Shift: Chapter Three - Goggle Eyed

Chapter Three

Goggle Eyed

Ellie struggled, but the hand over her mouth and the arm pinning her arms to her waist gripped her like a vice, preventing any possibility of movement. Desperately she tried to kick her attacker but he lifted into the air leaving her legs flailing uselessly.

"Keep still dammit!" a voice hissed in her ear. "I know this is frightening and you have no reason to trust me, and I know how this must seem - but I'm trying to be a gentleman here, I've got my eyes shut and everything!"

Ellie stopped kicking, but did not relax. Her assailant relaxed his grip ever so slightly and she tried to work out whether she could break free and find some kind of weapon. She was in a bathroom, there must be some kind of pipe or something she could break? The voice hissed in her ear again.

"Look, I'm going to let go of you, and back as far away as I can. I'm not here to hurt you. All I ask is that you hear me out before you do anything. If you scream your captors will hear you and we're both in the shit. I'm here to help, honestly. Nod if that's okay."

Ellie nodded and felt her assailant's grip slacken. The arms released her and whoever had been holding her stepped back. She moved swiftly to the other side of the bathroom and flattened herself against the wall clutching the towel around her and twisting around to see her assailant.

He was a shortish man dressed entirely in black. Black army boots. Black jeans. Black collarless shirt. Black waistcoat. World War Two style flying goggles and black bowler hat, battered black leather satchel over one shoulder. The only break in the monochrome was the silver of his watch chain and goggles, and the insanely pale whiteness of his skin and close cropped hair. She scowled.

"You!"

He raised a hand and turned his back.

"Me. Yes, I was following you luv, and I'm sorry I scared you but I really do have your best interests at heart. I've got my back to you - would I do that to protect your modesty if I was the bad guy?" Keeping his face to the wall the man in the bowler hat spread his arms out wide.

"All I ask is that you listen to me.  But listen well because right now I'm the only person who can get you out of this."

Ellie drew the towel even more tightly around her and scowled. She briefly considered knocking him out while his back was turned, but something about the way he carried himself made her think he was probably tougher than he looked. Also, the idea of wrestling a strange man to the ground while wearing nothing but a towel didn't seem  like a plan with much scope for success. Besides, she had so many questions she didn't know where to start.

"Where are we?"

"It's called The Office. It's the home base of The Auditors. Exactly where that is and who they are is an explanation for when we have more time."

"What the hell are you doing sneaking up on me in the bloody shower?"

When the man in the bowler hat answered there was just a hint of amusement in his voice. "The Auditors are bastards, but they're not peeping toms. This is the one place in the whole Office where they won't be watching you. That allowed me to phase in unseen. I couldn't believe my luck when they let you go to the khazi, I really couldn't. They'll have sensed me by now, but it'll be a little while before they think to look here."

Ellie thought for a moment.

"So. Suppose I trust you. I certainly don't have much interest in staying here, so how do we get out?"

"Won't lie to you - it's not going to be easy. This place is famous for being impossible to escape - but if you stick close to me we should have a decent chance. First thing you do is put some bloody clothes on though. Masterminding impossible escapes is one thing, but having to do it with my eyes shut would be showing off. Don't worry, I'll keep my back turned while you get dressed and I explain what happens next."

Ellie fished her clothes off the floor and began to struggle back into them. The man in the bowler hat went on.

"A lot of what we're about to do won't make a lot of sense, I'm afraid. You'll understand when you know more, but for now it's all going to seem a little weird."

Ellie snorted. "Weirder than getting kidnapped by two dudes in pinstripe suits and then attacked in the shower by a man in a bowler hat and flying goggles? Really?"

The man in the bowler hat smiled to himself. He didn't usually have much time for the monkeys, but he liked this one's attitude. "I didn't attack you in the shower, I waited 'till you were out and covered up. And it was for your own good. And don't knock the goggles, they're useful." He paused. "Are you decent  yet, by the way? It feels odd talking to the wall."

Ellie finished pulling her t-shirt over her head. "Sure, you can turn around now."

The man in the bowler hat turned to face her and flashed a disarming grin. "Right. This is the bad news. We are deep in the heart of The Office, which is very definitely hostile territory. We are locked in a bathroom, and the door will be being watched so we can't go out that way. Once we're out of this room the Auditors will know exactly where we are, and all they need to do is get a line of sight on us to freeze us solid."

Ellie thought of the way she'd been unable to move back in her cell and shuddered. "Is there good news?"

"Not really." He thrust his hands into his pockets and paused thoughtfully for a moment. "Well, I suppose I'm probably the one person in all creation who can get you out of here." He fished in his satchel and pulled out another pair of flying goggles which he held out to Ellie. "Put these on."

Ellie took them and held them up, wrinkling her nose and frowning. "What the hell for? I'll look ridiculous!"

The man in the bowler hat sighed and rubbed his temples. For a second he looked very old and very tired. "Look Ellie, we're short of time. If you don't wear the goggles you'll probably go blind. Besides, like I said, they're useful in any case. Just do it."

Ellie stuck her tongue out at him and pulled the bulky goggles down over her eyes. She instantly lifted them back up. "What the?"

The man in the bowler hat flashed another grin. "Good, aren't they? I'll explain them later, but in the meantime put the buggers on and let's get out of here - there's are limit to how long a shower and a piss can reasonably take."

As if on cue there was a loud knock at the door. The man in the bowler held out his hand. "Time's up. Coming?"

Ellie gritted her teeth, pulled the goggles back over her eyes, grabbed his hand and the world went purple.

-oOo-

The cadaverous man stood outside the door of the bathroom. He'd been against letting the female attend to biological functions. She had been beyond their observation for too long and he was suspicious. He banged on the door again, when, without warning his vision filled with purple and he was thrown back down the white walled corridor. Instantly he was on his feet and sprinting towards the bathroom door. The door remained firmly locked from the inside, but he ran through it as though it was not there. Finding the marble bathroom empty the cadaverous man screamed with a yell of rage that echoed across the universe.

Then he turned, and stalked back the way he came.

-oOo-

Ellie hit the ground hard enough for all the wind to be knocked out of her. She lay still for a second and mentally checked to make sure that she was still in one piece. Everything seemed fine, although she had one hell of a headache again. The world smelled of cut grass and rain, and she could feel the regenerating warmth of a summer sun on her face. She was beginning to sit up when two strong arms dragged her to her feet.

"RUN!"

Even before she'd fully opened her eyes the man in the bowler hat was dragging her along, firmly gripping her by the elbow. They were running down a grassy slope, zigzagging their way along at break neck speed. Through the goggles the world looked, well, different. As though somebody had drawn paths and doors on the landscape with a neon green pen. They seemed to be running towards one of those neon "doors".

The air was a ragged knife in Ellie's lungs. "Hold... on..." she gasped. "Need... to... breathe..."

The man in the bowler hat didn't slow down. "No time." His voice betrayed no sign that he was breathing hard at all. "Breathe later." Had she not been utterly convinced in that moment that her life depended on this bowler hatted loony, Ellie would have punched him. But there was something in his tone, something about his presence that convinced her that he was genuine and if he said "run", then running was what she needed to do.

Even so, the first explosion surprised her.

-oOo-

The man known as "Bunco" sat on the edge of his leather upholstered mahogany chair and watched the screen on the console intently. As he watched two figures were running down a grassy hill away from a large, white, cube shaped building. "So far so good..." he muttered under his breath. He winced as the first explosion detonated behind them. His hands danced across the console, flicking switches and twisting knobs.

"C'mon Tris, you can do it, keep going straight, I can deal with the mines, but you've got to keep moving!"

The voice from the glowing orb by Bunco's head didn't sound out of breath, but did carry the mildest hint of irritation. "Teach your bloody grandmother Bunco - we don't need long."

Bunco grinned. "That's good - because I can't give you long! Now shut up and keep moving!"

On the screen the two figures were approaching what appeared to be a large door drawn in green neon pen. Bunco twisted knobs and pushed buttons frantically, but the plumes of exploding dirt were getting closer to them. The figures reached the neon green door just as the line of explosions caught up with them. The disappeared in a cloud of purple and exploding dirt.

Bunco yelled into the glowing orb. "Tris! You there mate?"

On the screen the dust began to settle to reveal the blasted remains of the once green hillside. The orb remained silent.

-oOo-

The cadaverous man stared at his screen. The flash of purple had been blinding and he couldn't tell whether the final explosion had caught the infidel or not. he could no longer sense the heretic, but that would be the case whether he was dead or had escaped. Either way he had lost the girl. His whispering raspy voice was resonant with fury.

"Send an assessment squad. I want to know where they are. I want to know now."

-oOo-

Every molecule of Ellie's body felt like it was on fire. She closed her eyes so tightly it hurt but still the violent purple light was blinding. If she'd been able to she would have screamed but she simply didn't have the air in her lungs. The pain was indescribable - rivulets of fire coursed along her spine, her head felt as though it was aflame and her lungs felt as though her chest was in a vice.

Then suddenly it stopped, and there was only blackness.