The Thing On The Moor free porn video

The Thing On The Moor By Paul1954 Hayes, West London April 18th, 2001 - 8:05am "Bollocks, fucking bollocks" cursed an upset Michael Harrison as he held a tissue to his bleeding lip. An unexpectedly cold night had frozen his car lock and he hadn't been able to get his key to turn it. He couldn't be bothered to go back indoors and fetch the de-icer and had just bent down to blow some hot breath into the lock, hoping that it would be enough to loosen it. As he should have guessed, he got too close to the lock and his hot upper lip had frozen to the door. He managed to pull away but only by leaving behind the top layer of skin from his lip and he knew it would be painful for a while. He had already been late, another phone row with his ex-wife, Ann had seen to that, and he would now have to hurry if was going to get into work at any sort of reasonable time. The row, as usual, had been over their sixteen-year old daughter, Jenny. It was the one thing he still felt pain for, following his separation and divorce from his ex-wife two years ago. He had been tied up on duty last night and had missed his weekly visit to her, which had caused a load of upset and heartache. He was worried that their relationship was sliding downhill fast, curse his job! To make matters worse, he knew that Ann had been having a hard time with Jenny, the usual mother - teenage daughter clashes, and this hadn't helped. He had always played the mediator between them and knew that his missed visit had caused yet another bust-up. Ann had made sure that he knew about that! His job, and its demands, had been the main contributory factor in his divorce. His work within the Special Operations Department of the Metropolitan Police Force did not allow him to work to a schedule, and his irregular hours had been the main cause of the rows between him and his wife. Having staunched his wound he finally got into the car and managed to start the engine okay, at least something still worked as usual, and he made his way to Ealing Underground station for the hour long trip to central London. * * * * * * * * * * Wood Street, London April 18th, 2001 ? 2:24pm Michael Harrison, Sergeant Michael Harrison now that he was on duty, looked at the stack of Rentacrates next to his desk, relieved that his packing had been finished. He hadn't had any real work to do for the last couple of days whilst he had been preparing for the move to the new offices just a quarter of a mile away, and he was itching to get back to some real Police work again. Just as he started to relax the phone rang, and picking it up he found his ex- wife on the phone. Christ, he didn't know if he could stand talking to her again today, not after the earlier ear bashing he had received. He was just about to tell her where to go when he detected a hint of panic in her voice as she started speaking. "Oh Mike, it's Jenny" he heard and a cold chill ran down his spine. "I don't know what to do she's gone missing". "Missing, what do you mean she's gone missing - she was there this morning when we were talking, she's not due back from school yet - how do you know she's missing" he asked, confused and concerned. It was not like her to call him over trivialities. "I was cleaning up her room for her, I know, I know, it's about time she was cleaned her own room but I felt really bad after last nights row and felt like doing something for her. I found a note that she had left for me, saying she was running away - she couldn't stand all the tension between us and she said that she was leaving" Ann said as she started to sob. Michael needed to calm her down so that he could get some sense out of her. He managed to control both his anger and his nervousness as he said, with more calm than he felt, "Come on Ann, just take a deep breath and I'll tell you what to do". As he heard her becoming calmer he continued. "How about trying some of her friends, its odds on that she's intending to stay with someone she knows and I think we should start there. Have you got any of their details?" On getting a negative response he said "Right, get in touch with the school and see if anyone else is missing, or hasn't turned up and I'll call you back in fifteen minutes or so" and then hung up. He didn't need to. Ten minutes later his ex-wife rang back saying that nobody from her class was absent. Michael told her to sit tight; she would most likely turn up this evening once she got hungry and tired like most runaways tend to. He spent an anxious afternoon, hoping to hear from Ann telling him that everything was okay and that Jenny was back. Rombay Moor, Yorkshire April 18th, 2001 - 8:22pm Jed and Andy Brown were slowly approaching the site of where the landslide had been reported last week. They would have preferred to have waited until morning but an old lady, out walking her dog, had reported noises coming from the area and they couldn't risk the fact that a child, or someone else, might be trapped down there. The nights were still cold on the moors, even in early spring, and someone could die from hypothermia if they had been injured, were old, or were very young so they couldn't risk not looking! Night fell quickly here and despite there being a clear and star filled sky; the two men were scanning the ground with flashlights. They had heard that a hole had appeared and didn't want to stumble into it and end up injuring themselves. They could hear the sound of slipping rocks about two hundred yards away, and it brought home the precariousness of their situation. Jed Brown's warm breath formed a light mist as it met the night air. "That must be Frank and Todd, the sooner we wrap this up the better as far as I'm concerned," he said to his brother, taking extra care to shine his torch on the ground ahead. "Yeah, you don't really think there's anyone out here do you?" Andy replied eager to get back for his date with Karen. He had been pursuing her for weeks now and he had finally persuaded her to go out with him. He would be really pissed if he missed out now because of this wild goose chase! "Well I could name a few things I'd rather be doing myself" Jed replied, thinking of his wife and the new lingerie he had brought her as a first wedding anniversary present. She had promised to wear it for him tonight, and he got hard at the thought of her shapely body filling the white lacy basque. Although two years younger than Andy, Jed had married first at the age of twenty, to Kay who had been nineteen at the time. The novelty and excitement had still not tarnished Jed and Kay's passion for each other ? they still made love whenever they could. Andy's light suddenly highlighted the colours of the yellow and black striped hazard sign that had been recently erected. "Well, this is where she said she heard the noises and look" he said as he saw Frank and Todd's flashlights almost adjacent to them, about one hundred yards away "the others are here as well". * * * * * * * * * * * It had been lying here for, what seemed, so long now. It wasn't sure just how long it had been, not having had access to any light for an untold period of time. That was until fifteen days ago, fifteen days since it's whole world had changed and was now left dying, exposed to the cold, and not being able to return to it's children. It was the Queen of a species that had evolved underground, deep in the bowels of the earth where the dampness that filtered down from the surface, and the warmth from within the earth, had allowed it's species to survive successfully for aeons, albeit on a limited level. This was the first one of It's species to have ever reached the surface, and had been separated from it's children by a sudden earth movement above it and by the unanticipated volcanic activity that had caught it unawares. It could remember that it was already higher than it's species had ever travelled before, seeking new sources of food, when it happened. It could remember the deep hole it had found. It could remember, although being sightless, craning it's head upwards - sensing the open space above it from the abandoned, deep-bore, exploratory hole that had been left here in the search for hidden coal seams. It's children had stayed back while It probed the spaces, making sure it was safe. It could remember the rumbling sound that had temporarily paralysed It, paralysed from the sudden shock. It could remember the sudden upward movement as the volcanic gasses propelled the rock It was rested on upwards, upwards at great speed through the open space it had sensed. It could remember the halting of the movement and then a crashing, as the fragile mine shaft collapsed in on itself. It grieved for its children, without their Queen It's children would eventually die. They needed It to trigger the regular changes they needed to ensure their survival. At the depth where they lived the temperature variations were variable and sudden. It shared many characteristics with its nearest surface equivalent, the Turtle. As with the Turtle they tended to produce a much larger number of female creatures when the temperature was higher. It was the reverse when it was cold when they produced a much higher proportion of male offspring. They were monogamous creatures and their population had never been that high, never numbering more than a thousand at any one time, and had never spread farther than the north-western part of Europe. As a result of the variable temperatures they experienced, they had evolved the ability of maintaining the sexual balance by being able to fluctuate between male and female as the need dictated. They only ever changed once in their lifetime and the change was triggered by a telepathic signal received from their queen who would choose the strongest candidate, those who would be able to accept the changes the most successfully. The change would take place by the re-writing the recipient's genetic code, converting the chromosomes to either XX or XY. It actually used the recipient's own image of the opposite gender to facilitate the changes, encouraging diversity and a healthy gene pool rather than the uniform model it would have naturally imposed. It also ensured that the recipient would be happy with the resulting changes, becoming it's own ideal image of the opposite gender. The only threat to the transformed creature was the impact that the change could have on their memory, and their sense of self-identity. As their complete cellular structure was, in effect, being re-built again, both their short, and long, term memories would be inaccessible unless they were helped to retrieve them. This was facilitated by sympathetic and skilful questioning and prompting, assisted by the new mate and, once retrieved, their memories would be forever viewed from the new perspective and viewpoint that they were assuming. Throughout this process they remained highly suggestible to any influences they were given as it mingled with the retrieved memories, assuming the mantle of fact. It knew that without their Queen they would not be able to change, they would eventually die. It knew It was dying. * * * * * * * * * * * It could hardly move it's wallowing bulk as it struggled to free itself for what seemed the thousandth time, from the rock and shale that had barred its return underground. It slowly raised it's neck to ease the stiffness and stretched it's small flipper like limbs, hoping that the movement would ease the cramps that were forming again. It could sense a small herd approaching. Getting nearer and nearer. It felt four entities, approaching in pairs from opposite directions. It could sense their nervousness. It could feel the imbalance. It was concerned. It would help them. It would help them to survive. It didn't want them to be lonely like it now was. It didn't want their species to die like It's own species would. It reached out to them to share its gift. * * * * * * * * * * * "There's that noise again, that shuffling sound we heard earlier", Frank said as Todd, pointing his torch towards the depression that had formed when the earth had collapsed around the old mine shaft, and he saw some falling rocks. "I heard it" Todd replied, "and from Jed and Andy's waving it looks as though they heard it too" he said, seeing their co-searchers light describing an arc as it swung from side to side. "I can feel something, it's almost like a humming, or a very strong vibration" Frank said trying to identify where the noise, no more of a feeling really, was coming from. "I don't know wh .." Frank started to say, and then clutched his head as his body shook, wracked with pain. Within seconds Todd was repeating Frank's action, grabbing at his ears to block out the sub-audible noise until finally, the pair collapsed to the ground, unconscious. On the opposite side of the depression Andy and Jed had also collapsed as silence returned to the area. * * * * * * * * * * * It was tired now, tired but satisfied. It was satisfied because it had helped them survive. It sensed the completed changes and the following stillness. It was tired now. * * * * * * * * * * Cheapside House, London April 20th, 2001 ? 10:04am Sergeant Michael Harrison was not in a good mood this morning. They had completed their office move yesterday, a move that had meant that he had lost his own private office and had been re-located to a newly renovated 6th floor open plan office overlooking Cheapside. He hated open plan offices. The constant chattering, the lack of privacy and most of all, if he was being totally honest with himself, the implied lack of status. He felt downgraded somehow! On top of this he was still worried about his daughter. She had still, not yet returned home but had at least phoned him to let him know that she was all right and staying with someone. She wouldn't tell him where she was, or who she was with, but at least she wasn't out on the streets - at least he could tell Ann that she was safe. He had asked her to return to her mother but she had refused to even answer him and quickly hung up. He had been a little annoyed with himself for pressuring her and knew that he should have played it cool. After all, she was old enough to leave home if that was what she wanted to do! He kept his personal problems to himself as he sipped the plastic cup of coffee that he had just got from the 'Maxco Instant Vendor' and winced as the coffee scalded his still sore lip. "Christ, this stuff is foul" he said, slamming down the hot and scummy liquid that he'd just paid 45p for, and turned around, looking for his sidekick, Detective Charley Wicks. "Pop out to the Costa Coffee and get me a real brew will you, they surely can't expect us to operate on this muck!" he said holding his cup aloft, as Charley wandered into view. Wicks raised his eyes to the brightly-lit fluorescent ceiling and sighed. "Large expresso guv!" he said, more of a statement than a question really, he knew Michael Harrison's preferences only too well. Without even looking up at Wicks he threw over a couple of ?1 coins, answering "Get one for yourself while you're at it" and opened the Daily Mail. He had seen an article on page five that had caught his eye while he had sat on the underground train, travelling from his home in West London. He had only just started it but, after standing to let a pregnant woman sit down, never got his seat back and never got the chance to finish it. Still, it was quiet now ? he had the chance to read it before Wicks got back. Ten minutes later Wicks returned. He gave Harrison his coffee and answered his phone for him ? it must have rung at least a dozen times since he had walked in. As Wicks put the phone down Harrison threw the article across to him. "Here, read that article and tell me what you make of it" he said and pulled off the lid to the cardboard container, breathing in the aroma from the brew. "Ah, that's more like it" he said as he sipped the hot liquid, taking extra care not to scald his lip again. Wicks finished the article, and his own coffee, and looked up at his sergeant. "All interesting stuff sir but what's so special about it, what's it got to do with us?" Wicks said as he passed the paper back to him. He had just been reading about the two men who went missing while out on the Yorkshire moors the night before last. It reported that four men from a local community had gone out to investigate some unusual noises that were reported on the moors nearby. They hadn't returned home and a search party was sent out at first light. "I mean I know it's strange, they only found two men who were just sitting there confused, and also a dead girl at the bottom of the old mine site. I still don't see though sir, what's it got to do with us?". It was Harrison who raised his eyes to the ceiling now, raised in disappointment that his subordinate didn't have the same inspiration and raw detective instinct that had inspired him to join the police force in the first place! Where was the inquisitive probing nature that a true practitioner of the art would have shown! He picked up the returned paper and re-read part of the article. "Didn't you notice" he said as he put down the paper again, "didn't you notice that one of the two surviving men said there were two girls. One was found dead but there's no mention of what happened to the second one". He still saw a puzzled look from Wicks as he sighed in frustration. "Bloody hell Wicks, what the fucks up with you. Four men go out one night. Two men are found the next day. Two girls are found nearby. Two men missing ? two girls found. One girl dead, the other seems to have disappeared - don't you think that's strange?" "Well putting it that way I suppose it is, but what could have happened to the other girl," Wicks said, showing a sudden interest. "At last, at last! I knew I would kindle the detective in you. That, my dear fellow, is exactly my point!" * * * * * * * * * * Coroners Office, Leeds, Yorkshire April 20th, 2001 - 11:48am "Well, we've examined the body now and she appears to be a normal, if not exactly healthy twenty year old female with no exceptional features" said Dr. Gary Gregson as he stripped himself out of his coveralls. "Have you got any sense yet, out of that other girl?" he asked the local Police Sergeant David Green, remembering the other girl out on the moor - the one found some hours later wandering around in total bemusement. "No, we've still got no idea who she is and none of the others recognise her. We've got her under sedation at the moment, she keeps babbling on about being called Andi or something but it all gets lost in the hysterics. Funny co- incidence though, that's the name of one of the missing men ? maybe there's a connection somewhere that we'll find out when she's ready for an interview ? that's if she's ever fit to be interviewed" he said shrugging his shoulders. "She seems a bit psychotic to me, I don't know if she'll give us much sense". You could almost hear the cog wheels turning in his brain as Sergeant Green recalled another, seemingly trivial, snippet of information. "There was something else funny though, she was wearing a man's heavy cable knit jumper ? much too large for her of course". "And you've examined the missing person reports?" Dr. Gregson said as he raised his eyes quizically. Sergeant Green bridled a little, offended that the good Dr. might be telling him how to do his job. "Of course, the description has been sent out for a nation wide trawl". "And did those two men see either of the girls?" Dr. Gregson questioned again. He hadn't a lot of confidence in Sergeant Green, not that there was anything wrong with him it was just, well, it was just that he was more used to dealing with the odd drunk and the occasional claims of sheep rustling rather than mysteries like this. He decided that he would make a phone call to a contact he had in London, a contact fairly well placed in the Police. He had a bad feeling about this case and wanted to get some impartial, and expert, advice. * * * * * * * * * * Leeds General Hospital, Yorkshire April 20th, 2001 ? 3:30pm Andy opened his eyes, still groggy from the sedatives that had been pumped into him. He could barely move his head but was able to move it enough to see that he was in a bed, surrounded on all sides by a curtain. He found it hard to remember very much, he still felt so confused! He could remember a noise, a deep rumbling noise, which was followed by a sudden pain in his head. There wasn't much else he could make sense of at the moment. He remembered a girl, he wasn't too sure where she had come from but she screamed and screamed until he couldn't stand it any more and he had pushed out towards her. He remembered the screams stopping and then him wandering around in a daze, his body sending messages to him that he couldn't quite assimilate. It was strange; right now he wasn't even sure that he knew who he was! He moaned to himself and was a little startled at the sound of his voice. He managed to pull himself up into a sitting position and was disorientated by a movement from around his chest. He tried to think, trying to understand why his voice and chest felt all-wrong, but he couldn't make sense out of his thoughts. It was just then that one of the curtains swished back and a nurse entered with a re-assuring smile. "Hello Dear" nurse Jenkins said, as she took out a thermometer and inserted it into Andy's mouth. "And how are we feeling today?" she asked as she looked at her watch while she rested a finger on his wrist, testing his pulse. We, we! What was she on about - why should she be worried about herself? It was all so confusing. "Who .. who am I, where am I" Andy said once she had removed the thermometer and tested for his temperature. She didn't look up as she entered the relevant figures on a chart that she then returned to the bottom of the bed he was in. Having finished she looked at Andy again, smiling as she walked around the bed towards him. "Well my dear, we think your name is Andi, that is what you kept saying when you were found, and you are in Leeds General Hospital under observation for now". Andy was a still confused. His whole body felt so strange to him and he ran he hands down his chest, feeling the breasts that were there. He knew this didn't feel right but couldn't work out why! "Can you tell me, is there anything strange about me - nothing feels right to me?" he said gripping her wrist firmly. Nurse Jenkins gently removed the patient's hand and puffed up the pillows so that Andy would be more comfortable. "Here - lie back a bit, try and get yourself a little more comfortable" she said easing Andy backwards, slowly. "Now don't you fret my dear, there is nothing strange about you whatsoever, nothing strange at all. You look just like a very typical and pretty twenty-year old girl to me, one who's got her whole life to look forward to. Now stop your worrying and relax; a Doctor will be along to look at you soon". Andi felt better as she eased back, her tension disappearing. She was pleased that there was nothing wrong and that she was just a pretty twenty-year old girl - one with everything to look forward to. Maybe the Doctor could tell her more about herself when he arrived. Cheapside House, London April 20th, 2001 - 3:10pm Sergeant Harrison came out of his Inspectors office with a large smile. He had found out that they had to travel up to Leeds to the local investigations team help to set up an inquiry centre following a mysterious incident. No other details were given other than to report to the local Detective Inspector on his arrival; he was just grateful to have some action again. He called over to Detective Wicks. "Come on Wicksy, get your arse into gear, we're going up north to Leeds tonight. Go and get us a car from the pool and we'll pick up some clothes and stuff on the way up there. Rombay Moor, Yorkshire April 20th, 2001 ? 8:20pm Sergeant Green probed the grass with his stick and aimed his torch onto the ground in front of him. He had finally succumbed to the pressure to do something concrete about finding the two missing men, and had arranged a search party. He would have preferred to have waited until morning before starting out but, after convincing the missing men's relatives to wait a day, he knew that he had to do something now if he was going to avoid any comeback. He was leading a party of eleven other men, and was planning to spend no more than three hours tonight; he would reconvene his team and continue the search in the morning. They were walking over the damp and moss leaden moor, each man being spaced at ten-foot intervals. "Hey Sarge, isn't that where that girl was found over there" called out one of the men as Sergeant Green aimed his torch in the indicated direction. "It looks like it, we'd better give it the once over again" he said as the team shifted direction and walked towards the dark depression of earth. * * * * * * * * * * It had woken thirty minutes earlier and felt weak. It knew it was dying. It could feel another herd approaching and it was disturbed. It could feel the imbalance. It was concerned. It would help them. It would help them to survive. It reached out to them to share its gift. * * * * * * * * * * * The search party had taken just a few steps forward when the throbbing noise hit them. It seemed to penetrate every molecule in their body as they clutched their heads in pain. All twelve men fell to the ground, unconscious. * * * * * * * * * * * Leeds Police Headquarters, Yorkshire April 20th, 2001 ? 9:12pm It had taken Harrison and Wicks four and a half-hours to reach Leeds and Sergeant Harrison decided they would report in to the Station to let the Inspector know they were here before finding the hotel where they would rest for the night. They turned into the station car park and went straight to the front desk and showed their ID's as a poker faced Police Constable listened to their request to see the Inspector. "I'm sorry sir, there's a bit of a flap on right now. The Inspector's going to be tied up for a while" he said, seemingly enjoying putting these southern fly- boys in their place. His little bubble of power was soon popped as Sergeant Harrison flexed his own muscles. "Okay, well I would suggest that you contact him and tell him we've arrived. We've here at his express request, and maybe - just maybe" he said sarcastically - "the 'flap' he is on right now might be why we're here"! Of course he didn't know if that was the case, being unsure of the reason they had been summoned, but he enjoyed seeing this beaurocratic prick whiten and pick up the phone to see if he could find out where the inspector was. About ten minutes later they were summoned, and led into a medium sized interview room containing four chairs. As they sat down Sergeant Harrison removed his jacket and pulled uncomfortably, at his collar. There was no window, and the central heating was full on. "Christ, I know it's cold but don't they know what a thermostat is up here" he complained, letting his deep suspicion for anything north of London flow out. Detective Wicks merely maintained a dignified silence, he knew that he wasn't expected to comment. It was just then that the door opened, and granite faced, white-haired Inspector Wells walked into the room with a purposeful stride. "Gentlemen" he said, holding out his hand to each of them. "I'm glad that you could get here so quickly, it's quite timely that you could make it tonight" he said as he pulled out a chair and sat alongside them. He pulled at his collar, also feeling the oppressive heat. "I apologise for using this room for your briefing, there isn't anything else available at the moment. Anyway, to business. You might seen reports, in the national press and on television, about the two men who went missing two days ago". Sergeant Harrison's ears pricked up and his eyes lit with excitement. He was going to work on the mystery that had so intrigued him this morning. He couldn't believe his luck! Inspector Wells continued after seeing their nodding acknowledgement. "Well, one our local Sergeants decided to take out a search party tonight to look for them, although why he couldn't have waited until morning God only knows! They were due to report in twenty minutes ago and we haven't heard from them. I've pulled together a small team to travel to Burley Wooden to find out just what is going on out there. I would suggest that you join me in my car and I will update you on what has been happening as we travel. * * * * * * * * * * The journey only took thirty minutes and Sergeant Harrison noticed how much darker everything seemed as they left the urban sprawl and drove through the single lane roads, and over the moors. They went straight to Sergeant Green's house, hoping to find they had returned or left word, but there was nothing. His worried wife nervously made a pot of tea, desperate to do something, anything, rather than just sit there, waiting! While they drunk, she explained where she thought her husband had led the party to search and the Inspector decided to send out another small party to look for them. "Sir" Sergeant Harrison chipped in, "I don't think we should send too many more men out there. Have you got anybody that knows, really knows the area, I'd like to go out with them". "I don't think any of those that I've brought along have ever been out on these moors but I'll check" Inspector Wells said as he left the room. "I .. well, I know these moors, I was born here and have lived here all my life in this village" Mrs Green said, interrupting Harrison's train of thought. "I don't know if the Inspector will sanction a civilian prowling around in the darkness out there, there have already been too many people gone missing" Harrison said thoughtfully, considering how Inspector Wells would react to her implied suggestion. At that point the Inspector returned. "There is nobody who knows these moors well enough to feel confident to search now, we might just have to camp down somewhere tonight and look first thing in the morning if they don't return". The men turned to Mrs Green a she let out a shrill cry of torment. "Noooo. . that's my husband out there, I'm not going to let you abandon him. I'll look for him myself". Before Inspector Wells could protest, Sergeant Harrison explained Mrs Green's desire to go with him to investigate. He strongly backed her case, anything was better than doing nothing"! Ten minutes later Harrison was walking beyond the street village boundaries, and up onto the moors. Mrs Green, or Valerie as she had asked him to call her, was leading the way with a large torch and a walking stick. They both felt a little apprehensive as they left the streetlights behind, but still better for having something to do. Valerie led them towards where she knew her husband had set off to, towards the site of the old mine shaft that had collapsed recently. * * * * * * * * * * It could sense those that had changed. They were sleeping but were balanced now. When they woke It knew that those changed would take a while to adapt, time to become what they had been changed to. It hoped their mates would help them. It knew that acceptance would come, they had to accept to save the species. It knew that others would help them to adapt, others would tell them who they were, the changed would accept. They had to accept to save the species. It felt two other entities approaching. It was happy, they were balanced. It could rest, It felt weak. * * * * * * * * * * Sergeant Harrison called into the Inspector, informing him they had found nothing yet, everything was spookily quiet up here. If they hadn't found anything soon, they would return in the morning and try again with a larger party. It was thirty seconds later that Valerie tugged his sleeve and shone her torch on a lump on the ground. "Look, look over there - that could be a body" she screamed in a mixture of apprehension and excitement. They both moved swiftly, taking care not to lose their footing, and quickly came upon the body of one of the missing searchers. Sergeant Harrison bent down to feel the dormant body. "He's still got a pulse" he said as he felt behind the unconscious mans ear. As he counted the regular heartbeat he lifted his head and looked around him. Valerie was scanning the surrounding undergrowth with her torch and he could see a number of other bodies scattered around, highlighted by her beam. Valerie raised her other hand to her mouth and started emitting whimpering noises. "Well don't just stand there" he said sharply, trying to prevent her going into hysterics. "Check out those nearby and I'll check the others" he said, satisfied that the first victim was going to be okay. He moved over to the next body that was lying just four yards away, and again, felt for a pulse. This time he noticed that the neck of this victim was far smoother than before and further investigation revealed that this victim was female. He was puzzled, it was unusual to include women in a search party of this type - especially one held at night, and he called over to Valerie. "Hey Valerie, I've got a girl over here. Did you see any women in the search party that left with your husband?". He heard her answer. "No, there were just twelve men. David would never allow a woman to go out on a dangerous search; he was like that. He would have a fit if he saw me here now, like this!" she said as she checked on her own victim. "Hey, this one's a girl too!" she said in surprise. It took them another five minutes before they had found a total of twelve unconscious bodies, there didn't seem to be any others around here. Sergeant Harrison was lost in thought as noted the total of six men and six women; it was surely more than a coincidence that there were a total of twelve bodies lying here. It was just a mystery where these extra females had shown up from, and also where the six men had disappeared to. Valerie Green was crying quietly to herself as she looked around. "He .. he's not here Sergeant" she said to Harrison, "but I know that this is his uniform that's on this girl, see - that's his badge on the lapel" she said pointing out the badge in her torchlight. "Why would he have given her his clothes and what's he wearing now?" she said in desperation, as if hoping some divine being would tell her! Looking closer at the other women, Sergeant Harrison noted that they all seemed to be wearing men's clothes. He paused and reflected, calmly, on the evidence that was available to him and considered some of the possibilities. He had always been a great fan of the Sherlock Holmes series and had always wanted to be presented with a seemingly unfathomable conundrum, just like his hero used to get. Well he had one now! He drew upon the fictional detective for inspiration and he remembered how he had approached a problem from every angle, keeping an open-minded view of all things, until he had exhausted all the possibilities. The process of elimination determined that however unlikely it may seem, that if only the impossible was left then that could be the only solution, however unlikely! In this case he examined all the facts as they had been presented to him and concluded that this must be the same party of twelve men that set out on the search. The six girls must, surely, have originally been the missing six men. Nothing else made sense - but then again, neither did this! "Over here, this one's stirring" he heard, as Valerie called over to him. He rushed over to see Valerie helping the girl she had been with earlier; the one she had said was wearing her husband's jacket. He found it hard to believe that this ordinary looking woman could have possibly have been a long serving Police Sergeant. He told Valerie to look after the woman without giving any hint as to why, he didn't want to share his thoughts with anyone else at this stage, not until he had proof. They would surely think he was mad! He noticed that someone else seemed to be stirring and went over to help. Within fifteen minutes most of those previously unconscious were now awake and able to sit. Without exception, they were confused and found it hard to string more than a few words together. Some of the men responded to their names and started to become a little more coherent, but the women remained bewildered and confused, none being able to say who they were. The Inspector and his men arrived twenty minutes later, having been radioed when Harrison and Mrs. Green had first found the victims. They had kept their torches shining, and had lit a small fire to help the search party to find them, and also to keep the victims warm. It was when Valerie Green arrived back in the village that she saw the woman that she was taking care of, in the light for the first time. She went deadly pale and grasped the women's hand. "Mary, Mary" she said, "is that you - how can it be?" she gasped. The woman looked up at the kind lady who had been helping her and some of her puzzlement cleared for a moment. Mary, Mary - yes that's right she was Mary Green. Memories of how she used to play with her older brother David came back to her and she smiled as she recalled how he used to steal her dolls but would always give them back to her, never really intending any harm. It was strange, she seemed to view these scenes from the perspective of her brother at first but her mind soon put this right for her and she soon realigned herself to see things as they should have been. She nodded to this kind lady who she now remembered was her sister-in- law, Valerie. "Valerie, it's good to see you again - how's David" she said, still feeling as though she was seeing through a fog as her memories flooded back to her. It still felt as though she was looking at these memories as though viewing a film, but it was starting to make more sense every minute. It was funny though, her most vivid memories were those from her past - there was not much at all from her recent past! Valerie turned to the Doctor who was examining one of the women. "I know this woman Doctor, she's my sister-in-law. I'm going to take her back to my house if that's all right with you!" she said to him. "Well that should be okay" he said, grateful that there was one more person less to worry about. He would be at full stretch until relief arrived. "Mind that she has a check-up in the morning though, she really should be seen". As Valerie led her away she remarked to Mary "It's funny, David was only talking about you last night. He was saying how much he had missed you since you moved to New Zealand. Why didn't you tell us you were coming back, and how did you end up there with that search party? Oh I wish David would turn up, I just can't understand where he could be. I'm getting so worried . . . . " she said, going on and on, grateful to have something to worry about, something to take her mind off of her missing husband for a while. * * * * * * * * * * Sergeant Harrison had excused himself, he wanted to take a warm bath with a long glass of his favourite whiskey and to think about his next course of action. He would take Wicks and start finding out just who these mystery women were. He would leave the good Inspector and his men to look for the missing men, both the first two and also the six lost this night. He was sure that they wouldn't find them but at least it would give him the freedom to follow his own line of enquiries. As he emptied his glass he reflected for a moment, feeling a little guilty. With all of this going on he had forgotten about his missing daughter and needed another stiff glass of whiskey before he could get to sleep. * * * * * * * * * * Leeds General Hospital, Yorkshire April 21st, 2001 ? 9:22am "Well she has been acting a little strange Sergeant. She still can't remember anything about her past but seems happy enough with things. One of the nurses brought her some make-up and styled her hair for her - you know, to cheer her up, make her feel human again - but it didn't seem to help. She seemed to have no idea what to do with it!" said Nurse Jenkins to the two Policemen. Sergeant Harrison looked through the ward doors at the pretty young girl. "Is there somewhere where we can talk to her in private. We want to try to help her find out who she is and I don't think an open ward is the best place to do this" he said to Nurse Jenkins, still looking at the almost childlike face of the girl. Ten minutes later Harrison, Wicks and the mystery girl were sitting in a comfortable office, a steaming cup of tea in each of their hands. As usual, Harrison led the conversation, Wicks keeping quiet and observing the events. He introduced themselves and explained that they were here to help her to find out more about herself. As the interview progressed, he became more and more intrigued by this young girl in front of him. It wasn't just her looks that were childlike, her whole demeanour and bearing exuded a naivete and a complete lack of femininity that he had never before experienced in a girl of her age. It was almost as if she had forgotten everything about how a woman would carry herself and she came across as almost boylike in her manner. They spent an hour talking to her, even swapping roles and letting Wicks talk to her for a while - maybe she would react to someone different, maybe he could elicit some snippet of information he could use. They left having learnt little. It was as they were leaving that Sergeant Harrison had a moment of inspiration. He tried to remember the briefing that the Inspector had given him; trying to recall the names of the original missing men. "Andy, Andy Brown!" he said looking at the girl as a Nurse led her back to the ward. He didn't know what he expected to happen but she turned around sharply, a shocked look on her face as if she was trying to grasp something and was then led sobbing back to the ward. "Nice one Sarge, nice one. What was that all about" Wicks said, trying to figure out what stunt his boss was trying to pull now. "Nothing Wicks, nothing. Come on, I think it's time we spoke to the missing men's wives and girlfriend. Their first trip had been to an upset Jed Brown's wife. They had found out nothing useful from her and returned to the car. "Well what do you think Wicks, we've got two choices. We can either go to the morgue or interview Andy Brown's date for that night and see if she can shed any light on things for us". "I think the girlfriend is favourite Sarge followed by something to eat. I've never liked looking at dead bodies before lunch". And so they found themselves, twenty minutes later, outside Karen Whitely's house where she lived with her widowed mother. Sergeant Harrison walked to the door and rapped on it sharply, hoping that Karen would be in, it was a Saturday and he hoped she hadn't gone out shopping with friends, or something else that young girls might like to do to waste their time. A woman, looking to be in her mid-forties, opened the door and showed them into the living room while she went to fetch Karen from upstairs. It was a typical poor north England terraced house, two up and two down with paper-thin walls and floors. They could hear what was, undoubtedly, Karen moving around and waited for a few minutes as her mother brought them each a cup of tea. They had only taken one sip when the door opened and in walked the girl they had known as Andi, the one they had earlier interviewed in the hospital. * * * * * * * * * * They drove away in an empty silence, both men considering what they had just seen. It had been a testament to their professional training and professionalism that both had managed to control their reactions to the extent that neither of the women noticed anything untoward at all. They had, seemingly, casually probed both Karen and her mother. Had she any sisters, had her mother ever had any more children, had she been close to Andy - anything that may have been relevant at all! They had left when the women started to get uncomfortable as the questions got more personal. They pulled in at the nearest pub for a pint and some lunch. Detective Wicks finally broke the silence. "I have to say Sarge, whatever I expected that was not it! That Andi and Karen could have been twins, I can't believe there's no connection between them, it's too incredible to believe that their likeness in unrelated!". "I know, I know. I'm beginning to think my wild theory isn't so wild after all. Thank's Sherlock " he said, raising a glass of warm beer towards the ceiling. "Theory, you mean you've got some idea what this is all about!" said an astonished Wicks, looking exactly like Doctor Watson must have done when presented with one of Sherlock Holmes revelations. He was not going to be as lucky as Watson yet, however. "Not yet, I want you to try something out before I say anything else. I want you to get a taxi and take Karen Whitely to the hospital. I want her to see our friend from earlier. Make sure you keep a careful note of their reactions. "Okay Sarge, where are you off to then?". "The morgue, I'm off to the morgue to see if my theory has any credence" Harrison said, a hopeful determination in his eyes. Wicks was just glad that he would be spared the sight of another dead body - he really hated that part of the job, and set off to pick up Karen. * * * * * * * * * * Harrison drove off, eager to see the dead girl's body as soon as possible. It seemed to take an interminable time as he got stuck in the heavy traffic around Leeds, and he arrived at the morgue some forty-five minutes later. Having shown his ID he was led inside and told to wait while they got an assistant to take him to where the body was resting. He looked all around at the clinically white walls and gave an involuntary shudder as he thought about all of the people stacked within the drawers, just yards from where he was sitting. He had to admit that he shared Wicks squeamishness, although he had learned to steel himself to the type of sight that now awaited him he had never gotten used to it. He hoped that he never did, either! An assistant was soon found and he was taken to where the body lay. He felt slightly repulsed at the morgue assistants flippant attitude as he was taken along the corridor and maintained a stony silence as he was led into a cold room, filled with drawers. "That's the one here mate" he was told as a large drawer was slid out and Sergeant Harrison saw the white sheet covered shape lying flat at its bottom. He took a deep breath and his heart seemed to pause momentarily, as the sheet was pulled back to reveal the corpse of a young woman. Despite the paleness of her complexion, and the tautly lined skin, she was clearly recognisable as the double of Jed Brown's wife, Kay. Sergeant Harrison just turned around and left the room, having seen enough. For just a brief second his professional training let him down as he thought that this could have so easily have been his own daughter lying there, and his stomach churned with emotion as he wished that he knew where she was right now. He would have to ring Ann this evening to see if she had heard anything yet! He decided that he would radio Wicks and find out what had happened at the hospital. He found out that Karen had only just left, Wicks had arranged for a taxi to take her home and he was still in the hospital. Harrison told him to wait there and he would meet him, he was only a short drive away. Having picked him up, they set off to drive back to the village. "Okay Wicks, tell me what happened when you led Karen Whitely in to see her" he said, checking the rear view mirror as he pulled out onto the main road. "Well Sarge, the girl called Andi was asleep when we first got there but started to stir as we walked over to her. Karen was shocked to see, what appeared to be, an exact duplicate of herself looking up at her. She couldn't seem to find anything to say and just kept staring at her". Impatiently Sergeant Harrison snapped "And, and! Come on man - how did Andi react?". "She just looked up at her, obviously somewhere between sleep and consciousness, and said one word, "Karen" before looking all confused again. I asked her if she knew who Karen was, or whether she had seen her before but she didn't seem to know anything, it was almost like she had slipped into a trance with no recollection of what she had just said". "And didn't you ask Karen whether she had ever seen this girl before?" Harrison said, still sounding terse. "Of course Sarge" replied Wicks, offended at this seeming lack of confidence in him. "She said she had never seen her before and had no idea who she could possibly be". "Right, I think another trip up on the moors might be in order" Harrison finished as he thought about how he could possibly explain what had he thought had happened to Inspector Wells. He idly speculated on what might have caused the eight men to change into women, for he was now sure that this is what had happened, but could think of nothing! Whatever it was though, was up there on the moors, and he knew that he would have to find it. * * * * * * * * * * Rombay Moor, Yorkshire April 21st, 2001 - 5:21pm It woke slowly, remembering a dream, remembering It's children. It knew where It was, this was no dream. It was cold. It knew it was dying. It had started to get used to the cycle of light and heat; dark and cold. It could sense, rather than see the light. It knew that it would not last another complete cycle. It was darkening, It could feel it. It would not complete another cycle. It grieved for It's children. It could sense another herd - moving away, It could sense the imbalance, It would try to help them. It couldn't reach them - they were too far away. Lizard Point, Cornwall April 21st, 2001 - 6:45pm Jenny Harrison had been having an absolute ball since she had absconded. It hadn't taken long for such a pretty girl to hitch a lift, southwest to Cornwall. She had headed in this direction without any sort of plan, remembering the happy times she had spent there as a little girl when she had still had a family. She had ended up in Newquay, it had always been a lively place and that was what she wanted right now. A little life and some fun! That she found as the remnants of those who had arrived for the Easter break for the start of the surfing season, lingered on and took her into their bosom. The first night had been a blast; smoking joints, drinking beer and generally having a good time. Her new found friends seemed fairly happy-go-lucky at first and let her stay the night in a large caravan they were sharing. She hadn't had a bed to herself but shared with another girl from the party, and was happy to do so. There was no funny business attempted by any of the boys and she felt totally relaxed, and safe, in their company. This all changed the following night when it became obvious that they expected something in return for their hospitality and Jenny fled the caravan running off into the night. She had managed to hitch another lift from a car that was travelling to the Lizard, a far off peninsular that was the most southerly point in Britain. She found it to be a lonely and desolate place with little prospect of shelter, and spent an uncomfortable night sleeping beneath an upturned boat with just a canvas yawning for shelter. The next day had found her tired and hungry. She spent the remainder of her money of food and the rest of the day walking towards the tip of peninsular. There was no particular reason to do so but it gave her a goal and helped to keep her occupied. The novelty of her running away from home was quickly dying as she started to think about her comfortable and pretty bedroom. She was starting to appreciate the hot meals that had always been provided for her, and the clean set of clothes, always available and always taken for granted. She looked at her watch - it was 6:30pm now - and she was starting to get depressed. The effects from the tab of Ecstasy that she had taken earlier, supplied by one of her erstwhile friends, was starting to wear off. She still had one left though, and thought that she would take it now and then find somewhere to sleep for the night. It would keep her going a while and help to forget her predicament. She had decided that this would be her last night away, and that she would return home tomorrow to face the music; she had experienced enough of the wild life for her liking! It was starting to get dusk now, as she walked along one of the many single lane tracks that littered the area. She could see a light house just a short while away and decided to head in that direction. There must be somewhere around there that she could stay for the night! It was ten minutes later that she saw some lights from nearby houses; they seemed to be only a couple of hundred yards away so she headed towards their direction, there might be somewhere there that she could stay. In her confused, and drug induced state, she took no notice of the sound of crashing of the waves on the rocks far below her and she left the main footpath, taking the scenic route along the cliff edge. It only took a second for her to lose her footing and she stumbled, plunging down a sheer cliff face into the sea below. She felt nothing as she hit the water, having been knocked unconscious during the fall, and she quickly drowned as the fierce current swept her out to sea as the gulf stream embraced her. Burley Wooden, Yorkshire April 21st, 2001 ? 9:25pm Michael Harrison was laying deep in his warm bath, with just his nose poking above the top of the water; and a glass of whiskey on a chair next to him ready for whenever he decided to break surface. This was his favourite form of meditation; he could usually see things this way that might have otherwise eluded him. He had decided to go to bed after this, he wanted to be fresh and alert for the morning having been given permission to take out a small party to search around the collapsed mine shaft. He was determined that the small party would consist of just him and one other, he did not want anyone else to risk what he suspected might happen. He felt glad that he had mentioned his missing daughter to Wicks earlier, sharing the burden seemed to release his anxiety a little. He stuck his head above the top of the water and downed a large mouthful of whiskey before sinking beneath the water again, reflecting on the afternoons events. He had decided not to tell the Inspector of his suspicions until he knew a little more of what might be causing the changes. Inspector Wells had informed him that his searching had drawn a complete blank. They had traced where they thought the men had been and had found where they had met Harrison and Valerie Green but had found no sight of anyone. It was if they had just vanished from the face of the earth! He thought about his brief visit to Valerie Green and her 'sister-in-law', the sister-in-law that, he was now convinced, was formerly Sergeant Green. The only reaction he had elicited from her was a warm smile when he talked about David Green. She seemed to be quite comfortable talking about her former personality but still seemed to refer to herself in the third party when she spoke about their times together. He had gotten Wicks to check up on the real Mary Gregson and found that she was still in New Zealand - she had not left the country! He wondered how they were going to break the news to Valerie about who this Mary really was. He wondered how this woman would react to finding out that she was not really who she thought she was! What a headache! He thought about his call to Ann, how she still had not heard from Jenny. Somehow, she had seemed to think it was all his fault that she had run away! She thought he wasn't doing enough to help find her and she was most probably right. He didn't like the thoughts of a sixteen-year old girl wandering around wherever she was now, she was far too young for that! He might call Ann again in the morning, if he did then he would try to be a little more sympathetic this time. She didn't need to hear that she was being over fussy as he had accused her of being, that had been unfair - he knew that. He took another gulp and then brought his thoughts back to the case. There was something bothering him, something he couldn't quite put his finger on. Why didn't all the men change, why was it only some of them? Was there something that made certain individuals more susceptible to whatever it was that was causing them - what did the changees have in common? There seemed be to be no obvious connections between any of them. Why did Jed and Andy disappear, or change, and why were Frank and Todd relatively untouched, apart from their brief period of unconsciousness? The water was starting to get cold now, another gulp of the whiskey to warm him and he would get out. He started to think about the number of men that had been affected and wandered why nothing had happened to either himself or to Valerie when they had been out there. How many men were missing - eight. How many unknown, or confused new women were there - eight. How many had been out there on that first night - Four. How many people were found in the following morning - four, two men and two women. His felt goosebumps all over his body as he felt the pattern emerging, he could instinctively feel that the answer was staring him in the face. How many men went out on the second search party - twelve. How many people were found in the morning - twelve, six men and six women. That was it, he could feel it. Why had nothing happened to himself and Valerie - was it because they were an even number, one man and one woman? What if whatever it was that had changed the men had seemed to balance the genders of however many people came near it. It had left both the search parties with equal numbers of men and women when they were found. It seemed a totally outrageous idea, how could anything in nature effect these changes? He was damn sure that science had still not progressed to the point where it could make minor, let alone wholesale, changes to this degree! He knew about the articles that he had read where fish had changed sex due to pollution affecting them, and he had herd the same about river fish where sewage, containing vast levels of oestrogen, had changed those that lived around the outflow. There was nothing like this though! He went to bed, eagerly anticipating tomorrow's search in the daylight. * * * * * * * * * * Rombay Moor, Yorkshire April 21st, 2001 - 9:45am They had been lucky; it was a dry and bright morning by the time the early morning mist had dissipated. Sergeant Harrison had managed to persuade the Inspector to let him search alone, with just one other to accompany him. They had four hours before the main party would follow; Inspector Wells did not want to risk another party of men to whatever was causing the disappearances without good reason. It had been hard enough keeping the lid on this so far - they had been fortunate that this was such a tight knit community and the media hadn't really latched onto what was going here. It was only a matter of time though! Despite Inspector Wells reluctance, Harrison had managed to persuade him to release one of the Policewomen to accompany him, if his theory was proved correct he didn't want to possibly lose his manhood as a result of going out with another man! The Inspector hadn't wanted to, considering that this was not a suitable task for a girl to do, but was convinced by the persuasive style of Sergeant Harrison. As they walked over the moors, Harrison had no trouble in finding his way in the daylight; he stole a glance at the Policewoman alongside him. She was attractive in an unusual kind of way, though could not be considered beautiful by any stretch of the imagination. She had tried to make small talk for a while but he had studiously ignored her, having too many things on his mind. Uppermost had been the dream he remembered from last night, the dream about Jenny. He couldn't quite remember what it had been about but it had left him with a terrible sense of foreboding and it had taken all of his willpower to stop himself from ringing Ann again. Despite his good intentions he hadn't really wanted to and had decided to leave it until tonight before he rang her again. * * * * * * * * * * It hadn't rested at all, wanting to savour every last moment of its existence before returning to the eternal slumber from whence it came. It knew that it didn't have much longer to wait. It was weak and life was slowly ebbing away from it. It was starting to lapse into a final coma when its senses became alert for a last time. It could sense a small herd. It felt an imbalance. It wanted to help. It grieved for its children. It tried to share Its gift. The herd was too far away. It had to wait; the herd was approaching. It would save the herd. It would share Its gift. One more time. * * * * * * * * * * Trudy Watson looked at the Police Sergeant striding purposefully towards the site of the first disappearance. It was as if he was being driven by something, something that she didn't understand! He hadn't responded to any of her attempts to open a conversation and had shrugged them off with a brusque reply each time. It had disappointed her at first, this had been the first time that she had been chosen for any assignment that held any degree of responsibility; the first time since her operation anyway! It had been tough trying to become accepted since then, and she had been the butt of several poor attempts at humour, knowing that she had been the main talking point in the station canteen! As she was thinking back to her problems she felt a slight disturbance pass through her body. It had only been faint but had seemed to penetrate through to her very being before passing away. It had left her with a feeling of apprehension and foreboding! Sergeant Harrison had also felt the disturbance and instinctively knew that he was nearing whatever it was that he was seeking. The passing of the unfamiliar feeling left him feeling confident that he had correctly identified, and anticipated how the changes had effected the others and he strode forward with a purposeful gait. He focused all of his concentration on this effort, trying deliberately to remove the uneasy feeling he still had following his dream about Jenny, although he couldn't quite shake the mental image he still held of her. It was as he came to the edge of the collapsed mine shaft that he felt the same disturbance that he had experienced just a short while previously, only this time it had felt much stronger. The rumbling sensation seemed to penetrate every fibre of his being as he held his head tightly and spun around to see the Policewoman copying his actions, almost as if mimicking him. His last thoughts were questioning ones; how he had got his theory so wrong, how badly had he miscalculated things, until he finally blacked out. * * * * * * * * * * It