“Wait, ssh!” Finley hissed. “What’s that noise?”
The four of them stood in deathly silence and listened attentively. The sound of voices echoed down the hallway towards them, distant at first but growing louder as each second passed.
“It’s getting away!” a male voice cried. Heavy footsteps thundered towards them, reverberating loudly from the walls. Will froze, his heart thumping loudly in his ears. He narrowed his eyes as they began to adjust to the gloom and was sure he could make out a shadowy figure, standing just a few feet in front of them.
“Where did it go?” a second voice spoke from around the corner.
“That’s my dad,” Lois whispered.
Suddenly, bright torchlight burst into the hallway, forcing Will to shield himself from its glare. He blinked rapidly, waiting for the coloured spots to fade from his vision so he could see again. After a few seconds, his sight returned to normal and his blood ran cold. Directly in front of him was a Vacuous, identical the one they had encountered in their dormitory. Its misshapen head was cocked slightly to the side as it emitted hissing noises, twitching it’s sharp claws as it stared through hollow eyes. A chill ran down Will’s spine as he was overcome by a strange feeling that the Vacuous could see him.
“There it is!” Elsie shouted as two more beams of torchlight flooded into the hall. Will peered around the Vacuous to see younger versions of Alfie and his mother, accompanied by his father, Austin.
“What’s it doing?” Austin asked, unable to see Will and the others standing petrified in the creature’s wake.
“It’s looking at something,” Alfie frowned.
“But there’s nothing there?” Elsie said with confusion, waving her torch in different directions to investigate the corridor.
The Vacuous, startled by the sudden movement of light, turned away and let out a bloodcurdling screech. It spun around and began to run on all fours, moving exceptionally fast on powerful limbs. Will, Finley, Lois and Emily jumped out the way as it passed them, the force of its weight thudding deafeningly through the corridor each time it hit the ground.
“Let’s go!” Austin shouted, sprinting after the creature at full speed with Alfie and Elsie close on his tail. Will followed them, running as fast as he could to keep up as they darted out of the building and back into the night. The cold air hit Will’s face like needles in a painful contrast to the warmth of the building inside, but he continued pursuing Alfie and his parents nonetheless. He pounded down the stone steps with Emily, Lois and Finley a few paces behind him and raced through the backstreets of the town, passing invisibly through a small crowd of people who were emptying from a high-street bar, wrapping themselves in coats and scarves to keep out the cold.
Mercifully, Alfie, Elsie and Austin had ground to a halt in front of the clock tower and doubled over to catch their breath. Will copied, gasping as he desperately tried to fill his lungs with air, his stomach knotting uncomfortably as his chest burned with exhaustion. Finley, Lois and Emily thundered to a stop alongside him, wheezing and panting with the exertion of running long distance, which none of them had ever had cause to do before. Feeling dizzy, Will sat on the ground to listen as Alfie and his parents began to speak.
“Did you see where it went?” Austin puffed, leaning against the clock tower, his face dewy with sweat.
“No,” Elsie replied with deflation.
“Damn it!” Austin cursed, banging his fist against the tower’s stone base. “I can’t believe we let one get away again.”
“They’ll be other chances,” Elsie soothed him.
“I’ve been thinking,” Alfie interrupted them, his tone sombre. “I don’t think us hunting the Vacuous is such a good idea anymore.”
“What?” said Austin and Elsie in unison, exchanging a look of bewilderment.
“I think we’re wasting our time,” Alfie re-iterated.
“How can you say that?” Austin demanded. “Nothing is known about these creatures. Not even Professor Krecher can figure out what they are. We need to find out why they’re here. It could be the difference between human extinction and survival!”
“Yes, that’s what we keep telling ourselves,” said Alfie bluntly. “But aliens have been visiting Earth for over a hundred years. Just because we’ve never seen this species before, doesn’t mean they’re harmful. I mean, look at the facts. Every time we see the Vacuous they run away from us and we’ve never seen anyone be hurt by one.”
“Not yet, but look at them! Their clawed hands, their sharp teeth, the way they can move… They’re built for killing.” Austin argued.
“We can’t base all of our assumptions on their physical appearance,” Alfie replied. “It’s not enough evidence to justify what we’re doing.”
“We’ve been following the Vacuous for nearly a year. You’ve been convinced we were right up until this point,” Austin countered.
“Look, I’m just trying to be realistic,” Alfie sighed. “We stumbled upon these aliens and started tracking them down, convinced we were saving the world in the process, but the truth is we have no idea what we’re doing.”
“Then we ask for help. We need to contact the Government again,” Austin insisted. “Something needs to be done! We need answers!”
“I told you, there’s nothing the Government can do. We haven’t been able to provide any evidence that the Vacuous pose any kind of threat. Think how many fanatics must have come out of the woodwork since The Split was made public,” Alfie answered. “They’re bombarded daily with false reports from people who are trying to stop it from happening. They’re not going to take us seriously.”
“Elsie, tell me you don’t agree with this!” Austin pleaded with her.
“I don’t know,” Elsie said uncertainly. “Maybe we should talk to Krecher again.”
“Krecher doesn’t know anything, he’s just as confused by this whole thing as we are. I supported going to him at first, but it hasn’t helped. Showing him the Vacuous only seems to have terrified him. He hasn’t been the same since,” Alfie replied.
Elsie frowned, contemplating his words carefully.
“Look, I know I’m right about this,” he pushed. “If we carry on doing what we’re doing, we’re going to mess up our Graduation and we won’t get places on the Mayfly. It’s not going to matter what the Vacuous are if they’re here on Earth and we’re up in Space. They can’t follow us to Novum,” Alfie declared.
“How do you know for certain? The Split could be part of their plan,” Austin pointed out. “The Great Conspiracy predicts that the Mayfly isn’t safe. Maybe it’s referring to the Vacuous. Maybe they want the Mayfly for themselves so they can get to Novum.”
“That seems a little bit far- fetched, Austin,” Alfie frowned.
“Why does it?” Austin demanded, his eyes wild, his breath coming thick and fast. “Do you think we’re the only species that have wrecked our home planet? I’m betting we’re not. If the Vacuous somehow found out about Novum, they could see it as a second chance for their own kind. It doesn’t seem that impossible to me. Why else would they be skulking around a College? They must know educational institutes are working with the Mayfly project to create skilled workers. They’re trying to find out how to get on board! I’m telling you… I can feel it in my gut.”
Elsie and Alfie exchanged a look of concern.
“Perhaps this has all gone too far,” Elsie said after a moment. “It’s turning into an obsession. I think it’s time to let it go, Austin. All we’re doing is chasing shadows.”
Austin slumped to the ground in defeat, resting his head between his knees for a moment as his breathing slowed back to normal.
“Of course you would side with him,” Austin said darkly.
“I’m not siding with anyone,” Elsie insisted, “and it’s only because I care so much about you that I’m saying this. The Vacuous have ruled our lives for long enough. Imagine how good it would feel to be normal again. To go back to how things were before we knew the
y existed. Regardless of what happens, there isn’t much time left on Earth. I’d rather spend it being happy than chasing aliens who may or may not be dangerous.”
“Fine,” Austin conceded. “I’m not doing any of this without you, Elsie. If you tell me to stop then I will.”
“I think it’s for the best,” Elsie smiled, going to sit beside him and placing an arm around his shoulder. “We can save the world another day.”
“So, we’re all in agreement then?” Alfie clarified. “No more Vacuous and no more Great Conspiracy. It all ends tonight.”
“Alright,” Austin nodded reluctantly. “It ends here.” Elsie squeezed his hand, looking up at him with shiny adoration.
Will got to his feet. A mirrored door had materialised next to the clock tower, informing him that they’d seen all the Looking Glass wished to show them.
“Time to go,” he told Finley, Emily and Lois, who silently trailed behind him as he opened the door and stepped through, returning to the present day in Krecher’s office.
As soon as they arrived, Will made his way out of the door, through the desolate classroom and into the shuttle, flying it to the ground without speaking a single word. Sensing his dark mood, Finley, Lois and Emily said nothing, waiting until they had retreated across the school grounds and reached the safety of Will’s bedroom before they dared speak.
“Are you okay?” Emily asked him, swinging herself up to sit on his desk as he hunched over the end of his bed, twiddling his thumbs together with agitation.
“Yeah, it’s just weird seeing my mum and dad together,” Will frowned. “Especially knowing that he abandoned her so soon afterwards.”
“It was weird seeing my dad, too,” Lois agreed, curling her legs up on one of the armchairs. “Back then he almost seemed like an actual human being.”
“At least we got some answers though,” Emily pointed out. “We know the Vacuous were around on Earth.”
“Yeah, but that’s all we know,” Finley disagreed. “We still don’t know whether they’re dangerous or not, or what one was doing hanging around our dorms in the middle of the night.”
“And I don’t think we should try and find out either,” Will stated bluntly. “Lois’ dad said they’d never seen a Vacuous hurt anyone and that all they ever seemed to do was run away. We might not know why there’s one at the school but I think if we try and find out, we’re going to put ourselves at risk.”
“At risk for what?” Emily asked, folding her arms.
“For being expelled, for getting hurt,” he paused. “For seeing things that we might not want to see.”
“I understand why you’d say that,” Emily replied, “but the Vacuous were hunted by your parents and now they’ve turned up at our school. Don’t you think it’s a bit of a strange co-incidence?”
“Co-incidence or not, it’s not worth the trouble to find out,” Will insisted. “If the Vacuous are dangerous and they’re wandering around the school, Allance and the teachers will deal with it. In the meantime, I think we should follow Alfie’s advice and leave alone what we don’t understand.”
“But your dad-” Emily began.
“My dad’s dead,” Will interrupted. “His obsession with the Vacuous drove him to make some horrible decisions that eventually killed him. If that isn’t a clear enough sign that we should leave this entire thing alone, then I don’t know what is.”
There was an awkward silence. Finley and Lois shifted uncomfortably in their chairs as the words from Will’s outburst lingered for a moment in the air.
“If you’re sure that’s what’s best…” Lois said uncertainly.
“I am,” Will replied with force. “If my dad had done the same then he might still be alive.”
“Okay,” Finley smiled weakly. “We can drop it.”
Will stared at Emily who was chewing her lip, her arms still folded around her chest.
“Fine,” she huffed. “We’ll forget about it.”
With their new decision in place, Emily, Finley and Lois traipsed off to bed, leaving Will to stew in the fresh feelings of anger the Looking Glass had brought to the surface of his mind. If he was being honest with himself, he knew that Emily was right. His parents hunting the Vacuous in College and then one turning up outside his room fifteen years later had to mean something, but his desire to honour the promise his father had broken was stronger than any need to unravel the truth. In his mind it was very simple. Vacuous or no Vacuous, he would never be the same as Austin. Of that he was determined.
17.
The Happy Interlude
Lois sat in the Dining Hall, drumming her fingers against the table and staring unwaveringly at the blank screen on her Student Planner, ignoring the delicious smell of French pastries that was wafting over from the breakfast buffet. Any minute now, her planner would beep, delivering the dreaded message that contained her grades for every subject. After a few minutes of sitting alone in abject terror, Lois was joined by Finley, Will and Emily, whose appearances reflected the tired dishevelment that Lois felt. They bleated “good morning” half-heartedly, each producing their own planners and resting them delicately on the table, eyeing them fearfully as though they were bombs about to explode.
“I’m guessing you guys didn’t get much sleep either, then,” Lois observed.
“Not a wink,” Will replied.
“How could we?” Emily stressed. “If we don’t get good grades in these exams, we won’t be able to come back to school next year.”
“We have our final projects too, remember,” Finley reminded her. “They count towards our overall marks.”
“Yes, but we hardly revised for our exams at all!” Emily continued to fret. “We were so distracted.”
There was an awkward pause as they were all reminded of their promise to Will not to mention the Vacuous or anything associated with their previous ordeal. It had been difficult at first, with Lois, Emily and Finley forced to discuss the situation in secret whenever Will wasn’t around. Over time, however, their inclination to talk about the subject had faded naturally. These days, Lois found that the Vacuous only entered her mind when she was alone at night and vulnerable to the chain of unsettling thoughts her brain liked to present her with in order to make sleep difficult.
“Remind me one more time how the grading system works,” Emily said to Finley, running her hands through her already unkempt hair.
“You get a score from one to five,” Finley explained calmly. “One is the best and five is the worst. Three and above is classed as a ‘pass’ whereas four and five are ‘fails’.”
“And how many subjects do we need to pass to get back in next year?” Emily asked him, despite knowing the answer to the question full well.
“All of them,” Finley replied morbidly. Will groaned and sunk his head into the table, Emily sighed in an exgarated fashion and Lois began massaging her temples, pulling the skin around her eyes a little too aggressively for the act to be relaxing.
“Don’t worry,” Finley laughed in response to their reaction. “You won’t have done that badly!”
“Easy for you to say, Fin,” Will grumbled. “You’re top of nearly every class.”
“Well, I still messed up in my Rocket Control exam,” Finley reminded him.
“At least Mr. Zeppler let you retake it,” Lois pointed out.
“He only did that because we’re supposed to go out in Space this term. If I don’t get my licence, I’ll have to stay behind every lesson while you all go off flying,” Finley said.
“What time is it?” Will complained, not wanting to take his eyes away from his Planner.
“7:59,” Finley told him.
“One minute to go!” Emily squealed.
Lois’ heart began to beat heavily in her chest. Despite all her dad’s excessive funding into her education, she had never been the brightest in her tutor group and always struggled to apply herself properly in her lessons. The curriculum at the Academy, however, fascinated her beyond belief and
she could only hope she would be allowed to continue studying it.
The sickening sound of beeping erupted around the hall and the entire student population seemed to draw in breath as one. Lois, Will, Finley and Emily looked at each other, their eyes wide as saucers as they realised the message of their fate had been delivered.
“All together?” Will suggested and they nodded, picking up their Student Planners in unison.
“One, two, three….”
Lois winced, opening the message and turning her face away from it slightly, as though reading it would blind her. She skimmed down the page quickly and was immensely relieved to see there were no fours or fives in any of her subjects. Her fear subsiding, she read the through the page carefully, making sure not to miss any details. The page stated:
“Lois Sommers,
Mid-Year Examination Results:
Alien Studies ~ 1
Arithmancy ~ 2
Civilisations ~ 2
Combat and Weaponry ~ 2
Rocket Control ~ 2
Resources ~ 3”
“How did you do Lois?” Finley asked her.
“I got a ‘one’ in Alien Studies!” she gushed. “I got ‘two’s in everything else, except Resources which I got a ‘three’ in.”
“Well done!” he congratulated her. “I knew you’d pass.”
“What did you get?” she asked him.
“I got a ‘one’ for everything but a ‘three’ in Rocket Control,” he replied happily. “I was convinced I’d failed that exam.”
“I got four ‘ones’,” Emily interjected. “In Alien Studies, Technology, Combat and Weaponry and Arithmancy! The rest were ‘twos’.”
“Nice,” Finley smiled. The three of them looked at Will who was staring down at his Student Planner in disbelief, his face frozen in an expression of shock.
“Everything okay?” Emily asked him.
“I got a ‘three’ in Civilisations,” he replied flatly.
Lois looked at Finley and Emily, unsure how to react.
“I can’t believe Miss Fortem passed me!” Will laughed with euphoria.
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