Ark Of Hope: Beyond The Dark Horizon

by Roger David Francis

  Queen Bebo squealed in horror which was satisfying but Gary thought he’d messed about enough, he had work to do. Leaving the fat Queen trying to bend over to pick up the pieces of broken bread and squashed cucumber, he travelled upwards, floating, towards the light in the bedroom overhead. Being a ghost had its advantages; not for him worrying about finding keys to unlock doors, he could go anywhere he wanted.

  He peered through the window. One couple were lying on the far bed, the other, Robbie and his girlfriend were sitting on pillows on the floor, talking quietly. He could of course simply will himself inside, he was spirit after all, but he thought it might be more entertaining to frighten them.

  He tapped on the window.

  Chapter 13

  Robbie yelped and pointed. “There’s a face at the window,” he gasped.

  Jade looked round but couldn’t see anything. “Are you sure?”

  “You’re going to think I’m mad but I swear it was that waiter off the ship.” Robbie held his breath. He’d recognised the thin sharp faced waiter immediately, it was hard to forget the penetrating eyes and the small sly grin Gary Wurner had worn when he’d offered him platefuls of steaming food. It was only now that Robbie was beginning to understand that he’d been drugged by the man, he just didn’t know why. He could hardly believe that he’d thought the waiter was a friend.

  Jade stood up and walked over to the window. Brett and Cassie had fallen asleep, a light cover over them. They’d decided to take turns to keep watch every three hours, but already Jade was finding it difficult to stay awake. “I think you’re just tired like me,” she said to Robbie.

  But Robbie was persistent, “I know what I saw.”

  “Why would it be him? He was haunting the ship. You must have got it wrong.”

  “Maybe he wasn’t a ghost, have you thought of that? He could have been a stowaway like us.”

  Jade thought about it. It wasn’t impossible. “So you think he might have got off the ship and followed us? Why not join us then?” She sat back on the bed next to Robbie.

  “I don’t know.” Robbie admitted. “There’s something odd about him. He singled me out, tampered with my food, put drugs in it and I don’t like him, I think he’s dangerous, and how could he be looking through the window, has he climbed up a ladder?”

  Frowning, Jade went back to the window and looked outside. Of course there was no ladder and she wondered if Robbie was hallucinating. Damn that waiter, she thought, feeding her boyfriend drugs. She thought she’d like to get her hands on him; he deserved to know what a bastard he was. She went back and sat down beside him.

  Robbie ran his fingers through his dark untidy hair. “Everything that’s happened to us since we left the Ark of Hope is weird.” He paused. “This holiday was going to be special,” he said quietly.

  “Special?”

  “You know; you and me getting to know each other better.” He smiled. “I’m not much good at this sort of stuff but just in case I don’t get the chance to tell you later, I want you to know I’ve fallen in love with you.”

  Jade squeezed his hand, “About time too,” she grinned. “I’ve loved you from the first moment we met. I’ve been waiting for you to catch up.”

  “You must think I’m an idiot, the way I’ve been behaving.”

  “It’s not your fault you were drugged, Robbie.”

  “No, but I didn’t have to be so greedy.”

  “I can’t argue with that.” Jade said. She snuggled up to him. “They say adversary brings people closer together,” she murmured and kissed him lightly on the lips. Robbie drew her closer.

  “I wish it was us under the bedclothes,” he told her.

  “So quiet, isn’t it?” Jade whispered.

  As soon as the words were out of her mouth they both heard a creak outside the bedroom door. Robbie put his finger to his lips and stood up. He crept over to the door and pressed his ear against it. For a few moments there was silence and then a loud bang made him jump backwards.

  Brett and Cassie stirred but didn’t wake up. Robbie, his eyes wide with fright beckoned Jade over to the door. “Push against it.” He whispered. The handle began to move slowly and Jade could feel her heart thumping. With both their weight against the door when the handle was fully down they could still feel the pressure of someone trying to open the door. Robbie’s face turned red with the effort and Jade could feel her arms trembling. Whoever was on the other side of the door was strong because a small gap appeared, the light in the hall creeping into the bedroom.

  “Go away,” Robbie breathed. “Whoever you are, we don’t want you in our bedroom.”

  The gap widened another inch and Jade began to feel as if her feet were sliding backwards. She whispered, “We don’t want any trouble, just leave us alone.”

  “Let me in.”

  Robbie glanced at Jade; panic in his eyes. “It’s him,” he whispered, “the waiter, I recognise his voice.” He swallowed hard, “I told you he was here.”

  “What shall we do?”

  “Well, we’re not letting him, that’s for sure.” Robbie raised his voice, “Sod off!” he bawled.

  Someone spoke in the room and Jade turned her head, her eyes widening in terror.

  Gary Wurner, the waiter from the Princess May, stood in the middle of the room grinning.

  He said, “I tried to be nice, come in politely through the door but you decided to block my entrance, so here I am at your service.” He drew the knife from his pocket. “You have to die on the Island; it’s unfortunate, I know, but it can’t be helped. I can’t risk you coming back to the ship.”

  Jade slipped her hand into Robbie’s, she said, “We’re no threat to you.”

  “Oh but you are. You’re what’s known as ‘good souls’ and I’m not allowed to send you...” He raised his eyes to the ceiling, “up there, my master wouldn’t like it. But this is okay, Sandy Island is out of bounds, it has its own set of rules, sort of neutral if you like. It’s what’s known as an inbetween place which is good for me because it means I can get away with murdering you without any comeback.” He pulled a sad comical face, “I don’t like this any more than you. I’m already going back to Hell, killing you four interfering idiots won’t make much difference to me, shit, I might even get a medal off the boss.” He tittered.

  “What if we promise to stay on the Island?” Robbie said calmly. He was watching Gary Wurner’s hand waving the knife around and was trying to calculate how many seconds it would take him to head butt the bastard.

  “I know it’s a shame,” Gary said conversationally, “but you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. I don’t know whether it’s true about your boat capsizing in a storm and quite honestly I don’t really care. You’re here and you could mess up my plan and I can’t let that happen, I’ve waited too long to get my revenge.” He shook his head, “I might have left you alone but I don’t trust you not to come sneaking back on the ship. The rules state that I can kill you on the Island, just not on the ship. You can’t go messing with time you know.” He finished primly.

  “We’ve got no intention of going back to the ship,” Jade said, her voice trembling. “You don’t have to do this.”

  “Yes, I do,” Gary said. He nodded at Brett and Cassie, “Don’t worry about waking them up; they’re both sharing a lovely dream together, probably about sex, it’s all anyone ever thinks about, I’ll deal with them afterwards. I’m afraid you’re on your own.” He tutted, “I don’t have long, less than a hundred and fifty minutes, and I can’t afford to waste more than a couple of them on you. I’ve got important business left to do.”

  He began advancing slowly towards them, the knife held high.

  Robbie pushed Jade away from the door towards the corner of the room and Gary laughed. “You can’t get away from me. Keep still and I’ll make it quick.”

  The door burst open and Queen Bebo thrust her huge body through.

  “You tried to steal my cucumber sandwiches,” she roared
and threw her whole body weight on top of Gary. The knife flew out of his hand and he went down backwards, the Queen’s body landing on top of him.

  “No! This isn’t what’s supposed to happen!” he screamed. But he couldn’t moved, pinned under the weight of this fat terrifying warrior who was as bad as the rest of them, pushing him aside, trampling over his body, not letting him escape. Now he was about to go hurtling back to Hell without even the slightest hope he would get another chance for revenge.

  “It’s not fair!” he yelled the words but they came out as a whisper and then he felt the first searing pain of the heat that awaited him. “Wait,” he gasped, his fist’s drumming on the floor, “My time’s not up yet, you promised me I had until ten o’clock.” He cried out to the swirling black smoke that was filling the room.

  The charcoal mist began to ebb away and Gary breathed fresh air as he found himself lying on the forest floor.

  He’d failed!

  How had the fat Queen got to the room without him hearing her? She was hardly light on her big feet. He realised he’d been so engrossed in playing out his charade that he hadn’t been paying attention and he’d only got himself to blame for messing up. But he couldn’t give up now, he’d been granted a reprieve but it had been a close call.

  He stood up slowly and growled. This wasn’t a game anymore, he was losing his touch, he’d let a woman defeat him, a giant of a woman but still a bitch. And Gary Wurner knew what to do with bitches.

  Jade watched Queen Bebo thrashing about on the floor and wondered how long it would take her to realise that she was pummelling air. Gary Wurner had gone and Brett and Cassie were waking up.

  “What’s happening?” Brett was rubbing his eyes. Cassie pushed the bed cover down and stared at Robbie who was bent over the Queen trying to help her to stand up. It was a mammoth task and Cassie almost giggled as twice Robbie slipped and almost landed on top of the giant woman. Jade stepped in to help and between them they managed to get Queen Bebo up on her feet. She looked furious.

  “What do you think you’re playing at?” She snarled. “I didn’t say you could invite your friend around and then let him steal from me. He took my food and tried to run off with it, I found a trail of bread and cucumber in the garden. Wasted my precious sandwiches, he did, left them for the wretched Choolies to pick over. I wouldn’t have minded if he’d eaten them, the skinny swine.” She looked around the room her eyes narrowing, “Where did he go?”

  “It’s okay, he won’t be coming back,” Jade told her.

  “He’d better not. I have to go to bed hungry because of him.”

  “What did you want anyway?” Robbie asked.

  “Toffin and Dink are missing. I thought they might be in your room.” She paused looking suspiciously around the bedroom. “Did you invite them up to try and find out where the Chalice of Truth is hidden?”

  “No, of course not.” Jade said, adding, “Why would you think they’d know?”

  “None of your business,” Queen Bebo replied shortly.

  “Well, we’re not interested in finding it, honestly,” Jade said.

  “Honestly? Do you know the meaning of the word? Honestly is not stealing my food.” She shook her head, her large jowls wobbling. “They know they’re not allowed outside,” she muttered.

  “Why is that?” Cassie asked, sitting up.

  “Because they’re out of control like the rest of them,” Queen Bebo shouted.

  “You mean there are more like them?”

  Queen Bebo gave Brett a dirty look. “Of course. There are thousands of the wretched things, all hiding in the caves on the Island. I managed to catch two of the blighters in a rat trap in the basement. They’re slippery.” She huffed. “They make good servants though once they know whose boss.”

  Jade decided she didn’t like Queen Bebo very much, even if she had just saved their lives.

  “Where do they come from?” Brett asked curiously.

  “How should I know? Nobody tells me anything. I suppose they’re from another planet, they’re not human, they don’t bleed.”

  “How do you know?” Cassie murmured.

  Queen Bebo gave her a dirty look. “I’ve tried poking them with a knife, their skin’s like sponge, the blade just bounded off them.”

  Cassie felt a surge of distaste for the big woman and she turned away in disgust.

  With one last suspicious look around the bedroom the Queen stomped out of the door, shaking the floor.

  “What the hell was that about?” Brett asked when the door closed.

  “Gary Wurner, the waiter tried to murder us.” Jade told him.

  Brett stared at her. “Why didn’t we wake up?”

  “I don’t know.” Jade felt weary. “But we were seconds away from being stabbed to death.”

  “She’s telling the truth, Brett,” Robbie said, “He was here and he had a knife. It seems he wants us dead. When he’d finished with us he was planning on killing you and Cassie while you slept.”

  “Why?” Cassie looked bewildered. “What have we ever done to him?”

  A little voice spoke from the corner of the room. “He wants revenge. He won’t rest until the passengers on the Princess May suffer as he did.”

  Hope moved into the centre of the room, her polka dot dress floating around her small figure.

  “Professor Bunting’s granddaughter,” Brett said to Jade. “She was in the cabin on the boat.”

  “I know,” Jade said, “her name is Hope.”

  “Did you follow us onto the Island?” Jade asked curiously.

  “Yes, I’m looking out for you; it’s what my Poppy would want.” She smiled. “Mr Wurner will come after you; he’s afraid you’ll go back to the Princess May and stop him from carrying out his plan. You have to leave this house now, tonight, and find somewhere to hide until morning. Then you must go back to the same place you got off the ship and wait.”

  “For what?” Robbie asked.

  “You’ll see.” And Hope shimmered for a moment and then disappeared.

  “What do you think?” Robbie asked Brett.

  “We should do as she said, all agreed?” He bit his lip, “I don’t want to spend any more time in this house, I warned you there’d be trouble.”

  Reluctantly Cassie stood up. “How are we supposed to hide from a bloody ghost?” she grumbled.

  They crept down the stairs, every creak of the steps making Jade wince, terrified Queen Bebo would coming storming out and catch them. She couldn’t quite understand why she felt like a prisoner. The enormous woman might be strange but there’d been no suggestion of holding them there against their will, even so she couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling off that something was amiss.

  They reached the front door.

  “Going somewhere?” The odd little robot called Dink came out from behind a small broom cupboard underneath the stairs. Her hairless eyelids fluttered and her stubby hands waved vaguely around the hall. “The Queen won’t like it if you don’t stay for breakfast.” She said, in a squeaky voice and then added, “You’ve got nowhere to go; he’s waiting for you outside.”

  “Who is?” Brett asked.

  “The spirit from Hell. He’s determined to kill you. He hasn’t got long; he needs to stop you from going back to the ship. Queen Bebo won’t protect you; she only cares about cucumber sandwiches.”

  “What do you think?” Brett asked Robbie. “Do we stay or do we risk it and leave?”

  “I know a hiding place,” Dink said. “Follow me.” She began walking back into the broom cupboard.

  “Okay,” Said Cassie, “I say we hide in the cupboard until that murdering waiter has gone back to the ship. It’s only a few more hours until ten o’clock then we should be safe.”

  “It’s a plan,” Robbie agreed.

  Dink had disappeared through the small door so Brett ducked his head down and followed, the other three crowding in behind him. At first it was too dark to see anything and then a faint yellow beam lit up the
room. It was much larger than the small entrance door had suggested and much colder. Cassie shivered and made a little moaning sound, her teeth chattering.

  Everywhere was stone; the walls, the floor, even the ceiling.

  “It’s a bloody cave,” Robbie hissed.

  “The whole Island is made up of underground caves,” Dink told them. “Warm in the winter, cool in the summer, what more could you want?” Her strange mouth twitched but her eyes remained flat and cold. “Hurry up,” she said, “I haven’t got all day, I’ve got work to do making sandwiches.”

  Dink began walking through a passageway at the end of the room so Brett shrugged. “We’d better keep up with her, I suppose. These underground tunnels must run under the whole house. At least we’ll be safe from that weird waiter.”

  Leaving the large room they entered a long dark passageway lit only by candle flames every six foot or so. At the end Dink turned left and disappeared. Jade thought she could hear the sound of running water up ahead and wasn’t surprised when they turned the corner to find a massive lake being fed from a waterfall in front of them.

  “Good God,” Robbie murmured.

  “Some broom cupboard,” Cassie agreed. She looked around. The lake was lit with thousands of tiny lights that almost looked like stars twinkling overhead. I wouldn’t care for Queen Bebo’s electricity bill, she thought randomly. “Where’s Dink gone?” she asked.

  The robot had disappeared, left them to it. The ledge in front of them was set along the wall of the cave, no more than two feet wide and slippery with green algae. To get to the other side past the waterfall looked to be about thirty feet long. Jade thought if it was five feet long she wouldn’t want to step onto it. There was a terrifying long drop into the water below.

  “I’m not crossing that,” Cassie moaned. “I can’t swim much more than a few feet and there’s nothing I can see to hold onto.”

  “Cassie’s right. It’s too dangerous,” Jade said firmly. “Maybe Dink is hoping we’ll fall into the water and drown, she probably works for Gary Wurner.”