An Attic filled with Birds [Completed]

28. The Arrival

Felix
The two lane road switches to a one lane road. Eventually we take a right and approach a small parking lot. I turn the car's engine off. There's a few other cars, and two buses. If I were to believe the sides of them, they offer day tours to Stonehenge and its surroundings.

There are more people than I thought there would be. I don't think they will stay to the end, though. The rain is still going strong and doesn't seem to stop any time soon. The entire sky is gray; not a blue patch in sight. In fact, I heard some rumbling a few minutes ago.

The parking lot is connected to a small path, only accessible by foot. There are fences on either side to separate it from the fields. We can already see the monument from here; gray rocks stand tall in the distance.

'Where is it?' Nora asks.

'What do you mean?' I say.

'So, the thing is at Stonehenge, but where exactly is it?'

Haven't thought of that. Would it be wrong to assume it's right in the middle of the stones?

Instead of answering Nora, I take out my phone from my back pocket. I copy the coordinates from my notes app into google.

It would not have been wrong to assume it's right in the middle. I show my screen to Nora. Damien leans in from the back to watch it as well.

'That's convenient,' he says. 'We won't have to look around much.'

'That's right,' I say.

'Just start digging in the center until you hit something.'

'I suppose you're right. It would be the easiest way.'

There's a bright flash of light outside. The deep rumble comes quickly after. Nora flinches.

'Are you sure we need to do this right now?' she asks.

'We didn't drive all the way here for nothing,' I say.

'You could stay in the car,' Damien tells her.

'Can she?'

He turns to me.

'Why not?' he says.

'What if we need her during the retrieving part?'

'It can just be the two of us.'

'Do we even have a plan yet?' Nora asks.

Another lightning strike brightens the sky.

❖

Damien
Me and Felix turn to Nora. A plan... A plan? Damien turns to me.

'Yeah,' he says. 'Have you figured it out yet?'

'Not quite. Three minds is better than one, right?'

Nora smiles.

'What do we know? Let's get that clear,' she says.

'It's in the middle of the stone circle.'

'And? Anything more?'

'It's raining?'

'Well, yeah.'

While Damien and Nora think of more things we know, I return my gaze to my phone. I click on a website, and swipe through pictures.

'There are low fences,' I say.

'Fences?'

'Well, they're not really fences. There's poles with rope connecting them.'

'What does that mean?'

'I don't think we're allowed to be near Stonehenge. So getting to the middle of it is going to be difficult,' Damien says.

'What if we say we're scientists?' I say. 'They have to be able to make exceptions for us then.'

'Wouldn't our institute make an appointment before hand? To tell them we're coming?'

I nod slowly.

'Probably,' I say.

'Can the stone make us invisible?' Nora asks.

'I don't think so.'

'What if one of us distracts the other tourists, while the other two step over the ropes to search?'

'I don't think that'll work,' Damien says. 'What tourist is going to waste time standing in the rain to look at some random person instead of the monument they came to see?'

'I'm sure there are some people that would do that,' I say. 'We'd have to be quick, though.'

'That's never going to work.'

'Well, you come with an idea then, Damien,' Nora says.

She's looking at him. He looks back, and after a short moment, they both look away. I decide to speculate later, and get this planned formed first.

'We could also just go for it,' I say.

'Go for it?' Damien says. 'What do you mean?'

'Literally go for it. We walk up, cross the rope, and hurry.'

'And simply run away afterwards? What if they're waiting for us on the parking lot?'

'And what if we fail?'

I look to Damien.

'Can you not be so pessimistic sometimes? It's killing the mood.'

'And you're killing our chances to get this... this what? What even are we looking for?

Nora hums.

'If we don't succeed right away, we're never getting in again. I'm sure they have some sort of watch list,' Damien continues. 'And we'll get the police after us whether we succeed or not.'

'Well, if we succeed and the police is after us, that's fine. We can go home straight away afterwards. They won't be able to find the portal, so we'll be fine.'

'And be greeted by the other police waiting for us?' Damien says.

I look to Nora with hopeful eyes. She'll agree with me, right? Damien looks towards her as well.

'What do you think?' he asks.

'I don't know.'

'What was your first thought when I proposed the hit and run?'

'It's crazy.'

'And after you have given it some thought...'

'Still crazy. But perhaps one of the few good options.'

'You can't be serious,' Damien sighs.

'Well, I'm sorry I don't agree with you all the time.'

'I'm not irritated about that,' he defends himself.

'Then what?'

'I'm fine with you having your own opinions and not agreeing with me. It's just that I don't think Felix' plan is a good one.'

'I also don't think it's a good one. Definitely not the best. But it's all we have, isn't it? And it's all our own fault. We had literal months to figure this out, and we didn't. The second we decided to wait, it left our minds.'

Me and Damien stay silent. She has a point, and we both know it.

'I say we just go for it, and decide on the spot what would be the smartest decision,' she concludes.