The House in the Forest

         In this storm, the forest was more dangerous than the lightning bolts that lit the sky. Broken branches blocked their path. Those still attached to trees swung viciously in every direction. James and Sandra kept on moving, dodging and diving with only minor scratches. They aimed away from the torches, barking dogs and men shouting to one another between thunderclaps. The rain came down in sheets, at least there would be no trail to follow, no footprints nor scent for the dogs either. This was Northern Ontario, Canada in the Autumn. Forest without end, enough cover to hide behind, and enough undergrowth to deter any but the most determined souls.

         Finally, the lights faded, then vanished entirely. They looked for shelter and found none. Man and wife hugged each other tightly, pressed against a giant spruce tree, protecting them from the wind, as the storm raged all around. Their heads swiveled with every sound. There was a mighty crack as the neighboring pine tree came crashing down. As it did so there was a flash of light that was not lightning and a piercing electric hiss.

         The tree had crashed through some kind of grey grid. The grid around the gapping gash fizzled and flashed with electricity. The land through the gap looked dry and they could see stars and even moonlight through it. It looked better on the other side than on this one in the storm.

         James looked at Sandra and said, "Let's go see shall we." They headed for the gap and made their way through, careful not to touch the electrical activity on either side. They entered a forest with no undergrowth between mainly deciduous trees, rare this far north, in what was mainly boreal forest. Above they saw the storm black and angry, flashing lightning on one side of a wall of grey, and on the other, the night was clear with stars and moon. Two miles in the distance, through the trees and down a slope, they could see a lake with a big house on an island in its center, its lights blazing into the night. James kissed Sandra on the cheek and she smiled for the first time that night.

         Seconds later they were surrounded by men with rifles and torches and pushed to their knees with their hands behind their necks.

         They were taken to the house in the middle of the lake. Parts of the forest floor were covered with leaves and small gray machines collected these into a larger container truck also automated. They noticed a queue of these at the ferry port when they arrived there. Barges shuttled the leaves and debris to the back of the house. They boarded a motor boat and crossed to a jetty on the island.

         The house was as grand inside as it looked outside. They were provided with dry clothes. Then led through brightly lit paneled corridors, with pictures of various soldiers and generals from Imperial times on the walls. Both of them were fascinated by the silent tour. Two men before them and two behind ensured there was no chance of escape.

         They entered into a grand living room furnished in a British Victorian style with overly ornate carpet design, thick drapes with ruffled white French curtains. Two major couches and several armchairs were arrayed around a low mahogany table in the center. A man sat in one armchair and directed the men to place his guests on the couch opposite him.

         This man was dressed in a silver three-piece suit. His watch looked expensive but was nothing so gauche as a Rolex or Timex. He had cufflinks and his shoes were immaculately polished Italian leather. He was clean-shaven, his hair clipped precisely and parted to the right. His accent was posh British, public school educated.

         "My name is Gerald Wolfe, and yes I am related to the great General that took Quebec. So Professor James and Sandra MacKensie you found a way into my home."

         "You know who we are? There was a storm..."

         The man cut him off with a wave of the hand. "You ignored a lot of 'Keep Out' signs and took a lot of risks to get away from your pursuers. Who are they?"

         "They were gangsters, my Lord," said Sandra. James gave her a sideways glance. Their pursuers had been hired by organized crime. But my Lord was a bit much surely?

         The man laughed, "I am only a little blue-blooded." He paused considering Sandra's words. "Gangsters you say," he gave a wry smile nodding to a man who left the room, "We will check that out. Meanwhile, you have presented me with a bit of a dilemma because you have seen my tech."

         Sandra and James exchanged a look.

         "The electric stealth grid around this property was penetrated by a wet tree fall and you came through the gap. My men were there within minutes of the breach. It was just unlucky that you were able to get through before they were able to restore the field. I cannot let you go right now."

         "We are prisoners!?" James exclaimed.

         "Better, long-term guests. So far you have only seen my stealth shield which I plan to sell to the US military in about three years. So long as you do not see any of my other tech I should be able to let you go then. Stay out of the basement unless you want to become permanent guests."

         A new man holding a tablet entered the room and presented it to Wolfe who studied it. He then continued, "However it seems that we can perhaps make this arrangement something that benefits the both of us - he waved a hand across the tablet and the TV screen on the wall lit up with imagery of the gangsters who had pursued them earlier. They recognized some of the faces.

         "The people pursuing you seem to be nothing better than hired thugs tasked with capturing you, probably because of your DNA targeting research. I cannot say who paid them to do this. Your research looks interesting, I could outfit a lab for you here and fund your work. You would be unmolested by troublemakers, guaranteed full academic credit, with a top salary that can simply accumulate in your time with us, as you will not have any costs. Perhaps best of all I offer you safe haven from your pursuers behind my stealth shield."

         James looked at Sandra who nodded, her priority was safety right now. They also knew who was after them and how dangerous they were. This did not seem like captivity as they would be able to continue working on the thing they loved most, together.

         Work in the lab was fun, there were no distractions here. The equipment was first rate and they had all the resources they needed to push the boundaries of their research. The couple worked well together. The place felt a little like a honeymoon resort reviving memories of how they first met, working together at the beginning of their careers and marriage. There was a gym and a heated indoor swimming pool. In Spring they found some beautiful runs inside the stealth shield around the lake where they also sailed. They felt safe and productive and their love for each other was rekindled in the idyllic locale.

         They noticed that while the stealth shield extended far into the sky during the storm thereby protecting the Wolfe property, its normal parameters did not extend that far and would allow normal weather to cross at altitude. They were far from the normal plane routes here. However, when a small aircraft appeared the stealth shield would turn into a dome rather than just a walled cake dish and completely cover them from view above. Being scientists they were interested in its design and more fundamentally what powered it and the house. They were too far away from any mains grid so the supply had to be local. There was no smoke from fuel being burned, no solar panels nor indeed windmills. They suspected that the biomass taken by the machines from the forest undergrowth supplied some kind of advanced biochemical energy plant under the house. Given the outputs necessary to power everything including the stealth grid that must be some fantastic new design. But neither of them wanted to extend their stay too long and so they did not go down into the basement.

         Wolfe liked to spend time with them and they had the impression that he might be a little lonely. He let slip that he had had far more companions in the "beginning" but that many had died on the way. On the way to what they wondered.

         One night in the middle of their second Winter, they could not sleep and went for a midnight walk in the snow. There was no one around and they walked near to the outside cargo entrance. They noticed that it was slightly ajar, normally it was tightly locked. They heard the whir of machinery from within and finally, after all this time their curiosity overcame their sense and they ran to the entrance.

         There was a giant machine that seemed to injest the biomatter brought by the grey machines on one end and convert it into a green sludge pumped through transparent plastic tubes at the other end. The tubes went through the wall into the next room. Voices could be heard within, one of them was Wolfes. They hid behind the giant machine and listened to the voice speaking, "We need more panels, the drones are becoming more frequent and we need to be able to apply stealth mode whenever we want."

         James assumed this mode required more energy to maintain than simply using the shield to wall off the estate and whispered that in Sandra's ear. She nodded in agreement.

         They remained silent, pressed against the building until Wolfe and the others departed, they heard the cargo door close behind them. Getting out of here would have to be a problem for later. There was a strange flickering light coming from the next room. There was a strange ring there. A circle of metal around a cloud of brightly glowing energy.

         "A stargate," exclaimed James a bright smile on his face. Sandra squeezed his hand. They noticed that cables came out of the gate and joined to a giant battery in the middle of the hall. Meanwhile, the plastic tubes went into the gate. The electric cables went out and upward into the house above them. "So his source of power is on the other side of the event horizon. It could be anywhere in the universe." Both approached the iris and James reached out to touch the energy. It was a little like dry water floating in the sky, but he felt a tug pulling him in and withdrew his hand. They heard the door start to open in the other room.

         "There is nowhere to hide," said Sandra.

         James nodded toward the gate and his wife nodded back. They walked into the energy field and found themselves accelerating along a long tube of brightly lit energy. Finally, emerging into blinding light. It was another world, lit by three suns and there were miles and miles of solar panels in every direction, stretched out over yellow sand. Cables came from a control station that linked all these panels and then two cables went through the open stargate behind them. The plastic tubes, funneling the green gunge, went into a giant hole in the ground, the bottom of which they could not see. Cables also led to other stargates, some open and some closed.

          They could hardly breathe, the suns burned their skin where they stood, both felt dizzy and fell to their knees. Then gloved hands pulled them back up, men in white space suits were all around them and they were brought back through the gate to the chamber.

         They collapsed onto the floor as they arrived and heard Wolfe's voice, "I wish you had not seen that."

Notes ▼

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