Campion's Choice

Go on or stay here for a while, Jack wondered and leant back against a glorious old beech tree. One thing was certain, as soon as he started to move things would get complicated. At least here he could have some peace and maybe snooze for a while.

Something rustled nearby in the ferns. Snakes. Like a top he spun on the spot trying to locate danger. He hated snakes.

‘Back again,’ a voice said. Jack stopped whirling and there, hazy in the sunlight, was the ghostly Dadster.

‘Dad!’

‘Hmmm… if I’m here that means you’re in some kind of danger,’ the Dadster said and cast an eye about him for any lurking perils.

‘Yeah. There are snakes and bears!’

‘Err… why are you naked?’

‘It’s a long story. I signed up for a stupid day out and I ended up in some kind of snake infested, bear pit!’

‘Nasty.’

The cracking of twigs and the sound of voices silenced Jack. He moved rapidly to hide behind the wide trunk of the beech tree. No one was going to see him naked.

‘I don’t know what to do!’ someone wailed.

It was Tia’s and she was crying loudly.

‘We’ll think of something, darling,’ a second familiar voice replied just as the tall, spectral figure of Tia’s mother drifted through the forest and into view. Jack caught a glimpse of Tia dodging from tree to tree.

‘The first thing we have to do is to find you some clothes. You can’t spend all day running from tree to tree in your birthday suit. You’ll get terrible sunburn,’ Angela Cole, craning her neck to keep up with her daughter’s progress.

‘I can’t let Jack see me like this!’ Tia complained and crashed into the nearest bush.

‘Tia?’

‘Who’s that?’

‘It’s me, Jack. I’m over here. Er …. and pleased to meet you again Mrs Cole,’ he called across the woodland.

‘Ah, Jack. Oh, and your father’s here. It’s nice to meet you again Mr Campion.’

‘Call me Brendan,’ the Dadster said, stepping into a small glade and holding out a hand. The two parents tried to shake whilst their children watched from behind tree branches. At first, like ghosts, their hands waved helplessly in thin air, unable to take hold, before finally they touched.

‘Ahhh!’ Mrs Cole said and sounded delighted.

‘Oh,’ the Dadster laughed and they stood for a moment, touching hands, palm to palm, smiling stupidly in the early morning sun.

Jack was distracted by two thoughts at once.

Thought number one: somehow this ghostly Mrs Cole wasn’t blind. Which kind of made sense. After all, the real Dadster wandered around in the world like a zombie but here his ghost was fit and well. Maybe being an apparition gave Mrs Cole her sight back.

Thought number two was that it was definitely getting brighter, in the forest. It was getting brighter not just because the sun was rising but because …

Jack looked around for an answer and then thought number three kicked in.

The trees and bushes were shedding their leaves. In the middle of summer, on the hottest day of the year, Night Wood was turning into a winter forest. But the leaves weren’t falling they were simply shrivelling away. Looking up he watched as the wood’s canopy of green began to disappear, leaving nothing but the black veins of branches against a bright blue sky.

‘Jack?’ Tia called.

‘Yes?’

‘We have to get clothes!’

‘Absolutely.’

‘Not just for us,’ she called. He strained to hear her words. There was a cracking sound and then she spoke again.

‘Shut your eyes. I’m trying to get closer to you. I can’t keep shouting,’ she ordered.

He closed his eyes but then called out, ‘You shut your eyes!’

‘Don’t be stupid.’

‘I’m not. You’ll see me!’

‘Oh grow up.’

‘You grow up!’

‘Look. We’ll both shut our eyes. You keep talking and I’ll head towards your voice. Okay?’

‘Fine,’ Jack called back. He closed his eyes and started to babble.

‘Er … so … nice day isn’t it? Er … I mean, the weather. And .. er … we need to come up with a plan. We need to get clothes. Not too many clothes. Maybe just t-shirts and shorts. And something for Petra and the others. Have you seen them? Are they okay?’

‘No.’

Jack jumped. The single word was loud and close. Tia was on the other side of the tree.

‘I don’t understand it, but without their clothes the Crow kids are going to die. They’re already weak and acting funny,’ Tia said quietly.

‘Acting funny?’

‘Yeah. Every now and then they sort of twitch and run sideways and fall over. Like they’re out of control. I want to help them but Liam said not to get too close. Because of the coins. Petra told me that it’s the sunlight. We have to do something before the sun gets too high in the sky.’

She was so close to him he could hear her breathing.

‘Can we help?’ the Dadster asked. Jack dragged his attention back to the spectral visions. He had forgotten the parents were there.

‘I could go and get the clothes,’ the Dadster offered. He turned and strode off into the woodland but, after no more than twenty steps, his outline began to waiver and fade. He retraced his footsteps.

‘Maybe I won’t get clothes,’ he said and stood there looking disappointed.

‘Well…’ Tia began but she was interrupted by a crashing sound that turned into a blood-curdling roar.

Jack looked sideways. A bear, a large black bear, broke through a bush, stopped on the path and reared up on its hind legs. It had to be at least eight feet tall.

The Dadster and Angela Cole stepped in its way and the bear stopped. It swayed from side to side before falling back onto all fours.

From her side of the tree Tia started speaking angrily.

‘Bad bear!’

The bear dropped its head.

‘What are you doing crashing around, frightening people like that? A big bear like you! You’re a naughty bear! What are you?’ she snapped.

Jack could hardly believe his eyes. The bear seemed to nod and hang its head in shame.

Meanwhile Tia made funny, grumpy noises in her throat before speaking again.

‘Right. I have a plan. Jack. I’ll meet you back here by this big tree. And you, you big, fat naughty thing! What are we going to do with you?’ she said pleasantly to the bear.

The animal sat down on its large backside to wait patiently for its orders. Tia made her mind up.

‘You can come along with me. I can find something useful for you to be getting on with,’ she said as she scrambled back towards the woodland path.

Jack listened for footsteps. When they became faint he inched around the bark to watch. In the distance he saw the bear, rolling along the forest track, and in front of the animal, as if on a Sunday stroll with a dog, he saw the ghostly mother and the shoulders of her daughter; three strange figures approaching a screen of tangled saplings. In the blink of an eye the trio vanished from sight.

When all was quiet Jack decided to go and wait by the side of the river. Well, he might as well get some rest. Who knew what adventures were ahead. Whilst the Dadster’s wispy body floated by his side Jack lowered himself to sit on the riverbank and reached out to dangle a toe in the water.

‘Oooh, ahh, cold!’

Carefully he eased both feet into the water until they felt numb from the ankle down. He turned to look at the Dadster.

‘Listen, before you disappear again, I have to ask, what happened on the night of the accident?’

The Dadster gave a ghostly shrug.

’I have no idea. I’ve been trying to remember things. It’s like there’s a black hole in my head where some of my memory used to be. Several weeks have gone missing. It’s weird.

‘Do you know anything about a picture of Isaac Newton? Or why you would say the word Deathstalker?’

‘Death what?’

Jack gave up. His dad didn’t have any answers.

‘Aaaagh! Aaagh!’

He leapt from the water and began hopping on one leg.

‘Snake! Snake. I’ve been bitten. I’m going to die. The pain!’ he screamed.

The Dadster leant forward.

‘That’s a freshwater crayfish,’ his dad said, peering at the tiny creature attached to Jack’s big toe.

‘Just give it a …’

Any advice was lost on Jack who hopped sideways, brushed against a thorn bush, felt the jabs in his backside and then lost all control. He twisted and tumbled forward, every inch of his skin preparing itself to be pierced by the pin sharp thorns.

‘What the …’

His body became suspended in mid air. His feet were touching the ground but his body was somehow arched over the thorn bush like a human umbrella. The position defied all the laws of gravity.

‘Very curious,’ the Dadster murmured.

‘Curious? Help me! I’m in danger. I’m facing death by a thousand jabs.’

‘I already saved you. Who do you think is keeping you from falling flat on your face? Watch this.’

The Dadster waved his hands and Jack gently floated upright, away from the danger.

‘Cool,’ the Dadster said, gazing happily at his glowing hands.

Jack brushed himself down. He made sure that no other freshwater crustaceans were clinging to his toes, and then turned his back on his father.

‘Come on. I’m not hanging around here anymore,’ he said huffily and began to lead the way back towards the centre of the island.

As they walked along Jack wondered what Tia’s plan would be to help the Nomas kids get off the island without being spotted? Maybe flying? That would be cool. His thoughts were interrupted by a new crashing noise but he wasn’t worried because the Dadster could protect him. Through the soles of his feet he felt the thud, thud of a large beast. They stopped and, as the ground close by started to shake, Jack expected it to be another bear.

A boar burst into the pool of light that flooded a clear space in front of a circle of trees.

Jack held his breath.

He had seen pictures of wild boars on television. They were the size of small hairy pigs. This was a monster. It charged along, snapping down thin trees and ripping up bushes, roots and all, with two long, sword like tusks.

The Dadster stood in front of Jack but the boar ignored them and charged by without a sideways glance. It lumbered on like an out of control train.

‘Wow,’ the Dadster said and was grinning a ghostly smile when the wolf appeared.

This time Jack’s heart, not his breath, stopped. Up close, and it was very close, the wolf was twice the size of the boar and almost as big as the bear. Its grizzled face was as sharp as a blade. Its shoulders were like gnarled limbs of an ancient tree. Its body was as broad and muscled as a racehorse.

When it leapt for the kill Jack shrank back in terror.

The Dadster nonchalantly put out an arm and, with a wave, he swatted the animal down as if it were no more than a bothersome fly. The wolf howled and fell sideways. It rolled and scrabbled before clambering up to whine and whimper like a kicked dog.

‘Cool,’ the Dadster said, looking in amazement at his hand.

With his knees still knocking, Jack managed to stand straight.

‘At least … it wasn’t … a snake,’ he said, his voice shaky and high.

‘Let’s keep going. I think you’re right. Time is moving on. We should go and find Tia,’ the Dadster suggested.

Together, the Dadster gliding and Jack trudging, they edged deeper into the brightly lit heart of Night Wood.

All the paths led to a central clearing, which turned out to be empty except for the bear.

Jack stopped behind a large bush of broom. It was another sharp plant and it pricked his bare skin.

‘Tia?’ he called.

‘Jack?’

‘No, it’s the ice cream man! What’s taking you so long?’ he snapped. He was getting hot and flustered.

‘No need to get sarky!’ she called from the shaded depths of the trees.

‘How are the others?’

‘Not too bad. I got the bear to break up some trees and make a kind of shelter but the dead wood seems to keep falling apart so it doesn’t keep them covered. They’re getting very weak. We should go now.’

‘Okay. But there’s just one thing …’

‘What?’

‘Can you tell this wolf that it has been a very naughty animal and that it has got to stop following me around?’

Thirty feet away the wolf lurked in the trees. It had bright, red eyes and saliva dripping from its jaws. It seemed to be grinning. Jack grinned back. Tia would wipe that smile off its ugly, white fanged face.

He listened happily as Tia told the wolf off. She gave it orders. It was to stand guard over the other children whilst the bear pulled down branches and made a covering. It became clear to Jack that the bear had his work cut out. The shelter for the eight Crow children seemed to be disappearing almost as quickly as the animal could find new branches. At this pace the bear would use up all the branches, on all the trees, before midday. Time was running out.

Jack, Tia and their shadowy parents set off back to the river. The children stayed apart along the journey, calling to one another from the cover of bushes.

‘Don’t look!’ Tia shouted.

‘I’m not,’ Jack called back.

‘You are looking!’

‘I am not.’

‘Are!’

Jack was telling the truth. He was concentrating, making sure his skin didn’t get too badly scratched, getting ready for the next, unexpected beast attack.

And then he stumbled. He was crossing a bare, grassy patch of ground and his foot caught in a ring. He thought it was some kind of a mantrap.

‘Wait!’ he shouted. He bent down and examined a circle of metal sticking up from the ground. It was some kind of handle. He brushed the ground, and pushed aside dust and twigs, until a wooden cover appeared. Jack began to get excited. Maybe this was some kind of cellar, somewhere to keep Petra and the other kids safe? Maybe it was an underground tunnel and that was how Liam got on to the island! He gave the ring a pull. Nothing. He tugged harder. It was shut tight. Of course, it could be a trick. Maybe this was where they kept the snakes?

‘What is it?’ Tia shouted, her voice muffled by the undergrowth.

He hesitated but then called back, ‘Nothing. Keep going. I tripped!’

There was no time to waste. Every minute counted.

Once they arrived at the banks of the river Tia took control and ordered Jack to keep his eyes closed. He listened as she whispered something to the Dadster. It was impossible to hear what she was saying so he risked a peek through slitted eyes. He was just in time to see the Dadster floating across the surface of the river.

‘Jack!’ Tia’s voice made him start with guilt.

‘What? My eyes were shut. Honest.’

‘Never mind that. I need you to go and stand in the water at the edge of the river,’ Tia directed and added, ‘Don’t worry because my eyes really will be closed.’

Jack stepped into the shallow water next to his ghostly father and gritted his teeth. It was freezing. He looked around. Tia had chosen a place where the water surrounding Night Wood forest was at its narrowest. On the opposite bank a cornfield came down to the waterline. Waiting in the water he could feel his lower limbs turning to ice.

Ten feet away the shadowy figure of the Dadster drifted over the river and onto dry land until he hovered at the foot of one of the long CCTV camera poles. His outline flickered and started to fade in and out of focus.

‘Jack. You’re too far away. You need to go out further,’ Tia called.

‘You’re joking. I’ll die. It’s sub-zero! Anyway, I thought you weren’t looking!’

Moaning and groaning he moved forwards until the chilly water began to ripple across the tops of his thighs.

With each step he took the Dadster’s shape became more solid. As he watched his dad floated to the top of the first pole, hung there for a few seconds like a ghostly flag and then gently drifted back to earth. Once on the ground the Dadster headed to the next pole.

‘You have to keep moving Jack or your dad will disappear. You’ll lose him.’ Tia whispered.

‘I’ll lose my toes!’ Jack hissed back but nevertheless he obeyed and waded upstream against the ice cold current.

In less than a minute the Dadster returned, to Jack’s side. He seemed very pleased with himself and watched with a big smile as his trembling son dragged himself back onto dry land.

‘Success. They’re both disabled. Both cameras. It was so easy! Much easier than fiddling with a screwdriver. You just think about what you want to do and things happen. Neat! I put both cameras on a loop so that, in three minutes time, they will show the same picture of an empty river, over and over again, for about an hour.’

Jack walked into the forest and began to slap his legs, desperately trying to get some sensation back into the bones. Tia crept quietly to his side and spoke, from behind a tree.

‘The cameras are placed every fifty metres or so. They all point at the island. No cameras point into the fields. All we have to do is to get onto the other bank, get into that cornfield, and then they can’t see what we’re doing.’

‘You make it sound so easy!’

‘It is. Get ready. All you have to do is shut your eyes, hold my hand and hold your dad’s hand.’

‘Is that all?’

‘That and trust me. Ready? Close your eyes.’

‘You close your eyes first!’

‘Just shut your eyes! Please,’ Tia groaned through gritted teeth.

Tia held out her hand and then gave out instructions.

‘Now, do exactly as I say. We’re going to walk forward, for a few steps, and then go down a slope. Okay? You may feel a slight tug, but keep your eyes shut and keep going.’

Jack hesitated. Had the Dadster really fixed the cameras? Should they wait a few more minutes to make sure?

No. They had to go. He had to trust Tia. She seemed to know exactly what she was doing. And every second was precious.

‘Right. Start walking,’ Tia ordered.