Double Trouble (Zodiac Girls)

by Cathy Hopkins

  The line went dead. I immediately tried to phone back, but it went straight into voicemail.

  I glanced over at Nonna, who was still sleeping soundly. I wondered whether to wake her as a feeling in my gut told me that Mary wasn’t messing about. Lilith was in trouble. It was a twin thing. I could always sense when something was seriously wrong with her – like the time she fell and broke her wrist when we were seven and the time she was in a car accident and bumped her head. Now what have I learned from PJ and the zodiac people? I asked myself. Ask for help, and darkness is only the absence of light.

  I went to find the biggest torch we had in the house, then I stuffed my zodiac and other mobile phone into my pocket and called Mum’s mobile from our land line. A second later, it rang from where she’d left it on the kitchen table. Next to it was Dad’s. Typical, I thought. They never took their mobiles with them anywhere.

  I went back into the living room, gently woke Nonna and filled her in on Mary’s call. She leaped up immediately. ‘I’ll phone for the car,’ she said.

  ‘OK, but I’m going to find Lilith,’ I said.

  ‘No,’ said Nonna. ‘No. You mustn’t. We’ll go together. Wait for the car.’

  I nodded, but when Nonna went up to use the bathroom as I waited at the foot of the stairs I swear I could hear Lilith calling for me. It was faint, like a wisp of smoke at the back of my mind, but there it was again and … I swear she was saying … Oh no! She was in the crypt! No. Noooo. She couldn’t be. She wouldn’t have been that stupid, would she? I asked myself.

  I couldn’t wait for the car. I scribbled a note for Nonna – Gone to Grebe Street, cemetery, maybe crypt, see you there as soon as possible – and left it on the hall table where she’d see it when she came down. I opened the front door and slipped out into the night. It was dark and stormy outside. The wind howled through the trees, causing them to bend and sway. Up in the sky was a full moon like a huge white spectre looming over the streets and houses. Lilith Palumbo, I am going to kill you for this, I thought as I pulled my coat tight around myself. Unless you’re already dead! said a voice at the back of my head, causing me to shudder.

  Out on the pavements, there were still people about – stragglers from trick or treating, older teens on their way out to parties. At least, I hoped they were trick or treaters or party goers – a posse of white-faced witches cackled at me. A group of zombies limped past and leered. A vampire ran up to me, his cape blowing in the wind. At least he didn’t scare me. He was only three foot tall and about six years old!

  ‘Turn off the torch,’ someone shouted from further down the street. ‘This is Halloween.’

  ‘So?’ I said back in the direction of the voice. ‘Who says we have to go about in the dark?’

  ‘The light is for the living, the dark is for the de-e-ead,’ said someone in a spooky voice behind me. I swung the torch around and saw that it was a fourteen-year-old boy from our street.

  ‘Killjoy,’ he said. ‘Turn the fricking light off.’

  I took no notice and ran along the pavements until I reached the road where our old house was. The SOLD sign was still up and there were no lights on so, hoping that the new owners hadn’t moved in yet, I took the short cut down by the side of the house into the garden and through the hedge.

  And there I was back in the very place I’d sworn never to return to. The cemetery. I’d been so mad with Lilith as I ran there that I hadn’t had time to be too scared, but as soon as I found myself in that familiar territory all the old feelings came back too. I shone the torch around, highlighting graves and shrubs. Something moved behind me, the snap of a twig, footsteps, as a shadow moved out from behind a shrub. I almost jumped out of my skin as I spun around with the torch.

  ‘It’s only me, Eve,’ said Mary.

  ‘Waaaargh! You … almost … gave me a heart attack,’ I panted as I hugged her. ‘Where’s Lilith? Have you found her?’

  Mary pointed over towards the direction of the crypt. ‘I … I think she’s in there.’

  ‘Ohmigod no! I did hear her. In the crypt! Is she out of her mind? No one goes in there. What happened? How did she get in there?’

  ‘And she’s not alone,’ said Mary as she pulled on my arm and we hurried past gravestones towards the crypt.

  ‘What! Who’s she with?’

  ‘A bunch of kids.’

  ‘Nooo. Oh no. How many?’

  ‘Five.’

  ‘Five? So that means with Lilith that there are … ’

  ‘Six,’ Mary finished for me, and I knew she was thinking of the same story I was. Six was the number of children who had been in there the night of the disappearance so many years ago. Six was the number of the graves around the crypt. Six children whose remains were never found.

  ‘But … how come?’

  ‘We were going around trick or treating and one of the kids said it was too tame and that he wanted to get really scared and—’

  ‘Lilith offered to show him this place?’

  ‘Exactly. We broke off from the teachers and the school group and escaped in here. At first, it was all good fun and a laugh until the same kid asked about the crypt and accused Lilith of being chicken and scared.’

  I could just see the scene. ‘And course she had to show him that she wasn’t.’

  ‘Right,’ said Mary. ‘We didn’t even think that it would be open, but the door was ajar and Lilith led them in there. I don’t know what happened. The door shut behind them just as I got there. They’re locked in and I can’t get them out. I’ve tried and, oh god, Eve, what are we going to do? The kids are hysterical. Even Lilith is losing it. I’ve been out on the street looking for help. Anyone. Some adult. All the kids I’ve stopped are like you: they just think I’m doing a wind-up – you know, Halloween, locked in a crypt.’

  As we got closer, above the howling wind, I could make out another sound – the wail of howling kids.

  ‘Lilith, Lilith,’ I called.

  ‘Eve. EVE,’ I heard Lilith call back.

  In seconds we were at the crypt and the six-metre metal door loomed in front of me, the wrought iron gleaming in the light of the torch. I pushed with all my might on it, but Mary was right: it was shut fast.

  ‘Lilith, Lilith, I’m here,’ I said.

  At the sound of my voice, the kids in there starting howling louder. ‘Who’s that?’ one young voice cried. ‘Ith it a ghost?’

  ‘It’s my sister,’ said Lilith. ‘She’s come to rescue us. Eve, get us out,’ Lilith called back. ‘I don’t like it in here.’

  Mary and I tried shoving the door again, but it was no use. It was as solid as concrete.

  ‘Lilith, we have to get the cemetery attendant,’ I called.

  ‘But he’ll kill us,’ she said, and the kids started wailing louder than ever. ‘Oh, for heaven’s sake, SHUT up. I don’t mean he’ll kill us kill us, I mean he’ll be mad. Cross.’ Her words didn’t seem to be reassuring them and their howls grew louder.

  I made myself calm down. ‘Is it dark in there?’

  ‘Yes,’ said one of the kids.

  I shone the torch under the door.

  ‘I can see light,’ said Lilith. ‘Have you brought a torch?’

  ‘Yes, and I … ’ I spotted a gap in the bottom of the door where the metal had rusted away. It was just big enough to poke the torch through. I took a deep breath. It meant that Mary and I would be out in the dark, but I knew how those children felt and I didn’t want them to feel it a moment longer than necessary.

  ‘Darkness is only the absence of light,’ I called. ‘Nothing to be frightened of.’ I poked the torch through.

  Next I pulled out my phone and called Nonna.

  ‘Where are you, you bad, bad girl?’ she asked.

  ‘I’m sorry, Nonna, I had to go. I’m at the crypt in the cemetery. Lilith’s locked in with a bunch of children. We can’t open the door. Can you get help? Call Miss Regan – she’s the teacher from our school who was overseeing the trick or treaters. Sh
e’ll know who to contact.’

  ‘Right,’ said Nonna. ‘I’m on it, and call PJ. He can get in anywhere.’

  I pulled out my zodiac phone and pressed the button next to PJ’s name. No sooner had I had pressed it than he appeared from behind a gravestone of an avenging angel causing Mary and me to almost jump out of our skins.

  ‘You iz calling me?’

  ‘Yes. How? Whaa … ?’

  He pointed over towards the back of the cemetery. ‘I am livings over zere. I often take route zrough cemetery. Iz shorts cuts. I seeing you here before once, before you move. Ja.’

  ‘Ja.’ So it was him that I saw the last time I came here, I thought. I wasn’t going mad. ‘PJ, Lilith’s locked in the crypt.’

  ‘I voz coming. I could hear howlings,’ he said, and he ran his hand over the edge of the door. ‘First I am zinkings iz vind zen I realize iz peoples.’

  ‘Can you do anything? If they’re still in there at midnight, they will turn to dust.’

  PJ burst out laughing. ‘Who iz telling you zis?’

  ‘Everyone around here knows it,’ said Mary. ‘It happened to six children a couple of centuries ago.’

  ‘No, iz not true,’ said PJ. ‘Zey vent home, goes to sleep in safe own beds. Zey left zeir costumes in ze crypt. Zat voz all.’

  ‘How do you know?’ I asked.

  ‘I voz here. I tells you, I be livings across ze vay in a basement flat.’

  I shook my head. ‘That would make you ancient. You’re as mad as Lilith. But never mind that for now. Can you get them out?’

  PJ felt around in his pocket and pulled out an enormous keyring on which were about a hundred keys of all shapes and sizes. He began to try them all out in the lock.

  ‘Who’s there?’ Lilith called when she heard his fumblings.

  ‘PJ,’ I said. ‘It’s going to be OK.’

  Moments later, PJ found a key that fitted, the door was opened and the kids burst out, followed by a very shaken-looking Lilith. She was still in her skeleton costume, but had taken the mask off. She was shivering with the cold, as were the children.

  ‘It was … brr … brr … like a fridge in there,’ said Lilith.

  One of the children screamed when she saw me and pointed from me to Lilith. ‘She’s evil. She’s made two of herself and now she’s going to EAT us.’

  I almost laughed and would have if I hadn’t seen that the little girl really believed it. I dropped down on to my knee so that we were eye to eye. ‘She’s not evil. She’s my twin. You know what twins are, don’t you?’

  The girl looked from me to Lilith and back again, then nodded. ‘We’ve got twins at our school.’

  I gave her a hug and she clung to my neck like I was her long-lost best friend. ‘It’s OK,’ I said. ‘You’re OK and there’s nothing to be afraid of.’

  Over her shoulders, I could see PJ and he smiled down at me and nodded.

  Mary gave the other children a big hug each and they hung around her legs, which was a strange sight seeing as she was still dressed as a witch and most of the children were dressed as goblins.

  ‘Now all hold hands and ve’re going to go to ze gate,’ PJ instructed.

  Six little pale faces looked up at him.

  ‘Good costume,’ a little girl remarked.

  ‘Are you Dracula?’ asked one little boy.

  ‘No, not Dracula. Vy everyvon always saying zis? I am Lord of the Underworld, Pluto the great transformer, son of Ceres,’ he replied. ‘Who are you?’

  ‘Kevin Patterson, son of Betty,’ the boy replied. ‘How old are you?’

  ‘Four billion five hundred and forty-three years, three months, two days, five minutes and twenty-two seconds … ish,’ he replied.

  ‘Awesome,’ said the boy.

  ‘Vy? How old are you?’ asked PJ.

  ‘Six years, three months, er … three days, er … and not sure,’ said Kevin.

  ‘Awesome,’ said PJ, and held out his hand. Kevin took it and, solemnly and silently, the others joined hands and we began to walk towards the gate, Lilith showing the way with the torch.

  ‘You OK?’ I asked.

  She shook her head and looked near to tears. ‘Not really. I can honestly say that I’ve never been more scared in my life. It was really horrible in there, so cold, and we couldn’t see anything. It was really spooky.’

  I took my coat off and insisted she put it on. She shook her head at first. ‘No, it’s cold out here,’ she said.

  ‘I know, but I haven’t been locked in a fridge for over an hour. You wear it. I’ll be fine.’

  She put it on and we put our arms around each other. ‘You’re OK now,’ I said, and she leaned her head on my shoulder.

  Suddenly, she gripped my arm. ‘Oh no, nooooo,’ she groaned, and pointed ahead towards the gates, fear distorting her face.

  I looked up to see what she’d seen.

  ‘Ohmigod,’ I gasped. It was a truly frightening sight. Not zombies, or vampires, or witches or goblins.

  It was much, much worse.

  It was a posse of angry-looking parents. And they were coming right for us.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Last Secrets

  ‘Which one is Lilith?’ asked one irate father as he scanned the strange-looking group standing at the cemetery gates.

  Miss Regan had arrived, and Nonna with the car and chauffeur.

  The children pointed in my and Lilith’s direction. Lilith looked petrified, so I didn’t hesitate for a second. ‘I am,’ I said, and I stepped forward.

  Nonna was watching and I thought for a second that she was going to give me away, but I saw her glance at Lilith and I knew that she understood why I was doing it.

  ‘You’ll pay for this,’ said the angry father.

  ‘Yes. What on earth did you think you were doing?’ asked a frazzled-looking mother whose child was wrapped around her neck, clinging on for dear life.

  ‘I am really, really sorry,’ I said. ‘It was unbelievably stupid of me and I swear that I will never ever do anything like that again. Please believe me.’

  ‘She ought to be given detention for the rest of the year,’ said the father.

  ‘She will be punished,’ said Miss Regan, stepping forward, ‘but for now let’s get these children safely home to a warm bed. The school will decide how to deal with Lilith later.’

  Luckily the crowd was as anxious as we were to get home and quickly dispersed.

  Soon after, we were in the back of Nonna’s car on our way to our house. Lilith was very quiet and sat with her hands together, looking out of the window. I took one of her hands in mine and she turned and smiled sadly.

  Nonna was brilliant. She didn’t say anything to Lilith, nor she mention anything to Mum and Dad when they got back ten minutes after we did.

  ‘Our little secret,’ she said when they went to hang up their coats. Then she ran a hot bubble bath for Lilith and made us hot chocolate, which she brought up into my room.

  ‘Why don’t you sleep in with Eve tonight?’ she said when we’d drained our mugs. ‘You’ve had a fright.’

  Lilith looked at me. ‘Would that be all right, Evepud?’

  ‘Of course,’ I replied. ‘Any time.’

  Mum set up the camper bed for her on the other side of my room and stood at the door smiling. ‘You girls, first you want your own rooms and now you want to be together.’

  ‘Only for tonight,’ said Lilith, ‘seeing as it’s Halloween.’

  Later, when the lights were out, I sat up and turned my torch on. ‘Do you think you might write one of your poems about tonight?’

  Lilith didn’t answer for a while. ‘Actually, Eve, I … I have something to tell you about that. A … sort of secret … ’

  Now was the time, I thought. I have to tell her my last secret too. ‘Me too.’

  ‘Promise you won’t hate me,’ we chorused.

  ‘Promise,’ we said in unison again, then we both laughed.

  ‘You go first,’ we both s
aid, then laughed again.

  ‘OK,’ said Lilith. ‘I usually do, being the first woman and all.’

  ‘Exactly,’ I said.

  ‘Here goes,’ said Lilith. ‘I … it’s … oh god, this is hard. OK, I’m just going to say it. You know my poetry well I don’t write it I get it from an Internet site that writes poetry for you it gives you options like you pick a line out of four and you just choose another one then another one and it puts it together so you see I am a rotten cheat and don’t deserve any of the prizes I’ve got and I bet you hate me now and think I’m rubbish.’

  ‘I … ’ I didn’t know what to say. Lilith hadn’t written any of her poems. ‘Not one of them? You haven’t written one of them?’

  ‘No. I am rubbish at writing poetry. Totally rubbish.’

  ‘I … I … ’ I started to laugh. All that angst, all those spooky lines, she hadn’t written any of them. She laughed a little too, but I could tell that her laughter was more nervous.

  ‘You won’t tell anyone, will you?’ she asked.

  ‘Not if you don’t want me to.’

  ‘I won’t do it again. It didn’t make me feel very good, like I was a cheat.’

  ‘I won’t tell. Don’t worry.’

  Up above, there was a flash of lightning that lit up our room followed by a deep rumble of thunder. It made both of us jump and Lilith looked particularly alarmed.

  ‘Do you think that is a sign I ought to give my poetry prizes back?’ she asked.

  ‘Maybe,’ I said. ‘Or maybe it’s just thunder.’

  A second bolt of lightning flashed and an even deeper rumble of thunder boomed over us. It sounded like it was right over the house.

  ‘I … I think I ought to give the prizes back,’ said Lilith. ‘Yes. I will. I ought to.’

  ‘Your decision,’ I said. ‘I won’t tell anyone.’

  We both lay and looked up at the ceiling.

  ‘What’s your secret?’ asked Lilith after a few moments.

  ‘I do write my own poetry,’ I said. ‘I have done for years. I don’t know if it’s any good but … but it’s not goth poetry, it’s … about nice things, everything I like, including kittens. Promise you won’t vomit.’

  ‘I promise,’ said Lilith.