Time Stoppers

by Carrie Jones

  Annie grabbed the banana, peeled it open, and stared at it. Her stomach was a big knot of worry, and she didn’t feel like eating. What had she done wrong? She’d have to fix it. She couldn’t leave here, not so soon.

  “Go ahead. Try it!” the ghost urged.

  Annie bit and chewed. She wasn’t hungry.

  “Is it good?” the Woman in White asked. “I’ve never had a banana, you know. Not ever. They didn’t have them in New England when I was alive. The Captain always promised he’d bring—”

  She turned around and stared out the window again, face sad, lips turned down into a frown. Annie told herself never to mention the Captain person if she wanted to get any information out of the Woman in White.

  Annie lied. “They aren’t all that great—”

  “Really?”

  “Sure. They taste like, um … bland bread mixed with mango, but not as sugary.” Annie imagined the ghost must have been really very beautiful when she was alive. “What is it I’m supposed to do today, or, um, do you know how I’m supposed to be heroic and save everyone, because Megan said—”

  “Oh, a question! You know I am no good with questions. No good with questions. Oh, questions are bad—so bad. Instructions good, questions bad.”

  Annie was getting a little annoyed by the Woman in White, but she tried to logic it out and hold her temper. She’d never talked to a ghost before. She wondered if Jamie was dealing with a ghost in his room.

  “The sea is there—right there—haunting me. Oh, how he haunts me. The ache. The ache.”

  The ghost seemed like she was about to start sobbing. Annie knew she had to say something fast. Anything. Just not a question.

  “I suppose that Miss Cornelia is the type of person who would give a ghost some good instructions about what a girl should do after breakfast …” Annie let out a deep breath.

  The ghost jumped and pulled her gaze from outside. “Yes. Yes. Of course she did. Of course. She said to tell you to make yourself at home. To go outside and explore the town. That’s right. That’s right. Tala will protect you, not that we’ve seen anything during the daytime to need protecting from, but you never know. So take Tala, quite the guard he is. You’ll meet a friend, she said. Go explore.”

  Annie decided she would like to explore. The town seemed little from up here on the hill. The ocean banged against the rock cliffs, and the town appeared ready to topple down into it. To the right, the land of the barrens rolled toward plenty of woods. She’d get dressed and go right away.

  “You must be back before night, little Annie,” the Woman in White warned. “You must be back in the house before the sun goes down.”

  “Like Cinderella and midnight.”

  The ghost shrugged. “I don’t know Cinderella. Did trolls eat her, too? Silly girl. Nevertheless, you must be here in the house. Remember. No dillydallying. No getting lost. Ever since … well … bad things stomp about in this town at night lately. Terrible things. You must promise!”

  “Okay.” Annie couldn’t believe a ghost was lecturing her about coming home on time. It was the first time anyone had ever cared enough to lecture her about anything, and now, of course, it was one of the undead.

  “Promise me, little Annie.”

  Annie still couldn’t make eye contact, but she swore anyway. “I promise.”

  The ghost’s hand turned solid and cupped her by her chin. She lifted Annie’s face to her own, forcing Annie to look at her.

  “Good,” she said in a strong, serious voice. “We need you safe. We need you to save all of us. You must save our town.”

  “What do you mean?” Annie blurted. “What do you mean ‘save our town’? Is it going to fall into the sea or something? Or are trolls coming?”

  “QUESTIONS! Ah … The sea … the sea … Oh, he calls me. Do you hear him? Do you hear him? I’m coming! I’m coming!”

  And with that, the Woman in White flung herself through the wall. Annie ran to the window. The woman’s shadow floated down the lawn and toward the ocean cliffs.

  A small, sturdy hand smashed against the window.

  Annie jumped back.

  Another hand grabbed the windowsill. The fingers whitened as someone strained to climb up.

  Annie ran to her nightstand and grabbed the phurba Miss Cornelia had given her. She held it ready in her hand.

  “Let me in!” Eva’s face appeared at the window, red and strained. “I can’t hold on forever.”

  Annie dropped the phurba on the carpet and rushed back to the window. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know it was you.”

  “Ouch,” the carpet muttered as Eva climbed through the window.

  Annie stared down at the snowy lawn. They were at least two stories up. “How’d you do that?”

  Eva brushed off her overalls. “Dwarfs are great climbers. We can’t jump for beans, though.”

  “Can’t jump for beans?”

  “You’ve never heard that expression?”

  Annie shut the window. “No.”

  “Ack. You’re a sheltered one, aren’t you?” Eva stretched out her fingers. All her knuckles cracked. She plopped down on Annie’s bed. “I’ve only got a minute. I’m grounded.”

  “You hit someone, right?” Annie eyed Eva.

  “Darn right.” Eva smacked her fist into her palm. “I pummeled Megan the hag on the way home. She deserved it, too, saying that about you.”

  Annie perched on the edge of the bed next to Eva. “What did she say?”

  “It’s nothing. Just ignorance, which is why I pummeled her.” Eva snorted happily and then shook her head. “Of course, now I’m grounded, which stinks, but whatever. It’s just a day. And it was totally worth it.”

  Worry lowered Annie’s voice to a whisper. “Are you going to get in more trouble for being here?”

  “Only if they catch me. And I’m just gonna stay a minute. I wanted to see how you’re settling in and to tell you that when anything bad happens or, you know, if things get adventurous, you can count on me, Eva Beryl-Axe. I like to be part of the action. And I’m good with my fists.” Eva winked and stood up.

  Tala snored in the corner of the room.

  Annie crossed her arms over her chest. “I’ll call you—”

  “Good—”

  “If …”

  “If?”

  Annie stood up, too. “If you tell me what Megan said that made you beat her up.”

  Eva squinted at her. “You’re getting tougher already.”

  “Really?”

  Eva bopped Annie’s arm with her fist. “Yeah. That’s good. You’re kind of wimpy.”

  “I am not.”

  “Yeah, you are.”

  “Okay, are you going to tell me or not?” Annie resisted rubbing her arm with her hand.

  Eva opened the window. Cold air screamed into the room, ruffling Tala’s fur. “She said that you would ‘fall with evil.’ That’s the ridiculous so-called prophecy part. I told her that’s a load of baloney. She said that you didn’t have what it takes to save us. I told her she was an ugly hag. She told me that I rescued you for nothing. I told her dwarfs don’t do nothing for nothing.”

  Annie’s face paled while Eva became more incensed.

  “She’s just a jealous hag, Annie. They ain’t always right, you know. They’ve only got an overall future prediction accuracy rate of seventy-six point five percent.”

  The wind blew Annie’s hair against her face. She didn’t even try to move it away, just shuddered. “That’s pretty good.”

  “Ah, no, it’s not. Real prophets are like ninety-eight percent accurate, and even tranced-out elves and stone giants have a rate of over eighty-five percent,” Eva said. She grabbed Annie by the arms and gave her a little shake. “I’ve got you figured out already, Annie, and you can bet Miss Cornelia does, too, and there ain’t no way you’d ever ‘fall with evil.’ You don’t got an evil bone in your body. Okay?”

  Annie didn’t answer. Eva let go of her arms and started through the windo
w.

  “No worries, Annie!” she yelled.

  But telling Annie not to worry was like telling the sun not to burn. It just wasn’t going to happen.

  17

  The Letter

  Jamie was brushing his teeth and stopped midstroke when he heard voices just outside the bathroom door.

  “She will never forgive us for not finding her sooner.”

  “We thought he had taken her. We believed that she was dead or lost in the Badlands.”

  “You know that, and I know that. But she does not. She will feel abandoned. In my heart of all hearts, that just breaks me. She must never think that we abandoned her, that we just let her go.”

  They had to be talking about Annie. Jamie slowly turned the cold-water faucet off, trying not to make noise. He wanted to keep listening to the voices. One of them had to be Miss Cornelia, and the other? He wasn’t sure … Maybe the mayor?

  “And the boy?”

  “He seems …”

  “Of good character?”

  “Exactly.”

  “But how do you know that he won’t—”

  “Turn troll? I do not know. But I have a feeling. Please trust me on this.”

  “You ask me to trust you about everything, Cornelia. I do, and see what happens? We had lost Annie for years when she could have been right here, developing her power.”

  The old woman’s voice broke. “Yes, but we thought she had died. We thought that the beast had—”

  “We thought wrong then, didn’t we? How do we know that we aren’t thinking wrong again?”

  They must have moved because Jamie didn’t hear Miss Cornelia’s answer to the man’s convoluted question. Jamie’s heart flip-flopped all around his chest. They’d been talking about Annie, but about him, too. He knew it as soon as he heard the word “troll.” Miss Cornelia didn’t think he’d turn, but the man she was talking to obviously had his doubts.

  “Never,” Jamie vowed in a half whisper. “I will never turn troll.”

  He capped the toothpaste tube and looked into the mirror, where a note was now taped to the glass.

  Dear Mr. Alexander,

  Please be advised that your presence in Aurora is conditional to certain terms and advisements, which follow:

  1. Since you are likely a non-magical human, you must vow never to tell of Aurora's location or magical inhabitants to any non-magical outsiders. To do so would necessitate your immediate expulsion from the Town.

  2. Since there is a likelihood that you will turn trollish in the next twelve months, be advised that trolls are always immediately driven from the Town via all means necessary. To resist expulsion would necessitate your death, most likely via pitchfork.

  3. All non-magical humans residing within the Town boundaries are required to be active participants in the life of the Town, which means attending Town Meetings, voting at the appropriate age, engaging in Town activities, and actively protecting the Town from any threats (demonic or otherwise) by any means necessary.

  If you agree to the terms and conditions stated above, you will be allowed to keep residence in Aurora. To comply and agree with these terms, you simply need to sign below in the space provided for you.

  Cordially,

  The Mayor

  Walburga Wakanda

  Nicodemus Metal Smith

  Cornelia Aquarius

  Leodora Lenci Leksi

  Arrius Herman

  Aelfric Darling, Incubus of Bats and Shadows

  A golden pen materialized in the air by Jamie’s hand. He grabbed it and signed the paper without hesitation. There was no way he would ever leave here. Ever. And he would never turn into a troll. Never.

  With a pop of tiny fireworks the paper disappeared into the air, and in its place was a sparkling word: “Done.” After a moment the word drifted away and vanished.

  Jamie investigated the room to see if anybody noticed, but he was alone. The voices outside the bathroom were gone. He almost wondered if he’d imagined them, and then sighed. No, no, they were real. This was all real, and he had to get on with today and just believe.

  Jamie trod downstairs toward the kitchen, his stomach grumbling the entire way. The hall had ridiculously high white ceilings. The walls were papered with yellow designs, and as Jamie walked down the hallway, messages appeared on the paper.

  Hello, Jamie. The first message appeared in red cursive letters.

  He stopped and touched the words, cautiously tracing the letters with the tips of his fingers.

  “Hello?”

  There was no answer.

  He walked a little farther down the hall, staring out of the corners of his eyes at the walls.

  Across the wall, more words suddenly appeared.

  Aquarius House wishes you a good morning.

  “Um … Good morning?” Jamie said. His voice broke in the middle of the sentence. He cleared his throat.

  Doris has left you some goodies in the kitchen. The words were writing themselves quickly as Jamie walked along the hallway. Some pixies flitted up by the chandeliers dangling from the ceiling. If you could head to town and find Bloom, it would be mu—the word broke off due to a doorway and finished on the other side—ch appreciated.

  And Happy Birthday!!!!

  The house remembered my birthday? Jamie sucked in his breath. The house actually remembered? And he, himself, had totally forgotten.

  There were French toast sticks and orange juice and vegetarian bacon waiting for him on the kitchen counter. The words on the walls became arrows, and Jamie followed them through the off-kilter hallways, past a random dwarf or cat, until he got to the kitchen. He gobbled his food down, scrawled out THANK YOU on a napkin, and started to put the dishes in the sink, but they refused to let him wash them. Instead they danced beneath the faucet, washing themselves. Jamie watched, mouth open in astonishment, before he decided to head out. His coat was waiting for him in the front foyer. As he slugged it on, a merman with wild red hair surfaced in the fountain.

  “You’re James Alexander, aren’t you?” The merman is young, Jamie thought, more like a merboy. He had curious green eyes and a dark-skinned face that was wrinkle free.

  “I am,” Jamie answered. There was a hat in his coat sleeve, and gloves. He tugged them out and put them on.

  “I hear you might be a troll.”

  Jamie’s good mood vanished. “I hope not.”

  The merboy agreed. “Me, too. You seem pretty human to me.”

  “Is that a good or a bad thing?” Jamie asked.

  The merboy thought for a second. “It’s better than being a troll.”

  An awkward silence descended. Jamie waited.

  “I’m Farkey,” the merboy said, “and please don’t ask me how I go to the bathroom. Humans always want to know how I go to the bathroom … You know … Because of the fin …”

  He flipped up a giant fin. It landed on the marble side of the fountain, sparkling with pink—pink?—scales.

  “And yes, my fin is pink. Weird genes.”

  “It looks—um—nice,” Jamie offered. “Powerful, like you could swim really fast with it.”

  Farkey eyed him, as if pondering something. “You’re all right, James Alexander. Even if you do turn out to be a troll, I think you’ll be okay.”

  Farkey dived back beneath the water before Jamie could answer. The boy stood there for a second, wondering how weird one magic town could possibly be, and then he decided it wasn’t worth it to wonder. Instead, he made his way outside and down the hill to find Bloom.

  18

  The Monsters

  Annie and Tala hurried downstairs. The last thing Annie wanted to do was stay in her room and worry about prophecies and ghosts.

  Doris, SalGoud, and Ned the Doctor were all bundled up in coats and scarves by the front door. The stone giants had swords at their sides. They quickly tried to hide them behind their backs.

  “Good morning, Miss Annie. Isn’t it lovely?” Ned boomed out. His sword dangled from behind
his knees.

  “Did you sleep well, dear?” Doris asked. “Did you eat anything?”

  “I did. Thank you.” Annie hoped she sounded as grateful as she felt, but she was intrigued by all the strange movements and whatever was being hidden behind their backs. “Are you all going somewhere?”

  “Us?” Doris chuckled nervously. “Just an errand—nothing much. We should be back in a few hours. You might want to stay inside for a bit.”

  Annie squinted at them. They were hiding something. SalGoud wouldn’t look her in her eyes.

  “You aren’t going to be in any danger, are you?”

  “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity,” Ned said. He appealed to SalGoud, who barely moved in response.

  Annie shook her head, trying to figure out what that even meant. Doris bustled over with Annie’s coat and helped her into it. “Annie. Since it appears that you may go into town, I ask that you stick to the main road. No adventuring around. You don’t want to get lost when you just got here. Right?”

  Gramma Doris looked to the giants, who both started echoing her words in an awkward kind of agreement.

  “Oh, no.”

  “Easy to get lost.”

  “Getting lost is bad.”

  “Don’t want to do that.”

  Annie’s arms stuck in her coat sleeves. Doris reached in and yanked one of Annie’s hands through.

  “You seem worried. Don’t you worry. You will not get lost if you stay on the streets,” Doris said. “Nothing to worry about, right, boys?”

  Annie wiggled her other arm free as “the boys” continued to fluster around. Tala sat down on his haunches and grunted.

  “Nothing to worry about.”

  “All is safe.”

  “Winston Churchill said, ‘Never worry about action, only inaction.’ ”

  “ ‘As a rule, men worry more about what they can’t see than about what they can.’ Julius Caesar,” SalGoud added.

  “You all seem very concerned about me getting lost. Is there a reason for that?” Annie asked, feeling the outline of the phurba tucked into her pocket.