by Paul Bristow
“That’s right. One was given to each guardian, and passed down through their family. Only all five together would ever be able to unlock the shield. Finally, Watt built a guardian to take his and his children’s place,” said John.
“Why?” asked Cam.
“Because people had started to talk in the town. He knew someday his family might be in danger, and while super-intelligence was one of the easier powers to hide, it doesn’t make you very strong in a fight. He wanted his descendants to live lives as normal as possible. So he poured his knowledge into a machine that he hoped would stand guard for centuries in his family’s place. A machine that had to be kept secret because it was so advanced.”
Megan and Cam looked over at TJ. Because he was a bit forgetful and clumsy, it was easy to forget just how amazing he actually was. Like he had always said, he was built to protect.
“Does that mean Watt’s descendants are off somewhere, completely unaware that they are super-intelligent?” asked Megan.
“I suppose so,” John paused, sipping his tea and nibbling a chocolate digestive. “Of course, while the responsibility is always passed down, the actual superpower isn’t always needed, so sometimes it lies dormant for generations. Like your parents, for example.”
“Wait,” said Cam, pointing at John and then back at himself, “we have the same powers.”
“That’s right,” said John, shuffling uncomfortably. “I’m guessing that you must be the son of Mildred’s girl?”
“Mildred, my gran…”
“Right. Well, I’m Mildred’s big brother.”
There was a long pause. Cameron looked like he really wasn’t up for this news. “She never mentioned a brother,” he said.
“Well, she wouldn’t,” said John darkly. “I ran away y’see. Relatives didn’t talk as openly about things in those days. Anyway… happy families!”
John attempted an awkward side-hug. Cam patted John on the shoulder, looking like he would rather be anywhere else in the world than so close to John’s coat.
“So what relation does that make you?” Megan laughed.
“Great-uncle Catman,” said John, “the black sheep of the family. Quite literally, if required.”
“Is that everything?” asked Cam. “Or does it get even worse? Is TJ my second cousin or something?”
“Almost everything,” said John. “When your gran and I were growing up, there was a big fuss about the river being contaminated, because of all those strange fish washing up on shore. This new company turned up in town…”
“Clutha Chemicals?” said Megan, pointing excitedly to her newspaper clipping.
“Yes. They tested the water, then they tested all the children in the town, ‘for our protection,’ they said. That’s how me, your gran and the others all met. Jimmy told us all the story I’ve just told you, helping us understand what was happening and find our way as guardians.”
“Why was TJ there?” asked Cam.
“On a government placement,” said TJ. “Mr Watt donated me to the government to do classified work. That’s why I helped in the world wars, and then after that, top-secret cover ups – such as children being tested for ‘exposure to lethal chemicals’, who were really being tested for ‘abnormal abilities’. When their powers were detected I knew they must be guardians like me; I helped them escape.”
“Who were the others?” asked Megan.
“Tam Ash and Hannah Glass.”
TJ’s eyes flickered. “Ash, Stone, Glass, Bone.”
“And Tin,” said John, tapping TJ’s head, “don’t forget Tin.”
TJ stared. “I am… trying.”
“I know,” said John, “sometimes I wish I could forget too.”
Chapter 28.
Now and Then
It was a cold clear early evening, and up on the moor, away from all the streetlights and houses, the stars were all the brighter. Megan couldn’t stop herself from flying up towards them.
“This is beautiful!” she said, floating on her back, staring up into space.
“It is, but that’s not why we’re here. Tonight is all about stealth,” said John. “Yes you should run towards trouble when your help is required, but you also need to be able to move between places unnoticed, quickly and carefully. I want us to get from up here down to the river’s edge at Lunderston Bay without being seen.”
“Does that include TJ?” asked Cam. “Only that squeaky wheelbarrow we sometimes have to push him round in isn’t very ninja.”
“I am invisible to radar,” said TJ.
“Are you invisible to eyes?”
Megan shushed them both as she glided back down.
John tapped TJ on the shoulder. “You get a head start, Jimmy,” he said, “and it’s that way, remember?”
TJ nodded and then began slowly plodding back down the hill.
“Right Megan, do a few loops and we’ll give you a head start too,” said John. “There’s something I need Cam to try.”
As Megan whirled above them, John turned to Cam. “It’s good that you can change into different animals now,” he said. “You can imagine much more than when we started.”
“Thanks.” Cam blushed slightly; compliments were usually something that happened to other people.
“But if you want to avoid turning into a grumpy old man living in a cave,” he glanced over to where Megan was laughing and spinning weightlessly, “and if you want to help her, then there’s more to do.”
“Ok,” said Cam carefully, “like what?”
“You need to move with the landscape, become part of it.”
John gestured to Megan, who was flying upwards in a graceful spiral. “She understands it perfectly, without even thinking. So did Sarah. It’s harder for you and me. But we can do it.”
“You’re the boss,” said Cam.
“Ha,” said John, “I’m not the boss of anything. Never have been. I’m not even the boss of myself any more. That’s what this power can do to you if you’re not careful.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t stay in a cave because it’s cool, Cam.”
“I dunno. Peace and quiet, no one bothering you. Seems great.”
“I stay up there so I don’t scare or accidentally hurt people. You saw what happened the first time you and Megan came in. The more time I spend as an animal, the less human I can be afterwards. It’s addictive being an animal – you’ve felt the rush – but it’s a lonely thing to be forever. And I don’t want you to ever get like that.”
Cam nodded slowly and John gave him a pat on the back.
“Ok. Before we change, let’s take a few minutes to listen quietly to what’s around us.”
Cam nodded, and listened.
“Can you hear it?” asked John.
“What am I listening for?”
“Everything. The motorcycle on the hill miles away, the lambs bleating and running…”
Cam was frowning, concentrating hard. “I can hear Megan breathing up in the sky! That’s amazing! Animals under the ground digging, water running downhill!”
“Good,” said John, gently. “Now, let’s run.”
Megan watched as Cam and John turned into rabbits and bounded across the open fields, weaving over bogs and marshes, following the water downhill. She realised she had just lost her head start and, laughing, flew after them.
At the lochside, without pause, two rabbits dived in, turning effortlessly into trout and plunging down through the reeds.
Next they splashed out of the loch onto the muddy shore as frogs, leaping twice into the long grass before sliding swiftly onwards as snakes. When they reached the tree line, they scuttled into the forest as squirrels, leaping from tree to tree, freefalling then catching the next branch. And the next one. And the next.
Out from the forest onto the roadsides, they each ran on four legs, canine paws pounding the pavement, a blur of grey fur against the grey tarmac. On and on, running down the hill. The wide firth of the River Clyde
lay ahead, and with it new sounds: the scuttle of crabs in rockpools, the frantic paddle of gulls’ feet beneath the surface of the water, the banging of a boat engine. And something else – a pounding, rhythmic thud. TJ was close by too.
The two animals slowed, finally allowing themselves to stop.
Megan floated down to join them. “Cam! When did you learn wolf?”
Cam lay on the shale, growls turning gradually to laughter as he became himself once again. “My superhero name is totally going to be Wolfman,” he said. “That was amazing.”
“There’s nothing like it,” said John. “Well done, both of you.”
John waited until Megan flew upwards again before he whispered, “Just remember, the more you do it, the harder it is to want to turn back. Make sure you always have a reason to keep two feet firmly on the ground instead of four.”
“No worries. I’d miss TV and biscuits too much,” said Cam.
“Yeah, that’s what I used to think.”
John shut his eyes for a moment, thinking something over. “Megan, TJ,” he called, beckoning them to where he and Cam were sitting, “let’s head back to the cave. I think it’s time I told you both what happened the last day my generation of guardians were all together – the day Clutha Chemicals won.”
***
Out on the river, the little boat Cam had heard puttered on, out towards the islands.
In its wake, a girl bobbed up and down in the icy-cold water. She watched the strange old man, the flying girl, the tin man and the wolf-boy turn back along the coast towards the lights of the town.
She wanted to shout out, to swim towards them and say hello. Instead, she waited until they were out of sight and spun the waves around to push herself up onto the surface. Then she walked across the waves towards the shore alone.
Chapter 29.
Waves and Tides
Back in the cave, John was rifling through his bookshelf. He lifted an old leather-bound book from underneath a little statue of Sarah’s monster Gorskyn. He opened the book and took out a black-and-white photo that had been tucked inside it. He passed it to Megan.
The photo showed four smiling teenagers standing on a hillside. Tin Jimmy was saluting next to them.
“That’s my gran,” said Megan, singling her out immediately, “and you, John… and Hannah and Tam?” asked Megan, pointing at the two she did not recognise.
John nodded, and looked at TJ. “Have you remembered it all yet, Jimmy?”
TJ looked at the picture, staring intently at the two. “I remember her laughter, his jokes. I remember… it all went wrong…”
“Yes,” said John, “sounds like it’s coming back to you.”
Cam pointed at the photo. “What went wrong?”
“Hannah liked to call herself a water witch,” said John, appearing to ignore Cam’s question and gently taking the photograph from him. “She could control waves, swim like a fish. A right wee mermaid. Tam had invisibility.”
“And what happened to them?” prompted Megan.
“Thanks to Jimmy, we knew Clutha Chemicals were after the power under the water. Watt built his shield almost three hundred years ago; for all we knew, Clutha Chemicals would be able to smash it open with modern equipment – they had somehow got their hands on a submarine. So we weren’t just trying to hide the sigils, we were trying to stop them getting that sub near the power at all. We knew we were in danger of death or capture, so Sarah made sure the sigils were all hidden somewhere new, somewhere even we didn’t know about in case we were questioned.”
“And were you caught?” asked Cam.
“Clutha Chemicals knew we were coming before we even got there. We fought long and hard – we destroyed the sub – but Hannah and Tam went down with it. Hannah could hold her breath for a long, long time, but not that long.”
“Wait, what?” asked Cam, genuinely shocked and now much more worried than usual. “Just like that?”
“Just like that,” said John. “It’s not something I like to talk about. Fortunately there isn’t anyone out here to tell.” John winced as he said this, and stripes rippled across his face.
“I… remember…” said TJ slowly.
Megan and Cam stared at one another in silence. For the first time since unfolding the letter from her gran, Megan didn’t want to know any more, didn’t want all the answers, didn’t want to be involved.
Cam leaned forward. “Wasn’t there anything you could do?”
“We were still in terrible danger. Sarah had been swept away by the current – I didn’t know if she was dead or alive. Jimmy and I ran from there to Port Glasgow and the bomb shelter where we agreed we would hide him if things went wrong. Then I ran too. The people on the submarine had all seen me, but they hadn’t seen Sarah. I had to get away to avoid getting both of us in trouble. I ran for the hills. And I’ve been hiding ever since.
John looked at TJ guiltily. The robot was as blank-faced as ever.
“It was worse for Sarah though. I ran away from the world, but she had to stay in it. Hannah and Tam’s deaths and my disappearance were covered up as a big local tragedy of course. There was talk about river contamination being to blame, but most folk thought Hannah and Tam and I were just some unlucky kids caught in the currents. Life moved on. Clutha Chemicals closed down in 1966. No wonder really. They’d lost their sub, killed off most of the guardians and lost the sigils too. Things were quiet for a long time until earlier this year when I first felt it again, the fizzing in my chest… I always thought that was the thing under the river calling out to us, pulling us into action. And that’s how I knew it was going to start again, that the guardians would waken.”
“There are five,” said TJ quietly.
“I can’t believe Gran had to deal with all of that and never told anyone,” said Megan.
John coughed awkwardly. “It took Sarah a long time to begin living a normal life again. I think it helped her to tell stories, write fantasy books – all those river monsters and shape-changing werewolves.”
Megan looked at the old photo again, at the smiling friends in their early teens who had no idea what was going to happen. “I wonder who our other two are,” she whispered.
John went to place the photo back inside the book. “So y’see this is why I want you both to be ready. More ready than we were.” He shook his head sadly. “I don’t want to lose anyone else.”
“Hold on a second…” Cam was looking at the newspaper, really squinting at it. He set the clipping down on the ground and took out his mobile phone, snapping a photo.
“What are you doing?” asked Megan.
“Look more closely at the picture,” said Cam. “Doesn’t one of those doctors look a little familiar?”
Megan picked the clipping back up and peered at it, while Cam was zooming in on the photo on his phone. The photo was a little blurry, but even if Megan had not been able to recognise the man from the photo, she could read the name badge he was wearing.
“Professor Finn!” shouted Megan.
“So yeah, maybe Clutha Chemicals disappeared,” said Cam, “but it looks like someone is carrying on the family business.”
“Makes sense,” said John. “We need to find those sigils before they do.”
“Oh good,” said Cam, “because number four on the map is a graveyard.”
Chapter 30.
Skin and Bones
The old cemetery had not been used since the end of the nineteenth century. People still died after that, of course, but there was no more room to squeeze them in, so a nice new cemetery got built somewhere else instead. Now parts of the old one were being carefully dug up and moved to accommodate a new Bingo hall.
Cam was waiting for Megan and TJ at the cemetery gates. “Why would anyone demolish a graveyard?” he said. “That’s got to be bad karma.”
Megan stared at the portacabins and portaloos nestled alongside the ancient stones. “So… what do we reckon then… zombies or ghosts? Based on our luck so far?”
“I think we have enough real stuff to worry about, thanks,” said Cam. “Like my mum finding out I’m not really on the basketball team. Or in the chess club. Or singing in the school show…”
“Yeah… my parents are expecting me to be crowned Maths Champion of the World with all the extra work I’ve been doing…”
“Ghosts are very real,” interrupted TJ, surprising them both.
“What? Don’t be ridiculous. Dead people floating about everywhere?” Cam waved his arms around to make his point.
“Not dead people. Memories, emotional recordings impressed upon objects. I see the playback.”
For a moment, nobody spoke.
“Your robot’s broken,” said Cam. “It’s seeing things.”
TJ clapped a rusted hand on Cam’s shoulder and pointed into the graveyard dusk.
“Over there is a little girl crying at an old graveside. The grave is of a boy. He died very young. The girl cannot see us, is not really there. The stone, the soil, the trees, have all recorded her emotional response, the many days she wept here. I see the playback.”
“But… but there’s no one there,” said Cam, genuinely peering across the graveyard.
TJ clicked, whirred and turned to Megan. “Your friend is broken. His eyes don’t work right.”
Megan once again reminded herself that TJ was a robot and not an actual person. “Is that how you heard the children whispering at Crowfell?”
“Maybe,” said TJ, “or maybe I remembered them from when I was there.”
“So, where are we supposed to be looking? Does your gran want us to start digging up random graves?” asked Cam.
“I don’t think she’d make us go that far,” mused Megan. “What about in there?” Megan pointed to an ornately carved stone structure near the far wall.
“The crypt,” said TJ. “Crypt first.”
“And… just to check,” said Megan, “are you… seeing anyone at the crypt right now?”
TJ studied the back wall intently. “No.”
“Ok then,” said Megan. “Let’s go.”
“I wish your gran had left you a map of chip shops,” said Cam.
