And As They Talk, They Become The Closest Of Friends

Sunset dropped onto the roof, and caused Lunar Mist to jump – higher than most, thanks to his superhuman abilities.

“We haven’t met in broad daylight before,” said Sunset cheerfully.

“I don’t do much daytime hero stuff,” said Lunar Mist. “Only in extreme cases.”

“Really?” said Sunset. “I love daytime patrols.”

“Do you ever get any sleep?”

“I find I don’t need much,” said Sunset. Before Lunar Mist could say a thing, she turned suddenly. “But aliens! How cool is that? We’ve got to go and see them.”

“No!” said Lunar Mist, and for once, Sunset was taken aback. “That’s the last thing we can do.”

“Why?” asked Sunset, confused.

“Aliens have landed,” he said. “Proper, real, genuine aliens. From space. This isn’t local news, this is worldwide. We can’t go down there, all powers ablazing, or even non-ablazing. We’re blunt instruments – overblown vigilantes. If we start assuming authority over anything that’s a bit out there …”

“You’re right,” said Sunset thoughtfully.

“If there’s a war, we’ll fight,” said Lunar Mist. “But for the time being, we have to assume they’re diplomats.”

“So what do we do?”

Lunar Mist shrugged.

“I’ve got the day off work,” he said. “I’m going to hunt down opportunistic looters, taking advantage of the chaos.”

“Nice one,” said Sunset. “I think I’ll do the same.”

“Let me know how it goes,” said Lunar Mist.

“I’ll text you.” She laughed. “Bet it’s just you and me, though, wandering through empty streets. I can’t imagine anyone doing anything right now, apart from sitting in front of their TVs.”

-10001-

Meanwhile, in Brecon, Mr Spencer was running. He’d cut his speed down somewhat – a concession, since Geoff was running with him.

“I can … get back to … the car … if you like …” breathed Geoff.

“Don’t worry about it,” said Mr Spencer. “I’ll run a bit extra later, that’s all.”

“How long are … you going to keep … this up?”

And for the first time since he’d started running, Mr Spencer gave an honest answer.

“A week.”

“Only a week?” asked Geoff, surprised.

“That’s all that’s left.”

“And then … you’re done?”

“And then I’m done.”

“What happens then?”

“The world will be worth living in again.”

-10001-

Two weeks later, Geoff received a phone call. It was Mr Spencer. They’d exchanged phone numbers back in Brecon, but Geoff hadn’t expected a call so soon.

“Where are you?” asked Mr Spencer.

“Searching Newport at the moment.”

“Fancy meeting up later?”

“Great!” said Geoff, surprised. “I’ll be here all day.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

And, four hours later, they were in a fast food restaurant. Mr Spencer still had his suit and briefcase.

Finally, Mr Spencer told Geoff the whole story, from beginning to end. The fact that he’d had to run to save his wife’s life, the device in the briefcase that tapped into his DNA, his wife’s insistence that he shouldn’t tell anyone why he was doing it until he’d finished – everything.

“So,” said Geoff. “Why not run around the local neighbourhood, and go home for tea and such?”

“To get my face in as many newspapers as possible,” said Mr Spencer. He smiled. “Of course not. But I needed to motivate myself. If I’d stayed at home, it would have been harder and harder every day to say goodbye and to run for twelve hours. I needed to get used to hardship. Not to mention that my wife did all she could to stop me as it was – I think I’d have given up fairly quickly if she’d done that every day for six years.”

“Still seems a bit daft to me.”

Mr Spencer chuckled. “Anyway, I’ve brought a gift for you,” he said. “It should help with your quest.”

“What is it?”

Mr Spencer opened the briefcase. Inside was a pair of thick sunglasses, which had a thin wire running into a device built into the case itself.

“Put these on,” he said, and Geoff obeyed.

“Oh, wow,” said Geoff. Suddenly, wherever he looked, people’s bodies were tinted red – and only their bodies.

“Thought you’d need to see the heads clearly,” said Mr Spencer. “Now, hold this.” He handed him a thin, wand-shaped device, with two buttons along the side. “Point it at me, and press the button.”

Geoff obeyed again, and immediately, Mr Spencer’s body was tinted green.

“Point it at people who aren’t your mystery girl,” said Mr Spencer. “It’ll save you having to check the same people multiple times. The second button resets people to red, by the way, in case you make a mistake.”

Geoff was stunned. He looked around the restaurant, clicking everyone in sight. They all turned green.

“How can it remember all these people?” he asked.

“Scans their DNA and converts it into digital information.”

“How does that work?”

“I’m not entirely sure,” admitted Mr Spencer. “But the device originally did so to my own DNA, so it was a simple matter to adapt the original device.”

“Hang on,” said Geoff. “If you could adapt this device, why not change it to accept any DNA at all?”

“Mainly because I couldn’t be sure it’d work,” he said. “But even if I could – can you think of anyone who runs for twelve hours a day?”

“You could get a bunch of mates to do it in shifts,” said Geoff. “Plenty of charitable people around. Honestly, you should use your head more.” He spotted a gang of children outside, and he eagerly clicked them all green. “Anyway, can this really store everyone in the world?”

“Sadly not,” said Mr Spencer. “It’s got an SD card of two gigabytes in it at the moment, and that’ll store half a million people. As soon as you’ve reached the limit, additional strangers won’t show up as red any more. The green ones will still be green, though, so it’ll still be useful.”

“That’s a shame,” said Geoff.

“But I’ve added an adapter that means you can have several SD cards in at the same time,” said Mr Spencer. “And I’m trying to develop cards with bigger capacities, so by the time you fill all the spaces, you’ll be ready for more.” He smiled. “You’ll have to buy additional cards yourself in the meantime, I’m afraid.”

“Does it need charging?” asked Geoff.

“It no longer requires you to run, if that’s what you mean,” said Mr Spencer. “And it doesn’t need to be inserted into your nervous system either. There’s a steel bracelet inside, and if you wear it, walking will charge the system. I’d recommend power walking, personally.”

Geoff sighed. “You’re such a sadist. Power walking to clock half a million people?” But he was grinning broadly.

To show his appreciation, Geoff paid for a slap-up meal, and the two men were finally able to relax – for both of them, it felt like the first time in years.

“So,” said Mr Spencer. “What about these aliens, eh?”

Forever Running

The sun was rising, bathing the fresh winter’s day in lazy twilight. Mr Spencer was being poked with a stick.

“Get off him,” came a voice from behind him. Mr Spencer sat up, seeing the kids run away, and looked in the direction of his defender. A heavily-built fellow with a gentle expression. He sat down on the park bench, next to Mr Spencer.

“Fancy a lift?” he asked.

“No thanks,” said Mr Spencer. “I’m off running in a bit.”

His guest gave him a look. Seemed a bit embarassed, but eventually he spoke.

“Hope you don’t mind me asking,” he said.

Mr Spencer smiled encouragingly.

“It’s just … Well, I never saw a homeless bloke in a suit before.” He said it as gently as he could. He seemed very afraid of causing offense.

Mr Spencer smiled. “I’m not homeless,” he said. He thought for a bit. “Actually, I suppose I am. But I’ve got something better than a home. I’ve got my run.”

“You run a lot, then?”

“Six years, next month.”

“Wow.”

They sat in silence for some time. Eventually, the man spoke again.

“My name’s Geoff.”

“Hi, Geoff. I’m Mr Spencer.”

“Got a first name?”

“Yes.”

“Right.”

Geoff twiddled his thumbs awkwardly.

“I’ve been doing a lot of travelling myself,” he said.

“Really?” asked Mr Spencer, interested.

“Nothing like what you’ve done, mind. More of a driver than a runner, as you can see.” He tapped his stomach. “I’m searching for someone.”

“Oh,” said Mr Spencer sadly. “Someone’s gone missing?”

“No, no,” said Geoff. “I haven’t met her yet. Not properly, I mean. Saw her in a dream.”

“A woman,” said Mr Spencer, smiling. “I like that.”

“You running for a woman?” asked Geoff.

“In a manner of speaking.”

For a moment, they sat next to one another, a mutual respect for one another’s quest. Geoff grinned at Mr Spencer’s enigmatic manner, Mr Spencer smiled at Geoff’s determination, and above them, far overhead, a spaceship flew past.

They looked upwards.

“Aliens,” said Mr Spencer.

“You learn something new every day.”

“The world’ll go mad over this,” said Mr Spencer.

“But not you?” asked Geoff.

“No, no,” said Mr Spencer. “I’ve got to run.”

“I’ve got to go too,” said Geoff. “I thought I’d try out the Brecon Beacons today.”

“Best of luck to you,” said Mr Spencer.

And they parted ways.

Until ...

“Actually,” called Mr Spencer. “I’ve never been to the Beacons.”

“Neither have I, before,” said Geoff.

“I think I’ll take you up on the offer of a lift,” said Mr Spencer. “I’ll run a bit extra tonight.”

“Alright, then,” said Geoff. “And I might join you in running for a bit when we get there. Could do with the exercise.”

And so, side by side, the two men walked to the car.

The Hitchhiker and the Lady in Orange

Finally, a car pulled over next to Kev. Kev gratefully climbed into the passenger seat, placing his heavy back-pack on the back seat. He folded his sign – a big piece of cardboard reading "Salisbury".

"Thanks, mate," he said gratefully.

"No problem," said the driver amicably, a chubby man in his thirties, with thinning blonde hair and narrow glasses. "I'm Geoff, by the way."

"Kev."

Geoff put the car into gear, and took off again. Back on the road.

"Used to hitch-hike a bit myself," said Geoff. "Back in my student days."

"I'm quite new to the whole thing," admitted Kev. "My girlfriend got me into it – we went camping in Europe last year."

"Yeah? That's nice," said Geoff. "Different attitudes on the continent, I find."

"True," said Kev. "Anyway, I've got the bug now. I'm hoping to make it all the way to Land's End."

"Oh, excellent," said Geoff. He grinned broadly. "An adventurer! I like you already."

"Is that why you did it?" asked Kev. "In your student days, I mean."

"Oh, yeah," said Geoff warmly. "Mind you, didn't know what I was looking for. But that comes with time, doesn't it?"

"So they say," said Kev. "Course, I reckon I've found what I was looking for. Couple of years ago, when I met my girlfriend."

"That's lovely."

"So now we have combined adventures. A year off before settling down in the world of mortgages and wedding plans."

"A fine way of thinking," said Geoff. "Wish I'd done more in my youth, truth be told. Think it's affected me now."

"What do you mean?" asked Kev.

"Well, after getting my degree, I found a job straight away. Quiet office thing. Worked hard, arrived early, stayed late, took my work home with me. Didn't have time to meet anyone – didn't know anyone I didn't work with. But that suited me at the time. Since then, got a few promotions under my belt. I'm a manager now. And I've run out of places to go. No more positions going, unless someone leaves."

"You're unhappy in your job?"

"Oh, no," said Geoff. "I love it. Plenty of responsibility, and it's less work for more money." He smiled. "But now, it's not about work any more. I know what I'm looking for."

"Aha," said Kev. "You've got a goal? An ambition."

"Something like that."

"I think that's half the battle, really. My dad lost his job in the seventies, and he became an empty shell for such a long time. Then, a few years ago, he discovered the internet. Made a fortune selling stuff on eBay."

"Good for him!" Geoff grinned.

"So, what was yours?"

Geoff inhaled deeply, full of satisfaction.

"It was four years ago. I found myself on a bus. This man, he turns to me, and he says, 'you know you're dreaming, don't you?'. Now, I never could control my dreams, but I realised I must be dreaming, 'cause nobody would say that if I wasn't. So I nodded my agreement, and he said, 'you can do anything here'. And I asked him what he meant. He told me to name something impossible, and I said, 'make a rollercoaster appear in that field'. He looks out the window, and out of nowhere, there's this rollercoaster. Actually, it was one of those waltzer things, but in my dream it was called a rollercoast. Anyway, he tells me to look in the front, and there's this woman wearing an orange dress. I can only see the back of her head. Suddenly, the bus stops, and she gets off. I run after her, the door of the bus almost closes on me. But I get out, and I can't see where she is, but somehow I know she's headed forwards. I run, and I've never run this fast, and I get to this plain wooden door. Can't remember if it was part of a building or something. I walk in, and there's this beautiful hall, full of candles and flowing drapes. And in the middle, she's there, the lady in orange. I walk up to her, but it's like she gets further away the closer I get. This music starts – something by Ella Fitzgerald. I think it was Dream a Little Dream. Ha, I just got that. Anyway, I take this woman's hand, and she dances with me. She seems darker close up – what's the PC word for 'half-caste'? Anyway, we dance, and even though she's got this flowing dress on, it doesn't get in the way. We dance for the duration of the song, but it feels like hours. And then I finally take a good look at her face."

It took Kev a moment to realise that Geoff wasn't going to continue.

"And?" he asked. "Who was she?"

"Dunno," said Geoff. "I'd never seen her before. Still, it gave me a purpose, didn't it?"

"Did it?"

"I'm going to find her, that lady," said Geoff.

There was a pause.

"Right," said Kev.

"Don't say it like that," said Geoff. "I know she's out there somewhere. It's just hard, you know? Meeting someone on a bus – she could be from anywhere."

"So ..." said Kev. "How are you trying to find her?"

"Driving on weekends," said Geoff. "Like now. I've never been to this neighbourhood before. I was actually headed for Chippenham, but seeing you on the road – well, that could've been a sign."

And, as he said this, Geoff slowed down, and parked the car.

"Here we are. Salisbury. Hope you get to Land's End."

"Thanks," said Kev, climbing out of the car. "Hope you find your lady in orange."

Geoff smiled, and started the engine.

"I will."