The Space Between Read online

  "What now?" Boydie asked after what seemed like an hour.

  Smiling, Kim continued to watch the results of their handiwork. "We should go see who we can help." She had almost forgotten about all the injured people.

  "What about those cylinders though?" Harry asked.

  "What?"

  "Those cylinders that were strapped under the bat-thing."

  "Well..."

  "I don't imagine the bats made them."

  Kim wiped sweat from her face and looked at the cloud of dust, as if she could see the creature inside. She chewed her lip for a moment as she thought. "Your point?"

  "My point," Harry said, turning to look at her, "is where are the people who did do the making?"

  "As far as points go," Kim said, "that's a pretty good one." If she hadn't still been feeling the rush of shooting the thing down she might've had the same thought.

  "I thought so."

  Bats from outer space were bad enough. Bats from outer space that were nothing more than vehicles for other things were even worse.

  Boydie cleared his throat. When Kim turned to look at him she had the distinct impression he'd been a couple of steps further forward a moment ago.

  "Perhaps we can ask them," he said.

  The dust cloud was starting to disperse and figures were now clearly visible around the still writhing form of the bat.

  Kim swore.

  They all wore colorful, clanking, hissing armor, like the strange figure who'd been standing in the Major Oak. Kim turned to Meledrin. "What the hell is going on here?"

  "I told already. Monsters attacking here have already attacked my people."

  "Yes, but..." Kim watched as more and more armored figures became visible. There were more than a dozen of them, moving with a sense of slow implacability.

  Keeble said something then crossed quickly to a display of weapons outside a nearby tent. He selected a sword, swung it awkwardly, threw it aside and took an axe instead.

  "Keeble says creature weapons fire... Not know word. I believe it like lightning."

  "They shoot lightning?"

  "As I said, not certain."

  "Shit." Kim looked around as if inspiration might strike her. It was better than anything else that might strike her. "Boydie, you might want to get those two cannons loaded."

  But Boydie was gone. He was disappearing into the trees at a sprint. There were still a few cannoneers around.

  Kim took a deep breath. "Cannoneers, load up."

  None of the men moved.

  "I just gave an order. Why aren't you moving?" They weren't real soldiers, but they started to move. One of the men who'd been assisting Boydie took charge. There was one cannon already loaded so Kim took Harry by the arm and dragged him over to it.

  "Shouldn't we wait to see if they attack us?" Harry asked, match held in his trembling fingers. It was finally getting the better of him, and Kim used that thought to gather courage.

  "Do you think these things were prisoners of the bat?"

  "No."

  "Right."

  But at that moment a knight, just a couple of meters away, started to scream. He shuddered and convulsed, caught on the end of a long beam of crackling, distorted air. Smoke streamed from the joints of his armor after he'd fallen to the ground.

  "Don't stop," Kim shouted to the men loading the cannons. She swallowed bile and rushed to lower the muzzle of the one that was already loaded. Harry pulled her away after a moment.

  "Beware." He dropped his match, quickly regathered and lit it with shaking fingers. "Fire in the hole."

  The cannonball crashed into one of the armored creatures and took out another behind.

  "We'll get the bastards." Harry said in a shaking voice as he moved to another cannon.

  But there were fresh screams coming from the main crowd. People were scattering again.

  Kim wanted to help but didn't know what to do. She stayed where she was, dividing her glance between the monsters and the crowd.

  "Beware. Fire in the hole."

  Kim remembered to cover her ears. And again a minute later. More of the creatures fell, but not nearly enough. The rest continued their slow advance. They were three quarters of the way to the main crowd now.

  Men came to load the cannon in front of her.

  "This will be our last shot," Harry said.

  "What? Why?"

  "Today was the last day of the festival. We never bother lugging spare powder around. Hell, the balls are just for show. You're lucky we had any at all."

  Kim wasn't feeling lucky. "Damn it."

  She looked around for inspiration once more. Keeble was by the weapons' rack, lazily swinging his newly acquired axe in his one good hand. There were more than twenty other 'warriors' standing around as well. Sir Douglas was one of them, blood seeping through the bandage on his arm.

  "Doug." The big man didn't answer. "Douglas."

  He spun to look at her.

  "Get your sword."

  "What?" No knightly affectations at all.

  "Get your sword, buddy." Kim headed for the nearest rack to find her own weapon, wondering with each step if her legs would support her. She made it all the way and, looking at the choices, decided on a solid, spiked mace. She didn't know if she'd be able to do any damage with a sword even if the creatures didn't have the armor.

  "Are you crazy?" Douglas asked.

  "The way I see it, standing around isn't an option. Either run or fight."

  Douglas glanced at the creatures then back at Kim. He gave a small nod and picked up a sword from near his feet.

  "Get some weapons," Kim called to nobody in particular. She cleared her throat to try again, but the men heard. They turned to look at her though none did as she suggested. "So all this is just a game?" She gestured around at the tents and the weapons. "You're just like little boys playing cowboys and Indians in the back yard? Get some God damned weapons and help those people."

  Finally, they started to move.

  "Beware. Fire in the hole."

  Kim almost hit herself in the head with the mace as she covered her ears. "Come on."

  One of the armored figures, blue and green with rusting rivets, was heading towards the cannons, plodding along as if it had all the time in the world. Kim headed for it, shoulders hunched as she ran, angling across in front of it as it started to raise its weapon.

  "Slow as hell," she muttered to herself.

  "What?" Douglas was just behind her, rattling along like a shopping trolley full of empty cans.

  "These bastards are slow."

  Her arm was already starting to ache from the weight of the mace, but as she got closer she stood up straight and raised the weapon. Her target was swiveling slowly to meet her but wouldn't be quick enough. Its arm bucked slightly as it fired an experimental shot in her direction. It missed, but Kim still felt the hairs on her arm stand on end. He mouth was instantly dry again.

  "Electricity," Douglas said before she had the chance.

  She thought he sounded very calm for a man dressed as a human lightning rod.

  Kim swung her mace with all her might, aiming for a seam in the center of the chest. Her hand shuddered so hard she almost dropped the weapon.

  Momentum carried her past as Douglas hit the same area a moment later. Keeble, just a second behind, swung his huge axe at the back of their enemy's knee. Kim spun, trying to ignore everything else. She had enough problems. It felt as if her hand was still shaking. Her arms felt like they were going to drop off. She heaved the mace up and swung. The armored figure was trying to turn to face them, and the mace crashed into the faceplate. She heard a crack, pulled the weapon free and swung again. A moment later, as she tried to get the mace up off the ground once more, Douglas pushed past and rammed his sword into the hole she'd created.

  The armor stopped moving.

  "Is it dead?" Kim gasped. She went to have a look through the hole as Douglas reefed his sword free. "Shit. Shit, shit, shit." Whatever was in the
re wasn't human. Its face was a mess of exposed flesh, thick, dark red blood, and splinters of bone, but there was no way anyone could ever think it was a human face.

  Kim almost threw up.

  "What is it?" Douglas asked.

  She wiped her face. "I have no idea." And it wasn't the time to be worrying about it. Kim tried to put it from her mind and looked around. She knew that if she thought about it she'd be no use to anyone.

  Keeble had already moved on and was working at the knee and shoulder of one of the creatures like a madman, swinging his axe as if he could do it all day. Kim hefted her mace with a grunt and went to help.

  Warriors swarmed around her, mainly carrying a mixture of swords and maces. One man had a huge war hammer, and there were two others with flails. Suddenly in a real battle, the men fought with none of the melodrama of earlier in the day. They swung their weapons with grim, wide-eyed determination or a half-wild frenzy. They died in a number of realistic ways.

  Kim gritted her teeth and tried to ignore what was happening around her. The men probably would've lived if she hadn't insulted them. They would have run into the trees to hide like sensible people. But others would have died — women, children, damsels. She stopped thinking about it and concentrated on the one creature in front of her, with its slow movements and deadly arm. Just one creature. Just one alien. She almost laughed at the absurdity of it.

  As she rushed in, Keeble shifted his attack to the creature's faceplate. He swung with a grunt of effort then quickly moved out of the way so Kim could attack the same place. Her mace broke through and Keeble was already swinging, finishing the creature off.

  “[We can't win,]” he said, leaning his axe against his side for a moment while he wiped sweat from his face.

  "What?"

  He shrugged, picked up his weapon again, and moved quickly towards the edge of the field where the crowd had once been. Kim followed at a slower pace. The little man looked like he had the energy of a four year old, but Kim was struggling. She didn't know if she'd be any help at all.

  As she approached the remains of the grandstand, Kim saw the Wicked Witch's granddaughter, Jessie, standing next to the fallen figure of her mother. Her fairy wings were hanging crookedly, and her curly hair was black with soot. She was wailing and sobbing as she stood and looked around for someone to help. Anyone.

  Kim studied the crowd as she ran, looking for the witch. There, under the trees. Kim spied the old woman at almost the same moment she spotted her granddaughter. A look of horror crossed her face and she headed out into the open as fast as she could, which was barely above walking speed.

  There was an alien not ten meters from the girl. It finished off a man who, face bloody, was struggling to get to his feet. Then it started to turn. Kim headed towards it. She wasn't going to make it though. Her legs were aching. She was almost dragging the mace behind her as she leapt fallen people.

  She watched in horror as the creature brought its bulging arm to bear on the girl. It paused, adjusted aim.

  The witch was there, hobbling terribly, wheezing from exertion and smoke. She grabbed the girl and crouched, putting herself between her and the weapon.

  And the creature paused. It was completely still for one second, two seconds, then it started to move again, swinging its weapon around as it tracked a small man in a monk's habit. Summoning up the last of her energy, Kim swung her mace just as the monk let out a scream of pain and fell to the ground. Tears blurred her vision but she swung again and again, yelling with frustration, with fear and anger.

  The creature died where it stood. Kim swung two more times before she took control of herself. Even then, she might have kept going had not a noise impinged on her consciousness. It took her a moment to work out what it was and a moment more to realize it was a good thing. Heaving smoke filled breaths into her lungs, wiping the tears from her face, she turned and examined the sky. Three helicopters, barely audible over the sounds of battle, were dipping down towards the far side of the cricket field.

  Before they had even settled, men were streaming out. Soldiers. Red Berets. They assessed the situation quickly and set to work with spectacular results.

  Gunshots rang out, adding to the general clamor. Suits of armor started to explode. Kim crouched down, leaning on her mace, and watched. Breathing was still hard, and her chest was tight with tension, but she gave a small smile. Some of the knights gave a ragged cheer. Kim saw Sir Douglas turn to look for a moment. He glanced at Kim, too, and she gave him a nod. But he'd already moved on to blunt his sword on the face of an alien who was still trudging among the bodies.

  It was too late for some, and there would be more deaths before the battle was over, but now the professionals were here. The experts.

  "Kim?"

  Nearby, the old woman was leading Jessie away from her mother's body, gently tugging her hand and saying something. It wasn't a happy ending. It probably wasn't really an ending at all. Just the beginning of something much stranger.

  "Kim?"

  Kim turned to see Meledrin stepping carefully across the field behind her. The woman's red hair was still immaculate. Her dress was marked with soot and grime, but, with her calm assurance, it hardly seemed to matter.

  "What do you want now?"

  "Can assist me now? Can assist my people?"

  "What?"

  Meledrin sighed, the first real sign of any emotion Kim had seen from her. "My people being attacked by these same creatures. Need help."

  Kim looked around. British soldiers were advancing across the field. Some were already setting up defensive positions as more bats circled overhead. If the strange creatures really were aliens, then they seemed to be paying a lot of attention to an insignificant place like Sherwood Forest. Unless it was actually an important location. Unless.

  Kim couldn't dismiss what Meledrin was saying out of hand. The armored alien had been in the tree long before any of the others had turned up. Meledrin had asked for help before they had turned up. How could Kim question anything without checking the facts when she had just finished killing aliens with a mace?

  "Okay. All right."

  There was a group of soldiers not far away checking on injured people while they continued to scan their surroundings. One of them was an officer.

  "Captain," Kim called.

  The man turned to look.

  "Can I have a lend of ten men?"

  "What? No."

  "Are you in charge?"

  "No."

  "Then who is?"

  He looked around. "The major is busy at the moment."

  A group of men on the other side of the field were setting up a mortar.

  "Kim, we do not have time," Meledrin said.

  "How about one guy? He can come back in a couple of minutes and tell you I'm an idiot, or he can come back and get help."

  "Help?"

  "There may be more aliens in the forest."

  "Aliens? Who says their aliens?"

  "Have you seen them?"

  "Nothing has landed in there." But the captain chewed on his lip for a moment. "Manning, go see what the hell she's talking about."

  A private rose quickly to his feet and followed Kim as she, in turn, followed Meledrin.

  “[Wait for me, woman.]” Keeble was racing across the field, short legs pumping.

  "What's this all about?" Manning asked as they hurried along the path. He was watching the woods, rifle held ready.

  Kim shook her head, and then decided to answer. "These two claim to be an elf and a dwarf. They claim they didn't speak English an hour ago." She shrugged. "All I know is they seemed to appear in the Major Oak as if by magic, and one of the armored alien guys was following them. And this was well before the bats arrived."

  "And that means?"

  Kim shrugged again. "Beats me. But I think we should find out."

  Meledrin was leaning against the fence when they started across the clearing towards the Major Oak.

  "Us wait for Keeble." Me
ledrin said when Kim had joined her. "My people know defend selves, Kim, but not warlike. Can get more warriors? Might be needed, still."

  "I can't get anyone else but Manning can if he thinks it necessary."

  Meledrin glanced at the soldier, dismissed him. "He just a man. You Warder. Have authority. "

  "A Warder?" Kim couldn't think straight. It seemed to be contagious. "I'm not a Warder. I don't even know what one is."

  "You only person when we arrived. You tending to tree."

  "I wasn't tending to anything. I was resting. Tending to be bored, maybe."

  "Yes, but..."

  Keeble came across the clearing, muttering all the way. He reached the fence and clambered over. Meledrin followed.

  "Are you come? Time is..." Meledrin searched for a word, then shrugged. “[Short.]”

  Of course it was. People were dying. Strange creatures and even stranger creatures were attacking Sherwood Forest. "Sure it is." Kim climbed over the fence, but only went half of the distance to the tree. She could see inside more clearly now. Keeble had entered a moment ago, struggling through the gap, but was nowhere to be seen.

  Manning stood beside her and looked nervous for the first time. "Ah, where is he?"

  Meledrin looked over her shoulder. "Keeble to Grovely. Come, we must go low."

  "Crawl?"

  "Yes. Crawl, I think. Go hands and..." She tapped at her knee.

  "Knees."

  "Yes." The tall woman made her way into the hollow tree, hitched up her dress, lowered herself to her hands and knees, and crawled out of sight.

  Kim tried to see where she was, squinting into the darkness, leaning forward to see if there was anything to see.

  "All right," Manning said, "what the hell is going on?"

  When the woman stepped into the light once more Kim jumped, and the soldier's rifle snapped around to point at her.

  "Are you come?"

  Kim shook her head. Manning licked his lips.

  "Not danger now, I think. Warriors from sky moved on." The woman's voice was calm, but Kim could see the tension in her jaw and neck. She saw a flash of horror in her eyes, but an instant later that was gone as well. "Come. There is no longer need to crawl. The hole has been enlarged."