CHAPTER 8
THE RESCUE GOES WRONG.
After spending the first few days with the twins, whilst they all got to know their way around, Rhes decided that it was time for him to set off and explore things for himself. He had seen so many strange things that did not exist on his home planet. He remembered how cold his world had become, as the sun became weaker and weaker. He remembered how the ice all around had only just melted in the middle of the day, and how it got thicker and thicker all winter long. He had accepted the fact that would not be able to return home, so he had become more and more interested in everything around him.
He really enjoyed the feel of the hot sun on his skin. He had taken off his cloak, and because it was so thin, and folded up so small, it went into a pocket without a lump in sight. Even his one-piece suit did not look out of place among the other holidaymakers. In fact, some rather envious glances were passed his way. He had been able to buy some books about the birds and flowers, and he spent most of time just finding out the names of everything he saw.
He had his food concentrates, and was able to drink from the streams he came to.
He was slowly journeying home, and had walked from Port St Mary around the coastal path to the Calf Sound. Striking inland, he had ended up at the Druids Circle.
It was so quiet there, the only sound the sighing of the breeze that eased its way through the heather.
He sat with his back to the railings that surrounded the stones, and watched as the sun slowly sank behind distant clouds, and briefly showed the purple outline of the Irish hills. The sky turned from blue to pink. Shades of red and yellow streaked the tops of the clouds. A wide swathe of glittering water along the sun's path gleamed silver and gold, then a deeper blue asserted itself in the sky, moving to indigo, and then darkness, with just the after glow dimming to black.
Rhes sat, hardly breathing, until the whole sunset was finished. He had never seen anything so beautiful, and with his back against the warm rails he gently fell asleep. His suit kept him warm, and as he drifted off, he wondered how the twins were getting on. They would probably be tucked up in bed, without a care in the world, he thought.
When his medallion chimed, he half awoke, and thinking that he was back in the spaceship, he reached out a hand to turn off his alarm clock. It was only when he grabbed hold of a nearby thistle, and it pricked him, that he came fully awake, realised that it was still dark, and it was the medallion that had woken him.
"Perhaps I should have stayed with the twins after all". he said to himself. "What can have happened to make them call me in the middle of the night?"
It had stayed a clear and cloudless night, and a full moon cast a silvery light all round, throwing weird shadows from the rocks. It flashed briefly through his mind that all it needed here was a few elves and goblins to make this place magic.
But there was a serious job to be done, and putting such thoughts firmly out of his mind, he reached into a pocket, and took out what looked like a wristwatch. He strapped it on, and held it front of his face. It was just like the device he had used to control the fly, but this time, when he switched it on, a green arrow lit, and swung to point away to his right, towards the other medallion that Robin held.
Off he trotted, the arrow always leading him on. Gradually it led him back down the steep hill to Port Erin, along through the town, up past Bradda Glen, and on towards the cliffs. He scrambled on, through the hedges, his hands and face often being scratched by the brambles that lay in wait.
Eventually he cleared them, and staggered along the cliff path. As he ran he could see waves sparkling in the moonlight, breaking one after another on the jagged rocks far below.
"This is no place for a fall." He thought, and then, "What are the twins doing here?" As he had not heard about the hijack, he could not imagine what had happened.
Soon he came to the end of the cliffs, and stared around. Was this the place? He could see nothing unusual. Not a glimmer of light except the moon. No trace of light showed far below on the hidden ship. All the doors and portholes were tightly shuttered.
On his watch scanner, the needle still pointed down, After searching around for a while, he found the path.
Slowly he made his way down. It was only when he reached the bottom and stood on the rocks that he saw the netting, which hid the ship. He lifted the edge, and saw the steel side rising in front of him. The arrow pointed directly at it.
"They must be on board." he thought, as he put the scanner away. Carefully he climbed up the gangway, and crept along the dark deck until he came to a door with a passage leading into the ship. There were cabins on either side, but when he pressed his ear to each one in turn, not a sound could he hear, until, as he approached the last one, he heard the whisper of voices. On he crept, until in the dim light he saw a small flight of steps.
'This must lead up to the Captain's cabin'. he thought, as he went up one step at a time. As he trod on the top step, it creaked. He stood there, one foot raised in the air, holding his breath, listening.
Nothing.
No, there was no sound whatsoever. On he went. He put his hand on the doorknob, turned and pushed. As the door started to open, another door on his left crashed open. A glaring light flashed out, blinding Rhes as he turned. A heavy body charged into him, and he fell headlong through the door he was about to enter.
He felt a heavy blow on the back of his head, and saw a million brightly coloured stars whirl away in front of his eyes, as he slumped into darkness.
He woke with a pounding headache, to find that he could not move. Carefully he opened one eye. As he did so, a bucketful of cold water soaked him, and a voice said.
"Aha! Waking up are you? Good. That water should help."
He looked up, and found that he was sitting, tied securely in a chair, facing a desk. There, sitting behind the desk was a man. Rhes could not see properly, as the desk lamp was shining straight into his face, and everything behind was in deep shadow.
He was sure there were more people behind him, but when he tried to move his head, a pair of hard hands grabbed his ears and kept him looking at the light.
"Who are you?" Growled a deep voice from behind the desk.
Rhes said nothing. What could he say. These people were certainly criminals, and they would not believe him anyway.
After a long pause. "OK then. Fetch those kids. If he sees them being hurt, he'll talk fast enough". Rhes struggled in his ropes, but they were well tied, and there was no slack in them. Voices behind him laughed as he tried to get free.
Without warning the walkie-talkie on the table crackled into life.
"Number 1Number 1. This is REX".