

INTERSTELLAR

A Series of Science Fiction Adventure Stories

1: Temporal Distortion

Adrian Holland

Published by AMAZOLA

The right of Adrian Holland to be identified as the Author of the work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988.

This Book is a Work of Fiction. Names, Characters, Places and Incidents are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © Adrian Holland 2011

ISBN 978-1-909466-00-5

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior per-mission of the publishers.

For further information please contact the official website at

www.amazolapublishing.com

Cover design by Adrian Holland

I was very close to both of my parents who were my best friends, and I have lost count of the number of happy times we shared, and all of the creativity and laughter. Like my beloved father Joe, my mother Margaret was so special, and my total inspiration. I would therefore like to dedicate this book to their memory.

##  Contents

Introduction

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

## Introduction

We humans have a tendency to be very emotional about our beliefs, and if there is data or evidence suggesting our belief is wrong, then we get terribly upset about it. That is what science is all about - to look at evidence that might challenge our theories, with an open mind.

In the _fifties_ , human kind had not been above sixty thousand feet. We lived in a three-layered universe; God in the heavens, men in the middle, and everything else down below. It was the common wisdom then, that we were alone in the universe. The process that produced us has undoubtedly produced living intelligent creatures in many other places in the universe. I would suggest, and we're coming to believe this in science, that on virtually every planet where the environmental conditions permit, there is a likelihood of the production of living systems.

These systems could be anything from the most simple of life forms; from the precursors to life like amino acids to simple organisms and bacteria, up through evolved life forms like the animal kingdom and ourselves, and even perhaps beyond!

But in the recent years, I've had the opportunity to speak to people within government, whom I call the _old timers_. Their story is yes, these things really happened - we have been visited, craft and bodies have been recovered from accidents, and that there has been an _alien_ presence here.

The main one of interest is the so called _Roswell Incident_. It has been the one of greatest controversy, because there were many civilians who observed it or were associated with it, as well as military personnel. Officially it didn't come out at that time, because we'd just come out of a war. If this was truly advanced alien technology, then the last thing we wanted was for our enemies at the time (the Soviets) to know about it and gain access to this technology.

Also there's a rationale that people had been frightened by the _War of the Worlds_ scenario of _H.G.Wells_ a few years earlier, and it was adjudged that people weren't ready for all of this. Most people today think that all the secrecy involved, perhaps properly back then, has out lived its usefulness. That if it is real, then we need to know about it, civilization as a whole needs to know about it, and that people are better prepared for it today.

The alien remains were taken by aircraft first to _Fort Worth_ to an Air Force Base there, and then to _Wright Paterson_ Air Force Base and then on to _Dayton Ohio_. Many of the people involved are very elderly, particularly in the military and government. Some of them are convinced that it its time to tell. It is a different climate today, and they want to clear their consciences before they die...

_John Glenn Apollo Astronaut_

##  One

"It's your Uncle Bob!"

Reggie turned the volume down on the television set; he had not bothered to move when the phone rang, leaving it for his mother to answer. He just sat there reaching for the biscuit barrel, which sat on the table crammed full of chocolate digestives.

She stood holding the receiver in her right hand, wearing a shocked expression on her face.

"They found him wandering on _Hill Top Moor_ in his underpants!"

Reggie turned round, dropping a pile of crumbs on the carpet.

"In his _underpants_!"

His mother nodded.

He started to laugh, thinking that she was joking. Uncle Bob was the last person that you would ever expect to find wandering about anywhere in his underpants, particularly on a damp miserable evening such as this.

"Are you sure?"

His mother nodded.

"Yes, but they can't seem to get a word out of him!"

Reggie sat up; Uncle Bob was always quite chatty, with a keen sense of humour. He could picture him now, sitting in his chair, with a big smile on his jolly face.

"In his _underpants_!"

Reggie's mother nodded her head again.

"Yes, he's at the police station, and they want us to go and collect him."

Reggie suddenly lost interest in the biscuits, wondering what was going on.

"But what about Auntie Val?"

He knew she always went to the _Scrabble club_ on a Thursday, and could just see the expression on her face when they told her. Ever since Uncle Bob left the Navy, she had been doing her best to social climb, and this was going to put a huge dent in her plans.

Reggie was filled with a mixture of concern and amusement, wondering just what had happened to him. He would gladly forgo the next month's pocket money just to see the look on her face when they told her. Auntie Val was always dressed in her best clothes, trying to make a good impression. She even tried to make Bob wear a collar and tie at home, but he managed to get away with a roll neck jumper. He could not imagine how she would react to him wandering about in public like that.

His mother put the receiver down, grabbing her coat off the chair. It was a good job they had popped round to let the dog out; otherwise the call would have remained unanswered.

"I thought he was supposed to be working late tonight!"

Reggie remembered her mentioning something about it earlier.

"He was, but apparently he must have left early. We're lucky that they recognised him, or they might never have known who he was!"

Uncle Bob owned a small Computer shop on the high street, and Reggie often popped in to help him at the weekends.

"Come on, we'd better get straight down there, I don't know what I'm going to say to Val!"

His mother hurried him along, as she grabbed a plastic bag out of the kitchen, dashing upstairs to collect some of Uncle Bob's clothes off the chair in the bedroom. Reggie did not need any encouragement, as he could hardly wait to get down there.

Within a few minutes, the car was splashing through the puddles, as the rain drops splattered against the windscreen. It started to mist up, and his mother put the fresh air blowers on, which helped to drown out the groaning of the windscreen wipers as they clanked back and forth over the glass. It really was a miserable evening!

The tail-lights of the car in front blurred, as a lorry went past on the other side, sending a sheet of water cascading over the bonnet. They hit a pothole in the road, sending their own spray out over the pavement, nearly drowning an already soaked pedestrian. Reggie felt embarrassed, and was glad when they had turned the corner.

It was not long before the headlamps caught the small blue sign that stood outside the police station, and his mother was turning into the car park. She pulled up by the door, so they would not have far to walk.

The desk sergeant looked up as she opened the door, shaking the water off her umbrella.

"Can I help you?"

His mother blushed as she explained that they were here to collect Uncle Bob. He lifted the hatch, escorting them through into the interview room.

Uncle Bob sat on a chair with a large grey blanket wrapped around him. He looked awful, with a small gash on his forehead. A policewoman was dabbing it with a piece of cotton wool, which had been soaked in antiseptic.

"Bob!"

He did not even move his eyes, as his mother tried to get his attention.

"I've tried, but all he does is stare straight ahead, with that dazed expression on his face."

The policewoman looked concerned.

She finished what she was doing, and threw the blood stained cotton wool into the bin.

"I was out doing my patrol in the area car, when he suddenly appeared on the road in front of me. It was a good job I wasn't going fast, or I would have run into him!"

Reggie could see how concerned she was. Uncle Bob had a _way with the ladies_ , and it was obvious that she found him attractive. It was a good job Auntie Val was not here, as she would not have been too impressed.

"He's such a nice man, and I just can't think what has happened to him!"

The police woman shrugged her shoulders.

"Rather than taking him to hospital, I've sent for the police doctor."

Reggie's mother rubbed her hand over Uncle Bob's face, which got a slight reaction. They all froze as he tried to speak, forming his mouth around the letter _A._ It was no more than a whisper, and they strained to hear what he was trying to say.

The policewoman held his hand, rubbing her cheek against his, as she placed her ear over his mouth. Bob tried to speak again, but no sound would come out.

Reggie had never seen anything quite like this before, and watched as her skirt rode up, as she perched on his lap. Uncle Bob took a deep breath, trying to force the words out. The policewoman massaged his hand again, as he managed to mumble out something.

She then turned her head, looking equally as dazed.

"He said the word _aliens!_ '

##  Two

The interview room was filled with an almost deafening silence, as a sense of disbelief numbed its occupants. Reggie's mother sank down on one of the other chairs, wondering what she was going to say to her sister. Even the policewoman was at a loss. She had been in the Special Constabulary for several years, and although she had dealt with everything from a drunk to shop lifter, this was one thing they had never prepared her for. Studying a print-out of Bob's naval record, she noticed all the commendations, everything pointed to a normal, sober, hard working individual. Perhaps it was pressure of work... or maybe there was trouble at home?

Being his sister-in-law, Reggie's mother was able to reassure her that everything was fine, even though he had been found in this state wondering about in his underclothes.

Reggie leaned against the wall, as Bob spoke again, in a soft gentle voice.

"Aliens!"

The policewoman moved closer. She was being very comforting - too comforting for his mother's liking. She was slim and attractive with short dark hair, and big brown admiring eyes. Uncle Bob was quite a handsome man, with a good physique for someone the wrong side of forty. He was quite swarthy with rugged features that made her sister the envy of several ladies at the Scrabble club. She suspected that that was probably one of the main reasons why she had been accepted, although he had never given any of them the slightest bit of encouragement.

The desk sergeant suddenly entered the room with several mugs of tea on a rusting tray. The policewoman quickly moved away from Bob, blushing slightly as the sergeant gave her a disapproving look. They both left the room for a moment, holding a conversation on the other side of the door. Reggie tried to eavesdrop, but the only thing he learned was that her name was Heather.

Heather returned with the doctor, who gave Bob a brief examination.

"He's in shock, and seams to have several strange indentations on his body!"

The doctor nearly dropped his medical bag when Bob pointed to the ceiling, saying the word _aliens_ again.

"Do you think he's ill?"

Reggie's mother looked concerned, but not as much as Heather, who appeared to be forming quite an attachment to him.

The doctor coughed, not wanting to say anything in front of his patient.

"I suggest that you take him home, and then arrange for him to see his own doctor."

The doctor began packing his things away, and they helped Bob on with his clothes, Reggie noticed one of the indentations on his arm; it formed a strange shape in his skin, a bit like an inoculation mark. He had one of them on his own arm from a recent TB jab that he had had to have at school, but it was not shaped anything like that.

Bob was soon dressed, and tottered around the room like he was on stilts. Heather was supporting him, as his mother slipped his arms into his coat. Reggie had never seen anyone in this state before, and wondered what he meant by _aliens?_

The journey back seemed to take forever, as the car splashed its way through the town's puddled streets. His mother did not say anything, and when Reggie opened his mouth she gave him a withering look, so he closed it quickly before he got into any trouble. Bob was quiet too, although he did point upwards at the sky, mumbling the word _aliens_ on more than one occasion.

When they finally pulled up outside Auntie Val's, his mother ordered him to stay in the car as she quickly escorted Bob inside. Reggie watched as the neighbours' curtains parted, showing a chink of light, as Bob and his mother ran the gauntlet of peering eyes.

Reggie's mother had only spent a few minutes inside, before Auntie Val arrived home in a taxi. Reggie looked at the clock on the dashboard; it showed 12.16am, which was a good hour past his normal bedtime. 12.18 and his mother reappeared, leaving her sister to try and make sense of the evening's events.

It was not long before they were turning into their drive. Within about twenty minutes Reggie was tucked up in bed, with a stern warning from his mother not to mention anything to anyone. He must have gone straight to sleep, as the next thing he heard was the alarm, signalling morning. It was Friday, which meant he had to go to school. Fortunately it appeared to be dry, in contrast to Thursday, which had been a real washout.

Reggie was still getting ready upstairs, when he heard his mother talking to someone on the phone, but when he came down all went quiet. Breakfast had an uneasy feel about it, particularly when he asked his mother about his uncle. She frowned, ushering him out of the door without much of an answer, only a reminder not to mention anything again.

School was boring as usual, and he found himself staring out of the window during his first lesson. The teacher spotted him, and made one of her usual sarcastic remarks.

"Looking for _aliens_ are we?"

Everyone laughed and Reggie's face went bright red, as he wondered if she knew anything, or was just trying to belittle him as usual. He decided to rise above it - Miss Jennings smelt of cheap coffee, and he did not want her to come to near, as it always made him feel sick. The bell suddenly rang, much to his relief - only another five hours before he could go home.

The rest of the day was extremely tedious and dragged on relentlessly slowly. He could hardly wait to get home to find out how his uncle was. It had started raining again, which reminded him of yesterday, although hopefully he would not end up back at the police station!

"Reggie is that you?"

His mother heard the front door close, as he dropped his school bag down by the coat stand. They lived in a typical thirties semi, and were fortunate to have a large hallway. He really liked his house and was particularly fond of the leaded glass, which formed a sunburst picture in the panel at the top of the door. His father had just finished decorating and everything looked bright and cheerful, apart that was from the atmosphere!

"Yes."

Reggie called back, as he placed his coat on the stand.

"How's Uncle Bob?"

The lounge door suddenly opened to reveal his mother's panicked face.

" _Ssh_ , Val's here!"

From the tone of her voice he could tell there was something wrong.

His mother closed the door behind her whispering.

"Val's thrown him out!"

Reggie could not believe it; Uncle Bob had always been so kind to her, and it could not have been easy putting up with her social climbing or her snooty friends.

The sound of sobbing came from the lounge, as Auntie Val broke down.

"The shame of it, wandering about in his underclothes, whatever will Mrs Featherstone think?"

She was clearly more interested in public opinion than she was about her husband. He loved his uncle Bob, but did not think much of his aunt, particularly since she had started putting on a false accent.

"Where's he gone?"

Reggie was very concerned, although deep down he was quite glad that his uncle would finally get a bit of peace. Val used to nag him constantly, always wanting this and that in an effort to keep up with her social climbing friends.

"To the shop, I think he's staying there for a few days."

Reggie felt reassured, and it was not long before he had changed out of his school uniform and was on his bicycle, riding down the high street.

When he arrived the grill shutters were down, so he decided to go round the back. There was a passageway down the side, which led to the small delivery lane, running behind the parade of shops. Fortunately the gate was open so he guided his bicycle into the yard, propping it up against the wall.

Normally he would have knocked on the door, but he thought that his uncle might be resting, and he did not want to disturb him. There was a light on inside though, so he climbed up onto a dustbin to look through the narrow window. The back room was quite big, filled with a multitude of tools, and several items that were in for repair.

It was just as well that he did, as Bob was not alone. Heather the policewoman was inside, and they were talking. The window was slightly ajar and Reggie was just able to listen to their conversation.

"I'm sorry, but I had to take you in to the station last night - you don't know what a stickler my sergeant is!"

Bob nodded. He seemed a little better, although he was clearly not his normal self.

"You gave me quite a shock last night, suddenly walking out in front of the area car like that!"

"I'm sorry."

He apologised, still looking a little dazed.

Heather was standing facing the window, but she had not noticed Reggie, being far more interested in his uncle. She was out of uniform, wearing a provocative little jumper that showed off her ample cleavage!

"My wife's thrown me out!"

Bob looked stunned.

Heather's whole face lit up and she was clearly delighted with the news.

"I don't think she realises just what she's missing!"

Reggie could sense that there was something developing between them, and that maybe this was more than just a courtesy call. He had been wondering why the sergeant had been a bit hostile towards her last night, and he was still deep in thought when she moved closer to Bob, and then she put her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately.

Reggie was shocked and lost his balance falling backwards, sending everything flying. The dustbin lid went crashing to the floor making a very load noise. He expected to see his uncle come running out to investigate, but the door remained closed!

Instead it was the man from the shop next door who appeared.

"Oh, its you!"

He was peering over the adjoining wall.

"Have you come to see Bob?"

Reggie picked himself up, dusting down his trousers.

"Yes, but I think he's got his hands full at the moment!"

He went bright red, realising what he had just said.

"I'll call back later!"

With that he hurriedly grabbed his bicycle, and was out of the gate before the man had a chance to say anything else.

Reggie rode down the passage and out onto the high street, still shocked by what he had just seen. He decided then and there not to mention it to anyone, especially not his Auntie Val!

##  Three

Saturday morning brought yet more rain, tempered by a cold wind that cut through the air like a sharp knife. Reggie wondered whether it would be a good idea to go to the shop today, particularly after yesterday's developments. If he did, then he was not sure what he might find; but if he stayed away, then his mother would want to know why, and she had a habit of forcing information out of him. Once she found out about Heather, then it might turn a tiff between his aunt and uncle into a full-blown divorce. Whatever he did would be wrong, and he was in a real dilemma.

The newly open toasting loaf sat on the side, with two of its pieces hanging over the edge of his plate, dripping with margarine. They were covered in light fluffy scrambled egg. That was the best thing about his mother; she was a very good cook. His father always used to look forward to coming home for a good feed. He always said that that was what he missed the most, when he was abroad on a contract. He would be away for another month, and they were both missing him; but as he always said, there was no way of earning that sort of money around here, and it was a sacrifice worth making.

"Hurry up, or you'll be late!"

His mother gave him another nudge, as the hands of the clock worked their way towards nine. He thought about it, but decided to go and hope for the best.

It was hard work fighting against the wind, as the cold rain lashed against his face. He was glad of the waterproofs that he had received for Christmas, as they were keeping him warm and dry. A strong gust nearly pushed him over as he turned the corner into the high street. It would not be long now before he would be leaning his bicycle up against the wall in the yard again. But, there was one thing for certain - he would not be climbing onto any dustbins today!

He knocked on the door loudly, hoping to disturb anything that might be going on inside. Bob opened it with a welcoming smile on his face.

"Hello Reggie!"

Things seemed fairly normal; normal that was apart from the trace of lipstick on his collar.

"Be with you in a minute, I'll just put my overalls on first."

He did not seem to have noticed, and the last thing that Reggie was going to do was to mention it.

Bob looked very well, considering what had happened to him. Perhaps Heather was just the tonic he needed?

After all, she was very attractive, and he could not imagine many men turning her down in a hurry!

"I've decided not to open the shop again today, as I've been summoned to the Grange!"

Reggie was filled with curiosity, wondering why he had to go up there?

The Grange was where the local landowner and his family used to live. It was a typical stately home, although not on a particularly grand scale. During the War it had been taken over by the Ministry of Defence, who had been using it ever since. Reggie had only been up there once before, as it was a restricted area. The man on the gate had chased him off, and he always wondered what lay behind the large wire fence. The locals always referred to it as a _meteorological office_ , although it was rife with rumour.

Bob was busy with his toolbox, making sure that everything was where it should be.

"You couldn't get the pliers for me could you?"

He asked, pointing towards the main counter.

Reggie was about to move, when the door opened. It was Heather.

"Sergeant Wilde's suspended me for not reporting for duty last night!"

She just bowled into the back room not noticing that he was standing there.

Reggie felt his face flush with embarrassment as their eyes suddenly met. There was then an awkward moment before his uncle spoke.

"Oh no!"

He sounded genuinely upset, but she seemed almost relieved.

"Well at least it gives me time to do other things!"

Reggie felt the warm glow of his cheeks again, and just stood there open mouthed as they embraced. When they finally parted after what seemed like an eternity, Bob introduced her properly to his nephew.

"This is Heather, she's a remarkable person!"

He did not realise that they had met on Thursday evening, or that Reggie already knew about them, and he smiled innocently at her.

"She rescued me the other night, and has been a source of comfort ever since!"

Reggie could feel his face begin to flush again, and made a sharp exit, venturing into the shop to get the pliers. He deliberately took his time, to give them a few moments together. When he thought that he had given them long enough, he bumped against the counter to signal his return.

"How long will you be suspended for?"

Bob took his signal, as Heather settle down next to him.

"I'm not sure; I've got to go in front of the Chief Constable."

"Sounds serious!"

She nodded.

"I'm not bothered though. I've got more important things to worry about now!"

Bob took the pliers, slipping them into his toolbox.

"We're off down to the Grange, do you fancy coming along?"

Heather eagerly accepted, anxious to spend more time with him.

Reggie wondered whether she would become a more permanent fixture, or after a brief _fling_ things would revert back to normal again. He was not left to wonder for long though, as there was a sudden knock at the door.

"Would you get that for me please Reggie, and whoever it is, would you inform them that we're closed today!"

It was Auntie Val, and Reggie did not know what to do. But before he had a chance to do anything, she forced her way past him.

"Bob!"

It was Heather's turn to look embarrassed now, particularly as she had _that_ jumper on again!

What followed was probably the worst experience of Reggie's life. Things quickly developed into a full-scale row, with lots of shouting and floods of tears, most of them coming from Heather, who felt the full force of Auntie Val's temper. Reggie was shocked at her, especially when her newly found etiquette vanished, to be replaced by the sort of behaviour his mother would have frowned upon. He decided to retreat into the yard, where the man from the shop next door stuck his head over the wall, just as he had done the day before. This time however, it was not Reggie making all of the noise.

He heard the shop door banging, and words out in the street. Heather came walking into the yard, with her nose bleeding, and her jumper all torn. She pressed herself against him sobbing, so Reggie instinctively put his arms around her, as it seemed like the best thing to do. The man from next door was certainly getting his _money's worth_ today, nosing into his uncle's business, although when he slipped off what he was standing on, sending his dustbin flying, they had to laugh.

It was at that moment, that Reggie realised what a nice person Heather really was. She had a kind and gentle nature, although she lacked a little self-control. He wondered what she was doing in the police force, particularly with a figure like that.

Bob came out, all apologetic, as the man from next door rattled about in his yard. He escorted them inside, opening the first aid box. It was his turn with the cotton wool today, and he dabbed it gently on her upper lip, mopping up the blood.

Heather stopped crying. She looked vulnerable, with her mascara all smudged, and the left shoulder ripped out of her jumper. Reggie wondered how she would cope with a fight on duty, but fortunately they all lived in a quiet part of the country.

Bob looked at his watch.

"I'm afraid that we'll have to make a move!"

With that they ventured back into the yard, to where Bob had left his van. After locking up, Reggie squeezed in next to Heather on the front passenger seat, as a few spots of rain signalled the approach of another squally shower. She was shivering with cold, as an icy blast of rain-splattered air came in through the open door, as he struggled to close it. Reggie pulled the seat belt out and managed to fasten it, as Heather continued to tremble. He could see the goose bumps on her legs as she tried to pull her short skirt down towards her knees. There was blood on the blue material, which upset her, as she had already ruined her jumper. Reggie held her hand comfortingly, and she smiled as a tear rolled down her cheek, towards another bloodstain on her jumper.

Bob started the engine, as Heather fiddled with her jumper, trying to secure the top of the material, but it kept on slipping down revealing her black bra underneath. Normally she would have gone home to change, but she wanted to be with Bob, who did not want to keep the Ministry waiting.

The van moved into the lane as the weather conditions worsened. They were atrocious, with strong gusts of driving rain that lashed against the windscreen, as the wipers tried to sweep them aside as wave after wave of them made contact with the glass.

The Grange lay on the edge of the moor, although it did not take them long to reach it. When they arrived, after a particularly unpleasant journey, a man appeared from a small gatehouse, which guarded the main entrance.

Bob wound down his window as the man requested identification, much to Heather's annoyance. She started to shiver as another icy blast entered the van, and was gratefully to see the window winding up again, as he waved them through.

"Do you do much work here?"

Heather was curious, as it seemed an unlikely place to request the presence of the local computer repairman. Surely the Ministry would have their own people?

"No, but they were most insistent, and I don't like to let people down!"

There was a note of sincerity in his voice that was the mark of his conscientious nature. He pulled the van round into a small car park at the rear of the building, as Reggie looked out at the ornate brickwork, spoiled by a large radio mast, and a couple of military looking vehicles.

The engine cut out, and Bob gave Reggie a nudge. He quickly dashed out grabbing one of his uncle's heavy toolboxes. Bob followed suit and they all made a dash for the nearest door. Heather had to hold her skirt down in the gusty wind, and her hair got ruffled, which upset her again.

An official looking man met them, who guided them through the doorway into a security room. Heather was eager to tidy herself up, so he took her over to a small changing room, where she could make herself look presentable again.

Reggie was quite excited at finally getting inside, and could see a row of monitors sitting by the wall. Some of them did not appear to be working, so he guessed his uncle must be here to repair them.

Bob smiled.

"It's probably the weather - it plays havoc with the equipment."

He slipped behind them to check the wiring. Some of it appeared to have come adrift, and it almost looked as though it had been pulled out deliberately. He shook his head, wondering what could have caused it.

"Right, I've got to reconnect these wires, and then give the system a good once-over!"

He cleared a space, and plugged in the soldering iron before pointing to his toolbox.

"You couldn't get me that tin of flux could you, Reggie?"

Reggie opened the other toolbox, as Bob stared at the tangle of wires, hardly noticing a military looking man enter the room. He wore a dark pinstriped suit and had an official expression on his face. He was very smart - too smart for a weatherman!

"Will it take long to repair?"

They both looked round.

"No, only about half an hour."

Bob got himself ready to start soldering, as the man continued speaking.

"I understand you had a strange experience the other night!"

Bob coughed.

"It was nothing much really!"

He tried to be evasive, wondering where the man had got his information from.

"I only mentioned it, as I thought I saw something myself!"

Reggie was not sure he had - it seemed more like an interrogation than a friendly chat.

"Well things certainly were a little unusual to say the least!"

Bob laughed, as he began soldering the wires together.

"It all started about tea time, I knew Val my wife would be out at her _Scrabble_ club, so I took the opportunity to catch up on some paperwork at the shop. After a while, my head felt as though it was going to burst, so I decided to get a bit of fresh air. I must have been walking for quite some time, as I found myself on the edge of the moor. Something grabbed my attention, and I turned round to see a strange light in the sky. This aroused my curiosity, and before I knew what I was doing, I was following it across the grass. I felt my feet getting wet, but it didn't seem to matter. The light was getting more intense, and it suddenly shot across the sky at an incredible speed. I keep up on the latest aircraft - you know how it is when you've been in the forces - but I've never come across anything that can move quite like that!"

Reggie was on the edge of his seat, with his eyes wide open, and his jaw hanging down. The man however was emotionless, recording everything discreetly via a hidden tape recorder.

"It suddenly shot over the horizon, stopping just in front of me. It was hovering, as a brilliant light suddenly engulfed me and I felt myself floating upwards. The next thing I remember, I was in the police station!"

He was doing his best to play things down, feeling embarrassed about the whole incident.

"There, finished!"

Bob put his soldering iron down.

Reggie was anxious to hear the rest of his story, when a noise made them both turn around. It was Heather. She had removed her torn jumper, and her bloodstained skirt and was standing there in a white lab coats. She looked very attractive, especially since she had fixed her hair and make-up.

"That's better!"

Bob winked at her as she came over, carrying her things in a small plastic bag.

"They were kind enough to lend me this!"

She pointed to the lab coat before giving Bob a big hug.

"She rescued me the other night."

The man looked at her curiously, as Bob continued.

"I can't imagine what would have happened to me, if she hadn't come along when she did!"

He looked a little perplexed, and left the room leaving them alone for a few minutes.

"I'm sorry about all that business at the shop!"

Heather was still a bit shaken by it, and was glad they were behind the security fence at the Grange!

"I'll have to take you out and buy you something nice, to make up for it!"

She kissed him on the cheek appreciating the gesture, as she sat down next to him. Although Reggie quite liked her, he was more interested in the security equipment, but still managed a warm smile.

Bob only had the main control unit to attend to now, as one of the fuses had blown and some other wires had come adrift. He whistled softly to himself as he returned to the task, clearly contented with the way that things had worked out. This reassured Heather, who was starting to relax.

Reggie was waiting for the big _switch on_ , as he wanted to nose around the Grange. School was rife with rumours about the place too, and he could not wait to tell his friends that he had actually been inside. Fortunately he did not have to wait for long, as his uncle soon finished soldering, and returned from behind the monitors.

Bob could see the look of anticipation on his nephew's face, and smiled to himself as he waited patiently.

"Would you like to do the honours, Reggie?"

He did not need asking twice, and threw the mains switch with relish, bringing the whole system to life.

There were six monitors positioned along the work surface, and when they warmed up, Reggie was able to see the whole of the Grange for the first time. It was quite an impressive building, complete with ornate brickwork, and sculptured columns. It even had ivy growing up the walls, and it was a real treat to see it up close like this.

The pictures began to alternate, as Bob adjusted the system. Reggie could now see the man in the pinstripe suit. He was crossing the car park with two very large soldiers in full uniform.

The door suddenly opened, as they all walked in. Reggie looked round to see the man in the suit pull a revolver out of a holster concealed under his jacket. He cocked the trigger and pointed it at them!

## Four

Reggie looked at Heather, who in turn looked at Bob. Nobody said a word as the man continued to point his gun. There was nothing any of them could do, as he gestured for them to get up, and they all moved slowly towards the door. He had a determined look on his face as he forced them down a beautifully oak panelled hallway, to where a series of doors led off in all directions. Reggie and Heather were ushered into the one on the left, whilst Bob was led towards the one on the right. Before they could say anything, Bob disappear behind the door, as one of the soldiers stood guard outside.

Reggie felt a hand on his arm as he was escorted into an office, which looked as though it used to be the drawing room. There was a large desk in the centre, with a row of green filing cabinets nearby.

"Please hand over you mobile telephones."

Heather gave the man an indignant look as she reached into her handbag. Reggie reached into his pocket, as they both handed them over. They were then ushered away from the doorway and Heather took his hand, as they both watched the large oak door closing behind them.

Bob felt equally as baffled, as he was led into a room packed full of equipment. It looked nothing like a weather station, and resembled something akin to a laboratory. The man forced him into a chair, before placed his revolver back in its holster, much to Bob's relief.

He then pulled out an expensive looking mobile telephone from an inside pocket, tapping on the screen as he spoke.

"Now then, I want you to go over your story again in greater detail!"

Bob took a deep breath. The gun had worried him, and even though the man had put it away, he was concerned in case he decided to use it. So, he went back over everything, as the man recorded all that he said.

Meanwhile in the other room, Reggie was getting worried.

"What do we do now?"

He was hoping that Heather would have an idea, but she just shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know. Perhaps we'd better just sit here for a while, as they may release us later!"

Although Reggie wanted to do something, it seemed the logical thing to do; after all, they had just left a man waving a revolver around in the hallway.

The questioning took a couple of hours, and Bob was glad of his naval training. It helped him keep his cool as he answered as best as he could. A doctor had entered the room by this stage, and he felt the indignity of a full medical examination. A marker pen was even used to highlight the indentations on his skin, before he was thoroughly photographed.

Then another man appeared, dressed in a tweed jacket and matching flannels. He was grey and balding, with small steel rimmed spectacles perched on the end of his nose. He appeared to be some sort of psychiatrist, but instead of asking Bob more questions, he immediately started to try and hypnotise him. Bob tried to resist, but the man was very good, and he soon had him under his control. Before long, he felt himself drifting back to Thursday evening where he found himself standing on the moor...

Bob could feel every sensation, as if he was living the moment for the first time. The sounds and smells were so clear, but not as clear as the vivid light which seemed to engulf him. It was incredibly bright, and before he knew what was happening, the power of the light began to numb his senses. It was so intense that it began to make him feel light headed. It was so powerful in fact, that he felt his whole body being lifted up slowly by what felt like a beam of energy. Everything seemed to happen so quickly, that before he could make any sense of it, the intensity of the beam made him pass out.

When Bob regained a little of his senses, he found himself lying almost naked on what appeared to be a type of operating table, as more bright lights shone down upon him. It was difficult to make anything out, although there did appear to be some shadowy figures in the distance. It was hard for him to focus, and when he did, he was shocked by what he saw.

The figures seemed to have grey skin, and as they slowly approached, Bob realised that they were not human in appearance, but instead resembled typical looking Extra Terrestrials!

Bob had watched several science fiction films over the years, but he never imagined for one moment that he would actually encounter creatures from another world.

Everything seemed so unreal, and yet there was no mistaking the little creatures with big dark hypnotic looking eyes. One of them was holding a metallic instrument in its hand, which he could see had only three fingers and a thumb. He felt absolutely terrified and although he tried to move, his body failed to respond.

The creature continued to get closer, and then as Bob watched in horror, it lent forward and jabbed him in the arm.

Bob felt the instrument penetrate his skin, and could do nothing as the alien removed some sort of a sample. The others looked on as the alien continued with the procedure, taking other samples from various parts of his body.

Whatever they had done to him Bob appeared to be paralysed, and despite his mental struggle, his body still refused to move in any way at all. It seemed as though his eyes were the only thing working, and they continued to look on in horror at what was being done to him. Then as he began to fear for the worst, the alien began to back away and rejoin the others.

Bob concentrated his mind on his naval training, and despite everything that was going on, he regained a little calm. It reminded him of a _live fire_ exercise he had once been involved in. There had been an accident, and he had received a blow to the head which had temporarily knocked him unconscious. He tried to think of the craft that he was on as a naval vessel, and was just as determined as he had been on that occasion to getting back on to his feet.

Fortunately, the aliens seemed to have taken what they were after, and left him alone in the room for a few moments. Bob tried to relax, and as he did so he could feel his body coming back to life. It was as though the calmer he became the more his body began to responded, and he was soon able to move it a little.

Bob shuffled to the edge of the operating table, and as he did so, he managed to swing his legs over the side. His whole body suddenly jerked upwards, as his feet slapped against the smooth floor. He then attempted to stand, and nearly fell forward as he managed to stagger to his feet. The floor was quite warm and smooth like plastic, which was just as well as they had already removed most of his clothing. He noticed several pieces of complicated looking equipment, and slowly moved closer towards them.

Bob must have been left on his own for quite some time, as he was able to study them in greater detail, trying to work out what they were used for, and how they all fitted together. He suspected that some of it was part of an advanced transportation system, and began to poke about with it until he heard movement outside. He quickly jumped back onto the operating table, just as the beings re-entered the room.

Within a few minutes they had him back under sedation, and the next thing that he remembered were the lights of Heather's patrol car racing towards him. Bob awoke screaming, as the patrol car came screeching to a halt right in front of him...

He was sweating and felt very uncomfortable as the man in the tweed jacket left, just as abruptly as he had arrived. The doctor checked him thoroughly again, before giving him something to drink. The man in the suit remained silent as he continued to make notes, supervising the interrogation.

Bob took his time, trying to compose himself, as he started getting dressed. Just as he was pulling on his trusty roll neck sweater a small team of people arrived. He looked for Heather and Reggie, as he was getting increasingly worried about them, but they were nowhere to be seen.

What followed next was an uneasy meeting as they huddled in a corner whispering. Bob still wondered what was going on, when the man in the suit produced his revolver. He moved over, pointing it at him again.

"You will assist in the reconstruction of the _Temporal Distortion Unit_!"

Bob looked at him in disbelief.

"The Temporal what?"

The unit sat in an adjoining room, guarded by another soldier. He stood to attention as the man in the suit approached, whispering his orders, as the soldier nodded.

Bob could not believe his eyes when he entered the room, for in the centre stood a series of metallic rings suspended from a large steel frame. It almost looked like a giant piece of _meccano_ , and it really was a bizarre looking thing.

Bob gazed at the multitude of cables and flashing lights following them up towards the ornate ceiling, painted in a neo-classical style. He was so busy looking up, that he overlooked the armed soldier in the corner. He felt a dig in the ribs, as one of the team drew his attention.

"Don't worry; things aren't quite as bad as they seem,"

Bob looked down at the squat figure, still feeling a bit disorientated by the hypnosis.

"Simon Jeffers!"

He held out his hand. Bob was about to shake it when the man in the pinstripe suit made his way to the centre of the room.

"Could I have your attention, _please_?"

Everyone froze, waiting for his announcement.

"As you are aware, there have been a whole series of abductions that have been carried out in this area over the past couple of years. Today we're fortunate in having someone with us, who may finally be able to help us solve this enigma!"

He introduced Bob to the team, who greeted him warmly.

"He's a former Chief Petty Officer in the Royal Navy, and an electronics man!"

There was a small ripple of applause as Bob looked on, not quite knowing what to do.

"I'm sorry about the revolver, but you can't be too careful!"

Bob felt a lot more relieved now, although he was still a little worried by all of the guns. It was a bit intimidating to say the least, although once Simon started to give him a small tour of the bits of equipment that they had recovered and the various bits of back engineering that they were undertaking, he started to relax.

Most of it looked as though it had been in a crash and was either dented or charred. There was a vague similarity between them and aircraft components, although they were made out of very unearthly materials. Amongst the devices were several familiar looking items, and as things started coming back to him, Bob found himself fiddling with one of them. He was now on _automatic pilot_ , still not fully adjusted from the hypnosis.

There was silence as he pushed buttons and turned knobs on a huge machine at the side of the room, bringing it to life. They had brought in his toolboxes, and Bob reached for his trusty soldering iron. He was totally blinkered to everything now, apart from the device.

Puffs of smoke rose filling the air with that unmistakable smell of flux, as he worked his way through the mass of cabling protruding from the back. He was attempting to connect everything together, whilst the others watched him at work.

The clock on the wall busily wound its way round, as he continued to work. For the first time he felt that he could start to come to terms with it all, finding the soldering very therapeutic.

The team looked on, hoping that he could finally make the breakthrough that they had been striving for. Although they understood the main principles involved, they lacked the knowledge of how to put it all together.

Bob bent over what looked a bit like a radar screen, with lots of knobs and buttons housed in its shiny metallic casing. Everyone stood there motionless, as he connected the final piece. The unit then started to pulsate, as he set the controls from memory.

The man in the suit was now back on his mobile telephone, and had been for some time, passing his observation on to the person at the other end. Some of the others had gathered around Bob, making notes of what he was doing. They were deep in conference as he sat down, exhausted by all of his efforts.

The man in the suit remained on his mobile telephone, and whilst he continued talking the rings began to rotate slowly. There were three of them, and they seemed to resemble a very large gyroscope. The whole contraption made an eerie sound, which was quite unnerving as the rings began to pick up speed. There was also a bit of static electricity building up in the room, which increased as the power built up in the equipment.

Sparks arced between the rings as they picked up more speed and the air between them started to distort. The rings were now spinning very quickly, so much so, that they had caused what appeared to be a bubble of energy. The bubble was only small at first, but as the rings continued to gain in speed it began to gaining in size. The eerie sound now began to modulate as the air within the bubble began to distort. Everyone backed away slightly as they felt the energy bubble begin to suck the air out of the room. Some pieces of paper that had been sitting on a nearby desk floated into the air, travelling in the direction of the bubble, and then as they neared it everyone looked on in amazement as they suddenly disappeared!

It might have been an astonishing spectacle, but the contrast could not have been greater than that of the room across the hallway. Inside everything was quiet, and nothing seemed to have happened for what Reggie thought was an eternity.

"What time is it?"

Heather looked at her watch.

"It's nearly two o'clock!"

Reggie felt as though they had been sitting here forever, and he was growing increasingly worried about his uncle. Heather shared his thoughts, and his frustrations, even though she had done her best to calm him down.

The monotony was suddenly broken by the opening of the door, as one of the soldiers entered the room. He gave them a disapproving glare, which made them feel even more uncomfortable.

"When are you going to let us go, and where have you taken Bob?"

Heather stood up demanding an explanation. But before he had a chance to answer, another soldier entered the room. He whispered something to the other soldier, who seemed very pleased with his information.

Heather winked at Reggie, signalling that she was going to try something. The soldiers momentarily had their backs towards her, so she crept forwards grabbing an arm. With the flick of her wrist she sent the first soldier off balance, and he fell onto the second. Then Heather quickly grabbed hold of Reggie's hand as they both made a dash for the door. He could not believe it, and nor could the soldiers - perhaps she was not so vulnerable after all!

They managed to get through the doorway, and ran across the hall in search of Bob. The soldiers were right behind them, as they burst into the main laboratory. From that moment on, everything seemed to happen in slow motion, as they located Bob standing by the row of equipment. Everyone stood there open mouthed, as Heather grabbed hold of Bob's arm, and dragged him towards the window.

The soldiers were right behind them, and as the man in the pinstriped suit reached for his revolved, Heather suddenly changed direction as he cut off their escape route. She could now see the revolver in his hand, and fearing that he was about to fire, dived for cover.

A shot suddenly rang out just missing them, but in her efforts to get out of the way, Heather got caught up in the strengthening force of the energy bubble. Bob looked on horrified as she suddenly disappeared, and quickly dived in after her. Reggie who had let go of her hand when the shot rang out stumbled as he watched his uncle disappear. On the other side of the room, Simon was trying to shut the equipment down, and as the energy bubble began to fluctuate, Reggie dived in after them as there was a surge in power followed by a bright flash of light and a loud bang as the room was suddenly filled with a cloud of thick black smoke.

##  Five

A Cloud of static energy engulfed Reggie, suspending his molecules between the gyrating rings as he was frozen in time for a few seconds. Everything was such a blur that he did not know what was going on. One minute he had entered the laboratory with Heather, who had grabbed hold of his uncle, the next as a shot rang out he had watched them both disappear into a bubble of energy. Now having followed them he had expected to emerge on the other side of the room, but he did not know where he was.

The bubble was in fact, a vortex which had opened up within the room and unbeknown to him, he was shifting into a slightly different dimension. All of this, combined with the strange looking equipment was a million miles away from his science lessons; in turn he was now a million miles away from the laboratory and the Grange!

It felt just as though someone was running a live current through his veins, as he fought for his breath, and for a moment he thought that he had been shot. Reggie's chest felt tight, and he was finding it hard to breathe. His lungs felt as though they were going to burst, as there did not appear to be any air in the room, and he was almost hoped that he would find himself running into the arms of one of the soldiers. All he could see was an intense light, as he searched for his uncle. But when the light did eventually clear, he had the shock of his life - for there standing in front of him was this small grey creature with big dark eyes!

Reggie fell to his knees, as the static charge continued to ripple through his body. He felt terrible and almost passed out with the unearthly sensation. The creature moved a little closer, as he rolled onto his back, his vision blurring as it stood over him.

Whatever had just happened to him was like nothing that he had ever experienced before, and he felt totally disorientated. However, the creature was very real, even thought it looked like something out of one of the science fiction movies he liked to watch.

Perhaps he had received an electric shock, and had lost consciousness. It almost felt as though he was on the set of a B-movie, and it all felt very weird particularly when the creature spoke to him.

"Hello."

A strange voice suddenly appeared in Reggie's head, which he initially put down to the electricity, which was still tingling through his body.

"Don't be afraid."

There it was again, and Reggie looked round to see if there was anyone else in the room.

"I'm not going to harm you."

Reggie looked up at the creature, which appeared to be smiling at him!

Perhaps the previous couple of days' events had been preying on his mind and he was dreaming. He closed his eyes hoping that when he opened them again he would find himself back in his bedroom, and everything would return to normal. But, when he did open his eyes, the creature was still there.

Reggie thought about his uncle \- he had found it quite amusing at first when his mother had received the telephone call, but now it did not seem quite so funny anymore. He suddenly began to realise what a traumatic experience it must have been for him.

Although Reggie really liked his uncle (who had been acting as a father figure whilst his own father was away) he had not been convinced by his story. The thought of being abducted by _aliens_ sounded ridiculous, and yet here he was!

Reggie stared up at the creature, terrified at the thought of being experimented on. He tried to get to his feet, but his legs felt a bit wobbly and he stumbled, banging his knee on the floor. The creature moved back as he finally got to his feet.

"Uncle Bob!"

Reggie called out for his uncle looking round the room, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Who is this Uncle Bob?"

The voice returned, as he looked at the creature.

"Are you trying to communicate with me?"

Reggie knew that sometimes _alien creatures_ were portrayed as being telepathic. It smiled at him again, and he began to realise that his hunch may be correct. This was certainly getting weirder by the moment!

"Uncle Bob!"

Reggie tried again, but there was no sign of his uncle or Heather anywhere. Normally he would have been in a state of blind panic by now, as he was not particularly brave. But he remained surprisingly calm, for someone in his situation.

The creature shook its head.

"So I'm here on my own then!"

The creature nodded, and Reggie began to feel very uncomfortable.

Where were they?

Reggie kept looking round the room, which was mostly constructed out of a shiny metallic substance that was warm to the touch. It almost felt like water, being smooth without any sharp edges at all. There were several observation windows scattered about, and as he peered out of one of them, he could see the Earth and Moon being bathed in bright sunlight. A type of glass was filtering the sunlight, which did not hurt his eyes. Reggie was relieved, as he remembered being told never to look directly at the sun, as it could cause permanent damage. They were a bit watery though, but more out of fear than anything else.

"My name is Larn, and I'm a trainee engineer!"

The creature announced proudly.

Reggie realised that Larn was probably not that much older than himself, and it looked as though this was his first mission too.

"My name's Reggie, and I'm still at school!"

He said disappointedly.

"And will be for some time yet!"

He added, wishing that he was old enough to leave!

Larn looked at him realising how young Reggie really was, even though he was considerably taller than himself.

"You know you've given me quite a shock."

Reggie thought that it was nothing compared to the one that he had just received!

Larn really did look just like the classic alien, even down to his long thin fingers. It was remarkable, and he looked so familiar that Reggie almost began to relax.

"This is one of our medical stations, and you really ought not to have come here."

Larn looked worried, although from his facial features it was hard to tell. His head was a bit conical shaped, and his grey skin seemed to make his large dark eyes look even bigger. He also had a very small flat nose and only a very small mouth.

"My species is involved in collecting DNA samples. After nearly destroying ourselves, we have been looking for a very rare gene to help us undo some of the damage."

Reggie did not like the sound of that. He realised just what an ordeal his uncle must have gone through, and desperately wanted to avoid going through it himself. But Larn was happy to keep on talking, which was fine by Reggie.

"We've been observing your species for many years, and I suppose your going to ask me is why you can't see this station from the Earth?"

Actually Reggie was thinking how strange this all was, and hoping against hope that he would not be subjected to any experimentation. Like most children he did not like injections, and nearly passed out when he had to have one at school.

Larn continued speaking, although Reggie's mind was still drifting.

"Well, we're in what is referred to as a _temporal distortion_ \- that is to say that a temporal distortion has been created in the _space time continuum_ so that we're here, but somewhere else at the same time..."

Reggie looked blank.

"That doesn't matter; the most important thing is that I get you away from here before anyone else finds you. There could be big trouble if they discover that this technology has leaked out."

Reggie had a headache; all of this was just too much for him. What with being held at gunpoint at the Grange, before being propelled here where he was telepathically communicating with an _alien_. It was not a daydream he was having, as it felt more like a nightmare!

Reggie looked out of another window. He could see Mars, the red planet which looked peaceful, as opposed to Jupiter with its angry looking red spot. He thought about his geography teacher, who was always boasting about where he had been on his holidays. Last summer he had gone trekking in the Himalayas, and was always on about how small everything looked from the many mountains that he had climbed. These planets looked equally as small from where Reggie was standing.

Larn turned to face a console, tapping information into a computer on a very strange looking keyboard. It was like a row of colours, all resonating with harmonic frequencies.

Reggie was hoping that he was trying to locate his uncle and Heather, and that they would all soon be able to go home. It was way past teatime, and he knew that his mother would be worried. She was always worried, and had a tendency to fuss over him, especially when his father was away.

"You know I'm still amazed at how you arrived here; we didn't expect your species to discover this type of technology for at least another fifty years!"

Reggie was anxious to find out about his uncle, although he ended up having to explain all about the goings on at the Grange.

Larn shook his head.

"I didn't realise that we'd been so careless!"

##  Six

The sunlight caught the top of the central column as the space station span around, creating its own artificial gravity. Several strands sparkled as they hit the solar panels, which were busily generating power. Above them sat a large transmitter, used to monitor everything in this sector. Through the glass panels, it looked just like a normal satellite dish, although it was not designed to pick up conventional television programmes, but used to monitor the _temporal distortions_.

Reggie was still waiting for news of his uncle, as Larn kept asking questions about the Grange. Reggie had already told him everything that he knew, and waited patiently for him to stop talking. It was a very strange listening to someone else's voice in his head, and he began to realise that there was some truth in all the UFO sightings and abduction claims after all. Although he always wanted to believe in them, he found himself being put off by all the _crackpots_ that surfaced whenever another story broke. This was quite an ironic thought, as at the very time he was thinking about it, there was a reporter from the local newspaper sitting in his living room sipping a cup of tea with his mother.

"I understand your brother-in-law was taken to the local police station claiming that he was abducted by _aliens_!"

Reggie's mother looked a bit embarrassed.

"Well, I suppose he was, although I put it down to the pressure of work."

The man looked a bit disappointed, he really thought he was onto something this time, and she felt a bit sorry for him. Perris was trying very hard to build a career in journalism, with ambitions of working for one of the nationals. A story like this would have helped him along, but the nearest that he had ever come to it, was when someone spotted a strange light in the sky one evening. It turned out to be a stray micro-light, with the poor pilot frantically searching his map with a torch.

"Are you _sure_?"

He was hoping that he may be able to get some more information out of her, or a confession to knowing about an official cover up, but he was to be disappointed.

"Yes, quite sure, thank you!"

Her tone was quite abrupt.

"Where exactly did you hear about it anyway?"

She quickly turned the tables on him, trying to find out who was spreading these rumours.

"Was it Mrs. Jones from next door?"

Perris shuffled uncomfortably in his chair, and she knew instinctively that she was right.

"Oh, is that the time?"

Perris quickly changed the subject.

"I have another appointment to go to!"

He then made a hasty exit, leaving his card and asking her to call him if she had any more information.

About twenty minutes later he entered the police station, to find a rather irate office sergeant.

"Yes?"

His voice boomed out, echoing around the solid brick walls.

"Oh, I was wondering if you could help me."

Perris gingerly approached the counter as the sergeant's flushed face glared at him.

"I understand there was a report of an _alien abduction_ here the other day?"

This made the sergeant almost burst at the seams.

"If I hear another word about that... I've lost my day off, a special constable and had some chap poking around here from the Ministry!"

Perris' ears pricked up when he heard the magic word _Ministry_.

"And what Ministry was that then?"

He hit the sergeant with the probing question, realising that he was on to something. But recognising that he had let something slip, the sergeant quickly recovered.

"The Vicar!"

By the look on his face, Perris knew that he had better get out of there quickly, before the sergeant vented his entire wrath on him, besides he now had a real scoop on his hands!

Later on that afternoon, he walked down to the local pub. The landlord recognised him as a rye smile spread across his face. He, like most of the regulars thought that anyone talking about _alien abductions_ was completely balmy, but as long as they were spending their money he had no real objections.

Perris started asking a man at the bar some questions but all he got was a gormless expression. The man even had a slight twitch, which made his left eyebrow rise slightly whenever he got excited. This was usually when someone offered to buy him a drink. Perris obliged, in an effort to find out if anyone knew anything.

The man gratefully accepted, as Perris settled down on the barstool next to him.

"Do you know anything about an _alien abduction_?"

The man sipped at his beer.

"No, but I know a man who does!"

Perris's eyes lit up; perhaps he would get his story after all!

The man then pointed to a wizened old man in the corner.

"Ernie!"

The man looked up at the sound of his name being called.

"This gentleman would like to speak to you."

Ernie nodded as Perris went over, and offered to buy him a drink too. He accepted, winking his eye at the Landlord, who smiled to himself again as he accepted more of Perris' money.

When Perris returned with his drink, he settled down opposite Ernie.

"Do you know anything about _alien abductions_?"

Ernie nodded.

"Some months ago we had this travelling salesman in here, and after several pints of beer he started to tell me this extraordinary tale!"

Perris's eyes opened wide, and he quickly got his small tape recorder out of his pocket, not wanting to miss a thing.

"He claimed to have been _abducted_ by little grey beings when he was on his way to Wigan."

Ernie continued, as Perris listened intently.

"I thought it was the drink talking, until he produced a piece of weird foil from his wallet. It was like nothing I'd ever seen before, feeling more like a liquid than a solid. When he scrunched it up into a tight ball, it unravelled itself into a smooth sheet again before my very eyes. Quite where he'd got it from I don't know, although he claimed to have taken it from their space ship!"

Some of the other regulars began to gather round Ernie, enjoying the story as the pub went quiet as everyone strained to hear.

"I didn't really believe him at all, but enjoyed his company never the less. He said he was staying at the guest house in Station Road, and I arranged to meet him here again the following night, where he was going to produce several drawings that he said were of the craft and its occupants!"

The man at the bar started to twitch as Ernie's story developed.

"But he never showed up!"

Perris's face dropped, as he suddenly realised that his story was no more than a ruse to get him to pay for beer, and disappointedly he went to turn off his tape recorder.

"He'd apparently left without paying his bill, or taking his samples with him."

Ernie continued, as Perris's finger hovered over his tape recorder.

"The strangest thing was that the following day his car was found abandoned on a road near the Grange!"

Perris froze as his finger hung over the _off_ button.

This was not the only story that had led him to the Grange, and he wondered whether there was some truth in the tale after all!

##  Seven

Floating somewhere way above the Grange in a slightly different reality there was far more going on than even Perris suspected. Unbeknown to him, and everyone else for that matter, there was an alien space station in orbit. Quite how long it had been there was only known to those who operated it, and they had kept its existence secret, that was until Reggie discovered it!

Sitting looking out of the observation window, he marvelled at the sight which greeted him. To his knowledge no other human had ever been here, and looking out at the planets of this solar system, he wondered how he was ever going to get home. That however, was not his main concern, as he also had to try and locate his uncle Bob and his _friend_ Heather too.

Everything was a real mess, and he knew that he was already in big trouble. Being shot at by the man in the pinstripe suit or chased by armed soldiers was nothing in comparison to what his mother was going to do when she found out. Reggie had had mixed feelings about going to the shop today, and he began to wish that he had listened to his inner voice which had been urging him to stay in bed.

Uncle Bob had always been so kind to him, allowing him to help out in his shop and also giving him some pocket money. Reggie thought so much of him, and now he was lost somewhere in the vastness of space and time.

Turning his head away from the observation window, Reggie looked at the small alien working away at his terminal. That was the oddest thing of all, standing near an extra terrestrial. Who would believe him if he did manage to get home?

Larn was very friendly and not at all like the ones portrayed in the films he liked to watch. Yes, he did look similar with his grey skin and big dark eyes, but fortunately he was different. For some reason he was trying to help as opposed to wishing to experiment on him. Maybe he was some sort of a hybrid?

Reggie had been given a television and DVD player by his uncle, when he had upgraded his equipment, and they now sat proudly in his bedroom. That was where he sometimes watched his films, when his mother was engrossed downstairs with the _soaps_. His uncle looked upon him as a son as he did not have any children of his own.

There was also a computer which his father had bought him to help with his homework. Following one of the films he had searched for more information, and discovered that some people believed that there were _hybrid aliens_ walking about. The whole subject had given him nightmares, and yet here he was standing by one of the creatures...

"Found them!"

Larn's voice startled him, as Reggie came out of his daydream. He sounded very pleased with himself, although that was hard to tell when the voice appeared in his head and not from his ears.

One of Larn's thin fingers pointed to the screen, which sat above the console he was operating. Reggie looked at the star chart, as a little marker flashed out their position.

"But we're going to have our work cut out rescuing them!"

There was a sound of resignation in his voice, which was being projected into Reggie's head. He looked very worried, but was determined to rescue Bob and Heather come what may.

"Well I'm going to try!"

Larn admired his determination, which was one of the qualities that his people had hoped to acquire from the human DNA that they had been taking.

"Well, where are they then?"

Reggie was keen to get started, anxiously wanting to get away before Larn had a chance to experiment on him!

"On one of our other space stations."

Larn zoomed in on the marker, which flashed above their position.

It seemed quite a distance away, and Reggie wondered how they were going to get them back from all the way out there.

"So what do we have to do to rescue them?"

Larn looked uncomfortable, as his small frame twitched slightly.

"I don't know - that station's been abandoned for some time!"

Reggie looked worried. Although he was surrounded by very advanced technology - none of which he understood, he was hoping that Larn would be able to do something.

"Can we use this temporal thingy?"

Larn thought for a moment.

"I don't know, it's only normally used for transporting cargo, and is really not suited for anything else."

Reggie was growing more concerned by the minute.

"Well, have you got any ships then?"

He shook her head.

"One left for the Orion system yesterday, but there are no others in this sector. Besides, we really don't want to involve anyone else do we?"

Reggie could see his point, he was very lucky that Larn was friendly, but other members of his race might not be the same. After all, they did abducted people and take DNA samples from them!

"But it might be possible to use the temporal thingy?"

Reggie persisted.

"I can program things from here, although it would be a dangerous journey for you if you are still determined to go through with it. Reggie was, and walked over towards the rings.

Reluctantly Larn activated the machine, and the rings began to rotate. It did not take long for them to pick up enough momentum to generate a small energy bubble. Reggie was just about to walk into it, when Larn put his hand up.

"No, you must travel in a life pod!"

What on earth was a life pod?

Larn opened a hatch in the wall, revealing a small vessel made out of a type of lightweight plastic.

"It can be used as a means of escape, although it is a bit of a last resort."

Reggie did not mind and looked at it as Larn activated a beam of green light, which began to drag it across the floor. He thought that it looked just like a miniature flying saucer, complete with a row of lights around the side.

"You must travel in one of these, as it will protect you from the forces of the distortion."

After the trip out here, Reggie would be glad of a better journey!

He eagerly jumped through the flap in the front, sitting in one of the moulded seats. The material seemed amazingly strong, although it was a bit uncomfortable. His feet were resting on the inside of the plastic shell, next to a small electronic device. He picked it up, looking at all of the strange markings. Larn peered through the opening, holding out his hand. Reggie just handed it over, and watched as he started to program it.

"Use the yellow button to open and close the flap, and when you've located the others, just press the green button and it will take you home!"

Larn then handed it back, and Reggie took hold of it, placing it on the seat next to him. He then looked at Larn who stared back at him through his large dark eyes.

"Thank you for all of your help."

Larn smiled, nodding his head.

"You must hurry before you are discovered by one of the others."

That sounded a bit ominous, and so with a quick wave of the hand, Reggie reached for the yellow button as Larn handed him three neatly packed space suits.

"You must also wear one of these, as there is no air in the distortion and you will probably suffocate before you get to the other side!"

Reggie took them off him, realising that he had been lucky to have survived his journey here, and hoped that Bob and Heather had been equally as fortunate. Larn then gave out his the last of his instruction.

"When you arrive home, leave all of your suits inside; you won't have much time to get out before the life pod will start to return!"

Reggie now began to realise that he was on his own, and felt even more frightened than he had done before. Reaching for the yellow button again, he pressed it and the flap began to close. He watched Larn walk away slowly, as he began to take off his outer clothes. Reggie then grabbed hold of the nearest space suit, slipping his legs into it, and pulling it up towards his waist. It was much larger than he had expected, and perhaps it had been designed for a much bigger alien. Slipping his arms into it, he was glad that he would soon be on is way in case one of them made an appearance.

The suit fitted snugly enough never the less, and was almost like a synthetic foil, but felt more like his pyjamas. Somehow it seemed to mould itself to him, which was just as well as he could not find any sort of a fastening. Reggie then reached for the big rubber boots, which were a little clumsy. They also seemed to mould themselves to his feet in a similar way the space suit had done to his body. The outfit was completed by a lightweight helmet, which he clipped into position. Air automatically began to circulate and he was able to breathe, even though it felt a bit claustrophobic.

The beam of green light was now dragging the life pod towards the energy bubble, which had grown considerably larger over the past few minutes. Reggie secured himself in with one of the belts that he found inside, as everything started to get brighter. He instinctively closed his eyes as the pod began to rock gently from side to side.

There was no way of knowing how long this journey was going to take, or what sort of a reception he was going to receive at the other end. Larn had been very helpful, and he doubted that he would find any other _aliens_ quite like him. The most important thing was locating his uncle and Heather, and then getting them all home safely. Home was however, far away, and he was missing his mother just as much as she was missing him...

The minute hand hung over the six as the clock in the kitchen wound itself up to strike the half hour. Reggie's mother looked up to see that it was already 5.30, and he would soon be coming home for his tea. She had made a start on the evening meal, and became so engrossed in what she was doing, that she did not notice the minute hand working its way up to the twelve. When the clock suddenly struck six, she looked up in surprise. Where was Reggie?

This was most unusual, as he had always made it home by now. She decided to call the shop and give him a reminder, as the meal was almost ready.

"That's strange!"

Reggie's mother spoke out loud as when she rang the number, there was no reply. She let it ring for a little longer, until it went onto the answer machine. She also tried his mobile telephone, but it was switched off. He had been given that as a birthday present, and even though it was only a cheap model, it was good enough for her to keep in contact with him when he was out. She also tried Bob's mobile telephone too, but strangely that was also switched off.

Time passed slowly, as she watched the minute hand slip down towards the six again. This was very worrying, as he was usually pretty punctual, so she tried the shop again. There was still no reply, so she decided to leave the dinner in the oven and head off down the high street herself, to try and find out what was going on.

There were plenty of parking spaces, as most people had already gone home after a busy Saturday shopping. The front of Bob's shop was all locked up, although there was a light on in the back. She decided to slip down the passageway expecting to see Reggie come running out excitedly, full of tales about his day. But when she arrived, the yard was deserted. The man from next door was just locking up, and about to get in his car when he saw her. He could not help himself, and started to walk across.

"They left this morning in the van, with that new girlfriend of his, I don't blame them, after all that commotion that went on when his wife arrived!"

Reggie's mother never liked the man, as he was a bit of a troublemaker, so she left for her sister's hoping that he had been taken there. She also wanted to get all of the gory details of what had transpired, and as she pulled up outside, her sister came out to greet her.

"He's got another woman!"

Her sister looked angry, and as they went inside her anger turned to a flood of tears.

"She's young enough to be his daughter - oh the shame of it!"

There then followed a dramatic reconstruction of the events at the shop, and an account of Bob's van being driven off. Her sister had spotted it as she made her way home, and more floods of tears welled up as she mentioned that Reggie, Bob and his _fancy woman_ were inside...

Reggie's mother did her best to console her sister, relieved in the knowledge that at least Reggie was with his uncle. She was still annoyed that he had not contacted her, and when the time reached eight thirty, she began to worry again.

Reggie's mother always insisted that if he was going to be late then he should let her know. When she called home there was no reply, and so she left her sister to try and locate him.

On her way back she had to pass the Grange, and she had a bit of a shock to find Bob's van parked in the lane as she approached. Stopping her car she got out, but when she approached the van, she discovered that it was empty.

Where could they be?

Reggie's mother was now growing increasingly worried, as if they had broken down then it was only a few miles away from where she lived. Getting back into her car, Reggie's mother drove home, and when she arrived there was still no sign of him anywhere. The house was empty, and there was no message on either her answer phone, or voice mail recording on her own mobile telephone. It was getting dark now, and increasingly late, and so after pacing up and down for a while she decided to call the local police station.

It was at times like this that she regretted the fact that her husband worked away, and this was not helped by the sound of the office sergeant's gruff voice on the other end.

"Hello police!"

She explained the situation, and when she had finished, he told her that it was too early to do anything about it. When she explained about what had happened at the shop, she could tell by the silence on the other end of the line that he was none too pleased with his special constable...

The next few hours were very tense, and she was glad to see her sister, who arrived after trying to locate her missing husband.

At about twelve o'clock a policewoman arrived, drafted in to replace the suspended Heather. She took the details as they sat by the telephone.

"I just can't think what's happened to them..."

##  Eight

Far away in the depths of space and time, Reggie watched the strange material ripple just like a _Mexican wave,_ as it travelled across the surface of the life pod. He felt relatively safe within the space suit, although he had his doubts as to whether he would still feel the same when he arrived. Reggie did not understand any of the technology involved, only the fact that Larn had opened a _temporal distortion_ in the _space-time continuum_. Quite what that was he did not know, but if it meant that he could rescue his uncle and his new girl friend, then it was good enough for him!

It had been quite a day already, and as the life pod travelled towards the other space station he did not know what to expect. Reggie felt his imagination working overtime, and grimaced when he thought about being captured and then experimented on by a group of grey aliens.

That was not the most pleasant of thoughts, and then before he realised what was happening, there was a sudden jolt which threw him forward, even though he was wearing the safety belt. There was then a slight whooshing sound, before everything grew silent. The only sound that he could now hear was the pounding of his heart as a cold sweat spread across his skin.

Had he arrived?

Reggie gingerly pressed the yellow button on the small control pad and the corner of the flap began to open. It was a bit similar to the electric window of his mother's car, although there was no sound from the motor. Then, as the flap opened wider, Reggie tentatively peered out.

Everywhere appeared to be in near darkness, and not being able to hear anything through his helmet, he unclipped it placing it down by his side. Reggie was met by a blast of cold air which rushed into the escape pod. It smelt stale and quite unpleasant, but at least it was breathable.

Listening intently, he still could not hear anything, or see anything either through the half-light, which was just enough to see by. Everything look eerie and he really had to force himself put his head out into the gloom. It looked similar to the other space station, although it was quite hard to see anything clearly.

Taking a deep breath of stale air, Reggie forced himself out of the escape pod as quietly as he could. He did not want to make any noise just in case he attracted someone's attention. Creeping along silently he looked around trying to see in the gloom, and then he suddenly kicked something, which made a clinking sound.

Reggie froze, holding his breath half expecting the lights to come on and to be surrounded by a group of unfriendly aliens, however nothing happened. Still standing there motionless he strained his ears to try and pick up any sound, but he could still not hear anything. Then when he thought that he had waited long enough, Reggie bent down to see what he had kicked.

Reaching down he picked up some bits of twisted metal, and as he examined them he thought that they almost looked like coins, and a set of keys. There were also several other items scattered around, and one piece in particular looked like part of a necklace, which he instantly recognised as Heather's.

Reggie felt a sense of relief as at least he had a positive sign that they had been here, whether the device that had somehow done this he did not know as he had been wearing sports clothes when he had initially been transported, and he had not had any metal on him.

Looking around he noticed that he was in some sort of a corridor, and that it appeared to be covered in a type of stringy substance which criss-crossed the walls. Stepping over a piece of it, one of his boots caught the edge, and it appeared to be quite sticky, so he tried to avoid it where possible. It was quite hard to walk in his rubber boots and as he looked up he thought that he saw something move in the distance. Reggie froze again, not wanting to make any noise just in case there was something unpleasant lurking in the shadows. He decided to be discrete until he spotted his uncle Bob and Heather, as the last thing that he wanted to do was to draw attention to himself.

Reggie slowly made his way towards the central column, tiptoeing along and trying to make as little noise as possible. He stopped, thinking that he was being followed, but the only sound came from his heart, which was beating rapidly. When he reached it, he made his way towards what he thought would be the main control room, as he knew that that was where his uncle would have headed.

The door was closed, so he tried to find some sort of an opening mechanism. There was a little pad on the wall, but when he tried it nothing happened. Reggie tried it again, and then when the door remained closed, he tried to force it open with his hands. The space suit had moulded gloves which were all part of the one piece garment, and he could not get a very good grip. There was only one think left to do, and so he banged on the door with his fist.

"Uncle Bob!"

Reggie suddenly realised that all of the noise would attract a lot of attention, and felt quite foolish. It was no use worrying now, so he continued to bang and shout.

"Uncle Bob, uncle Bob are you in there?"

There was no answer so he tried again.

"Uncle Bob!"

This time there was a muffled reply.

"Reggie, is that you?"

"Yes, I've come to rescue you!"

Reggie announced proudly.

There was a clang of metal as the door slide open slowly, to reveal Bob. Reggie put his arms around him, as he was so glad to see his uncle again. Heather was behind him, but neither of them looked very pleased to see him.

"What's wrong?"

They just stood there open mouthed looking straight ahead, and he could not understand their reaction. Then, as Reggie followed their gaze he turned his head around to look over his shoulder wondering what they were staring at. His mouth suddenly fell open as he gasped at the sight which greeted him. There standing behind him, was the biggest spider that he had ever seen!

The spider was as big as a large dog, with long hairy legs, and gruesome looking mandibles. His whole face turned white, as he froze on the spot.

Disbelief turned to blind panic, and before he realise what he was doing, Reggie grabbed hold of his uncle's arm.

"Come on!"

He nearly pulled his uncle's arm out of its socket as he fled in terror dragging both Bob and Heather behind him. From somewhere deep inside his natural instinct for survival had taken over, as Reggie fled as fast as his legs would carry him. The spider was also on the move, quickly dashing after them.

Taking the briefest look over his shoulder, Reggie could see the gruesome creature as he sped along the corridor. The spider seemed to be gaining on them, and Heather was struggling to keep up in her heels. She had a hold of Bob's other arm, and he noticed several burn marks on her clothing, which he thought would confirm his metal theory; but there was no time for that now, as the spider started humming. The sound was incredibly unsettling, and he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up on end, as a shiver of fear rode down his spine. This, combined with the lighting, reminded him of a horror movie, and he wished more than ever that this nightmare would end!

The spider was getting really close now, as he tried to lead them back towards the life pod. Reggie was breathing hard, and then all of a sudden Heather screamed, and he nearly jumped out of his proverbial _skin,_ for there in the distance appeared another giant spider.

They were now trapped between the two, with nowhere to go.

The first spider was closing in, as the second one started spinning a web. Thick strands began to criss-crossed the corridor in front of them, as they wondered what they were going to do. Whatever they did, it would have to be quick, as the spiders were only a matter of a few metres away.

"Up there!"

Reggie spotted some rungs running up the wall towards a small hatch in the roof.

"Well spotted lad, they must have been put there for the maintenance crews!"

Reggie was already half way up, before his uncle had finished his sentence. Although he was afraid of heights, he was even more afraid of big hairy spiders!

The hatch cover slid to one side, and Reggie pocked his head through. He had expected it to be dark, but a light sensor activated and he was able to see along the ducting. He pulled himself through the hatch, reaching down to his uncle, who was close behind. The spiders were almost on top of Heather, who had also started to climb. But just as they were about to seize her, Reggie and Bob grabbed her outstretched hands hauling her clear at the last minute.

"Few, that was a close one!"

Bob held onto her tightly, relieved that they had managed to escape whist Reggie closed the hatch behind them.

"They're enormous!"

He still had trouble believe that there were spiders around that size, and was glad that the ones he had found around the house were not so big. If they were, then everyone would be frightened of them!

"You're telling me!"

Heather pulled a bit of webbing off her singed lab coat, dropping it on the floor of the ducting.

"Are there many of them here?"

Heather nodded her head.

"The place is full of them!"

Reggie wondered how they were going to make it back to the pod, which was their only means of escape.

"How on earth did you manage to find us?"

Bob was very glad to see his nephew, as he thought that they might have been stranded here forever.

"It's a long story!"

Reggie was not sure himself, but would be glad to tell him all about it, when they were safely back at home.

"How did you manage to avoid the spiders?"

"With great difficulty!"

Heather answered shakily.

"They were the first thing that we saw when we arrived, and we had to make a run for it. Fortunately we made it to the main control room, but everything had been switched off!"

Reggie knew that the space station had been abandoned, and now he knew the reason why!

"Isn't anything working?"

He looked along the ducting at the lighting panels.

"Life support, although I suspect it's only active in the areas that the main computer senses life!"

This gave Reggie an idea, if they could move through those areas that had no life support then they could avoid the spiders. The only problem would be the cold, and the lack of air!

Reggie was still deep in thought as they crawled along, doing his best not to think about the spiders. He was in the lead, trying to work his way back towards the life pod. The ducting twisted and turned, with icy blasts coming from certain sections. He stopped at the next junction, uncertain of which way to go.

Was it left, or was it right?

He was just about to go left, when something changed his mind. It was just as well, as in the distance there was the unmistakable silhouette of a giant spider.

"Quick down here!"

Heather spotted another hatch, and when she pulled the cover off she stuck her head through.

"It seems to be clear!"

With that she slipped her legs through, kicking off her shoes before dropping down onto the floor. Bob quickly followed as Reggie suddenly noticed the spider. He looked at it, and then at the hatch. There did not appear to be any rungs, and although it was quite a drop to the floor, it was better than staying here to face the onrushing spider!

Reggie took a deep breath, and let his legs dangle for a moment before dropping down, and was caught by his uncle.

"The hatch!"

Reggie looked up as his uncle hoisted him into the air. He was just able to reach it, and slid it across the opening before his uncle lowered him back to the floor.

Heather slipped her shoes on, as Reggie looked around. They were in what appeared to be a storage room, and there were a few small containers stacked neatly against the wall. Bob on the other hand was already at the door trying the opening mechanism.

Overhead they could hear the sound of the spider as it reached the hatch, clawing at it with its large hairy legs.

"Will it hold?"

Reggie was not confident, as the spider continued to bang about. In the meantime, Heather had found a map of the station on the wall.

"Where are we?"

He joined her trying to work out where they were.

"Somewhere around here!"

Bob joined them pointed to a long corridor, stretching through this section.

"I need to locate the life pod!"

There was no time to explain, as he pointed to the main control room and began to retrace his steps back towards where he had left it.

"We need to get there."

Before he had a chance to study it any further, there was another loud bang above their heads, as the hatch began to slip open.

Bob quickly turned his attention back towards the door, managing to force it open. He looked out expecting to see another spider, but fortunately the corridor was clear. He was just about to venture out, when the hatch cover came crashing down, accompanied by the large, angry looking spider. Heather screamed, as they all scrambled through the doorway.

It was nothing less than a mad panic to get out of the room, and Reggie felt his heart pounding as the spider pursued them into the corridor. In desperation he looked for somewhere else to hide but the corridor was empty apart from the lift at the end, which had been left with its doors slightly open. Reggie looked over his shoulder as they ran towards it with the spider in hot pursuit. When they arrived they all squeezed in, pressing the buttons for all they were worth.

Nothing seemed to be happening, and so Bob pulled the cover off revealing a set of wires. The spider was only metres away, with its mandibles eagerly moving like a pair of giant pincers. It stuck out a leg, which clawed at them through the opening. Heather screamed again and Reggie froze, too terrified to move. Just when things looked really hopeless, Bob pulled out two of the wires touching the ends together. The lift shuddered, and thankfully the doors began to close, and the spider retracted its leg, as they started to move.

Bob was gasping for air, as he was not used to all this excitement. Nor was Reggie, who swore then and there never to complain about being bored ever again!

The lift was now travelling downwards, and from what they could remember from the map, it would leave them only a matter of a few hundred metres away from the life pod.

Heather still looked shaky, as she clung onto Bob, who was watching the floor indicator, as it descended. All of a sudden it stopped, throwing them off balance. Bob tried to get it going again, but it was no use - the thing was jammed solid.

"What are we going to do now?"

Heather was worried, especially when the light started to dim. The air was also a bit on the thin side, which meant they were finding it harder to breathe. If they were going to survive then they had to get out of there.

Bob delved his hand back into the wires, and this time he was desperately trying to get the doors open. Reggie could see the circuit board. This was where he was in his element, and Reggie watched as he pulled another one out, and just like before he touched the ends together and the doors began to open.

They now appeared to be stuck between levels, with quite a drop to the floor below. It looked quite dangerous; especially when there was a slight jolt.

The cable holding them began to groan somewhere above their heads. Reggie did not like the sound of that, and before he knew it, his uncle was lowering him through the gap.

Reggie's feet were now dangling, as he felt for the floor. He would have to be careful, as he could easily slip down the lift shaft. He hung in mid air for a few moments as his uncle lowered him slowly, and with a great deal of relief, he eventually felt the solid surface below.

The cable groaned again as if it was in pain, as the lift dropped a little bit more. Bob quickly lowered Heather, who was accompanied by another stomach-churning groan. Reggie held her ankles as she slid down besides him, before they both reached up for Bob.

The lift continued to groan, dropping slightly every few seconds, as Bob's feet hovered just above the floor. Another jolt rocked him from side to side, as the lift hung precariously in mid air.

Reggie and Heather grabbed onto his legs, pulling him backwards as hard as they could, just as the cable snapped and the lift plummeted, crashing to the bottom of the shaft.

It had been close - too close for Heather, who clung onto him so tightly that Bob could hardly breathe. She was laying half on top of Reggie, who felt exhausted, but mightily relieved to have helped save his uncle. He took a few moments to get his breath back before wriggling clear, only to get his foot stuck in the sticky webbing which filled the corridor.

They had temporarily forgotten all about the spiders, but as he looked up, Reggie could see a giant creamy white pod, which sat in the corridor in front of them. It looked like a giant egg, all smothered in web. Heather looked round to see it, nudging Bob gently in the ribs. He picked himself up, edging a little closer.

"We'll have to try and sneak past it."

Reggie thought that the life pod was just round the next corner, and so he took the lead, and began to briefly explain how he had arrived at the space station. He deliberately kept his voice down, as he edged along whilst his uncle and his girlfriend looked astonished. It was quite a tale, but there was no time to go into details, that would have to wait until they were safely home.

Holding onto Heather's hand Reggie approached the egg, trying to make his way through the sticky web. It was almost like glue, and his feet kept getting stuck in it. They were almost on top of it now, as he, Bob and Heather looked at the mound of sticky fibre.

Slowly they edged towards the outer skin, carefully shuffling past as best as they could. Reggie got one of his boots stuck, and as he tried to free it, one of the thick sticky strands began to vibrate. Heather and Bob slipped past him, and when they were clear, Bob reached back taking hold of Reggie's hand. He then attempted to pull him clear, and as he did so, the strand broke free snapping back towards the egg.

There was not quite so much webbing on the other side, and they were able to make better progress, that was however just as well, as the snapping back of the strand had caused movement within the egg. Heather noticed it first, nudging Bob in the ribs as she pointed towards it.

"Look!"

They all stopped to see something stir inside. Then, before they had a chance to move, a small split opened up on the side.

"The egg is going to hatch!

Reggie felt a tug on his arm as Bob pulled him away. He looked over his shoulder as the size of the split increased, rapidly travelling all the way across. Bob and Heather were now clear, but Reggie had managed to get one of his large rubber boots stuck in another piece of web. They were still trying to pull him clear, as the egg suddenly burst open.

They all froze for a few seconds, as a baby spider poked its legs out. It was the size of a kitten, all hairy and horrible looking. It was not on its own, as dozens of them were poised to break out behind it. With one enormous effort, Bob and Heather dragged Reggie clear, almost tearing his arms off in the process. The spiders were now streaming out, eager for their first feed. They were in hot pursuit, with their mandibles clicking with anticipation.

The life pod was now visible as they stumbled along through bits of sticky web. It was not the only thing either, for there, approaching from the other direction was what appeared to be the mother!

Reggie did not like the look of her at all, as she was even larger than the other ones that he had seen earlier. His lungs were hurting, and the whole of his body ached, as he struggled to reach the pod. They were almost there now, just ahead of the pursuing pack.

"When we get inside, you'll have to suit up."

Reggie could hardly speak and was pointing to his head.

"Oxygen!"

Bob understood what he meant as they had both nearly suffocated on their journey out here. He threw off his trusty roll neck jumper, which had barely touched the ground before it was smothered in baby spiders. Heather's lab coat was next, flying into the air like a kite, and it too was soon smothered.

Reggie reached the flap, diving inside the pod. Fortunately it was free of spiders, although they were bearing down on it. Bob threw off his shirt as he followed on behind. Heather was bringing up the rear, just ahead of the spiders. The mother was also in position, ready to pounce. In desperation, Bob took off one of his shoes, throwing it at her. It was enough to distract her, buying them a few more precious seconds. Off came the other one, followed by his trousers, as Heather made it through the flap.

He was now on his own, as one of her legs swung forwards. He ducked, as it swept over his head. Heather threw her shoes at it, as Bob dived in.

Reggie quickly pushed the yellow button on the little control pad, and was relieved to see the flap begin to close. It was not a moment to soon, as the baby spiders began to spill all over it. Bob and Heather were pulling their suits on, as he pressed the green button, and the set of rings behind them began to rotate.

Heather pulled the helmet over her head, as the mother spider banged against the side of the pod. The material was quite strong, but he was afraid that she might be able to rip it open at any moment. Reggie could feel the effects of the energy bubble, which was trying to drag them backwards. But they were stuck in the webbing and lay tantalisingly close to safety.

The mother spider kept on hitting the pod, denting the side. She was quite powerful and able to inflict more damage at every blow. Everything shook as she hit it again sending them reeling, as the life pod grazed along the floor. One more blow and she would be through, and they would be at the mercy of her giant mandibles.

Bob secured his helmet, and just as she swung out another one of her big hairy legs, there was a muffled grating sound. Then expecting to see the life pod split open just like the egg, everything outside began to brighten, as they finally started their journey home.

##  Nine

The night wore on, as Reggie's mother waited for news about her son. There had been no sign of him or his uncle since the morning, and there were now genuine fears about his safety.

Inside the house the atmosphere was tense, as she paced up and down in the hallway, hovering over the telephone waiting for it to ring. Every minute seemed like an hour, as she looked at the clock which ticked away quietly. She was still staring at it when there was a sudden knock at the front door, and she raced over pulling it open.

It was the police sergeant.

"Have you found him?"

The sergeant shook his head.

"I'm afraid not!"

She started to cry and he offered her his freshly laundered handkerchief.

"I'm sure he'll turn up soon - you know what boys are like!"

He was trying to sound reassuring, but it was already getting well into the early hours of Sunday morning.

"It's not like him at all; he's never been so late before!"

Reggie's mother sobbed into his handkerchief.

"And what about Bob?"

There had been no sign of activity at the shop either, and she was becoming increasingly worried about him too.

The sergeant rubbed his chin.

"Have you had any strange visitors over the last few days?"

She tried to think.

"Well, Perris turned up from the local newspaper asking me questions about _alien abductions_!"

The sergeant looked thoughtful; he did not like reporters, but perhaps Perris might be able to help in some way. After all, they often asked the media for their help on major inquiries.

"You don't think that he could have kidnapped Reggie do you?"

She burst into a flood of tears, sobbing even more.

"He is going to be alright isn't he; Perris wouldn't harm him would he?"

The sergeant scratched his head. He remembered reading about something like this in his daily paper, and looked down at the table, where he noticed Perris's card. Picking it up, he started reading the information on the front.

I see he left this with you!"

Reggie's mother was still sobbing, as her tearful sister came out of the kitchen to console her. All this emotional turmoil was getting too much for him, so he left them with the policewoman, and headed off towards his patrol car.

After searching the town for Perris, he arrived back at the house about an hour later.

"Quick get your coat."

Reggie's mother shot out of her seat.

"I think I'm on to something!"

She did not need asking twice, and within a few seconds they were heading off towards the village hall. The rain had finally stopped, as the patrol car splashed its way through the puddles, which were still lying on the ground. The sergeant roared into the car park, dashing out almost before the engine had stopped. He burst through the door only to be met by the caretaker. He looked a bit startled, not expecting to see the police sergeant.

"Have you seen Perris?"

The man nodded his head.

"Yes, a couple of hours ago!"

He then started to laugh.

"The silly fool's gone up on the moor looking for space ships, and in this weather too!"

Before Reggie's mother had been able to unfasten her seat belt the sergeant was back inside the car.

"We'll have to head off up the lane to the moor, and I'll call for backup on the way!"

The car screeched out of the car park, and headed up the hill towards the picnic area. There was a large car park at the top, which led off towards a public footpath. It only took them a few minutes to get there, and when they arrived he parked next to Perris's car, which was the only other vehicle there. He nudged Reggie's mother who jumped out quickly.

The path was slippery, as they squelched through the mud, struggling to keep their balance. The sergeant was very frustrated, as there was no backup available. He was cursing under his breath, angry that he could not trace Heather. This was just the situation where he could have used her help, but instead she was nowhere to be seen. She had greatly disappointed him, particularly as she had not turned up for duty the other day. He had high hopes for her, and was feeling bitter at the way that she had let him down.

"There, do you see that light up ahead?"

He was pointing to a torch, which was waving about in the dampness.

"Yes - do you think it's him?"

The sergeant nodded, as they trudged along.

Luckily there were several trees scattered about and they managed to hide behind one of them. They could see Perris sitting on a fisherman's stool, looking through a pair of binoculars. He had a variety of cameras with him, which appeared to be trained at the sky.

They stood behind the tree peering out.

"What's he doing?"

Reggie's mother was looking around for her son, who did not appear to be there.

"Beats me, the crazy fool!"

The sergeant spoke his thought out loud, as he tried to work out what to do next.

It must have been a good ten minutes later, when a light appeared in the sky. Perris jumped to attention switching on his various pieces of equipment as the light grew nearer, eventually coming to a rest just above his head.

The sergeant took a pair of sunglasses out of his tunic pocket, which he used to filter out the winter's sunshine, which was quite dazzling whenever it hung low in the sky. He was sure he could see some sort of a craft, which he suspected was a helicopter, bringing another set of thoughts into his mind. He watched intently as the light descended, landing on the grass a few hundred metres away. Standing there open mouthed, he watched the light dissipate, revealing a small space ship.

Perris froze, unable to move a muscle as a hatch in the side opened and three figures emerged from the swirls of mist, which had been swept up from the damp grass. It seemed to take forever for them to walk slowly towards him. Reggie's mother could just make out what she thought was a man, woman and a child, and she had the shock of her life when she suddenly recognised Bob, and Reggie.

She quickly rushed forwards to greet them, followed by a rather numb-struck sergeant, who could not believe his eyes. He thought that Perris might have been involved in something, but nothing quite like this. He stood with his mouth open, as there between them stood Heather, wearing nothing but the skimpiest black underwear. Bob and Reggie were in their underclothes too, after discarding their space suits. When Perris finally managed to move, the space ship had already started to lift off, and he ran forwards, as it hovered above him. Then it suddenly turned, and with breathtaking speed, shot off silently in a brilliant flash of light.

Reggie's mother hugged him excitedly, whilst the sergeant took off his tunic, wrapping it round his special constable, coughing loudly to hide his embarrassment. All three seemed disorientated, as they made their way back to the car park.

Nothing much was said on the way home. Reggie's mother just held onto him tightly, whilst his uncle Bob sat next to her on the back seat. Heather sat in the front next to her sergeant, who was wondering just what he was going to put in his report!

Perris on the other hand, was still bewildered, stumbling about on the moor as he tried to pack away his equipment. He was not alone; as there was a man from the _Ministry_ lurking behind a tree, ready to apprehend him!

Monday morning came around far too quickly, and Reggie found himself back at school again. The first lesson was English, which was not so bad - better than double maths anyway!

The teacher came in, carrying a pile of exercise books. Reggie yawned, not having got much sleep after his little adventure. He was hoping that his mother would have let him have the day off school, but she thought it best that he return back to normality as soon as possible.

The teacher gained everyone's attention, requesting quiet in the mêlée of a Monday morning.

"Right, now class, what I want you to do this morning is to write an essay on what you did over the weekend, whilst I get on with some marking!"

Reggie put his head in his hands.

"Where do I start..."

## Thank you for reading my book

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