GreatReads.org             P.C.R. PENFOLD

Excerpt from Geese to Ghosts
 

MISSION TO HELL                                 by P.C.R. Penfold

 

 

Carlton checked his instruments and despite an ineffectual tap on the dial with his knuckle, he could plainly see that they were losing altitude. He turned to his co-pilot, Simon.

‘Can you see where we are on the map?’

‘Not exactly. And my head is thumping.’

‘Mine too. I think I blacked out for a second.’

‘Well, we’re out of contact now.’

‘To hell with this secret mission!’

‘Get the binoculars, he should be down there somewhere.’

The terrain they were instructed to search and land in was not an easy one on which to bring down the helicopter. On visual only, Carlton circled to identify the exact location of their target. He strained to recognise the hill contours to match the map in front of him, as he skimmed low over the treetops.

     ‘No sign of agriculture or buildings, but that depression over there is on the map. We’re back on track, I think.’

Simon wiped away the dampness that had gathered on his forehead with the back of his hand. His headache persisted and he guessed it must be the atmosphere, which was heavy and cloying. He reached for a bottle of water and took a careful swig, his eyes all the time sweeping and searching for their prey. He handed the bottle to Carlton.

‘The instruments are all over the place; they’re working now but there’s something wrong.’

‘Let’s land. Look, over there, there’s a plateau. That’ll do and we could continue searching on foot. What do you think?’

‘Too risky. I’ll take her off to the west in a figure of eight and we’ll have another look. I really don’t like the idea of being on the ground with him. Load the gun with a double dose of sedative and we’ll try to hit him from up here.’

Carlton felt the weight of the responsibility as oppressively as the heat. He knew that their failure would be concealed beneath a stack of paperwork lies, and their success also would be a well-kept secret, as unremarked as failure. Even so, questions would be asked about their actions and he had to be able to give intelligent and reasoned responses.

He circled again, noting the lack of cover for their target, and the ground which was stony and uneven and not at all suitable for landing. Over his shoulder, he checked their equipment: stun gun; hand and foot manacles; the cage. This was a precaution to protect against assault from the prisoner after they had him in the helicopter. They also had a trolley which could be mechanically raised to assist with loading the body directly into the cage and from there, into the back of the helicopter.

‘I see movement! I don’t think it’s wind from the rotors, it’s hard to tell. I saw a flash of yellow as well. Don’t spook him! We could still go back to the plateau and find him on foot, couldn’t we?’

‘No, I’ve already told you. That’s about 500 yards away and we could lose him in that time. Look, there he goes, he’s sort of running now, but quite slowly. I’ll turn so you can get a better aim. Shoot! Shoot now!’

Simon fired and hit the target between the shoulder blades. Two more stumbling steps and their quarry dropped to the ground.

‘Good work. Now we can land on the plateau. My God, the instruments are going crazy! What’s going on with this machine?’

‘Do your best Carlton. My head is splitting. This atmosphere definitely doesn’t suit me.’

‘Nor me, but not much more to do now.’ He made a bumpy landing, jolting them both. ‘Help me with the trolley and don’t forget the manacles.’

They hurried over to their prey, the trolley bouncing and jostling over the uneven ground.

‘I wish we could be more sure he’ll still be asleep. No way of knowing how much sedative we should have given.’

 

Finally, they could inspect him. He was lying quite still and breathing steadily, but rapidly. Nothing on Earth quite resembled him: he had the physique of a man but he wasn’t. His skin was pale yellow and tough looking. His face was broad, with a non-protruding nose and a small pouting mouth. Also, he was completely hairless. His legs were well-muscled but had not functioned well when he was running; they were the same length as his arms. His body was much smaller than either Carlton or Simon, he was no more than 5 feet tall and weighing probably less than 8 stone.

They had no trouble lifting him onto the trolley, but seeing the creature’s round green eyes flicker open, Simon quickly manacled his hands and feet, exchanging a satisfied grin with Carlton. They pushed the trolley and its unearthly cargo back to the helicopter, easier now with some weight on it, and stowed it straight into the cage and then into the back of the helicopter. Simon proffered some gum and they both relaxed briefly in the after-glow of achievement. Then Carlton felt himself sway.

‘Are you all right?’

‘It’s my head. How’s yours?’

‘Pounding. Shall we sit for a bit before going back?’

     Carlton nodded and they climbed into their seats, exhausted and sweating.

‘D’you think they will ever tell us what this is?’ Simon waved a hand at the inert yellow figure. ‘You know, like, where it came from?’

‘I doubt it. But I don’t think he’s from round here.’ He laughed despite his head throbbing and now feeling queasy as well. ‘Let’s get him back to base.’

He felt more like sleeping than flying, but he said nothing, not wanting to worry Simon.

Again, he had a brief sensation of having been unconscious, just for a few seconds. With a tremendous effort of concentration, he got the helicopter airborne. Ignoring the lurching feeling in his stomach, he checked the instruments, only to confirm his worst fears; despite the initial successful lift off, they were again losing altitude. Then he heard the blades falter, then falter again, the noise hitting his eardrums in a staccato drumbeat to match the thumping in his head. He turned to speak to Simon, panic ready to swamp him, but to his dismay he saw that Simon was unconscious, his head tilted back, his eyes and mouth wide open.

Worse even than that, was an unbelievably horrific sight: behind Simon’s inert form stood the yellow creature, un-manacled and un-caged, his features bland and unreadable. Carlton froze as panic and fear crept through his whole being. The helicopter was completely out of control as was the evil figure behind him. He could do nothing to save either his mission or himself, as the helicopter swooped into a death dive. He felt an unbearable heat overtaking him and his cargo. The aircraft shuddered, like a living creature, as it plunged to the earth and erupted in flames, taking all three to an anonymous grave.