Storm Warning

The snow had been falling steadily all day and the weather forecaster said “there’s more on the way, guys”. The wind chill factor had dropped the air temperature by at least ten degrees. People were being warned not to venture far from their hearths and if a journey wasn’t necessary – forget about it!

The town of Pincossett always got hit badly by the snow and this year was going to be no different. Situated high up in the north of the country, the weather came directly from the steppes of Russia, dropping several degrees as it passed over the sea.

Shopkeepers were battening down their shops as yet another weather warning came over the radio. Shoppers stormed the supermarkets for food in case the town was snowed in and supplies couldn’t get through.

Rudi Hersault lived off Cedar Avenue and had a thriving business supplying the townsfolk with wood for their fires. During the summer, trade was fairly brisk as his customers bought wood to fill up their nearly empty wood storage areas. In the winter it was panic stations to keep everyone supplied and often Rudi had to go further and further a field to obtain lumber. He bought fallen trees from farmers, waste wood from builders and often collected drift wood from the beach. Transporting it back, to his saw mill, situated at the back of his house.

Pincosset was not a friendly burgh. It was populated by a lot of people eager to get out, but no one would buy their houses and so they stayed on – under duress. Lots of fights broke out due to the general feeling of frustration that everyone felt. As people became older they had accidents related to icy surfaces and general wear and tear which was never repaired. Doc. McFarlane’s surgery was always full of townsfolk with both real and imagined ailments

 Town committee meetings more than usually broke up in a vociferous argument between the attendees and the committee members. No one was happy and the prospect of being cooped up for weeks with people they disliked, despised or just down right hated was the final straw.

Rudi just kept his head down and worked away quietly, listening to his customer’s complaints about their neighbours and either agreeing or else just empathising with them. ‘Keep out of people’s arguments’ was his motto and he stuck to it.

That day Rudi had struck out to the high area behind the town. He knew that there were trees that had been blown down in the last month’s gales. As he made his way out of town on his cart led by Molly his old Clydesdale horse, he was shouted to by Pete Gisbern. “Watch when you’re out there, son. We’re in for a fair drop of snow tonight!” Rudi waved his thanks to the old man and raised his thumb to confirm his understanding.

The path to the high area was badly pitted with potholes and for short periods, Rudi had to lead the horse. Most of the damage to the road had occurred during a period of torrential rain, when large mud slides had occurred on the hillsides. Frost and ice had made the scars worse and rendered the road impassable to everyone who was not experienced. Rudi had made his way up there many times and he knew that if one put a foot wrong it could cause severe injury, if not death!

The large spruce tree had fallen sideways and ripped a chunk out of a neighbouring tree, before plunging down flat onto the forest floor. Its massive roots stuck up like a mess of cables and clay, earth and stones had been ripped out of the earth and spread about the fallen giant.

Rudi uncovered his power saw. He had topped up the reservoir that morning and knew that he had a couple of hour’s worth before having to refill the tool. Pulling the rip cord, the powerful saw roared into life and by adjusting the trigger, Rudi made it give a few throaty growls before approaching the fallen tree.

Working steadily all morning it wasn’t long before Rudi had filled his cart and decided to call it a day. Dark storm clouds were moving across the sky and the gentle breeze of a few hours ago had become a strong wind which howled through the forest. Covering his saw up under canvas, Rudi looked about him. The spruce was now partially cut into segments, which Rudi could return to and reduce in size at a later date. He knew that apart from Widow Grenstable, all the other townsfolk’s wood sheds were topped to the brim with his wood. This load would fill the Widow’s quota and have everyone set for the approaching storm.

As Rudi turned to grab Molly’s reins he spotted something lying in amongst the tree roots. It looked like a metal box measuring about five hundred centimetres long. It was badly stained by the earth and hung Christmas tree present like from the roots. Reaching over Rudi gingerly touched the box’s surface. It felt cold, colder than the surrounding air. Rudi gripped the box and pulled it out from its nest of roots. The roots gave up their prize with reluctance and Rudi realised that the box was older than the massive girthed tree that had grown over it.

Rudi polished the surface of the box with an old bit of rag. When the stains were gone, he could see that there were diagrams on the surface. Whorls and circles, triangles and other geometrical figures were inscribed deeply into the metal. Rudi could see that the box had a top that could be opened, but however hard he tried, he could not prise the lid off.

Placing it carefully in the cart under a cloth, Rudi began to lead the horse and cart down the precipitous path towards Pincossett.

“It’s about time!” shouted the Widow Grenstable as she saw Rudi and his cart approaching her house. “Where have you been, you lazy devil? I have a big gap in my wood pile and the storm is on its way!”

“Sorry ma’am,” Rudi said as he began offloading the timber into the wood shed. “It’s been a hard day up there in the high area.”

“Don’t give me your excuses…” the Widow’s expression suddenly changed. “I want you to charge me twice what you normally charge me. You are such a hard working young man.”

Rudi dropped the pile of logs he was carrying, “Excuse me! What did you say?”

The Widow was standing by the cart and her face wore a very pleasing smile. “I said that without you, this town would suffer and I for one think you should be rewarded.”

After Rudi had filled the Widow’s order and had been paid handsomely for it, he made his way down the street towards his house. Just as he was passing the bar, the ‘Star and Bull’, two men crashed out of the door and onto the street. They were punching at each other and Rudi could see that one was bleeding. The assailants rolled across towards Rudi’s cart and bumped into one of the wheels. All at once the fighting stopped and the man who was bleeding leant down and helped the other man to his feet. “I am sorry for causing all that…” began the bleeding man, but was interrupted by the other who proffered his handkerchief. “No, no, it was my fault; please accept this handkerchief to wrap round your wound and my heartfelt apologies for causing it.”

Rudi watched in amazement as the two men re entered the bar with arms round each other’s shoulders, like two best friends!

Putting Molly into her stable with some fresh fodder to eat and pushing the now empty cart into its shed, Rudy made his way into his house. The sun was setting in the west and a red sky hung like a blood soaked shirt. Normally a red sky at night would herald a good day to follow the next day, but this was not nature’s message tonight. Batten down the hatches for the creature has been released. Snow is coming!

All through the night the wind shrieked through Pincossett distributing snow wherever it touched. By midnight huge snowdrifts lay up against the houses and no one was seen on the streets. By three a.m the road into Pincossett was blocked and cars and vans sitting in the street were just humps of fallen snow. By six a.m. there was five feet of snow entombing Pincossitt and there was no sign of the weather improving in the near future.

The next morning the town of Pincossett was cut off from the rest of the country by large, deep drifts of snow. Rudi attempted to clear a path down to where he thought the road was, then slipping his snow shoes on, he made his way to the police station. It was his intention to hand in the box that he had discovered to Sergeant Muller, the town’s police authority.

As he trudged through the snow he waved to several of his neighbours who were out clearing the snow from in front of their houses. Rudi noticed many of the houses were covered with snow and it was unlikely that the occupants would manage to clear it as they were either old or infirm. Rudi made a mental note that when he returned he would begin clearing the snow for them, he knew that the able citizens of Pincossett would never consider helping any of their less fortunate neighbours. That was the nature of the town.

Sergeant Muller was hunched over his desk when Rudi walked into the police station. He looked up and glared at Rudi.

“Well, lad? What is it I haven’t got all day…” then the gruff sergeant stopped talking and slowly a smile turned up the corners of his usual down turned mouth. “It’s great to see you, Rudi. How can I help you?” he continued.

Rudi, once again, was amazed at the sergeant’s change of attitude. First it was the Widow Grenstable and now Sergeant Muller, who was well known for his surliness.

“Yesterday, I found this box up on the high area behind town. A tree had been blown over and the box was wrapped in its roots,” Rudi said handing it over to the policeman.

“Well now, that is a real fancy box. Have you opened it?” Sergeant Muller said as he attempted to open the lid.

“No,” said Rudi. “It seemed stuck and I was afraid that if I forced it, I may damage it.”

“Well, thank you very much for handing it in son; I’ll put it in the lost property room, in case someone comes looking for it.” Sergeant Muller said as he turned and left the room.

As Rudi left the police station a wind had risen and it was whipping snow into strange shapes. It would be a long time before the snow melted and Rudi hoped that it would go gradually and not cause a flood.

As he reached the main street he was pleasantly surprised to see some of the townsfolk beginning to clear several of the old age pensioner’s paths. They all wore smiles on their faces and were chatting amiably as they worked. Often one of the elderly house owners would come to their door with hot drinks for the workers. This surely was a magic occurrence, thought Rudi, these people were normally rude and gruff with one another.

Later that day Rudi received a phone call from Sergeant Muller. “Could you come back along to the station, please?”  the policeman requested politely. “There’s something I want you to witness.”

As Rudi made his way back he noticed that now all paths had been cleared along the way and knew that this new spirit of comradeship was alive and well…wherever it had come from.

As Rudi entered the police station he heard children’s voices and children’s laughter.

“Go on,” Rudi heard a voice say. “You ask it a question!”

The main office was full of children, which was in itself strange as Sergeant Muller disliked children and had as little to do with them as he could; but there must have been about fourteen boys and girls in the room, sitting around a table upon which sat – the box.

Sergeant Muller was sitting in a chair behind his desk wearing a very friendly grin on his face. “Yes, ask it what you’re getting for Christmas,” he said loudly.

“What’s happening Sergeant?” asked Rudi looking at the sea of children’s faces.

“Listen to what happens when one of them asks a question,” the policeman said with a laugh.

“Am I a boy? Once for yes and twice for no!” a boy with ginger hair shouted out.

The room went silent and Rudi could hear the tick tock of the police station clock.

“Bang!” the noise of one knock echoed through the room. The children squealed with pleasure.

“Will I get a rise in my pay this year?” Sergeant Muller asked before anyone else said anything.

“Bang! Bang!” the box sounded. The policeman’s grin vanished for a second. “Ah well…” he said grudgingly.

“How is it doing that?” asked Rudi.

“I don’t know, but the kids have asked some questions that they know the answers to and the box is always right!” Sergeant Muller said. “They had all come in for a school visit and I showed them the box in the lost property. One of the girls asked her teacher if it was a special box and the box gave out a loud thump. Well, that was the start, for all of them started asking questions and it was chaos until we got them asking one at a time. I brought the box out here because there was more room.”

“Will I have lots of children after I grow up and get married?” a girl screamed out excitedly.

Once again there was a pause and then the box announced, “Bang!”

That night as Rudi lay in bed he tried to fathom out what was in the box to give it the power to answer questions. It was behaving like some sort of verbal crystal ball, answering questions and making predictions.

Next morning there was another fall of snow and the town committee decided to have a meeting in the town hall, to discuss contingency plans for the weeks to come. Rudi was asked to bring along the box in case any of the townsfolk recognised it. He felt hesitant about going to the meeting with the box, for each day it became more and more mysterious.

“Right, I’ll start the proceedings today,” began Nathaniel Green, the mayor, but was interrupted by Bill Dagmore, the head of the town committee. “No, you won’t. I will!” The verbal wrangling, so common to previous meeting began the proceedings of the day. Eventually each man had his say.

“Welcome to everyone who’s come on this stormy day,” said Nathaniel Green.

“Thanks to all who made the effort,” grunted Bill Dagmore. “What’s the first item for discussion?”

Nathaniel Green jumped to his feet angrily, “I’m supposed to ask that!” he retorted.

Bit by staggering bit, the meeting continued. The two ‘leaders’ desperately trying to out do the other in front of the town and failing badly. Eventually they came to the item regarding Rudi’s ‘find’.

“Can you come up on the stage and show everyone,” Nathaniel Green called and Rudi, who had been standing at the back of the hall, made his way towards the front. Scowling faces looked round at him as he moved passed the end of the rows, but soon the faces wore smiles and people were talking happily amongst themselves.

“Right, come up!” commanded Nathaniel Green to Rudi, with a glare at his rival Bill Dagmore.

As Rudi climbed the stairs towards the committee who were seated on the stage, he wondered how the men could make decisions for the town when they could not be civil to one another. Approaching the table he placed the box down on it.

“Now, Rudi, where did you say you found this?” asked Bill Dagmore.

Nathaniel Green jumped to his feet and Rudi held his breath waiting for some petty argument to start.

“Yes, lad,” said Nathaniel Green smiling at Bill Dagmore. “You answer Bill’s questions.  What he doesn’t know about Pincossett is not worth knowing. That’s right Bill isn’t it?” Then he reached over and shook Bill Dagmore’s hand.

The entire atmosphere in the hall had changed and Rudi felt it. People in the audience were happy and it showed on their faces. The committee were shaking hands with each other and patting each others backs.

Nathaniel Green stood up and holding his hands aloft asked, “Can I have some volunteers to begin to dig out some of our less fortunate citizens please?”

Instantly there were about thirty men on their feet holding their hands up.

“That’s great!” shouted Bill Dagmore then paused. “Sorry to but in there Nat.”

“No problem neighbour, glad for your help!” Nathaniel Green said with a laugh.

The hall began to empty as the volunteers followed by their relatives left. No one had been allowed to see the box but Rudi felt that the box had made its presence known, in the turn a round of emotions by the town.

Soon the town began to look itself again. Large amounts of snow were transported to nearby waste ground and the roads were treated with salt and sand. The feeling of camaraderie spread throughout Pincossett and although the bad weather continued unabated, the heart of the town was warm and welcoming.

Later that week Doctor James Harswell, the town medic asked Rudi, if he could have a look at the box. Rumours of the strange inscriptions on the box’s face had been circulating around the town and the doctor wondered if he might be able to establish their origin. Rudi had spoken to Sergeant Muller who couldn’t see any harm in letting the doctor have a look at the baffling box.

“It definitely looks like geometrical symbols,” said Doctor Harswell as he looked at the box’s lid through a magnifying glass. “They are inscribed deeply into the metal”

Rudi rubbed his hands over the marks and felt again the coldness of the metal. “But why has the box’s temperature never come up to the air temperature?” he asked. “And why can’t we open it?”

Doctor Harswell walked over to where his surgical equipment lay. “I’ve got an ultrasonic drill here,” he said holding up a silver instrument. “What say we attempt to drill it open?”

Instantly there were two loud knocks from the box.

“I had forgotten about its ability to communicate,” laughed Rudi.

The story of the children’s inquisition of the box was another tale circulating the town.

“We have to know…” the doctor began to say, but was once again interrupted by two loud bangs from the box.

Rudi stepped forward and addressed the box,” We need to see inside. We won’t harm you and the lid will be closed as soon as we have seen what is inside…please!”

There was a long pause then with a slight click, the lid swung open. For a moment neither man could see the contents as a white cloud emerged from within the box.

“The interior temperature must be very low,” said the doctor. “That’s condensation.”

Then the cloud dispersed and Rudi and Doctor Harswell could see the interior of the box. It contained a long glass like tube within which swirled a bluey-green coloured gas. Within the gas there were bursts of star like flashes which lit the inside of the tube. After a few minutes, the lid began to lower and then shut with a loud snap. A gentle hissing could be heard within.

“The box is re-establishing its low temperature.” The doctor confirmed.

There was a knock at the doctor’s surgery door and a nurse came in. “I’m sorry to bother you, doctor, but Mr Simes is here and is desperate to see you,” she said.

Doctor Harswell turned to Rudi and said, “Would you mind waiting in the office outside for a few minutes?  This won’t take long.”

Rudi knew of Bertram Simes, the man had been in a car accident three months before and through some neural disorder, had lost the use of his legs.

Psychological treatment had not helped and the man travelled everywhere in a wheel chair pushed by his faithful and long suffering wife, Stephanie.

Rudi stood aside as Stephanie pushed her husband into Doctor Harswell’s surgery. “Sorry to interrupt you, Stephanie whispered to Rudi as she passed.

The door of the surgery closed and Rudi could detect the rumble of voices from within the room and moved over to the window to allow them some privacy. Outside, the gritters were busy spreading fresh sand on the road. That night it was forecast for the temperature to drop to well below freezing and the town council were taking no chances.

Suddenly, from within the doctor’s surgery, Rudi heard a loud whoop of joy and the door was thrown open by a beaming Bertram Simes. He jumped and skipped around the office before returning to the surgery. Rudi quietly walked over and looked into the room. Bertram was shaking the doctor’s hand and hugging his wife with the other arm. “I’m cured! I’m cured!” he shouted.

After Mr and Mrs. Simes had walked out of Doctor Harswell’s office, Rudi went back into the surgery and found the doctor looking closely at the box.

“It cured him,” he said loudly. “I am sure of it, Rudi.”

“What happened after they came in?” Rudi asked quizzically.

“Oh, Bertram said he was filled with pain and he had to have some more pills. I said that he couldn’t have any more as the increased quantity would kill him. Then he thumped his fist on to the top of the box and wailed that he wanted to be cured. Well, there was a loud knock from the box and before Stephanie or I could stop him, Bertram was on his feet and out the door into my office, well, you know the rest!”

Rudi looked at the box and said, “It cures peoples’ illnesses as well as their dispositions. Doctor, can you get a few of your medical cases over here to test its efficacy?”

For the next few hours a queue of patients waited outside Doctor Harswell’s office. One by one they entered and after touching the box and asking to be cured, they were healed. Mrs. Herron’s skin cancer, Mr. Garren’s tuberculosis, Mrs. Felsham’s bronchitis and even little Lucy Garnet’s broken leg healed in double quick time after they had been in contact with the box.

Truly a miracle, but what was it? thought Rudi as the last of the patients emerged from inside the doctor’s surgery.

The answer came two nights later and it was to open every one’s eyes – wide!

The weather had deteriorated again, but due to the increase of volunteering (unheard of before in Pincossett), the roads were kept clear and although no one could get into the town from the outside country, food was still available and no one was suffering.

As the sky darkened at the end of the day some folk rang Sergeant Muller reporting large lights in the sky off to the east. He had a check and told the callers that it was probably the planet Venus which was particularly bright at that time of the year. The callers had the last laugh when the strangers came into town.

Old Josiah Verqun spotted the first of them and immediately went inside to get his shotgun. He went out onto the road and pointed his firearm at the seven foot high creature. “It looked like one of those dragons that you see in kid’s story books,” he had said when questioned. “But walking on two legs!”

The next one to meet up with the visitors was Sergeant Muller. Deciding to close up his station early he had just locked the door when upon turning round he found himself facing one of old Josiah’s ‘dragons’.

“Man,” said the sergeant. “You’re not from around here!”

The ‘dragon’ had gazed into the sergeant’s eyes and words began flooding his brain.

“We are the Quai,” the creature transmitted. “You have a travel chamber that one of our race lost several hundred of your years ago. We must have it back.”

Sergeant Muller felt lost in the ‘dragon’s’ eyes. They were yellow with flecks of orange and black running through them. The pupils were shaped like a cat’s and gleamed a shiny black.

“What does your travel chamber look like?” replied Sergeant Muller bravely for inside he was quaking.

“It is like a box. It is made of Rrhydium metal and has engravings on its surface,” replied the Quai within the sergeant’s brain. “We use it for the transport of …items. We are a trader race and cover large areas of the Cghu or as you know it, the Universe.”

The sergeant led the visitor to Doctor Harswell’s office where they met up with five other Quai. The one, who had been confronted by Josiah, had left the old man unharmed but when he awoke he would feel as if he had a massive hangover. The doctor carried the box outside, Rudi went with him.

Rudi gazed up at the Quai. He was trembling, but knew that he had to know the secret of the box before it was reclaimed by their visitors.

“Can you tell us what the box is?” asked Rudi. “Its effect on the town has been one of sheer goodness.”

The six Quai looked at one another and then the one that seemed to be the senior answered. “Normally we offer client confidentiality, but as you are a primitive race, I see no reason to keep the truth from you.”

It transpired that thousands of light years from Earth there was a planet called Myrrax. On this planet lived beings called the Kert, that consisted mainly of vapour although they possessed highly sophisticated brains. Through evolution, they had attained a peaceful co-existence and offered the other planets of the area counselling and advice as well as being able to cure their maladies. Myrrax was a gem of a planet and the Kert were truly superlative.

Sadly, the substance of their planet began to break down and it looked as if Myrrax would explode and destroy a highly benevolent and important race of beings.

We, the Quai, were asked if it would be feasible to transport the Kert to another planet that resembled Myrrax’s atmosphere and land mass.

We agreed, for a fee, to move them to a planet several light years from Myrrax, which they called Yrmm. Yrmm’s size, climate and atmosphere were comparable to Myrrax’s, but Yrmm was a much younger planet.

The Kert were collected into a travel chamber and were prepared for travel to Yrmm

On the way to Yrmm, the space vessel crashed here on Earth and all the contents of the hold were ejected onto the planet’s surface. After many of your months, repairs were made and after the ejected units had been collected, the vessel set off again for Yrmm. It was not until they arrived that the absence of the travel chamber containing the Kurt, was discovered.

Upon its return to our planet the space vessel was attacked and destroyed by pirates and we lost the location of the crash site on your planet.

We have been searching for the unit ever since and it was not until one of you opened the container that a message was relayed to the Quai of its location.

“What did you see when you opened the travel chamber?” transmitted the senior Quai.

“A tube containing a sparkling gas!” said Rudi timidly.

“And you have been experiencing the effect of being in close proximity with the Kurt?”

“Yes, our sick have been healed, our injured have been mended and the town of Pincossett has become a thriving, happy community again,” interjected Doctor Harswell.

“Well, I am afraid that we Quai have a responsibility to our clients and must fulfil our agreed contract. We must take the Kurt to Yrmm.”

The senior Quai picked up the box and looked at its surface. “This chamber is empty!” the senior Quai transmitted and threw open the lid of the travel chamber. Sure enough, Rudi could see that the tube was empty.

“The box opened only once during the time we had it, I can assure you,” spluttered Doctor Harswell. “We saw the tube with the gas for a few minutes before the box closed and resealed itself.”

Raising its dragon like head into the air, the senior Quai closed its reptilian eyes and stood silently. After five minutes it opened its eyes and turned to the other five Quai and spoke. None of the humans understood what was said and waited patiently to find out what was to happen.

Silently the five Quai turned and walked off down the road. The senior Quai turned and transmitted. “I have spoken to the Kurt and we have agreed that the contract has been successfully completed. The Kurt have found their new home – with you.”

Rudi, Sergeant Muller and Doctor Harswell watched the night sky and after half an hour saw a large light rising above the hills before it vanished into the starry heavens.

“Well, Pincossett is going to be a totally different place now,” said Rudi to the doctor and the sergeant. “You may be out of jobs.”

They all laughed and after shaking hands went home.

After the snow had melted and the transport lorries bearing food and provisions rumbled into Pincossett, the drivers noticed a much improved community. People smiled and laughed. The stores they visited offered them coffee and food before they left and all bills were paid on time, if not early.

Visitors to Pincossett began returning and found a thriving, friendly community. It was not long before Pincossett was named as the ‘Friendliest Town in the Country’.