The CHANGI BULLET

Chapter 14 - Awakened Early

Ezra was dreaming back to his childhood. He was at the family home in Piccadilly, aged about thirteen, and next door was an ugly, concrete, multi-storey car park, which was odd because it had not been there in real life – Mr and Mrs Ford's bungalow had. Young Ezra jumped the wire garden fence to investigate. He stepped over a low wall and found himself in the low-ceiling ground level. There were no parked cars. He walked over to the far side. There was another tower block there, which seemed to be coming closer. With a horrible fascination, Ezra watched the other building close up with the one he was in, and then it started to fall over in his direction. Run! Run, Ezra! His legs were going in a panic. He ran across the lower level, hearing the massive crash above him, knowing that his building was coming down within seconds, so he ran harder, terrified, screaming. Finally, he could jump out into the sunshine and run up a slight incline, with the buildings coming down behind him like demolitions.

Ezra woke with a start! He re-ran the nightmare, as his faculties gradually came back to him and his heart slowed. He managed to open his eyes. He tried to remember where he was, and his alarm clock was going off. Then he realized that he was aboard the Izzati, and the glass canopy above his bunk was open. And it was open horizontally, and that told him...something. What? Gravity was in play. They had survived the take-off. As promised, he thought of Dinah and Flo watching him leave from the beach, and that made him smile. He then thought about what Cerys had said, about being frightened that she would never wake up. He looked at her, to his side in her bunk; she was sleeping happily. The teddy bear had been pushed above her head. She was fine, for the time being, anyway.

Ezra felt okay, at last. He mimed a wow to himself. He reached up to his face and felt a light beard, something he could come up with if he didn't shave for a couple of weeks. The alarm was sounding throughout the space craft. He had been woken up. Something was endangering the Izzati. He sat up, and saw Ari, sitting up and watching him.

'Hello, you,' said Ari. 'We've been awakened by the computer.'

'So it seems. Are you all right?'

'I guess I am. Let's go and find out what's happening.'

Ezra climbed out onto his feet and the world seemed normal. He looked around the other bunks, with everybody sleeping peacefully.

Ari got up, and the first thing he did was switch off the alarm.

'Cheers,' said Ezra, sarcastically. 'It's off, but still ringing in my head. I've got space tinnitus. Are we moving? It doesn't feel like it.'

'We definitely are moving.'

Ari also looked about the other people, satisfied that all was well. His eyes lingered on Rizki for a moment, then he led Ezra out to the corridor.

They entered the cockpit. Initially, both men were awestruck by the starry panorama which greeted them. Ari took his seat. All the systems were on, waiting for him. He began to run checks, and let the ship's cameras show their views in turn.

'No internal warning alarms,' he told Ezra. 'The Izzati is moving on course and at the correct speed.'

'What is it, then?'

The engine room came into view on the screen, empty and normal. Similarly, the crew communal area was quiet. Charles' indoor garden and greenhouses were void of movement. It looked idyllic, actually, his vegetables coming along nicely. The first outside camera angle showed the starboard gun turret, which was fine, looking all down the side of the ship.

'Oh, dear,' said Ari.

'What is it!?'

'The computer identifies something coming from the port side.'