by Sharon Sant
‘Call them,’ she goaded.
‘You’ll have as much explaining to do as us.’ Elijah added quietly.
Stein stiffened. His expression as he replied to Elijah hardened into one of absolute loathing. ‘How dare you? You are trying to ruin what should be the crowning moment of my career, the discovery of the millennium – time travel! Why would I listen to your scaremongering and the witterings of a second rate physicist from the past. The portal can be tamed! And you dare to tell me… you, a snivelling homeless piece of scum… you dare to suggest that the police would believe you over me!’
‘It’s not your discovery. You stole it!’
‘I MADE IT WORK!’
Elijah glanced back at the shuddering gateway. His voice was now oddly measured and calm. ‘You’re wrong. It doesn’t work. And we’re going to make sure it never does.’
Tessa moved towards the wiring and began to yank out plugs.
‘Get away from there!’ Stein bellowed, but he did not make a move towards her. He punched at the keys of his phone and Elijah was left with no choice. Launching himself at Stein’s arm, he knocked the phone out of his grip, sending it spinning into the portal. It flickered and vanished into nothing, as the figurine had done. Tessa continued to rip out wiring with an expression of savage pleasure. It was as if all the injustices of her nineteen years, of which there had been many, were avenged by this one act of satisfying vandalism.
‘I’m warning you. Stop!’ Stein shouted.
‘Or what?’ Tessa hissed. ‘Elijah, help me out here.’
Elijah looked uneasily at Stein. Seeing that he did not make a move to stop Tessa, he ventured towards the equipment. They worked together, but it worried Elijah, as he glanced at the portal, that it didn’t seem to have altered, despite the fact that they had disconnected a lot of the equipment. Maybe they were already too late to stop it. There was no time to share his misgivings with Tessa.
Stein began to yell for help.
‘There’s no one here,’ Tessa mocked.
Elijah remembered the other members of the research team. Where were they? Why hadn’t they come back with Stein? The idea made him nervous. Stein unwittingly provided him with the answer.
‘My staff will be here any minute, just as soon as the police have finished taking details from them about Mr Braithwaite’s death.’ His face broke into a sneer. ‘Of course, my interview will be most illuminating.’
As Stein was speaking, the leftover CMO officer appeared, charging straight for Elijah. There was no time to run.
‘We have to smash it!’ Elijah shouted at Tessa, knowing that in a few minutes they would be outnumbered. Tessa’s head whipped round as she searched for something heavy enough to do real damage, but she could see nothing. Before she had time to communicate this to Elijah, the CMO officer was upon him.
The struggle was brief and pathetic. Elijah’s strength had failed him at last and a wave of pessimism washed over him. His one consoling thought was that his friends were far out of reach by now.
Tessa paused, torn by indecision. She couldn’t do anything for Elijah, who was caught with his head bowed sadly in defeat. And she didn’t think she could close the portal on her own. Stein was already moving towards her, no doubt feeling braver now she was without an ally. Was there any point, she wondered? The stubborn part of her refused to give in. Even as Stein approached, she backed away but kept glancing around for something, some weapon to smash the equipment that sustained the portal. And if she had to use it on Stein too… well, it didn’t make any difference now. She had killed Braithwaite and Stein knew it. The death penalty awaited her. As she inched away from Stein, she stumbled over the tendrils of loose wiring snaked across a waterproof ground sheet. Stein seized his chance and made a grab for her, wrenching her out of the way of his precious machinery. She lost her balance and toppled over, taking him too, so that his ungainly bulk fell on top of her. She rocked back and forth, twisting this way and that to try and throw him off. It seemed every last gasp of breath was squeezed out of her as Stein’s weight crushed her lungs. Tessa heard Elijah yelling at someone, and new voices yelled back. She couldn’t see what was going on. With an almighty effort she threw Stein off balance and rolled out from under him. Scrambling to her feet, she ran toward the markers of the portal. Perhaps she could get them out of the ground. Would that work? It was a desperate plan.
Elijah submitted to the brutal arms of the CMO officer. He watched Tessa struggle with Stein in a detached way, as if he were witness to a terrifying drama, but it was no one he knew. Then he heard their voices, voices he knew so well, and saw them pelting towards him and life and hope returned. Xavier and Francois sprinted through the trees, their faces lit by readiness for the fight.
‘You have to smash that machinery!’ Elijah bellowed at them, wrenching his head in the direction of the portal equipment. The CMO man shouted over the top of him. Elijah screamed. ‘Find something to smash it – quick!’
Xavier faltered. Elijah was shocked to see the injuries to his face. Francois, too, seemed to hesitate.
‘What are you waiting for? Smash it!’ Elijah shouted. He glanced at Tessa, still struggling. It was like she was moving in slow motion, but events were happening quicker than he could keep up with. Xavier and Francois hesitated for a moment, then Xavier took a course towards the nearest tent and his brother followed.
Elijah began to struggle in earnest, stamping hard on the CMO man’s feet, yanking his elbows, making the man swear and hold him tighter still. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Tessa throw Stein off. He watched her scramble across the grass and head for the portal. Stein dived for her feet and brought her crashing down again. Elijah saw the portal flicker and convulse as they fell into it together. Then, they were gone.
Elijah felt the grip of the CMO officer loosen as they stood together with breath held, staring at the empty space where Tessa and Stein had just been. They were united, for a moment, in their surprise. Elijah stared until his eyes watered, willing Tessa back.
Neither he nor the CMO officer noticed Xavier and Francois return. Neither of them noticed spanners and wrenches, held above heads and swung down with destructive force, until they heard the first clang of metal. An eerie, sucking, grating sound filled the air. The noise clawed at Elijah’s eardrums. The skin of the portal rippled violently. Elijah cried out for them to stop.
The woods became silent, apart from the low chugging of an electricity generator and the dazed twittering of birds.
Elijah was frozen, staring at the spot where Tessa had disappeared with Stein. The air was still and calm. The portal had sealed.
Thirty-Nine: Truth Unfolds
It was over. They could run, disappear, melt back into the underworld. Tessa wouldn’t have been happy living life as a fugitive, hiding and hunted, she was better off away from this world. But as he stared at the space that, moments before, Tessa had occupied, Elijah couldn’t shake the overwhelming feeling of emptiness. He felt like he had lost his father all over again. He hardly knew Tessa. But they had been through so much together, their fortunes, for a brief time, had been so intensely and inextricably intertwined, it felt like he had known her for a lifetime.
The CMO officer seemed to have given up. Perhaps he had been affected too. Perhaps it was catching. Perhaps he could see the grief and shock etched in every line of Elijah’s face and, with it, the truth of what his job really was. There were too many of them for him to deal with alone now anyway. He walked away without a word.
Sky’s voice came from somewhere nearby. He turned to find the source.
‘Elijah?’ She took in his hollow look and she knew, just as she always did.
Elijah said nothing, only stared at her. How she had come to be there he didn’t know and didn’t care. Sky held out her arms to him and he gladly took refuge there. There would be time to explain later. Right now he wanted to feel some warmth, some comfort.
‘We have to go,’ Elijah said, reluctantly break
ing away from her.
‘What about the others?’ Xavier asked.
Elijah shrugged. His thoughts were slow, like wading in treacle.
‘Are they with you?’ Xavier pressed.
‘Elijah?’ Sky put her hands on his shoulders gently. ‘Are they still in the camp? We went there and were told they weren’t but…’
Elijah shook himself. ‘They’re here… somewhere.’
‘Where?’
‘In the woods…’ he replied quietly, ‘in the Vanishing Woods.’
‘The Vanishing Woods?’ Francois threw an uneasy glance at Sky and Xavier. ‘Why do you call it that? No one’s called it that for years.’
Rowan appeared behind them. Elijah couldn’t bring himself to be happy. There was only relief to see him looking well and fed. Before Rowan had the chance to speak, a squeal tore through the drizzle. Rosa, pelting towards them with Jimmy and Sadie in her wake, called out.
‘The other scientists are coming back! We’ve just seen them in a jeep.’ For a brief second she took in the sight of the others and fought back the widest of smiles that she knew would have to wait. Her gaze settled on Elijah and, just like Sky, she knew instinctively that something very bad had happened, but that would have to wait too.
They fled. Moments later there was shouting coming from the camp. Elijah supposed that recent events were being revealed. He supposed that soon they would be pursued. He knew he should care, but he couldn’t. He wondered, vaguely, how Sky, Xavier, Francois and Rowan had come to be there. The thought rested in the periphery of his numb brain. Curiosity was for whole people. He would know soon enough.
They continued to move on steadily, Francois leading the way. The sounds of the camp grew fainter as they delved into the thicker parts of the wood. Elijah followed without question. He was glad of someone taking away the responsibility so that he could be left in silence with his own thoughts. The enormity of recent events and the sense of responsibility for Tessa’s fate crushed him. Before, there hadn’t been time for reflection, only action. Now he replayed the scenes endlessly. What if he had done this? What if he had done that? Would it have made any difference? Could he have saved Tessa in the end? Somewhere, in a corner of his consciousness, he was aware of the hunger which gnawed away at his insides, of his aching ankle, still newly mended, of the bruises and the chill in his bones. But misery protected him from the acuteness of such physical sensations. Francois continued with a purposeful stride, leading by example. He was like his brother in that way; in times of crisis he seemed to take on superhuman qualities. Xavier never complained about cold, never complained about hunger. If he ever felt sadness, he never showed it. Elijah wished he could be like that.
Sky tugged at his sleeve for him to stop. As if woken suddenly, he looked around, unsure of his surroundings. Then, in mute surprise, he noted the jeep parked on the old road that threaded the woodland, and Pierre Bettencourt pacing up and down beside it wielding his shotgun.
‘I was just about to come after you,’ he told Francois.
‘There was no need to worry, Dad. To be honest,’ he gave Elijah a meaningful glance, ‘it was bedlam when we got there, I’m not quite sure what was going on, but we managed to get away quite easily.’
Elijah remained silent as he climbed into the back of the jeep.
Elijah found himself, once more, approaching the neat, white house of the Bettencourt family, nestled in its private spot amongst the fir trees. Isobel Bettencourt eyed them appraisingly as they trooped into the homely kitchen, where nothing had changed since they had run from it as fugitives. It seemed like a long time in the past. While Isobel fussed over them, Pierre’s attention turned to Elijah.
‘We’re making quite a habit of this, me patching you up.’
Elijah tried to smile, but his muscles refused to obey. He only ended up looking more pained.
‘You’d better wash so I can have a proper look at you.’
Elijah took leave without a word and found the bathroom. After his wash, he returned to the warm kitchen, now busy with excited conversation and the smell of wholesome cooking. The others looked so relieved to be there, they seemed to feel safe. Elijah half-expected to hear a booming knock at the door; the CMO back to claim them. What reason was there to trust Pierre this time? But he was too weary to care. He sat compliantly as Pierre stitched a cut at his temple, barely wincing, listening to the animated conversation around him as the others shared their own personal version of events.
‘Braithwaite’s dead, Elijah.’ Xavier called to him from over a mug of onion soup. Pierre looked at Elijah shrewdly but said nothing. Xavier continued, ‘They’re after that secretary, Tessa, for questioning. It was on the news on our radio. The hotel receptionist said Tessa went to get a spare key, and arguing and crashing was heard coming from that room shortly before he was discovered.’
‘Elijah, just what did happen with her and Braithwaite? Where did she go?’ Jimmy chipped in.
‘I reckon she’ll be lying low now,’ Xavier said. He paused, seeing Elijah flinch. ‘Elijah?’
Elijah pressed his palms into his closed eyes, trying to block it all out. ‘She’s gone,’ he said in a dull voice.
‘Gone?’ Xavier echoed.
‘She saved my life… she saved all of us.’ He looked around at them, almost accusingly, as if he needed someone to blame. ‘She’s gone. She could even be dead.’
Xavier’s mouth dropped open. He glanced round at the others, who all shared the same blank expression of shock.
‘Where did she go?’ Sky asked. ‘What do you mean?’
‘The portal.’
Sky immediately understood. ‘She’ll be ok with Dr McKee,’ she said with an edge of uncertainty, as if she were trying to convince herself of the fact.
Elijah shrugged. ‘Maybe.’
‘At least the police won’t be able to find her now,’ Jimmy offered.
‘They will be looking for the boy who was seen leaving the hotel with her.’ Pierre fixed his brooding eyes on Elijah. Elijah tried to read his face. Was he going to turn him in? Xavier threw his father a warning look. ‘Tell me what happened. I want the truth. Don’t hold anything back, even if it makes you look bad. Xavier has told me what he knows.’ Pierre began to pack away his bag as he spoke.
Elijah had no choice but to recount the events. He kept his account as accurate and succinct as he could, even the parts that sounded mad. As the truth poured from him, surprisingly, he found it almost therapeutic, as if voicing the memories that pained him somehow relieved his wounded soul. The kitchen remained silent; the occasional scuff of a shifting chair leg or the gentle clink of a mug the only sounds to interrupt his story. When he had finished, he waited for Pierre’s reaction.
‘I believe you. Sky has told as much as she knows and it fits,’ Pierre said. Elijah noted the fact that Pierre had, at some point, doubted their honesty, but let it pass without comment. It was a big story to swallow. ‘And I know Tessa’s mother, Margaret Lassiter; I have seen her many times in my surgery.’
Elijah heaved a sigh of thankful relief. Then something else occurred to him. ‘What about her family?’
‘Her mother is being taken care of by relatives in Tessa’s absence, but she won’t be aware of anything amiss. She has quite advanced Alzheimer’s disease. Tessa’s father is dead.’
Elijah nodded. He was almost thankful for a fact that must have been a source of constant pain to Tessa. Her mother’s illness would, perhaps, mean that he would not have to face the dreadful task of explaining everything to her. He felt selfish and shallow for thinking it.
‘Elijah?’ Sadie’s voice interrupted his reverie.
As he sat still for Pierre to continue his examination of his wounds, she moved into his line of vision. He couldn’t help but suck in his breath at the sight of her injuries.
‘I haven’t asked you if you’re ok,’ Elijah said.
Sadie shrugged. ‘I’m always ok, Eli, you know me: old iron pants.’ She smiled and
it made him smile a little in return. Sadie glanced quickly across at Sky.
Elijah caught the look. He wasn’t strong enough for this, not now. ‘Sadie…’
‘I’ve finished here, Elijah.’ Pierre put his leather bag under the table.
Sadie held out a hand to Elijah. ‘Want to come outside for a walk?’
Elijah looked at Sky. She looked away. He caught Rosa quickly squeeze her arm. He wanted to say something, to tell her it was ok, but he couldn’t think of anything. Instead, he followed quietly as Sadie led him out of the back door.
‘Can we go in there?’ Sadie asked, pointing towards the summer house. The last time Elijah had been in there seemed a million years ago. He shrugged and followed as she made her way over without his reply. The door opened with the smell of damp wood. Elijah sat silently next to her and waited for her to begin with the recriminations and tears. ‘I could understand why you went.’ Elijah couldn’t meet her gaze and she continued. ‘But why did you go without telling me?’
‘You would have talked me out of it.’
‘Probably,’ she paused, ‘but at least I would have known where you were, that we were cool.’
‘We were always cool.’
‘That’s why you started to see Sky then?’
‘It’s not –’
‘I’m not blind.’ Absently, she reached up and felt at the bruise around her eye. Elijah inwardly winced. She wasn’t crying; Elijah knew her well enough to know that, on the surface, she was harder than that. He guessed that he had been responsible for pain she would never show, though. ‘It doesn’t matter now. I’ve had time to go off you.’ Elijah looked at her closely, trying to gauge her meaning. She was smiling faintly. ‘We’re cool now – right?’
He nodded. Then, as it suddenly occurred to him, ‘So, how did you end up in the camp?’ It was a question he wanted the answer to, though he was afraid of what she would say, afraid that it would be his fault.
‘Mum’s got cancer,’ she said simply.
‘Bad?’
‘Bad enough.’