“It might not be what we’re thinking,” Miss A offered, but even I could tell that the normally bright and sunny Jane was actually having trouble being optimistic about our current situation.
“Just tell us already.” Lindsay crossed her arms across her chest with an impatient jerk.
Before any of the faculty could speak, another tremor shook the chapel, this one serious enough to break out the Romeo and Juliet window. It came down in big, brightly colored shards, one shooting straight for Hana.
“Look out!” Ryan shouted as he moved. He tackled Hana, pushing her out of the way, as a big shard from Romeo’s leg fell to the stone floor and shattered into a hundred glistening pieces. More sharp, but smaller, glinting shards rained down on them. Ryan covered Hana’s body with his. The faculty ghosts leapt to action. Headmaster B lifted one hand and all the shards simply stopped falling. They hovered in the air, paused in their descent. Miss A quickly helped Ryan and Hana to their feet and scooted us all to the other side of the vestibule. Headmaster B flicked her wrist and the shards of glass came together in a ball that she put gently on the ground.
The chapel shook again, under some invisible force, and this time, chunks of stone began to crack and fall from the tops of the support columns in the church. Another window in the back shattered and fell. Coach H and Headmaster B put all their concentration into holding the pieces of the chapel together, but anyone could see it wouldn’t last. Even the power of their imaginations couldn’t hold this building together. It was falling down around us. Below our feet, a massive crack opened and sliced through the ground barreling straight toward Sydney.
“Sydney!” I shouted in warning. He looked down and jumped away from the crevice, landing on solid ground. The gap in the ground widened to several feet, the chasm below seemingly bottomless. I was near the edge and was close to losing my footing. For a second, I thought I was going to fall in face-first, but then Miss A had a cool hand on my shoulder and was pulling me back to solid ground. I looked up and saw relief flicker across Sydney’s face as he stood near Ryan and Hana and Lindsay. The side exit door was just behind them. The crack in the floor stood separated me, Blade and Samir from them – and the way out.
Miss A floated away from me, up to the balcony where she worked on holding together one of the massive support columns keeping the chapel upright.
“Get out, now!” Headmaster B said, looking at Ryan. They didn’t move right away, instead, they watched the chasm in front of me widen even further, and another one opened up behind us, swallowing up ten rows of pews with a wood-splintering crunch. It hit me suddenly that Blade, Samir and I were all trapped. As the cracks in the floor grew larger, eventually the floor would be nothing but one giant hole. This was not good.
“We could jump,” Blade suggested.
“Jump… are you crazy?” Samir didn’t even get the last words out before Blade had backed up and taken a running leap. She made it to the other side – barely. Ryan caught her and steadied her on her feet.
Even as Samir and I stood together, the chasm grew, inch by inch.
“You’ve got to!” I told Samir.
“Ladies first,” he said.
“No way. I have to stay here and push you or you won’t go,” I said. I glanced up at my teachers; they were all sweating with concentration, trying to keep the roof from caving in on us. I wasn’t sure they’d be able to help us. We might be on our own.
“I will!” Samir lied. I got the feeling he had no intention of jumping.
“No time!” Ryan shouted.
“Go!” I shouted at Samir.
“Miranda,” called Sydney. I realized he had stayed – instead of running for the exit. He was staring at me.
“Samir, if I have to jump over there and save you, I’m going to be pissed!” cried Blade.
Apparently, that did it, because Samir took a deep breath, backed away from the edge and took a flying leap. For a heart-stopping moment as he soared through the air, I thought he wasn’t going to make it. He flew to the other side, missing the landing with his right foot and skidding down the side of the chasm, catching himself by one hand before tumbling the rest of the way. Ryan and Sydney pulled him up to safety. They all tumbled to safe ground, just as a foot of ground gave way where Samir had landed, and crumbled into the darkness.
It meant that jump had gotten that much bigger. Looking at the distance now, I was certain I wouldn’t be able to make it.
“Miranda!” cried Hana.
I took in the somber faces of my friends. They could all see the truth, too.
I tried on a brave smile, even though I wasn’t feeling so brave. This is usually the spot where Heathcliff shows up out of nowhere and whisks me to safety. But I realized with a pang that Heathcliff wasn’t coming. Not this time. I was on my own.
I wondered if he was having a good time with Catherine right now. And then I had an even more morbid thought—would he even miss me if I were gone? Or would he be glad?
I sunk to my knees. Part of my brain told me to quit being so pathetic. But the fact was my heart had already given up. I closed my eyes and I imagined Heathcliff and Catherine together. But I couldn’t bear that picture, so I changed it. I thought about Heathcliff—against all odds—coming to my rescue. I imagined him picking me up, as he had so many times before, lifting me up like I weighed nothing at all. And then he carried me to the other side.
And then, something really strange happened.
I opened my eyes and I was standing next to Sydney Carton, and he had his arm on my shoulder.
“Miranda?” he asked me, a puzzled expression on his face. I blinked, fast, and looked around at all my friends.
“You’re alive!” Lindsay jumped on me in a bone-crushing hug.
“What happened?” I asked, stumbling a little under the force of Lindsay.
Lindsay pulled back. “Unbelievable,” she said. Hana shook her head. Blade exclaimed, “that was so bad-A! Whoa! Do that again!”
“What was?” I asked, confused. I still didn’t know what had happened. My friends were looking at me like I’d just sprouted wings and flew. “Don’t tell me I floated over here.”
“Not exactly,” Hana said.
“You…uh…just disappeared for a second,” Samir explained. His eyes were as big as dinner plates.
“And Sydney tried to jump after you,” Lindsay said. Sydney was looking anywhere but at me. I didn’t even have time to think about why Sydney would do something like that. I was too busy trying to figure out how I had moved from one place to another in a blink of an eye. “Ryan caught him by the sleeve, though, and pulled him back.”
“But then, you just appeared here, next to us,” Samir said.
“Poof! Just like that,” Lindsay said.
Then it hit me. Imagination is a powerful force, Coach H had said. I realized that I had just imagined myself out of harm’s way. I glanced up at Coach H, who was still struggling to keep the church together and he nodded at me. I was right.
The floor rumbled again and a big chunk of concrete fell down, crushing half a pew nearby.
“I hate to break up this moment,” Sydney said, “But might we now get out of here?”
“Can’t hold it,” Coach H grunted, under the strain of trying to keep what was left of the ceiling from crushing us. Headmaster B and Miss A didn’t look to be in any better shape. Their faces were red with the strain of keeping the chapel from collapsing in on itself.
“Now would be good,” Samir agreed, his voice shaky.
Sydney was already on the move. He tugged me along with him. Lindsay and my friends followed us.
No sooner had we’d gotten safely outside that the entire chapel crumbled to dust. It fell inward, almost as if there’d been strategically placed dynamite charges set by a demolition crew. In the end, there was nothing left but dust around the foundations where the building once stood.
The chapel was no more.
We all stared at the rubble in stunned silence.
All around us, the other buildings of London were untouched by the tremors. Sydney was watching the rubble, too, his face thoughtful.
“That was totally awesome,” yelped Blade. She definitely would not be suffering any post-traumatic-stress. She was, through and through, an adrenaline junkie. I saw lots of bungee jumping and cliff diving in her future.
Hana just stared at the rubble dully.
I felt like someone had punched me in the side of my head. My ears were ringing a little. I didn’t know if that was because of the loud sound of crash of rubble or because I’d nearly died. That made at least three times in the last twenty-four hours. At least. This had to be a new record.
I couldn’t believe we survived. And what I really still couldn’t believe was that I had saved myself by simply wishing. It made me wonder: what else could I wish into reality?
And then, suddenly, my vision blurred with stars and my knees gave out.
“Whoa,” Sydney exclaimed, catching me as I fainted.
“Take deep breaths,” Miss A suggested as she materialized behind me. “The creative force you used in there takes a lot of energy. It’s best if used only in small intervals and only for emergencies.”
I could definitely see the wisdom to that.
Coach H appeared next to me. “You’ll be okay, kid,” he said slapping me on the shoulder. “Just don’t do that too often.”
“I won’t,” I said, even as a splitting headache rippling through my temple. I put my hand to my head. “Ow.”
“You should improve by and by,” Headmaster B added.
I felt a little more steady on my feet. Sydney released his grip slightly, but kept an arm around my shoulders.
“Was this what you guys meant about the dimensions being unstable?” Hana asked Coach H as she stared at the rubble of the chapel.
“Yep,” Coach H said, shaking his head. “It’s even worse than we thought.” All three teachers exchanged silent looks.
“So unless we find the vault and soon and bring it back to where it belongs…” Ryan began.
“Bits of Bard are going to go boom,” Blade finished.
“Or squish, more like,” Sydney added, looking at the flattened nature of the dust and bits of broken stone.
Samir turned pale. “Could…uh…we go squish, too?”
Coach H frowned. “Possibly.”
“Why don’t you guys just imagine us out of here?” Samir asked them.
Coach H shook his head. “It’s not that easy,” he said. Given how much energy it took me to wish myself out of danger, I believed him.
“Where do we start looking?” Lindsay asked.
“I have an idea,” Sydney said, taking me and the rest of us by surprise. “Come on, this way.”
Since none of us had a better plan, we all followed Sydney.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Sydney led us down the narrow cobblestone streets of London as the sun set. The streets grew dark with only the flickering candles in lamps to light the way. It was too soon, evidently, for gas street lamps. There were, however, lanterns hanging from some balconies. The whole place seemed to me like one giant fire hazard.
After my brief fainting spell, I was back to normal, for the most part. My legs were tired, but they could bear my weight as I walked. It didn’t stop Sydney, however, from hovering nearby as if worried I might collapse again. He kept glancing over at me, a concerned look on his face.
The streets smelled like manure and worse. Horse hooves clomped on the cobblestones. The streets were emptying now that darkness was falling. I was suddenly very glad I was born in the twentieth century. Someone shouted above my head, which seemed a good enough reason to step aside. I was glad I did because a big bucket of something foul splashed a few feet away from me. I was so fixated on the slime quotient on the street that I nearly stepped in something worse. I lost my footing in something slippery, and Sydney was there, catching me by the elbow.
“Careful,” Sydney warned, steering me to safety. His hand lingered a beat too long on my elbow. When he did release me, Miss A was right by his side. She steered him ahead of me and talked to him for several minutes. They were just far enough away from me that I couldn’t hear what they were saying. They walked along together for a few minutes. Then, apparently, Sydney found what he was looking for.
“There,” Sydney said, making a beeline for a small grungy pub across the street. Above it was an old wooden sign bearing a picture of a dog’s head, teeth bared in a snarl.
“Now is not the time to have a drink,” I protested. Had Sydney led us to a bar? We were supposed to be looking for the vault, not a glass of beer.
“Now, is the perfect time to have a drink,” Sydney countered.
“Seriously?” Lindsay asked me, hands on her hips. Miss A saw us take the detour and followed. So did the rest of my friends.
“Trust me,” Sydney said and winked.
We all crowded into the small tavern, where a man bustling around the tables serving wine, stopped dead and frowned at Sydney.
“Mr. Carton!” The light of recognition on the innkeeper’s face was soon replaced by a scowl, as if he remembered he didn’t like Sydney. “You know very well that you are not welcome here. You broke your weight in glasses last time.”
“Yes, but I bought twice that in port, I do believe,” Sydney said. “And I’ve brought friends with heavy pockets.”
The bartender considered this. Eventually, he seemed to be swayed by the idea of selling enough alcohol to Sydney to make up for the broken stemware.
“How many glasses did you break?” I asked Sydney.
“More than a few,” Sydney said. “I am afraid I’m a bit temperamental when I drink.”
“You don’t say,” Lindsay said, rolling her eyes.
“What are we doing in here?” hissed Ryan. “Seems like a waste of time.”
“Wait….” Sydney glanced around the bar, and seemed to find what he was looking for at the back. A man who was very drunk and very passed out, was sprawled across a table, candle wax dripping on his sleeve.
Sydney went to the back and sat down across from the man who was passed out. He took the man’s bottle of port, poured it into his glass and gulped it down in one swallow.
“Is he stealing that guy’s wine?” Blade asked.
“This is a colorful diversion we can’t afford,” Headmaster B exclaimed primly, her eyes roving the dark corners of the tavern. It was not an establishment up to her standards; I was pretty sure of that.
“You’ve got two minutes before I drag you out of here,” Coach H whispered to Sydney, who shook off the warning with a shrug of one shoulder.
“Wake up, Charles,” Sydney said and flicked the man once or twice in the head. It took quite a bit of shaking before Sydney’s friend woke up. “What? Who?”
The man opened a bleary eye and glared at Sydney. The man sat up straighter and then pounded Sydney on the shoulder.
“Carton, you devil,” he half-growled and then let out a very loud belch. “What the blazes have you been doing with yourself?”
“Drinking myself to death,” Sydney replied. He said it so seriously, it was impossible to tell if he were joking or not.
“A very admirable way to die,” the man agreed. For the first time, the man noticed the rest of us. “Cleaner company than I’m used to seeing you with, Carton.”
“They’re…clients,” Sydney managed. He’d implied he was our lawyer. Coach H snorted at the idea.
“They all can’t have run afoul of the law,” the grungy man said. He glanced at each one of our faces as if waiting for an introduction, but Sydney wasn’t going to make it. “You’re in good hands with this bloke,” the man told us all. “Saved me from a stint in debtor’s prison or worse.”
“We’re looking for a building, but we don’t have an address,” Sydney said, ignoring the man’s words. “Or even know what part of town it might be in. We know it’s new, however, and perhaps it appeared overnight.”
&nb
sp; The man eyed Sydney as if he was trying to tell if the man were pulling a prank or if he were serious.
“This is a waste of time.” Ryan’s voice carried over the din of the pub crowd.
The man slammed his glass of port so hard on the table the bottom of the glass cracked and leaked onto the wooden tabletop.
“I don’t know you,” the man said, oblivious to the dark liquid running out of his glass. “And you must not know me because I know every building in London. So, if you’re looking for one, you’ve come to the right place.”
“How do you know every building?” Lindsay asked.
“I build the roads, m’lady,” he said. “I know alleys you might never know even existed because I put them there.”
“The building we’re looking for is large, four stories, about a block wide,” Coach H said.
“It has lion statues sitting in front of it,” Ryan added.
“Lions?” That seemed to perk the man’s interest. “Yes, I think I know the building you mean. I believe I saw it down at St. Stephen’s.”
He had everyone’s attention now. He gave Sydney directions that meant nothing to me, but Sydney followed them easily. So did Miss A and Headmaster B. The two of them practically flew out of the bar. The rest of us had to struggle to keep up. Sydney stayed by my side.
“That was pretty nice work in there,” I said. “I thought you were just going to have a drink.”
“Who said I didn’t?” Sydney asked me. He pulled out his silver flask and shook it. I could hear some kind of liquid sloshing around in there. I guess he’d filled it when I wasn’t looking. “Two birds, one stone.” He smiled at me.
By now, Miss A and Headmaster B were far ahead of us in the dark. They were moving so fast it seemed their feet were hardly touching the ground. But then, it was too dark to see exactly where the hems of their skirts met the ground.
With the faculty moving farther away, Sydney took advantage. He grabbed my hand.
“What are you doing?” I tried to pull my free. He stopped and steered me to a nearby doorway.
“I want to know about Heathcliff.”
Instantly, I was on my guard.
A Tale of Two Proms (Bard Academy) Page 21