Benjamin Forrest and the School at the End of the World

by Chris Ward

  ‘Yeah, and us, too. I say we go back.’

  ‘Just because you’ve got the hots for that girl he runs around with. As if she’d be interested in you anyway.’

  Benjamin placed the voice now. Derek, one of Godfrey’s crew. One of the nastier ones, but not a boy to act alone. He was a member of the construction club so had likely been driving the truck. Even so, he wouldn’t have come out here unless—

  ‘Shut up, you idiots. Listen.’ The voice belonged to Godfrey. His tone was dark, conspiratorial. Benjamin felt a tingle of fear. Despite the strange happening in the gym, he had always considered Godfrey a bully and a fool, but now … he wasn’t so sure.

  ‘There’s a place down by the river,’ Godfrey said. ‘Someone I know is waiting for him. We’ll be rewarded for handing him over.’

  ‘With what?’

  Godfrey gave a sinister laugh. ‘What do you miss the most? Whatever you want, my friend can get it. Chocolate? Cookies?’

  ‘Video games?’

  ‘Boiled sweets?’

  ‘You want it, it’s yours. He can get anything.’

  ‘Ah, man.’

  ‘Let’s go, then.’

  ‘But what about—’

  A short cry of pain was accompanied by a tired, ‘Shut up, Snout,’ then, strong hands pulled Benjamin up. He squeezed his eyes shut and then opened them, pretending to have just woken up.

  ‘Well, look who it is, and his teddy bear’s picnic club friends,’ Benjamin said to Godfrey. ‘You’re as ugly in the morning as you are the rest of the day.’

  Godfrey scowled, then punched Benjamin in the face. Not a hard blow, but it took Benjamin by surprise and left his ears ringing.

  ‘Perhaps the river’s the best option after all,’ Godfrey said, glancing back at the other gang members sitting behind him. As well as Snout and Derek, there were three other boys Benjamin had seen around but couldn’t recall their names.

  ‘The sharks and crocs will eat him,’ Derek said.

  ‘They’ll spit me out,’ Benjamin answered, trying to sound convincing.

  ‘We’ll chop you up first so they just think you’re food.’ Godfrey turned to Snout and Derek. ‘Load him up.’

  They tied the bonds on his hands and feet together, pulling the rope so tight Benjamin was bent almost double, then carried him to where the van was parked and tossed him into the back. Derek, Snout, and another boy climbed into the front, while Godfrey and the others got into the open back. Godfrey stood beside where Benjamin lay, always ready with a sharp kick if Benjamin offered up a token insult. They didn’t gag him because Godfrey seemed to enjoy the verbal trade, plus no one would hear if he cried out for help.

  The van bumped along for about an hour, then came to a stop atop a small rise. Snout untied the rope linking Benjamin’s hands and feet, then the others pulled him out of the van and stood him up. Godfrey tied a third piece of rope around Benjamin’s neck like a leash.

  ‘You lot stay here. I’ll be back soon.’

  Taking a hard piece of bamboo fencing cane from the back of the van, Godfrey herded Benjamin down a path that angled around the rise, then down to the black waters of the river.

  Benjamin had never seen the river close up before, and now that he did, he realised there could be none quite like it. It wasn’t that there was rubbish floating in the water; it was that there was so much rubbish, he could imagine every city on Earth having decided to drop their waste into this particular river. TVs and refrigerators bobbed in the slow-moving current near the riverbank alongside plastic watering cans, wooden picture frames, old shoes, and all manner of other discarded objects both large and small. Just off the near bank, a red-and-white soccer ball bobbed among bottles and juice cartons, while halfway across, the stern of an upended fishing trawler eased past as the river laboured its way toward the coast.

  The path steepened. Benjamin had no intention of going near the water, but every time he paused, Godfrey jabbed him in the back so he had little choice. They descended through bushes and small trees, past areas of bare earth having been dug out by rises in the water. The rocks underfoot became slick, and Benjamin worried he would slip and tumble face-first into the water.

  ‘This way,’ Godfrey snapped, poking Benjamin down a set of stone steps leading into a gully carved out of the riverbank. At the bottom, Benjamin found himself at the entrance to a cave cut into an overhang. Water lapped around his feet.

  In the gloom below was a ceiling of mud, roots, and the occasional glimmer of plastic or glass shards, where a small wooden shrine hummed with reanimation, shaking from side to side as though trying to break free from wooden fittings embedded into the mud. Set into a frame on a little altar was a bleached human skull which looked like any other human skull except for one distinct difference: the metal circles in the eye sockets.

  Godfrey pushed Benjamin into the sludge, shoving and berating him until he lay flat on the mucky ground where the point of Godfrey’s makeshift spear poked into his back. As Benjamin lay still, Godfrey began to chant in a language Benjamin had never heard before. He turned his head, looking toward the shrine with its metal-eyed skull, then let out a gasp of horror.

  The eyes had begun to glow orange, flickering like the bulbs of a wind-up flashlight. The jawbone lowered, and out of a crackle of radio static, a reedy voice said, ‘Why have you come?’

  ‘I have a gift for the Dark Man,’ Godfrey said. ‘The troublemaker, Benjamin Forrest. Tell him to come, and I’ll bring Forrest to him.’

  ‘The Dark Man will not be commanded,’ the voice said. ‘But your folly will be overlooked this time.’

  Before Godfrey could speak again, a grinding filled the air, a sound so loud Benjamin’s ears began to ring. Unable to clamp his hands over them to keep the sound out, Benjamin pushed one side of his face, and then the other, into the muck, hoping to fill his ears with enough silt to stop him from going deaf.

  ‘He’s coming!’

  The point of Godfrey’s spear lifted and Benjamin rolled onto his side to look back at the river.

  ‘Godfrey … what have you done?’

  The water was drawing back from the river’s edge to reveal a dry mud path down toward its centre. Benjamin stared, openmouthed, as the waters parted, creating two immense walls of rubbish and gunge with a thin passageway leading between them.

  Benjamin stared down the path toward the centre. The far side of the river was a grey haze, but dark tendrils of smoke rose up out of the ground to form themselves into a shape.

  A tickle of dread ran down Benjamin’s neck. ‘Please, Godfrey, no. Please don’t take me to him.’

  Godfrey ignored him as he stared at the distant figure. ‘There you are,’ he whispered. ‘You came, like you said you would.’

  ‘Godfrey, no! Turn away from him!’

  The rope jerked, pulling Benjamin forward. He tried to resist, but Godfrey jabbed the point of his spear into Benjamin’s ribs until Benjamin climbed to his feet. Then he tried to break away, but Godfrey grabbed his arms and swung him around.

  At the very centre of the river stood a black-cloaked figure, unmoving, face hidden in shadow. Despite the walls of water that loomed like townhouses over his head, light spread out from him, illuminating the path, casting Godfrey and Benjamin in a sepia glow.

  Come to me. Let us be united.

  Benjamin spun around. The figure hadn’t moved. Godfrey was still dragging him, eyes fixed upon the Dark Man up ahead.

  You hear me, Benjamin. Come to me. Let us be united.

  ‘Who’s speaking to me? Who are you?’

  You know my name. You know me as well as you know yourself.

  ‘No! Get out of my head!’

  Benjamin threw himself at the floor, but Godfrey planted a heavy kick to his stomach and dragged him back upright, holding on to his shoulders to march him forward. Benjamin started to struggle, and Godfrey threw his spear aside to clamp his arms around Benjamin’s chest and lift him off the ground.

  The Dark M
an was just a stones’ throw from them now. A hand lifted to push back the hood. Benjamin jerked out of Godfrey’s grasp, twisting away just long enough to catch sight of something huge and long and metallic turning in to the end of the path between the rubbish walls, when Godfrey swung him back around to look into the calming, all-knowing face of a man older than his father, dark-haired, blue-eyed, a smile breaking out on his lips—

  ‘No!’

  Benjamin clenched every muscle, feeling a uncanny connection with the world around him, as though he could touch anything behind his body that he chose, and he reached for the walls of water, drawing them forward. The world filled with a rumble as spray soaked him and rubbish bouncing in the water jostled together like the clacking teeth of a giant, then, in the instant before the two walls crashed together, the Dark Man’s smile vanished, replaced by a momentary look of hatred. He scowled at Benjamin once, then faded away into nothing.

  Godfrey screamed as the walls began to topple. He let go of Benjamin and bolted for the far riverbank, even as the water crashed down. Benjamin turned back the way they had come, where something monstrous bore down on him, a huge metallic maw opening to scoop him up an instant before he would have been crushed into nothing by a thousand tons of water. He bumped down a ramp into blackness and crashed into something metal, then heard Godfrey’s scream as the other boy was also sucked up by the giant, slithering beast.

  Then everything turned on end. Benjamin rolled backward, and for the second time in as many hours, he found something heavy connecting with the side of his head.

  30

  LAWRENCE

  When he woke up, something hard was at his back. His head hurt too much to open his eyes, so he reached around—his bonds were gone, even though his sore wrists were a reminder of where they had been—and felt the rough, crusty bark of a tree.

  ‘Benjamin?’

  The voice was familiar. He searched for the name: ‘Miranda?’

  ‘You’re awake! Thank heaven!’

  He groaned. ‘It looks like it.’

  She sat on the grass in front of him, her crimson red hair framing her face. ‘Wow, that was quite something. Another second and you were gone. Are you all right?’

  ‘What happened?’

  ‘Look.’

  Benjamin shook his head to clear away some of the grogginess, then turned to take in his surroundings. They sat on the edge of a meadow surrounded on all sides by trees. The meadow gently sloped downhill, and there, amongst the long grass lay a giant, red snake.

  He frowned. But it had windows, and appeared to be made of metal.

  ‘Great, isn’t it? Edgar’s snake-train. When we told him you had gone missing he called it and it promised to bring you to safety. I mean, I’ve read about rollercoasters in books, but that was incredible. I can’t believe any ride could be better than that.’

  ‘Edgar?’

  ‘He’s here, and so is Wilhelm. We rescued you.’ She glanced back over her shoulder, where another boy sat in the shade of a nearby tree, sleeping quietly. His hands were tied behind his back.

  ‘Is that who I think it is?’

  Miranda nodded. ‘We also rescued Godfrey. I suggested we throw him into the river, but Edgar wouldn’t think of it. Said he was too valuable. Maybe only for the thousands of cleans he deserves as punishment for kidnapping you, but I’d happily see him disappear into that sludge.’

  ‘I remember … he took me down to the river and called for the…’ Benjamin looked up. ‘I saw his face, Miranda.’

  ‘Whose face?’

  ‘The Dark Man. I looked into his eyes.’

  Miranda shook her head. ‘No you didn’t, so don’t worry. Edgar says that was a projection. For some reason, the Dark Man can’t leave the High Mountains.’

  ‘We’re all in danger, I know it.’

  She smiled. ‘Then why did you run off on your crazy quest? You didn’t even manage to get across the river.’

  ‘I was working up to it.’

  Miranda’s smile dropped. ‘Look. We saved you this time, but if you ever, ever, ever run off again without telling anyone, I swear I’ll pull out your teeth one by one. Really slowly, no anesthetic. None. Not even over-the-counter stuff.’

  ‘Okay, it’s a deal.’

  ‘Good.’

  A shadow fell over them and Benjamin looked up. Edgar stood there, carrying a basket of wild mushrooms. Wilhelm stood beside him, his hair all ruffled as though he had enjoyed the ride with his head out of a window.

  ‘Welcome back to the land of the living. And welcome, also, to the Haunted Forest.’

  Benjamin looked around at the pleasant meadow. ‘It doesn’t look very haunted.’

  ‘Not during daytime, but you don’t want to be wandering around in here by night.’

  ‘Godfrey does,’ Miranda said. ‘Godfrey wants to stay here on his own and get eaten by ghouls. I heard they have really small teeth so it takes ages and ages.’

  ‘Don’t be rude, Miranda,’ Edgar scolded. ‘It wouldn’t be right to leave him behind. But, alas, the yellow sun is setting, so it’s time to get back on board. I’ll call Lawrence.’

  Benjamin frowned. ‘Lawrence?’

  ‘My snake-train.’ Edgar gestured behind him. ‘The fastest mode of transport in the whole of Endinfinium.’

  ‘It’s incredible.’

  ‘It’s a “he.” And yes, he is. You’re from when, 2010?’

  Benjamin shook his head. ‘I’m from … well, was from 2015.’

  Edgar stroked his pointed beard. ‘Well, Lawrence is a reanimated AGV Italo, an eleven-car Italian train that at your point in history is the third fastest train in the world. You know where Rome is?’

  ‘Of course. Italy. We studied it in school.’

  ‘Lawrence ran along the Rome-Milan line, enjoying some of the most spectacular views of that fine country, no doubt.’ Edgar sighed. ‘Alas, I’ve only ever seen pictures in books, but Lawrence has assured me it was quite the picturesque journey. Unfortunately, everything comes to an end—at least, in some places—and Lawrence was eventually scrapped in 2032. Some time after, he awoke here in Endinfinium.’

  ‘That’s amazing. How do you know all that?’

  ‘We talked, of course. He’s not the easiest of creatures to converse with, but from time to time he finds something to say.’

  ‘Oh.’

  Edgar led them aboard. Godfrey, a little surprisingly, perhaps, offered no resistance to being led back onto the train. Lawrence’s interior was very much like a posh version of Benjamin’s father’s trains, but the walls, floor, and ceiling were infused with thick scales to give Lawrence a flexible mobility that no regular train had. The locomotive part had developed a very animalesque mind of its own, its sleek front becoming a huge mouth, and the windows massive, all-seeing eyes that glowed enough to illuminate the terrain a carriage’s length in front of them.

  Edgar told them to strap in. Godfrey was secured to a chair near the back of the carriage and warned that if he ran his mouth, he would have to wear a gag for the rest of the journey. Benjamin strapped in next to a window that opened and closed as the great creature breathed. Beside him, Wilhelm looked like a nervous kid about to fly for the first time.

  ‘It doesn’t run on rails,’ Wilhelm muttered. ‘Sometimes it goes straight up.’

  ‘Where are we going?’ Benjamin asked. ‘Not back to the school, I hope.’

  From his seat at the front, Edgar turned around. Beside him stood a huge, blinking screen that was one of Lawrence’s eyes. At the moment, it showed only an area of forest at the edge of the meadow.

  ‘The High Mountains,’ Edgar said. ‘I have heard you desire to speak with the Grand Lord concerning personal matters. I would like to speak with him, too. I’m rather interested in the reason for Grand Lord Bastien’s failure to return. While I might no longer be part of the school’s affairs, I also have none of the duties of the other teachers, making myself the perfect person to go and find him.’

 
The snake-train jerked, throwing them against the seat straps, and Benjamin winced as pain shot through his legs. Several new cuts had appeared on the backs of his thighs. He eased back into the seat, wishing he didn’t have to sit down.

  Lawrence jerked again, and then the forest was rushing toward them. Benjamin and the others whooped with excitement as trees whipped past, the snake-train dodging back and forth to miraculously miss every single one.

  Miranda hadn’t been joking about a rollercoaster ride. Lawrence both thrilled and terrified as he tore first through the forest, then skimmed across the surface of a lake, before rushing up the side of a steep, rocky hillside in motions that reminded Benjamin of a cat climbing a tree.

  The ride lasted several hours and Benjamin found himself dozing off at one point, only to be awakened by Miranda’s screams as Lawrence leapt off the top of a high cliff, then splashed down into a lake’s inky depths, before surfacing in a rush and landing with a dancer’s delicacy on a pebbly shoreline. The snake-train barely paused for a breath, and then he was off again, rushing into yet another forest, dozens of wheels that had reanimated into metal feet pulling him swiftly over the ground.

  Finally, as the yellow sun began to set, dipping behind the red sun as it began its own circuit across the sky, Lawrence clambered up the side of a steep valley and came to a stop on a rocky crest that overlooked a vast, sweeping floodplain.

  Edgar turned back in his seat. ‘Behold,’ he said. ‘The High Mountains.’

  Several miles distant, the floodplain rose again into a row of jagged peaks that spanned the horizon. Behind an initial wall of snowcapped teeth, lightning flashed, and the sky glowed where volcanic eruptions sent red-and-yellow fireworks pluming into the air.

  They climbed stiffly out of their seats and went outside. Like a wingless dragon, Lawrence had curled around a large, granite outcrop, his metallic locomotive head nodding slowly in the direction of the High Mountains like an apprentice acknowledging an old master.

  A terrible sense of foreboding hung about the place. It wasn’t especially cold, yet Benjamin shivered. Miranda’s hand slipped into his, and he felt Wilhelm standing close on his other side.