passing beyond the spot where Blinker had saved
his life. Gary spotted him... Teeth !
He gently ushered Beetie into a doorway.
At first
glance Teeth seemed to be on his own, talking to himself, but Gary
soon recognized Blinker and his two friends standing beyond the man, facing the
other way but clearly in conversation with him. The ugly little fellow listened
intently, apparently paying no attention to his surroundings. He held something
that sparkled even in the dim light and now was their chance. When he squeezed
Beetie’s hand three times she peered up at him; he nodded and winked – their
coded communication. Three squeezes signified Teeth had been spotted, a nod,
that he had the other time-specs and a wink meant for her to wait.
Blinker and
his friends moved on to seek out their medicines contact. Teeth now stood by
himself. Gary gave Beetie the
thumbs up and she went ahead alone, in the direction of the man and totally
expressionless. Passing him, she stumbled, her foot catching that of a
surfacer. The two fell to the ground at Teeth’s feet. Gary
sprinted forwards, dodging other meandering folk, and snatched the second pair
of time-specs from his hand.
Two can
play this game, he thought, reaching for Beetie’s arm to help her up... but
someone else was too quick for him. A blue-sleeved arm shot forwards and yanked
her away.
“OW!” cried
Beetie as she was pulled further back by Blinker and his accomplices.
“BEETIE!” Gary
yelled, watching dumbfounded whilst the poor girl got dragged away kicking and
screaming.
“ Not so
clever, my little friend from the past,” chuckled Teeth. “Oh, she’s the
one we want. Not you! Had your uses, I suppose. Like returning the other pair
of specs to me. Hand both pairs over and we might dispose of you more humanely.
Or would you prefer our friends, the gee-rats, to carry out the job? Mind you,
it’s not very pleasant the way they do things! Rat food’s getting scarce down
there in the tunnels, you see. Always seem so hungry, the poor creatures… ha
ha! Now B32968, she’s far too valuable to feed to gee-rats! She did make good
bait for the boy from the past, though. Our little puppet, huh? Oh... you’re so
predictable!”
“GARY,
RUN!” screamed Beetie. “FOR
GOD’S SAKE! GO BACK!”
God? Which one?
Blinker held
the struggling girl with her arms behind her when she began to put up a fight,
kicking out in fury. He laughed and Gary
wanted only to kill him but was in no position to complete the task. Blinker’s
two mates edged forwards. Reluctantly, he backed away.
“The
time-specs, little boy,” demanded Teeth, his hand outstretched.
“GARY, NO!”
shrieked Beetie.
A sticky,
silvery ball shot from the wall below a security camera and hit Beetie with
bullet-precision. As Blinker released his hold on the girl, this expanded into
a silvered net, rapidly enveloping her, seeming almost alive as the thing
cloaked itself around her body. The net tightened and constricted and the
kicking and flailing stopped. Sobbing bitterly, she was caught like a trapped
beast. Once again, Gary experienced
a stab of guilt for involving the girl in his stupid plans. A silver-grey pod
swept silently past, halting abruptly alongside Beetie. Its circular diaphragm
door flicked open, and, still laughing, Blinker pushed his trophy into the pod.
The door snapped shut, muffling Beetie’s fraught cries, and the pod shot off,
in no time reduced to a shrinking dot on the horizon.
“BEETIE!”
shouted Gary, impotently punching
the air with a clenched fist as his anger erupted into a cataclysm of fury.
“Call out her
name as loudly as you like but it won’t bring her back!” smirked Teeth.
“They’ll soon be getting to work on her at the Hatcheries and her memory of the
boy from the past will vanish forever!”
“You bastards!
I’ll kill the lot of you!” Gary
threatened, retreating again from Blinker and his friends.
Meanwhile
surfacers continued to skirt around the scene,
his life. Gary spotted him... Teeth !
He gently ushered Beetie into a doorway.
At first
glance Teeth seemed to be on his own, talking to himself, but Gary
soon recognized Blinker and his two friends standing beyond the man, facing the
other way but clearly in conversation with him. The ugly little fellow listened
intently, apparently paying no attention to his surroundings. He held something
that sparkled even in the dim light and now was their chance. When he squeezed
Beetie’s hand three times she peered up at him; he nodded and winked – their
coded communication. Three squeezes signified Teeth had been spotted, a nod,
that he had the other time-specs and a wink meant for her to wait.
Blinker and
his friends moved on to seek out their medicines contact. Teeth now stood by
himself. Gary gave Beetie the
thumbs up and she went ahead alone, in the direction of the man and totally
expressionless. Passing him, she stumbled, her foot catching that of a
surfacer. The two fell to the ground at Teeth’s feet. Gary
sprinted forwards, dodging other meandering folk, and snatched the second pair
of time-specs from his hand.
Two can
play this game, he thought, reaching for Beetie’s arm to help her up... but
someone else was too quick for him. A blue-sleeved arm shot forwards and yanked
her away.
“OW!” cried
Beetie as she was pulled further back by Blinker and his accomplices.
“BEETIE!” Gary
yelled, watching dumbfounded whilst the poor girl got dragged away kicking and
screaming.
“ Not so
clever, my little friend from the past,” chuckled Teeth. “Oh, she’s the
one we want. Not you! Had your uses, I suppose. Like returning the other pair
of specs to me. Hand both pairs over and we might dispose of you more humanely.
Or would you prefer our friends, the gee-rats, to carry out the job? Mind you,
it’s not very pleasant the way they do things! Rat food’s getting scarce down
there in the tunnels, you see. Always seem so hungry, the poor creatures… ha
ha! Now B32968, she’s far too valuable to feed to gee-rats! She did make good
bait for the boy from the past, though. Our little puppet, huh? Oh... you’re so
predictable!”
“GARY,
RUN!” screamed Beetie. “FOR
GOD’S SAKE! GO BACK!”
God? Which one?
Blinker held
the struggling girl with her arms behind her when she began to put up a fight,
kicking out in fury. He laughed and Gary
wanted only to kill him but was in no position to complete the task. Blinker’s
two mates edged forwards. Reluctantly, he backed away.
“The
time-specs, little boy,” demanded Teeth, his hand outstretched.
“GARY, NO!”
shrieked Beetie.
A sticky,
silvery ball shot from the wall below a security camera and hit Beetie with
bullet-precision. As Blinker released his hold on the girl, this expanded into
a silvered net, rapidly enveloping her, seeming almost alive as the thing
cloaked itself around her body. The net tightened and constricted and the
kicking and flailing stopped. Sobbing bitterly, she was caught like a trapped
beast. Once again, Gary experienced
a stab of guilt for involving the girl in his stupid plans. A silver-grey pod
swept silently past, halting abruptly alongside Beetie. Its circular diaphragm
door flicked open, and, still laughing, Blinker pushed his trophy into the pod.
The door snapped shut, muffling Beetie’s fraught cries, and the pod shot off,
in no time reduced to a shrinking dot on the horizon.
“BEETIE!”
shouted Gary, impotently punching
the air with a clenched fist as his anger erupted into a cataclysm of fury.
“Call out her
name as loudly as you like but it won’t bring her back!” smirked Teeth.
“They’ll soon be getting to work on her at the Hatcheries and her memory of the
boy from the past will vanish forever!”
“You bastards!
I’ll kill the lot of you!” Gary
threatened, retreating again from Blinker and his friends.
Meanwhile
surfacers continued to skirt around the scene,
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