A Place Called Perfect

by Helena Duggan

  “What do you mean ‘no show’?” the waiting man roared as he stared at the opened page.

  “I’m sorry Fists, she just wasn’t there. I waited for hours!”

  “How could she not be there? SHE LIVES THERE! You know what the brothers will say when they hear about this. She’s top of the list; get your thick head around that. She needs to be zapped!”

  “I know but she wasn’t there, I couldn’t do anything about it. I swear. I got her mother though. Please don’t tell the brothers,” the other man pleaded.

  “Give me the zapper. If you want a job done right you have to do it yourself!” Fists said as he grabbed the strange backpack from the other man.

  “But, but it’s almost daylight…”

  “Shut up and get home. I don’t give a damn what time it is. I’ll get her, you mark my words and then we’ll see what the brothers have to say about this!”

  The smaller man stood shivering outside the door of the spectacle shop as he watched Fists stride away from the town.

  “Watchers?” Violet whispered.

  Boy nodded.

  “We need to get you home Violet,” he whispered a few moments later, “I think that’s where Fists is headed.”

  “To my house?”

  “Yes. Come on.”

  Quickly he pulled Violet off the ground and they raced from the bushes.

  “I’m going to cause a diversion,” Boy panted as they sprinted along the road. “Don’t worry about me, you have to get into your house but don’t go to bed. Put on your uniform as if you’re ready for school then go downstairs and act as normal as possible. Make sure you put on your old glasses. Don’t worry, if Fists does pay a visit you won’t notice a thing.”

  “Why would he pay a visit?”

  “Just do it!” Boy said sharply pulling her faster along the road.

  They were just around the corner from her house when they spotted Fists a little ahead. The pair jumped over a low wall and followed him as quietly as they could through the cover of the trees that lead into Violet’s garden.

  “Right. Go. Now,” Boy whispered.

  Suddenly he turned and raced towards Fists. Violet sprinted for her house. A painful cry echoed behind her but she didn’t look back. Her legs were on fire. She darted through the trees, across the gravel and up the stone steps. She scrambled for the keys her mother always left under the potted plant, opened the door and rushed up the stairs to her room. She threw on her uniform and ran two steps at a time back down to the kitchen. Trying to catch her breath, she opened the fridge door to get milk for her breakfast.

  Just then there were footsteps in the kitchen. She froze. All air flew from her lungs. Act normal, act normal. As calmly as possible she picked up the milk, closed the fridge door and turned to walk back towards the table. He was there. Right in front of her. His black eyes bore into hers. Her heart beat at rapid speed. The glasses. She’d forgotten to take off the glasses. It was too late, if she took them off now he would know. She had to pretend she didn’t see him.

  Looking straight ahead she walked towards the table. He was in her way but she couldn’t veer around him. Keeping on course she prayed he would move. Just a step away from a crash, Fists slipped aside, his eyes still firmly fixed on her. She tried to hide her relief as she sat down and shakily poured a bowl of cereal. For distraction she picked up the cereal box and studied the back. Her eyes scanned the words but didn’t take in a single one as Fists moved his face so close she could smell his stinking breath.

  After a while he stepped back and, as if remembering something, quickly left the room and headed upstairs.

  He was light on his feet and Violet strained to hear what room he entered. A few moments later he was back in the kitchen. Again she acted as normal as possible, cleared up her place and took out some schoolbooks. Looking frustrated, Fists left the house a little later. Waiting a few minutes to make sure he was gone, Violet ran as fast as she could up the stairs and into her mother’s room.

  “Mam, Mam, are you alright?” she stuttered, shaking her mother’s lifeless figure.

  “Violet, for goodness sake. What time is it?” her mother slurred sleepily.

  “You’re alright,” Violet sighed, throwing her arms round her.

  “Violet dear off course I’m alright, whatever has gotten into you?”

  “Nothing Mam, I just em…I just had a bad dream.”

  “You and your imagination,” her mother smiled, rubbing her hair. “Are those new glasses pet?”

  “Oh yeah. I em… I got them free in school. I’ll…I’ll make you breakfast.” Violet said, quickly running out the door.

  Back in her bedroom she found her old glasses and put them on. Placing the new ones in their box she shoved them back into their hiding place in the mattress and returned downstairs to make her mother’s breakfast.

  CHAPTER 14

  A Night Visitor

  All day in school Violet ran through the night’s events. She was so distracted Mrs. Moody made her swallow more pills. Violet pretended then spat them out as soon as teacher’s back was turned.

  Something was up and now she knew the Archers had to be involved. First there was the glasses, something about them neither Boy or Violet understood made the people of Perfect act strange and caused No Man’s Land to disappear altogether. Then there was the Watchers who met up outside the Archer’s shop and talked about the brothers. Everything pointed back to Edward and George but Violet couldn’t piece together exactly how. She had so many questions, but she needed to find answers.

  As the day wore on she became convinced that her Dad was in trouble. He wasn’t on a business trip. It was his voice she heard that day in the shop. She needed to talk to Boy.

  That evening as the sun fell over Perfect she said goodnight to her Mam and climbed the stairs to her room. Finding the glasses where she’d left them she slipped the box into her pocket and tiptoed back down. Slipping silently past the sitting room where her Mam watched T.V. she slowly opened the front door and stepped outside. The cold evening air made her shiver as she took up a spot on the first step.

  Carefully she took the glasses from her pocket, placed her normal pair in the box and put on the new ones. There was no one there, she’d thought maybe Boy would be. She stayed on the spot past darkness waiting for him. Maybe Fists had done something to him, maybe he needed her help. She could go back to No Man’s Land, she was worried but without Boy she’d never find the way. It was well into night when she raised her stiff legs and as quietly as possible slipped back inside.

  Her mother was long in bed and the lights were off all over the house. She picked her way along the hall and tiptoed up the stairs. She was just at the top when the front door unlocked. Her heart jumped. Quietly she placed her hands on the banisters and peered over. A figure moved slowly through the hallway, too large to be Boy’s. As the person got closer she gasped. It was the Watcher from the previous night, the one who’d fought with Fists.

  Violet sprung to action. Nerves raced through her veins as she made as quietly as possible for her room. Keeping on her new specs, she took the old ones from her pocket and placed them on the bedside table. She threw on her pyjamas and snuck into bed pulling the sheets right up over her head. She lay still. Her heart pounded in her ears. It wasn’t long before her door creaked open. It was stupid to wear the glasses but it was the only way she could find out what the Watcher wanted and maybe help her Dad.

  His steps were quiet, how could someone so big make so little noise. He stopped by the edge of the bed, his eyes burning a hole in her sheets. She prayed he couldn’t smell fear. There was a faint creak as her glasses case opened. Suddenly a loud noise, like someone sucking snots up their nose, took over the room. Just as quickly it stopped, the box snapped closed and the Watcher slipped quietly from the room.

  Violet turned over to check her glasses. They looked normal. The Watchers footsteps left her mothers room, heading back downstairs. She jumped from the bed, forced on he
r runners and opened the door. Waiting until the Watcher was in the hallway below, she tiptoed after him out of the house, across the yard, through the trees and down the main road towards town. She was near the spot where she’d hidden the previous night when a hand grabbed her.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Boy whispered.

  “You scared the life out of me!” Violet gasped, catching her breath.

  “What do you think you’re doing? How stupid are you Violet?”

  “I’m following him,” she snapped, “there’s something up and I need to know what it is. I have to save my Dad.”

  “What do you mean? What do you think is wrong with your Dad?”

  “Well…I don’t know really but there’s something wrong and I think the Archers are behind it.”

  “What!” Boy said, his face mocking, “Did you come up with all this today?”

  “Yeah and without your help.”

  “Well you needed my help last night! Where’s my thanks for distracting Fists? And I would have been at yours tonight except the Watchers were watching me. Fists wasn’t happy that I jumped him you know!”

  “Look,” Violet said, ignoring Boy, “I knew it. He’s going into the Archers. We have to go inside. It’s the only way we’ll find out what’s going on.”

  “Ah Violet,” Boy said, raising an eyebrow, “I might be brave but I’m not stupid. Whatever the Watchers are doing in there you don’t want to know.”

  “I do,” Violet protested.

  “You don’t! You don’t know what they are like Violet. You saw No Man’s Land; there are places darker than that. Places where the Watchers send people when they want them gone, disappeared, for real. It’s not safe Violet. It’s not a game.”

  “I don’t think it’s a game! I know they have my Dad and I have to save him before Mam forgets he ever existed.”

  Boy’s expression changed. Violet held his gaze. Did he ever miss his Dad? The Dad he said he never had.

  “Come on,” he said, crawling out from behind the bush and running the shadows towards the Archers shop.

  CHAPTER 15

  Jars Of Colour

  Violet followed silently behind, afraid any minute another Watcher might stumble upon them. Quickly they crossed the distance to the Archers. Boy signalled to stay back while he approached the door. Not listening she was by his side when he discovered it was locked.

  “What will we do?” she whispered, causing Boy to jump.

  “I told you to stay back.”

  “He’s my Dad!”

  “Do you have a hair clip?” he whispered, ignoring her tone.

  She pulled a pin from her ponytail. Boy fiddled with the doorknob and after a few minutes it came loose in his hand.

  “Have you been to jail?” she whispered.

  “No!”

  “It’s just I thought people only learned that stuff in jail.”

  “Or No Man’s Land.” he winked, gently pushing in the door.

  The shop was empty and they slipped in closing the door behind them. Inside was dark and Violet prayed she wouldn’t bump into anything.

  “There’s no one about,” Boy whispered, after a quick investigation, “they’re not here Violet. Now let’s go, I don’t like the feeling I get in this place.”

  “Please Boy, just a few more minutes. I want to check something. I have an idea where Dad might be. Then I promise I’ll leave.”

  Reluctantly he agreed. Quickly Violet ran her fingers along the mahogany walls until she hit a familiar bump. Pushing it just a little the wall gave way to the secret passage. She smiled at Boy and entered.

  It was dark, even darker than the shop floor as there were no windows. A thin strip of light warmed the carpet on the opposite wall marking another doorway. A shadow passed through the light. Violet inched her way across the room, and placed her ear against the dark wood. A familiar sound greeted her, a sucking noise. She pulled Boy alongside to listen. After a few minutes it stopped and the light went out.

  “Do you know the noise?” Violet whispered.

  Boy shook his head.

  “I heard it tonight in my house. I think it’s from the machine the Watcher carries on his back. We have to go in there.”

  “No we don’t,” Boy protested, “you don’t know what you’re saying. You’re new here but you should be afraid of the Watchers. They’re dangerous Violet.”

  “Please Boy,” she begged, “You have no parents so maybe you don’t understand but my Dad is one of my two favourite people in the world. I can’t let anything happen to him. I need to find out what’s going on.”

  Boy stepped back from the door and sat down. Violet bit her lip. She shouldn’t have said what she’d said. Her Dad always told her to think before she speaks otherwise she might hurt people’s feelings just like she’s hurt Boy’s.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t mean it,” she whispered, sitting down beside her friend.

  “I’m not afraid of the Watchers you know.”

  “I know you’re not.”

  “Well let’s go in then.” Boy said, pushing off the floor.

  “Boys,” Violet sighed, they never made any sense.

  Listening again to make sure there was no one in the room beyond, Boy leaned his weight against the door. It began to move. He opened it just enough for the pair to slip through, then shut it quietly behind.

  Violet stood just inside the entrance. It wasn’t a room at all. It was more like a long, narrow hallway. Steel shelving ran the length of both walls standing about five feet high. It looked odd compared to the beautiful wood in the rest of the shop. The shelves were filled with rows upon rows of glass jars. Each jar held a strange coloured gas that glowed in the dark of the room.

  “What are they?” Violet whispered, picking up a jar.

  The gas was dull, a dark blue green colour that moved sluggishly inside it’s glass. Beside her Boy was holding another jar with slightly brighter colours, dark blue greens mixed with hints of yellow and a single stream of bright red.

  “Look,” Boy whispered, shoving his jar into Violet’s face.

  A worn sticker on top of the jar read Mr. John Bumsbury. Completed 09th Dec 1983. Violet looked up at her friend.

  “Haven’t a clue,” he shrugged.

  She moved her jar towards Boy’s for a little more light then read the lid.

  “Mrs. Charlotte Cotts. Completed 24th March 1970. That’s ancient,” she whispered.

  “Come on,” Boy said, leaving down his jar.

  He walked towards the far end of the room not stopping until he reached a separate section of shelving. The jars here were different. They were only partially full, the gas was brightly coloured, almost luminous and moved rapidly through the confined space. The mixtures of colour were beautiful. Boy picked one up, Mr. Jim Joiners. Incomplete. Last Session 14th June 1985. NML.

  “I know him,” he said, his voice shaky, “he lives in No Man’s Land.”

  Quickly he put it down and picked another, Mr. Raymond Splinters. Incomplete. Last Session 01st Aug 2001. NML.

  “I know him too.”

  Violet was reaching for another jar when a noise startled the pair. Quickly they ran for cover. Violet dived for the bottom of the shelf she was standing beside. Pushing some jars out of the way she crawled in towards the back. Suddenly the lights flickered on.

  Footsteps advanced down the hallway towards her hiding place. A pair of large, polished, brown, leather shoes walked past, stopping millimeters from where she knelt hiding.

  “Ah Violet Brown,” George Archer suddenly said, “I hope you’ve been a good girl.”

  Her heart stopped. How had he found her? She waited in disbelief for the giant to bend down and grab her but he appeared to be distracted by some jars on the shelf above.

  “That blasted Watcher!” he spat, “Still not enough. Do I have to do everything myself?”

  Glass clattered angrily off glass and George Archer turned on his heels and marched down to the other end of t
he hallway. The lights switched off, a door slammed and the room was plunged back into darkness.

  “He was looking at that jar,” Boy said, jumping out from hiding to run to the spot where George Archer had stood.

  Violet crawled out less elegantly from her crouched spot and was by his side to hear him gasp. His hand shook as he held the jar. It was about a quarter full of brightly coloured gas, which raced around at lightening speed. He passed it silently to Violet. She stared, gobsmacked, at the spanking new label.

  Miss. Violet Brown. Processing.

  She handed the jar back to Boy and slid down the wall onto the floor.

  “What is it?” she trembled, “why does it have my name on it?”

  “I don’t know Violet,” Boy whispered, finding her side, “but I promise we’ll find out.”

  CHAPTER 16

  The Warning

  The pair sat side by side in the darkness too shaken to talk. The Archers were up to something and it involved Violet.

  “Come on,” Boy smiled, a little later, “No more moping. We’re not going to sit around when there’s a mystery to be solved.”

  “What do you mean, I thought you wanted to go back?”

  “Well that was before I saw your name on that jar. Nobody can put your name on a jar of colourdy stuff without asking me first.”

  Violet sighed.

  “I don’t know Boy. Maybe you were right; maybe I should be more careful.”

  “That was the old me,” Boy said, sounding brave, “Now you are involved in this whole mystery, the jar tells us that. I think we have to find your Dad. If he doesn’t know what to do then at least you’ll all be back together and can escape from Perfect.”

  Violet nodded. She trusted Boy. He was almost her best friend already and it had taken her two whole weeks to get to that stage with her old one Becky. Her family had to leave Perfect but maybe, since Boy didn’t have any parents, he’d come with them. She wouldn’t tell him yet though, families were a touchy subject.

  After a quick discussion, Boy did most of the talking as Violet was still a little shaky, they decided to follow George Archer. He was annoyed over Violet’s jar and was definitely on a mission so wherever he was going might lead them to her Dad.