On Sunday afternoon the electricity came back on. Crooked Oak was still in lockdown. The phone signal returned a few hours later, then all the kids were sending messages about anthrax – a deadly, infectious disease. They were talking about how lucky they were it had been caught before it spread too far. Sophie mentioned that from her bedroom window she had seen fires in the fields around Hilltop House and the Spencer Institute. Everyone said it was because the infected animals had to be burned.
Pete, Nancy and Krish knew the lockdown was nothing to do with anthrax. They knew how close Crooked Oak had come to being overrun by man-eating plants. They used their Area 51 group chat to discuss what had happened and decided to tell Miss Wan before anyone else. That way Miss Wan could tell the real story in the newspaper. She had believed them about what they had seen in the Vault, so they were sure she would believe them now.
Nancy found an email address for Miss Wan on the Crooked Oak Chronicle website and wrote to her on Sunday evening. Nancy was careful to include every detail of what had happened.
*
As soon as Nancy woke up on Monday morning, she checked the Crooked Oak Chronicle website, but there was no article about what had happened. Nancy decided that Miss Wan hadn’t had time to write it yet.
The lockdown was lifted that morning, so Nancy set off for school as usual. As she cycled through Crooked Oak, it looked as if nothing had happened. Everything was normal. No soldiers, no Humvees, no carnivorous plants. Even the wheelie bins were all in the right place.
When Nancy arrived at school, Pete and Krish were waiting for her by the bike rack. As soon as she saw them, she knew that something was wrong.
“What’s the matter?” Nancy asked as she climbed off her bike.
“You need to see this,” Krish said, showing Nancy his phone.
In the time it had taken Nancy to ride to school, a new article had appeared on the Crooked Oak Chronicle website, written by Miss Wan. When Nancy read it, she was filled with anger and disappointment.
*
Pete, Nancy and Krish went straight to Miss Wan’s classroom.
Miss Wan was sitting at her desk, looking at her laptop.
“What’s this?” Nancy said, pointing at the Crooked Oak Chronicle article on her phone screen. She started to read aloud:
The village of Crooked Oak was put into lockdown due to an aggressive outbreak of anthrax. Anthrax occurs naturally in soil and affects domestic and wild animals, causing severe illness. Humans coming into contact with those animals are also affected. Military personnel were brought in to ensure residents stayed in their homes while all infected livestock was destroyed …
Nancy stopped reading when she saw that Miss Wan was holding up a hand.
“I thought you’d come,” Miss Wan sighed.
“So, what’s all this about anthrax?” Nancy demanded to know. “Didn’t you read our email?”
“Yeah. We told you what really happened,” Krish complained. “So why did you write this?”
“It wasn’t anthrax that nearly killed us,” Nancy said furiously. “It was those plants. Variant 42. We saved the school and probably all of Crooked Oak, and you’re saying it was anthrax?!”
“Plants?” Miss Wan asked. “What plants?”
“What?” Pete said, looking confused.
“And what email?” Miss Wan said. “I don’t remember any email. Especially not one telling me about carnivorous plants escaping from the Spencer Institute at Hilltop.”
“But if you didn’t read it, how do you know about …” Nancy stopped and stared at Miss Wan. “Oh. Wait a minute. They told you not to say anything, didn’t they? The Spencer Institute. BioMesa. The government. Whoever it was, they got to you.”
Miss Wan glanced out of the window and closed her eyes. “I’m so sorry,” she said.
Nancy switched off her phone and stuffed it into her pocket. “Some journalist you turned out to be,” Nancy said. She stormed away and pulled open the classroom door. Pete and Krish were right behind her.
“You could write a story of your own,” Miss Wan said quietly.
Nancy stopped with her fingers tight around the door handle.
“For that website,” Miss Wan continued. “The Mystery Shed. Someone there will believe you.”
Nancy turned around to look at Miss Wan. “You know about the Mystery Shed?” she asked.
Miss Wan half smiled and turned her laptop around so they could see what she had been reading. It was a page from the Mystery Shed website. The story was titled “The Beast of Harwood Forest”.
“The articles written by someone called ‘Area 51’ are very good,” said Miss Wan.
Pete, Nancy and Krish shared a look that was half confusion, half surprise.
“Whatever you think of me,” said Miss Wan, “I’m proud of you three. It’s just that … sometimes it’s difficult for people like me to tell the stories we want to tell. When I was your age, I thought that getting older meant I could do what I wanted. But even adults have to do as they’re told. But you …” Miss Wan tapped the screen of her laptop. “Well, you can tell your story right here.”
Then Miss Wan reached for the mug of tea on her desk. She picked it up so they could see the design on the front again: “I WANT TO BELIEVE”.
Nancy opened her mouth to say something, but Miss Wan spoke first.
“You’ve still got some time before your first lesson,” said Miss Wan. “Why don’t you make a start on that story? I can’t wait to hear what really happened this weekend.”