“Oh!” I heard Lucas exclaim from the bottom of the stairs. He had gone ahead to open the door, having not wanted to talk. “I don’t understand!”
I rushed to him, knowing full well what monstrosities could be confronting him thanks to the lever-induced ‘trials’, but was presented with nothing but an ordinary storage cupboard.
“What’s the matter?” I asked, confused.
“The door’s gone!” he gasped, thoroughly unnerved.
I squinted, tilted my head, but the door remained there.
“No,” I contradicted. “Your eyesight must be failing. See?”
I demonstrated by opening the door myself and showing him the array of sporting equipment that lay waiting for us in the little room beyond. Lucas didn’t grin or look relieved.
“Penny…there’s nothing there. Just an empty wall.”
“Are you blind?” I exploded, frustrated by the simplicity of the problem.
I turned on the others, who had just caught up. “Is there a door here or not?”
Tressa and Fred looked at me as if I were crazy, saying, “Yes…?”
At the same time, Evelyn and Avery looked stunned and gasped, “No!”
I ground my teeth, stomping forwards into the cupboard and retrieving a ball, brandishing it in front of their faces.
“But the door had disappeared!” Lucas protested. “I swear, Avery and Evelyn couldn’t see it either, could you?”
“Don’t be fools, you lot.” Fred shook his head in a rare moment of contradiction. “There really isn’t anything to argue about – clearly you’re still tired, because it’s as plain as the nose on my face that there’s a cupboard here. Penny even went inside!”
“No, there most certainly isn’t! See here,” Avery snapped, rapping his knuckles against an imaginary panel of wood where the open doorway was positioned. “Solid oak.”
“It’s not funny!” I shouted, flustered, my headache crippling.
“Why would I joke?” Evelyn cried.
“QUIET!” Tressa yelled over the top of our bickering. “Don’t you understand what’s happening? It’s trying to turn us against each other! Whatever force we’re up against, it’s trying to destroy us from the inside out, and darn nearly succeeding in the first day too!”
We stopped squabbling. To me, it seemed a bit silly that these tests, most likely orchestrated by the Master Himself, would begin a series of horrors by dividing us over the existence of the storage cupboard. But honestly, what other explanation was there?
A few nervous glances flicked back and forth between those who could see the door, and those who couldn’t.
“I’ll grab the other equipment then,” I muttered, breaking the heavy silence.
“Yes. I’ll give you a hand,” Tressa offered. She and I dived into the room together, ducking around rickety shelves of racquets, balls, nets, and metal horseshoes. I heaved a long leather bag containing the mallets from a peg, stumbling out again with no idea what was in front of me.
“Oomph…” I grunted with effort, hoisting the bag across my back and nearly falling from the weight.
“Here.” Fred chuckled, coming over to give me a hand. “Tressa, are you okay with the balls and goals? Avery, Lucas, why don’t you be gentlemen and help her?”
“I’d love to, mate, really I would,” Avery said in a mock-formal tone, clasping his hands together and wringing them humbly. I rolled my eyes; he was just being cheeky to calm his discomfort. “But I can’t see the blasted door, so I can hardly—”
“I do beg your pardon?” Tressa scolded from inside.
Avery flinched, staring at what was to him an unremarkable panel of wood. She soon emerged with two more leather sacks flung over each shoulder, promptly handing each one off to the boys. “All right, let’s play!”
“Hurray,” Avery muttered. “I mean, it’s not like we’ve being doing this every sunny day since we were six or anything…”
“That’s why we pulled the lever,” I reminded him under my breath. “And I’ll thank you to remember that when the others are getting mad at me for it again.”
Outside, the air was crisp and the woods more vibrant than ever, so the second we stepped out you could feel our moods improve considerably. Whatever dark presence had been lurking inside, was not out here.
I slung the strap off my shoulder, Fred did the same, and we overturned the bags to see properly the array of balls, mallets, and hoops we had collected.
“Do you want to play in teams, or individually?”
“Individually?” Lucas suggested. “Since we did teams last time?”
The others all agreed, and we set about pushing the hoops into a higgledy-piggledy course, which twisted its way for what seemed like miles across the lawns.
In fact, by the time Avery and Lucas jogged back to us after placing the last hoop, sweat had beaded on their foreheads and we were all panting slightly from the effort.
They rolled up their shirtsleeves absently, and I once again cursed my skin-tight dress sleeves. I would discuss with Beatrix about perhaps getting a gown made with short sleeves, no matter how improper it sounded. She would understand.
“This might be fun,” I admitted. “But only if I get the mallet with the red handle.”
Avery flicked me a devious glance, and we both dived for the red mallet at the same time.
“You two! Stop it!” Evelyn squeaked, jumping back from our scuffle having successfully retrieved one from the pile herself. “How old are you?”
“Dear goodness.” Tressa rolled her eyes.
I yanked the handle, refusing to let down, until there was a sudden pop, and the hammer-like part at the bottom splintered free from the handle, sending Avery tumbling onto his back and the other part slamming into my head.
“Ouch! For the love of crumpets, Avery, that really hurt!”
For a second, I saw his eyes change from guilty to solid black. I shuddered involuntarily.
“Avery!” Tressa snapped, bending down to assess the damage. “You look fine, Penny. Nothing more than a—”
“Wake up, come on! You’re fine!”
I blinked, confused. Why was I lying on the grass?
Five faces bent concernedly down over me, stars swimming in front of my eyes as my hearing fuzzily returned…I’d fainted again.
“It’s her head,” Tressa diagnosed. “It must be. Honestly, why do you both have to be so immature?”
“Sorry, Penny,” Avery apologized, lending me a steady hand. “I forgot about you ladies and fainting, recently.”
His apology did actually seem sincere, so I accepted and hauled myself to my feet. I felt very lightheaded, but otherwise all right. If anything, my strongest emotion was mortification that I had showed such an embarrassing display of weakness.
“Can I have the blue one, then?” I enquired hopefully.
Tressa shook her head. “I think it would be much better for you to sit this one out.”
When I opened my mouth to protest, she held up a commanding finger and continued. “I’m not trying to be mean; I only think you shouldn’t do anything too strenuous because of your head. I don’t want anything to become…well…more serious.”
“But what else am I supposed to do?”
The sun gleamed through the faint mist as if to remind me what I was missing, making the polished mallets seem suddenly desirable. Yet I knew Tressa was right.
“I can go for a walk with you?” Fred offered. “I could do with the exercise.”
“Sounds wonderful.” I forced a half-hearted smile. “Thanks.”
Tressa smiled at me encouragingly, turning back to her remaining players and drilling through the rules again.
Fred offered me his arm, which I took. With one last wistful gaze at the croquet equipment, I allowed myself to be guided across the lawns beside the house.
Fred launched into a characteristic rant on various, completely unrelated topics, and I did my characteristic zoning out. I bobbed my head, said the occasional “Oh, real
ly?” and put on a pretty good show of being genuinely interested in the material of his favorite waistcoat.
“…finest cotton! So anyway, about this business involving starting some trials that will set us free; what exactly did you do again?”
“Lovely!” I murmured vaguely, unaware of what Fred was saying. Instead I focused on a vibrant chestnut tree with gorgeous autumnally shaded leaves and wondered what made them shift from green, to orange, and then fall.
“Penny, you’re not listening to me.”
“What? Sorry, I was listening, but my mind decided to go for a walk!” I defended myself sheepishly, well aware of how many times I had used that excuse of late.
“You should chain it up and give it a good telling off!” Fred chortled. “Never hangs around for very often, does it? Anyway, I asked you more about what you did with…well, whatever you did that aggravated Tressa so. I didn’t really understand.”
We drifted over towards the edge of the forest as a wooden ball came hurtling across the grounds following a loud thwack and hoots of laughter from Avery, deciding to play it safe and distance ourselves from the croquet course.
It was more peaceful here, shaded from the late morning sun.
“There isn’t much more to say,” I shrugged, wishing that everyone could stop treating it like my fault. “Beatrix gave me a key, I went upstairs and unlocked a room with this bizarre thing in it, then Avery convinced me to pull the lever.” I deliberately drew out those last few syllables before continuing. “And I think the circles created a rip, which prematurely started these trials. According to Beatrix, they test your mind, and if you are strong enough to endure them, then the Boundary will fall. If not, then…”
I didn’t need to say. Fred kicked a tiny pebble playfully, watching it roll and bounce off the trunk of a tree with an expression deep in thought.
“I don’t understand how that works. How long will we be subjected to tests before the Boundary falls? When were they supposed to start? What exactly are the trials, and how do we know if we’ve lost? Surely if it’s all a mind game, you could go insane…but to d—” He broke off, refusing to say die.
“I’m no more certain than you, Fred,” I admitted, titling my head to try to ease the ache. It was starting to throb again, but thanks to the antiseptic salve Beatrix had supposedly applied to my bandage, whatever that was, I could tell I would only be suffering from the wound for a small while longer.
“So far, it hasn’t been that bad,” Fred said cautiously. “The food, the nightmares, the door. I mean, they’ve not been pleasant but they’ve not been unbearable either.”
“Don’t jinx it!” I threatened, glancing over my shoulder to see Lucas running in an ungainly fashion after a runaway ball. Tressa was winning, of course, Avery having cheated his way into second place. I couldn’t even see Evelyn, she was so far behind.
“Mm. Well, let’s make the most of what we have now!”
I grinned, and jumped up to swing off an overhanging branch, letting my head hang back and the divine fresh air blow through my hair.
Penny! Come quickly, I need you! Hurry, hurry!
I stopped swinging and listened curiously. The voice was soft, barely noticeable, as if whispered from mile away and carried over on the wind.
“Fred, did you hear that?” I gasped.
“The voice? I did.” He frowned.
We paused, craning to hear more, when the chilling sound once again materialized.
The Boundary, Penny, I’m trapped! Hurry, hurry, before they find me first! Hurry, Penny, they’re coming!
“Who’s coming?” I called back, certain they wouldn’t answer. “Who are you?”
“We have to help them.” Fred seized my shoulders, his face pale. “Whoever they are, outsiders maybe, we can’t leave a plea for assistance unanswered.”
It was all very sinister, in my opinion, but my conscience and curiosity propelled me to follow Fred’s lead into the woods, alert for any more signs.
They are watching you, waiting for you to turn back! Don’t listen to them, Penny, come to me and set me free. Penny, you must hurry to the Boundary!
“I’m coming!” I shouted desperately, caught up in their tidal emotions of panic. Fred and I began to run, dodging trees and hurdling roots, slapping the clawing branches out of our way impatiently, not caring about anything but the distress of unknown people trapped somewhere by the Boundary.
I skidded to a halt by the familiar buzzing creek, searching frantically for the people who had called out for help. There was nothing, nothing but fog, trees, the Boundary itself, and…shadows.
Yes, there were definitely shadows flitting around on the other side of the creek. I strained to catch a clear glimpse, but every time I became close to eyeing a visible human figure, the shadow would shudder and reappear somewhere else. It was almost as if someone was projecting puppets from the other side, which was obviously impossible.
“Where are you?” I growled, frustrated.
Fred was equally stumped, bending as close as he could to the Boundary without topping over.
Come to me, Penny, the Boundary will not hurt you. It is them who are the danger, do not be afraid and come forward. I need you. I need your help!
The voice was right. Why was I afraid of something I couldn’t even see, when all the insanity was fully developed in the deadly realm behind me? I should be brave, step forward to help the mysterious shadow-people who were undeniably right…
As I approached it, the static made my hair buzz into floating strands, and I noticed that they weren’t shadows at all. They had faces – faces which looked rather familiar – although I couldn’t have seen them before… They didn’t look like the people from my dreams, but that must be it.
“Look! Look! They’re the people from my dream, they’re real! Quickly, we have to save them!”
He nodded absently, eyes glazed over, staring beyond the creek.
My throat raw from the possibility of meeting them, I took a determined step over the Boundary…
“What in the blazes are you doing?” I heard Fred shout.
“Hey!” I cried.
Something grabbed me. A dark creature. In my haze I couldn’t quite make out what it was. It wrapped its arms around me. I scratched out at it, scrambling hysterically to wrench free of its grasp, to get to the shadows before they went away!
The thing wasn’t very strong and lashing out at its face, I managed to free myself. But it was persistent and threw itself at me, knocking me flat, seizing my ankle and dragging me backwards. Couldn’t it see these people, the shadows, needed me? How important it was that I met them?
The creature abandoned me and headed for Fred. I could hear Fred fighting the creature a few feet away from me, but I didn’t care; the only important thing in the world right now was to get across the Boundary to save the shadows. I struggled to my feet.
A sharp slap stung my cheeks, and I stumbled back onto the damp forest ground.
“Huh?” I blinked in confusion.
Suddenly, sight streamed back to me and I noticed that the creature who had barreled Fred and me away from the Boundary just before we crossed it to our doom, was, in fact, Evelyn.
Her cheek was covered in shallow claw marks where I had scratched her, her pretty, pale gold gown rather worse for wear and covered with mud and tears. Her eyes were wide with fright, and she was panting in disbelief. I glanced frantically towards to the Boundary. All was quiet; there was nothing there, no voices, just the low buzz of the static.
Fred was sitting beside me, horror dawning on his features. “Oh, goodness. We were about to cross the Boundary, and there was nothing there!” he gasped in shocked comprehension, gazing at Evelyn as if he had never seen her before. “Evelyn, if you hadn’t been there we would be nothing but a pile of dust by now.”
I let my head flop into my hands, overwhelmed by my own stupidity. What had I been expecting to find, two dead people from my dreams? What was wrong with me?
Now I had scary eyes? I shuddered. What could have happened didn’t bear thinking about.
“I’m so sorry I hurt you,” I apologized, gathering her into a hug. She hugged me back, holding on as if we were little again and hiding from a thunderstorm.
After a few minutes, we let go of each other and traipsed back to the house and the normalcy of lessons.
Wordlessly, Evelyn and I left Fred in the foyer while we quickly changed. I did my best to clean up Evelyn’s face. She made no attempt at conversation, and I kept silent without protest.
All tidy, we rushed down to the library a few minutes late.
“Thank you, Evelyn,” I said suddenly before we entered. “You’re stronger than we give you credit for. I owe you my life.”
“Thank you,” she corrected with the ghost of a smile. “I’m jealous sometimes, you see; I’m not a natural leader like Tressa, not smart like Lucas, not as likeable as Fred, not as funny or clever as Avery, and certainly not as brave and energetic as you. I sometimes feel like the failure. Doing something like that reminds me that I’m worth something too.”
“You are jealous of me?” I gasped. “B-but you’re…well…beautiful!”
Evelyn tossed her curls vainly, smiling. “That’s awfully nice of you, but what good are looks? Now I feel I have more confidence. Besides, did you see the way Fred looked at me? No one has ever directed that sort of – well, I suppose you could call it respect – at me before.”
Despite the grimness of the situation we started laughing, then pushed open the library door with renewed strength.
We screamed.
The world swam in front of my eyes, and I felt my knees weaken beneath me. I think I was shouting, but all I could remember was a blur of pain and sorrow, refusing to believe what was before me. People around me were screaming too, but I was too numb with shock and pain to feel anything, not even Evelyn clutching onto my arm with her mouth open in a mute shriek of despair.
Boundary Page 10
