The Infernal Aether (First Draft)

Chapter 14 - A Glimpse into the Aether

We backed away from the apparatus slowly. The humming was now so deep and pervasive that it set my teeth on edge. Yet we did not leave, held in place as we were by a mixture of curiosity and ice cold fear.

Steam had been released by a pipe at the rear of the apparatus and somehow lingered within the confines of the device as though contained within an invisible box. Eddies and swirls within the steam became less and less random until I fancied that I could discern images within. The whole experience was so reminiscent of our encounter with the ghosts which had plagued poor Milly Patterson as to almost send me into fits.

It were as though I were peering through a portal into a fog-filled street. Figures drifted in and out of the steam, individual forms walking toward us, lurching and creeping. Sounds drifted out of the murkiness, wordless moans and cries which made me take another step away.

A point of light appeared in the centre of the scene, steadily growing like the rising sun on a misty day. It reached the size of a dinner plate and then burst silently, throwing off light in all directions. I turned my head and closed my eyes while some form of breeze pulled at my clothes and hair.

I opened my eyes to see stars drifting around the edges of my vision. I blinked, trying to make sense of the scene before me. A hole had been torn in the air, right at the centre of the apparatus, hanging unsupported within the mist. It floated there, like an Evil Eye regarding us balefully. As my vision restored itself I realised that the hole displayed the same scene as that which we could see within the mist, but with much better clarity. It was as though the hole were a window through to somewhere else, a "somewhere" which was only hinted at by the images in the mist.

"What is that?" I asked.

N'yotsu jumped forward and began tinkering with the machine once more, taking care to not get too close to the mist. "If I am not mistaken I believe it is a portal," he said.

"A portal? To where?" My questions were carried away on a rising gale which blew out of the so-called portal, carrying with it an odour of decay and corruption. I put my hand over my hand and mouth to ward off the stench and we watched as the portal started to expand, bringing the scenes within into even starker perspective. I was reminded of the aftermath of battle; a smoke-filled landscape devoid of detail, landmarks or hope populated only by ghastly survivors, the ghouls who stalked them and the spirits of the departed.

Mist pervaded everything before us, obscuring the figures who roamed that strange place, wrapping itself around them, sticking to them, reaching out toward us. Occasionally the mist would part for a split second to reveal sights which my mind immediately rebelled against; hideous snatches of insane caricatures of human, animal and insect, flowing and merging into and between each other. Noises carried out to us on the unnatural wind, snatches of words overlaid with groans and moans of a type to drive a man to despair, a scratching and shuffling like a thousand large insects trying to burrow through the walls.

The portal continued to expand, going from a hand's width to the size of a window and then becoming big enough for a man to walk through without stooping. It reached the boundaries of the machine and then kept growing; its edges overlapping and consuming the device which had given birth to it.

I ran to N'yotsu and shouted in his ear, the only way to make myself heard in the increasing din. "Close it. Shut it down!"

He looked at me. "Why?"

"Can you not see what is happening?" I shouted. I ran over to Maxwell, who was immersed in examining various instruments dotted around the room. "Max! For God's sake, man. We have to stop this -- now."

"Not yet," he replied. "We need to get more information. Just a few more minutes."

I looked at the portal, which was now almost touching the ceiling. Tendrils of mist were starting to curl out of it and for a heart-stopping second I thought I saw a hand reach out of the portal. "Any longer and it'll be too big to close. Look!"

Maxwell looked up and for the first time realised the nature of our predicament. "N'yotsu!" he shouted.

N'yotsu was stood in front of the apparatus, oblivious to our cries, a rapt expression on his face. Tendrils of mist reached out to him and curled around his hand, which in turn was stretched out toward the portal. We started to move toward him but at that moment the wind increased, pushing us back. One of Maxwell's cabinets fell to the ground with a crash as the portal reached it and snatched away the wall on which it had leant.

Something started to loom large out of the portal. Instinctively I knew it was not benign and I tried shouting again, anything to try and pull N'yotsu out of his reverie, but to no avail.

Kate appeared from a side door behind the apparatus and its portal with a broom in her hand and a determined look on her face. She swung the broom at the legs which held up the device -- one of the few parts which were still visible outside of the portal. The whole thing lurched to the side and the portal shrank down to half its size with a jolt.

"No!" yelled N'yotsu. He tried to lunge at Kate but the portal stood between them, blocking his progress. Wide-eyed, he was forced to watch as she struck the machine again and again, each blow causing the portal to halve in size. After half a dozen strikes the portal was reduced to the size of a small coin, finally disappearing with a barely audible 'pop' after one last swing of Kate's broom.

My ears rang in the sudden silence, the sounds of our breath deafening as we looked at each other over the wreckage of Maxwell's laboratory. I eyed N'yotsu as he glared at Kate, his hands clenched at his sides. I did not fancy my chances if I were forced to defend Kate.

He simmered for a moment and then seemed to return to his senses, nodding and smiling at her. "Thank you," he said. "And my apologies. I did not mean to put us in danger." He relaxed his hands, but I noted that his eyes did not reflect his words.

"You did get a bit carried away," she said. "And anyway, I quite like this job. Didn't want to lose it on account of the household being sucked into some sort of misty Hell place."

"Can someone explain to me exactly what just happened?" I asked, leaning against an overturned table to ease the weight on my shaking limbs.

"The apparatus which Kate destroyed," said Maxwell, with a slight bitterness. "Was effectively a conduit for the medium which the Telecommunicators utilise to transmit messages. It allowed us to see into that medium."

Kate and I stared at him. "In English?" I said.

"The Aether," said N'yotsu. "What we saw was the Aether itself."

"But I thought the Aether was just a...thing like the air or light," I said. "That was what you always said. But this was different; there were people in there."

"You call those things people?" asked Kate. "They weren't people like I know them."

"I believe those were the creatures which were hijacking the Telecommunicators," said N'yotsu. "The voices which Augustus and the others heard when they used the devices."

"What, you mean spirits?" asked Kate. "Or ghosts?"

"Maybe," said N'yotsu. "Or creatures capable of passing themselves off as such. But the fact that they are able to do so at the very least does suggest some form of connection with the spirit world. It is an interesting concept and certainly requires further investigation."

My blood ran cold. "I seriously hope you are not planning to build another one of those machines."

"No," said Maxwell. "There will be no more Telecommunicators. At least, not until we have learnt more about these creatures and the implications of the devices."

"And what about weird portal-making things?" said Kate.

"We have learnt our lesson," said N'yotsu. "The thing was clearly unstable. We will not take such risks again. But we do have a duty to investigate further, albeit in a much safer and more controlled manner."

"Promise?" she said.

"I promise," said N'yotsu, and Maxwell nodded as well.

"Good," she said, hefting the broom. "You've seen what I can do with this thing. I won't hesitate to use it again."

I suddenly felt incredibly weary. "I am going home for a very long sleep," I announced, pulling myself to my feet and staggering out of the room.

N'yotsu called my name as I stepped out of the front door. He followed me outside and shut the door gently behind us. "Thank you for not telling them about my...use of the Telecommunicator earlier."

I nodded. To be honest the fact had completely slipped my mind in the midst of all the other insanities. "If it was anything like as traumatic as what I went through, I assume you would not wish to relive it. You certainly seemed to be pretty upset at the time." I regarded him as he grunted and glanced around us. "If I may," I said. "Who spoke to you through the Telecommunicator?"

For a moment I thought he would snap at me, but then his shoulders slumped and he replied. "They said...they said they were my wife and child. At least, that is what I interpreted that they said. They were not speaking English, and yet I was able to understand what they said."

"Interesting," I said. "This could give some insights into who you really are. What language was it?"

"I have no idea. Certainly no form of language I can recall. It was guttural, unfamiliar."

"Oriental maybe?" I said. "That could explain your unusual name."

"No. Or at least, I do not think so."

"So what did they say to you?" I asked. "It clearly upset you."

"Very little," he said. "Just that they missed me and wanted me to come home. But there was something about the exchange which did not feel right. Almost like they were taunting me, or trying to encourage me into some form of action which would go against my morals."

I remembered the look on his face just now when he was staring into the portal. "Did you see them in the Aether?" I asked.

"I...don't know," he said. "I still remember nothing. I just have words from someone who may or may not really know me, but there was something..." He stared into space and for a moment a look of sheer rage passed across his face. It was only there for an instant, but that instant seared itself in my mind. "It brought to the fore some very strong emotions," he said. "I do not know why. I am not sure I want to know why." He looked at me and smiled: comfortable, reliable N'yotsu once more. "I must not keep you any longer. I wish you a good rest." From inside the house we could hear the sound of items being moved and swept up; Kate was clearly putting the broom back to its proper use.

"I would suggest you make yourself scarce," said N'yotsu. "I suspect we have a long night's cleaning and repairing ahead of us, and if you linger for too much longer there is a risk that Kate will press you in to help us." We shook hands and bade each other farewell.

After N'yotsu had stepped back inside and shut the door I stood there for a moment longer, leaning against the doorframe, unsure of exactly what to make of what had just passed. There was far too much for my overworked and overwrought brain to process. I finally summoned up the energy and walked away, trying to shake the feeling of dread and fear that I now could not help but associate with my friend N'yotsu.