by Tim Hehir
‘Be careful,’ said Julius. ‘Don’t touch it.’
‘Why not?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Julius. ‘But Rapple was terrified of one of those, even when it was in a cage. So I think we should be too.’
Emily squatted down. ‘’ello, little fing,’ she whispered. ‘You wouldn’t ’urt me, would you?’
Julius leaned over her shoulder. ‘They’re not as wild as the ones in London,’ he said.
Emily held her hand out as if the soulcatcher might be a dog who wanted to sniff it.
‘Careful,’ said Julius.
‘I know,’ said Emily.
As her hand came closer the soulcatcher’s tendrils slowly lifted and reached out to her. Emily drew back. ‘Friendly little fella, ain’t ’e.’
‘We shouldn’t be out in the open,’ said Julius. ‘They’ll see us.’
‘Who’ll see us, ’iggins?’
‘I don’t know.’
Up ahead they saw a row of native huts. When they got closer they saw that they were spread along a riverbank. Some of the huts stood over the water. They were all built on stilts with ladders leading up to the doors. The clergyman was nowhere to be seen.
Nothing moved. The village was silent. But flame-red flowers grew out through the doors and windows of the huts and up through the roofs, and across the ground. They even entwined themselves around the stilts. The whole place had the feel of a giant funeral wreath.
A memory stirred in Julius’s mind. Something in Darwin’s diary about a damned village.
‘This is the Village of the Soulcatchers,’ he said. ‘We’re in Brazil, I think, in the jungle.’
‘I ain’t never been to a jungle before,’ said Emily. ‘Where do you fink everyone is?
‘Did you see a painting in Darwin’s diary?’ said Julius. ‘Of red flowers, growing from a man’s face.’
Her eyes lit up. ‘Yeah, I seen it. It’s just like that cove who just walked past. But ’e ain’t got so many.’
‘We need to be very careful, Emily,’ said Julius.
‘You already said that, ’iggins.’
Before Julius could reply there was a shriek further along the shore and a man’s voice called out angrily. He stepped out from the forest pulling a small boy by his arm. The boy screamed and struggled as he was dragged towards a jetty. The man shouted something, as if trying to call for assistance. Julius could not understand what he said.
Emily leapt up. Julius grabbed her and pulled her back.
‘Wait,’ he said.
‘Oi.’ Emily pushed him away. ‘This could be wot we’re supposed to do,’ she said. ‘Maybe we’re supposed to save the nippa.’
‘We don’t know what’s going on yet,’ said Julius.
Emily glared at him. ‘Mr Flynn would ’ave dropped that cove by now if ’e was ’ere.’
‘But he’s not,’ said Julius. ‘I am. I got us here, and I’m in charge.’
As soon as he said the words he knew he had made a mistake.
‘Who says you’re in char—’
‘Shush,’ said Julius. ‘Look.’
The clergyman appeared at the doorway of one of the huts. He called out and waved his arms. Again, Julius could not understand what he said. The clergyman climbed down the ladder with difficulty and lumbered to the jetty. Julius could hear someone else’s heavy boots running towards them from behind. A man ran past panting and calling out as he went.
He was struggling to carry a shoulder bag, a folding stool, a book and specimen jars. He was further weighed down by clothes better suited to an English winter than a jungle.
‘That’s the cove wot I nicked the diary from,’ said Emily.
‘That’s Charles Darwin?’ said Julius. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Course I am. I’d swear it on a Bible.’
Julius and Emily watched Darwin run to the jetty. He dropped the folding stool and the jars but kept running. He shouted something to the man who was struggling to hold the child.
‘I can’t understand wot they’re saying,’ said Emily. ‘But they look as English as rickets and rain.’
‘Neither can I,’ said Julius. ‘I’m not sure why?’
The clergyman arrived at the jetty first. The man holding the boy pointed a heavy stick to keep him back. Darwin threw his bag and diary down and strode up to the man. He pushed the stick aside and took the man by his lapels, shaking him and shouting into his face. The man swung his arm to strike and the two men spun around in an ungainly waltz.
The child pulled his arm away and sprinted back along the jetty and disappeared into the forest.
‘Well done, nippa,’ said Emily.
The man pushed Darwin away. They glared at each other for a moment, then both leaned on the jetty rail to catch their breath. The clergyman stood some distance away, watching.
Darwin pushed himself off the rail. He picked up his hat and sat down. The tips of his boots touched the water, making ripples on the surface. He said something in a conciliatory tone. But the other man was not to be mollified. He paced up and down, shouting and gesticulating. Darwin ignored him.
Eventually the man climbed into a canoe tied to the end of the jetty. He called out angrily to Darwin, and then sat with his arms folded, like a brat at a birthday party.
Darwin untied his neckerchief and stooped at the riverbank to swirl it through the water. He mopped his brow with it and he tied it around his neck. Then he wearily gathered his scattered belongs, exchanged a bow with the clergyman and walked to the end of the jetty. He untied the canoe from its mooring and climbed in.
Julius and Emily watched the two men paddle across the river to the far shore.
‘It ain’t right,’ said Emily. ‘Everywhere you go there’s some cove wot wants to kidnap some poor little bleeder.’
Julius tried to remember the other man’s name from Darwin’s diary. Was it Smith or Simmons? Or Skinner?
Yes, it was Skinner, Higgins.
‘Darwin wrote in his diary that he and Skinner, who must be that man, were being watched by many eyes,’ said Julius. ‘It could have been the village children.’
‘What did Skinner want wiv the nippa, then?’ said Emily.
‘I’m not sure.’
The clergyman stood at the jetty watching Darwin and his companion unpack their canoe on the far shore and potter around their campsite. Their gestures and bearing made it clear that Darwin and Skinner were not speaking to one another.
‘So Darwin’s the one we ’ave to ’elp,’ said Emily.
CHAPTER 11
Friday June 29th 1832
8:34 PM
Julius and Emily stood on the riverbank some distance from the village. Darkness was descending and the forest sounds were gradually changing—distant whoops and squawks were being replaced by chattering insects and the occasional low growl.
Above them, stars appeared in the navy-blue sky.
‘Seeing as ’ow you’re in charge, gov,’ said Emily. ‘’ave you arranged lodgings for the night? Cos I ain’t sleeping out ’ere where no wild fing can eat me.’
‘I think we should introduce ourselves to the clergyman,’ said Julius. ‘We can ask if we sleep in his hut.’
‘And ’ave you ordered supper, cos I ain’t ’arf starving.’
Julius stomach growled. ‘We’ll find something,’ he said.
The light quickly faded as they made their way along the riverbank back to the village. It was almost dark when they got there. Across the river an orange glow showed where Darwin and Skinner had their camp.
A faint light shone from one of the huts built over the water.
‘That’s the clergyman’s,’ whispered Julius. ‘It’s the only one without any soulcatchers growing out of it.’
A stifled yell rang out.
Julius ducked.
‘Over there,’ said Emily. She pointed to a hut where soulcatchers were bursting through the roof.
She made to go towards it but Julius held her back. Emily twisted
out of his grip and faced him.
‘Look, ’iggins,’ she hissed. ‘If we ain’t gonna ’elp no one then wot’s the point of us being ’ere. You said yourself, the pocketwatch took us ’ere cos there was somefing we ’ad to do.’
‘And if we get ourselves maimed or killed we won’t be much good to anyone,’ Julius said back.
‘You fink I don’t know that,’ hissed Emily. ‘I’ve survived all my bleeding life on the streets. You don’t do that by being stupid.’
‘I know. I’m sorry. It’s just, we have to be careful.’
‘Follow me, ’iggins and watch me being careful,’ said Emily. ‘You can take notes if you like.’
Julius sighed and followed her up the ladder. At the top Emily peeped round the open doorway.
‘I can’t see naffing,’ she whispered.
‘Here,’ said Julius. He spun the pocketwatch and tapped it. Blue light shone out. Emily’s eyes opened wide in horror and pity.
‘What is it?’ he whispered.
Emily just stared.
Julius looked through the doorway. He recoiled, almost falling over the rail around the hut’s veranda. Orchids were spread everywhere like ivy—along the floor, up the walls, across the ceiling. In the far corner was a human face almost hidden by the flowers. It was caught in a scream, the skin like dried leather. Stems grew from its gaping mouth, nostrils and eye sockets and spread across the room.
‘It’s a soulcatcher,’ said Julius. ‘Like the painting in Mr Darwin’s diary. So it was real.’
But it was not the screaming face or the orchids issuing from it that held Julius and Emily’s horrified attention. It was the little girl asleep in the entwining flowers. She wore a ragged dress made from a man’s shirt with the sleeves cut off. It was made to fit her with safety pins at the waist and shoulders.
Julius stepped through the doorway. The carpet of soulcatchers rippled like a field of wheat in a breeze. It felt like a warning. Julius stepped back, bumping into Emily.
‘It’s got the nippa,’ whispered Emily. ‘It’s killing ’er.’
Julius held out an arm to stop her.
Emily glared at him. ‘Let go of—’
‘Wait,’ said Julius. ‘Use your eyes. It’s not killing her.’
Emily looked closer at the sleeping child. The tendrils were stroking her skin as if soothing her.
‘It’s the child’s mother,’ whispered Julius. ‘She sitting on her lap. See? You can make out the woman’s body beneath the orchids. See her foot there, and her hand.’
‘But her ma’s dead,’ said Emily.
‘I know. She’s been mummified,’ said Julius. ‘It looks like the soulcatchers are growing out of her, feeding off her and sucking her dry.’
The child twitched and raised her arm as if fending something off. The flowers rippled and leaned closer to her.
‘She’s ’aving a nightmare,’ said Emily.
One of the flowers stroked her cheek and the curve of her jaw with its petal. The girl shook her head and mumbled something. Suddenly, her eyes opened. She sat up in a flash and stared at the intruders in the blue light.
Julius stretched out a hand to reassure her, but before he could say anything the girl leapt up and shot out the window.
‘She weren’t too pleased to see us,’ said Emily.
Julius stared at the leather-skinned face, stuck in a scream. It was just like the face in Darwin’s diary.
‘Is there one of these in every hut, I wonder?’ he said. ‘Are they all food for the orchids?’
‘And the nippa?’ said Emily. ‘Why is she all right?’
‘I don’t know. The soulcatcher knew the child. It seemed to care for her.’
‘Like it was still ’er ma,’ said Emily.
‘What if the consciousness of the mother flowed into the orchids as they sucked her dry?’ said Julius. ‘What if her mind is in the orchids now?’
‘So she ain’t really dead?’ said Emily.
‘I don’t know,’ said Julius. ‘Her body certainly is. Perhaps it’s something different than death—something we haven’t seen before.’
‘Like wot?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Julius. ‘Tock said he wanted to catch everyone’s soul.’
‘You fink ’e meant this?’ said Emily.
Julius stared at the carpet of orchids. ‘I hope not,’ he said.
He tapped the pocketwatch and put it away.
Julius and Emily stood in the middle of the village. Above them millions of stars flickered, and in the forest millions of insects chirruped. Across the river Darwin’s campfire was only a faint glow. The only other light came from the clergyman’s hut.
Julius went up the ladder. Through the door he saw the clergyman lying asleep on a bed made from poles tied with twine. On a table was some kind of native lamp. Its flame lit the interior dimly, showing bare rush walls and rush mats on the floor. Some books and pieces of yellow fruit as large as penny loaves sat on a shelf in the corner. On the wall above the bed hung a cross made from two pieces of wood tied up with the same twine that held the bed together.
‘He’s asleep,’ whispered Julius.
Emily stood over the clergyman and leaned down to study him more closely. The petals on each side of his face quivered as he breathed.
‘Sleeping like a baby,’ she whispered.
Slowly, so as not me make any sound, she picked up the two pieces of fruit. She sniffed one then carefully bit into it and chewed it cautiously. Then she took a larger bite and handed the other one to Julius.
‘Not bad,’ she whispered.
Julius was too hungry to object to eating stolen food. When he bit into his the juice ran down his chin. He tried to suck it up so he didn’t lose a drop.
The flame on the lamp flickered and diminished. Emily gently nudged the lamp but it did no good. ‘It’s going to go out,’ she whispered.
‘We can sleep over there by the wall,’ whispered Julius.
Emily nodded. They sat together on the floor and watched the clergyman’s belly rise and fall. Julius felt Emily’s shoulder rest against his.
Gradually the lamp flame grew smaller and went out. Outside the insects chirruped, and inside the clergyman began to snore.
‘I ’ope ’e don’t do that all bleeding night,’ whispered Emily.
Julius smiled to himself. He lifted his arm and to his surprise Emily shifted to allow him to put it around her. She laid her head on his shoulder and sighed.
‘You all right, Emily?’ he whispered.
‘Ace,’ said Emily. ‘You?’
‘I’m all right.’
Julius woke with a start.
‘’iggins,’ hissed Emily. She shook his shoulder.
‘What?’ he whispered. He was wide awake instantly.
‘Did you ’ear that?’ she said.
‘Hear what?’ Julius looked around. The forest sounds reminded him where he was.
‘Shush, listen.’
Julius listened. The chirruping and chattering made a constant wall of noise. The clergyman had stopped snoring.
‘I can’t h—’
‘Shush,’ hissed Emily. She nudged his side to shut him up.
Julius strained his ears to hear. There it was—a slithering and a flickering sound. It was a whisper compared to the chirruping. But it was there. Something was moving very quietly, trying not to be heard.
Julius stared into the darkness, trying to see. His ears were becoming accustomed to the sound. It was all around. He felt Emily’s arm slip around his.
‘Somefing’s coming,’ she whispered.
Julius took the pocketwatch out, but dropped it in his haste. The slithering stopped as soon as the watch hit the floor. Julius froze. He listened. The slithering started again. He reached out, blindly searching for the watch.
Found it.
He spun it and tapped its side. Immediately blue light shone out as the pocketwatch spun above his open palm.
Emily screamed. Julius gasped.<
br />
The clergyman jolted and sprang up.
Orchids surrounded the doorway. Hundreds of them were crawling along the floor and walls.
Julius and Emily jumped to their feet. The soulcatchers were closing in on them.
The clergyman stared at Julius and Emily, his mouth agape like a surprised haddock. Emily threw one of the books at the soulcatchers, squashing one and scattering those close by.
‘Out the window,’ said Julius. ‘Jump into the river.’
He flung the table at them, scattering more.
Emily leapt onto the windowsill.
‘Stop,’ cried the clergyman. ‘Not the river.’
Emily grasped the sill to stop herself from falling.
‘Why not?’ said Julius.
‘It’s teeming with piranha fish,’ he said.
‘Wot’s that?’ said Emily.
The clergyman looked at her as if she was the stupidest thing he had ever seen.
‘Man-eating fish. They’d strip you to the bone in ten seconds,’ he said.
Julius faced the advancing soulcatchers like a goal keeper at a village football game. ‘Climb onto the roof,’ he shouted over his shoulder.
The nearest soulcatchers were only feet away. ‘Do something,’ he shouted to the clergyman.
Julius saw Emily’s foot disappear at the top of the window.
‘Come on, ’iggins,’ she called out from the roof.
The clergyman waved his arms at the soulcatchers. ‘Shoo. Shoo,’ he said.
Julius tried to climb, one-handed, onto the windowsill. The clergyman threw himself into the carpet of soulcatchers, waving his arms and kicking his feet. They carried on over him as if he wasn’t there.
Julius grabbed the pocketwatch and shoved it into his pocket. Suddenly it was dark again. A hand grabbed his shoulder.
‘’iggins, up ’ere,’ said Emily.
He stood on the windowsill and scrambled onto the roof. He looked around frantically. The ceiling of stars shone above the river and the village. There was nowhere to go. Julius spun the pocketwatch again and tapped its side. The blue light illuminated the few square yards of branches and dried leaves where they would make their last stand.
The slithering was all around them now, drowning out all other sounds. The soulcatchers were climbing up to the roof on all sides. They would be overrun in seconds.
