Read Online The Quickening of Tom Turnpike (The Talltrees Trilogy) by W. E. Mann - Free Book Online Page A

scrambled up the stairs as fast as we could, heedless of the
amount of noise we were making.  This was a new kind of fear, one I had never
felt before.  I hadn’t realised before that every time I had previously thought
I was afraid, I was, in fact, not.  Even when we were down in the Dungeon and
Barrington had shone the torch straight at me, my fear still had the element of
playfulness and mischief that my current fear was lacking.  Now I was afraid
for my life and for whatever fate had befallen the others. 
     
    We
burst through the door at the top of the stairs.

six
     
    “Where
are we?”
    “Not
sure,” panted Freddie.  “But it’s definitely not the Beak’s flat!”
    We
had emerged into a large, empty bathroom that smelt of wet gym socks.  There
were three baths in a row down the middle of the room, and a series of five
sinks along the wall to our right.  The dripping taps looked as if they hadn’t
been used for centuries and there were rusty streaks running down the porcelain
below them which, in the reddened light, made the taps look like sixteen
bleeding noses. 
    Behind
the sinks was a very large window with its shutters drawn halfway across,
restricting what little daylight remained.  The window sill was overlaid with a
crust of dead and half-dead flies, some still fizzling on their backs, buzzing
frenzied death-spasms.
    As
we closed the door hurriedly behind us, it seemed to vanish into the wood
panelling around it.  There was no handle on this side, so there was no way of
returning to the Hidden Library from this direction.
    We
could hear the voices of Seniors coming from behind the only other door out of
the room, on our left opposite the window.
    “Quick!”
I said.  “Up here.”
    I
clambered upon one of the sinks and onto the window sill with flies crunching
under my feet.  The shutters were so stiff that they would barely budge and I
edged around behind one of them so that I was hidden in its fold.  Freddie squeezed
behind the shutter opposite mine.
    A
few seconds later we heard a door open and footsteps march through the bathroom
and out of the other door, which was left open.
    “Vanderpump,”
said Barrington abruptly.  There was a pause.  “Which... which dormitory is
this?”
    “Er,
well it’s Wolfhall, Sir.”
    “Of
course, yes.”  There were a few more moments of silence.
    “Is...
everything okay, Sir?”  Vanderpump enquired hesitantly in his grovelling tone.
    “Yes,
yes, quite alright thank you, Vanderpump.”  He cleared his throat.  “I don’t
suppose anyone has passed through here have they?”
    “Well no , Sir,” he answered unable to suppress how odd he thought the question
was.  “But where would they, I mean, where did you come from?”
    I
could hear Barrington turning and coming back into the bathroom.  He stopped,
obviously looking around.  I held my breath.
    “How
long have you three been here?” he called to Vanderpump.
    “Not
long, Sir.  Probably no more than five minutes.  We just got back from the
Swimming Pool to get changed, you see Sir, and...”
    “Yes,
yes, Vanderpump.  Do pipe down for Heaven’s sake.  What about you two?  Either
of you seen anyone come through here?  No?  Well then, Doctor Boateng, I think
you and I should check on the Junior dormitories.  I’ll have to pop upstairs to
get my torch.”
    We
heard Barrington and Boateng stalking off.  We were already running a couple of
minutes late for Third Form curfew.  Thankfully Pontevecchio was the duty
prefect and would not mind if we were only a few minutes late.  Our immediate
problem though was that we would need to clean our teeth and be in bed by the
time Barrington and Boateng came prowling, but we were stuck here until
Vanderpump and whoever else there was next-door had left.
    “God,
that man’s a total lunatic!” Vanderpump snorted.  “I mean, what on Earth was he
doing in there?”  He wandered into the bathroom, his voice starting to echo
hauntingly