Polly Pippin and The Tunnel of Death Read online

  'Good story Ape. But what's all this got to do with what's just happened to Polly?' Hamish interrupted, sounding decidedly sarcastic.

  'Shut up Hamish and listen. We haven't got much time.'

  Ape knew the Freeflyers had transmitted a codicil-memory - a memory of something that did not happen - into Hamish's brain. Now was the time to activate it.

  'Do you remember when we were in the Special Air Forces together?' Ape crossed his fingers.

  'Of course I do, idiot.' Hamish got up to leave. 'Look Ape, that's history. I'm worried about my sister.'

  The Freeflyer memory programming had worked. 'Sit down Ham. You need to hear this.'

  'Okay Ape, but get to the point.'

  'Right. When we were in the Air force, what is happening now had already started. One of the reasons I remember everything is, firstly because of the bomb that exploded and nearly killed us both. When I came to, we were both in hospital with severe head injuries. You were still unconscious, and I lapsed into a kind of a coma that activated my anti-mind. It was like a sort of dreamtime. My memory was alive with images, and I could not rationalise what I was seeing and thinking. Then the Freeflyers arrived, healed you and took me to another universe. Polly, Alison, Lily, Lucy, Piers and Miles were all involved.'

  'What the hell are Freeflyers? And why wasn't I involved?' Hamish demanded to know and was secretly a little hurt that he had not been involved.

  'To answer your last question first. You were not affected because you were living in Australia at the time and were protected by the vibes from the Sacred Cave. And second, Freeflyers live in the First Universe and have come to Earth to save you and Byzantine Crescent from the Rebels.'

  'Oh, that really helps. Look Ape, normally I know you better than to disbelieve you. However, on this occasion have you bumped your head or emptied the brandy bottle?'

  'That's not funny, Hamish. Please try and understand,' Ape said. 'And before you say another word, remember what I'm saying to you. We are all UFOs.'

  Ape had finally lost it. It must have been the bomb blast, Hamish thought. 'We are UFOs, Ape? Please.'

  'Yes Hamish. Uninitiated Flying Omniscients, and until you believe me, you are going to be as vulnerable as your sister. I need you by my side when the going gets tough.'

  ~

  'Hello.' The front door opened, Polly's voice rang clearly through the house, and everyone rushed into the hall. Barbara called morning tea was ready, and they all walked into the kitchen to the delightful smell of scones baking. Barbara was a good cook, so when they sat round the table to hear Polly's news, it was with watering mouths.

  'Polly, thank goodness! We were so worried about you. What happened? Are you okay? Why did they let you go?' Hamish questioned, his arms round her.

  'Well, of course, they let me go. They were most apologetic. They said they were only doing their duty, they even gave me a lift back. I invited them in for a coffee, they are just parking the car.'

  Ape leapt up as the two policemen walked in, and he knew exactly what they were - Rebels. He threw an invisible protective web over the girls, which unfortunately missed Barbara. Thinking she could be Polly, one of the Rebels grabbed her and tried to pull her out into the street. Before the boys could rush to her defence, she caught the Rebel by the hair, swung him round, punched him in the face and threw him out of the kitchen. The other Rebel ran out in fear of his life.

  Hamish was amazed. 'Barbara, how did you do that?' he asked.

  'Oh, it was nothing. I have a black belt in judo, karate and Tibetan wrestling.'

  'I'm impressed,' Hamish said, his admiration growing.

  'Of course not idiot. I'm just a big girl - I frighten everybody.'

  Ape turned to Hamish. 'Time to leave!' he yelled, and the world went black.

  Unexpected Invasion

  Commander Rhettnor sat in his garden in the First Universe deep in thought. The Dark Universe had started the invasion of Earth earlier than anyone in Zenithal in the First Universe had thought possible. And the great warriors, Rebels Zack and Knox, had led the invasion. His mind went back to the births on Earth of the sons of Freeflyers Sreip and Selim and Earthbeings Celeste and Serena. What a battle. I knew the Rebels had got to the girls before I did, taken the babies, and they would already be on the way to the Dark Universe - such a prize.

  ~

  I managed to save the girls from the Rebels but knew I was too late to save the babies. The Spider Squadron gently put the half-drugged girls into a silver web, as my Freeflyer troopers secured the area. It was time to tell the girls their newborn babies had been kidnapped by the Rebels. I heard a baby coo and thought I must be imagining it, it must have been what I so wanted to hear. I finally plucked up the courage to tell the mothers the Rebels had the babies. I looked in the web and could not believe my eyes. The two young mothers, still woozy, each had a baby lying in their arms, and four orbs were fluttering overhead. The girls had a set of identical twins - four boys. It seemed unbelievable. I knew then I must keep this a secret. No one must know about these second babies. The first born of each set of twins was kidnapped, we named the second twins Piers and Miles, as was our custom, and I had to keep them safe.

  ~

  I didn't tell the girls about the stolen babies and instructed the Spider Squadron to transport the two babies I had saved to the Guardian of the First Universe living on Earth. I told everyone, including the fathers Sreip and Selim, that Celeste and Serena had died in childbirth. I chose to keep them safe on Zenithal, and for very good reason. Commander Rhettnor wiped away a tear and looked up to see his brother Commander Xavier walking towards him.

  'Rhett, something's wrong.'

  'Yes, very wrong Xavier. Somehow Commander Pope has found out that Celeste and Serena had twin boys. That Piers and Miles are the identical twin brothers of Zack and Knox. At the time, the Rebels did not know that. They only got the first twin - one from each girl.

  'How did that happen?' Xavier asked. 'So few of us knew! Who would betray us?'

  'I don't know, but what I do know is, we have to guard our boys against the Rebels. So it has been decided to protect them, we are going to plant a codicil-memory in their minds. A memory of life with their twins living and growing together since birth. They must never find out Zack and Knox were stolen away by the Rebels at birth. And that they are Rebel warriors, hell bent on destroying Earth and Capturing the First Universe.'

  'Is that a good idea, Rhett? What if they meet? Now Commander Pope knows he will tell Zack and Knox to do all they can to capture Piers and Miles.'

  'I don't think he will. He won't inform Zack and Knox they are twins in case the bond of identical twins is strong,' Rhettnor said. 'In any case, the memory we'll implant is only temporary and can be removed when we think it's safe. Right now, they will think the twins, called Zack and Knox have been working in the Australian outback for at least five years so will never meet.

  'But to what end Rhett?'

  Just in case the worse happens, and they do meet. They will see they are identical twins. It might upset them enough for Zack and Knox to capture them, and that we can't afford.

  'True, Rebels have no heart.'

  'Yes… Anyway, I personally think the Rebels are too busy trying to destroy the Earth to bother about that. And a Spider Warrior - invisible, of course - will be by Piers and Miles side at all times to report back to us in case they are ever in danger,' added Rhettnor. Your first priority is, keeping The Invisible Secret of Byzantine Crescent, the girls and Earth safe.'

  Happy times

  Polly woke in her bed, stretched, yawned, heard noises coming from the kitchen and got up. She searched for her slippers, yawned again and yelled, 'Ali, let's go out for coffee.' She ran down the stairs to see two kitten-like creatures drinking milk out of a saucer.

  'Aren't they cute, Pol? When I opened the back door, they both wandered in.'

  Polly squatted. 'I've never seen kittens so brightly coloured, and look at the tails! Shall
we keep them?' One of the creatures left the milk and wrapped itself round Polly's ankles.

  She picked it up, and it purred and cooed. 'I think it likes me.' And looking into its beautiful eyes, she said. 'It's like a cross between a kitten and a meerkat, but with something else as well.'

  'I thought so too. Anyway, you wanted to go out for coffee? Shall we take these two little animals with us?'

  'I think we should. We can buy them a little harness and a warm coat, and we might be able to find the owners. They are probably missing them terribly.'

  ~

  They walked to the city and after buying the little animals all they needed from the local pet shop, they went for the much-needed coffee. They sat outside their favourite café, Brown Sugar, under a coloured umbrella, their new 'babies' settled comfortably on their laps, waiting for their coffee and croissants.

  Two motorbikes came roaring round the corner and pulled up outside the film studio next door to the café. The men alighted dressed in the appropriate leather gear and helmets, looking very sexy. As he took off his helmet, one of the lads said, 'Shall we have a coffee before work?'

  'Good idea. I'm a little peckish,' the other said.

  'Miles mate, why am I not surprised?' Piers said, as he glanced round and saw two good-looking girls with the most amazing-looking animals sitting in their laps. He walked over to them with a grin on his face. 'Mind if we join you? All the other tables seem to be taken.'

  Polly looked round - half the tables were empty - but she smiled up at Piers and said. 'Cheeky thing.' A pleasant shiver went through her veins. Not only was this lad incredibly good-looking, but she also had a feeling she knew him.

  'Can I presume that's a yes. I'm Piers, and this is Miles. What would you girls like? My shout,' Piers offered, and he called over the waitress.

  'Hi Lily. The usual for us, and whatever the girls would like, please. Oh and some of your excellent pastries too.'

  'Hello Lily, our usual too,' Polly said, smiling.

  Piers smiled. 'Do you come here often? I don't remember seeing you here before,' he said.

  'Only since my best friend Lily took over,' Polly said.

  'Well, I'm glad you did,' said Miles. 'And what amazing-looking animals! What are they?'

  'We don't know,' Alison said. 'They just wandered into our kitchen this morning and were so cute we decided to keep them safe till we find the owners.'

  'If we wandered into your kitchen and looked cute, would you keep us too?' Miles asked. They all laughed, and both the girls thought, yes!

  Piers patted the little animal on Polly's lap. It cooed, ran up his arm and sat under his chin, purring.

  'I think she likes you,' Polly said. She took the little animal back and tickled behind her ears. 'We weren't sure if they were kittens or meerkats, and perhaps they had a squirrel for a mum as well. It's a lovely bushy tail.'

  'And maybe a bit of a peacock as well. Look at the colours,' Miles said, but he was reluctant to pat the little creature that sat on Alison's lap in case it bit him.

  Lily brought out the coffee and croissants. 'It's my break. Mind if I join you?'

  'Not at all,' Polly said happily, and the two girls shifted round. Piers and Miles were pleased, as now they were sitting so close to the girls they were almost touching. They enjoyed the morning tea, finding they had much in common. Piers, as offered, paid the bill.

  'I hope you don't mind me asking, but can we go out Saturday?' Piers had felt so good in the girls' company he wanted to see them again.

  'Yeah, that would be great,' Miles added.

  'We would love that. But we have friends coming over for dinner Saturday. Hey, why don't you come and you Lily and bring Lucy? That's her twin,' Polly added.

  'I didn't know you were a twin, Lily. And you're not going to believe it, but I'm a twin, and so is Miles,' Piers said.

  'Really?' Polly said. 'Then they are invited too. Everyone's invited.'

  ~

  The Spider Freeflyers hiding in a dark corner of the café held their breath. This was the time when the codicil-memory that had been planted would really be tested.

  'Unfortunately that can't happen Polly. Our twins Zack and Knox are in Australia, finding old caves and digging up artifacts.’

  The Freeflyers breathed a sigh of relief - the codicil-memory had worked.

  'But my older sister Gemma is visiting us just now. Could I bring her?' Piers asked. 'She doesn't eat much,' he added, grinning.

  'We'd love to meet her. I'll invite my older brother Hamish to keep the numbers even.'

  After paying the bill, the boys rode off, saying they were looking forward to next Saturday.

  'Oh no! I was so excited,' said Polly, 'I forgot to give them our address.'

  'That's okay. They own the film studio next door and come in every day. I'll give it to them,' Lily said.

  The girls walked home with the two little creatures riding on their shoulders, hoping Piers or Miles would ask for the address, and secretly feeling confident they would.

  The dinner party

  Mid-afternoon of the party, Polly rang her brother. 'Hi Hamish. You're coming tonight, aren't you? You could meet the girl of your dreams.'

  'No.' The reply was instant and definite.

  'Don't be such a spoilsport. I've invited a girl especially for you.'

  'She's probably spotty and ugly.'

  'Now you're being mean. Come on Hams. It's Piers sister - that chap I just met - and he's very good-looking.' Polly was a little defensive.

  'According to you he is, but it doesn't always follow… Anyway, do I have a choice?'

  'No! See you at seven.' Before Hamish could say another word, Polly slammed down the phone.

  The girls were all aflutter. 'How many are coming, Pol?' Alison asked as she made the shopping list.

  'Well, there's Piers, Miles, Lily, Lucy and Piers sister Gemma- that's five. Hamish rang this morning and wants to bring his friend Nick along, so that's seven. I've invited Barbara. I want to keep the numbers even. So, including us, it's the magic number ten.'

  'Barbara? That'll be fun,' Alison said sardonically. 'Barbara never stops talking… or eating.' She bit at the end of the pen. 'Shall we have the usual favourite for dessert - chocolate cream cake and strawberries?'

  'Why not? It might put the boys in a romantic mood.' Polly rolled over and kissed the cushion. 'Even Barbara could get lucky.'

  'You really are a dreadful thing Polly. At times I can't bear to think we're related.' Alison pretended to be angry and threw a cushion at Polly as she added. 'Anyway, shut up. I'm trying to make a list.'

  Eventually, the list was finished, shopping done and everything in the kitchen was happily bubbling away. The girls were in the bedroom deciding what to wear, and that was the biggest job of all.

  ~

  'Hellooo,' Hamish had arrived early “to help”.’

  'Hamish, get out of the kitchen and don't you dare touch a thing,' Polly said as she came rushing down the stairs.

  'I'm only going to be the taste doctor.'

  'No, you don't. Is Nick with you?'

  'No, he's gone to get some plonk.'

  'Oh my God! It's nearly seven. Make yourself useful Hamish, light the candles, please.' She rushed back upstairs to do the finishing touches to her make-up.

  'Slave driver!' Hamish called up.

  'And stay away from the food,' she returned.

  Hamish lit the candles and had a little taste of everything. He decided it was as good as it usually was, and then the doorbell rang.

  'Open the door please Hamish,' Polly called as she took a last look in the mirror and got to the door just behind him. An electric charge flew between Hamish, Piers and Miles. Hamish didn't know why, but he felt immediately comfortable with these Lads, which was unlike him he usually didn't like anyone.

  'Hi! Come in, come in, glad you could come.' Polly opened the door wider.

  Piers introduced his sister Gemma, who was stunning. Polly mouthed, 'I to
ld you so' to Hamish.

  'Hi,' a female voice came from behind the group on the doorstep. Lily and her twin Lucy arrived with Nick in tow, laden down with bottles of champagne.

  'Come in, come in, all of you, and welcome.' Polly shepherded them all in.

  Alison put on the music, and Nick was looking for a bottle opener, dancing the salsa as he did. Hamish put the champagne in the ice buckets and started to sing. The evening was looking very promising. After everyone had arrived and was sitting round chatting, Hamish stood and clinked his glass.

  'Okay, time to introduce ourselves and where we fit in,' Hamish suggested. 'There's nothing worse than being at a party and not knowing anyone. So starting with my sister, this is Polly, or Pollump, as she is known by family and close friends. She's going to be a famous actress. Well, in her own mind anyway.'

  Cheers and boos exploded around the room. 'And that strange-looking thing in her arms is Minx - a cross between, a squirrel, a meerkat and a kitten. We are not sure!'

  'Next Alison, our cousin, and Manx - same cross.' Miles looked directly at Alison and winked. She blushed. He's so handsome, she thought.

  Hamish continued. 'I'm Polly's elder brother. I was in the Air Force, finished my tour of duty, and now I'm a commercial pilot. Oh and I'm single.' Laughs all round.

  Nick stood. 'I'm a doctor. I met Hamish in hospital. I was lonely and desperate, so he became my new best friend.' Everyone laughed again. He turned to his left. 'Lily, your turn.'

  'I've known Polly and Alison since school. We have a bond as close as I have with my twin. I want to get married and have three sets of twins - with Hamish, of course!' And Lily threw her arms round Hamish's neck and gave him a noisy kiss on the cheek.

  Everyone laughed, and Hamish pretended to faint. 'Only joking,' Lily added.

  'Dinner is served!' Alison broke into the laughter as she called from the door.

  'We'll continue this after dinner. And I'll deal with you later Lily, you little devil,' Hamish said as he led them all to the dining room.