The Amphiblets

by Oghenegweke, Helen

  ‘You surprised me tonight,’ said Ed.

  ‘How come?’ asked Riley.

  ‘The way you jumped on to the ceiling. You’re afraid of heights, but that didn’t stop you. You were amazing.’

  ‘I did what I had to in order to survive,’ smiled Riley. With that, he scaled the wall towards Ed’s bedroom where he found the phone. Crawling back onto the wooden beams, he passed it to Ed.

  ‘You call her,’ he said. ‘You know her better than I do.’

  So Ed dialled the number and after a few rings she responded. ‘Oh, Ed, something terrible has happened,’ she said.

  Ed groaned softly as his pain intensified. ‘What is it?’ he asked, gritting his teeth.

  ‘Are you okay Ed?’

  ‘No. I need your help. I’ve been shot. I was hoping you might persuade your dad to send some help.’

  ‘Oh, Ed,’ cried Elisha. ‘That’s what I wanted to tell you. Remember when you called earlier. Well, Dad traced your call. I didn’t know what he was planning until a few minutes ago. He should be with you in less than a few minutes.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Yes, really,’ she replied. ‘I’ll call him straight away and let him know what happened. But what exactly did happen?’

  ‘Well, the man who wasn’t really my dad, shot me tonight. He wanted to kill my brother and me. But I’ll explain everything to you later. Riley’s also got an injury but not as bad as mine. Tell your dad to be careful. Has he got a gun?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ said Elisha. ‘Why would he need a gun?’

  ‘To protect himself against the wild animal, that’s been in the news. The one responsible for killing all those people. We saw it tonight.’

  ‘Oh my God. I’ll let Dad know and I’ll call you back,’ said Elisha.

  So the boys waited together. They were numb and spent the time unravelling the bizarre events that had unfolded during the night. They had gone to sleep that evening not expecting such dramatic events to occur. They hadn’t known the Professor was in the area. Gradually they became aware of a distant rumble that grew steadily louder as it approached and stopped a short distance away. Despite his pain, Ed smiled at his brother. They’d lost a father but their brother had returned to them. It was anyone’s guess where Will had been for the past eight years. They had no idea what was wrong with him or how he had killed Hugo, if that was the truth. Who could ever believe anything that the Professor had to say? So far, the two brothers were immune to the poison soaking through his clothes.

  Soon there were voices, calling outside the lodge.

  ‘Ed? Riley? Are you both here?’ The voice sounded deep and trustworthy.

  Riley went to investigate. ‘We’re here!’ he called towards a group of men. ‘One of my brothers has been shot and the other is covered in poison, so don’t touch him.’

  ‘What the devil has happened here tonight?’ asked the man. He was tall, balding, with vibrant blue eyes, and wore a silver suit. ‘There’s a car parked near here ripped to shreds! Do you know anything about it? There’s blood all over it. It’s a massacre.’

  Riley didn’t want to know the details. Instead he guided the man into the lodge to where his brothers were.

  ‘Don’t worry, son. We’ll get you to the hospital. By the way, I’m Elisha’s father. You can call me Bob.’

  ‘I thought that’s who you were,’ said Riley. ‘You and your daughter have the same eyes.’

  The man paused to study the boys’ features in the light. Their eyes were strange and their fingers were webbed. ‘Perhaps we shouldn’t go to the hospital,’ he said. ‘They ask an awful lot of questions, which I’m sure you’d rather not answer. I’ll take you back to my house and you can receive treatment there. I have a doctor who I rely on an awful lot. I’d trust him with my life.’

  ‘Thanks,’ said Riley, climbing the wall to Bob’s amazement and carrying his brothers down one at a time. ‘I’ll carry Will to the helicopter. You shouldn’t touch him.’

  ‘Thanks,’ said Bob, who switched his attention to Ed.

  There were another five men standing guard outside the lodge, all holding guns. With an armed escort, the boys felt safe. All except for Will, who had no awareness of what was happening around him. It would be a few hours more before he woke. They climbed into the helicopter and strapped themselves in for the ride of their lives as they were flown to Elisha’s home.

  32

  The Reunion

  The first thing Will was aware of when he woke was the pounding in his head. He rolled over in bed, groaning loudly.

  ‘He’s awake!’ said a voice.

  Will turned to its owner and grunted. ‘Who the hell are you?’ He stared at Riley with a bewildered expression. ‘Where am I? What am I doing here? Where’s Peter?’

  ‘Will. It’s me – Riley. Don’t worry, you’re safe now.’

  Will’s frown relaxed as he studied the face before him. Now that he had time to think and wake up properly, he recalled the photographs Hugo had shown him. ‘Riley? Is that you?’

  Riley nodded. Neither of them knew what to say next. Then as if on cue, the two reached towards one another and hugged, before laughing as they had when they were children.

  ‘I thought I would never see you, again,’ said Will, excitedly. ‘When the Professor moved house with you, I thought I had lost you for good. Though when Hugo arrived unexpectedly at our door, I hoped there was a chance I might see you again. Where’s Ed?’

  ‘I’m here,’ said a voice by the door, and Ed limped into the room on crutches.

  ‘What happened to you?’ asked Will.

  ‘The Professor shot me,’ Ed explained. Will gasped. ‘It’s a long story.’

  Will dashed out of bed and ran towards Ed, embracing his brother. He had been cruelly taken from them eight years ago but now the brothers were reunited. Everything was going to be all right. Riley joined them and the three boys held one another close.

  ‘I can’t you believe you’ve been alive all this time!’ said Ed, sniffing and wiping his tears on his sleeve. ‘And I can’t believe that Hugo knew all the while but was too frightened to tell us.’

  Will was smiling properly for the first time in ages. Then all of a sudden his smile vanished as he remembered what had happened to Hugo. ‘Oh, no!’ he whispered, tears stinging his eyes.

  ‘What is it?’ asked Riley and Ed together.

  ‘Something awful happened,’ he explained. ‘I remembered something. Hugo’s dead!’

  ‘We know,’ said Riley, gently. ‘The Professor told us what happened. It wasn’t your fault, Will. You were angry and poison was secreted from your glands. You weren’t to know. If anyone was to blame it was the Professor – not you. He was the one that created us.’

  ‘So you know!’ gasped Will. ‘How did you find out?’

  ‘Ed had drawn a picture of the convention and I happened to notice he had drawn a logo so I went on the internet to search for it. I came across a website, which had the Professor’s picture on it. Except it wasn’t the Professor …’

  ‘Yes, it was!’ Ed butted in. ‘I’ve already told you there’s an exact likeness.’

  ‘Yes, but the picture was taken eighty years ago,’ said Riley, ‘so it couldn’t have been him.’

  ‘Huh?’ asked Will, confused.

  So the two brothers explained everything to Will of what they had discovered. How there was a man who was supposedly the Professor’s father who was identical to the Professor. And how they had found a disk, with the video footage of their mother and themselves when they were babies.

  ‘I’ve still got the disk!’ said Ed, proudly. ‘It’s in my bag.’

  ‘I want to see it, later’ said Will. ‘The Professor is much older than we think he is. He’s been around for ages though I don’t know how he managed it. Peter will explain it to you. He knows an awful lot.’

  ‘Peter?’ asked Ed.

  ‘Yes, my dad. I must tell him where I am. He’ll be worried sick. So will S
carlet and Ruby.’

  ‘Who are they?’ asked the two brothers together.

  ‘Peter adopted me, and then Scarlet married Peter,’ explained Will. ‘Ruby is Scarlet’s daughter. You know, the one we first met at Professor Kyle’s house.’

  ‘The one that disappeared!’ gasped Ed and Riley together.

  ‘Yes, there’s a reason for that,’ said Will awkwardly. ‘She’s not exactly from this region.’

  ‘So where is she from?’ asked Riley.

  Will pointed his finger to the ceiling. ‘From outer space.’

  Riley and Ed broke into laughter.

  ‘How funny! They say girls are a different species,’ said Riley.

  ‘Oh, do they?’ said a voice from behind them. Elisha was smiling with her hand on her hip in the doorway. ‘Well, perhaps that’s why we’re more intelligent.’

  ‘Who’s that?’ whispered Will.

  ‘Will, meet Elisha. We rescued her from her kidnapper,’ explained Ed, going forwards to meet her. He held on to her elbow, much to Will’s surprise.

  ‘It’s nice to meet you, Will,’ replied Elisha, holding Ed gently. ‘I’ve been waiting to see you for ages, but Dad told me not to come up here. In the end I decided to sneak up anyway.’

  Will noticed that she wasn’t looking directly at him. He frowned. What was wrong with her eyes?

  ‘Elisha, I need to make a phone call to my dad,’ Will explained.

  At the mention of the word ‘Dad’, Riley and Ed exchanged another glance.

  ‘I thought you might,’ she smiled and withdrew a phone from her pocket. ‘Use this.’ She reached out and Riley took the phone from her to pass to Will.

  ‘Thanks.’ He dialled and waited. A breathless voice answered.

  ‘Hello?’

  ‘Ruby, it’s me, Will!’

  ‘Oh, my God!’ she screamed. ‘Mum! Dad! It’s Will! Are you all right?’

  ‘Yeah, I’m fine.’

  ‘Where are you?’

  ‘I’m not sure.’ So he asked the others. ‘Where am I?’

  ‘At my house,’ Elisha told him. ‘In Richmond. It’s called Great Green Hall.’

  ‘Will, Dad wants to speak to you. I’m going to pass you over.’

  ‘Will, are you okay son?’

  ‘Yeah, I’m fine, Dad.’ Will smiled at his father’s concern.

  ‘Where are you?’

  ‘I’m at a house called Great Green Hall in Richmond.’

  ‘Is the Professor with you?’

  ‘No. I don’t know where he is,’ said Will. ‘I’m with my two brothers.’

  There was a pause. ‘I’ll be there in a jiffy,’ said Peter.

  Three minutes later there was a commotion in the hallway. Voices were raised in a panic. Riley and Will rushed from the room, while Ed carefully escorted Elisha.

  ‘How did you get in here?’ they heard the housekeeper ask. ‘You can’t enter this property without being invited! What happened to the security guards?’

  ‘I can do what I like! I’m here for my son!’ snapped the visitor.

  Will immediately recognised her voice and leapt over the banister, landing at the woman’s feet. ‘Scarlet!’

  ‘Will!’ Scarlet pulled him into her arms and held him tight. ‘We’ve been so worried about you.’

  ‘How did you get here so quickly?’ he asked.

  Scarlet made a face. ‘I was in the area, searching for you,’ she said in such a way that Will knew she meant, I’ll tell you later but not in front of all these people.

  Elisha’s father appeared in the doorway next to a rather anxious-looking housekeeper.

  ‘Is everything all right?’ he asked, frowning.

  ‘I’m so sorry to come barging in here,’ Scarlet apologised. ‘I wanted to make sure Will was safe. You see the last time we saw Will was when the Professor had taken him away. I wasn’t sure what situation he was in. Please accept my apologies.’

  ‘Apologies accepted,’ said Bob, puzzled by the intrusion. ‘Might I offer you some refreshments?’

  ‘Yes, that would be lovely. But would you mind the rest of my family coming in?’

  ‘Not at all. The more the merrier.’ He nodded to the housekeeper who immediately went to open the door.

  ‘You can come in!’ she called.

  Ruby was the first to appear. As soon as she saw Will she flung her arms around him and squeezed him so tight he could hardly breathe. Peter came in next and did the same thing.

  ‘I thought I had lost you for good,’ he whispered, wiping a tear from his eye. ‘I don’t ever want to lose you again.’

  Will smiled sadly and bit his lower lip. He withdrew from Peter’s embrace. ‘I didn’t mean to do it,’ he whispered.

  ‘Do what?’ asked Peter.

  ‘Kill Hugo. I loved Hugo. I’d never have wanted to hurt him.’ Will rested his head on Peter’s chest and sobbed.

  ‘Hey, today is not a time for sadness. Here, I have a surprise for you.’

  Will sniffed and accepted the tissue that the housekeeper offered him. He noticed that Riley and Ed were peering at him from the banister. Peter went to the door and whistled. The housekeeper screamed, collapsing on the spot. Scarlet and Bob rushed to her aid.

  Peter was laughing. ‘Don’t worry, he has that effect on most people.’

  Bob glanced towards the door and gasped.

  33

  The Time of Truth

  It seemed an age before the next visitor entered the room. Will stared at the door, waiting. Who could it be? Perhaps it was Robert. But as soon as the person ducked through the doorway, Will gasped. He couldn’t believe his eyes. Strolling into the mansion was Hugo, as large as life.

  Will, Riley and Ed all screamed Hugo’s name at the same time. Will and Riley rushed to his side, whereas Ed slowly limped towards him. The gentle giant was laughing as he lifted Riley and Will on to his shoulder; for once Riley didn’t mind being so high.

  ‘I can’t believe it,’ said Will. ‘You’re still alive!’

  ‘Thanks to Ruby and her mother,’ said Hugo. ‘They’re like doctors. They can heal with their hands, you know.’

  Ruby took the opportunity to approach Ed. ‘Want me to heal your leg for you?’ she asked. ‘It won’t take long and it won’t hurt, I promise.’

  Ed smiled at her. ‘Okay. But I don’t think you’ll be able to.’

  ‘Let me be the judge of that,’ she smiled, taking him into another room and closing the door.

  By now, Elisha was standing beside her father, who had his arm wrapped around her shoulder. There was much laughter and talking at the same time.

  Two hours later, Peter and the boys were seated together around a table. Ed was no longer limping or suffered with the sharp shooting pains along the length of his leg, since he had been healed by Ruby. It was four of them at the table: Peter, Riley, Ed and Will.

  ‘I wanted to talk to you boys alone. There’s much to discuss though I don’t quite know where to start. I’ve got something to tell you. I know it won’t be easy for you to take in what I’ve got to say, but it needs to be said nevertheless.’ Peter gazed at each boy in turn. ‘Professor Snipes has used many different names in the past, to stop people tracing him. He was the same person who was engaged to my mother, Sally Pondweed, in 1892.’

  ‘But that’s impossible!’ declared Riley. ‘That would make him over a hundred years old!’

  ‘He’s a lot older than that, let me assure you,’ said Peter. ‘I will explain how that is possible, later on. For now, I want you to imagine that he’s a man who has lived through many generations, taking on the form of many different people as it suited him, so no one grew suspicious of him. Sally Pondweed was Sir Ivan Pondweed’s daughter – the man who was the same as us. From recorded documents that had been passed down in Robert’s family, the Parsons…’

  ‘Who’s Robert?’ asked Ed.

  ‘My butler,’ explained Peter, who continued. ‘His family has served mine for many generations. It was Rober
t’s ancestors who kept a record of all that had happened in their lifetime and thus it was through his great-great grandmother, Mary Parson, that the truth has been discovered.’

  ‘Who was Mary?’ asked Riley.

  ‘Sally Pondweed’s housekeeper,’ said Peter. ‘Mary kept a record of everything. She had been educated as a child and had been taught to read and write before succeeding her mother to become the second housekeeper to the Pondweed family. She knew Ivan as a young man and wrote fondly in relation to him.

  ‘Anyway, through Mary we know that Lionel Heatherton coldly murdered my mother, Sally. He was obsessed with knowing where Ivan was buried, and when Sally refused to tell him she was killed. But unknown to Lionel, the child that he thought had died had actually survived, and was being kept in a secret room away from him. The child’s name was Peter Pondweed, renamed Peter Peed after the housekeeper took him away.’

  ‘You!’ gasped Will.

  Peter nodded. ‘I age well, don’t I? Professor Snipes was my father, though he never knew it.’

  ‘Why did they lie to Lionel about you?’ asked Will.

  ‘Sally was frightened and thought Lionel would leave when he caught a glimpse of me. She was born with a normal appearance though she still carried the same mutating gene. For some reason it’s only the males who mutate in the womb. She had no idea he would have relished having a son like me.’

  ‘So why did he kill her?’ asked Will.

  ‘She refused to tell him what he wanted to know – the location of her father’s tomb. She kept it a secret and he became increasingly angry with her. To this day, Lionel never knew the truth concerning me. If he had, then I don’t think he would have killed Sally. If anything, I think she would have made him a very happy man.’

  ‘How come?’ asked Riley.

  ‘Lionel was obsessed with science. He had a rather warped view of how science should be conducted and what was actually important. The truth is, Lionel had experimented on Ivan when he was a child. He was born an orphan, his mother died shortly after giving birth to him. It was always the orphans that Lionel would experiment on. Many died before he became victorious and created Ivan.’