The Remarkables (The Remarkable Owen Johnson, part 1) by A. D. Elliott Page B
Authors: A. D. Elliott
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seat, resting his arms behind his head. “Oh it wasn’t a dinosaur-killing type of meteorite, I assure you. This one was much gentler. It lit up the sky, illuminated our little island, and then disappeared into the earth below, leaving no trace save for a sorry collection of farmers’ children on a hilltop to question what had happened.” Ken gestured towards the rear of the Land Rover. “And the odd cow that happened to be lowing nearby, of course.”
“So it’s not just people that have these abilities?” Owen commented, recalling how Myrtle had tried to knock him over.
“It seems to be limited to species with at least a modicum of intelligence,” Ken explained. “Put it this way: I’m yet to see a shrubbery with destructive powers.”
“Okay,” Owen lied, in reality thinking that this explanation was far from being okay. “So it’s not just you three? Well, five, including me and Trilby.”
This time it was Mrs Argyle’s turn to laugh, but there was sadness about her features. “If only it was.”
Mrs Argyle took off her seatbelt and made herself comfortable as well. Owen tried to do the same, anticipating that the explanation would be detailed, but was still unable to undo the rope.
“We lived on a small island in the Orkneys. Back then we were isolated from the rest of the islands and indeed the Scottish mainland itself, as none of the causeways had been built by this point. There was a handful of farming families on the island, keeping mostly sheep. Except our father of course, who had also managed to acquire a single cow thanks to a lucky shake of the dice.” Mrs Argyle paused to point at the cow hidden in the box behind the car.
“One particularly cold - as I recall it - January night we were at a neighbouring farmer’s house to welcome a new addition to their household. Even though it was in the throes of winter, it was such a light evening.” Mrs Argyle looked at her brother who nodded in agreement.
“This dope here had taken to walking the cow around like a dog, tying a rope to its neck and leading it about. The silly beast seemed quite content in its unusual role as house pet. She probably realised that this would keep her hide safe, always far too clever for her own good.
“Anyhow, we’d paid our respects and were stood outside with the neighbour’s boy, who was a couple of year’s older than me, and his older cousin who had lived there since her parents had succumbed to a nasty bout of consumption a few years prior. ”
“You didn’t mention how much of a thing that boy had for you Cee,” Ken pointed out.
“That won’t be factoring in this story, thank you Bro ther,” Mrs Argyle said sternly. “As I was about to say, we were just in the process of coming up with names for the wee bairn, when we saw that one of the stars was brighter than normal, and it didn’t take much longer to realise that it was moving. At first we were excited as we thought it was a shooting star. But instead of moving across the sky as you’d expect, this one was travelling toward us, growing from a small dot to the size that you’d expect the sun to appear, then bigger still.
“Within moment s the night sky became so bright it was as if all the stars had come together as one. We ran to a nearby hill so that we could see the island lit up; two girls, two boys, and a cow.
“We stood on that hill and could see every inch of the island, from coas t to coast. Not that far admittedly, but at that time of year you were lucky to see beyond the edge of the field that you were standing in. As we stood there we watched as the sky grew brighter still; brighter than noon on a summer’s day.
“I admit that I was terrified by what was occurring, but it was at the same time quite beautiful. The brightness grew more intense until we couldn’t properly see each other’s faces; just eyes, nostrils and lips surrounded by hair. But however bright the light was, it didn’t make our eyes burn, like
“So it’s not just people that have these abilities?” Owen commented, recalling how Myrtle had tried to knock him over.
“It seems to be limited to species with at least a modicum of intelligence,” Ken explained. “Put it this way: I’m yet to see a shrubbery with destructive powers.”
“Okay,” Owen lied, in reality thinking that this explanation was far from being okay. “So it’s not just you three? Well, five, including me and Trilby.”
This time it was Mrs Argyle’s turn to laugh, but there was sadness about her features. “If only it was.”
Mrs Argyle took off her seatbelt and made herself comfortable as well. Owen tried to do the same, anticipating that the explanation would be detailed, but was still unable to undo the rope.
“We lived on a small island in the Orkneys. Back then we were isolated from the rest of the islands and indeed the Scottish mainland itself, as none of the causeways had been built by this point. There was a handful of farming families on the island, keeping mostly sheep. Except our father of course, who had also managed to acquire a single cow thanks to a lucky shake of the dice.” Mrs Argyle paused to point at the cow hidden in the box behind the car.
“One particularly cold - as I recall it - January night we were at a neighbouring farmer’s house to welcome a new addition to their household. Even though it was in the throes of winter, it was such a light evening.” Mrs Argyle looked at her brother who nodded in agreement.
“This dope here had taken to walking the cow around like a dog, tying a rope to its neck and leading it about. The silly beast seemed quite content in its unusual role as house pet. She probably realised that this would keep her hide safe, always far too clever for her own good.
“Anyhow, we’d paid our respects and were stood outside with the neighbour’s boy, who was a couple of year’s older than me, and his older cousin who had lived there since her parents had succumbed to a nasty bout of consumption a few years prior. ”
“You didn’t mention how much of a thing that boy had for you Cee,” Ken pointed out.
“That won’t be factoring in this story, thank you Bro ther,” Mrs Argyle said sternly. “As I was about to say, we were just in the process of coming up with names for the wee bairn, when we saw that one of the stars was brighter than normal, and it didn’t take much longer to realise that it was moving. At first we were excited as we thought it was a shooting star. But instead of moving across the sky as you’d expect, this one was travelling toward us, growing from a small dot to the size that you’d expect the sun to appear, then bigger still.
“Within moment s the night sky became so bright it was as if all the stars had come together as one. We ran to a nearby hill so that we could see the island lit up; two girls, two boys, and a cow.
“We stood on that hill and could see every inch of the island, from coas t to coast. Not that far admittedly, but at that time of year you were lucky to see beyond the edge of the field that you were standing in. As we stood there we watched as the sky grew brighter still; brighter than noon on a summer’s day.
“I admit that I was terrified by what was occurring, but it was at the same time quite beautiful. The brightness grew more intense until we couldn’t properly see each other’s faces; just eyes, nostrils and lips surrounded by hair. But however bright the light was, it didn’t make our eyes burn, like
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