Shell Shocked (The Cosmic Carapace, #1) (23 page)

~~~~

T
he doors of the main hall of Ingress opened, making Nebwett, Albert and the twins look up from the table where the device was laid out. A familiar figure was framed within them, it's broad shoulders almost filling the frame despite it being a double door.

“Colin?” Eva asked.

“That is right Eva, it is I, Colin.” He strode into the hall and stood halfway between them and the door. He put his hands on the hips and jutted his jaw to the side in order to highlight his profile. The twins sighed and rolled their eyes simultaneously.

“I have come to ensure that Spencer and Becky complete their task," Colin announced theatrically.

“Er, Ok," said Esme, “but they’re not back yet.”

“Oh,” Colin broke his pose, looking disappointed. There was a loud cough from the doorway, as though someone was attempting to get his attention.

“Oh, yes, of course.” Colin looked in the direction of the door as though he had forgotten something, then began talking as though reading from a script. “Ladies and gentlemen, please allow me to introduce you to Her Majesty, Ruler of the British Empire and my new girlfriend, Queen Lisandra.” He gave a flourish towards the door with his arm and the Queen entered, her chin lifted towards the ceiling.

“Girlfriend?!” Esme squealed.

“No!” squeaked Eva, holding her hands to her face.

“Yes.” Queen Lisandra strode forward, taking Colin’s arm as she reached him. “Colin will marry me and become Duke Fartheid.” Albert sniggered, then quickly hushed when he saw the Queen’s expression.

“But, when did this happen?!” Eva asked incredulously.

“Ah young Eva, who can explain the mysterious workings of the human heart.” Colin turned to the Queen as he spoke. “One day I am sure that you will find someone who you care for, who you wish to become one with.”

“Oh Colin...” The Queen melted into his arms.

“Well actually, I've already found someone.” Eva turned to a slightly startled Albert and took his hand.

“Oh, right,” he said, pulling at his collar.

“And me,” said Esme, taking his other hand and smiling.

“Oh, er, right, I mean, both of you? Right.” Albert was now bright red and in serious danger of passing out through a mixture of both happiness and terror. Happily, before he could dwell on this, the doors opened again. Spencer and Becky walked through and looked at the scene in front of them.

~~~~

L
isa opened her eyes and looked around the room. She was on a large and luxurious bed which was set in the middle of a plush suite. There was an area which had sofas and a coffee table, fresh flowers sat in a vase on top. A bathroom could be glimpsed through a door on the far side of the large room. She moved to the window and looked out. She recognised the skyline immediately. She was in central London, her London. There was a firm knock on the door. She went to answer it, but paused as she passed a full length mirror. She was still wearing the Queen’s clothes, still, there was nothing she could do about it now. She opened the door. On the other side was a tall good looking man who looked vaguely familiar.

“Good morning, I’m sorry to call on you unannounced, but I simply had to see you. I’m afraid I saw you being carried from the party last night and... well...” His cheeks flushed and he looked nervously at the floor. “I just about thought you were the loveliest thing I'd ever seen.” Lisa was too confused and gobsmacked to reply for a moment, so she just opened the door and gestured for him to come in. It was then she realised where she recognised him from. He was a minor member of the Royal Family! She smiled and adjusted her hair in the mirror.

~~~~

T
hey stood in a circle round the table which held the device. After they had overcome the awkwardness and nausea of Colin again explaining his new situation with the Queen, and been assured by her that they no longer had only an hour to live. She had also personally guaranteed that the G.R.I.N. club would be employed by her to be protectors of the realm, which apparently meant they were to be her protectors. They had gathered round and watched Nebwett put the devices together as Eva brought Spencer and Becky large glasses of fog. Nebwett had apparently been drinking it non-stop for the last hour. Spencer nudged Eva as she passed him the drink.

“Is he in any state to know what he’s doing after drinking that much of this stuff? He pointed to the large empty glass that stood next to the little man as he worked.

“Do you know what? I think he’s fine, it doesn’t seem to affect him at all!”

“Well let’s hope so.” Spencer really didn’t like the the thought that some half drunk petty thief was going to be controlling the device that was going to send him and Becky across universes, even if he was quite likeable in an odd and slightly worrying way. They’d had a brief discussion about what was going to happen, but there really wasn’t much to go over. The Double Ended Vibobbler would be activated with Becky at one end, Spencer at the other, and Nebwett in the middle. Apparently it would take all three of them to not only get it working, but to hold the thing together as well. According to Nebwett, the device breaking into pieces was just one of the many things that could go wrong.

Nebwett’s idea was, as far as Spencer understood it, that with two connected Vibobblers, there would be a feedback loop. This in theory, would connect to all other Vibobblers, if there were any, anywhere across the universes. Not only would it connect to them all, it would destroy them. Where it started to get tricky, was what was going to happen to the device they were using... and them.

Firstly, there was a chance that the double ended version would simply break up as soon as they attempted to cross to the other universes. In this scenario, Nebwett seemed unsure as to where they’d end up, or even if they would survive. He was however, sure that if their device did break up, it wouldn’t destroy any others that may be out there, and if it didn’t do that, then all of reality was still in danger if any of the other devices were used. The walls between worlds would become thinner and thinner, and more and more dangerous. Which brought them to the other worrying possibility.

The second scenario was that just by using this device and causing the feedback loop, they would rip the walls of the universes down in an instant, destroying all of reality themselves. This wasn’t a pleasant thought, obviously. They had talked about it long and hard back at Mrs Strang’s house, but no one had been able to see an alternative. If they did nothing and just destroyed the devices they had access to, who knew how many more would used, and what damage they would cause. The fact that Nebwett had made one by copying Garsh, made it all too clear that there could be more out there, and they couldn’t take that chance. So, Nebwett, Becky and Spencer, would have to venture into the unknown, possibly to their death, in order to prevent more leaks between worlds. Again, not a pleasant thought. In fact, it had put such a dampener on the mood, that hardly anyone had spoken for at least twenty minutes. The third issue was that even if everything worked in the way they wanted it to, apparently they could end up in a different time.

Albert approached them, the twins in tow. He held out his hand to Spencer, then Becky.

“I just wanted to say that I'm sorry you’re having to do this, but it’s appreciated. You're both very brave.” Spencer felt a bit awkward, but nodded a thanks to him. He then felt even more awkward when the twins grabbed both Becky and himself into a four way hug and began sobbing. Eventually they tore themselves away, and Colin walked over, leaving the Queen to talk to Nebwett about the device. Spencer shuddered to think what he might be saying to her.

“Obviously I would be taking your place Becky, if it wasn’t for my new responsibilities.” Colin turned and looked at the Queen. “I have to be here for my love, and for my country.” Becky turned to Spencer and rolled her eyes. It occurred to him that Colin was possibly the single biggest cause of eye rolling across any universe.

“Miss Ness, Mr Blake, it’s time.” They looked across at Nebwett who was looking grim faced. they moved over to the desk as the others moved away. They said goodbye again and left the room, they couldn’t be near the device when it was activated.

Spencer, Becky and Nebwett took their positions. Spencer grinned at them both.

“I always wanted to save the world.”

“Me too.” Becky smiled.

“I fink I'd settle for savin' meself right now," Nebwett answered, before turning the handle and activating the device.

––––––––

I
t had been like a million camera flashes. An uncountable number of slides which flashed before them like poor animation. Flashes of other worlds, flashes of other devices, which exploded in front of them in slow motion. It felt like it had taken years, and at the same time, only moments. Each flash, each vision was burnt onto their retinas. Then, suddenly, it was over.

The first time Spencer had been taken to a new universe by the Vibobbler, it had felt like someone had turned him inside out. Admittedly he hadn’t had any fog at that point. The glass he’d had this time hadn’t seemed to help though. There were at least thirty seconds after he had landed on a hard wooden floor when he’d thought someone had removed his skin. When this subsided, he wondered if it was at all possible that someone had replaced all of his bones with some sort of fire. All in all, he felt terrible.

“Ugh!" he managed. He thought it summed up the situation pretty well. Pretty soon he heard similar groaning from nearby, but of a female persuasion.

“Becky?” he croaked. There was a moment of silence before she answered.

“I’m here. Though I’m not sure I want to be right now.” Spencer laughed and then wished he hadn’t as his ribs almost exploded from his chest.

It took them around half an hour before they managed to get to their feet and look around. They were in Ingress, that much was clear. The old house apparently existed in whatever universe they had landed. Becky was the first to a window.

“Well, I think we can definitely say that we’re not in Alexandria, or home.”

Spencer looked around, but Nebwett didn’t seem to be there. He walked over to the window and stood beside Becky, his arm lightly touching hers. Outside, was a grass area, with trees dotted around. Well kept paths wound round them on various routes. In the background, white, glistening towers shone in the sun. Above them, two silver objects swooped overhead. They looked like spaceships. Spencer smiled.

“Well, this is going to be interesting.”

About the Author

Barnaby Yard is an English science fiction writer who apologises too much and swears too little. Author of the scifi comedy adventure series The Cosmic Carapace.

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