Felix Jones and The Dawn Of The Brethren

by Julian Roderick

  Poppy and Tom had dragged themselves out of bed, redressed their wounds and were sat waiting at the kitchen table. They both looked as if they had no appetite for another fight.

  “Cheer up! We’ll be home in an hour,” said Felix. “We have to be careful, there’s a full school assembly at half twelve so I hope the object is easy to see.”

  “You’re joking!” shouted Tom. “How are we supposed to get in there and look normal? I’ve got blood oozing out of my back and she can’t walk!”

  “The Sheriff will look for the object and we’ll sneak in at the back of the hall,” replied Felix. “Easy!” he added with as much confidence as he could muster.

  10

  At twelve fifteen the seven hundred pupils of Queen Anne’s filed silently into the hall. The Sheriff was prowling round and round pretending to be checking the pupils’ behaviour but he was starting to panic. The object Felix, Tom and Poppy needed to enter the time vortex was nowhere to be found. His circuit around the seated students got quicker as time passed by. His face began to show the worry he was feeling. The waiting trio had a bad feeling about their situation.

  The whole school stood as the Headmaster and his guest entered. Felix gulped as he recognised the face of the Gold Typhon.

  “What’s he doing here?” Felix whispered.

  Before he could think, the Gold Typhon introduced himself as the independent investigator of the explosion in The Railway Public House. He explained the cause as someone playing with matches or cigarettes in the car park which in turn ignited a gas build up in the drain.

  “He’s talking rubbish!” said Tom.

  “That’s the bloke from the common,” whispered Poppy. “He’s no investigator!”

  “Let’s listen. See what he wants,” ordered Felix.

  Before they knew it a photo-fit of the suspects was projected onto the roll down screen in front of the school. There before seven hundred people were sketches of Felix, Tom and Poppy.

  A voice in the assembly screamed out, “That’s The Sheriff’s nephew!”

  The silent audience suddenly burst into noise, all gossiping about who it was. Teachers and students stared at The Sheriff. “There they are!” shouted Curly’s father who like his son appeared to always be sitting in the back row. He stood up and pointed straight at them. They turned to escape but were trapped by the Gold Typhon’s henchmen and the man who was following Felix and The Sheriff. Tom went for his sword but the pain in his back stopped him from reaching round to unzip his guitar case. Felix drew his broadsword. The three men looked shocked and scared, much to Felix’s surprise. He shoved his friends down the corridor, pointing his sword at the three smartly dressed men as they followed cautiously. Tom helped Poppy in to the staffroom, the forbidden zone of the school. He tried the door to the garden and freedom but it was locked. Felix joined them and jammed a chair up against the door handle.

  “That won’t hold them for long!” cried Tom.

  “There’s only one way to get out of this,” sighed Felix as he pulled The Book of Words from his guitar case. The door splintered when the henchmen put their full strength against it. There in the doorway was the tall, imposing figure of the Gold Typhon.

  “At long last we have the Keeper!” He drew two sabres and rubbed them together over the sink in the corner. Felix knew it would only be moments before the Brethren would make an appearance, and with Tom and Poppy out of action there was no way he could see them off on his own. He lunged at the men with his weapon, which sent them backing out of the door. It gave Felix just enough time to pull Poppy to her feet, order Tom to hold on, and jump into the nearest painting. The three friends, not having time for the boiled sweets, blacked out.

  For a change, the sight of the multi coloured beams of light of the vortex that whisked them through time was a welcome relief. The images of historic figures flew by in front of them. Poppy rubbed her leg and smiled, the wound was gone. The Book had once again worked its magic. Tom, feeling like his old self, giggled and blurted out, “Where are we off to this time Mr Keeper?”

  “Didn’t get a chance to look!” came the worrying reply from Felix.

  “Great, into the unknown again! Give me a boiled sweet and get your swords out ready,” ordered Tom.

  Poppy smiled, drew her sabre, and shouted at the top of her voice, “Come on then let’s have you, whoever you are?”

  Felix smirked, made sure the Book was safe and braced himself for their landing, wherever that might be!

  11

  The powerful waves crashed over their heads as they fought towards the shore. The wind howled, driving the rain hard into their faces, the backwash of the waves kept dragging them back out into the swirling sea. An enormous wave picked up the three friends and threw them onto the beach. Felix ran quickly into the trees to shelter from the storm.

  “Where have you brought us this time?” Tom screamed over the noise of the waves and wind and the swaying trees, close to snapping in the hurricane.

  “Not a clue!” cried Felix. “Best we stay safe and find out when the storm dies down.” The trio huddled together behind some large jagged rocks. In amongst the sounds of the storm Felix thought he heard voices and screams. He crawled from the relative safety of the rocks up on to the headland. There to his astonishment on the rocks below were people all trying to retrieve belongings from a wooden sailing ship which was being tossed around like a ball against the shore.

  “Quick!” he shouted to the others. “We need to help these people.”

  “Fantastic! Another mercy mission. What are people doing out in this weather?” Tom just wanted to rest. Knowing that if Felix was going he had to follow, he dragged himself onto his feet and out into the lashing rain. He couldn’t believe the scene unfolding before him. The ship was creaking and breaking up. People knelt on the rocks praying while others tried to save those still in the water. Felix waded out and helped an elderly gentleman pull his wife and grandchildren ashore. Poppy was grabbing all the rope she could find in the waves, she knew that it could come in handy later. Tom guided the survivors of the wreck into the trees for shelter where a small makeshift camp was springing up, built out of branches felled by the wind. Eventually everyone gathered round a fire that Poppy had lit. They warmed their bodies and dried their clothes in the dimming light. Families commandeered areas for some privacy and before long the storm died and silence fell over the sleeping camp.

  Felix woke up the next morning aching from the pounding the sea had given him the previous night. The sun was high in the sky and was already burning through the gaps in the leaves above. Tom and Poppy were awake and sat on the pink sand of the beach.

  “Well at least you’ve brought us somewhere beautiful this time!” smiled Poppy.

  “Either that or we’ve died and gone to paradise!” laughed Tom.

  Felix opened The Book of Words, hoping that it still worked when it was soaking wet and a bit crinkly.

  There on the first page was the answer they all wanted:

  Location Bermuda

  Date 25th July 1609

  Languages English

  “Where on earth is Bermuda?” Felix shouted.

  “My Aunty Audrey lives there,” whispered Tom. “Not quite yet though. It still looks a lot like this, I was here last year.”

  “Right clever clogs! What do you know about shipwrecks and Bermuda?” Felix asked with a big grin.

  “I’ve got a book on them, actually!” Tom replied sarcastically. “Can’t remember any of it though!” Laughing, the three friends lay back in the sun, pretty sure that they were unlikely to meet anyone involved in the saga of The Book of Words in amongst the shipwrecked crowd.

  Felix read more about the history of Bermuda while the others worked on their tan.

  “It’s OK! They all survived,” he said in surprise. He thought he would be leaving another population to die as they had done in Pompeii. “Bermuda goes on to play a big part in the settlement and history of the United States. The su
pplies these people take there help the colony of Jamestown survive. Bermuda was an important supply base and they provided provisions that help the Americans win the War of Independence.”

  “Enough of the history lesson!” groaned Tom. “Just relax for a while!”

  Felix put the Book down and ran full speed down the hot, pink sand and dived head first into the turquoise, clear water of the Atlantic Ocean. “It’s like a warm bath,” he shouted to Tom and Poppy, who immediately joined him. They marvelled at the brightly coloured fish that weaved in amongst their legs. A large, blue Parrot Fish came right up to Poppy, much to her delight. “Any sharks?” she suddenly asked, worry was etched all over her face.

  “No! They don’t come over the reef that surrounds the islands,” stated Tom with some sense of knowing. “Look there,” whispered Tom. He was really excited at the sight of the gulls flying overhead. “Bermuda Longtails!” he stated with a huge grin on his face. The birds flew over the rocks, Felix wondered what was so strange until he noticed the long forked tails. They stood for a while watching the birds fly back and forth across the beach.

  “He did learn something when he was here then,” Felix smiled at his friend and ducked him under the next frothing wave. The trio frolicked in the water until their fingers looked like wrinkled fruit.

  Drying off in the heat of the midday sun, Tom asked how they would get home this time. Felix had completely forgotten about home for a while. He opened the Book and there was the clock about a quarter of the way along the map. For the first time he could see that Bermuda was a short line of islands shaped like a big fish hook. We have to be there for twelve noon tomorrow he declared as he drew a copy of the map in the sand for his friends to see and placed an X where the object should be. Felix was finally getting used to the fact that he alone could read The Book of Words. Something strange had happened, there was a clue to where the object was below the map. It read:

  Beneath your feet you will see the light!

  “The Book is getting all weird on us again,” said Tom.

  “It’s giving us clues. I’d call that helpful!” snapped Poppy. Felix closed the Book and lay back on the soft sand.

  “We’ll figure it out when we get there.” Felix just wanted a moment’s peace.

  The silence was broken by someone shouting. It was the ship’s captain who they had met the previous night, “You there!” They shot to their feet and put their shirts back on. “Thank you for your help but where did you come from? Are you stowaways?”

  He had a sword drawn and was accompanied by four sailors, who looked like they had been at sea for a while and knew how to handle themselves. Each of them held a cosh, like a policeman’s truncheon, only thicker. The captain scratched his ear. Tom looked at Felix who opened the Book to the map. He thought he was seeing things earlier and had ignored it but once again on his map there were three red swords. The captain was a Guardian!

  12

  “I say again. What are you doing here?” the captain repeated. Poppy and Tom drew their sabres. The captain stared in disbelief. “How? What? Where?” he was lost for words. “Charge!” The four sailors ran forward with the captain. Felix, knowing that if Guardians’ swords came together and created sparks, the Brethren could appear, ordered Poppy and Tom to drop their sabres. The stunned pair did as they were told. The sailors also stopped wondering what to do now their targets were defenceless.

  “Clap them in irons lads,” shouted the captain. He then collected the sabres and cases from the beach. “This is heavy,” he muttered to himself as he picked up Felix’s guitar case. He opened it and shouted, “Stop! How did you get this?” He once again scratched his ear.

  “Welcome to my world!” said Tom. “My ears are always burning when I’m with my best friend and Keeper!” The captain studied the weapons more closely and realised that the sabres were identical to his. He knew what this meant but he had never seen a Keeper before.

  “How did you get here?” the now smiling seaman asked. Felix explained how the Book worked and about their enemy, the Brethren. “I am afraid we may well be doomed,” added the solemn man who introduced himself as Admiral George Somers. “There is no food on this God forsaken place! The storm separated us from my fleet heading to Jamestown and the New World. We were struggling against the storm when I saw these islands. I decided to try and beach the Sea Venture but look at her now!”

  “Excuse me!” Felix grimaced at the thought of what may come out of Tom’s mouth. “If we move onto the bigger island I think I saw wild pigs and there are always the fish.” Tom winked at Felix and whispered, “I remember the hog on the back of the one cent coin. My Uncle Paul told me it was because of what this lot found here when they were shipwrecked, and we did loads of fishing last year. You can always build new ships from the wreck of the old one!” Tom, feeling pleased with his work, went off with the admiral to look for an intact rowing boat that they could use to go and hunt the pigs.

  “He never fails to amaze me!” sighed Poppy. “What can we do now?”

  “These people need to start rebuilding their ship from the pieces on the beach and these cedar trees,” he said as he tapped the trunk of one. The two of them joined the majority of the people at the makeshift camp. The admiral, flanked by Tom, was already organising working parties to start building more permanent shelter for his fellow travellers. Men, women and children scurried off in different directions to perform their assigned tasks.

  Felix, Tom and Poppy began talking to a group of children about the same age as them. “We have to collect firewood and go fishing,” said a young lad. His name was Joseph Wilkinson. Joseph pointed to one of the Sea Venture’s crew boats, “Come on let’s get going.” They all piled into the rowing boat and spent the rest of the day out at sea catching many different kinds of fish. Poppy insisted that they threw all the pretty ones back and only kept the ugly grey ones. Laden with three large baskets they returned, as the sun began to set, to the camp at the eastern end of the islands.

  “Excellent!” shouted the admiral. “Fish for supper and a hog to roast overnight for tomorrow’s meal. I think you were right young Tom. We will survive this ordeal.” Tom laughed, knowing what Bermuda would become in the future. The fish were distributed and groups sat chatting merrily near fires. Their full stomachs and the good weather had cheered everyone up.

  “What’s the plan for tomorrow?” Tom asked Felix. “We’ve a long way to walk and swim, there are no bridges between the islands yet.”

  “You will take a boat and row to your destination,” declared the admiral. “Young Joseph and his brother Benjamin will go with you. We will continue to build our ships that will enable us to complete our journey to Jamestown, Virginia.”

  “What will you call your ships?” asked Poppy.

  “We’ll call one Deliverance for obvious reasons but I can’t think of an appropriate name for the second. All I know is we need to get them built as quickly as possible.”

  “Men!” exclaimed Poppy. “You’re in a beautiful place, you have food and water and you want to rush. Have a little patience!”

  “That’s it!” The admiral laughed. “Patience, the perfect name.”

  13

  The sun rose over the headland and the rising temperature stirred the camp. Men collected fresh water from the stream they had discovered, women lit fires and the admiral checked the hog was still roasting.

  “He’s like my dad at a barbeque!” said Poppy as she sniggered. “Me, man, hunt and cook. Ugg!”

  Felix handed out their weapons in their cases, checked that the Book was safely tucked inside his shirt. “Good luck admiral! Enjoy Bermuda,” said Felix as the pair shook hands.

  “And to you my friends, take care and stay safe.”

  They waved as Joseph and Benjamin rowed them round the headland towards their destination.

  The coastline was jagged at the eastern end of the islands but in the distance they could see expanses of pink sand shimmering in the bright sunlig
ht. All along the shore stood magnificent arches. Tom informed them that hurricane after hurricane would demolish these over the next 400 years. Felix took out his phone and photographed the wonderful sight.

  “We’re looking for an inlet into a huge cove,” said Felix. Joseph pointed to a place where the water seemed to rush through and not return quickly as it did on the beaches. “That’s it!” Felix smiled and the brothers rowed them towards the shore.

  They were bang on time, half an hour to find the way home. A grass bank stretched up to the brow of a hill, there stood a small copse of cedar trees all bent inland due to the battering from the winds. The five of them raced up to the top and rested in the shade. Felix opened the Book.

  “We’re here!” he stated with surprise. “The object should be here!”

  “Remember the clue!” Poppy smiled and tried to stay calm. “Beneath your feet you will see the light.” They looked everywhere, but nothing.

  “I’m so stupid!” Tom was stating what most people thought. “The caves! The Crystal Caves!” The others stared at him as he crawled around the trees until he disappeared from view. “Down here,” came the hollow call that seemed to echo on for ages. They peered down a hole in the limestone hill. Poppy gathered some dry wood and made a torch, luckily she had remembered there were safety matches in her small first aid kit. There on a ledge about twenty feet below them sat Tom. “Beneath your feet!” Tom sat there with the biggest grin they had ever seen on his face. “Come on down, we need to get to the bottom.” Joseph and Benjamin ran to the boat and brought back a length of rope. They all climbed down and sat on the ledge.

  “It may be too dangerous for you to join us down there,” said Felix. “Climb back up and make sure you get back to the camp.”