by KT King
Alice was sure he would hear her heart beating if he came too near the altar. Her blood sounded so loud running through her veins, that it filled her ears with a fast, booming sound, that frightened her almost as much as Marcus did. Alice thought her heart would go pop if it beat any faster and wondered if you could die from your heart exploding.
After a few moments, Marcus started to get angry again. She heard the ladder rattle. She wasn’t sure where she got her courage from, but she turned around as quietly as she could and felt about for the lock in the door. She leant her weight against the key and it seemed to turn a little, then it turned so swiftly that she nearly fell through the door as it opened suddenly before her. Still afraid that Marcus would find her hiding place at any moment, she peered into the blackness in front of her. Her heart leaped out of her chest as she heard a loud shout from Marcus, followed by a ferocious growl.
Suddenly, there was an almighty crash! In his fury Marcus had violently smashed the statue of Mother Mary to the floor!
The shock jolted Alice into another memory. This time she remembered the night they had fled from the chateau. Passageways, she thought. Please let it be one of those passageways! She wanted to walk into the darkness but her knees nearly went from beneath her. The altar room was mysteriously quiet. Marcus had stopped shouting for her and this unnerved her even more because she did not know where he was. She expected his hand to grab her shoulder at any moment.
Alice prayed to Lilly again for help, and with trepidation, she took a few steps forward. She held her hands out in front of her to feel for walls, and realised, after a few steps, that either she was in a very long room or it really was a passageway. She felt to the side and found that the walls were not very far apart. This reassured her that it was indeed some kind of underground corridor, so she kept going forwards. Occasionally, small twinkles of light, like tiny bubbles of fairy dust, danced in front of her. Although absolutely petrified, Alice also felt strangely calm at the same time.
In the back of her mind she could hear Lilly singing the song, ‘You’re Not Alone’* and it was as if a higher part of her brain in her head was at peace and sure of its footing, but the lower part of her brain in her stomach was in fight or flight mode and in a state of pure panic. She paused, feeling too shaky to keep walking. She called out to St Hilda with her mind: Give me your courage, St Hilda! Give me your courage. She kept repeating this over and over, and as she did so, she found that she could keep walking after all.
Suddenly, an orb of violet light came floating towards her and hovered in front of her for a few moments before moving to her left and dissolving. Putting her hands out to the sides again, she realised that the walls had disappeared and she couldn’t feel anything around her, neither in front nor behind. Her courage failed her again and she wanted to just drop to the floor and cry, but she heard Lilly whispering in her head, ‘Follow the light!’ Alice did as she was guided to do and after a few steps to her left she could feel the walls of the passageway around her again.
She began to cry silently, tears rolling down her cold cheeks, as she kept walking forward into the all-consuming darkness.
After a while, Alice began to tire. She finally stopped and slid down onto the damp stone floor. Tambo…Mummy…Jack…Lucy...Sophie…Minnie…Alice called in her head. I’m here, please find me. I’m here! I’m down here. She started to cry and every little noise she heard sent a spike of fear through her body, thinking it might be Marcus come to find her. But then, the atmosphere began to change, and she knew Sophie was with her.
She could feel Sophie almost as clearly as if she were sitting next to her. Sophie! Alice called in her mind. I’m here in a tunnel! Sophie, please, come and get me! An orb of white light danced above Alice’s head and it floated gently down the passageway a few inches. Alice felt she must follow it. She picked herself up off the floor and followed the orb until it vanished. Alice put out her hands and realised she was in front of a cubbyhole. The wall came up about a foot off the ground and was then recessed, making for a dry seat inside a little alcove. She climbed inside and sat down cross-legged. She felt safe with her back against the wall and hidden from the passageway. Alice laid her head against the back of the inset and let Sophie’s voice float through her mind…
St Hilda, St Hilda, St Hilda
You, who love the flowers and the mountains.
You, who love the earth and the skies.
You, who love the oceans and the ancients.
You are my bedrock, my holy water and my sacred fire.
You are my tranquillity, my serenity and my peace.*
Sophie’s prayer made Alice feel snoozey and she dozed off into a shallow sleep.
~ * ~
Robert and Cubby returned to the Café, from the shelter, with the bad news. Tambo knew Alice was still in Little Eden somewhere and he swore he could feel her nearby. Robert put his arm around Tambo. “We will keep searching,” he said. “Why don’t you get some sleep? We will have her back here by morning.”
Tambo shook his head. His adrenalin was racing too high for him to feel tired. He looked across at some of the searchers who were having a respite, one of whom was Mr T.
Tambo suddenly had an idea. “Cedric!” he cried. “Cedric will find Alice!”
Tambo raced up the stairs, charged out of the conservatory doors and onto the terrace. He hopped over the small wall onto Mr T’s roof and barged through his kitchen door. Cedric was asleep in his basket, under the kitchen worktop. Tambo quickly picked up a sleepy Cedric and ran back down to the Café.
“Don’t you see!” Tambo shouted, holding up Cedric, who had now started to wake up and look around - a little surprised to be in a different place to where he had gone to sleep.
Lucy shook her head. “I think Cedric is a bit old to be a bloodhound. But it’s a nice thought.”
Tambo wasn’t to be defeated by little things like Cedric walking so slowly these days that it would probably take him most of the evening to make it across the square! He wrapped Cedric in a tea towel to keep him warm and dry. “I will carry him!” Tambo said. “We can go back to the bunker and let Cedric sniff the trail from there.”
Robert looked at Cedric in Tambo’s arms. “Anything’s worth a try,” he said. “But Cubby and I will go with Cedric. Marcus is dangerous!”
“I don’t care! I’m coming to find Alice! Come on, let’s go!” Tambo opened the Café door and a huge draught of freezing cold air rushed in. The rain had stopped and the air had become oddly still, as if it was holding its breath in anticipation of what was to come.
“We need to focus where we search,” Robert said. “Let me think.” He closed the door and Tambo stood, impatiently hopping from foot to foot, whilst Robert planned what to do. Cubby helped himself to another hot buttered teacake, whilst he thought too.
In the quiet of her bedroom, Sophie had been talking telepathically with Alice, but when she heard Tambo racing up and down the stairs, she came to find out what was going on.
“Can’t you see anything more?” Robert asked her. “You say you’ve been talking to Alice, why can’t you see where she is?”
“Because there are no landmarks I can go on. She is still underground, its dark, that’s all I know,” Sophie sighed.
“Think!” Lucy urged her sister. “Is there a smell? Does it feel cold? Damp? Hot? Is it noisy?”
“It is cold, where she is, but I don’t think it is just the air or the ground that is cold. I feel as if I’m surrounded by ice-cold water.”
The colour drained from Lucy’s face - fearing Alice had drowned.
“I feel as if I am under water but not under water!” Sophie added. “Not drowning in it, I mean.”
“What does that mean?” Robert asked, a little frustrated.
“I’m under water but not wet. I can’t explain it,” Sophie replied.
“The lake!” Ro
bert said suddenly. “There are underground passageways under the lake. Perhaps, somehow, they have found their way into the passages.”
“Can you get from the shelter into the passages?” Minnie asked.
Robert shrugged, he didn’t know all the passageways, but Stella suddenly remembered something. “Wait!” she said. “My mother used to say that in the air-raid shelter, during the war, she was afraid that they might get stuck in there if the German’s invaded. But they were told that they could escape, all the way to the Thames, from inside, if needs be.”
“Then, there is an entrance to the passages from the bunker? But, where?” Robert looked at Cedric in Tambo’s arms. “Maybe Cedric can help us after all!”
~ * ~
Down in the dark, dank passage, Alice awoke from her reverie to the sound of a dog barking in the distance. The yelp echoed through the passages and she recognised it immediately. Cedric? She hardly dare believe it. She thought perhaps she was still dreaming. Then she heard him again and called out, shouting as loudly as she could, “Cedric! I’m over here! Cedric, it’s Alice! Cedric! Cedric!”
Alice saw the light of a torch in the distance and her spirits rose with relief. She was going to be rescued at any moment! But then her heart went cold, as the light disappeared, and Cedric stopped barking. “No! Don’t go away!” Alice sobbed. “Here, Cedric, I’m here…” her voice tailed off from sheer exhaustion.
Then, just as she was sure that Cedric had gone in a different direction, she heard the patter of his feet and he was right next to her, jumping up and licking her hand. “Oh, Cedric!” she cried, as she cuddled him close to her. “Oh, Cedric!” Alice could hear voices and footsteps approaching. For one awful moment she was afraid it might be Marcus, but then she saw the light from the torch again and it was Tambo’s voice she could hear, calling her name. Her heart leapt and her tears were those of relief now.
Tambo had come to rescue her!
Robert and Tambo, both carrying flashlights, turned the corner, where they found a cold and exhausted Alice holding Cedric to her chest. Robert rushed up to her and took her straight into his arms. “Alice! Oh Alice!” he said, as he hugged her. “You gave us a fright! Where have you been?”
She sobbed into Robert’s shoulder as he held her to him
Tambo grabbed her hand. “Are you hurt? Are you alright? What happened? What happened to you?” He felt tears welling up in his eyes.
“It’s okay,” Alice told him. “Sophie and Lilly were with me.”
“Let’s get you out of here!” Robert told her. “Let’s get you home to your mummy!”
He carried her back down the passageway and they headed out towards the surface.
Robert thought it best to take the shortest route back, rather than return to the shelter, where they had left Cubby on guard, and he took them further under the lake. He knew there was an entrance inside Charlotte’s Folly.
Sophie had been feeling Alice’s fear and was relieved, at last, to get a wave of happiness, and she dared to hope that Alice had been found. She could see Charlotte’s Folly in her mind’s eye. Grabbing Minnie and reviving Linnet, they headed out through the park towards the stone tower.
The whole park was shrouded in wispy white fog which had descended like a shroud over the lake. It thinned out a little in patches and they could see the edges of the lake and the water lapping amongst the rushes. They arrived at the Folly just in time to see Cedric emerging from the side of a huge fireplace. On seeing Sophie he barked a doggy ‘hello’ and was followed by Tambo, Alice and Robert. Alice looked in such a state - all covered in black smudges from the passageway walls and floor. Her hair was tangled and streaks of tears marked her cheeks.
“Alice!” Linnet gasped, and ran to her without hesitation.
Tambo ran into the arms of his aunt Sophie and hugged her. Everyone was crying with relief and exhaustion.
“Come on, let’s get her back home!” Robert suggested.
“Did you see Marcus?” Minnie asked.
Robert shook his head.
Robert carried Alice, and Tambo carried Cedric, as they all left the Folly together. Walking along the pathway, which lined the edge of the lake, they were under the shelter of a canopy of majestic oak trees. Through a gap in the mist they caught sight of Johnathon and Jack in the distance, who were coming up the path from the opposite direction. But, before they reached them, Robert heard a crackle of branches amongst the trees, as if someone was walking within the woods.
“Shh!” Robert said, and put his hand out to stop Tambo walking on. Robert had a strange feeling that whoever it was moving about amongst the trees was not friendly. Looking at Sophie, she shook her head and flashed him a look to show that she did not trust the presence either. Both of them were right to trust their gut instincts because at that moment, Marcus Finch stepped out into their path!
Marcus had been unaware of their presence due to the shroud of fog swirling all around them. He was a little disorientated, not really knowing his way around the park. He had not found the passageways at all and had, in the end, left the shelter, having presumed that Alice had somehow managed the superhuman feat of lifting the metal door all by her little seven-year old self! He realised that there were people all over the place, obviously searching for Alice, and he headed for the nearest place to lie low in that he knew of - the woods. Although the trees were hardly more than about fifty feet deep at their widest point, he felt as if all sense of direction had left him and had wandered about in a daze. If he had been the sort of person to believe in fairies, he would have sworn they were playing tricks on him!
So, Marcus appeared right next to Robert, and before he even had time to look him in the eye, Robert threw himself at him. Using his best rugby moves, he tackled him with full force, sending them both to the ground with an almighty thud.
The two men hit the grassy bank at such an angle that they rolled down towards the dark water of the lake. Unable to find any purchase on the sodden grass, they both went headlong into the water with a loud splash! They floundered together amongst the gloopy rushes, unable to get a footing on the sandy lake floor. The two men finally struggled to their feet, but without warning, Robert jumped on Marcus from behind, pushing him back underneath the water and holding him down. He was trying to weaken him so that he could drag him out as his prisoner.
As they both struggled in the mire, Marcus realised he needed something to hit Robert with. He desperately felt with his hands along the bottom of the shallow lake, but it was impossible to see anything in the churned-up water. Marcus suddenly felt something metal under the palm of his hand, and he hoped whatever it was, that it wasn’t too big to pull up. It wouldn’t budge at first, but then the sand gave way and Marcus was wielding, what seemed to be, a metal crossbar from a discarded bicycle. With the last breath in his body he swung it backwards over his shoulder, whacking Robert hard in the face.
Robert took the blow directly across the jaw and it threw him backwards into the water. Marcus stood up, gasping for air, water streaming off his coat like a waterfall. He took the chance to regain his equilibrium and lifted the bar above his head ready to smack its full force down onto Robert again, but Robert grabbed at Marcus’ soaking trousers and the bar shot out of Marcus’ hand as he tried to stop himself falling. Robert grabbed it and hit Marcus across the head with it toppling him back down under the water.
Robert, still dazed and light-headed, let down his guard for a moment.
Suddenly, Marcus rose out of the water like a sea monster, brandishing a huge stone in one hand. He swung it around like a Titan, cracking it hard against the side of Robert’s head, and then Marcus collapsed into the water and seemed to disappear into the darkness.
As blood trickled down Robert’s face, he felt someone’s arms catch him as he passed out.
Johnathon had arrived just in the nick of time and had plunged into the lake
just as Robert took the final blow. It was he who caught Robert and pulled him to safety. Robert was bleeding profusely from his head wound and his jaw was broken. He seemed to drift in and out of consciousness. Johnathon laid him down on the grassy bank and rang for an ambulance whilst Sophie held his hand. Keeping pressure on his head wound, she prayed constantly to Mother Mary to save his life.
Jack, seeing that Johnathon had Robert well in hand, waded into the churned-up, freezing lake to fetch Marcus. He could not find him at first. The mist swirled around the reeds, obscuring everything. Finally, he felt something brush against him and looked down to see Marcus, also unconscious, floating face up in the water. Jack realised that Marcus was still breathing and that he could probably save his life, if he acted quickly. He was about to shout to Johnathon to help him drag Marcus back to shore when something stopped him. All around him everything became quiet and still, as if time had suddenly paused. He could no longer hear Sophie praying, or Linnet crying, or even Minnie talking to Lucy on her phone. All he could hear was the lapping of the water and his own heartbeat. In that split second, Jack didn’t exactly decide what to do next - not consciously anyway - he just found himself doing it. He spun Marcus’s body over and quietly held him, face down, under the water for a few more seconds. Marcus didn’t even struggle, giving his death a kind of quiet grace.
“God forgive me,” Jack whispered, as he held Marcus’ head under the water, one last time.
Johnathon waded into the lake to find them both. Jack wasn’t sure if Johnathon had seen what he had done, but to his relief Johnathon simply said, “It was too late to save him, then?”
“Yes,” Jack replied. “Yes, too late.”
