Invasion of the War
1
Steve Higgins checked the rifle he had been issued for the hundredth time as he sat in a fold out chair in the belly of the transport he was riding in. His helmet/mask, hung from a strap from his belt.
"What do you think is going on, Steve?" Dusty Buchanan sat in the seat beside Higgins, rifle stowed with the small backpack that held his supplies. His mask/helmet was pushed back on his head.
"Don't know." Higgins slung the rifle as well as he could in the cramped space. He pulled on his helmet, adjusting it for comfort. "The map coordinates are some town behind the lines. Supposedly some meeting of the muckety mucks is going on there."
"So we're going in to take the meeting?" Buchanan frowned. "Security will be tight on something like that."
"That's why we get the mission." Higgins checked his watch. "We're the first squad after all."
"Sure." Buchanan shook his head. He reached up and pulled his helmet down to cover his head and face. "Who else could they send?"
"Five minutes." The jumpmaster walked down the line. "Get ready to go."
Higgins stood and moved to the back of the plane. He hung a line from his back pack to the release line overhead. When he jumped, the line would keep hold of the release and set off his parachute so he could float to a landing.
The others lined up behind him. When the door opened, they would head for the ground.
The rear door opened. The jumpmaster stood next to the switch, strapped in so he wouldn't be sucked out of the plane. The ground was a brown blur far below.
"Green light." The jumpmaster waved his arm. "Go, go, go!"
The five men of the First Squad ran to the back door and jumped. The lines pulled tight, and then their chutes opened above them. They floated toward the ground, aiming for cleared land.
The transport plane flew on into the night, aiming for the channel. Most of the action was to the south. One lone plane should be able to sneak back and forth across the lines.
If a fighter stumbled over it, it was a dead duck.
Higgins watched the ground come up as he floated to a landing. His armor should help with impact. He wanted to be in the front lines, but commando missions were deemed the best use of his abilities.
He landed on bent knees, turning to pull his parachute in. He gathered the cloth in as he watched the others on his team. They hit the ground within feet of him. That part was good.
A lot of paratroopers had difficulties when they landed. That sometimes ruined the whole mission.
"We could have flown down." Arnold Sterling pulled his chute in. His suit had a glider component built into the arms. He was the real muscle of the squad.
"Command didn't want us to use the suits until we get to the target." Steve pulled his rifle forward so he could use it. Three of his squad could fly, but two of them left a flaming trail in the sky when they did.
Jim Scott and Terry Terrill arrived seconds later. They carried their chutes in their arms as they looked around. They had been issued rifles and pistols, but preferred to use the flame throwers in their suits.
"We're about fifty clicks from the castle." Scott pointed the direction of travel. "We won't make it before the sun comes up."
"You three can." Higgins considered the objective, the methods, and the time table. "The meeting will end tomorrow night. Dusty and I can get in place before that happens."
"We go with the plan if you can't?" Sterling ripped the ground up so they could bury their chutes and webbing.
"The objective is grab whatever plans we can without them knowing we're doing it." Higgins started jogging across the fields. "If we can't do that, we'll have to kill the command staff."
"Killing the command seems a whole lot easier." Sterling replaced the plug over their discarded equipment.
"We'll see what we need to do when we get there." Higgins had been a good athlete but his suit and the treatments to wear it had boosted his abilities above what an average man could hope to accomplish. He still couldn't run as fast as Sterling could fly.
Sterling leaped into the air. He soared off in the indicated direction, riding the wind while jets on his back and legs propelled him.
Scott and Terrill leaped into the air after him, flames exploding from the back of their suits as they headed into the sky. They climbed to minimize discovery from the ground.
Twin comets in the sky were a dead giveaway that something was up. Only a blind man could ignore the streaks of flame in the sky above.
"This is bad." Dusty fell in beside the squad leader. "We need a car if we want to get in position."
"We need something." Higgins felt no need to point out they had jumped far short of where they were supposed to be at that point. He simply ran and hoped the rest of the team didn't attract attention.
He called for a break after about an hour of cross country running. He didn't feel winded. He had heard something from ahead that sounded familiar.
He gestured for Dusty to take cover while he advanced. He paused when he saw a family singing around a fire.
They would have to go around. The mission hinged on being unseen. If he tried to bargain with the family for transport, he would have to deal with them after he had the key to their truck.
Higgins could kill, but preferred to restrict himself to enemy combatants. People just trying to survive didn't rate a bullet unless they pulled a weapon on him first.
He faded back to talk to Dusty. He explained the situation, and indicated they should go around. Maybe there was another truck in the area they could use to get to where they were going.
The partners circled around the scene as carefully as they could, finding a road heading in the direction they wanted to go. It made sense. The meeting was near a town, and that would be where the local farmers would send their goods.
They kept to the edge of the road, using whatever cover they could. They didn't want a patrol stumbling over them before they reached the target.
They spotted a troop carrier going their way and thought about stopping it. They let it pass. They weren't there to shoot every soldier they came across. They only had to shoot the ones that got in the way.
They paused at the next crossroads. A messenger slept under the trees. His motorcycle leaned against a nearby tree.
Higgins picked up the motorcycle and carried it down the road as quietly as possible. Let the messenger explain what happened to it.
When he thought he was far enough away, he put the bike down and kickstarted it. They mounted and roared down the road. They might make it after all.
Higgins slowed to a halt when he saw the signs of camp ahead. Soldiers had set up a barricade to form a checkpoint to get into town using the road he was on. He had to get off of it before they were discovered.
He and Dusty dismounted before he pulled the motorcycle into a stand of trees. They examined the setup. The soldiers didn't look like they were looking for trouble.
"We can get through there." Dusty pointed at a section away from where the main setup blocked the roads.
"Right." Higgins checked movement. No one seemed to be close to where his partner proposed to cut through the lines. They could avoid a firefight if they were careful.
Dusty ran across first. He vanished into an alley. No one commented on his run into the space.
Higgins ran across next. He kept his head down, focused on making it across without anyone seeing him. He didn't want to set the alarm off and have the dogs give chase.
The super soldiers made their way through the alleys until they reached a spot not far away from where Intelligence said the enemy was meeting. There was no sign of the others.
Sterling was a bit of a hot head. Hopefully he was keeping that part of his personality in check.
They snuck through the town, trying to keep to the shadows. They didn't bother carrying their rifles in their hands. If they had to shoot, the mission was over.
Higgins pointed to a building standing on the corner. A lone soldier stood at ease there. Dusty charged forward and pressed against the wall of the building. The squad leader followed at a slower pace.
He slid closer, watching the street. He didn't see any other troopers in the street. He secured a choke hold and dragged the soldier away from the corner before he could raise the alarm. He released the hold before he killed the watchman, but not before the man passed out.
They covered the man with some trash and left him sleeping in the alley.
"Let's see if we can find the others." Higgins checked the street before leaving the alley.
They crept along until they reached a set of shops and offices that seemed to be crawling with security. They broke into an office across the square from the blockade and climbed up to the roof.
"Where are the others?" Dusty scanned the town. "We might need them when we make our move."
"Hopefully Sterling didn't do anything he shouldn't have." Higgins frowned at the building. "We're not going to be able to sneak in there."
"Tell me about it."
2
Higgins and Buchanan settled in to wait for their comrades. Sterling should have been on site at least. They hoped he had gone to ground to wait for a signal to attack.
If things dropped in the pot, they could throw grenades at the enemy, and then shoot some of them before they had to get close to finish the job. Hopefully the others would see that as a signal and do their part.
A small fireball floated in the air for a second across from them. Dusty pulled binoculars to his face. He smiled.
"Jim and Terry are on a roof on the other side of the meeting building." Dusty pointed in their direction.
"See any sign of Sterling?" Higgins felt better knowing that the firepower of the group was close by in case of trouble. They could lay down suppressive fire easily with their suits while he and Dusty made their escape if it came to that.
"No." Buchanan turned, using the binoculars. "He's probably using his suit to blend in."
Higgins watched the street. It looked like none of the enemy knew they were in place on the roofs. That meant their attack could be done without a problem as long as they weren't spotted.
The mission called for making a copy of the battle plans and getting them back to the lines. If he couldn't do that, he was to do as much damage as possible and get out as fast as possible.
An explosion should cover some of their escape if they timed things right.
Either way they could change how things go for the rest of the war.
"It looks like they are done for the night." Dusty lowered the binoculars. "How do you want to get in?"
"Let's give them a chance to clear the building, then we'll use the roofs to get over to their building." Higgins looked around. "We'll have to circle around."
"Right." Dusty nodded. He pulled a flashlight from his belt and shielded the lens. He flashed a signal to the fire unit.
One of them flashed back that they understood the plan.
"Let's give them another five minutes to get clear." Higgins watched the street. The uniforms dispersed toward different destinations. "Then we make our move."
As the Allied soldiers watched, their enemy left a sentry to guard the door behind. He didn't look like a match for them despite what they had heard through the rumor mill.
Higgins went to the edge of the roof and did another inspection. They couldn't quite jump across from their perch. He crept to the right side and jumped over an alley. He crossed that roof and jumped over the next alley. Then he had a narrow space to jump across to get to buildings leading to the target building.
The super soldiers crossed the roofs back to the target building. The street wasn't quite wide enough to prevent them from jumping over to that roof. No one challenged their sudden arrival on the roof.
Higgins went to the door, while Dusty kept an eye on the other roofs in the neighborhood. Now was the time that things could get hairy before they got in to look things over.
A pick opened the lock. Higgins led the way inside. He didn't bother to unsling his rifle. If he had to shoot someone now, the mission was blown. All of the commanders were elsewhere, and the Axis would know the first squad was on the scene and change strategies just in case they had seen the maps and figures.
They spread out in the office, looking for the maps and troop movements they needed. They pulled out new miniature cameras to take pictures of everything they thought could be important.
Knowing what the enemy thought would help predict where he would try to stop the Allied advance. A false front could be opened to lure the enemy into a trap that would destroy their ability to defend themselves.
Higgins placed the camera back in his belt while placing the film in a metal can and tucking it in another holder. If he lost the camera, at least he would still have the film for later development.
In the end, the film would never be used.
Higgins placed everything back in their places. It had to look like no one had been in the office at all. A flare went off outside with a bang. The building shook slightly. Dusty went to the window and looked outside. He frowned at the street below.
"We have a problem, Steve." Dusty unslung his rifle. "Something hit the street."
"What do you mean?" Higgins went to the window and looked out. Something glowed in a crater in the street. It pulsed like a heart as far as he could tell. "That doesn't look good."
A whip of green fiber shot out of the crater. It grabbed the sentry. It yanked him into the crater.
"That doesn't look good at all." Dusty took aim through the window. "What's going on?"
"I think we need to get out of here." Higgins went to the door. "This looks like trouble."
The soldiers made their way up to the roof. Shots cracked through the air. Some of the town's defenders were shooting at the meteor. Higgins paused when he realized that more than one meteor had crashed in the town.
"We have to get out of here." Higgins unslung his rifle. Very few people would notice if he had to shoot someone when the soldiers were massing to shoot at the impact areas.
Tentacles grabbed anything living within reach and dragged the trapped person or animal back to the impact areas. Some of them screamed as they vanished inside the craters.
"It's growing, Steve." Dusty shook his head. "It's eating the people and spreading."
Higgins sorted through his priorities. He hated himself for what he was about to do.
"Take the film and head back to the pick up point." He handed over the can of film. "I'm going to try to stop this."
"They're the enemy." Dusty shook his head.
"They're food." Higgins pulled a grenade from his equipment vest. "Get the others out of here. I'll get back on my own."
"Are you crazy?" Dusty saw a strand of green reaching into the air. "It's really growing."
"Someone has to do it." He pulled the pin and threw the grenade. "And someone has to tell command what's going on."
The grenade landed inside the crater. There was a moment where it looked like the thing in the crater had sucked the grenade in with the rest of its meal. The explosive ripped the thing apart.
"Go." Higgins pulled another grenade. "I got this."
Dusty ran to the edge of the roof and jumped to the next one. He kept an eye on the tendrils weaving themselves into a net around the town. Everyone taken just made the thing bigger.
Jim and Terry took flight on jets of flame. They hurled fire at the green tentacles. That cut some of the connections. It also made the tentacles turn and try to smother them with greenery.
Higgins dropped down in the street. He sliced through a tentacle with a knife as he called for a rally. He didn't want anyone staying in town. That would give the meteor things fuel for their growth.
"What are you doing?" Dusty dropped down beside him. He threw a grenade at the base of one of the expanding things reaching up into the sky. "You blew the mission."
"This thing is eating anything living it can grab." Higgins sliced through another tentacle. "It's not going to let any of these people live. I thought I told you to get out of here."
"If the First Squad is going down, it's going down together." Dusty pulled his knife and began slicing anything that looked like a green whip he could find.
Scott and Terrill broke free of the greenery, shooting flame as they tried to climb for altitude. The invader burned but not well.
Sterling appeared in the air. He pulled on one of the stretching tentacles. The thing wrapped around him. He pulled himself free with an effort.
"Civilians!" Higgins pointed toward town. "Get the civilians out of here."
The fliers headed away from their commander, making noise and burning vegetation. Soldiers appeared. They shot at the vines as they fell back from the threat. Some threw grenades at the base of the growing beanstalk that fed on them.
"Retreat and regroup!" Higgins waved a hand. "Retreat and regroup. Protect the civilians!"
Some of the soldiers shot at him and Dusty as they hacked at the vines around them. He pulled a grenade and threw it at them to get them running in the direction he wanted them going.
"Idiots." He pulled a flattened bullet off his suit. "Let's go, Dusty. We have to retreat too."
"Right behind you." Buchanan pulled another grenade and flung it into a nest of tentacles. "What do you think this is?"
"Some kind of invasion." Higgins waved at newly arriving soldiers to back up. Tentacles reaching for them made his point better than his limited German.
"A plant invasion?" Dusty sliced another tentacle as it reached for him.
Higgins pointed for the soldiers to clear a path with grenades. A wave of explosions punched holes in the expanding greenery around them. He nodded as he waved them through the holes.
He doubted they would be around for much longer to be his enemy.
"They're the worse kind." He waved at Dusty to precede him. "Let's get out of here."
3
Higgins and Dusty paused at the top of a hill to look back at the town. They had done the best they could, but Higgins felt they had lost half the people in the town. At least they had gotten some of them clear.
The vegetation reached into the sky. Tendrils grabbed anything that moved and sucked it in. Another strand would appear to expand its reach.
Refugees headed in any direction that wasn't covered in animalistic growth. Soldiers hurried them along. Jim and Terry had proven the stuff burned, but the flames went out faster than in a normal plant.
"We have to get out of here before they remember we're here." Higgins started jogging. "It looks like we won't have to worry about what they're planning with that thing still growing."
"What if there are more of those things?" Dusty followed, watching for any enemy soldiers trying to pursue them.
"We have to get back to base." Higgins picked a route that should take them to their pick-up point in the least amount of time they had to cover on foot. "Command has to know what we saw first hand before they do something stupid."
"Carpet bombing would be the way to go with this." Buchanan paused to look around.
"Let's worry about getting back across the lines." Higgins spotted flaming trails in the sky. The fire fighters were well ahead of them.
Explosions rocked the night behind them. They looked back. Some of the soldiers had decided to roll an artillery piece up and take shots at the growing beanstalk. It didn't look like they were having much success.
"They'll be rolling in tanks in there soon enough." Dusty shook his head. "Someone down there is getting his act together."
"Let's get out of here before they decide to try to shoot at us as well as the plant." Higgins spotted a truck barreling along the road. "Looks like we get to commandeer someone else's escape plan."
He charged toward a bend in the road so he could get ahead of the vehicle. He watched the truck, trying to gauge its speed. He leaped at the side of it as it passed. His hand reflexively closed on the door handle as his foot hit the step under the door.
"What are you doing?" The driver looked at Higgins's masked face in amazement. A fist knocked him to the other side of the truck cab.
Higgins opened the door and slid behind the wheel. He geared down as the truck rolled to a stop. Their ride could get them most of the way they needed to go to get to the Channel.
Dusty ran up to the passenger side and opened that door. He picked the man up and put him in the back. Just leaving him for the plant thing to eat seemed too cruel. Taking him along had its own risks, but he could live with that.
"We should be okay while the Germans try to get that thing under control." Higgins drove, looking for the road that would lead him back to the coast. He had parts of the map memorized and was sure of the roads he needed to make his way to the escape route.
"That thing just keeps getting bigger and bigger." Dusty kept his eyes on the door mirror. "It'll eat Europe if we don't do something about it."
"We aren't going to be able to take it on our own." Higgins considered logistics for a moment, then turned at the next road. "The Allies will have to bomb it with everything we got."
"The way that thing is climbing, that might not be enough." Dusty made a whistle. "Something is flying around near the top. It doesn't look like a parakeet either."
Higgins checked his mirror. It looked like the plant wasn't content with just snatching things with its tendrils. It had extruded something that could hunt for it.
"That doesn't look good." He realized that his truck was one of the few things moving in a relatively clear line from the tower. "How much range do you think that bird has?"
"Some birds can fly hundreds of miles." Dusty readied his rifle. "Maybe that thing can't fly as far."
"I wouldn't count on it." Higgins hoped it would go after someone else. He knew he represented a lone target, but there were hordes running away from the plant thing.
The hordes also had guys with guns protecting them.
The green bird dove off the beanstalk. It spread its wings and glided through the sky. It headed right for Higgins's truck.
"Of course it would come right at us." Dusty rolled down the window. He looked out to keep a better eye on the bird plant.
"Aim for the head." Higgins tried to keep one eye on the mirror and one on the road. "I don't think body shots will do that much good."
"Right." Dusty stuck his rifle out of the window so he could use the side of the cab to steady his aim.
Higgins took a turn with a touch of the brakes. He pointed the truck toward a set of curves. If he could shake the bird, he might have a clear shot at reaching the coast.
"Still coming." Dusty leaned out the window, turning in the seat. "This thing is as big as a house, Steve."
"Don't let it hit the truck." Higgins swerved back and forth to make a harder target.
"I'll do the best I can." The soldier blazed away with his rifle. He changed the magazine and started firing again. He watched the brass fall off the side of the road.
The plant bird took the impacts with the flapping of its wings, and course corrections. It didn't cry out about the treatment. It simply kept going for the truck, trying to line up to swoop down on the soldiers.
"It's coming on the other side, Steve." Dusty opened the door on his side of the truck. Grass and trees blurred by as he stepped out on the step. "I can't see it."
"It's coming down my side." Higgins watched the mirror. He pulled his pistol. He didn't know what the smaller bullets would do, but maybe he would get lucky and hit a vital spot.
The plant bird reached for the top of the truck with leafy talons. Orange flowers made up eyes in its flattened head.
Dusty pulled one of his remaining grenades from his equipment belt. He pulled the pin and threw the pineapple at the creature. It snapped the explosive up in its beak as it closed on the truck.
The grenade blew the creature's head off. It plunged to the ground with its neck on fire. It struggled to its feet as it tried to shift its mass to rebuild what had been blown apart.
Higgins reversed the truck and backed up into the monster as it struggled to reform itself. He shifted gears and drove away from the flattened thing before it could latch on to the vehicle.
"It's still trying to get back together." Dusty dropped into the passenger seat. He reloaded the rifle before sliding it out of his way. "What the heck is going on?"
"Maybe something the Germans were working on backfired on them." Higgins didn't want to know what would cause what they had seen.
"My money is an invasion." Dusty flipped up his mask. He rubbed his face. "What do we do about it?"
"What kind of invasion?" Higgins smiled. "Martians?"
"Why not?" Dusty pulled his mask down. "I'm pretty sure something like that would have been dropped on England before they let it loose in their own country."
"It doesn't matter where the thing came from." Higgins frowned. "All that matters is what it's doing."
"It's eating the country." Dusty looked for landmarks. "What happens if it tries to jump the pond?"
"Let's get ourselves across the channel before we worry about what that thing is doing here." He turned west again, trying to work his way to the ocean. "We can't do anything with what we have on us."
"Do you think command will do anything about this?" Buchanan pointed behind them.
"Depends." Higgins thought they might wait until the country was depopulated before loading bombers and sending them against the vine thing.
Thousands of lives could be lost while they tried to assess how big the thing was and how big it could grow.
Command might not be able to do anything if more than one of those things had landed in other places. Humanity might be on the ropes before they knew what those vines were doing.
"There's the meeting place for us." Dusty nodded at a dark farmhouse. Two rocks stood in a column in the yard. "I don't see the others."
"Good." Higgins pulled into the driveway with dirt skittering under his wheels. "That means they stayed out of trouble."
He didn't bother with the other explanation for the others not being seen. They might have been captured escaping from the impact site.
A fireball lit up next to the farmhouse. It quickly died out as the soldiers drove up in the stolen truck.
Higgins hopped down from the cab, eyes roving for anything that didn't belong. He didn't bother being silent. No one should be around to hear him, and if there was someone, the truck was a dead giveaway.
"What was that thing, Steve?" Jim Scott stepped out in the open. "We could barely burn it with our suits."
"I don't know, Jim." Higgins watched the night. He didn't want to run into one of those giant birds in the dark. "We have to get home. If more than one of those things showed up, it'll change the course of the war."
"Because we'll be plant food." Dusty pushed his mask up. "Where do we go from here?"
"We follow the escape plan, and get a boat to sail across the channel." Higgins frowned. "It'll take days for us to get back with what we saw."
"The flame suits will run out of a charge before Terry or I could get across in the air." Jim frowned inside his helmet. "Sterling could maybe swim across with no problem."
"He has to go back without us." Higgins nodded at the plan in his mind. "We have the battle plans like they wanted, but that's out the door with that thing trying to eat Germany."
"So we send him back, and we get our own transport like the rest of the plan called for to get home." Scott nodded. "Sounds the best we can do with what we got."
"Where is Sterling?" Dusty looked around. "Is he in the house?"
"He was flying patrol." Scott motioned to the night sky. "I'll call him and Terry in. Then we can get him going."
Scott waved his hands in the air. Flames trailed behind the arc of motion of his arms.
Sterling and Terrill descended to the meeting from their lookout spots. Sterling blended into the night with his dark suit. Terry's flame sputtered out when he landed.
"Here's the plan." Higgins hoped he was doing the right thing.
4
Higgins and his team arrived on the coast after two days of driving. They weren't the only ones fleeing from the beanstalk that had erupted behind them. That gave them cover.
They had run into some Army elements but they had breezed past on their way to the coast.
Neither side had wanted a fight in the middle of running for their lives.
Higgins pulled to the edge of a hill overlooking a beach. He shook his head at the number of boats floating out in the water already. He noted the presence of German warships along with civilian merchant marine, and smaller craft for fishing and pleasure sailing.
They needed to get one of those smaller boats and head back to England.
"Where do these people think they are going to go if that thing keeps expanding?" Dusty shaded his eyes as he scanned the horizon.
"We have our own problems." Higgins shook his head. "We'll be better off building a raft and sailing it off the coast. It looks like everyone who could take to the water has."
"Do you think Sterling will make it across without a problem?" Terry Terrill spoke up from the back of the truck.
"His suit is designed to work in the ocean." Higgins shrugged. "The only thing he has to worry about is if a submarine latches on to him. We can't do anything about that. How do we get ourselves across the Channel?"
"There's a dock down the way." Jim Scott leaned down to point the direction for Higgins. "Maybe there's a boat there."
"We'll check it out." Higgins nodded. "It's better than standing here waiting for someone to pick us up."
He pulled away from the hill and headed away from the beach, noting a branch off about a mile down the road. He turned into that and found himself pulling into a nearly empty dock area.
"We got a boat on a cradle." Dusty pointed at what could have been a yacht. "I don't see anything else that could help us."
"Let's look at it." Higgins cut the ignition and got out of the truck. If the boat was drydocked, it needed to be fixed. Hopefully it was something they could handle in the amount of time they had.
"Looks like they put it up to fix a hole, Steve." Scott pointed at a place where some of the hull was missing. "Anybody here know anything about carpentry?"
"It's worse than that." Terrill shook his head. "We'd need to seal the patch and that takes hours to dry."
"So we're stuck?" Dusty frowned under his mask.
"Naw." Terrill smiled. "We got a mast, sails, and part of a hull. Jim and I can create a wind with our suits that will carry us across the Channel fast enough for what we need. We only need a patch to last for a few hours."
"Let's get this done." Higgins looked back the way they had come. He frowned at the green line extending into the sky. "That thing just keeps getting bigger and bigger."
"The birds are probably feeding it, Steve." Scott shrugged. "If they are, civilians are easy pickings for them."
Even soldiers would be easy pickings for the plant vultures. Bullets went right through the beasts. Flame had minimal effect. Explosives ripped them apart, but they tried to pull themselves back together.
They had gotten lucky killing the one they had with the truck.
"We need to recommend bombing that thing out of existence." Dusty kept an eye on the shore for trucks carrying people who might want to stop them.
"Seconded." Terrill found several boards that he could fit over the hull. He fitted them in place and used a hammer and nails to secure them to the rest of the boat.
"If bombers will be able to do anything against that thing." Scott crossed his arms.
Higgins frowned, but Scott was right. There was no telling how big the beanstalk would grow. By the time they reached home and urged a bombing, it might be too late to do anything about the plant.
Leveling it might just spread it out even more over the continent.
If one was bad enough, how bad would three, or four, of those things would be.
Did he want to find out?
"All right." Terrill smiled. "We need to put this in the water and put the sails up so we can get out of here."
"Grab the front end, Dusty." Higgins pointed. "We'll lift this thing up and put it in the water."
"We should be okay the few hours we'll be out to sea." Terrill pulled down sails from a hanging rod. "But we'll need supplies if we can't land in the amount of time we are allowing ourselves."
"There's nothing around here that might have food." Scott shook his head. "We might be able to get water from some of the pumps, and wells, I saw."
"We'll get the water." Higgins nodded at Dusty. "You guys put up the sail so we can go. We've spent too long in one place as it is."
Higgins headed off the dock. He didn't expect any trouble, but things hadn't gone the way he had expected so far. He had to get his team off the continent and back home. Then he could think about what to do with the alien vegetation.
Sustained bombing looked like the way they would have to go if they wanted to get rid of it.
He hoped High Command had already received word so he wouldn't have to waste time trying to convince his superiors something had to be done.
He could already see they would rather the Germans fight the thing on their own than lend a hand to spare casualties. He couldn't let them think that. If the stalk got big enough, the vultures would be able to attack other regions with ease.
They couldn't allow that to happen.
Higgins found some empty bottles with corks in the mouths. He washed them out and filled them with water from a pump. He put the corks back in to hold the water. He supposed he had amassed at least two gallons. It would have to do for their trip.
He gathered the bottles up and carried them back to their boat. He saw Dusty approaching from the other side with what looked like a rack of beer bottles in his hands.
"I found some bread and some sausages." Dusty smiled. "We'll eat good tonight."
"Let's get started." Higgins nodded. "How do you do that?"
"Scrounging is an art." Dusty headed down to the dock. "You have to know what could be there, and then match that to what you need."
"I'll try to remember that." Higgins shook his head.
Terrill and Scott had the sails in order and ready to be raised. The sun would be coming up soon. That would make them the perfect target for any enemy ship that saw them.
"You guys ready?" Higgins took the water bottles and stored them in a chest under a seat on the top deck.
"Yep." Terrill pulled the rope to open the sail up. "Pull the anchor. Cut the dock ropes."
Dusty cut the ropes tying the boat to the dock with his belt knife. Higgins grabbed the anchor's chain and pulled it up over the bow of the boat. He saw the chain had a winch too late. He wound the chain up as the boat drifted from the dock.
"All right." Terrill took the wheel. He aimed for a straight line west. "Keep an eye out. We don't want the Germans to sink our toy boat."
Higgins held his rifle in hand. He didn't know what it could do against some of the ships he had seen pulling away from land. He just didn't want to be caught without it if he could use it to get out of trouble.
"There isn't a radio aboard." Terrill glanced at the sail. "We're still on our own until we know if Sterling got through or not."
"He'll get through." Higgins sat down on a bench next to the railing that ran around the top deck. "His suit was designed for underwater handling, and it's faster than any boat."
"Looks like the traffic is away from the coast." Scott crouched in the stern. "No one is giving chase."
"We should be okay for a while." Terrill smiled. "Eventually someone will want to know who we are."
"Let's hope we avoid any problems." Higgins scanned the waters. "The quicker we get off the water, the better I'll like it."
"We should be seeing Dover in a few hours." Terrill checked the sky. "In a couple of hours, we'll have to turn southwest."
"Keep on course the best you can." Higgins opened his mask and enjoyed the wind on his face. "We'll need to set up a watch so we can rest while we're sailing home."
"Sleep sounds good right about now." Dusty pulled off his helmet. "Who takes the first watch?"
"Terry and I will take the first watch." Higgins paused as a gull passed by. He lightened his grip on his rifle. "You and Jim take the second. We'll divide it in twelve hour shifts until we get to England."
"Sounds good." Dusty nodded. "Don't eat all the food I scavenged."
"We'll hold it for you." Terrill shook his head. He scanned the sky, checked the watch in his gauntlet. Another hour and he would have to change course.
Higgins hoped things kept going easy for them. Sterling would be home and spreading the news while they were still in the middle of their voyage. Maybe he could arrange an air search for them somehow.
That would take a miracle. They were one of many dots on the North Atlantic. Only a dedicated search would find them floating home.
The day passed quietly for Higgins. He kept his eyes moving so he wouldn't be caught by another boat on the water. He was glad that he didn't have to shoot anyone else.
The lack of monsters was also good in his opinion.
The sun started going down as the little boat coasted along. Terrill cut the sail and let the boat bob on the water. He shook his head.
Higgins stood. He pulled his mask in place as he watched the sky in front of him. He should have expected this. The village in Germany hadn't been the only place hit by the alien vegetation.
A beanstalk grew out of the heart of England. They could see it in the distance. Giant birds circled the plant tower.
"We're too late." Terrill pulled his helmet on and sealed his suit so he could use the firepower it provided. "What do we do now?"
"We see if the things landed in Ireland so we can at least get a proper boat and supplies to sail home if we have to." Higgins readied his rifle to fire. It might slow the plant vultures down when they needed it.
"One of these things could be tearing up the States." Terrill didn't sound like he was ready to fight across the Atlantic.
"Wake up the others." Higgins shook his head. "Home has people to spare to fight those things. We don't."
"Right." Terrill went below to get the others. He seemed to shake off some of the shock as he moved.
Higgins hoped the shock and worry wouldn't send Terry over the edge. He was the youngest on the team, with less experience than the others. It had been a shock to learn he could sail a boat.
A shape appeared out of the darkness. A spotlight washed over the deck. Higgins shaded his eyes as he looked for a flag.
"Hey!" Sterling blocked out the light. "We're going home. I got us a lift."
Higgins knew he was getting a temporary respite. The war with the Axis had ended, the war for the Earth had started.
Epilogue
Steve Higgins sat at his desk, reading papers. Kids had no appreciation for history. He shook his head as he marked down one paper for inaccuracy.
"Still grading papers?" Bronson Venture appeared in the door. Marla Madison walked past him and settled in a visitor's chair.
"Just a few more." Higgins nodded at his visitors. "History doesn't seem to be the high point of our students' academic careers."
"Tell me about it." Marla shook her head. "The Green Beast wasn't a character in Narnia."
"It's the mix of students from different Earths." Venture smiled. "I think we had some slip across different history classes."
"Your sister want in on the action?" Higgins read the next report with his finger on the words as he went.
"I didn't ask." Bronson shrugged. "She'll be there if she wants to play."
"Hand us some of those papers." Marla held out a hand. "We'll help you grade them so we can get moving."
"Do you know anything about the history of my Earth?" Higgins gave her a look.
"I took a class on it." Marla smiled. "Let's go. I want to win back my money."
"That'll never happen." Higgins smiled. He handed over some of the papers. "You're way too impatient."
"And your aim is way off." Bronson took some of the rest of the papers. "You tend to pull to the right a lot."
"Gentlemen, I have been practicing." Marla went through the papers in a few seconds. Her grading hand left a trail of blue ink across one paper. "Today is the day I take all the marbles."
"Really?" Bronson quirked an eyebrow. He only had a few remarks to put on his top report. "I doubt that."
"You'll see, Dragon Boy." Marla smiled. "I'm ready for you."
"Nobody's ready for the Dragon." Bronson smiled back. "Done."
"One last paper to do." Higgins went through the last page, then went through it again. He smiled. "Suzy Q has been studying. She's the only A in the class."
"Edwards has a flawless paper too." Venture flipped his last paper around to show his fellow teachers.
"That kid is too smart for his own good." Higgins smiled. "He's afraid of any physical effort not directed at mechanical building."
"I noticed." Venture grinned. "When's your next camp out?"
"Two weeks." Higgins put the graded papers in a stack on his desk. "The Edwards Gang are auditing the class. They don't have to be there."
"They're a gang now?" Venture smiled. "Still sore they got to the castle ahead of the deadline?"
"They're good." Higgins nodded. "They're a team."
"Beat the famous Jump Point deadline?" Marla laughed. "James Edwards?"
"Don't underestimate that scrawny body, his friends can carry him." Higgins shook his head.
"And they have the Kid." Venture nodded, checking his watch. "He's a big equalizer on his own."
"So we have a hero team in the making?" Marla smiled at the thought. "That's great."
"They're a team." Higgins shook his head. "I don't know about the heroic part."
"They could be heroic, but they're from different Earths." Venture shrugged. "Edwards is from Steve's, the Kid is from mine, George Gary is from yours, Chuck Biro is from Blue, and William Whyte is from Yellow. Their team shouldn't last pass their school years. They'll have to do different things when they're adults."
"You would think that." Marla shook her head. "Not these kids. We might be looking at the first team for our combined loci. They might be the next guardians when we're gone."
"I doubt that." Higgins tapped his desk. "I think we have a pool game to get to so I can take everyone's money."
"Not this time, buddy." Venture checked his watch. "This night is my night."
"Neither of you is winning a thin dime." Marla stood, brushing the sleeve of her shirt. "I plan to win enough to buy that pink suit I have been looking at with the rose motif."
"Then it will by our sacred duty to make sure you lose." Venture smiled at the look on her face.
"Pink?" Higgins stood. "Are you sure about that, Marla?"
He gestured at her olive complexion and graying brunette hair as if to say that it wouldn't go well with her natural coloring.
"Yes, I am sure." She shook her head. "Men."
They walked out of the office next to the school's gym. Everything was in shadow as the sun had gone beyond the castle. Voices drifted to them as they crossed the wooden floor. The teachers shared a look.
They walked to the door and spotted five boys and Suzy Quincy arguing as they made their way down the hall. Higgins held up his hand to show he wanted to let them do what they were planning to do so he could hand down punishments.
The boys and one girl argued their way into Higgins's training room. He frowned as he walked behind them. What were they going to do in there?
"We shouldn't be in here." Edwards pleaded with the other boys. "Mr. Higgins will have a fit."
"You wanted a place to test your machine." William Whyte crossed his arms. "This is the best place for it."
"He's got a fighting dummy, Jay." Chuck Biro pointed at a wooden man in the center of the room. "You don't get better than a fighting dummy."
"They're right, Jay." Suzy Q tapped her foot. "Can you make the thing work, or not?"
"Eventually you will have to use this device." The Color Kid shifted, the streaks in his skin slid along as he did. "Do you want to use it where it will kill you?"
"Look." Edwards pressed a button on a square piece of machinery strapped to his chest. A yellow glow covered him. He pressed the button again. "It works fine."
"Do that thing again." George Gary waved a finger at his smaller companion. "With the button."
Edwards pressed the button. He looked up with a gesture to show he was covered by the glow. "See?"
Gary lifted the sunglasses he wore everywhere. His eyes were clear of color as he looked at his friend. The smaller boy flew in the middle of Higgins's training area. He landed and bounced to a stop in the middle of the booby-trapped floor. Gary dropped his sunglasses.
"You jerk!" Edwards raised a fist. "What did you do that for?"
A log on a chain swung down and sent him flying into a forest of spinning arms that wailed on him before sending him bouncing into a shooting gallery where golf balls fired at him at random until he found himself fighting the wooden dummy which reacted to his moves by attacking with its arms as it spun on a base in the stage it was set up on. Edwards finally rolled out of the way and bounced to a stop at the edge of the platform.
"How does that thing do against flames, Jay?" Gary had his hand on his sunglasses again.
"Not that great." Edwards got to his feet. "Why?"
"You're standing next to a bunch of flamethrowers, buddy." Chuck raised his hands. "Fwoosh, crispy brainiac."
"What?" Edwards looked at the tubes sticking out of the floor. "How do you know that?"
"Just stand still." Chuck scratched his chin. "They shouldn't fire until you set foot on them."
"Fat lot of good that does me." Edwards looked at his friends. "I can't believe you guys tried to kill me."
"Stop whining." Gary lifted his sunglasses again. Edwards flew over the flamethrowers without setting them off. The blaster smiled as he dropped his sunglasses back in place. "There you go."
"That was totally rude." Edwards shut off his machine. "What would have happened if the machine had failed?"
"You would have got some practice dodging swings." Chuck showed him a few counters as the boy walked around the test area.
Higgins backed away from the door. He shook his head. He started walking away from the room.
"What was that about?" Venture threw a thumb at the training room.
"It looks like the boys found my training room and used it to test one of Edwards's inventions." Higgins smiled. "He didn't seem that happy with the way they did it."
"Is James all right?" Venture looked back over his shoulder.
"Fit as a fiddle." Higgins shook his head. "That thing absorbed all the kinetic attacks with no problem. I imagine they will start shooting at him to see what it could do with bullets."
"You don't seem all that worried." Venture and Madison exchanged a look.
"I doubt they will get to do that for a while." Higgins smiled. "I doubt Edwards will tell them when it is ready to perform."
"The first team to leave the school and bridge all five earths?" Bronson looked back down the hall.
"We were like that once." Marla smiled. "Now let's get this show on the road. I have a pink suit to finance."
"You're not going to win." Higgins smiled. "I have a singing fish I want."
Venture just looked at his watch. He glanced once more behind them before putting the boys out of his head.
It was time to make some money.