“Pity there’s nothing to eat around here,” he said as he helped Echo put on the green top.
Together they walked around the reeds to the edge of the pool.
“There is watercress,” she said.
“No thanks,” said Jason, trying to ignore the hollow pain in his stomach. “I’ll just have to manage. I’ve still got plenty of money. We’ll head to Hazelby early tomorrow and I’ll buy us both a big breakfast.”
They drank from the pool then returned to the bridge where they both sat down. Beyond the distant treetops the sun was disappearing on the horizon, a blaze of crimson light in a mass of clouds tinged with purple.
“There is something you have yet to mention,” said Echo. “Your father. Do you never speak of him?”
Jason shrugged. “I guess there isn’t much to say. When he was my age he was kind of a boy genius – that means he was really clever, top of his class in everything. Later on he went to university – that’s a place where you go to learn things when you’re older. He was brilliant there too, one of the best students they’d ever had. After that he went to Law College but he turned a bit mad and dropped out. By the time he married Mum he was running his own business but it did really badly. He went bust and disappeared when I was a year old.”
From Echo’s expression it was clear she hadn’t understood everything.
“I never think about him,” Jason went on. “He wasn’t a hero like your dad. All I can think about right now is Lauren.”
“I too am thinking of your sister,” said Echo. “And the words she did say about her vision of my future. It is all clear to me now. I am trapped in this time but I can carry on my noble deeds as I did in my own time, putting right what is wrong. Think of Kate. There must be many others like her, in need of my help.”
“So that’s what you’re going to do when this is all over?” said Jason. “Travel the country, living rough, helping others?”
Echo nodded. “That is my wish, and my destiny. But I would like you to come with me. These times are so very strange to me, and I will need you as my guide.”
Jason hesitated. “I’m not sure. Once I get Lauren back, I never want to leave her again.”
“Then she can come with us.”
“She’s seventeen now,” Jason told her. “Girls that age don’t want adventures in the countryside. They like to dress up and put on lipstick, and go to pubs and have boyfriends – all that sort of rubbish.”
“When we met the Maxine woman you did tell her I was your sister,” said Echo. “I did like that. Never have I had a brother or sister. Would you like another sister?”
The question took Jason by surprise. “Like I said before - we’re already cousins, sort of.”
“Aye, you are of Sibbie’s flesh,” said Echo. “But you feel like a brother to me.”
“Guess I would like another sister,” Jason said. “So long as it’s you. Okay, how’s this for an idea? Once Lauren’s been rescued we’ll go and live at Brandsby House – all three of us. All right, it won’t be easy. Social Services will want to check you out first, and we’ll need to explain about your stripes and everything. No one’ll believe you’re a dryad from the old days. But maybe we could say you’ve got a rare skin disease, and your parents are travellers but they’ve abandoned you. Once things have settled down, Lauren could go treasure hunting using her special powers. After a while she’ll have enough money to buy a place of her own in town, and we could go and live with her.”
“I am not certain I could live in a town in these times,” said Echo. “I would rather live the free life, out here in open places.”
Jason understood what she meant. At Brandsby House he always felt hemmed in, every moment he was there. But out here, like the fields, the freedom seemed to stretch ahead of him forever. Yet he wasn’t sure he could make the countryside his home, living like some wild boy of the woods. No, he’d miss all the trappings of modern life.
“You’ll soon get used to it in the twenty-first century,” he said. “We’ve got loads of brilliant things – like telly, cinemas, DVDs, games and iPods. You’ll also like flushing toilets – much better than widdelpits.”
“Is there anything I would not like?”
Jason thought for a moment. “School, probably.”
“What is school?”
Jason tried to explain it to her, in a way that made school sound as interesting as possible. It wasn’t an easy task. Echo gazed out across the fields.
“I do not believe I would like school,” she said. “I cannot go to such a place.”
Her eyes were like pools of deep-brown water in the crimson light. She slipped an arm around Jason. He put an arm across her shoulders. He wondered for how much longer he’d have Echo as a friend. She and Lauren wanted different things and, very soon, it looked like he’d have to make a choice between one or the other.
– CHAPTER TEN –
Hazelby
As Jason sat with Echo on the bridge, she told him stories of her adventures in the old days; of the time she foiled a gang of cutthroats in the forest, and the day she fought a wolf bare-handed. Then Jason told her more about science and technology, and the history of the world since she began her long sleep. When finally they wandered back to the old farm the moon was casting its silver light on the eerie, silent buildings. It was as if Jason and Echo were the only people in the world. They did their best to search the derelict farm in the darkness, but found nothing that could be used for sheets and bedding. Once they’d returned to the cattleshed they decided to sleep in adjoining stalls. Jason slipped the map out of his pocket and took off his trainers, but otherwise slept fully clothed.
Except he didn’t sleep straightaway. Moonlight spilled in through the glassless window above him. He shivered, tired and achy after his ordeal in the tunnel, though he felt safe with Echo nearby. He pulled some of the straw over him but it was a poor substitute for his warm quilt at Brandsby House. He lay there for almost an hour before lapsing into a murky sleep. At first he dreamt of distant stars and galaxies, and the Beach at the Edge of Time. Then, suddenly, he was standing in an old railway cutting. But it was different to the disused railway he’d visited that day, its surface of cobbles and dry earth, the trackbed stretching endlessly away in either direction. The steep banks on either side were swaying masses of yellow, white and purple flowers.
Jason began to walk along the track, looking first at the clear blue sky, his eyes then scanning the foggy, shadowy hedgerows lining the tops of the cutting at either side. He walked for what seemed like hours, only stopping when he saw a girl ahead.
It was Lauren, sitting on one of the banks, surrounded by wispy morning mist that shimmered and coiled all around her. She was picking wild flowers, placing some of them in her long blonde hair. She saw Jason and smiled, then got up and stepped down from the bank. Now they were facing one another on the trackbed, three or four paces apart.
“Jason!” she said. “We must go!”
She spoke with a thin, ghost of a voice that reverberated like the sounds of a dark cavern. Jason heard footsteps from behind and spun around. Now Echo had appeared, as if from nowhere, standing on the track a couple of metres away. She was in her brown dress and deerskin boots, her stripes showing on her arms and legs.
“Nay, we must go,” she said. “I am thy sister.”
Jason faced Lauren again.
“She’s not your sister,” she told him. “I am. You must come with me.”
With this she turned to walk away along the track. Jason looked again at Echo; now she was walking away too. Every so often, both girls would stop and call his name, urging him to go with each of them, forcing him to decide which direction to take. Finally he made up his mind. He broke into a run, chasing after Lauren, catching up with her. She dropped her bunch of flowers and held him in a tight embrace. When Jason let go of her he looked again along the track. Echo had melted away and he knew, in the deep heart of his soul, that he would never see her again.
He woke up with a start, his eyes snapping open as he sat bolt upright. He put a hand to his heart, calming his breathing. Now the cattle stall was bathed in early morning light.
It was only a dream, he kept telling himself.
He rubbed his eyes and the back of his neck then checked his watch; almost nine thirty.
“Echo!” he called, struggling to his feet.
He stepped out of the stall to check the one next door, seeing only a pair of deerskin boots lying on the straw. From outside he heard a distant splash; Echo was bathing again. Jason breathed out. Of course it had only been a dream. Echo hadn’t gone anywhere, except to the pool. But this time he wasn’t going to peek through the little hole in the door. He didn’t want to get accused of spying on her again. He returned to his stall, putting on his trainers and picking up the map. Once outside he crossed the overgrown courtyard to the track.
Just as well nobody’s about, he thought, pulling strands of straw from his hair as he checked in both directions. I must look like a scarecrow.
He needed the toilet, so he paid another visit to the elder trees by the wall. Again he had no reason to dig a hole; there would be public toilets in Hazelby. He returned to the track, unfolding the map as he sat down. Once he’d found Hazelby he traced the route of a long, major road, leading out of the town into countryside. We’ll have to go by bus, he thought. There must be some bus stops along there somewhere. Next he found Wendelford Carr, locating a series of tracks and public footpaths that connected with the Hazelby road. It was quite a long way. He folded the map, got to his feet and returned to the outbuilding. By now Echo had arrived there, drying her hair with the hooded top.
“It’s great to see you,” Jason said. “I’m really glad you haven’t gone.”
“Good morrow to thee,” said Echo, first with a smile then a puzzled stare. “But I do not understand. Why would I go?”
“Just a dream I had, that’s all,” he told her. “Did you sleep all right?”
Echo nodded.
“I need a drink,” Jason said. “I’ll go to the pool, now you’ve finished there.”
“There is something we must do first,” she said. “Dost thou remember the plan, to exchange our garments?”
Jason was hoping she’d forgotten. Then again, he hadn’t come up with anything better.
“Okay, we’ll do it,” he said. “At least nobody knows me in Hazelby.”
“Turn around,” she told him.
From his trouser pocket Jason took out the money, placing it on the concrete floor. He and Echo then stood back-to-back. Jason took off his trainers and stripped down to his socks and underpants, throwing the clothes behind him. The dress landed at his feet a moment later. Quickly he picked it up and pulled it over his head, feeling the rough, prickly material against his skin. He put his trainers back on before daring to turn around. Now Echo was wearing the tee-shirt, sweatshirt and hiking trousers. Jason felt himself go red.
Echo grinned. “Thou makest a very pretty girl.”
“No,” said Jason. “You make a very pretty girl.”
“’Tis kind of thee to say so,” she said with a coy smile.
“I didn’t mean that,” said Jason. “You’ve gone back to the old way of speaking. It’s you make, not thou makest. Not that I don’t think you’re pretty, but…”
“I do understand,” said Echo, handing him the green top. “From this moment I will speak the proper way, as you would call it.”
Jason put on the top, zipping it up but leaving the hood down. He snatched up the money and stuffed it into one of the pockets.
“Right – to the pool.”
Echo pulled on her boots and followed Jason to the doorway in the back wall. She watched him carefully as they made their way along the grassy path.
“You do not walk very much like a girl,” she said. “Your elbows should be nearer your side, and your knees closer together.” She paused. “You do speak like a girl, though.”
Jason had to accept she was right. His voice hadn’t broken yet, and he only had to change it a little to sound like a girl. Once they were at the pool he knelt down to take a long drink. The chilled water, running down his throat to his stomach, brought back the hunger pangs. It was definitely time to go. Echo picked up the spade, returning it to the outbuilding as they arrived there. Once they were out of the courtyard, Jason asked her for the map.
“I hate being a girl,” he said. “These nettles have stung my legs to bits.” He opened the map, double-checking the route. “Okay, this way.”
They followed the rutted track, Jason taking a final look at the old farm. He put up his hood as they approached Wendelford Carr.
“Let’s hope the farmer isn’t about,” he said. “Geoff Sangster. If anyone asks, we’ll just say we’re out for an early morning hike and our parents aren’t far behind.”
Now they were passing Mr Sangster’s farm, staying well hidden behind the huge hedge that bordered the field. Soon they were on the rough track, heading away from Wendelford Carr. Jason looked over his shoulder; no one else was in sight. The track led to a minor road, which they followed before arriving at a narrow lane. Jason studied the map. They seemed to be on the right route although he needed to find a public path, once they’d reached the end of the lane.
As they walked along he glanced over the low hedges, to the fields at either side. He began to think about Kate, and her band Karmic Sometimes. With Fenella’s prediction at the Edge of Time, and the gewita showing Ben and Nikki putting up the poster, it seemed that everything was building up to the gig at 2.30 today. Then Jason’s thoughts turned to Lauren, but this only reminded him of his dream. Would he really have to choose between Lauren and Echo? Why couldn’t he have them both? Because Echo doesn’t want to live in Oswaldley, he told himself. And she doesn’t want to go to school. Jason was already beginning to enjoy the peace and freedom of the countryside - but could he make it his home, living in the wilds?
Slowly a plan came to him. Today was his chance to change Echo’s mind. Once in Hazelby, he could show her everything that was good about the twenty-first century. Maybe she would grow to love it, then one day they’d all live together in a place of their own – Jason, Echo and Lauren.
“Here’s one good thing, anyway,” he said as they came to the public footpath sign at the end of the lane. “My map reading hasn’t gone wrong yet.”
They followed the path, around the side of the field until they came to a brick bridge over a ditch. Beyond the bridge, the path rose gently uphill between two ploughed fields. Now Jason could see cars, zipping along the main road in the distance.
“More big-eyed chariots?” said Echo.
“You’ll see lots more science today,” Jason told her. “And we’ll be riding in a very big big-eyed chariot.”
Finally they arrived at the main road where they crossed over to the path at the far side. Jason wasn’t sure which direction to take, but decided to head right. He hoped his disguise would be enough to fool the motorists as they sped past; luckily there hadn’t been a police car among them. After ten minutes he and Echo rounded a bend to see a wooden bus shelter, five hundred metres ahead, at the edge of a village. They ran all the way to the shelter where Jason read the timetable.
“Great!” he said. “There won’t be a bus for another forty minutes.” He sighed. “Till then, we’ll just have to stay out of sight.”
They stepped back into the shelter, Jason checking his watch every few minutes. When the bus finally arrived he shot out to the path, waving an arm. The red single-decker drew up, its automatic door swishing open. By now Echo was out of the shelter but she jumped back in fright.
“Fie!” she cried. “The chariot door opened but no one did touch it!”
“More science,” Jason explained as Echo regained her composure, following him aboard the bus.
Keeping his hood up, and putting on his best girl’s voice, Jason paid for two half-fares to Hazelby. He and Echo walked past th
e other passengers to sit at the very back.
“Don’t worry, you won’t choke,” he said as they set off. “So no messing about this time.”
Echo did as she was asked, sitting quietly with her hands on her lap, watching the landscape flash past. The journey took longer than Jason expected. Instead of going directly to Hazelby, the bus made several detours to visit every village along the way. It was almost lunchtime before they finally reached the town, stopping at the bus station where everyone got out.
“I still believe those big-eyed chariots go too fast,” said Echo, staggering a little as her feet touched solid ground.
Jason had never felt so hungry, but he put this out of his mind as he tried to get his bearings. Banners on the nearby buildings announced today’s town festival. Most of the people seemed to be heading in one direction, so he and Echo followed the same route. This took them out of the bus station to a busy street where they stopped at a pelican crossing.
“These chariots are so noisy,” Echo complained.
Jason pushed the wait button, the lights changing half-a-minute later. He took Echo by the arm and ushered her across.
“It is a powerful device,” she said, glancing nervously at the traffic lights. “The chariots did stop at your command.”
“More science,” Jason explained.
A narrow street led through to the centre of the festivities. The cobbled market square was surrounded on all sides by shops, each decorated with greenery and brightly-coloured buntings. The music of fairground rides rang out, the strong scents of frying onions and burgers drifting among the throngs of people. A troupe of morris dancers performed nearby, and Echo hummed along to the accordion’s tune. The smell of food made Jason hungrier than ever, but there was something he had to do first.
“I don’t think I really look like a girl in this disguise,” he said. “More like a boy in a dress with his hood up. To fool everybody, we need something better.”
Echo McCool, Outlaw Through Time Page 13
