believe that the rest of the world is watching us here,' she said under her breath. 'Just think, millions of people round the world are watching the same pictures as we are, and we're only a few miles away from where it's all happening.'
'Makes you nervous, doesn't it?' I said, suddenly feeling brave enough to be honest about my emotions. 'I just want to know what they're here for.'
Robert returned to the table and put down another round of drinks. He spilled half of my pint - he couldn't cope with handing round the beers and watching the television at the same time. I tried to mop up the spilt drink with an already soggy beer mat and, as I did so, I became aware that the pub had fallen silent again. I looked up, instantly unnerved.
Every face was angled towards the television set, and every last face bore an expression of bewildered fascination and uncertainty. I rubbed my tired eyes and stared into the flickering screen.
The pictures being broadcast were still coming from a position similar to that from which the footage we had seen earlier in the day had been shot. The dark and featureless alien ship was silhouetted against the clear, star-filled sky and it's immense belly was gently illuminated by lights from the countless ships floating on the rolling ocean below. As I watched, a large rectangular section of the vessel's metal skin began to slowly slide back in on itself leaving a wide, black hole in the machine's otherwise featureless undercarriage. I swallowed hard (my mouth was dry) and watched as a soft light began to shine out from the insides of the ship. A sleek, bright and smooth, streamlined object (a missile perhaps?) drifted down into the space between the ship and the surface of the ocean and then stopped. It just hung there, completely motionless.
'What the fucking hell is that?' Robert croaked, his voice also dry with nerves. 'You don't think that...' He stopped himself from completing his half-finished sentence.
The pictures on the television screen continued although I feared that, if it was some kind of alien weapon which had just appeared, the live transmission might be cut at any second. In the dark haze on the screen I could just about make out countless shifting shapes scurrying to and fro on the decks of the cruisers and battleships that had gathered there in the past few hours. Within a minute of the mysterious new object appearing the sky had filled with swarms of jets, helicopters and surveillance aircraft. Every last weapon on the deck of every last one of the floating war machines was primed and trained skywards, all aimed towards the awesome creation hanging soundless and motionless in the turbulent night air.
A brilliant electric-blue light began to shine out from the back of the second, smaller alien ship and then, as I held my breath along with the rest of the planet, it gracefully swooped down towards the surface of the water. Instinctively I squeezed Siobhan's hand and she pulled me closer to her. Like a glider drifting back down to land, the second ship soared silently through the night, eventually stopping perfectly still just a few feet above the rolling waves.
Every single available spotlight was fixed on the new machine. And every face in the room continued to stare at the television set on the bar.
Chapter 5
For a long time nothing happened.
There was a long, overpowering and oppressive silence in the pub. A few muffled conversations were taking place but, generally, few people spoke. At twenty-past eleven Ray Mercer cleared his throat and banged a glass on the bar to attract the attention of his customers. Most people didn't react. One or two glanced up at him to see what the disturbance was before turning back to face the television set again.
'Ladies and gents,' Ray shouted, seemingly unconcerned at the lack of attention being paid to him. 'I don't know about the rest of you, but I think we need to keep drinking tonight. To hell with the law, we're going for a late one. We're staying open.'
Had Ray made that announcement on any other night his words would have earned him a round of applause and a standing ovation at the very least. Tonight, however, the reaction of his customers was unusually muted and subdued. A steady stream of drinkers continued to make their way quietly to the bar. The television and the ringing of Ray's till