A World Apart (9 page)

    Several minutes passed and by this time Henry, George and Cindy had clearly all forgotten the main reason why they had returned to the hospital. To their relief the doors parted peacefully to reveal an object. The object took up a small proportion of the floor and was a pear shaped with a material covering. Henry bent down and reached the object inside to only find he was grasping a leg. Henry jumped out of his skin; his heart nearly popping out the edge of his mouth. Henry looked towards Cindy and George to speak; only the words could not be formed. Henry wondered why George and Cindy were not looking back at him and engaged with the object that scared the very life out of him. Henry turned around to be faced with a man figure that looked back at him then disappeared; transforming into a translucent form. The figure’s eyes shone a light green as they locked onto them all, luring them to him. Before anyone had the chance to say anything, the moment had past and the lift was desolate.

    Kerry finally found herself being crowded around; many seemed to be just purely observing her as she watched a medic emerge from the small gathering on the plane isle. Her vision was blurry and her head bobbed from side to side like a seesaw controlled by the wind. When the faces came into focus properly she started to hear what people were saying, and in a flash of energy she adjusted the grip of her hand on the armrest and straightened up.

‘What…happened?’ catapulted Kerry whilst surprisingly gaining everyone’s attention. Rupert removed his supporting arm down into view from Kerry back to hold her hand.

‘You passed out for a while just after you spoke to me about calling out your mother and father’s names” planted Rupert with a sincere acquisition. Kerry heard the surrounding whispers asking if she was all right, although the people were merely reassuring themselves more than anything. A plastic cup came into view; holding it appeared to be a young airhostess who had gone slightly pale herself, feeling terrified. Kerry picked up the blanket that had receded to her shoes, folded it and then placed it on her lap.

‘Would you like any refreshments miss?’ asked the timid lady hostess with extreme caution. Kerry looked up and wagged her head from side to side horizontally as she watched the lady casually stroll out of sight. The onlookers returned to their seats as Rupert instructed for them to give her some space. Kerry held her head back on the headrest as her eyes unknowingly started to drift once more. Kerry did not want to go to sleep, as she may see what she had seen earlier and the thought frightened her even more.

The plane was now adrift amongst the grumpy grey hair of the earth; gliding at what looked like a slow pace. The plane chopped through the clouds like a knife slashes as the craft climbed the air to a higher altitude. They were over the Atlantic Ocean as the raw look of the sea came into view in Rupert’s eyes through the gaps in the clouds. Rupert looked at his watch and tried to work out how long there would be until they could see Ireland. He was dreadfully exhausted and worried for Kerry who was also twitching whilst in her sleep, although she appeared peaceful on this occasion. Rupert didn’t realise that they would be approaching the shores of Ireland in a little over six hours. He longed be would be reunited with his family the next morning.

    The three rows of two seats contained sleepy persons as it approached 12:13am, some snoring loudly and others not making a sound whatsoever. Two airhostesses were surveying the conditions of the isles to prepare for the mornings arrival in London. A middle-aged lady stowed a bag back onto the luggage area for the persons were sound asleep and she did not want to wake them. Francesca lay sound asleep in her cot on the plane, not even making a single gurgle.

    Kerry sat up in slow motion, retaining a vertical position as she noticed the quietness of the plane. She glanced over at Rupert who was fast asleep with eye covers on. Kerry pressed the down arrow on her control board next to her which enabled the window cover to retreat back up to its compartment; revealing the intoxicating rays of white lights of the English sky. People around them both yawned and moaned at the early signs of the morning; stretching intently. Kerry looked out of the window; peering over Rupert's shoulders to view part of the Cornish coast, as she noticed an airhostess approaching her.

‘Hi madam, we are landing in twenty-five minutes. Can you close your blind please, some others are requesting to sleep’ instructed the young woman she remembered the face of.

‘Oh…sorry…ok’ replied Kerry and the plane restored to darkness again. Kerry opted for a tiny nap seeing as though there was some time left and the fact that it was as black as your hat in the plane, which left her with no option to remove the pillow she had kept under her feet and place behind her head. She adjusted the seat to lean a tad back on her chair and wriggled to gain comfort. Her eyes fell repeatedly, pricking the lower lid of her eye before they eventually stuck down and she drifted off. The minor turbulence helped her sleep, like a rocking chair for a child she felt at ease, something which had taken a while for her to accomplish.

‘The wind was blowing wildly into the overcoat of Anna who was slumped across Tim. Both of them sat in a rescue dingy they managed to access in the vital seconds before the impact. Kerry was observing her parents from afar, for some peculiar reason she didn’t feel like going over to them, as they looked so pale. She was clinging onto an unsupported chair that dangled above her. She glanced towards the main exit to see the emergency boat drift off into the distance’

    Kerry sat up with a fantastic jolt as if she was about to perform a magic trick. Rupert lifted his concentration from his book and glanced towards Kerry where he saw a shocking face emerge. Kerry’s face was pale white with a hint of lime; as if she had seen a ghost. Rupert didn’t really know what to say so he let out a nervous smile and carried on reading; pretending that she hasn’t done anything out of the ordinary. Kerry’s palms and back were drenched from the sweat of her dream; she believed it, she could taste the salt in her mouth from the ocean. Kerry reached for her seatbelt and headed off to the toilets on the plane at the rear; around twelve rows away. As she waited patiently for a stocky gentleman to vacate the toilet, she managed to regain thought on what she had seen in her dream and not on the behaviour of the man.

    Flashbacks kept entering her mind as she went off along the corridor just for a walk around. As the five foot five man vacated the bathroom, Kerry soon followed his footsteps and was looking closely at the mirror on her right, adjusting her smile, which formed wrinkles that swooped around her eyebrows giving her a rustic complexion. She began rubbing the bags from under her eyes in hope of revival, clearly she had not had a good night’s sleep. The images of her mother and father entered her mind, the times when she was young being pushed on swings and on day trips. She felt herself contented and at ease, only to feel heavy turbulence. Consequently, her mood changed; forcing her back to reality which saddened her.

    ‘This is your captain speaking, will all passengers on this flight and crewmembers please be seated. Fasten your seatbelts; the plane is approaching to land in around ten minutes. The time is seven minutes to seven. I would like to welcome everyone to England and I hope you have a pleasant stay for the duration, thank you’
informed a young man with an enthusiastic voice as the plane was ploughing its way through the morning sky over London. By now most of the passengers were awake or just emerging from their sleep; yawning lightly and flashing their eyes in a state of confusion. Rupert opened one eye to discover that Kerry was wide awake with the plane almost fully lit, resulting in a deep feeling of nausea in the pit of his stomach; the prospect of having to remove himself from the comfy seats was painstakingly agonising. He lent forward and rose as he lifted his head above the seat in front; viewing an airhostess wheeling a tray of croissants, muffins, cereal and an English breakfast, which Rupert thought smelt very keen on his taste buds. He turned to Kerry and gave a mild hello, asking how she is, which she replied as fine whilst sipping a tall latte; hugging it for her life. Rupert gazed out of the window to try and wake his senses slightly as he saw the odd thick clouds collude around the built up areas. The plane gradually approached London. The people and buildings looked microscopic from such a height, which made Rupert feel like a giant looking down on his servants.

    The plane doors connected with the airports boarding bay with a hum and a clunk as the metal collided. Passengers were eager to leave the plane, for they wished to stretch their legs for the first time in a long while. Out came Rupert, Kerry along with Francesca who was bobbing around in her carrier-cot as they walked down the white tunnel to enter the airport; through the main waiting rooms for boarding.

The airport was busy with tourists and businessmen rushing around importantly in deep black suits holding briefcases; all taking no consideration for each other.

    On arriving at St Pancras, the new designs of the station caught Rupert’s eyes and he wished to look at them close up. Kerry remained adamant that they went and ate first, as she didn’t feel up to plane food. The meeting point statue stands tall in a chocolate chip brown imitation of where lovers meet; creating a feeling of fantasy and an everlasting warming welcome to London. They approached a statue of Winston Churchill; looking dominant and inspirational. Rupert reached for his birthday present camera from his brother to take a photo. He waved to Kerry and Francesca who had wondered in front whilst Rupert was reading the monument. Rupert instructed them to stand next to the statue for a picture, where they were snapped up smiling next to Churchill’s raised arm. The main entrance was straight ahead, greeting trains from all over the EU. One train was just departing for France; the train was spacious with bubbly blue metal beams crisscrossing the stations skyline in a dome over the people below.

    Underneath the platforms were shops, cafes and restaurants for all passenger’s needs. Rupert and Kerry decided to buy a coffee from one outlet as they proceeded to the street exit and looked for the nearest available cab. They’re destination was Frankie’s apartment in Soho. They were informed to take the underground due to its distance and cost on land; Rupert takes his brothers advice as gold dust. As the three paid at the booths for their tickets and slotted coins into the machines that spat them back out, they walked to a map and began planning their route. The escalators were tall and the journey felt never ending; they proceeded down a two directional platform where they went left and waited for around three minutes before boarding the silent slithering worm to their destination of Kensington, only a short journey away from Frankie’s house.

    The house was situated on a light increment next to a private school, a yokel public house and a rather demeaning set of what looked like government owned accommodation; its appearance withered and deflated.

The sky echoed a healthy blue and a peeping dash of white, with the sun shining through. The cold winds chilled the very spine of the land, brushing intensely on its every surge.

Since Frankie had joined the London Intelligence Agency he had been given a substantial pay increase, allowing him to afford this extravagant home out of London slightly and a smaller apartment in Soho for business which he rented out occasionally as he preferred the commute to work, feeling a sense of escapism once work was over. The house bore an old porch that was evident from the rain marks and sodden wooden attachments surrounding it. The front door was situated on the face of the house, with the dining room window, a bedroom and a small window that looked like a storage room or shower area.    

    Rupert paid the cab machine as it performed a u-turn near his father’s house, skimming over the mud near the grass verge that lead to a farm house and land. The three looked at each other with their tired and drained eyes and posture, excited about the prospect of being greeted by his father and chatting around a fire and clean water. The pebble stones bounced as Kerry kicked them across the driveway onto the perfectly positioned pavement up to the porch of the house. They climbed a few cobbled steps to the door; level with the door. Rupert placed Francesca on the stoned embedded concrete slab near the front door. He knocked on the wooden door that felt damp and unsteady and receded near to Kerry, looking around at neighbours. There was no reply for around twenty seconds, when Rupert decided to give it another knock as Frankie may be busy and not have heard them. He knocked on the door on this occasion, where he accidentally clattered with extra force; opening the door on doing so. Rupert immediately was astonished and reverted back at Kerry for a reaction.

‘Honey, should we call someone, it does look a bit suspicious’ said Kerry now holding Francesca as she woke from the loud banging on the door.

‘You stay here, I’ll go and see what’s going on, it may just be he forgot to lock it’ replied Rupert in the knowledge that his father commutes and doesn’t really have time for the upkeep of both apartments or even one for that fact.

    Rupert lifted his left leg, presenting a half boot to the doormat before him in front of the door that was now fully open. Kerry took a glance inside and then seeing Rupert gesturing that he will be back in a minute as he closed the door leaving her and Francesca outside. Rupert picked up the mail that was scattered all over the floor like a sea of white, brown and the odd black and white lines of a few newspaper prints. He picked them up and placed them on a wobbly table next to the door which had a coffee ring stain on a portable telephone and an old notebook; open at February 15
th
2012, which males Rupert question how long had his father been away, as he always uses his diary. Rupert walked forward to the landing area smiling. He then went into the living quarters; where he saw the diary again. It was deserted of life. This made him rush around the house gaining an ounce of adrenaline. He searched everywhere for his father, yet they came no signs. His stomach overturned and rumbled at the mysterious happenings lately, and the fact that his father was nowhere to be found. Rupert had been searching for more than fifteen minutes now and didn’t want to take that long for fear of frightening Kerry. Reluctantly not giving up the search, he entered his father’s study, one that when he was younger he was never allowed to enter; although he had done on occasion when his father was out on business.