Doomwatch 2010 : Story 2 : "Nest of Doom"

Ok folks, here is the next part of this gripping adventure:

NEST OF DOOM : Part 8

Dr Peter Ashton-Scott paced around his office clenching and unclenching his fists as Adam Quist and Neil Tannahill sat looking bemused:
"..... so that in a nutshell is what we've found out. You two have a stark choice, you can either try and use our predicament in order to boost your own organisations or you can do the decent thing and both go to the Minister and demand that he changes his approach."
"But if your evidence is so compelling then why has the Minister chosen to suppress your report and close you down? It must be due to pressure from the business interests involved. The aviation industry in this country relies on French fuel. The Minister is hardly going to listen to us any more than he did to you", Quist replied.
Ashton-Scott took off his glasses and flung them down on the desk:
"Then its up to you to make him listen. Damn it man, your father would not have given up on this without a fight."
"Don't drag my dad into this Ashton-Scott. If your organisation is too damn flakey to make a difference then its best gone. We should just go public with it all, see how he likes that" Quist replied angrily. Neil Tannahill looked up:
"Yes and then you get closed down as well and also arrested for breaking the official secrets act" he interjected. Ashton-Scott sighed with exasperation and opened his office door:
"Charles and Genna, would you step in here for a minute please". Charles and Genna entered the office from the lab, where equipment was being dismantled and packed away due to the close down:
"I want you both to get yourselves back to Witham and monitor the events there. Book into a cheap B&B.I want every incident involving the birds monitored and reported back."
"I thought we were officially closed down," Genna replied.
"We are. Officially. But until they arrive here with police, bailiffs or who knows what to physically stop us then we keep going. Understood? I'm not leaving it to these two fools to make the government see sense."

Charles and Genna travelled by train to Witham, taking seats in the first class compartment. Charles sipped his cappucino and smiled:
"You have to admire the boss' resiliance in the face of adversity. However I think we soon both be out of work. Look Genna, I'm sorry I got you into all of this. You could have been still working away in your job in Leicestershire instead of facing imminent redundancy." Genna smiled back:
"Oh come on Charles, it still might not come to that. Any decisions I've made have been my own responsibility anyway. Lets just hope for the best."
"Hoping for the best is what I've been doing for most of my life and it doesn't seen to have worked much so far", Charles replied mournfully. Arriving at Witham station, they took a taxi to the B&B that they had booked over the internet.

At Brook Street Primary School, on the outskirts of Witham, the children were enjoying their after lunch playtime, running around in the schoolyard supervised by Miss Allcock and Miss Shaw, two newly qualified teachers in their mid-twenties. Lisa Allcock was a rather plump, plain-looking young woman with thick glasses and an air of authority. Two little girls came running up to her crying:
"Miss, miss, Craig Wilson keeps picking on us. He threw stick at us and called us mongs". Miss Allcock went stomping across the yard and took Craig Wilson, a scruffy little boy with a pug-dog nose, to one side and shouted at him for a few minutes. Then she came stomping back:
"He's getting more and more aggressive that one. The parents don't take no notice, they seem to spend all their time out boozing, from what the Head says" she muttered to Miss Shaw, a tall blonde young woman who was elegantly dressed.
"Well she should like phone social services," Miss Shaw replied, checking her make-up in her face mirror. No one noticed the row of crows, pidgeons and magpies that had amassed on the roof of the school and sat looking down at the children. Suddenly one of the crows flew up and swooped down at the unsuspecting children, slamming into a little boy's face and pecking at his eyes. Very rapidly the other birds took off and swooped down on the schoolyard, knocking over children and grasping onto them with their feet. Miss Shaw screamed as two gulls attacked her, one of them driving its beak into her left eye and tugging. Children ran around in a frenzy of fear, trampling each other as birds dived at their faces, jabbing, clawing and scratching. Miss Allcock tried to kick birds off a little girl who lay motionless on the ground until a pidgeon slammed itself into her face, knocking off her glasses which were trampled by the children. A little boy was covered with crows, pecking deep, bloody grooves into his face.

Charles and Genna stood outside of Charles' room in the B&B, waiting for the cleaner to finish changing the sheets after the previous occupant. Genna looked around:
"Well its a bit basic isn't it. It smells of dry rot or something and the wallpaper looks like its been there for decades."
"Basic is an understatement" Charles added. The cleaner had the local radio switched on which was playing a Rhianna song. After the song finished the local news came on and Charles and Genna overheard the first item:

"Some breaking news, reports are coming in of a major incident at a Primary School in Witham. Unconfirmed reports say that the school is Brook Street Primary and that a flock of birds have attacked a group of children in the playground. There are as yet no further details, however police have set up an emergency hotline....."

"Come on, lets get a taxi there now" Genna exclaimed. They ran out of the B&B, Charles phoning for a taxi on his mobile. As they arrived near to the school there was a police road block. The taxi driver frowned:
"Thats as near as we can get" he grunted. Charles and Genna ran out of the taxi:
"Ere what about my bleedin ' fare..." the taxi driver shouted after them. They ran towards the police:
"Excuse me but we are from Doomwatch. Here is our ID. We need to see what has happened" Charles stated.
"I'm sorry Sir but no one is allowed through. There has been an incident" the constable replied.
"We know that there's been an incident. Thats why we need to get in. We're from Doomwatch." Genna shouted angrily.
"I don't care if you're from Doomwatch or not. My orders are that no one gets through. I'd calm down if I were you Miss" the constable replied.
"Oh stuff this" Genna shouted and pushed past the constable running. Charles ran after her:
"Hey, stop them!" the constable shouted to his colleagues. Charles and Genna ran down the street until they saw a row of ambulances. Groups of injured children were being treated on the pavement as bodies covered in blankets were being loaded into the ambulances.......

.................to be continued.

Doomwatch 2010 now has its own blog and has been renamed "New Doomwatch"

newdoomwatch.blogspot.co.uk/