Benzone - Stories Continued

The Fight For Humanity Continued

Downing Street:
Sam Evans looked around him. He was in a seat in the cabinet room. Numerous other cabinet members were being shoved into chairs, all looking terrified. One of the creatures stomped in and came to speak to a third. Sam heard the conversation, as they were talking by the fireplace which was right behind his chair. "It seems that not all of the cabinet were in Downing Street when we took over." One growled. "How many aren't here?" The other asked. "Only one." The creature who had asked the question paused. He seemed to be in charge; all the other creatures were looking at him. "We can do without just one of them. If you find them, kill them," he said finally. Sam protested, the missing politician was Sam's secretary; he'd always had a soft spot for her. "Shut up," The creature in charge growled, slamming Sams head into the table. Hard. Someting cracked, and whe the creature pulled Sam bck up, blood was dripping from his nose. Sam pulled a tissue out and cleaned himself up, his nose had already stopped bleeding. Meanwhile, the aliens were closing the doors, pulling the curtains and shutting the cupboards. Then the Chief alien pressed a red button near the Cabinet room door. Sam's eyes widened -- the switch blocked all possible exit/entry points of the room. For a moment after the button was pushed, there was nothing. Then there was a loud grinding noise, as 2 inch reinforced steel clanged down noisily, covering the doors, the windows, and even the fireplace. The steel even blocked signals, so there was no way to contact the outside world. With a final clang, the cabinet room was sealed, completely powerless - literally; seconds after the steel bulkheads had done their work, the lights flickered and died. The aliens lit a series of candles which glowed brightly, the only source of light. "Well," The chief alien said. "Your government has protocols for situations like this, but, being British, your protocols are the shortest, most rubbish, and least informative protocols on the planet, and I'm including France. That's why the British Government is the government we've chosen to infiltrate. The world currently believes that you," he pointed at Sam, "Are dead, and that the rest of the government is powerless; only the cabinet has access to the protocols, and we've put put out a story that you've all been taken prisoner, the protocols destroyed. Atleast, that was the story till one hour ago. We've pretended to be a senior government official, and have broadcasted on all frequencies that Sam Evans is alive, and will speak to the world on every frequency in existence at 9pm tonight from a bunker, the whereabouts of which are secret." "But this looks nothing like a bunker, and now that you've hut the bulkheads we cannot leave unless we blow a hole in it. And if you do, I will leave." The alien laughed. "You'll be standing against a bulkhead, stupid." "If you put me on camera, I'll reveal my whereabouts." The alien laughed. "We can torture you, if you need persuading." Sam put on a brave face, trying to hide the fact that he was terrified. "Why should I listen to you? You're going to kill my secretary just because she wasn't somewhere convenient to you!" The creature leant in close. "I'll tell my army to leave her alone if you do as I say." Sam gulped. "Okay," he said finally, knowing that this decision would mean that, if they ever got out of this mess, he'd lose his authority, his reputation, his job, and maybe even his freedom. But he couldn't let his secretary die. "What do I say?" He asked. "We've prepared a script for you," The creature smiled, handing him a piece of paper. Sam gasped. "What do you want with them?" He said, looking panic stricken at what the aliens wanted. "What do humans want with alchol?" The creature grinned. "You mean... because you... you like it... it feels nice... like getting drunk - like drugs?" The creature smiled. Sam looked, and felt, mortified. He didn't know if he could do it. The creature leaned in. "We can help you avoid the blame. We can make sure the Government is seen as victims of us, we can make sure the world believes you planned for nothing to go wrong. You can say it was us, The Earth Protection against Extra-Terrestrial Attack Organisation, and Michael Smith. You won't lose your authority, Britain will remain yours. We can give you all that and more, if you do what we want you to - oh, and, make sure you act convincingly - get rid of that face, for instance; we'd hate to have to have things the other way around." Sam didn't know what to do. "I'll do it," he said, hating every inch of himself, wishing he had a gun so he could commit suicide, be free, be buried in a wooden box and not have to deal with this. But it was too late for that. He'd made a decision which surely condemmed him to go to hell.

The secret house:
"I'm not telling you," Michael said angrily. "You'll have to kill me - go on, kill me, but - DON'T HURT THEM!" He yelled suddenly, when the creatures turned their guns on the others just after he said "but". But all of the aliens stopped. One stomped across and switched on the channel to the BBC. There was no signal. "How long till 9pm?" The creature that had turned on the tv asked. "One minute," another replied. "You'll love this," the first alien smirked, stomping to the side.

Downing Street:
"It's time," the chief alien growled, grabbing Sam and thrusting him into the bulkhead where a camera and sound device were facing him. Sam winced. 9pm seemed to have come veryquickly. All over the globe, the aliens stomped into ships and left, the debris flew away and the sky began to change from dark, red and dangerous, to the black of the night. They were leaving! Everyone clapped and cheered as the aliens left, but they didn't stray far from the t or radio they were listening too. Even those in foreign lands, who didn't know a word of English, turned the tv on, just to see am Evans, and hear him reassure the world. In homes across Britain, people cheered as the aliens left, then sat down and sat eagerly by their tvs and radios. "Airing in 5 seconds," the chief alien said, adjusting the camera so all the people watching telly would see would be Sam's head and metal behind him. "Four." Sam readied himself, taking a deep breath and dabbing quickly at his eyes. "Three." The alien stepped away. The other cabinet members were gagged and bound, but they looked at Sam with disappointed and angry faces. "Two." There was no going back. "One. Zero!" There was a beep, a red light winked on in the camera, and the chief gave him the thumbs up. The script was suspended just above the camera, and a green alien was in charge of turning the pages for Sam. "People of Britain," Sam Evans began. "People of the world. We are lucky. We have sustained loss, we have been deeply shaken. But I have made it clear that every Government on this planet has the resources and the determination to defend this planet. I told the aliens, in no unceratin terms, that they are not welcome, and that we are defended. The panic is over, I repeat, the crisis is over. Britain is safe. The world is safe. I will return to Downing Street shortly, and life will continue as normal. I now speak directly to the people of Britain; things may be different in other countries. But I am urging the British to return to life as normal. We are reopening the hospitals, the workplaces, the schools. Government representatives will be visiting schools, hospitals, care homes for the elderly and care homes for the disabled all over Britain to discuss new security measurements against aliens, and also a series of vaccinations for all people in these buildings which will protect against aliens. You could call it alien repellent. Churches, gymnasiums, pools, parks, beaches and more will be visited and will also recieve free vaccinations. I must stress that if you are a student at school, a hospital patient or in a care home, these vaccinations are compulsory. Those who refuse or attempt to prevent the talks or the vaccinations taking place will be taken into protective custody and vaccinated by force. These vaccinations are saf, free, compulsory. I say again, they are safe. I myself have already requested treatment, and vaccinations will be compulsory also for all senior government workers. Police workers must also recieve vaccinations. Not everyone in Britain needs be given the vaccination, only 10% of the people. The groups of people I have told you vaccinations are compulsory for make up 10% of the people of Britain. If you refuse vaccination and evade capture if it is compulsory for you, you put your county in danger. Finally, I thank you for your faith, you trust, and the service you have done to everyone by remaining reasonably calm." The camera beeped and the red light winked out. "We've stopped filming," the chief said. Sam stood up and sat down at the table, head in hands.

BBC News, 1 hour later: "A Government source has indicated that the vaccination scheme mentioned by the prime minister in his speech 1 hour ago will begin at noon in 3 days time. The opposition are criticising the way Sam Evans is running the scheme; Mark Brundle, Evans's main competitor in the world of politics, said: I am horrified at the way this crisis is being dealt with, the prime minister has announce that these vaccintions have been made compulsory for 10% of the British population. Britain is still terrified, these aliens could return at any moment, and all the PM can say is that vaccinations will be given by foce if neccesary, this is a disgrace to the British nation,and furthermore, Mr Evans hs stated he told the aliens Earth was defended! What if more aliens decide to challenge that? The way this has been dealt with is horrific and the PM should be ashamed of himself. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister has not commented; neither has the government at large, beyond stating that Thames House, the current HQ for MI5, will be used temporarily as the headquarters for the vaccination program, and that Peter Redmund, who will be leading the program, will be arriving at Thames House tommorow morning."

Downing Street Cabinet Room:
The aliens had permitted the removal of the cabinet members tape covering their mouths, but they were kept roped up. The Prime Minister had not moved for a while now; he, unlike the others, had not requested food, drink, use of the toilet, or anything, although he would haveliked a very large bottle of very strong vodka.

Secret Building:
Looking up at the ceiling, Michael struggled for something to say. "Coward!" He yelled at the mage of Sam on the