Anna's Ether - Chapter Two Darkness
by Wesley S. Gray
The two men had almost missed William's snow-covered body protruding from the hole he had spent the night in. "Bloody hell, I think that's a person over there!" one of them said. They pulled over to take a closer look and saw no sign of life. The other man knelt down and scooped some snow off William's head which was wrapped in a gray woolen scarf. "What's this wanker doing out here? Most likely frozen stiff, I'd wager." He shook William's shoulder... no hint of movement whatsoever. "C'mon, help me pull him out." They grabbed William by the arms and with great effort pulled him out of the snow. William was prone with his face in the snow, still motionless, his arms outstretched over his head like some Victorian Superman, flying over clouds of snow.
Ron and Nigel rifled through William's pockets. They found William's pocket watch, notepad, and two gold sovereigns. Ron tossed Nigel one of the gold coins, and they turned to leave when William let out a barely discernible groan. "Bugger, he's alive!" Nigel exclaimed. "Get him in the lorry then, we'll bring him to Martin to suss out." Once William was in the truck he was given a blanket and what he could only guess was warm tea. Shivering, he sipped the tea and soon felt hot flashes in his extremities as his blood rushed to his fingers and toes in a painful reminder they were indeed still there.
"What in the bloody hell were you doing out there... and dressed like that?" Ron asked. William tried to speak but could barely mutter, "I... I don't know." It was all coming back to him now. The machine, the noise, the flash of light and then nothingness. "Where am I?" William wondered. He recognized the megalithic beast as a vehicle, yet had never seen a lorry like this. The men helped him into the cab, threw another blanket around him, and started the engine.
William was both frightened and awestruck over the power he could hear and feel shaking the cab. Ron shoved the truck into gear and slowly they rolled northward. "What sort of lorry is this?" William asked. "It's a very old, piece of crap Volvo," Ron replied. As if to punctuate the point, the gears ground with a metallic clatter as he shifted into higher gear. A thousand questions were assaulting Williams mind, however, before he could satisfy his curiosity Ron shut him down. "We'll be asking the questions from now on... understood?" William nodded, although he was quite certain that, in fact, he did not understand. He had noticed both men were armed and decided for now at least, it would be wiser to be silent.
They traveled for a few miles through the white, featureless landscape. Following their previous tire tracks as the only visible "road" in the snow. Ron steered the truck to the left where there was a pile of debris. William was told to stay put. He watched out the cracked windshield while Ron and Nigel started dragging scraps of metal and wood to the back of the truck. "This is how we earn our keep with Martin," Nigel explained. They continued on for a few more miles until they found more scrap to salvage. By now, it had to be noon, William estimated, yet the sky was still fairly dark, although the snow had stopped falling, providing much more visibility than before. After a few more miles, William noticed a column of smoke rising in the distance.
As they drew closer a very large rectangular building came into view. Ron pulled the rig up to a locked gate, jumped out and opened it. They pulled up to the building, which had a large smokestack, from which the smoke was billowing out into the dark sky. There were armed guards at the front entrance. They led them into a series of long hallways ending in steel doors with more guards. Finally, they entered a massive room through a large double steel door. There, in the center of the room on a strange throne like device, covered in wires and odd looking displays, was Martin. The three of them approached him escorted by two guards. About halfway across the room, William could see that Martin was directly connected to the device by cables directly embedded in his head. He also noted a bluish light around Martin. It seemed to emanate from his skin.
Martin was sitting upright with his eyes closed. Ron and Nigel remained silent, their heads slightly bowed in reverence or submission, William could not tell. After a pause that seemed to last an eternity, Martin's eyes slowly opened. He was looking directly at William. Although his eyes looked human, William noticed a metallic quality about them that was unnerving. "You have many questions, William. I will attempt to answer them all," Martin stated. The voice seemed to come from all around the room. "But first, I have a question for you. What time are you from?"
To be continued...
