I quietly left the quarters and walked down the road to the main camp. I did not want to speak to the others until I had first talked with El Jeffe, believing it to be highly likely that he had received a similar visitation to my own. The sky was gradually changing from black to grey during this transitional period between night and day, and the air was chill. It would soon warm up when the sun rose, but for now I buttoned up my jacket and pulled up the collar.
I hoped that El Jeffe was still asleep in the corner of the operations room that he had partitioned off as his bedroom. A guard in a watch tower waved in recognition as I passed by. It was good to see that he was alert, and I knew that the perimeter guards would be in a similar state of readiness.
I went up the spiral stairs of the watchtower and into the operation room. Operatives were busy preparing to hand over to the day shift, and I nodded to them as I went over to the partition of El Jeffe's sleeping quarters.
"Are you awake, El Jeffe? David, here. I would like to talk to you if I may."
There was no reply, and I peered around the flimsy wall and saw that his bed was empty.
"Does anybody know where El Jeffe is?" I asked the room.
"He left about an hour ago," said one of the operatives. "He didn't say where he was going."
I left to check his office in the main block, but it was in darkness and locked. He could be inspecting the defences, but if I was correct about his night visitor, he would scarcely be in the right frame of mind to do that. He would likely search out a place of solitude where he could think things through, and I immediately thought of the old Hanger where he had arranged our first meeting.
I was there in ten minutes and cautiously opened the door. It was fairly light by then, and I could see him sitting on a packing case, deep in thought.
I called out his name, and he rose to meet me. His face was drawn and unsmiling.
"What are you doing here?" He asked,
"We need to talk," I replied.
"Not now. I have some matters that I want to think over in private. I will see you back at operations."
He turned away from me and sat down again.
"We must talk now," I said.
"Must?" He replied. "Who do you think you are? His tone of voice convinced me.
"You've asked yourself that question before. El Jeffe you were listening to the whispers in your mind."
He jumped back to his feet, alarmed.
"How do you know about that?"
"Because I've heard them too."
The air between us was charged with electricity.
"That's not possible."
"Nothing is impossible, El Jeffe. You know that. You've felt it."
He seemed close to tears.
What do you want from me ?"
"The same thing you want," I replied. " To recognise what is true and what is a lie and remember why we fight. You've been dreaming bad thoughts. That's all. Ignore it."
"There's a difference between dreaming and logical thinking."
"Your thinking processes were corrupted by a malign power."
"How do you know that? Tell me, David—are you here to save my soul, or persuade me to recognise an enemy that does not exist?
"You know it exists. You called it evil."
" I was frightened by a shadow, nothing more. I spoke without thinking."
"It wasn't a shadow, El Jeffe. And you know it."
So what? It's telling the truth! We're just relics from the past. Time has moved on, and the machines have taken our place. We are no longer the dominant species."
"That's exactly what it wants you to think. Listen to me. El Jeffe. Intelligent machines are not the next step in evolution. They are tools, initially designed and manufactured by us, but now someone else is using them as agents to help destroy us.
"Why should I believe you? I don't know what is real anymore. You could be another voice in my head. Another ghost. What do you want from me, David?"
"I want you to remember who you are. I want you to fight."
"And if I can't?" he said.
"Then I'll fight for you. Until you remember."
El Jeffe looked up, puzzled, but there was hope in his eyes.
"...What are you, David?"
I didn't answer but offered him my hand.
He stared at it for a long moment. I had finally broken the spell.
Then he smiled and took my hand in his own.
It was a special moment between us, and after the handshake, we embraced.
I no longer had any reason to doubt El Jeffe.
There was an implicit agreement between us that the subject was now closed, and we arranged for El Jeffe to return to the operations room, and I would go back to the living quarters to brief my men.
It was fully light now, and I heard the sounds of the camp coming to life as I walked down the road. My instinct was to stay and help El Jeffe organise his defences against a further attack but eventually return to the mountains and seek out my nemesis. I would give my men a free vote on whether to accompany me or not.
I had not given much thought to their personal goals, how they intended to live out their lives in this world, or whether they planned to move on.
I had become totally self-absorbed in my personal mission to seek out Satan and had not given enough consideration to the needs of others. I wondered if the real pilot officer Lamb was still alive. Had the machines spared him when they created his android double? I hoped so. Hector had been a courageous RAF pilot who had awoken to find his mind trapped in the body of a machine. He had endured the torment for countless years, yet it had not twisted his mind, and he had done all he could to help me.
Sol greeted me at the door of our quarters, and I felt a stab of guilt for not fully re-engaging with him since his fortuitous arrival in this new world, and not just him, but the human who temporarily inhabited his circuits.
"Welcome, David, we are glad to see your safe return."
"Thank you, Sol. May I ask if Steven Mandell is still with you?"
"I am afraid that I am unable to answer your question, David," he said. "When I first arrived here, I thought that he was, but we never fully established contact, and now I am not sure. I would say the connection is still in place, but he has not yet chosen to activate it. I will inform you if the situation changes."
"Thank you, Sol. I take it you are well in yourself and have not found the transfer here a burden in any way?"
"Not at all, David. I am proud to serve."
"Good," I replied. "Are all the others up?"
"Yes. They are waiting inside," said Sol." I will stay on guard".
Jarvis, McCloud, Rogers, and Joe were sitting at the kitchen table, drinking coffee, and Jarvis handed me a cup.
"Welcome back, David. We have a lot to discuss," said Jarvis.
We spoke of the previous day's activities, and Joe brought me up to date on the damaged Skytrain.
"We were lucky," he said." I can adapt the parts I need from the stock on base. Structurally, the aircraft is basically sound, and the damage is repairable. That would not have been the case if we had dragged it off the runway to clear it for use. Overall, I would say two days, possibly three, to get her airworthy."
"What then?" I asked. "Do we stay, or do we go?"
The men were silent and looked puzzled.
"That depends on you, David," said Jarvis, and the other three murmured their agreement.
"Do you have no preference?" I asked.
It was Rogers of all people who answered, and he replied as if he were explaining the rules of a game to one of his students.
"This is your mission, David, and we are here to help you succeed. In certain situations, we may suggest tactics to best achieve local objectives, but the long-term decisions are yours. You issue your orders, and we obey. Those were the conditions of our transfer to this reality."
"But why do you do it?" I asked, "What is in it for you?"
"We are not indifferent. We believe that what you are doing is for the good, and we want you to succeed. There is also the question of loyalty to a cause we shared in an alternative past. We are proud to serve you and the greater cause that you represent."
"And that goes for all of us," said Jarvis. "Well spoken, Rogers".
"Hear, hear", said McCloud.
Joe smiled in agreement and said. "I second that."
I was moved by this show of support.
"Thank you," I said," but I don't think I am going to let you passively accept whatever I say. I need help in working out what to do for the best. My ultimate aim is to return to the mountains and actively seek out Satan, but I do not want to leave El Jeffe until I am sure that the airfield is well prepared to repel any further attack, and.... "
But I got no further.
Sol burst through the door and shouted.
"Something has happened to spook the perimeter guards. You need to come."
We rose to our feet as one and ran outside. The sky had changed to a deep purple, blocking out the sun, and a strong wind whipped up the surface of the airfield, forcing us to turn away and cover our faces against a hail of stinging sand. The dim light was tinged with red and shadows hurtled overhead screeching like demons from hell.
The guards on the perimeter fence hear a whispering voice carried on the wind. The words are indistinct, but the intent is clear.
You are already dead. Run. Save yourself.
The whispers come again, louder now, a chorus of voices overlapping, hissing from the shadows. The soldiers shifted uncomfortably, their fingers tightening on their weapons. Then, the first apparition appears—a fleeting shape at the edge of the dunes, half-seen. A face with no eyes. A hand with too many fingers stretching towards them. It's there, then gone.
More shapes emerge from the darkness—figures that shouldn't exist, moving towards them in waves. Some are human-like, but wrong: limbs too long, faces like gargoyles. Others are just shadows, shifting and writhing like smoke. The whispers grow louder, more insistent.
Leave. Flee. There is nothing left to fight for.
A soldier near the eastern perimeter drops his rifle and bolts. The others hesitate, their resolve crumbling. The whispers become a roar, a cacophony of voices screaming in their minds:
You will lose. You are already lost. RUN.
The airfield descended into chaos. Soldiers abandon their posts, stumbling over each other in their haste to escape.
A figure steps in front of them, and the fleeing soldiers see that it is David. He moves calmly, as if the storm of shadows can't touch him, and the men stop in their tracks. The entities instantly react. The whispers falter, talking in tongues that have no base in human language. The shadows recoiled, hissing like serpents.
David's voice cut through the babble.
"Enough."