Page 5 - As the Cold Wind Blows Mark Jones

With no pre-warning to Min, a guarded Howard travelled by bus as it was the least

conspicuous way; he blended into the everyday rush perfectly, and with the occasional glance
over his shoulder showing nothing unusual or out of place, Howard was confident of reaching

Min’s door undetected. The ten-minute ride was agonising though. Howard could be sitting
just in front or behind a drone spying for its masters; being from Silwall was dangerous but
then again these days being anywhere was dangerous. That was Howard’s reckoning and Min

was going to be the first to know.

The bus stopped and Howard stepped out into a cold icy blast of air on a dark and dreary
morning. Not wanting to hang around too long, he hurried up the steps to the front door. Min

saw him from the window and let him in, pleased to see him, but curious as he didn’t visit too
often, though he kept in touch by phone and e-mail. Min offered Howard some tea; he

accepted, thanking her. She sat opposite and could see that Howard was nervous. “What is
it?”
He smiled, not wanting to worry her. “I don’t really know where to begin.”

Min told him to take his time and drink his tea before explaining. Howard coughed and
began his story.

“I, um, I think that something bad is going on in Silwall.” He paused for a moment before
continuing, “and the rest of the world...Something bad.”

“How bad?” asked Min, almost dropping her tea cup in shock.
“Well,” answered Howard, looking for the right words, “I know that a group of strange

people, if they are people, are controlling everything that’s happening, and the bodies – Mabel
and Imelda – were used as examples to the rest of us to keep our noses out.”

Min listened, finding it all slightly bizarre, but she knew that Howard was the wrong type to
make up a story. Aware of what had happened to Mabel and Imelda, Min wanted to know

more.
“What makes you think that this is a world problem, Howard?”
“Oh, just a hunch,” he said before explaining more.

Min sat, perplexed, but believed her friend. Howard continued with his theory and told her
about the frightening situation that had gripped Silwall.

“No one,” he told Min, “was sure if the perpetrators were human, animal or something
between those two. I think there may be some other dimension coexisting with our own, but I

haven’t actually worked out yet how it all works.”
Min thought before answering, trying to piece it together. “You mean something like a

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