, Callisto, Ganymede and Europa!" With that she took her seat at the eye of the telescope and peered through. Occasionally she cranked the mechanism to make the scope turn left or right, lower or raise. But once her eye was pressed up against the viewer she was, as always lost in a cosmos of stars, watched silently by her curious guard.

"Hello Ganymede," Ebbe suddenly piped up, making James jump. She turned with a cheeky grin and jabbed a longer finger at him. "That's you!" She exclaimed, before turning back to peer through the lens again. "Ganymede was one of Zeus' lovers, boy of exquisite beauty," she continued as she studied the small dot that was the largest moon in our Solar System. "He was kidnapped by Zeus to serve as a cup-bearer in Olympus," said Ebbe, unable to stop herself elaborating, "of course Hera was deathly jealous. But that was just Hera!" Silly cow, Ebbe thought to herself. "It's nice, us having this chat," Ebbe started, well aware that James wasn't contributing, but somehow feeling like his blurted revelation that he liked deer was the closest to a conversation the pair had had. The source that had gained her access to this facility, a place that theoretically didn't exist, had assured her he was perfect for the job. He was too dim, they had said, to know she didn't belong, and too green to be involved with anyone she wanted to avoid. That was for sure. The kid was wet behind the ears and she honestly felt he was unsuited to a military life. She had decided early on his father was in the forces and had bullied him into service. But that didn't matter, he just had to let her in and let her out and keep his mouth shut. It seemed he could follow orders, that was one thing most certainly in his favour. Ebbe just hoped that one day someone wouldn't take advantage of that.

"So Ganymede," she started, taking her eye off the skies, "how is it that I, Zeus, have to bear cups for my cup-bearer?" She eyed him with a smile, wondering if anything she had just said had meant a thing to him. He was looking back at her, his face the picture of concentration; brow furrowed, mouth pursed.

"Because I am Zeus and you are Hera?" Came the cautious reply.

Ebbe mulled this over in her mind. The boy was the mighty Zeus, God of the skies, the greatest of all the Olympians, and she his long-suffering, eternally jealous wife, and sister, Hera! She looked at the skinny little lad slouched at the security desk and couldn't help but burst out laughing. Within seconds James had been infected by her heaving gasps of uncontrolled laughter and joined in with her.

"You're a funny guy," Ebbe managed to gurgle, not really thinking he was and not entirely sure what was so funny, but still unable to halt the shaking laughter nevertheless. "You should talk more often," she spluttered, sending them both into further fits of cackling giggles. 

Making an effort to maintain dignity Ebbe wiped her teared eyes and sighed. Back to work you idiot, she told herself, forcing a moist eye up against the the viewer. With great effort she ignored James, still attempting to quash his mirth behind her. Deciding viewing Ganymede was not going to help her sober up Ebbe began to shift the telescope in the hunt for another Galilean moon, namely Callisto.


"And there..." she began, "you are?" she ended on a question. All humour drained from her face and Ebbe pulled her head away from the telescope and turned to James. "I've lost a moon," she said seriously.


"That was careless," James snickered in reply.


"No James, it's insane, quite quite insane," she countered bleakly. Her heavy tone quickly sunk in and James forced out the last chuckle.


"Are you sure you're looking in...?" He started.


"Of course I bloody am," Ebbe snapped, cutting his sentence short. Inside she was churning. She pressed her forefinger down on an unseen button and to the side a printer began to buzz and whirr. Within a few seconds and crystal clear printout emerged and Ebbe tore it out from the printer impatiently. With an incisive eye she peered at the printout, before exhaling loudly. Even with her own, limited equipment, she had started picking up anomalies. One or two you could write off as the mind playing tricks. Three or four, equipment failure. But once she had gone beyond that she had hit upon the idea of using something more substantial. The Spartan Observatory complex, a highly secret outpost hidden within a restricted wildlife preserve, was her number one choice. It merely took the right connections, and Ebbe had made a habit of collecting those.

And here it was, the most powerful telescope in the United Kingdom could not see the third largest moon in the solar system.

"James, if anybody knows we are here. If anybody knows what I have seen. We are going to be in serious of trouble."

James returned her statement with a looked of fear and puzzlement. Ebbe gestured he ought to come closer. Tentatively he stood, his chair squealing on the flagstone floor. Again she gestured for him to come forward. She could see he was uncomfortable and uncertain. Again, she wordlessly gestured to him to come to her. With the awkward shuffling of a teenager asked to dance with a girl he likes, he made his way to her. When he was within grasping distance she grabbed him by the nape of the neck and pulled him close.


"You tell the man who got you this job that Callisto is awol. Tell him I'm going to ground. Are you getting this?" James nodded nervously, "Tell him I expect it will take them two or three months, four at most, so that's his time frame. You got that James?" She peered into his dark brown eyes. Yes, he's an orders boy, give him orders and he'll respond. He obviously got that from his bully father, for better or worse. "I don't think we shall see each other again after tonight, so Ganymede, get yourself some balls, before Zeus comes for you." With those parting words Ebbe grabbed her printout, gave him a kiss on the cheek and made for the exit.


As she reached the corridor, she stopped and turned.


"If we do meet again, be sure you've grown a pair!" She shouted before striding into the corridor.
 

Chapter 5 - Part 1

"This shit just got serious and whoever this chick is, she knows more about it than any of us arseholes put together. As of now you have no opinions that aren't my own, you do nothing I haven't told you to do, and you say nothing that wasn't preceded by a question from me. Cody,  boot. Jake, in the back with Art."

The bloody sun had just switched off and Anthony was not in the mood for screwing around. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he'd call bull on anyone who told him it happened. That was crazy shit right there, and it scared the hell out of him. Nothing Ebbe had said had warned him for this and even she seemed genuinely shocked, something Anthony found even more disconcerting. He'd asked if this was what she had been expecting, hoping she would nod calmly and explain it was some sort of optical illusion caused by atmospheric distortion, or some such sciency crap. But she had simply replied 'in a manner', and left it at that. He sensed she was purposely being cautious with her words, but he couldn't determine if it was because she knew more, or because she knew nothing. He figured, from the little time he'd spent around her, it wasn't the latter. Her eyes gave it away, there was awe and amazement, but also a shimmering layer of fear that betrayed her true feelings. She knew something was going to happen, but not to this extent and certainly not so soon. He had felt foolish asking if she knew how to fix it. What a dumb question. How do you fix the sun? It was the Goddamn sun. It's not like there's an on/off switch on the wall. 

A weird relief had pulsed through Anthony when Ebbe said she wanted to try and save Art. It brought with it a sense of normality. Never mind the impossible, she had said, let's deal with the possible. Art was injured, maybe we can save him. The sun can wait. 

Happy to receive a new mission Anthony quickly took steps to control his team. He knew it would be easy now. Whenever the shit hits the fan, the troops look for a leader. All he had to do was lead with conviction. He had quickly run through a few speeches in his mind. I don't care who shot who. Enough bullshit, I need you guys to focus. Time to step up gentlemen, we're on the front line now. Anthony decided short, blunt and simple was all he wanted. It was time for action, not words.

And now they were driving. It was eerie, like a dream. The world around them was bathed in a warm yellow light, just another mild spring day. Butterflies flapped by chaotically, flies buzzed eagerly back and forth and livestock grazed sleepily in the fields opposite, seemingly unaware of the inky black void above them. It felt to Anthony like a vast shroud had placed across the sky. There was no light and yet it seemed to shimmer and shift hypnotically. He couldn't decide if it was a trick of the eye, or if there really was movement. Fearing an accident he forced his eyes to focus solely on the road. 


"People will be scared," Ebbe said bluntly out of the blue.


"Yes Ebbe. Yes they will," Anthony nodded, thinking what a vast understatement that was. The London riots flashed into his mind and he pictured similar scenes of looting and destruction on the streets as people began to panic. What was that kids story about the sky falling? Something to do with chickens? That can't be right can it? Aw, who gives a damn? Fear of the unknown always drives people a little crazy. This was as unknown as it can get.

"You think this person we're going to see, you think they'll still be there?" Ebbe asked, silently suggesting they may have fled in fear.

"He'll be there," Anthony replied without hesitation.  


"Things will get worse," Ebbe responded to an unspoken question. Anthony wanted to ask what could be worse, he wanted to know what she knew, how she knew, and why the hell the government had wanted to kill her, rather than work with her. Too many bloody questions.


"You married?" He asked instead, opting for normality over insanity.


"No," Ebbe replied swiftly and bluntly. Hit a nerve there Anthony my son.


"Kids?" He persisted, half hoping to get her to open up more and accidentally let something key detail slip. He knew that was a faint hope, Ebbe was a smarter cookie than that. There was a long pause before she finally opted to reply.


"No," she replied hesitantly this time. That was a lie, Anthony told himself, but didn't let on. 


"I've got two. One boy, one girl," he started, before adding "they must be terrified." He left it at that purposely, convinced Ebbe wouldn't take the bait. 


"You don't strike me as a family man," she replied absently staring out of the window at the blackness.


"No. I don't suppose I do," Anthony agreed wholeheartedly, "but I love them all the same." Again he left the subject open, more hopeful now that he was getting somewhere.

For a while Ebbe stayed silent, seemingly content to stare out at the curious new sky.

"Your wife. She know what you do?" She eventually asked, turning to look at him with pursed lips.

"She's dead," Anthony replied curtly. He waited for the politely awkward apology that usually followed. But none was forthcoming. Ebbe instead raised her eyebrows and pulled a grimace. 

"She was in the service?" She asked after a thoughtful pause. 


"Yeah. How did you guess?" Anthony replied with genuine surprise. How could she possibly have ascertained that from their brief time together? 


"Same way I guess you don't have two children," Ebbe continued, her dark eyes focused on Anthony intently.


"How so?" He responded, genuinely intrigued.


"You're a military man. You're too institutionalised to have spent enough time off duty to meet anyone who wasn't also in the business. Normally such alliances are strictly forbidden, but clearly you're a man willing to bend the rules when the situation suits. You're mid forties now, so I'd guess this all happened at least ten years past." Ebbe paused, possibly for breath, but Anthony suspected it was more for dramatic effect. She was a wily one for sure. "I'd suspect about ten years because you're now working for this agency at a high level, which must take some time. One year induction, two years earning their trust, two years rising through the ranks, three years running missions until you were entrusted with autonomous control. Then another one or two years to establish yourself as the best of the best. Which leads us to you being chosen to eliminate a high profile, V6 target." She was clearly enjoying this now, and Anthony chose to remain silent until she had finished. "No one achieves that level of success without being available 24/7 every day. That kind of sacrifice doesn't allow for a relationship, or children. That kind of sacrifice comes when a man has nothing to live for. Oh..." Ebbe's smile suddenly dropped from her face, "oh, Anthony I am so sorry." 


To his great surprise she placed her pale hand gently on his shoulder and squeezed it. He found a small smile creeping surreptitiously onto his face, his heart touched by her sudden understanding. She truly is a marvel, this Ebbe, he told himself. I tried to draw something out of her, and instead she discovered something not even Art knows. 


"What was her name?" Ebbe asked gently.


"Elaine. Elaine Bastion," Anthony replied with a sigh.


"How far along was she?" Ebbe continued, her voice sounding softer than before.


"Six months. Twins. Jack and Sarah." He responded forcing his voice to remain strong and steady.


Ebbe pondered upon this for a moment, before running her hand through her hair and rubbing her temples.


"Sam," she finally said, her voice lighter still, almost becoming a whisper.


"Your...?" Anthony started, before pausing, sensing Ebbe would continue when good and ready.


She nodded by way of response but opted not to continue. 

"Ebbe?" Anthony finally piped up, wanting to turn and look at her, but keeping his eyes focused on the winding road.

"Hmmm?" She replied absently, seemingly lost in thought.

"What's happening?" 

Ebbe sighed heavily and scrunched her eyes closed tightly for a second. Rubbing her right hand down her face, she opened her eyes and turned to Anthony.

"Everything is wrong," she replied obliquely.

"What the hell does that mean?" Anthony responded, trying his best not to sound frustrated.

"Just that," Ebbe countered, "every scientific law is being eroded. It's the greatest rug pull in history."

"I...," Anthony took in the clear road, and feeling it safe, opted to turn so he could look Ebbe in the eyes before continuing.


"Sir, I," Jake barked insistently.


Anthony twisted his head angrily.


"What did I tell you?" Anthony hissed menacingly.


"I know sir, but look!" Jake insisted, jabbing a bony finger at the window urgently.


Anthony cursed under his breath, but turned, aware his eyes had been off the road far too long. When he saw what Jake was pointing to his foot instinctively slammed on the brakes, causing everyone to jerk forwards. Jake grabbed Art's limp body with lightning reactions, preventing him from crashing into the seat in front. As the car skidded to a halt with a judder, Anthony unclicked the the seat belt and pulled the door open in one swift motion. He leaped out and clambered onto the roof of the Land Rover.

"Jesus," he whispered under his breath as he stared at the horizon, which was flickering back and forth between lines of blue cloudy sky and the shimmering blackness, almost like a TV trying to find a signal. 

Chapter 4 - Part 2

Ebbe scrunched her face up tightly before she turned to see what she already knew was there. Or more accurately, what wasn't. In her mind she pictured the scenes of panic on the streets, parents grabbing their terrified children and clasping them close protectively, drivers skidding to a halt to survey the sky. Businesses would be grinding to a halt the world over as workers pressed noses to glass, or rushed out into the street to stare upwards.

Ebbe held her eyes shut for a second longer, before at last letting them open slowly, revealing the black sky above. 

My God, she exclaimed inwardly with a gasp, it's beautiful. 

The sun had vanished entirely, as if it were merely a candle, extinguished by a careless draft. The sky was now a shimmering inky blackness, as if the Earth were suddenly enshrouded within a vast cavern. Despite the absence of the sun and indeed any discernible stars, there was something glinting imperceptibly all across the sky. Ebbe had been spelunking several times and she found it akin to the interior of a wet cavern, when the lights from the explorers bounced of tiny imperfections in the rocky surroundings. 

Instead of fear, Ebbe felt only relief. She couldn't imagine why, but she was happy to go with the cathartic release of tension that had been pent up within for years now. Here it was, the culmination of all that research and by God it was magnificent.

With a perverse excitement coursing through her veins, Ebbe forced herself to turn back to her feuding comrades. For a brief moment Ebbe had hoped that something so extraordinary would stem the desire for ongoing discourse, but that hope was dashed before the thought had even completed. Far from being humbled, Grim Reaper had opportunistically grabbed Fearless Leader's discarded weapon and was now pointing it with obvious intent at Fearless.

"Bloody fools," Ebbe spat out loud, anger bubbling impatiently to the surface. Before another thought had entered her mind, she began to stride towards the Land Rover, her eyes alight, her jaw grinding. She caught the look of surprise on Fearless' face as she emerged from behind Grim Reaper and slapped him hard on the back of his head, as if she was castigating a naughty child. From the fear in Fearless' face he must have expected Grim to turn and shoot her without pausing for breath. Instead he simply lowered the gun and turned to Ebbe, his face more a picture of surprise than Fearless. 

"What's wrong with you man?" Ebbe spat, squaring up to him furiously, causing him to actually step back with a surprised stumble. He look as if he may speak, but no words were forthcoming. "Give it to me!" Ebbe gestured to the gun, still sensing she came off as an angry mother insisting her child hand over a banned toy. Much to the surprise of all, Grim Reaper sheepishly spun the gun in his hand, so he could offer it butt first to Ebbe. Tentatively she took it between her thumb and forefinger, holding it up as if it were something filthy she didn't want to touch. "I thought we'd already agreed you'd not kill each other," Ebbe scolded before turning to Fearless, "you just going to sit there?" 

He looked at her with raised eyebrows, clearly unsure how to take the situation. Ebbe sensed her hand with the gun was beginning to shake, and she wished he would stand to take the damn thing away from her, before she dropped it. She was certain it would go off unexpectedly and someone else would end up with a bullet in them. Much to her relief he finally stood and with a swift flick of his wrist, relieved her of the weapon. It was only now that she realised she had been holding her breath. 

Pocketing the weapon and striding up to Ebbe, Fearless didn't take his eyes off Grim Reaper. Before he turned his attention to her she saw Fearless give Grim a look, that she read to say, don't move, don't speak, don't even think. Whatever unspoken code had been given seemed to work. Grim nodded silently and raised his hands briefly, as if to say, I'm done, it's back to you now.

"This what you were expecting?" Fearless eventually said after staring out at the dark sky for a few minutes silently.

"In a manner," Ebbe replied, hoping he was too distracted to notice she was still being evasive.

"How is it still..." Fearless paused and gave a random wave of his arm to gesture at the valley.

"Light?" Ebbed finished for him. Fearless gave a small nod, his eyes fixed on one spot, perhaps where the sun had just been. "I honestly don't know," she replied. And that was the truth. It made no sense in any scientific theory she could consider. The absence of the sun ought to mean two very obvious things; no light, no heat. Neither were true now. It looked and felt as if it were morning still. The cold air Ebbe had felt, was more like a cold wind had passed by, and was now replaced with a mild, early spring-like warmth. The patchwork of fields strewn out below them were as well lit as before.

"Do you," Fearless started, before pausing to choose his words carefully, "do you know how to fix this?" He turned to look at Ebbe almost apologetically, as if he regretted asking such a question.

Ebbe simply shook her head. 

"But that doesn't mean I don't want to try," she added

"I'll help any way I can," Fearless replied with such earnestness that Ebbe surprised herself with a small smile. 

"First things first," Ebbe began, "if we are to save everyone on Earth, we shall first start with Roy."

Fearless returned her statement with a quizzical look. Ebbe gestured to Moon Face before it clicked what she had said.

"Moon Face," she corrected herself with a smirk.

Fearless shrugged, looking as if he may correct her further with the man's actual name, but instead resigning himself to her nick name. Without another word Fearless turned and nodded to Grim to follow him. Ebbe was about to follow suit, but a sideways glance from Fearless told her he was going to sort out his unit before they continued their journey.


Happy to be excluded from the family meeting, under the circumstance, Ebbe instead turned her back, confident he would regain control, or something that resembled it. She instead stared up at the starless sky, marvelling at the insanity of it all. Even in her wildest computations, she had never imagined that the Earth would still be bathed in light, when the Sun was no longer in the sky. The very concept that the Sun could just switch off in a split second was lunacy of the highest order. Suddenly her whole theory seemed infinitesimally too small minded. Everything she had based her hypothesis upon stemmed from the existing knowledge of mankind. She had expected the sun to fade, because that's what it had been doing for decades now. That was a crack pot theory up until about twenty minutes ago. Now it was a modest, but misguided concept. As to how to put it right. God only knew, but Ebbe didn't care. As long as she had breath in her lungs, she would seek out a solution and by God, those who had tried to kill her would damn well listen to anything she had to say. 

The answer was up there somewhere. 

"Ebbe," Fearless shouted from the drivers seat of the Land Rover, "time to go."

Ebbe gave one last glance over the surreal sight of black sky over seemingly sunlit fields before turning and jogging lightly back to the vehicle.

"I know a place we can go," Fearless told her, patting the passenger seat insistently. Ebbe nodded, glancing to the rear of the Land Rover. Shakes had now been relegated to the boot, though unlike Grim, he had not been tied. Grim himself, was sitting on the rear seat with Moon Face's head on his lap.

"Ma'am," Grim nodded with a serious face. Ebbe chose not to respond, still not entirely trusting him. Grasping the roof of the Land Rover she hoisted herself up and slammed the door shut. 


Without another word Fearless twisted the key in the ignition and the Land Rover roared to life with unusual vigour. 


As they pulled away Ebbe had a vision. In her mind's eye she could see a white trail coursing through the sky. A rocket was surging its way upwards, towards the unknown. The answer was up there somewhere. And so, up there was where she needed to be. Time, Ebbe concluded, for one last field trip.