‘He went the other way,’ Ralf yelled back. ‘He does Morris dancing in Knight’s Vale on Wednesdays!’
Then he had a horrible thought. If there were no masters on the train, it was up to him and Leo. No one else would stand up to King, he was sure of that.
Ralf took a deep breath, slammed open the carriage door and ran through it. Leo was right behind him.
Seth had locked himself in the toilet at the far end of the last compartment and a great pack of kids were hammering at the door. King watched all this with great amusement.
‘Call them off Julian!’ Ralf shouted.
‘Shove off, Osborne,’ Tank sneered from King’s side. ‘Haven’t you got fish to catch?’
Ralf ignored him and squared up to King. ‘Call them off, I said. He can’t help where he’s from!’
King turned to face Ralf, his eyes flaming. ‘Can’t help where he’s from?’ the tall boy spat. ‘His countrymen are attempting to enslave an entire continent and he’s here living off our charity, eating our food and taking up a school place that could have gone to a British boy. As if that isn’t enough he’s now talking down to us and refusing to do anything to help!’
‘Refusing to help? He’s twelve, for goodness sake! What are you getting at?’
‘You’re such a chump, Ralf,’ King sneered. ‘Here’s the rest of us killing ourselves selling raffle tickets and you two wastrels take five. I mean –’
But before he could finish his well-rehearsed speech, there was a loud screeching and the train lurched back. Kids struggled to grab hold of something. Some weren’t quick enough and, outside the toilet door, a small heap of bodies formed as everyone was knocked to the floor. The train juddered to a halt and there was a lot of shouting.
‘Tank!’ King snapped, nodding towards the door.
Tank Tatchell moved speedily, despite his size, thrusting kids out of the way. He shouldered the lavatory door once and the lock clicked. Ralf and Leo rushed forward to grab him but there was no need. The cubicle was empty. Not liking his chances against the mob, Seth had pulled the emergency cord and climbed through the loo window. Ralf smiled. You had to admire his quick thinking.
Tank looked at the tiny window and then, grimly, down at his own belly. He roared and made for the carriage door, knocking down those who had only just got to their feet. He and Aston jumped from the train, crossed the embankment and clambered over the fence into the field next to the line.
‘Should we go after them?’ Leo asked.
‘No, they’ll never catch him now.’ Ralf couldn’t keep the envy out of his voice. ‘Look at Seth go!’
There were gasps in the carriage now. If he hadn’t been there to see it, Ralf never would have believed it possible. Somehow, Seth had already reached the other side of the field. He flew over the fence, his voluminous coat flapping behind him before Tank, Aston and the others had even reached halfway.
‘Back to your seats, all of you!’ roared a familiar voice from the front of the train.
Astonished, Ralf’s eyes flicked upwards to lock with those of the owner of the voice. His heart did a pattering sort of flip-flop in his chest. A portly man in a trilby hat and large overcoat strode towards them.
‘Did any of you see what happened?’ the man glared, his face beet red, cheeks puffing.
Sweating, Ralf and Leo stared at the floor.
‘Police!’ The man’s eyebrows twitched as he flashed his identity card. Then he frowned. ‘You two,’ he said, softly. ‘Do I know you?’
Leo shook his head furiously.
Ralf was still examining at the floor. ‘I – I don’t think so, sir,’ he said.
The Policeman stared for a moment longer then turned his attention to King.
‘Kingston-Hawke! Did you see who pulled the emergency cord?’
King yawned. ‘It was a new boy,’ he said. ‘Evacuee. Honestly, some of them are practically wild!’
Ralf hardly heard. He was too stunned. He looked up once more to confirm his suspicions, his heart somewhere up in his throat. There was no doubt about it. Inspector Burrowes was an Echo and he was in King’s Hadow.
‘You’re kidding! Burrowes is here?’ said Valen.
‘Yes, and he thought he recognized us,’ said Leo with confused shrug.
It was nearly teatime and they’d just finished telling her and Alfie about the incident on the train. The four of them sat on the end of the harbour wall in the late afternoon sun, waiting for Seth.
‘This is getting weirder and weirder,’ said Alfie. ‘You don’t think he’s after us, do you?’
‘What? He’s travelled in time in his big blue Police Box? You’ve been watching too much TV,’ said Valen scornfully. She turned to Ralf. ‘He’s an Echo?’
‘Must be,’ said Ralf. ‘He looks the same. A bit older if anything.’
Valen snorted. ‘His temper sounds about the same, though.’
‘And he’s come to investigate that missing actor – Hart?’ Alfie asked.
‘Must have,’ said Valen impatiently. ‘But why Burrowes? That’s the fifth Echo we’ve seen that we know. Why here?’
‘It’s this place,’ said Leo. ‘There’s something wrong with this village. I’m telling you. It’s attracting Echoes like moths round a flame!’
‘Talking of flames,’ said Ralf. ‘If any of you do manage to find an open Fall, don’t be tempted to stick your head through.’ He was talking to everyone but his eyes were focused on Valen.
‘Bad luck for the mouse,’ she said. ‘I mean, what are the odds of jumping through a Fall straight into a bonfire?’
Leo looked at Ralf doubtfully. ‘Do you think it really was just a bonfire?’
Ralf shrugged. ‘I hope so because I really don’t want to think about what else it could’ve been.’
‘It’s the fires of the devil, innit!’ Alfie exclaimed suddenly. ‘I knew this place was too good to be true! I’m havin’ the time of my life, bein’ fussed over and eating like a king and all the time we’re sitting right on the top of Hell Mouth!’
Leo gave him a ‘shut up’ look but then his eyes changed.
‘There’s Seth, now!’ he said, suddenly. ‘How did he manage that so fast? Chase Fort Cross’s got to be seven miles away!’
Sure enough, there on the other side of the harbour was a flash of red. Seth’s scarf billowed atop the shadow of his strangely bulky looking body.
‘That coat’s way too big for him,’ said Valen.
‘None of his clothes fit right,’ said Leo.
‘They’re all new. The threads in his case all still had their labels on. A couple of old books but nothing else personal. I mean, how weird is that, right? Who buys new gear to get evacuated?’ said Alfie.
‘You really did look through our stuff, didn’t you?’ said Ralf. ‘I thought you were kidding.’
‘Just a quick shufty. The day we arrived.’
‘Alfie!’ Valen exclaimed.
‘What?’ said Alfie. ‘I’m telling you, there’s something not right about Seth, man.’
Leo nodded. ‘I made the mistake of asking him about his family the other day and he practically bit my head off.’
‘See?’ said Alfie with conviction, ‘I thought the one in our time was weird but this Seth’s a right nutter.’
‘Rubbish,’ said Valen. ‘He’s just as annoying in both!’
They laughed.
‘What’s so funny?’ It was Seth. Right behind them. Beaming. As a group they shot to their feet.
‘How – how did you – ? How did you get here so fast?’
‘One second you were over there and now you’re here. How –?’
Seth was laughing now, cheeks a healthy pink and dark eyes twinkling. ‘We have to talk,’ he said. ‘It’s the most amazing thing ever!’
CHAPTER TWELVE
Hidden Things
Ralf’s stomach seemed to be turning somersaults as they hurried down the narrow lane. They headed half walking, half jogging into Tarzy Wood. Set
h had insisted they must go somewhere they could not be overheard or, more importantly, seen. As most people were avoiding it now, Tarzy seemed the ideal place to go.
They did not speak. Partly, this was because they were focused on not falling over tree roots or being snagged by brambles, but it was more to do with how they were all feeling. If Seth, who was always so calm and matter-of-fact about everything, thought it was ‘amazing’ it must be pretty amazing indeed.
‘This is far enough.’ Seth said finally.
They’d reached a small clearing in the trees a good distance in from the road. Tall, black firs peered down at them from one side. The other side bathed in the last few rays of afternoon sun, which battled through flame coloured leaves to fight off the swiftly gathering shadows.
‘Well?’
Seth seemed to be trying not to laugh. ‘You’ve told them all about it, I suppose!’
‘Of course I have! Nice getaway, by the way. Now what’s all the cloak and dagger stuff?’
‘When I was locked in that loo I was…I thought I was dead, actually.’ Seth laughed incongruously, clapping his hands in glee. The others looked at each other in amazement. This wasn’t the Seth they knew.
‘Anyway, I jumped and then…well…then the most fantastic thing happened.’
‘And we’re all dying to hear what!’ said Valen, beginning to lose patience. ‘So if you could just spit it out–’
‘It’s better if I just show you,’ said Seth, still smiling. ‘Keep your eye on that big oak tree.’
‘Why? What’s it gonna do? Breakdance?’ chirped Alfie.
Valen giggled and Ralf expected Seth to be annoyed but he was laughing too. ‘Just watch, Alfie! All of you. Eyes on the tree!’
Ralf didn’t know what he had been expecting but when it happened he felt like the ground had disappeared from under him. It didn’t make sense. One moment Seth was standing right next to him; the next he simply wasn’t. Ralf gaped and then turned to stare at the oak tree. There was a nanosecond’s blur of movement and Seth appeared, leaning nonchalantly against the tree, grinning from ear to ear.
‘What the –?’
‘No!’
‘But – but – but–’ Alfie couldn’t get the rest of his sentence out of his mouth. His head whipped back and forth from Seth and the tree to the place, a good hundred yards away, where he’d been standing a split second before.
Val, for once, had nothing to say. She stood, mouth opening and closing like a freshly caught halibut.
‘How did you do that?’ Ralf breathed.
Seth ambled back towards them, looking immensely pleased with himself. ‘I think it might have something to do with the journey through time,’ he said. ‘There must have been some change on a basic level to our –’
‘Oh, who cares?’ cried Valen. ‘Show us again!’
Seth didn’t seem annoyed that no one wanted to listen to his explanations. He was happy to provide a second demonstration. And a third. By the time he’d appeared in three different places in as many seconds round the small clearing the others were clamouring to know not why he could do it, but how?
‘When I jumped off the train I just had this very powerful desire to be anywhere but there. I looked at the fence at the top of the field and thought ‘There would be a good place!’ and suddenly I was on my way. I’ve practiced it since then. You have to visualise where you want to be and think about being there. I just thought, ‘Shift’ and then I did!’
‘Well, you definitely shifted fast enough from Chase Fort Cross. Seven miles in ten minutes! That’s Superman fast!’
‘Seth is The Flash!’ said Alfie, beaming.
‘The Invisible Man!’ said Valen.
‘No,’ said Seth. ‘I’m not. But all of a sudden I can do this. It must have something to do with coming through the Time Fall –’
‘No mate,’ Alfie cut in. ‘It’s our gift from the Hidden, innit? The power they gave us to make up for being cursed. Beats singing!’
‘Maybe,’ Seth shrugged. ‘Whatever it is, I think we must all be able to do it. We can ‘Shift’ – not disappear, but move exceptionally fast, so fast, that we become almost invisible to the naked eye.’
‘Like a hummingbird’s wing,’ said Leo.
‘That’s right!’ said Valen excitedly. ‘Like in those TV documentaries – they slow down the film so you can see the wings flapping. But in real time it’s so quick you can’t see it.’
Seth nodded very pleased. ‘Yep.’
‘Let’s give it a go, then,’ said Leo.
‘In for a penny, in for a pound, I say,’ grinned Valen, stepping forward. She stood clenching and unclenching her fists, an expression of intense concentration on her face.
‘Go for it,’ said Seth.
Val nodded, her face tense. ‘Over to that log.’
‘Shift!’ Seth yelled.
There was a blur of movement and Val appeared by the log, triumph written all over her face.
Leo whooped and clapped. Ralf was suddenly aware that his mouth was open again.
‘The oak!’ Seth called.
Again, Val vanished. Ralf turned his head towards the oak and saw the blur, a shimmering in the air of exactly the same shade as Val’s gymslip, a split second before she arrived there. Valen’s breath exploded out of her lungs. ‘So when do we get our wands?’ she sniggered.
But Leo’s face had become serious. ‘This isn’t magic, Valen,’ he said in awe. ‘This is Power.’
Leo Shifted. He wasn’t quite as fast as Valen but he did it. When he’d Shifted to three different places around the garden, Ralf stepped forward.
‘My turn,’ he said, his knees feeling strangely as if they were made of sponge. ‘I’m going to look a right moron if I can’t do it and the rest of you can!’
He screwed up his face and concentrated on the bush with all his might. The others watched him.
Leo shook his head. ‘Stop thinking about it and just do it. The power’s inside you!’
‘Yeah,’ said Alfie. ‘You know – like – “Use the force, Luke!” ’
Ralf screwed his eyes tight shut and took a deep breath of air. It was earthy, leaf scented and reassuringly normal. You can do this, he thought, hoping fervently that he was right. He opened his eyes and focused on the oak. Every gnarl and twist of bark sharpened. ‘Shift!’ He didn’t say the word out loud but his own voice echoed in his head. Then, amazingly, without even thinking about what his legs were doing, he was rushing towards the old tree so fast that he had to concentrate hard not to smash into it.
There was cheering around him and he turned, filled with a fierce sort of joy to see Alfie jumping up and down, Valen clapping and Leo punching the air. Seth was looking at each of them proudly, nodding and grinning from ear to ear.
There was a sudden noise – a crashing through the undergrowth and a thundering of quick heavy feet. Seth and Valen Shifted in parallel blurs to the edge of the clearing but all thoughts of doing likewise were knocked from Ralf’s head when he saw what was coming through the trees.
A monstrous dog raced towards them. It didn’t have three heads or anything, but it was terrifying nonetheless. It was a giant of a hound, the size of a heifer. Grey-black with scruffy long hair, it had enormous flapping ears and a huge head. The animal thundered towards him and Ralf braced himself for an impact that never came. The dog skidded to a halt, sending leaves and twigs flying and sat panting at Ralf’s feet.
Ralf stared at the beast in front of him. Two liquid brown eyes gazed back and he felt the cold wetness of a large nose pressed into his hand.
‘Cabal?’ Ralf whispered.
The dog huffed as if in agreement and that was all it took. A jigsaw piece that had been missing from Ralf’s heart since the day his parents died, slotted itself back into place.
‘Whoa!’ breathed Alfie. ‘He’s well huge!’
‘Enormous, isn’t he?’ Ralf choked out finally. ‘He looks just like a dog I used to have.’
The
others made their way slowly back into the clearing, eyeing the huge animal as it sat then lay on its belly, head on its great paws, its eyes never leaving Ralf’s face. Ralf reached to scratch behind its ears.
‘I wonder where he comes from?’ said Alfie.
There was a whistle in the distance and the dog’s ears pricked.
‘Looks like we’re about to find out,’ said Leo reaching out a hand to pat him.
The dog yawned massively then and Leo pulled back his fingers at the sight of the beast’s dangerous white teeth. The dog jerked its head and skipped to one side, making them all start, then padded a few steps off to one side, looking over its shoulder as it did so.
The whistle came again.
‘Rex!’ came a shrill voice through the trees. ‘Rex. Come here, sir!’
‘Brindle!’ gasped Valen. ‘Come on!’
They dashed in the opposite direction from the woman’s voice and the dog loped alongside wearing a huge doggy grin.
‘Send him back!’ said Seth anxiously.
‘He doesn’t want to go back!’ snapped Ralf as they ran.
‘I don’t blame him!’ yelled Alfie.
‘Shift, then!’ Seth urged. ‘You know how foul she was the last time. We’ll be in all kinds of trouble if she catches us.’
Seth and Valen blurred away at virtually the same instant. The dog gave an excited bark as they disappeared. Game! You could almost see the thought flit across the animal’s huge face. He bounded after them.
Ralf Shifted a hundred metres deeper into the wood to find Seth and Valen trying to send the dog back the way they’d come.
‘Fetch!’ Seth threw a stick back down the path but the dog skittered on the spot looking at them expectantly and barking.
‘He won’t fall for that,’ said Ralf with a strange feeling of pride.
‘She’ll hear! He’ll lead her right to us!’ said Valen.
Leo and Alfie materialised nearby. The dog gave another delighted bark and ran in excited circles. The Turnarounders looked at each other, not knowing what to do for the best.
‘Ralf Osborne!’ Brindle’s shout seemed to echo through the trees. Ralf couldn’t see her anywhere but she was definitely closer than before. ‘I know it’s you. I heard you! And that rotten little thief is with you too, isn’t he? Let go of my dog, the pair of you, or I shall call the police!’
The Turnarounders and the Arbuckle Rescue Page 17