The Portal Read online

  ‘Who’s General Ghool?’ asked William as the hologram disappeared.

  ‘He’s an officer in the Federation Peace Force,’ said Emma. ‘He has been dealing with a crisis that was resolved rather sooner than expected.’

  ‘He’s coming here?’

  ‘Yes.’

  William looked at his watch. ‘In half an hour? What should I do?’

  ‘I have no instructions for your behaviour in this eventuality,’ said Emma.

  William took a deep breath and thought for a moment. ‘OK,’ he said, ‘what would my dad do if he knew the General was coming through?’

  For the next thirty minutes, William was kept busy collecting the dirty plates and mugs from the sitting room – fortunately, washing them was as simple as doing the laundry – getting the right machines to hoover the floor and clean the tables, setting out clean towels and a dressing gown in the green suite and preparing a tray of sandwiches in the kitchen.

  At nine minutes past one he was standing by the Portal as the General rose from its surface. There was quite a lot of him to rise. General Ghool was nearly seven feet tall with the bushiest eyebrows William had ever seen and long grey hair, tied neatly in a pigtail at the back.

  ‘Hope you don’t mind my being early, Larry.’ The General’s voice was booming out almost as soon as his head appeared above the surface of the Portal, ‘but the Thaliron thing fizzled out as soon as I arrived. Nobody needed shooting so I thought…’ He paused, looking suspiciously at William from under his eyebrows. ‘You’re not Larry.’

  ‘No,’ William agreed.

  ‘You must be William.’ The General stepped out of the Portal. ‘Any news of your parents yet?’

  ‘Not yet,’ said William. ‘Mr Kingston’s gone to Byroid V to find out what happened.’

  ‘And left you to man the fort, eh?’ The General gave a grunt. ‘How’s it going?’

  William was about to say that it seemed to be going all right, when the phone rang in his pocket. It was Amy, calling from upstairs.

  ‘I think you need to come and see Daniel,’ she said, her voice sounding small and rather frightened. ‘He’s sick.’

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Daniel certainly looked sick. His face was flushed, he was sweating heavily and his breath came in rapid, panting gasps. When William asked how he was feeling, Daniel didn’t answer. It was as if he couldn’t hear.

  ‘How long has he been like this?’ William asked.

  ‘I don’t know.’ Amy’s face would have been white even without the face pack she was wearing. ‘I woke up because he was shouting.’

  ‘OK…’ William knew the first thing was to get help. ‘I’ll call your mother.’

  ‘I tried that,’ said Amy. ‘There’s no answer. She’s out lambing.’

  If Mrs Duggan was outside looking after a sheep giving birth, William thought, finding her would not be easy. She had a mobile, but there were places on the farm where reception was poor or non-existent and going outside to look for her would take far too long…

  ‘Should we call an ambulance?’ asked Amy.

  William knew calling the emergency services was the obvious thing to do but, if he did, the ambulance people would want to know why three children had been left in the house on their own. They would want to know who was supposed to be looking after them and where they were – and what could he say in reply? He could hardly tell them the truth.

  The phone buzzed in his pocket, and, when he answered it, Emma told him that General Ghool wanted to know if it was all right to make himself a cup of tea. William said he would be right down.

  ‘Wait here,’ he told Amy, ‘and keep an eye on Daniel.’

  As he ran down the stairs and along the hall to his father’s office, an idea was forming in his head. Maybe the General could be persuaded to pretend he was a relative of some sort, looking after the three of them while Mr and Mrs Seward were away. Then he could call an ambulance. He wasn’t sure if it was polite to ask a star traveller if he’d mind doing this but it was the only idea he could think of.

  He found the General in the kitchen, pouring himself a large mug of tea and munching a sandwich. ‘I hope you don’t mind,’ he said, ‘but when I saw everything laid out, I presumed that…’ He stopped and looked keenly at William. ‘Is something wrong?’

  ‘It’s my brother,’ said William. ‘He’s ill.’

  ‘I’m sorry to hear that.’ The General put down his sandwich. ‘What is it?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ said William, ‘but his breathing’s funny and he won’t wake up properly.’

  ‘Would you like me to take a look at him?’ asked the General.

  ‘Oh…’ It had never occurred to William that General Ghool might be able to help directly. ‘Are you… um…?’

  ‘Everyone in the army has medical training these days,’ said the General. ‘I can handle most things.’

  ‘Well, in that case, thank you,’ said William. ‘He’s upstairs.’

  Walking across the lobby to the lift, the General, still with his mug of tea in one hand, stopped to pull a box the size of a small suitcase from the wall. It had a large blue circle on the front, and William remembered seeing several of them at various points around the station.

  ‘Medipac,’ said the General briefly. ‘You lead the way.’

  *

  In the bedroom, Daniel looked much the same, though he was now tossing and turning and muttering under his breath.

  ‘He’s not looking too good, is he?’ The General put his mug down on the chest of drawers and came to stand by the bed.

  ‘Will he be all right?’ asked Amy.

  ‘Oh, I think so.’ General Ghool smiled reassuringly as he placed the medipac on the floor. ‘I’ve got just the thing in here to make him feel better. But I need some sugar. Could you get me some? From the kitchen?’

  Amy turned and trotted off downstairs without a word.

  ‘Do you know what’s wrong?’ asked William.

  ‘At a guess I’d say it was blood poisoning,’ said the General, ‘but fortunately we don’t have to rely on my guesses.’ He opened the lid of the box and studied the contents for a moment. ‘Have you ever used one of these?’

  ‘No,’ said William.

  ‘Well, it’s fairly simple. All you have to do is stick a couple of these on to the patient…’ He took a flexible disc, about the size of a large coin, from a sterile pack and placed it carefully on Daniel’s neck. Then he unpeeled another and lifted up Daniel’s T-shirt to put it on his chest. ‘…And wait for the machine to give you a diagnosis. Has he cut himself recently, do you know?’

  ‘He cut his hand,’ said William, ‘this morning.’ He was about to ask how long it would take to get a diagnosis, when the box started talking.

  ‘Diagnosis: septicaemia,’ it said in a low, calm voice, very like Emma’s. ‘Treatment: apply patch to any free surface of skin immediately.’ At the same time, there was a faint whirring noise and another sterile pack appeared in the top of the box with a blue circle flashing above it. General Ghool picked it up, peeled off the outer covering and slapped the disc on to Daniel’s arm.

  ‘There we go. That should sort him out!’

  William noticed the difference almost immediately. His brother’s breathing began to slow, the muscles in his neck relaxed and he looked calmer. A minute or so later, he was breathing normally, the colour had returned to his face and soon after that he was sleeping peacefully.

  ‘No further treatment required,’ said the box, ‘but the patient is recommended to rest for eight hours.’

  ‘You should get Larry to show you how to use these things one day. They can save a lot of worrying.’ General Ghool closed the lid of the box. ‘Ah, here she is! Thank you, my dear.’

  Amy had come back with a bowl of sugar, and the General took three spoonfuls and stirred them carefully into his tea. He lifted the cup to his lips and took a grateful sip. ‘Oh, yes! Perfect!’

  Amy was studying Daniel. ‘I
s he all right then?’

  ‘He’s fine,’ said William. ‘You can go back to sleep now.’

  As Amy tucked herself back into the bottom bunk, he could feel the relief flooding through his body. It was only now the panic was over that he realized how frightened he had been.

  ‘Thank you,’ he said. ‘I don’t know what I’d have done if you hadn’t –’

  ‘Please!’ The General held up a hand. ‘Happy to help.’ He picked up the medipac. ‘Right. Back to base, I think!’

  Downstairs, walking along the hall to the office, the General paused. ‘I wonder,’ he said, ‘would it be possible to go outside for a moment?’

  ‘Outside?’ said William.

  ‘Yes. I know it’s not allowed, officially, but sometimes your father was kind enough to…’

  William did not hesitate. If the General had wanted to take the family car and go nightclubbing William would have cheerfully handed over the keys after what he had done for Daniel.

  ‘Of course,’ he said.

  He led General Ghool through to the sitting room, opened the doors to the patio and the General stepped outside, took in a deep breath and stared out across the valley.

  It was the middle of the night but it was not dark. There was a full moon and light flooded the sky. Its silvery colour gave varying shades of black and white to the fields that stretched down to the river and up the other side where it met the line of trees that ran along the ridge. The General seemed mesmerized by the view. Eventually, he turned to William with a sigh.

  ‘You know, I must have been here… what, twenty, thirty times? But I’ve never seen this.’

  ‘Seen what?’ asked William.

  ‘Moonlight,’ said the General. ‘Not many planets have it, you know. Your father always told me it was a very special sight and he was right. Quite extraordinary.’

  William said nothing. He had never really thought of moonlight as extraordinary, or as anything except… moonlight, but if the General wanted to stand and look at it, that was fine with him.

  ‘Thank you.’ The General turned to smile at William. ‘Now, I think I really must get back to those sandwiches.’

  Back down in the station, General Ghool settled himself on a sofa in the sitting room with the plate of ham sandwiches on his lap.

  ‘So what’s all this about your parents going missing?’ he asked between mouthfuls. ‘Your father didn’t say anything about leaving when I came through last Monday.’

  ‘He didn’t say anything to anyone,’ said William, pouring out a fresh mug of tea. ‘We just came home from school on Thursday and found he wasn’t here. Mum had gone as well.’

  The General frowned. ‘They didn’t leave a message? To say where they were going?’

  ‘They didn’t leave anything,’ said William, and found himself describing how he and Daniel had eventually used the emergency phone, the arrival of Uncle Larry and then the astonishing discovery that his father was the manager of a Federation Star Portal.

  The General listened to the story, munching solidly through the sandwiches as he did so, and only occasionally interrupting with a question.

  ‘Most mysterious,’ he said, as William ended by describing how Uncle Larry had gone to Byroid V because that was the only place his parents could be. ‘But I’m sure he’ll sort it out. Larry’s not as stupid as he looks. Now…’ The General put the sandwich plate on the table in front of him. ‘Your father sometimes gave me something called chocolate. Would you happen to have…?’

  ‘Sure,’ said William. ‘No problem.’ And it was while he was in the kitchen, getting a box of Black Magic from the stores, that Emma announced the return of Uncle Larry.

  Uncle Larry came swooping up through the Portal and William could tell from his face that the news was not good.

  ‘Complete failure,’ he said, shaking his head in exasperation as he stepped over the side of the Portal. ‘Not a trace of them anywhere. Nobody’s heard anything, nobody’s seen them…’ He pulled on the robe William offered him. ‘I can’t understand it!’ He led the way out to the main lobby and along to his bedroom. ‘I’ve checked all the incomings, I’ve been through the computer records, I’ve spoken to everyone at the station… and there’s nothing. Not a trace of them. The manager swears they haven’t been through!’

  Uncle Larry pushed open the door to his room and William followed him inside.

  ‘Does that mean they didn’t go to Byroid V after all?’

  ‘They must have gone there!’ Uncle Larry took his suit from the cupboard. ‘There’s nowhere else they could have gone, but if they did…’ He forced his face into a smile. ‘Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll find them. It’s just going to take a bit longer than I thought. How’s everything been here? Bricks went through all right, did they?’

  ‘They were fine,’ said William.

  ‘Any messages for me?’ Uncle Larry was pulling on his shirt.

  ‘The only message was the one saying General Ghool was going to arrive and –’

  ‘General Ghool?’ Uncle Larry froze. ‘He’s not supposed to be here for two days!’

  ‘No,’ said William, ‘but he came early because –’

  ‘Came?’ Uncle Larry’s voice went up a notch. ‘You mean he’s already here?’

  ‘He got here about an hour ago. He’s in the sitting room having a…’ but William found he was speaking to an empty space. Still buttoning his trousers, Uncle Larry was already out the door.

  ‘I am so sorry I wasn’t here to meet you, General.’ Uncle Larry pushed open the door to the sitting room. ‘And I do apologize for there being no one here to look after you, but…’ He stopped, taking in the General sitting on the sofa, his mug of tea in one hand and the last of the sandwiches in the other. ‘Is… is everything all right?’

  ‘Everything’s fine with me,’ said the General cheerfully. ‘Have you found Jack and Lois yet?’

  ‘Good… No… Well, I’ve been to Byroid V,’ Uncle Larry sat on the sofa opposite, his eyes still darting round to check that everything was as it should be, ‘but there’s no sign of them.’

  ‘Ah.’ The General nodded thoughtfully. ‘So where are they?’

  ‘I’m not sure,’ said Uncle Larry, ‘but we’ll sort it out eventually… Have you got everything? I mean… is there anything you need?’

  William appeared with the box of chocolates, which he placed on the table between the sofas.

  ‘Don’t worry about me,’ said the General. ‘I’ve been looked after very well.’

  CHAPTER SIX

  ‘So what happens next?’ William asked Uncle Larry the following morning. ‘About my parents?’

  ‘Well, I’ve been thinking about that.’ Uncle Larry was sitting in the kitchen with a large mug of tea, some of which he had already managed to spill down the front of his suit. ‘And I think the next thing is for me to get back to Byroid V.’ He stood up and walked over to the window. ‘If your parents have gone through the Portals to another world, the sooner I catch up with them and find out why, the better.’

  ‘You can do that, can you?’ asked William. ‘Catch up with them, I mean?’

  ‘Oh, yes!’ Uncle Larry nodded confidently. ‘You can’t travel round the Federation without leaving some sort of trace. I’ll go to the next worlds down the line, you see, root around a bit… I’ll find them all right!’ He turned to William. ‘The only snag is I can’t look after things here while I’m doing it. Can you manage without me a bit longer?’

  ‘You mean… do the bricks?’

  ‘There’ll be a couple of passengers to look after as well, but I’ll run over the routine with you before I go.’

  ‘It’s Monday tomorrow,’ said William. ‘I’m supposed to be at school.’

  ‘Yes…’ Uncle Larry frowned. ‘I’m afraid you’ll have to miss that. But it’s only a few days. I’ll be back Wednesday. Wednesday evening at the latest.’

  ‘Oh,’ said William. ‘OK.’

  It didn’t feel as if
he had a great deal of choice.

  ‘Good!’ Uncle Larry smiled. ‘Now, how about you have some breakfast and then join me in the station. We’ll go over the details down there.’ He marched briskly to the door, spilling tea on the floor as he went, but stopped in the doorway.

  ‘By the way,’ he said, ‘thank you for looking after things last night. General Ghool is an important man in the Federation. I wouldn’t like him to have got the impression that the Portal Service wasn’t coping with a little crisis and… well, thank you.’

  *

  William had his breakfast, and went to make sure Daniel was all right before going down to Uncle Larry. He found his brother on the terrace outside the sitting room with Amy, busily feeding sticks into a fire he had lit in the base of the barbecue. Beside him on the ground was a ball of earth about the size of a large grapefruit.

  ‘He’s cooking a hedgehog,’ said Amy when William appeared. ‘You have to wrap it in clay first and then put it in a fire.’

  ‘It says in the book that you cook it for a couple of hours, then when you peel off the clay all the spikes come off.’ Daniel looked suspiciously at his brother. ‘I suppose you’ve come to tell me I can’t do it.’

  ‘Well…’ said William.

  ‘Hedgehogs aren’t poisonous!’ protested Daniel. ‘People have been eating them since forever.’

  ‘Yes,’ said William, ‘but I just wondered if it was dead when you found it.’

  Daniel looked at him. ‘Why?’

  ‘Because I remember Dad saying once that you should never eat anything without knowing how it died. If it had some disease, then you’d get it as well, wouldn’t you?’

  Daniel was still thinking about this when Mrs Duggan and Timber appeared. She came over to stand by William.

  ‘Heard your brother was a bit poorly last night,’ she said.

  ‘Yes,’ said William, ‘but he’s OK now.’