A SHADOW FALLS
1903
London.
"Davenshore, you saw the thing. What was it?" Boomed a voice through a cloud of cigar smoke in the corner of the room.
"Some kind of metalic craft, dark in colour but definately metalic," answered a grey haired man from the leather chair by an open wood fire, "and it was big!" He added as he leaned forward, raising his eyes to the smokingman, "very big."
A man in a brown tweed jacket sat listening intently from behind a desk spoke next, "Just how big?" He asked as the clouds parted allowing the morning sun to burst into the room through the large window behind him, illuminating everyone and everything and yet; obscuring the smoking man even more behind the cloud that hung around him.
Davenshore leaned back into the chair, raised his hand to his mouth and pulled nervously at his lower lip, "Big," he said from behind his fingers.
"Damn it Davenshore, the Priminister asked you a question now tell us, how big?" Shouted the smoking man.
"It was about 50 feet above us Prime minister," he said lowering his hand and resting it on the arm of the chair, "and its shadow cast a bridge over the Thames."
The Prime minister looked from Davenshore to the smoking man and then back again before he stood and slowly turned to gaze out of the window, his shadow cast a solitary figure along the floor and onto the back wall. He turned his head to the smoking man, "Do we know where it is now?"
The smoking man lowered his cigar and placed it into an ashtray beside him. Clasping his hands behind him he stepped out of the smoke and into the centre of the room.He was a tall slender man with neatly trimmed hair, a well groomed gentleman's moustache and piercing blue eyes. "Our men are tracking it southward sir, its slowing but has yet to stop."
Just then there was a knock at the door and in walked a short chubby man with a balding head and small round rimmed glasses perched on the very tip of his nose. He was panting heavily and his brow was glistening with sweat. He peered over his glasses at the prime minister, "Hayling sir," he said between breaths, "its stopped over Hayling Island"
