Cold War in a Country Garden by Lindsay Gutteridge

Author:Lindsay Gutteridge
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Science Fiction
Publisher: Pocket Books
Published: 1973-06-30T16:00:00+00:00

They carried out the bed on to the platform. It was a lovely September day; sun shone through the shed window and the scent of honeysuckle drifted through a broken pane and filled the air.

Charlie dozed and rubbed fitfully at his nose and his breath rasped in his throat.

Henry sat at the foot of the bed. “He’s having trouble with smell as well as his other senses.”

“They’ve made a real cock-up of his treatment,” said Olsen, “that’s for sure.”

At sundown they carried him indoors and at ten o’clock Dilke was informed that the drug was waiting for collection. He went into the chamber. The breathing of the sick man was slower, his features were relaxed, his eyes closed. Dilke spoke quietly to him, “Charlie. How are you feeling? We’re collecting some stuff which will make you feel better. We’ll be back soon.” Deep furrows marked the brow and slowly the eyes opened; they were weary but intelligent.

“We won’t be long, Charlie. Henry will stay with you.”

“I feel the cold, sir.”

Dilke put a hand on his forehead; the skin was wet and fish cold.

“Keep him covered,” he said to Henry.

Olsen handed Dilke his crossbow and the torch and they clambered over the side of the platform into the dark. They needed the torch until they entered the garden, then the way was bright with moonlight. They moved fast, alternately walking and trotting; the way was familiar and well lit; in three hours they reached the window seat and Dilke swept its length with the torch. Two long chalk marks had been drawn on the wood forming a huge cross; at its intersection Dilke found a bottle. It lay in the powdered chalk, the capsules inside sparkled in the torchlight. Dilke picked it up and they turned and ran, leaving two lines of chalk footprints to the edge of the seat, fading to nothing as they descended the black cable.

In two hours they had reached the carrot plantation and the breeze which came before dawn swayed the carrot tops. They paused halfway up the hill to regain their breaths. The wind subsided, the rustling overhead stopped, then from behind them and to the east of the track there came a curious sound. As it became louder they could distinguish it more clearly as a crash of feet and the rattle of disturbed stones and rubble. They saw flickering movements in the shadows of the plantation. Both men leapt off the track and stood behind the bole of a carrot. The long shape of a centipede suddenly appeared on the track along which they had travelled, its articulated body metallic in the waning moonlight.

The creature paused momentarily—they crouched down —then it crossed the track and ran swiftly on, its battalion of legs swinging rhythmically. The sound of its movements came in fits and starts till it faded and was overlaid by the sound of the returning breeze.

Dilke released a long-held breath and became aware of the heavy beat of his heart. The wind chilled his sweating body.

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