Tilly sat at her all-in-one bunk-desk, putting the finishing touches on her science homework. She had spent the entire day counting ticker tape and measuring the velocity of a toy car, but Miss Khan would be satisfied; she was sure of that. Plus the dulling pleasure of routine distracted her from the perils of her overactive mind.
There weren’t many people who held Tilly’s interest for any length of time. In fact, the only other person who had crossed her mind that day—in a platonic way, obviously—was Darkus. This revelation was even more peculiar, seeing as he had been residing quite literally under her nose for so many years.
Outside the dormitory window, the sun had dipped below the trees that encircled the Cranston School compound. The other bunk units were empty, except for a few scattered celebrity magazines: the remnants of the other girls’ extracurricular reading. Tilly closed her science folder and pushed it to the back of the cocoon-like desk, slumping in her chair disconsolate. She gazed out into the dark woods beyond the playing fields and let her mind wander. A whole world lay just beyond her reach—a world that promised both good and bad, and all the mysteries that came with it. For now, her only contact with it was a computer screen and an Internet connection. The tree line blurred with the falling dusk, until all that was left was—
A pinpoint of light flashed at her.
She blinked, believing it was a reflection in the windowpane. Then the light winked at her again, from deep in the woods, and repeated a series of long and short flashes. She had no idea what it meant, but instantly recognized it as Morse code.
She quickly opened her laptop and typed “morse code translator” into the search engine. She clicked on the top link, and a web page loaded up with two boxes: one for inputting the code, one to display the translation.
She looked back out the window and saw the light flicker once, then die out. She watched for a long ten seconds. It seemed to have gone altogether, evaporated into the ether. Maybe it was her imagination playing tricks on her.
Then the light came back, more persistent than ever, flashing in long and short bursts. Tilly used the “.” and “–” symbols on her keyboard to imitate the rhythm of the Morse code. She kept her eyes trained on the woods as her fingers struck the keys like a concert pianist.
The light died out, reaching the end of its sequence.
Tilly turned to the computer screen and saw the message that was displayed in the translation window. It read:
SOS. Come ASAP. Darkus. SOS. Come ASAP. Darkus.
Tilly furrowed her brow, then broke into a smile. It was as if she’d conjured him out of thin air. She debated for a split second whether to go, and instantly decided that if it was important enough for him to be lurking in the woods, then it was important enough to justify another escape attempt. She quickly packed her backpack, pulled on a black jacket and knit cap, and exited the dorm.
In the corridor outside, she slipped off her shoes, tucked them into her bag, then jogged quietly over the parquet floors, her stockinged feet barely touching the ground. She rounded the gallery and spotted the housemistress patrolling the building. Tilly slid to the floor behind a pillar and waited for her to pass. Then she checked to make sure her phone was on silent and set the countdown timer, knowing the house mistress would raise the alarm in approximately three minutes.
Seconds later, Tilly descended a set of marble stairs, seeing a male teacher crossing the mezzanine carrying a stack of folders. She paused in full view of him, but he didn’t look up from his workload and ambled through a doorway opposite. Hearing more footsteps approaching, Tilly sat on the curving banister, slid down the last flight of stairs, and vanished through a fire exit.
By the time the countdown had finished, she’d reached the woods, but the flashing light had stopped sending its beacon, and she could only go on her instincts. She picked her way through the forest, taking pains to avoid stepping on twigs or making any rookie mistakes. She could just see the curving concrete shape of the amphitheater hidden among the trees—she had never graced its stage, not caring much for amateur dramatics. She moved along the outer wall, looking for any sign of Darkus, and then stopped in her tracks, seeing a figure ahead of her.
It was Mr. Burke, sitting on a tree stump, wearing a complicated piece of black headgear that obscured his entire face except for his signature handlebar mustache. Instead of eyes, he had a pair of telescopic lenses with a tiny red light at the center of each barrel. Tilly recognized the work of Miss Khan, which was evidently being put to good use.
Mr. Burke adjusted the night-vision goggles to peer deeper into the forest. If Darkus was out there, he wouldn’t stand a chance against Burke, whose position as PE teacher was only the epilogue to a long career in the Territorial Army, where he was rumored to have seen action in Gibraltar. Now his nights were spent surveilling the grounds for intruders and escapees, and tonight he clearly had the scent. Tilly had never been apprehended by Burke, and she didn’t intend for this to be the first time.
She examined him from about forty yards to the rear. At least Darkus had had the good sense to extinguish his flashlight. Or maybe he’d already been caught and confessed all, and she was walking into a trap. Before her mind could follow that train of thought any further, a hand gently tapped her on the shoulder. She flinched and spun around to find Darkus, dressed in a herringbone coat and a Donegal tweed hat, crouched in the undergrowth. She stopped her mouth, but the sudden repositioning of her stance created a loud rustle.
Burke turned, refocusing his goggles in their direction.
“Get down!” whispered Darkus.
“Duh,” she responded sharply.
They ducked behind a felled tree. Burke kept toggling his headgear. Tilly pointed at Darkus, then closed her fist to indicate “freeze,” then lowered her palm to indicate “crouch,” then tapped her head to indicate “follow me” and pointed toward an outcropping of trees to their right. Finally, she pumped her fist to indicate “hurry up.” Darkus confirmed with a thumbs-up.
They crawled through the undergrowth out of sight.
“What are you doing here?!” she whispered once they’d reached a safe distance.
“It would help if you answered your phone.”
“Well, I’m all ears.”
“They’ve got Dad.”
“Who has?”
“The Combination,” said Darkus.
“And how is that my problem?”
“It’s not, I suppose, but you’re the only one who can help.”
“Help do what?”
“Get him back, of course.”
“What’s he ever done for me? Apart from help put me back here.”
“If you won’t do it for him, then do it for me,” said Darkus. “And for Carol.” Darkus knew that bringing up the subject of her mother was playing with fire, but he was in no mood to negotiate. The fact was, they had history. A shared history. And whatever Tilly’s feelings were toward his father, she would have to put them aside for now.
“What exactly do you want from me?” she asked.
“I’ve got a problem—a cipher problem.”
“How many characters?”
“Seven.”
“And you can’t crack it yourself?”
“No,” he admitted.
“Okay. I’ll see what I can do, but I can’t promise anything.” She glanced at Burke, who was still adjusting his goggles but was now meandering toward them through the darkness. She turned back to Darkus and whispered, “Have you got an exit strategy for this great escape of yours?”
“I’ve got a car about two klicks that way . . . ,” he said, pointing into the woods. “That’s kilometers by the way.”
“I know that,” she said curtly.
“Who’s there?” announced Burke. His goggles seemed to be in focus now, as he suddenly picked up speed, hopping over tree stumps and zeroing in on them. “Stop!”
Tilly and Darkus took off through the woods and down a steep incline. Darkus used one hand to secure his hat and the other to grab onto tree branches as they descended into a clearing. Tilly turned and saw Burke sprinting toward them with a demonic smile on his face. Darkus had paused to pull a compass from his inside pocket.
“Come on!” she cried out, and pulled him along with her.
Burke hurdled a fallen tree and went after the blurry infrared images in his goggles. He was gaining on them.
Tilly led Darkus under the dim moonlight through a thick corridor of foliage. Darkus glanced at the luminous dial of his compass and pointed in the direction of an embankment that bordered the school driveway. A teacher’s car drove past, headlights trained ahead, unaware of the commotion.
Darkus and Tilly scrambled across the embankment with Burke in hot pursuit.
“I don’t see a car!” she shouted.
Darkus moved toward a pair of trees with a large bush in the middle. He yanked one corner of the bush, which collapsed to reveal it was only a leaf-covered tarp. Underneath, almost wedged between the two trees, was the black Fairway cab, with Bogna waiting in the driver’s seat, gripping the steering wheel.
“Get in,” ordered Darkus. Tilly did as she was told. Darkus got in the backseat beside her and closed the door.
“Mój Boże!” Bogna cried out, and flicked on the headlights, catching Burke right in the high beams.
“Argh!” Burke’s night vision became a blinding snowstorm. He shielded his eyes, staggered back, tripped over a stump, and fell out of sight. He would later swear that what he had seen was a London taxi.
“Floor it, Bogna,” said Darkus.
Bogna stamped on the accelerator, steering the taxi out of its hiding place and performing a wide arc, bouncing through the undergrowth, before gaining traction and rejoining the driveway.
The Fairway swerved erratically then headed for the school gate, leaving Cranston in its wake. It bounced once more as it straddled a speed bump, then it indicated left, but turned right, and was gone.