Tim opened his eyes and checked his watch. Four-thirty. For a moment he wasn’t sure if it was late afternoon or early morning as the room was in deep shadow. He guessed Glad had seen him dozing and drawn the curtains. He got up and pulled them open in time to see Norman, Alkemy and Albert troop in from the back yard.
Alkemy smiled as he met them in the kitchen. ‘Ah, you are awake.’
‘Where have you guys been?’
Her smile faded and she slumped at the kitchen table. Norman tossed the receiver down beside her, something in his carelessness giving Tim a clue.
‘Not working?’
‘It does work. Or rather, did. But it hasn’t picked up anything since then.’ Norman pointed at two sets of glowing numerals that read 14:07 and 14:22. ‘So we went round to Cakeface’s place to see if we could get a reaction. She was out in the garden. Alkemy went right up to her and said she was lost and could Cakeface please direct her to RAGS. Albert and I were hiding, watching, just in case. It’d be a perfect chance for the Sentinels to tell Cakeface to grab Alkemy, but she didn’t do a thing, just gave her directions and even drew a little map.
‘We’ve triple-checked the receiver and some of the scanner blocks. Everything’s working OK, but the Sentinels have stopped transmitting.’
‘Actually, I kind of guessed that would happen,’ Tim said.
Norman and Alkemy as he said to Albert. ‘I have two questions for you, and one for Norman.’ They both nodded. ‘First, Albert, what would you do if you were the Sentinels and you found out about the scanner blocks?’
Albert crossed his arms. ‘I’d stop transmitting.’
He turned to Norman. ‘When did we leave that scanner block at the playground?’
Norman glanced at his watch. ‘Just after two, I think.’
‘So how about this for an idea.’ Tim pointed at the receiver. ‘At 14:07, the Sentinels send Cakeface out to find us. They’ve heard, or guessed, that we’re in town somewhere, so they send her out, driving around till she spots us at the playground. What does she see? Alkemy climbing a climbing frame while you and I stand watching. Then she climbs back down and we all walk away. Must’ve looked a bit suspicious, kids in a playground not playing.
‘At 14:22, the Sentinels “remind” Cakeface she’s supposed to be doing a safety check of the swings and stuff. “And don’t forget that climbing frame,” they tell her. So after we’re gone, she climbs up where Alkemy was, takes a look and sees the scanner block. The Sentinels see it through her eyes, realise what it is, and stop transmitting.’
‘Whoa, hold on,’ Norman said. ‘It’s just a grey cube. How would they know what it was?’
‘What if they knew we had a transmitter problem?’
‘How would they know that?’
‘I have a nasty feeling that we told them.’
Albert said quietly, ‘What was your second question, Tim?’
‘I was going to ask what the Sentinels look for in a host? Could they use anyone or anything?’
‘Not at all. A host needs a certain level of consciousness and concentration for a start. A sparrow would never do, for example. They’re too jumpy and constantly on the move. Plus, they need a good lifespan. It can takes months to establish basic mental control, so it would hardly be worth bothering with something that only lived a year or two.’
‘What about a cat? They can live for twenty years or more.’
‘A cat?’
‘I was thinking of Smudge, my aunt and uncle’s cat. She was there right from the start, from the very first time I met Alkemy and Ludokrus when they were disguised as mice checking out the microwave. She’s there all the time too. Never goes on holiday, never leaves the farm. And she hangs around when people are around, yet no one ever really notices her.’
‘I certainly didn’t,’ Albert muttered. ‘Yes, a cat would make an excellent host. What made you think of that?’
‘I remembered what Coral, Norman and I were talking about when Smudge finally came out from under the house this morning.’
Norman stared at him, closed his eyes and slapped a hand against his forehead. ‘Oh man!’
Alkemy and Albert looked on, mystified.
‘After you went back to the reserve, we sat around the back lawn talking about your transmitter problem. Smudge came out and joined us.’
‘And then I mentioned how you had a plan,’ Norman groaned.
Tim said, ‘After lunch, when we headed to the reserve, Smudge tried to follow us. She only got stopped by the stream.’
‘So how did she know we were in town?’
‘Maybe she heard the car go or saw Ludokrus and Coral on their own. The Sentinels would wonder where the rest of us were and guess we must’ve gone into town because the Cadillac never went back past the farm.’
Norman bit his lip. ‘It does all make sense.’
Three pairs of eyes turned to Albert. He nodded grimly. ‘Yes, I’m afraid it does.’
‘What now?’ Alkemy said.
‘I don’t know. I really don’t. But perhaps we should warn the others.’
* * *
The chicken coop had one of the best views on the farm. It sat on a headland and looked out over the sparkling waters of the Tasman Sea. Somewhere to the west, more than two thousand kilometres away, lay Australia.
Coral tucked the last scanner block under a corner of its roof, then she and Ludokrus settled in a patch of sun on the far side, sheltered from the house. It was peaceful with the chickens ranging about. They had free run of the area, but most didn’t stray far. Coral watched them for a while then closed her eyes. ‘Say the blocks do work, say you find the Sentinels’ transmitter and get a signal to your ship. How long then before another escape pod arrives?’
‘About one day.’
‘So if they don’t work you go tomorrow, and if they do, you go on Monday.’ She pursed her lips. ‘Not much difference.’
After a lengthy pause Ludokrus said, ‘I will come back.’
She shook her head. ‘That’s crazy.’
‘Co-ral!’
The cry came from the house. Long and loud. Frank’s voice.
Coral jerked upright and poked her head round the side of the chicken coop. Her uncle was standing on the veranda, his hands cupped around his mouth.
‘Co-ral!’
She stood up and stepped into view. ‘What?’ she called back.
‘Phone!’
She started for the house. Ludokrus followed.
‘Who is it?’
‘Your boyfriend.’
‘Derek?’ she muttered. ‘He doesn’t even have this number.’
Ludokrus stopped in his tracks.
‘I mean your brother.’
‘Oh, ha ha!’ she called and hurried in to take the phone. Alone.