The Turnarounders and the Arbuckle Rescue

by Heneghan, Lou

  Keen chuckled. ‘Quite right. Nothing like breaking a few rules is there?’ He gave a slight cough. ‘Get to the point, Keen, get to the point. I was just walking back from the Post Office and I couldn’t help but notice our young friend here was looking a bit mug. I thought to myself: First day at a new school. Bit of an outsider. Trying to make friends. All jolly awkward. Been through it myself. Anyhoo, I’ve just had a parcel and you look like you could do with a boost, what!’

  He struggled with the package for a second and eventually extracted a large bar of chocolate, which he handed to Seth with a sympathetic smile. ‘I’ve got a fearfully sweet tooth myself, but, well – your need is greater than mine.’

  ‘Th – thanks Captain,’ Seth spluttered. ‘If you’re sure you can spare it?’

  ‘Absolutely!’ He gave Seth a friendly slap on the shoulder and after an awkward pause adjusted his parcel and clicked his heels together. ‘Right, well, must be off. Jobs to do. Toodle pip.’

  ‘Goodbye sir and thanks again!’ they called as Keen marched away.

  The Captain winked over his shoulder. ‘Just be yourself, lad,’ he called back. ‘Be yourself. That’s the ticket!’

  Seth held the chocolate tightly. ‘But which self?’ he whispered.

  Ralf was wondering what to reply when he heard voices. Leo, Valen and Alfie were pounding up the High Street. Alfie was still wearing the tam o’ shanter which, offset by his shorts, knee socks and gas mask box, looked even more ridiculous. The other two were in striped school ties, Leo in grey short trousers and Valen in a shockingly ugly gymslip. By the sound of things, they were in mid argument.

  ‘They’re a bunch of gormless airheads and I couldn’t care less how much trouble I get in!’ Valen shouted.

  Ralf winced and he saw Alfie do the same. Leo, though, was not to be put off. ‘If I can handle it, you can,’ he said firmly as they joined them on the Green. ‘Tell her Ralf!’

  One look at Valen’s face told Ralf this might be a long (and loud) conversation and he suggested they go for a walk. The lane towards King’s Meadow was quiet and they wouldn’t be overheard.

  ‘So,’ he said as they left the village behind them. ‘I take it things aren’t going that well.’

  ‘You could say that!’ Leo grabbed at Valen’s hand and held it up to show a set of skinned and bruised knuckles. ‘Are you going to tell him or shall I?’

  Valen snatched her hand away. ‘It’s not worth talking about! Certain people should learn to watch their mouths, that’s all,’ she said, tight lipped.

  ‘You can’t just go around hitting people, Valen!’ Ralf’s words were a whispered shout and, despite their solitude, he glanced round nervously.

  ‘Wolf, you’d have done exactly the same thing!’ Valen’s eyes flashed.

  ‘Maybe,’ Ralf sighed, pretty certain that he wouldn’t actually. ‘But it’s different!’

  ‘How?’ Valen’s voice was dangerously calm.

  ‘We’re supposed to be keeping a low profile!’ Seth snapped. ‘Valen, it’s 1939 for goodness sake! And in case you hadn’t noticed you’re a –’

  ‘A girl?’

  The look in her eyes made him pause. ‘Well – er – yes –’

  ‘Thanks for the advice, Seth, but no one should say things like that, 1939 or anytime. And if Marjorie Bains cusses us again I’m going to smash her stupid face in!’

  Valen was so angry her hands were shaking. Ralf knew it would do no good to reason with her now. ‘Come on,’ he said as they arrived at King’s Meadow. ‘Let’s sit down over there. Break out the stash, Seth!’

  ‘You’ve got chocolate!’ Alfie cried in wonder. He grabbed a huge chunk and crammed it into his mouth.

  They demolished the giant bar in less than a minute and sat, watching the birds and the waves crashing in the distance, feeling like they could eat the same three or four times over.

  Once Valen was calmer Ralf struggled for a logical sounding argument.

  ‘If you won’t do it to keep Time on the right track, do it for yourself. If we do ever get out of here then the chances are your 1939 self will be back. Think of the mess she’ll be in if you spend the next, however long it is, truanting school and running round punching people.’

  Valen’s eyes darkened. ‘Alright,’ she said. ‘I’ll try.’ She got to her feet and made a vague attempt at brushing down her crumpled gymslip.

  ‘So how was your day?’ Ralf asked Leo, sucking the last bit of sweetness from his fingers.

  Leo shrugged. ‘Well, that’s the bit Valen isn’t telling you. It was pretty much as you’d expect. I am either a Cannibal or a Witch Doctor, depending who you listen to. I was handling it but then Valen here decided I needed ‘protecting’!’

  ‘Well, that’s a good thing innit, bruv?’ said Alfie with a confused shrug

  ‘No’ said Leo giving him a withering look. ‘Because I’m not letting it get to me. I’m quite liking the Witch Doctor stuff, actually. I just drop in a few Voodoo sounding words now and then and I don’t have to hit anyone.’ He smiled at Valen pointedly.

  ‘But how do you stand it, Leo?’ Valen asked, pacing up and down.

  ‘And what d’you know about Voodoo, anyway?’ Alfie’s face was alight with interest.

  Leo’s eyes widened and his voice dipped to a low growl. ‘I learned it from my father, who learned it from his father, who learned it from the oldest Witch Doctor in the whole of darkest Africa.’

  Alfie’s face was a picture of fear and wonder. ‘Is it?’

  Leo tapped the side of his nose. ‘Magic is in my blood and all should fear my power!’ he said, ominously. He managed to hold the grave expression for another second before collapsing into snorts of laughter.

  Alfie looked puzzled as the others giggled helplessly.

  ‘LOL!’ Valen hooted, her anger forgotten. ‘Is that what you’ve been telling them?’

  Leo nodded and Alfie finally got the joke.

  ‘You’re not the only ones having trouble fitting in,’ said Seth. ‘I screwed up big time earlier.’ He told them about his slip up with King on the train.

  Leo laughed. ‘Swearing at him in German, Seth. Nice!’

  ‘Forget fitting in. Let’s just concentrate on getting home,’ Valen urged. ‘We shouldn’t be sat here. We should be looking for Time Falls to get us back and we should be bunking school to do it.’ She turned to Seth. ‘You’re the brains in this outfit. Shouldn’t you be coming up with some kind of plan to get us all home?’

  ‘You’re quite right, Valen,’ Seth snapped. ‘Providing you can find me some weapons grade plutonium and I work out the mathematical solutions to about a hundred equations that are still baffling scientists in our own time, I should be able to build us a Time Machine from scratch in about – ooh, let’s think – ninety years!’

  ‘Calm down everyone!’ said Ralf, grabbing Valen’s arm before she could launch herself at Seth. ‘This isn’t going to help. We’ve got to work together!’ He was taking charge again, he noticed, but he couldn’t seem to help it. ‘Come back to my place I’ve got something to show you,’ he commanded, marvelling at how they were listening to him. It wasn’t like this in the twenty-first century. He was no one in the future. People’s eyes slid over him as if he wasn’t there. Even Gloria barely noticed him most of the time.

  ‘I had a great day, as it goes,’ said Alfie suddenly. ‘We did painting all afternoon and next week, it’s my turn to be milk monitor.’ When the others stared, Alfie sighed. ‘Just saying.’

  The church clock was chiming six as the Turnarounders walked down the High Street and they were surprised to see a group of people huddled outside the newsagents talking excitedly. Gloria was one of them.

  ‘I say, you haven’t seen Jules, have you?’ she called, hurrying over. ‘He was supposed to come down after school to –’

  ‘He stayed on the train,’ said Ralf. ‘He must have forgotten. What’s going on?’

  Gloria’s exasperated expression turned to one of s
urprise. ‘Haven’t you heard?’ she exclaimed. ‘Everyone’s talking about it. Charles Hart’s gone and lost himself somehow and the village is in uproar. Here.’ She handed him a copy of The Daily Mirror:

  WANTED!

  FOR MURDER…FOR KIDNAPPING…FOR THEFT AND FOR ARSON

  ADOLF HITLER.

  Two large photographs of Hitler dominated the front page and Ralf’s stomach lurched.

  ‘No, no, page four!’ said Gloria impatiently, snatching the paper back. She rifled the pages then gave it back again tapping an article with a gloved finger. Underneath a picture of a handsome young man in a feathered Robin Hood style cap and tights was a large headline:

  CHARLES HART MISSING!

  Fears are growing for the welfare of acclaimed actor, Charles Hart, who has not been seen since the afternoon of Friday 1st September. Police have issued an urgent appeal for information regarding the whereabouts of the star after his abandoned motor was found near Chax Forest, Kent, in the early hours on Sunday.

  Hart, most famous for his roles in ‘How Still The Night’ and ‘Secret Agent!’ was last seen leaving his London residence for a trip to his Kent home where, he told friends, he would be preparing for his ‘most challenging role yet.’

  Officers are appealing for information from the public. Though the top of the range Bentley revealed no signs of a struggle, it contained Mr Hart’s weekend bag and even his hat. Ted Oakham, a local farmer who found the vehicle, said ‘It was almost as if the man had vanished into thin air…’

  ‘We heard your brother talking about it on the train. What’s the fuss? Just some actor gone off. He’ll turn up.’

  ‘Turn up? You’re joking, aren’t you?’ said Gloria, looking at him sideways. ‘You know, Ralf, lately it’s like you’re from a different planet!’ She shook her head in disbelief at his attitude. ‘People just don’t ‘go off’! Charles Hart is an incredibly important man and he’s disappeared within a spit of the village.’

  ‘Hart was coming here?’ Leo asked with a frown.

  ‘Of course he was coming here!’ Gloria seemed amazed at their ignorance. ‘Springfield is just down the lane. How many Kent cottages do you think the man’s got?’

  ‘How far away is Chax Forest?’ Seth asked suddenly. He’d taken the paper and was reading for more details.

  ‘Tarzy Wood stretches North about half a mile and then merges with the Forest. So I’d say its southern edge is only about a mile away,’ said Gloria. She pointed up the High Street to the trees just visible behind the church.

  She looked at Seth sharply. ‘I say, you’re not thinking of going in there, are you? It’s off limits to everyone. Damned annoying it is too!’

  ‘Because of the Army base?’

  Gloria nodded.

  ‘This actor – Hart – couldn’t have wandered in there somehow?’ Seth asked. ‘Fallen and hurt himself like Captain Keen?’

  Gloria thought for a moment. ‘Unlikely,’ she said, eventually. ‘The fences are about ten feet high and topped with barbed wire. A complete eyesore it is too. I don’t see how he could have got in. Besides, his hat was in the car.’

  ‘His hat?’ Ralf asked, puzzled.

  ‘Well, he’d hardly have left it on purpose. I ask you!’

  She made it sound as if he’d left the car without his pants. Ralf tried to banish the image as Leo spoke.

  ‘How big is the forest?’

  ‘Big,’ said Ralf, the answer popping into his head along with a vision of shadowed, close packed trees. ‘Four or five miles of it.’

  ‘And the Army training camp?’

  ‘It’s really quite large,’ Gloria said. ‘They use the Forest for exercises but for how long I don’t know.’ She grinned, wickedly. ‘Rumours of the hauntings have started to spread!’

  Ralf and Leo exchanged glances.

  ‘You said the other day the Forest was riddled with ghosts,’ said Leo, perturbed.

  ‘It is!’ said Gloria. ‘The day before you came there were three separate sightings in three different places.’

  ‘Soldiers saw them?’

  Gloria shook her head. ‘Villagers,’ she said. ‘I’m sure the men at the base will have witnessed apparitions too but of course we don’t hear about that. No, it’s villagers walking past who’ve seen things. Hettie saw a group of Roundheads on Thursday. Heard them too. She was quite hysterical when she got back.’ She grabbed the paper back, folded it and thrust it under her arm. ‘Honestly, Julian is the most frightful little tick! I’ve got all these boxes to take back and Father wouldn’t let me use the car. Saving petrol.’ She looked at Ralf hopefully.

  ‘Normally, I’d be glad to,’ he said, thinking frantically. ‘But I’ve got that much prep to do...’ He wanted to get back to the house with the others. He couldn’t trek all the way to Hawkes Manor now.

  ‘Ditto,’ said Seth, catching Ralf’s expression.

  ‘And I’m due in the shop,’ said Valen, apologetically.

  ‘I said I’d help mend some nets,’ said Leo.

  ‘And I – er – said I’d help help!’ said Alfie.

  Gloria sighed. ‘Oh, well, I suppose I’ll just have to wait until tomorrow.’ She looked at them expectantly. ‘Well, hadn’t you better be getting on?’

  ‘Right. Yes,’ said Ralf, relieved. ‘Come on, you lot.’

  They hurried off down the hill, rounded the corner by The Crown at a trot and ran, giggling, all the way to Ralf’s.

  ‘‘I said I’d help help’!’ Valen screeched. ‘Honestly, Alf, was that the best you could do?’

  ‘It worked didn’t it!’ Alfie flushed.

  They bundled through the door into Ralf’s kitchen and in under a minute the kettle was on, the table cleared and Ralf was unrolling a map across its worn surface. ‘Look, I’ve started marking the ghost sightings and –’

  ‘And ghosts means Falls!’ said Leo jumping in.

  ‘Which means we’ve got possible Falls, here, here, here and here,’ Ralf interrupted, indicating each one.

  ‘And judging by what Gloria just said, there are loads more in Chax Forest,’ Valen said, eyes shining with excitement.

  ‘Sounds like it,’ said Seth, tapping the large patch of green with his finger. ‘But we can’t go and look in there so don’t even think about it.’

  ‘But it’s a real chance of getting home!’ Valen argued.

  ‘Maybe,’ said Leo. ‘But there’s also a real chance we could get shot in the head!’

  Valen glowered but said nothing.

  ‘I say we try it,’ said Ralf. Valen beamed at him but then he held up his hand. ‘But only as a last resort. We’ve got other Falls to check out first: The church, Sparra’s Pond, King’s Meadow, the High Street and the station.’

  ‘I still think our main focus should be trying to fit in,’ said Seth. Valen groaned but he pressed on. ‘But, I admit, all these Falls appearing is interesting. I wouldn’t mind having a look.’

  Ralf nodded. ‘We should make sure all of the others are either closed or go to the wrong time before we try dodging bullets in Chax Forest. Agreed?’

  No one argued.

  ‘Where exactly is the one on the High Street, though?’ said Leo.

  ‘That’s Valen’s job to find out,’ said Ralf, looking at her. ‘You’re working in the shop almost every night now, aren’t you?’

  Valen nodded. ‘People usually stop for a chat. I’ll ask some questions. Someone will have seen something.’

  ‘We have to be careful, though,’ said Seth.

  ‘Yeah, yeah,’ said Alfie. ‘Act normal. Be cagey. Don’t do anything not 1939ish!

  ‘That,’ said Leo ‘But I think he meant being careful round the Falls!’

  Valen snorted. ‘You wouldn’t want to fall through one into another time, now would you? That would be really stupid!’

  ‘Alright,’ said Alfie, annoyed. ‘I get it!’

  ‘Bearing in mind what Ambrose said – about us having an affinity with Time and all that. I think it would
be best if we didn’t go near any alone,’ Seth suggested.

  ‘Agreed,’ said Ralf. ‘We work in pairs or threes and systematically check the places where each Fall appeared. Look for any signs. Weird shadows. Strange noises. All that stuff…’

  They shared out the Falls they knew of and arranged to meet again the next day.

  ‘We also need a plan for the long term,’ said Seth, thoughtfully. ‘Until I can figure out how these things work I think we should check them every day. And check them at different times. Maybe they only appear at certain times of day?’

  ‘If anybody finds anything or there’s a problem we should contact Valen,’ said Ralf. ‘She’s central.’

  Her bedroom window faced the High Street and they’d all keep an eye on it. If she added another line of tape to the middle pane it would mean they’d found something and they would all meet as soon as possible on the Village Green.

  ‘In the meantime, I’ll try to work out if there’s any kind of logic to when and where the Falls appear,’ said Seth. ‘Maybe I was wrong before…maybe there’s a chance… a very slim chance…’ He pushed his glasses back on his nose and examined the map, frowning. ‘There must be a pattern,’ he said. ‘We just have to find it.’

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  King Crossed

  The next day, Leo and Valen got off the train at Dark Ferry Station and headed off to their separate schools. Ralf and Seth stayed on until Short Face Cross, annoyed that they would have to get through a whole day before continuing their search for Time Falls. School promised to be nothing more than a string of irritations that would distract them from what they really wanted to think about and the day immediately lived up to expectations. Seth was pounced upon by Winters to run an errand before he’d even made it across the quadrangle and Ralf went through the front doors alone.

  Unusually, at a time when most Crispin’s boys should be hurrying to chapel, there was a group of pupils hanging round the main notice board chattering excitedly. Ralf waited until the fifth formers drifted off and then elbowed his way to the front to take a look. In the centre of the board was a large, canary yellow, notice: