Read Online The Power of Five Oblivion by Anthony Horowitz - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Anthony Horowitz
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fear. Jamie was deathly pale, already blaming himself. I understood how he felt. Despite what I knew, part of me wanted to blame him too and wished that he had never arrived.
“What is it?” Rita asked.
“It was Miss Keyland,” I gasped. “We followed her. There was a telephone in the forest. Why did you never tell me about it? She called the police. They’re coming.”
It had all come out in a breathless rush. Rita stared at me.
“Coming to the village?” George had appeared on the staircase, dressed in a crumpled white shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He had heard what I was saying and I thought he would be pleased. If the police came, they would take Jamie away. That was surely what he wanted. But I was wrong. He stood there and his face was aghast.
“Did you hear what Miss Keyland said?” Rita asked.
“No. But I picked up the phone and I heard them…” I felt tears stealing out of the corners of my eyes. I couldn’t stop them. “They were horrible,” I said. “They knew my name. They knew everything.”
John glanced at Rita and I saw her shoulders slump, not in a gesture of defeat but of acceptance. It was as if she had been waiting for something like this to happen, and now that it had she was almost relieved. But when she spoke it was with quiet authority, the steel will that I had always known.
“George,” she said. “Go to the church and sound the alarm. Three rings, three times – you know the code. We have to alert the village.” George didn’t move so she turned her head and snapped at him. “Go now.”
George went. As he left the room our eyes met and I saw that he was worried about me and that he was apologizing, in his own way, for all the tension that there had been between us in the last few days. I tried to smile at him but I’m not sure what expression he saw on my face. Then he was gone.
Rita was already burrowing in a cupboard under the sink, pulling out a bundle wrapped in an old sack. “This is for you, Jamie,” she said. “I know you’ve been saving your own supplies but I’m sure this will suit you better. There’s water, bread, dried fruit and nuts. Enough to keep you going for a few days. Also a compass and a map. You have to leave the village at once – do you understand that? And I want you to take Holly with you.”
“But, Rita—”
“Don’t argue!” she said and I suddenly knew that she had been preparing for this, that the food and the compass had been there all along. How could she have known it was going to happen? She placed the bundle in my hands and just for one last moment we were close. “I always knew about the door,” she said. “Do you think I could live in a village like this and not hear all the stories? My grandmother told me about it before I was your age. One day a boy would appear through the door and that would be the end of the village. That was what she said. But it wasn’t all bad news. She also told me that it would be the start of a better future, a new life. Let’s hope so.” She kissed me very briefly. “Go back through the forest. The telephone box used to be on a road and if you continue north, you’ll find it. If you can’t see it, feel it under your feet. Whatever you do, don’t stop. Don’t come back.”
“But what about you?”
“There’s nothing you can do for us.”
“I’m sorry,” Jamie said, miserably. They were the only two words he’d spoken.
“Don’t be sorry. Be strong. And take care of Holly. That’s all we ask.”
Jamie nodded. We hurried out of the room and the last I saw of Rita and John was the two of them standing together. John had gone over to her and she had laid her head on his shoulder. It was more affection than she had ever shown in the whole time I had been with them.
As we left the house, the church bell began to ring – three peals, then a pause, then three more, then three again. About a minute later, something extraordinary happened. The village lit up. Of course
“What is it?” Rita asked.
“It was Miss Keyland,” I gasped. “We followed her. There was a telephone in the forest. Why did you never tell me about it? She called the police. They’re coming.”
It had all come out in a breathless rush. Rita stared at me.
“Coming to the village?” George had appeared on the staircase, dressed in a crumpled white shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He had heard what I was saying and I thought he would be pleased. If the police came, they would take Jamie away. That was surely what he wanted. But I was wrong. He stood there and his face was aghast.
“Did you hear what Miss Keyland said?” Rita asked.
“No. But I picked up the phone and I heard them…” I felt tears stealing out of the corners of my eyes. I couldn’t stop them. “They were horrible,” I said. “They knew my name. They knew everything.”
John glanced at Rita and I saw her shoulders slump, not in a gesture of defeat but of acceptance. It was as if she had been waiting for something like this to happen, and now that it had she was almost relieved. But when she spoke it was with quiet authority, the steel will that I had always known.
“George,” she said. “Go to the church and sound the alarm. Three rings, three times – you know the code. We have to alert the village.” George didn’t move so she turned her head and snapped at him. “Go now.”
George went. As he left the room our eyes met and I saw that he was worried about me and that he was apologizing, in his own way, for all the tension that there had been between us in the last few days. I tried to smile at him but I’m not sure what expression he saw on my face. Then he was gone.
Rita was already burrowing in a cupboard under the sink, pulling out a bundle wrapped in an old sack. “This is for you, Jamie,” she said. “I know you’ve been saving your own supplies but I’m sure this will suit you better. There’s water, bread, dried fruit and nuts. Enough to keep you going for a few days. Also a compass and a map. You have to leave the village at once – do you understand that? And I want you to take Holly with you.”
“But, Rita—”
“Don’t argue!” she said and I suddenly knew that she had been preparing for this, that the food and the compass had been there all along. How could she have known it was going to happen? She placed the bundle in my hands and just for one last moment we were close. “I always knew about the door,” she said. “Do you think I could live in a village like this and not hear all the stories? My grandmother told me about it before I was your age. One day a boy would appear through the door and that would be the end of the village. That was what she said. But it wasn’t all bad news. She also told me that it would be the start of a better future, a new life. Let’s hope so.” She kissed me very briefly. “Go back through the forest. The telephone box used to be on a road and if you continue north, you’ll find it. If you can’t see it, feel it under your feet. Whatever you do, don’t stop. Don’t come back.”
“But what about you?”
“There’s nothing you can do for us.”
“I’m sorry,” Jamie said, miserably. They were the only two words he’d spoken.
“Don’t be sorry. Be strong. And take care of Holly. That’s all we ask.”
Jamie nodded. We hurried out of the room and the last I saw of Rita and John was the two of them standing together. John had gone over to her and she had laid her head on his shoulder. It was more affection than she had ever shown in the whole time I had been with them.
As we left the house, the church bell began to ring – three peals, then a pause, then three more, then three again. About a minute later, something extraordinary happened. The village lit up. Of course
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