‘The alarms, the alarms!’
‘Calm yourself. They have been going off all night.’
‘All night? But that means ...’
‘That the bait has been taken. Is that not what we expected?’
‘And the Emissary?’
‘Is awaiting our instructions.’
* * *
‘Oh my god, something’s happened!’ Coral pressed her face against the window as Fitchett’s Flyer hissed to a stop outside the reserve.
‘What? What?’ Tim peered past her, half-expecting to see craters, smouldering ruins, shattered trees ... and finding nothing but early morning stillness.
‘Where are they?’
Errol gave the horn a couple of toots and the caravan door banged open. Alkemy trotted ahead while behind her Ludokrus gave the bus a lazy wave as he locked up.
‘Well ... where’s the Cadillac?’ Coral demanded.
The Cadillac was missing, but that seemed trivial compared to the sight of their friends alive and well and running for the bus.
Alkemy, looking tired and dishevelled, dropped onto the seat in front of them. A few seconds later, Ludokrus, looking sprightly and dishevelled, dropped in beside her.
‘What happened?’ Coral hissed as the old bus moved off.
Alkemy shook her head. ‘Nothing.’
‘But you look dreadful!’
‘I am awake half of night with the worry,’ she said. ‘First we get back and wait. See who come. Two, three hours. Nothing. Then Albert say maybe there is bomb inside for when he open microwave, so he take her safe away from us. Again we wait. Two more hour. Nothing. Finally he come back. There is only one simple alarm inside to say she has been taken. That is all.’
‘What about the Temporal Accumulator thing?’ Tim asked.
‘She is there also. Perfect. We make copy.’ Alkemy smiled and patted her backpack. ‘I am so happy. Now we have these plan, is like we are already halfway home.’
‘But what of you?’ Ludokrus asked. ‘We are also worry for the house. Maybe someone visit?’
Coral shook her head. ‘I thought maybe Alice ... I mean she did only turn up yesterday. But she actually wanted you to take it.’
‘I thought the Sentinels were able to control people?’ Tim asked.
‘Yes, but is much limited. Albert tell us more last night while we are wait,’ Ludokrus replied. ‘First, he think there are most likely only two of them. Always they work in pair, and for this mission the Thanatos do not even know if we survive our crash. So most likely they do not send a hundred.
‘Second, each can control only one person at one time. That mean there must be only two people whose head they are inside.’
‘Third, they can change your memory, but not what you are see.’
‘How d’you mean?’
He gestured round the bus. ‘They cannot make you think you are travelling in the Cadillac, for example. But when you are at the school they maybe change the memory and you think you come in Cadillac.’
‘That’s freaky!’
Ludokrus nodded. ‘Last, the control. With this they must be careful. If you have Sentinel inside and it say “Jump off the bus” you will hear this command in your brain like someone speak. You will think maybe you are mad or that someone play a trick, but you will not jump. So they must be subtle. Maybe make you feel real sick so you, Tim Townsend, run to driver and say, “Please stop!”.’
‘You mean they can’t tell you to do things, they have to make you want to do them.’
‘Exactly.’
‘OK,’ Coral said, ‘but what about the Sentinels themselves? What’s to stop them coming after you in person?’
‘You have seen them. They are like big slug who live in dark and wet. Bright sunshine dry them out and make die. We do not need to worry.’
‘So ... the alarm in the microwave ... what was it for?’
‘Now we think was just alert. To say to them only, “Yes, they are here”. But to make action will take time. Albert say the nearest Thanatos base is one light day away. This mean message will take one day to reach and one more day at least for ship to come, so they cannot be here till tomorrow night, earliest. And by then we will be gone.’
‘So all this trap business was just a storm in a teacup!’ Coral said, sounding slightly annoyed.
‘Storm in the tea ...?’
‘She means it was a lot of fuss for nothing,’ Tim translated.
‘Ah, yes. But remember, there are many ways they could make trap. All last night we are still worry. Only this morning do we know is okay. Now we can relax. Because of this Albert now go to Queenstown.’
‘Queenstown. What’s he doing there, sight-seeing?’
‘Now he have the plan, he know all the elements we will need for the make. For some this place has not enough. Maybe a bigger town is better.’
‘You mean he’s going to Queenstown to visit the rubbish dump?’ Coral said.
‘Speaking of Albert,’ Tim said, ‘I heard Aunt Alice say she was going to pop over and see him with a batch of pikelets.’
‘Wholemeal pikelets,’ Coral corrected.
Alkemy and Ludokrus exchanged puzzled glances.
‘You mean like ...’ Ludokrus made a squealing sound.
Now Tim and Coral looked puzzled. Then Coral laughed and shook her head. ‘No, no, not piglets. Pikelets. Little thin cake things.’
‘Ah! For one moment I think she maybe have children after all,’ Ludokrus grinned.
Alkemy gave out an outraged gasp. Coral gave him a high-five.
‘What is the significance of this giving him piglets ... pikelets?’ Ludokrus asked.
‘I think she likes him.’
‘But he is syntho!’
‘That’s all right,’ Tim grinned. ‘Uncle Frank says she’s a witch.’
* * *
As the Flyer swung through the school gates Tim glimpsed Norman Smith, flanked by Tyler Thuggut and Amber Eloise Sauvage, disappearing round the end of the school building. Tyler looked shifty, glancing left and right, and Norman moved like a prisoner under escort.
Tim leapt from the bus and made straight for where he’d last seen them. As he suspected, the three figures were heading for the Thugguts’ usual lair.
Waiting till they disappeared around the far end of the dilapidated prefab, he sprinted after them before stopping at the near end and circling round the building from the opposite direction.
As he edged closer he made out three long shadows in the slanting sunlight.
‘You’d better!’ Tyler’s voice snapped.
Norman gasped.
‘Now, now Tyler.’ Amber’s voice was smooth and liquid. ‘Norman’s our friend, aren’t you, Norman?’
‘Yes,’ Norman squeaked.
‘And friends look after each other. Don’t they, Norman?’
Tim could almost hear Norman nodding his head.
‘Because if they don’t look after each other, they’re not really friends. And if you’re not my friend, you must be my enemy. And you know what happens to them ...’
Keeping to the shadows, Tim peered round the corner in time to see Tyler Thuggut drive his fist into the side of the old prefab a millimetre from Norman’s quaking head. The building shuddered. Particles of dust and flaking paint were flung into the still air. Tyler casually shook out his clenched fist and grinned.
‘Oh, good morning.’ Alkemy suddenly breezed around the front of the building. ‘I was ... Is everything OK?’
‘Everything’s fine, sister,’ Amber Eloise hissed. ‘Just having a friendly chat.’
‘It does not look so friendly,’ Alkemy replied. She set her backpack down and went to Norman. ‘I hear a bang. You are OK?’
Tim decided it was time to show himself too. He took a breath and imitated Alkemy, ambling around the corner as casually as he could.
‘Oh, there you are. Thought I saw you heading over here. Hi Norman.’
Norman gaped in amazement; two saviours!
‘Come on you two, the bell’s about to go,’ Tim continued, shoving his two friends ahead of him.
They’d only gone a few metres when Alkemy turned, remembering her backpack.
‘Forgotten something?’ Tyler grunted, taking a few quick strides, lining up his target and giving it a mighty kick.
Alkemy squealed as it lifted from his foot and she started a stumbling run to try and save it. In an instant Tim realised the reason for her dismay. The calculator! It was a fantastic kick. The bag sailed far beyond her reach, landing with a heavy thump on the sun-baked, rock-hard playing field. For a moment all three of them stood staring at it, then the bell rang and Norman said weakly, ‘I think I need to go to the bathroom.’