Chapter 46

Sunday, February 9, 1936

Wickenham

 

The very next day, government officials insisted on debriefing everyone about the bog zombie uprising. So Johnny, Nina, Mel, and Dame Honoria were driven to a nearby army base, where they gave testimony to several severe-looking men and women in uniform.

The officers wanted to know every detail about Nina’s attempted attack on his majesty the king. Nina was told that she could leave the country, if she wished. But she must return, in the event that they asked her to. Her word of honor was required, and she gave it. And Johnny knew that no one was more honest and trustworthy than Nina Bain.

But there was another reason why the four of them had been brought to the base. They were taken to a second grim room in another building. The home secretary himself was waiting there, along with Rex Ward. The two of them wanted to talk about Nina’s ghost possession and what it might mean to the security of the Royal Kingdom.

Nina described her capture and subsequent captivity in a bedroom at Bilbury Hall. “While I was being kept there, Miss Worthington-Smythe asked me if I’d like a cup of cocoa. I felt kind of groggy after that. She drugged me, I guess.”

“Did you feel anything strange while the ghost was inside your head?” the home secretary asked.

“Well, my right arm hurt. Guess that’s because Mel had chopped off Checheg’s arm back in Zenith. And I had an ache in my stomach, right where she got stabbed at Acme Ironworks. But I really didn’t notice I was out of control until the night at Castle Henry. It’s as if she waited until just the right moment to take over. I think that’s why she didn’t help the bad guys sooner. She was waiting for a big target.”

“How Checheg managed to, well, infect Nina is a mystery to me,” Dame Honoria said. “Until we have some idea of how the trick was pulled off, we won’t know how to stop it from happening again.”

“Or how to cure people who are infected,” Mel added.

The home secretary’s face turned slightly gray. “So no notion of the mechanism behind this phenomenon?”

“None whatsoever,” sighed Dame Honoria.

“But if that knowledge becomes known to other ghosts, look out,” Johnny said ominously.

“The living world would be turned upside down,” Dame Honoria warned.

The home secretary shook his head. “Paranoia and fear everywhere. Who could be trusted anymore? Imagine if a possessed general started a war. Or an important banker with a ghost under his skull crashed a national economy.”

Percy now had the power to cause huge disasters, Johnny realized. There was really no limit to what that crumb-bum could do, if he got away with this possession thing. He could change the face of the whole world.

“But we have a plan, Home Secretary,” said Dame Honoria.

He looked at her hopefully. “Yes?”

“We may have some idea of where my son learned his new dark arts, and from whom. In two or so weeks, we plan to fly by aeroboat to Okkatek Island, mount an expedition, and find out all we can about the ghost shaman Morbrec. That is, of course, if he even existed.”

 

* * *

 

Back at Wickenham that afternoon, Johnny joined everyone in the main-floor sitting room. They were all gathered around a cozy fireplace, ensconced in overstuffed chairs and on the big sofa, enjoying a pot of afternoon tea and biscuits.

Uncle Louie was talking about the weather, a favorite topic of pilots everywhere. He explained that the planes he had worked on during the last couple of weeks were rarely able to take off.

“The heavy ground clouds made it impossible. The pilots said they had never seen such peculiar weather. The fog was real thick, but it didn’t seem to have any moisture in it. You couldn’t see any dampness on the ground or on the windshields. It was like a weird kind of smoke.”

“We’ve been thinking about that fog,” Mel said. “We’re worried that whatever Percy is up to, he might be causing some disruption in the ether.”

“But what I still don’t understand is why Percy kidnapped all those kids.” Johnny said. “What did he plan to do with them?”

Dame Honoria’s face darkened. “I fear that my son is plotting to do something bigger and more disastrous in the future. After all, when the children grow up, their bodies will make fine vessels for ghost warriors to inhabit.”

“Or he could put them to other uses,” Mel added. “Imagine a spy network of possessed children who are secret agents.”

The idea made Johnny shudder. He’d always have to be suspicious of any kid he met.

“Whatever Percy’s up to,” Nina said, “we can’t let him possess any more people. I know how it feels. It was impossible for me to stop Checheg from attacking the king. I had no control at all. I was seeing unfold inside my head, but I couldn’t do a thing to stop it.”

“That’s why we have to end this madness before it can spread,” Mel said, putting her teacup down on the table in front of her. “The trip to Okkatek is the only hope we have.”

 

* * *

 

Over the next couple of days, Johnny helped Nina compose their news stories on Dame Honoria’s typewriter. They decided to share the byline. Every article would say “By Nina Bain and Johnny Graphic.” Mel also pitched in, and gave each story a close once-over, marking grammatical errors and typos with a red pencil. Their pieces on the train wreck, the destruction at St. Egbert’s, the harrowing escape at Bilbury Hall, the nerve-wracking flight in Thumper, and the Battle of Castle Henry all read like ripping adventure stories.

Johnny definitely saw more Newshawk awards in their future.

As soon as the stories were done, the three of them were driven by Dame Honoria’s chauffeur to the Royalton office of the World Press Association, where they dropped off the stories and Johnny’s pictures. Johnny had developed his many rolls of film in a darkroom that Gilligan the butler maintained at Wickenham.

Johnny was elated, knowing that Mr. Cargill would scoop everyone in the world, running the stories first in the Zenith Clarion. The articles were published a day later in Royalton newspapers. Johnny loved seeing his pictures and the headlines.

 

Government censors had changed a few things in the stories. Any mention of bog zombies was replaced with words like “ruffians,” “hooligans,” and “thugs.” Dame Honoria had warned Johnny that might be the case—the government wanted calm to return to the country as quickly as possible.

The newspapers also gave him a chance to catch up on related developments. He especially looked for coverage of any attacks in Royalton, but was surprised to find no reports of any action there. Dame Honoria confirmed that, thankfully, nothing had occurred in the metropolis.

With the news assignments done, Johnny continued working on his photo essay about country life around Wickenham, hiking from one corner of the vast property to the other. He took hundreds of pictures, though he didn’t plan to develop them until he got back to Zenith. He’d had enough of darkroom chemicals for a while. The harsh smell got in your clothes and up your nose. But it was a price you had to pay if you were a news lensman.

One afternoon he was in his bedroom at Wickenham, unloading the roll of film he had shot that lunch hour at the pub where Ozzie had been captured. He pulled it out of the Ritterflex, licked the glued tab at the end of the paper that covered the film, and sealed the roll shut. No chance now of it accidentally getting exposed to light and ruined. Tired, he stretched out on his bed and began to daydream.

In just a few days, they were all heading for Okkatek Island. Danny Kailolu, Mel’s boyfriend, was going to fly the Zephyr Lines floatplane back to Rowestoft to pick them up. Johnny knew the reason for the trip was to find out where that rotten Percy had gotten his knowledge of zombification and possession of the living.

But Johnny had another goal, as well. Will and Lydia Graphic had disappeared on Okkatek. And it was his plan to go hunting for his parents there—all alone, if he had to. The zombie attack had delayed his and Mel’s search plans. Johnny Graphic wouldn’t be put off again. If he could get his folks back, he would never ask for another thing. Ever.

Still, even without parents in his life, Johnny was surrounded by people who cared for him. And he knew it. A great sister, a super uncle, the best friend and almost-cousin in the world, a remarkable godmother, a—

“Hey, Johnny…”

He had been daydreaming so hard, he hadn’t noticed Nina come in through the open bedroom door.

“Yeah, Sparks, what’s up?”

She had on her etheric goggles, and Johnny was surprised to realize that she was starting to look almost normal in them.

“Guess who stopped in to say hi?” She could hardly contain herself.

Curious, Johnny sat up on the edge of the bed. “No idea. Who?”

“Basil Hastings. He’s on his way to his new school, which is right here in Gilbeyshire. Evvie’s with him. And his dad, Lord Hurley, who really wants to meet you.”

“Well what are we waiting for?” Johnny hopped to his feet. Fretting about Percy Rathbone and the trip to Okkatek could wait. Right now Johnny intended to have some fun.

He and Nina raced out into the hallway and bounded down Wickenham’s grand staircase.