Tuesday 10 June 2014

The Crystal Skulls of Halsinar : Part 4

Part 4 : Deeper into Terror

Ben Chatham parked his vintage car outside Cambridge police station and he and Katie Ryan strode up the steps towards the entrance doors.
"I've no idea what they want. As if I'm not busy enough," Ben complained, flicking his blonde hair out of his dark, dreamy eyes. Katie frowned:
"Well it must be important or they wouldn't have been so hush hush on the phone", she replied.
As they entered the station, a drunken black man was being manhandled out of the reception area and towards the cells:
"I ain't done nuffinck, leggo a me ya bastards", the man shouted. A policeman punched him in the stomach:
"Stop whining, or you'll get more of that in the cells", the policeman shouted. Ben walked up to the desk:
"I'm not impressed with your interview technique here. It feels like one has crossed a time loop interface and gone back to the 1970s," Ben observed. The officer behing the desk slammed his pen down hard:
"You'll get nowhere being arty tarty in here son. What do you want?" he said tersely.
"I'm Ben Chatham of Operation Delta. I have an appointment with Chief Superintendent Ashton."

Shortly afterwards, Ben sat in Superintendent Ashton's office as Ashton poured them all a glass of Laphroaig single malt.
"I apologise for my shortness on the phone Mr Chatham, however when you hear the details of the case I'm sure you'll understand the motive behind my discretion. Here, get this whisky down you, water the brain cells *knocks back his glass in one*. The simple truth is that our MP Sir Basil Colley has been kidnapped. A fine man and a personal friend, both on the golf course and down at the lodge *winks*. Furthermore the body of an academic Dr Jeremy Lenton was found in his office, burned to death. The reason I called you is because the witness to the events, Sir Basil's secretary Miriam Keeler, suggested that the killer used a bolt of energy from his hand to kill. Clearly the floozy could be exaggerating or mistaken however this maybe a case that relates to your organisation's remit."
Ben flicked his hair out of his eyes:
"Oh yes, I'm sure that it is. I met Dr Lenton only this morning. I believe that this is connected to some stolen alien crystal skulls and a supernatural goblet. I fear the complex, myriad strands of an alien plot and therefore will have a Fox's Glacier Mint to calm my nerves, " Ben stated, taking a packet of mints from his pocket and unwrapping one. Its cool flavours soothed his spirit and a pulsating web of crystalline colours enveloped his mind. Superintendent Ashton poured Ben another single malt:
"Wash it down with this Mr Chatham, you'll soon be fine. The killer and kidnapper was a scruffy youth according to the floozy. He left a note which demands an audience with the PM or Colley dies. Needless to say I've contacted the undertaker *chuckles*"

Joe Hannigan stumbled along the pathway near the river cam, his mind racing with the energy of power. He had killed Colley and buried him in some woods that he had driven to using a stolen car. In the distant recesses if his usurped mind he knew that this was not what he wanted to do however the power of the crystal skulls was too strong. He must bow to their will, and part of him needed to do this as the skulls offered him his chance of revenge on the world which had all his life treated him as an outsider. As he neared Grantchester he heard music and dimly remembered that this was the week of the Grantchester V76 Festival, a music festival popular with Cambridge University students celebrating finishing their exams. Joe felt the sharp white barbs of wild hatred as he thought of the students and their well ordered lives.
He crossed several fields and approached the festival perimeter fence. It was too high to climb, however Joe raised his hand and a bolt of green energy shot into the solid metal fence and melted a huge hole in it, which Joe climbed through. Walking through the crowd, Joe overheard a group of students talking:
"I'm like so looking forward to the Killers. They're like so awesome", a posh-voiced girl said.
"Oh but they're rather passe, don't you think Arabella? One just adores neo-punk" her boyfriend replied.
Joe was filled with fury. What did these priviledged people know about real music or punk? He asked himself. To him they were imposters, playing at being radical. Angered, he raised his hand:
"Hey you two, fancy dying today?" he shouted. The two students looked puzzled:
"Are you talking to us?" the boy asked.
"No, I'm killing you" Joe replied with a grin as he raised his hand and a bolt of green energy shot into the students and their hair burst out in flames, crackling and spitting. Passers by screamed as Joe raised his other hand and bolts of energy shot out in all directions, reducing people to smouldering heaps. He shot a bolt at the stage as a band called The Future were playing their set. The stage exploded and Joe grinned:
"The future are in the past" he muttered to himself  Yet inside, another Joe, the real Joe, knew that what he was doing was wrong, that his hatred and frustration was being grossly amplified by some outside power. But this power was too strong.  As the crowd stampeded for the exits, trampling each other in the frenzy, Joe slipped away and out of the hole in the fence. As he did so he felt a hazy light all around him and collapsed onto the ground, a wall of smoke in front of him. Out of the wall of smoke stepped a figure dressed in armour. The figure walked towards him:
"You must not waste your energy on such trifles as this. There is more serious work to do," the figure said.......

.............. to be continued.