by Geoff Palmer
‘What? What?’ Tim peered past her, half-expecting to see craters, smouldering ruins, shattered trees ... and finding nothing but early morning stillness.
‘Where are they?’
Errol gave the horn a couple of toots and the caravan door banged open. Alkemy trotted ahead while behind her Ludokrus gave the bus a lazy wave as he locked up.
‘Well ... where’s the Cadillac?’ Coral demanded.
The Cadillac was missing, but that seemed trivial compared to the sight of their friends alive and well and running for the bus.
Alkemy, looking tired and dishevelled, dropped onto the seat in front of them. A few seconds later, Ludokrus, looking sprightly and dishevelled, dropped in beside her.
‘What happened?’ Coral hissed as the old bus moved off.
Alkemy shook her head. ‘Nothing.’
‘But you look dreadful!’
‘I am awake half of night with the worry,’ she said. ‘First we get back and wait. See who come. Two, three hours. Nothing. Then Albert say maybe there is bomb inside for when he open microwave, so he take her safe away from us. Again we wait. Two more hour. Nothing. Finally he come back. There is only one simple alarm inside to say she has been taken. That is all.’
‘What about the Temporal Accumulator thing?’ Tim asked.
‘She is there also. Perfect. We make copy.’ Alkemy smiled and patted her backpack. ‘I am so happy. Now we have these plan, is like we are already halfway home.’
‘But what of you?’ Ludokrus asked. ‘We are also worry for the house. Maybe someone visit?’
Coral shook her head. ‘I thought maybe Alice ... I mean she did only turn up yesterday. But she actually wanted you to take it.’
‘I thought the Sentinels were able to control people?’ Tim asked.
‘Yes, but is much limited. Albert tell us more last night while we are wait,’ Ludokrus replied. ‘First, he think there are most likely only two of them. Always they work in pair, and for this mission the Thanatos do not even know if we survive our crash. So most likely they do not send a hundred.
‘Second, each can control only one person at one time. That mean there must be only two people whose head they are inside.’
‘Third, they can change your memory, but not what you are see.’
‘How d’you mean?’
He gestured round the bus. ‘They cannot make you think you are travelling in the Cadillac, for example. But when you are at the school they maybe change the memory and you think you come in Cadillac.’
‘That’s freaky!’
Ludokrus nodded. ‘Last, the control. With this they must be careful. If you have Sentinel inside and it say “Jump off the bus” you will hear this command in your brain like someone speak. You will think maybe you are mad or that someone play a trick, but you will not jump. So they must be subtle. Maybe make you feel real sick so you, Tim Townsend, run to driver and say, “Please stop!”.’
‘You mean they can’t tell you to do things, they have to make you want to do them.’
‘Exactly.’
‘OK,’ Coral said, ‘but what about the Sentinels themselves? What’s to stop them coming after you in person?’
‘You have seen them. They are like big slug who live in dark and wet. Bright sunshine dry them out and make die. We do not need to worry.’
‘So ... the alarm in the microwave ... what was it for?’
‘Now we think was just alert. To say to them only, “Yes, they are here”. But to make action will take time. Albert say the nearest Thanatos base is one light day away. This mean message will take one day to reach and one more day at least for ship to come, so they cannot be here till tomorrow night, earliest. And by then we will be gone.’
‘So all this trap business was just a storm in a teacup!’ Coral said, sounding slightly annoyed.
‘Storm in the tea ...?’
‘She means it was a lot of fuss for nothing,’ Tim translated.
‘Ah, yes. But remember, there are many ways they could make trap. All last night we are still worry. Only this morning do we know is okay. Now we can relax. Because of this Albert now go to Queenstown.’
‘Queenstown. What’s he doing there, sight-seeing?’
‘Now he have the plan, he know all the elements we will need for the make. For some this place has not enough. Maybe a bigger town is better.’
‘You mean he’s going to Queenstown to visit the rubbish dump?’ Coral said.
‘Speaking of Albert,’ Tim said, ‘I heard Aunt Alice say she was going to pop over and see him with a batch of pikelets.’
‘Wholemeal pikelets,’ Coral corrected.
Alkemy and Ludokrus exchanged puzzled glances.
‘You mean like ...’ Ludokrus made a squealing sound.
Now Tim and Coral looked puzzled. Then Coral laughed and shook her head. ‘No, no, not piglets. Pikelets. Little thin cake things.’
‘Ah! For one moment I think she maybe have children after all,’ Ludokrus grinned.
Alkemy gave out an outraged gasp. Coral gave him a high-five.
‘What is the significance of this giving him piglets ... pikelets?’ Ludokrus asked.
‘I think she likes him.’
‘But he is syntho!’
‘That’s all right,’ Tim grinned. ‘Uncle Frank says she’s a witch.’
* * *
As the Flyer swung through the school gates Tim glimpsed Norman Smith, flanked by Tyler Thuggut and Amber Eloise Sauvage, disappearing round the end of the school building. Tyler looked shifty, glancing left and right, and Norman moved like a prisoner under escort.
Tim leapt from the bus and made straight for where he’d last seen them. As he suspected, the three figures were heading for the Thugguts’ usual lair.
Waiting till they disappeared around the far end of the dilapidated prefab, he sprinted after them before stopping at the near end and circling round the building from the opposite direction.
As he edged closer he made out three long shadows in the slanting sunlight.
‘You’d better!’ Tyler’s voice snapped.
Norman gasped.
‘Now, now Tyler.’ Amber’s voice was smooth and liquid. ‘Norman’s our friend, aren’t you, Norman?’
‘Yes,’ Norman squeaked.
‘And friends look after each other. Don’t they, Norman?’
Tim could almost hear Norman nodding his head.
‘Because if they don’t look after each other, they’re not really friends. And if you’re not my friend, you must be my enemy. And you know what happens to them ...’
Keeping to the shadows, Tim peered round the corner in time to see Tyler Thuggut drive his fist into the side of the old prefab a millimetre from Norman’s quaking head. The building shuddered. Particles of dust and flaking paint were flung into the still air. Tyler casually shook out his clenched fist and grinned.
‘Oh, good morning.’ Alkemy suddenly breezed around the front of the building. ‘I was ... Is everything OK?’
‘Everything’s fine, sister,’ Amber Eloise hissed. ‘Just having a friendly chat.’
‘It does not look so friendly,’ Alkemy replied. She set her backpack down and went to Norman. ‘I hear a bang. You are OK?’
Tim decided it was time to show himself too. He took a breath and imitated Alkemy, ambling around the corner as casually as he could.
‘Oh, there you are. Thought I saw you heading over here. Hi Norman.’
Norman gaped in amazement; two saviours!
‘Come on you two, the bell’s about to go,’ Tim continued, shoving his two friends ahead of him.
They’d only gone a few metres when Alkemy turned, remembering her backpack.
‘Forgotten something?’ Tyler grunted, taking a few quick strides, lining up his target and giving it a mighty kick.
Alkemy squealed as it lifted from his foot and she started a stumbling run to try and save it. In an instant Tim realised the reason for her dismay. The calculator! It was a fantas
tic kick. The bag sailed far beyond her reach, landing with a heavy thump on the sun-baked, rock-hard playing field. For a moment all three of them stood staring at it, then the bell rang and Norman said weakly, ‘I think I need to go to the bathroom.’
28 : Quail Creek
‘Is there some sort of problem, Miss Kattflapp?’ Roderick Millais asked in his most sarcastic tone.
Alkemy sat bolt upright. ‘No, sir.’
‘It’s just that you seem to find more interest in the contents of your backpack than you do in this lesson,’ he replied in a thin nasal whine. ‘I do hope I’m not boring our Norwegian visitor.’
Alkemy gulped and shook her head.
‘Then perhaps you’ll explain the fascination with your bag? Hmm? Come on, stand up. Tell the class.’
Alkemy scrambled to her feet.
‘Well?’ he growled.
‘I worry I forget some sports gear for the phys-ed,’ she muttered. ‘But is all jumbled so I cannot tell.’
‘And you thought you’d sort out your laundry in class, did you?’
Alkemy muttered an apology.
‘Sit down and pay attention!’ he barked.
She did so and he returned to the board.
‘Since you bring up the subject, Miss Kattflapp, I have to tell you that today’s physical education class has been cancelled. As we have a holiday weekend ahead of us, the principal and I have decided that the school will close a little early this afternoon.’ A few quiet cheers erupted round the room. ‘Mr Fitchett has been informed. Country pupils will find their bus here at two o’clock.’
‘In place of physical education,’ he continued, ‘we will be joining with the junior and senior classes for a nature hike to Quail Creek after morning break.’ The cheers now became groans. ‘On the way you will identify and collect samples of native plants. Is that clear?’
He turned back to the board and Alkemy gave her bag another anxious glance.
Ten minutes later Mrs Millais appeared and had a few quiet words with her husband, then gestured for Alkemy to join her.
‘Don’t forget your laundry,’ Snotty said coldly.
* * *
‘What’s going on?’ Coral demanded at morning break, seizing Tim’s elbow and steering him to a quiet corner of the playground. ‘Cakeface pulled Ludokrus from class.’
‘Alkemy too.’
‘So where are they?’
‘They must have been taken to her office.’
‘Let’s take a look.’
The principal’s office was at the end of the administration block and had a clear view of the road leading from town. In front of it was a raised garden, dense with the heavy heads of blue hydrangeas.
‘Keep going, ’ Coral whispered as they strolled past. ‘I’ve got an idea.’
Further on they found some juniors playing with a tennis ball. Coral confiscated it. ‘You can have it back in a minute,’ she called, throwing it to Tim.
‘Chuck it back and forth as we go, then when we get near the office throw it in the garden.’
Tim did as he was told and they drifted further and further apart, throwing the ball back and forth. Once they were near the window he threw it low and hard, aiming for the shrubs. Coral dived for it, missed deliberately, and watched the ball sail into the undergrowth right on target.
As she was retrieving it a silhouette appeared behind the net curtains, glaring down at her.
Coral threw it back. ‘Not here, Tim,’ she called loudly. ‘Take it round the back before you break a window or something.’
‘Well?’ he asked once they were out of sight.
‘They’re in there all right.’
‘Maybe Albert’s had an accident or someone’s broken into the caravan or something,’ Tim suggested.
‘I dunno,’ Coral said. ‘I’ve got a bad feeling about this. Why did she make them take their belongings? It’s like they’re leaving.’
‘But ... they wouldn’t do that without telling us.’
‘No,’ Coral said slowly.
‘And even if Cakeface is controlled by Sentinels, what can she do? They can’t make her murder them or anything. Not from what Ludokrus was saying.’
Coral rubbed her chin.
‘It’s almost over. They said so on the bus. Now they can relax.’
‘Yeah,’ Coral said quietly, ‘but that’s the time they get you. Right when you least expect it ...’
* * *
Quail Creek ran through a dense stand of bush and a leafy picnic area at the bottom of School Road (No Exit). Three distinct groups made their way along the grassy margin of the gravel road. The juniors, under the guidance of Miss Doodle, played about with unrestrained glee. The intermediates, under the watchful eye of Mr Millais, glanced at them enviously, while the seniors, unchaperoned, kept themselves aloof.
The nature hike was a NO event. Mr Millais spelled out the details before they left. There was to be NO SWIMMING because there were insufficient staff to supervise such an activity. NO FOOD was to be taken as they’d just had morning break and lunch was little more than an hour away, and NO SPORTS EQUIPMENT was needed as this was an Educational outing (with a capital ‘E’). There was to be NO RUNNING en route, NO DAWDLING, NO SKYLARKING, NO FIGHTING and NO UNNECESSARY CHATTER.
‘Breathing all right, sir?’ Marty Martin muttered.
Lost in thought, Tim slumped in a patch of shade beside a bushy shrub, plucking listlessly at its large soft leaves. He had a view of the road and kept glancing up it, expecting to see Alkemy and Ludokrus trotting down to meet them. But no one showed.
‘That’s Rangiora,’ a small voice said, and Tim turned to find Norman standing behind him. ‘They call it Bushman’s Friend ‘cos its soft underneath and you can use it if you run out of toilet paper.’
‘Really?’
Norman looked about warily. ‘Hey, thanks for this morning, eh? I looked for you at break but you were with ...’ his voice trailed off.
‘That’s OK,’ Tim said.
Norman bit his lip. ‘Listen,’ he said, dropping his voice, ‘Can I ... um ... ask you something ...?’
At that moment Tim spied Coral approaching his teacher with a purposeful look on her face. ‘Hold on a sec,’ he said, dropping the leaf in his haste to edge closer.
‘Where’s Mrs Millais?’ she asked nonchalantly.
‘She may join us later. She’s waiting for a parent.’
‘You mean Mr Kattflapp?’
Millais glanced at her. ‘Yes.’
‘What’s he done?’
‘Done? Who?’
‘Ludokrus Kattflapp. He’s always larking about and stuff.’
‘That’s really none of your ...’
‘Only he borrowed a bunch of my felt pens and hasn’t given them back yet.’
Millais laughed. ‘I think you may be out of luck there, young lady.’
‘What?’
‘I don’t believe the Kattflapps will be returning to this school.’
‘I told you there was something going on,’ Coral hissed at Tim as she raced past him, heading for her classmates.
Dumbfounded, Tim stared after her. They were waiting for a parent, Snotty said. A Mr Kattflapp. But that couldn’t be right. Albert was on his way to Queenstown. Or was he?
Perhaps he wasn’t. Perhaps Albert hadn’t gone to Queenstown at all and really had phoned the school. After all, they had the plans to the Temporal Accumulator now. With Sentinels spying and Thanatos on the way, why hang about?
But they wouldn’t go without saying goodbye. They were friends. Friends didn’t do that to each other. Did they ...?
He caught sight of Norman approaching and felt a pang of guilt. Perhaps they did.
‘Tim, I ... What’s the matter?’ Norman rejoined him, offering a freshly picked Rangiora leaf. Tim stared at it blankly. Norman lowered his arm. ‘Are you all right?’
Coral raced back carrying her backpack. ‘Beat it,’ she snapped at Norman.
‘I ...’
‘Leave him alone!’ Tim snapped back.
Coral stared at him in surprise.
‘He’s my friend,’ he added.
Coral shrugged then thrust her backpack at her brother. ‘Look after that. I’m going to find out what’s going on. ’
‘But ...’
Without another word she slipped into the undergrowth and vanished.
29 : Missing
‘City boy!’ Terry Thuggut boomed when Tim was still twenty metres off.
‘Better have your Biscuit Tax,’ Todd Thuggut added.
‘Pay your tax or you’ll get whacks,’ chimed Tyler.
The Thug brothers were leaning against the end of the prefab.
‘I don’t want to go into town,’ Tim said. ‘I just want to know if my sister has.’
‘Ain’t seen ‘er.’ Terry Thuggut shook his massive head.
‘It’s just that Romany Jones said he thought he saw her near here when we got back from the nature hike,’ Tim said.
‘Oh, well if the dippy hippy said he see’d her, it must be true,’ Terry snorted derisively.
‘But you haven’t?’
‘Listen, city boy, how many times I gotta tell ya? Now beat it, before I ask Tyler here to beat you.’
‘Thanks anyway,’ Tim said, and hurried off.
* * *
Tim forced his way on to Fitchett’s Flyer and pushed down the length of the aisle, checking every seat before forcing his way out again, evoking outraged cries.
Half-stumbling off the bus, he stood looking helplessly around the empty playground. There’d been no sign of Coral since the nature hike, and no sign of Alkemy or Ludokrus since the morning. What was going on?
He looked up and saw the curtain in the principal’s window twitch. There was no one else to turn to.
‘Come on Townsend!’ Marty Martin shouted from the bus. Tim ignored him and raced up the steps.
‘Why Timothy,’ Cakeface beamed at him, her painted lips assuming almost clownish proportions as she ushered him into her harsh pink office. ‘What can I do for you?’
‘It’s about my sister,’ Tim began. ‘Coral.’
‘Oh.’ The principal’s face darkened. ‘Your sister ...’ she muttered. ‘Yes. Well I have to say I’m disappointed, Timothy. Very disappointed.’