Engella by Paul Ian Cross
Engella
Paul Ian Cross
Edition 1.2
First published in Great Britain in 2016 by Farrow Children’s Books
Text Copyright © Paul Ian Cross (2016)
Illustration Copyright © Alison Rasmussen (2016)
Ebook formatting by www.ebooklaunch.com
The right of Paul Ian Cross to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
www.pauliancross.co.uk
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Reader’s Bonus
The story of Engella
About the Author
Connect with the Author
1
Engella was tired. Too tired to care where she slept. Huddled in an alley, she covered herself in a plastic sheet to keep out of the rain. The torrent continued. Puddles merged into rivers and her clothes were soaked through. Her makeshift blanket wasn’t helping. A police drone zipped high above. Darting between the streets it was probably chasing a thief it had just identified, tracking them with its facial recognition software. Sirens whined and blue flashing lights danced across the metal scaffolding for a moment.
A scraggy cat jumped onto a trashcan, staring at Engella with piercing eyes that reflected light from the street lamps. Reaching out, she clicked her fingers drawing him over. She stroked his head until he purred. The police drone zipped past again and the cat jumped at the noise and he darted off into the night. This was Engella’s fourth night living on the streets of New Shanghai and she hadn’t felt this safe for months. The rain slowed, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Finding a comfortable position, she began to drift off to sleep at last.
A few seconds passed before she realised what was happening. The dizziness took hold more slowly than usual, but the feeling of suffocation quickly engulfed her. Her pulse quickened. She froze. The street lamp above her flickered and the space around her began to warp, as a dark figure materialised only metres away.
They’ve found me, she thought.
They were here.
She rolled sideways as an energy blast hit the spot where she was resting. Engella didn’t wait to see her assailant emerge from the veil of black smoke. She managed to draw her blaster and directed three bolts behind her. As she ran away, a shock grenade landed in her path. She yelped as the device exploded, as it showered her with brick and dust. Pulling back her sleeve, she waved her hand over her metal wristband; turning the transporter on. With no time to enter any coordinates, Engella closed her eyes and hoped for the best.
“Shift!” she said.
The device bleeped and space-time warped around her. Her vision blurred and she lost consciousness.
2
Engella opened her eyes to the sound of crashing waves. She had arrived on a sandy beach, but it was intensely cold. She could see pieces of brick around her. They must have been caught in the portal as she shifted away. The Hunters had never made it so close before. Their attacks were becoming more targeted, finding her location in space-time with improved accuracy. At least it had taken them several days to find her this time.
Engella sighed.
“Still wet,” she said. Engella rolled onto her back and gazed at the sky for a few minutes. The cirrus clouds looked like candy floss. Another freezing wave splashed over her and she focussed on the task ahead.
“Time to move,” she said.
The beach was silent except for the squawks of seagulls hovering on the upwinds. It was late evening, as the sun was low and the sky was turning pink.
Engella dawdled along the sand, her cape catching the wind. She remembered how she loved the beach as a child; going on day trips with her family, building sandcastles and eating ice-cream. She remembered her mother’s face for a moment.
“At least the weather’s better here,” she said. “Not in Kansas anymore, that’s for sure.”
She smiled as she remembered her favourite holomovie. She always played the little girl with the pet dog while her father was the Tin Man. She reached for her wristband, anxiously checking it was still there, feeling relieved as she touched the cold metal between her fingers. A red warning light flashed, so she clicked the reset button. Engella had never shifted without coordinates before, so she didn’t know what it meant.
Along the beach, a figure came into view. Engella’s neck prickled. She usually tried to avoid people, it was easier that way, but she pined for some human contact. The loneliness had continued for too long. Using her wristband, she scanned the area to identify which clothes were most suitable for the place and time. Her real clothes were quickly replaced by a hologram: a grey hooded jumper, black jeans and black Converse trainers. Her white plaited hair was now neatly placed inside a holographic pink bobble hat.
“Retro!” she said.
Getting closer, Engella could see an older woman walking a chocolate Labrador who was splashing through the surf. They eventually met halfway along the beach.
“Good evening, dear,” the woman said, surveying Engella through black spectacles. She was probably in her sixties, her hair curly brown and greying at the roots. She looked slightly red-faced and flustered, wrapped up in her winter coat and scarf. The Labrador ran up to Engella, panting and tail wagging before sniffing her trainers.
“Sorry about Rupert! He loves meeting new people. Don’t often see new folk around here, you see.”
Engella patted Rupert on the head. “It’s okay. He’s very sweet. Where is here by the way?”
“Well you’re on Skye, dear. Didn’t you see the sign when you came over the bridge?”
“I didn’t take the bridge.”
Engella looked away, not sure how to explain her sudden appearance. Travelling through space-time meant she often arrived in unusual places, which was hard to explain to others. Luckily for Engella this place didn’t have too many people around who would notice a girl appearing out of thin air. Engella remembered her Earth lessons. Skye. Could it be the Isle of Skye, Scotland? The woman’s accent certainly sounded Scottish so that made sense. Shanghai to Scotland was only a short trip, especially when going through a wormhole. Folding space-time made travelling between two points, however far apart, very easy and incredibly fast. Engella was glad she hadn’t ended up somewhere like the Arctic. Now that would be cold.
“The ferries haven’t been running for two days, dear. Terrible storms. How did you get here?”
Engella reached out to Rupert again, patting his back until he rolled onto his side, managing to avoid the question.
“Oh, he likes you!” the woman said with a big grin on her face. “What’s your name, dear?”
“Engella.”
“That’s a very pretty name. I’m Annys.”
“Pleased to meet you, Annys,” Engella said politely.
“Not from around here, are you dear?”
The wind started to pick up. Engella shivered in her wet clothes, clothes she knew looked perfectly dry to Annys.
“No, I’m from, erm… far away.”
“You must be freezing,” Annys said. “It’s very late and there are no more ferries. Are you here with your parents? Please tell me to mind my own business, but what is a girl of your age doing alone on the beach at this time of day? You can’t be older than sixteen.”
“I’m fifteen.”
She thought for a moment and tried to remember her last birthday. She couldn’t. She often made notes in her diary to keep track of dates, but hadn’t been able to due to recent events. Shifting through space-time made it harder and harder to remember.
<
“Are you feeling okay? Have you had a bump on the head or something? Well, it’s 1998 of course.”
Seventy-six years. That was the longest jump she had ever made. The further back in time she travelled, the harder it would be to make it home. Engella suddenly felt even more alone and Annys, sensing something wasn’t right, put her arm around her.
“My dear, why don’t you come back to the cottage for a cup of tea? It’s only a few minutes’ walk away.”
Engella almost said no, but then decided it couldn’t hurt to go for a few minutes. It would be good to dry her clothes and warm up properly. Being on the run was all she had known since she was young. She thought about her parents again and how they were separated in space-time. This was not a time for feeling sad. It was about time something good happened. She deserved it.
“I suppose it’ll be okay for an hour or so. Yes. Thank you. I’d like that.”
Engella walked with Annys while Rupert carried on skipping through the surf, until he had to run as fast as he could to reach them again.