Martin King and the Space Angels

Chapter 2 - The Brass Monocle

Falcon pulled back his grey hood, revealing a thin face beneath a mass of white hair. He wore a velvet waistcoat under his cloak, which was adorned with a golden watch chain and emerald fob. He had a crooked nose, and his eyes were an intense shade of purple.

‘We must hurry,’ said the man. ‘They are coming for me. It has taken me longer than I expected to find you.’

‘Who’s coming for you?’ said Darcy. ‘The police?’

‘No, not the police. Never mind that. I have urgent information for you.’ Falcon clasped his hands together. ‘I am going to say something that will sound unbelievable, but I need you to believe me. There is simply no time for you to do otherwise.’

‘Come on,’ whispered Tommy. ‘Let’s get out of here.’

Martin was torn. Obviously, the sensible thing to do would be to walk away. And yet, for some reason, Martin felt that he could trust the man.

‘Please, you must listen to me,’ said Falcon.

Martin shrugged. ‘OK, we’re listening.’

‘I am not from this world. I come from a planet called Hope.’

‘You’re an alien?’ said Darcy, raising her eyebrows.

‘I am,’ said Falcon.

‘Prove it.’           

‘Very well.’

Falcon pointed at the bleak sky with a bony finger. The rain stopped. For the first time in three weeks, it had stopped raining.

‘I have only stopped the rain within a three mile radius,’ said Falcon. ‘Anyway, pay close attention. The universe needs your help.’

‘The universe needs our help?’ said Martin.

‘Walk with me. We will be safer that way. It will be harder for them to get a fix on my location.’

Tommy frowned. ‘Them?’

Falcon didn’t reply. The teenagers struggled to keep up with him as he marched through the park. Martin noticed a large bulge underneath his travelling cloak.

‘Now—as I said before—your help is urgently required.’

‘Help with what?’ said Darcy.      

‘Something is ravaging the universe, Darcy. Swallowing up whole planets. Entire galaxies have been consumed by this force.’

Martin couldn’t help but feel intrigued. ‘What kind of force?’

‘Little is known of it. My people used to refer to it by the name XO5, although recently that name has been forbidden. My people are very superstitious.’

‘He’s mental,’ murmured Tommy, ‘let’s get out of here.’

‘I want to listen,’ whispered Martin.

‘How do you know our names?’ Tommy demanded.

‘All will become clear, in time,’ said Falcon. ‘Anyway, as I said before, a whole sequence of planets have been destroyed by XO5. All of these attacks have had several common characteristics.

‘When XO5 begins an attack, freak weather conditions are experienced on the target planet, which seem to indicate the build-up of destructive energy—’

‘But… that’s happening here!’ said Darcy. ‘So… you’re saying that this XO5 is going to destroy our planet?’

‘Indeed,’ said Falcon, ‘but even that is not the most worrying revelation.’ He stopped walking. ‘It is my belief that XO5 is searching for something special on your planet. You see, all of the previous planets that XO5 destroyed were wiped out only a few hours after the freak storms began. Yet—’