‘Tell me what troubles you, Ledbetter. Maybe there is something I can do?’ said David. ‘Come inside and talk to me. It’s something to do with your charge, isn’t it?’
Ledbetter nodded and the wild look in his eyes calmed.
‘Yes, you are right. He is about to do something very stupid and I cannot leave this place to help him. I am too old, and I fear that I have not long for this world.’
‘Let me make you well again, you know I can,’ said David.
‘Then, perhaps, you can help him.’
‘No, it’s not right. I am tired and have had enough of living. I am too tired and too old to go to him,’ replied Ledbetter sadly.
‘But perhaps you could, perhaps you can cure him of his madness?’
‘Tell me,’ asked David, taking his arm and leading him back towards the door. ‘I can feel his depression and desperation. It has something to do with his partner, I think?’
Ledbetter’s legs gave way and he slumped down on the top step of the tower.
‘I know he is going to harm her, not because she has done anything wrong but because like him she grows old and he yearns for her to be the young beauty that she was, when they were assigned together. My boy drinks too much and takes drugs. He is an aging pop star and is not as popular as he used to be. Last night I saw him slumped across a table, drunk. His partner, Apple, found him and woke him from his drunken stupor. She saw the desperation in his eyes and did not know how to help him. At the side of the room is a huge metal box. She does not know what it is but knows there is a connection between this casket and my boy’s state of mind. I know what it is for. It is a time device! He wants to send Apple and himself back in time so he can meet her all over again. He is a fool! This machine is untested and I fear that those who built it are laughing and counting the credits they have conned him into parting with. In my dream, I saw Apple swimming in the pool. She is older now, it’s true, but she is still beautiful. Why can’t he see that? I don’t understand him? He must be stopped; he is losing his mind. I hope it is not too late.’
Ledbetter looked up, his eyes searching their hearts for help. It was Cornwall who spoke first.
‘It is not too late. We can get to him, can’t we, David?’ David looked sadly at Ledbetter,
‘We can try but I fear that, if what you say is true, then this could happen at any moment. We will try our best to get to them before it is too late.’
A smile flickered across Ledbetter’s face
‘Yes, you are kind people; I know you will help me. You need to get to London quickly. I will give you my donkeys. I have collected them from the wild over the years and am getting too old to care for them. Come and have breakfast and then you can be on your way. I will know if you succeed because my dreams will tell me.’
Ledbetter sprang up, his spirits restored, and headed down the steps followed by David, Kayleb and Cornwall. David looked sadly at Kayleb and Cornwall and whispered, ‘I have a feeling that we are already too late. Last night I dreamt I saw a man laying out a woman in a coffin. He placed a lotus flower in her hands and wept for forgiveness. He had not meant to kill her; she had screamed and became hysterical. She did not want to lie in the coffin or go back in time. As he held her down, he covered her mouth and nose with his hands so he could not hear her cries for help. She suffocated! I just hope the man I saw wasn’t Ledbetter’s charge.’
Ledbetter spun round. He had heard what David had said and terror and desperation filled his eyes. He pushed past everyone and ran back outside. Before they could do anything, he jumped up onto the edge of the battlements and then with an ear-piercing scream hurled himself over the side of the tower.
David, Kayleb and Cornwall tore after him but they were too late.
‘Couldn’t you have kept that to yourself?’ yelled Kayleb angrily.
‘Look what you’ve made him go and do. Couldn’t you see he was a broken man? Were you blind?’
David shook his head sadly. ‘I’m sorry ... I’m so, so sorry. He saw exactly what I saw last night and couldn’t face the truth. I did not want to give him false hope. If only he had let me heal him, but he would not let me. I can only heal those that want to be helped. He was a good friend and I will miss him terribly. I have let him down, I will never forgive myself.’
Kayleb saw David’s sadness and regretted shouting at him. ‘I’m sorry, David. There was nothing we could have done; he took us all by surprise. It’s too late for Apple but maybe if we find her partner, you could help him; he is obviously ill.’
Ledbetter’s body was found battered and broken at the foot of the tower and they buried him beside a wild cherry tree. David managed to find a way out of the chateau and they left the cold lonely building with heavy hearts. Quietly they made their way down-river and headed towards the Channel, riding the donkeys that Ledbetter had promised them. The sky had darkened and it threatened to rain. A breeze rustled through the parched grass. It had not rained for months.
Kayleb had been glad to leave the chateau. Breakfast had been a sad affair. The walls of the castle felt like they were closing in on him. His chest had felt tight as the damp walls and the dust had made his asthma rear its ugly head. The fresh air of the wilderness had been a relief and the donkey he had chosen was eager to be out too. Rowan was behind him, riding a particularly fat donkey, which regularly snatched mouthfuls of the dry grass. Rowan had been surprisingly quiet that morning and had not moaned once. Perhaps the shock of burying Ledbetter had upset him, Kayleb thought. Rowan had dug the hole with everyone and not muttered a single word.
Kayleb’s donkey stopped short, almost unseating him, and looked agitated, its ears twisting this way and that. Kayleb looked up ahead and could see something moving. His heart almost stopped beating, as a band of angry wasters ran towards them with their weapons held up high ready for an attack.
‘Link hands,’ shouted David. ‘Link hands!’
16
The words ‘link hands’ rang out loud. Kayleb looked down at his donkey and wondered how he was supposed to manoeuvre her alongside the donkey in front, so that he could hold the hand of the rider. Tugging hard on the reins, Kayleb squeezed with his legs, but this only made the donkey stop. In panic, Kayleb kicked the donkey’s sides frantically, and this, fortunately, had the desired effect. A few moments later Kayleb was holding Indigo’s hand.
Rowan, however, who was at the back of the group, wasn’t having any success with his donkey. The donkey was more interested in investigating the lush green grass that grew on the river’s edge. Instead of catching up with the others, Rowan found himself heading down towards the edge of the water in search of the succulent grass.
Several wasters approached the travellers. Their clothes were ragged and they looked bloodthirsty and menacing. The wasters circled them and looked greedily at the donkeys and seemed extremely interested in everyone’s backpacks.
‘It’s our lucky day,’ called one of the wasters, rubbing his hands together. ‘There we woz, minding our own business, when you lot came out of nowhere to bring us presents!’
A particularly mean waster stood near Cornwall. He grimaced with an evil grin, his black teeth sticking out like jagged rocks.
‘Look what I’ve found, our very own Cornwall Keyboard, come back to us after all dis time. Well, ain’t that nice. Wot yer doing ere? You should be wiv us, not these nice people. What do yer fink, boys?’
‘In your dreams, Volvo!’ shouted Cornwall angrily, her knuckles whitening as her grip tightened on David’s hand.
Volvo tried to grab Cornwall, but found that he couldn’t touch her. By holding one of her hands, David had managed to create a force field around her, protecting her and everyone else in the chain from harm. This outraged the wasters and they tried again and again to break through the force field. Their attempts were futile. Kayleb was becoming anxious. He saw one of the wasters back up and then watched him lower his spear. Kayleb’s donkey saw this particular waster and stared nervously out of th
e corner of her eye, her ears twitching. The waster leapt forward and hurled himself towards Kayleb. This was too much for the donkey and she sped forward towards David, breaking Kayleb’s place in the chain. The other donkeys, unnerved by the commotion, fled for their lives, braying loudly as the band of wasters set off after them in hot pursuit. Luckily the donkeys were fresh and charged along, leaving the wasters further and further behind.
Kayleb’s heart pounded. It was all he could do to stay in the saddle and looking behind him he wondered how long it would be before the wasters gave up. The wasters were not all that fit and were panting and they eventually slowed down and gave up the chase. Kayleb’s donkey, sensing that danger had now passed, slowed down. Kayleb let out a sigh of relief, as it had been a close call. He was quite a way ahead and looked back to see if everyone was safe. He could see Indigo’s curly hair and Cornwall beside him. He strained his head around to see if he could see Rowan but found that he wasn’t there. He tried to turn his donkey around but she would not oblige; she obviously liked being in front and did not want to head back into danger. Kayleb slowed her down, so the others could catch up.
‘Has anyone seen Rowan?’ Kayleb called out as everyone caught him up.
They looked behind them and then turned to Kayleb, shaking their heads. Rowan was nowhere to be seen. Cornwall caught up with Kayleb and looked distraught.
‘We’ll have to go back and find him. If those wasters get him they’ll kill him. They used to stay in my village, but were told to leave as they caused too much trouble. The one that tried to spear you, he was the worst. He’s evil. He skins squirrels while they’re still alive and likes to kill and torture taskers just for pleasure. We have to go back.’ Kayleb shook his head. He didn’t know what to do.
Rowan sat quietly in a leafy bush. He had abandoned his donkey as it was only interested in eating the grass along the riverbank and wasn’t willing to go where Rowan told him. Rowan knew the wasters were near, and thought it would be better if he laid low until they had gone. It was good to be alone and in charge of his destiny again. Despite there being the danger from wasters, he couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of peace. He could see the blue sky breaking through the clouds above and could feel the cool morning breeze washing over him. And then for some reason he found himself thinking of Ledbetter. What a strange old man he turned out to be. How could anyone throw themselves off a building? He had heard why he had done it but he couldn’t understand why knowing your charge was a murderer would cause such an extreme reaction. Ledbetter had to be mad, stir-crazy, screwy as a jackass. Rowan thought back to the night before. He had been lying in his bed, trying to go to sleep when Ledbetter had come up to him and whispered in his ear. Rowan had pretended to be asleep and remembered feeling uncomfortable being in his presence. He had whispered a very odd thing in English and the words were worrying him now:
“All you want to do is swim with the other fishes and you will because you have scales. You do not know when you are well off.”
Rowan had passed this off as a joke or just the ravings of a madman and had not given him the satisfaction of responding. He had forgotten about it, but now it bothered him. Rowan sighed. He shouldn’t let these words get to him. Ledbetter was just a deranged old man and it wasn’t worth thinking about it. He would just have to keep away from Cornwall and fish.
Rowan’s thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of the wasters. He had hoped that they would have gone off on another route. One of the wasters was too close for comfort. Rowan held his breath and sank lower and tried to blend in with the bush he was in, to avoid detection. His heart pounded in his chest and he could hear it ringing in his ears. He could smell the sweat from the waster and could almost reach out and touch him. Rowan was just about to make a run for it when one of them spotted the donkey. The donkey, now full of grass, did not like the look of the approaching wasters and decided that this was a good time to run away. The donkey sped up-river away from Rowan with the wasters in hot pursuit. Rowan crept out of the bushes and headed down-river using the bushes as cover. He was determined to get back to London before the others. The grass felt cool brushing against his legs and the river rushed by, eager to reach the sea. A bit like him really – going it alone was the right decision.
‘Where d’ya fink you’re going then? To London?’ Rowan spun around into the arms of Volvo.
‘Didn’t see me following ya, did ya now, ya littal weasel. Fun and games I’m going to have wiv you, ain’t I?’
17
David looked sadly at Kayleb and Cornwall. ‘I can’t let you go back. We need your help to get across the Channel and into London. Rowan will be all right; he can look after himself. He was going to go off anyway. You know that, don’t you?’
Cornwall shook her head. ‘He would be much better off with us. We can help each other. He is mad to leave us. I know he will get into trouble. He is a hothead and does not think sometimes.’
‘Trust me,’ said David. ‘He can take care of himself; he will make it back to London.’
‘Yes, but if he does he will forget all of us; he will not remember anything,’ sighed Cornwall sadly.
‘That’s his choice! He might decide not to go back to London; he might change his mind,’ said Kayleb softly, trying to sound sincere, though in his heart he knew that Rowan couldn’t wait to go home.
Cornwall and Kayleb joined the others and they continued on their way towards the tunnel, its sinister mouth open and waiting, like a living creature, waiting to feed, ready to suck in anything that entered.
The sun was at its highest, the rain clouds had dispersed and it had turned into a beautiful day. Cornwall followed behind Kayleb in deep contemplation. Kayleb wasn’t sure what to say to her. He wanted to comfort her but anything that came into his head sounded like a cliché or insensitive. He had doubts himself. How could David turn his back on one of their group so easily; he had been sorry to see Rowan go but he wasn’t willing to try and find him. How could David be so callous? How could he know that Rowan would survive? Kayleb was sure he couldn’t predict the future. It seemed immoral to turn your back on someone that might be in danger. Kayleb’s thoughts churned over and over.
Rowan’s hands and feet had been tied up and he had been thrown across the back of his donkey like an old sack. The donkey had been caught and brought down-river to Volvo. The wasters had laughed when they saw Rowan bound up and had congratulated Volvo on his hunting skills.
Rowan wondered where he was going. He was pleased that they were travelling down-river but he was worried. Being bound like this wasn’t good, not good at all. Escape would be difficult. He tried to work loose the ropes on his wrists. The donkey wasn’t pleased to have Rowan fidgeting on his back and stopped suddenly, looked around at Rowan and tried to take a bite out of his arm. Rowan stopped what he was doing immediately and cursed the donkey; it definitely had it in for him. The wasters laughed loudly at Rowan’s predicament but luckily did not notice that the rope around his wrist had loosened.
They finally arrived at a camp in a wooded area. It looked like a rubbish dump. A shelter had been made from an assortment of rags and branches and around the shelter was an old pram, half a bicycle, old rusty pipes and a jumble of bric-a-brac in various piles.
Rowan was thrown from the donkey and into a tree, and the bark scratched his face as he slid down to the floor. He could see stars but he wasn’t going to let the wasters see that he was hurt. He turned over and struggled to sit up.
‘You can stay there until we’ve decided what to do with ye and whatever we decide, it ain’t gonna be pleasant,’ said a waster, menacingly stroking the point of his bread-knife spear.
Rowan sat quietly, leaning against the tree. He could feel blood trickling down his face from a gash on his forehead. He was angry with himself for being so careless. These men were hunters and needed to catch food to survive. They were probably able to spot tracks of animals and would have noticed his tracks leading straight into
the bush where he’d taken cover. He would have to use his brains if he was going to get away in one piece. The ropes around his wrists were loose and he knew that he would be able to wriggle his hands out of them.
The wasters were busy trying to start a fire. They were skilled at this task and soon had a healthy blaze dancing in front of them. Rowan wondered if they were going to cook something. Volvo was setting up a spit, made from old girders lashed together with rusty wire. The handle had come off a shopping trolley and still had the name of a long-extinct supermarket on it. The spit was placed over the fire. The other wasters were sharpening blades and kept looking across to Rowan and grinned a wicked grin at him. It was at that point that Rowan realised that it was he who was on the menu. Rowan wondered if these men were hungry enough to have turned into cannibals. He was now really frightened. He wriggled his hands free and looked around for a weapon to protect himself. There was nothing within easy reach.
Rowan noticed that Volvo was looking in a chest for something. From the chest Volvo pulled out a large meat cleaver and walked quickly towards Rowan. Frantically Rowan thought of how he was going to stop Volvo from killing him. Fear stopped him from thinking rationally. Volvo noticed Rowan’s anguish and grabbing his clothes pulled him to his feet and held the cleaver to his throat.
‘Bit of human flesh tonight, boys. What do yer reckon?’
The other wasters laughed out loudly and rubbed their hands together.
Rowan shut his eyes, his heart was pounding again and he could feel himself shaking. He couldn’t run, as his feet were still bound. Having his hands free was useless. Volvo’s hand loosened its grasp and he flung Rowan back against the tree. Volvo disappeared behind the tree and cut the throat of the donkey tethered there. Rowan heard the donkey squeal and then heard the thud as it hit the ground. He watched the warm blood flow in rivers around him. He put his head back against the tree with relief; he was still alive.
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