Ghosts on Board by Fleur Hitchcock

Author:Fleur Hitchcock
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781471403477
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Published: 2014-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

‘AAAAAAArrghghghghgh!’ screams Jacob, from the darkness. Splashes accompany his shouts and the angry shouts of the bridge, before coming to a gurgling halt.

A purple beam of light cuts through the water, drifting slowly down and down.

‘He was still holding his torch,’ says Flora Rose sadly.

Something ripples the beam and I’m sure I see a stream of bubbles rise from beneath the surface.

‘Billy!’ shouts Flora Rose. ‘Wait!’

And another ripple shakes the weakening torch beam.

‘Oh Lor, she’s dived in to save him,’ says Victor. ‘How horribly heroic.’

We stare into the cavern, waiting for anyone or anything to resurface. It’s like staring into the heart of a gigantic blackcurrant jelly baby. One that swallows things.

‘Tom, save him. Save him, now,’ instructs Tilly, sounding anxious.

‘Can he swim?’ asks Eric eventually.

‘I think so,’ I reply, searching my bag for anything that might help. ‘Perhaps he’s caught on something.’ My hands close around a length of elderly rope that was being chucked out by Field Craft. It’s rough and not terribly strong but it might help. I knot one end and throw it into the Lilac Lake. It falls in the light from the torch beam and slowly sinks below the surface.

‘Do you think he’s already dead?’ asks Tilly. ‘Will he come back as a ghost?’

We stare at the surface. In my head, I start to count.

One …

Two …

Three …

Four …

How long can someone hold their breath?

Seven …

Eight …

Jacob’s top half shoots out of the water. ‘Help!’ he shouts, thrashing at the water. ‘Snot Face, Model Village – get me out of here!’

‘Grab the rope,’ I shout. ‘Right next to you.’

Spluttering, he grasps at the rope and Eric and I try to pull him out, but it snaps almost immediately, sending him back below.

‘Tom, DO SOMETHING!’ yells Tilly.

I’m standing there, staring, trying to work out how I can possibly rescue someone twice my size who seems to be drowning in a haunted jelly baby, when Jacob bobs back up, supported by two human shapes apparently made of purple gloop.

‘You idiots!’ he shouts. ‘Grab some ivy or something! Shrink something, drown something! Do something! HELP ME!’

Briefly I wonder if Jacob would help any of us in the same situation, before running back out of the door and combing the ground outside the bell tower for anything useful. It’s dark out here and my torch beam is feeble compared to Jacob’s, and there doesn’t appear to be anything much to help, and it’s downright scary.

‘Whhhhhhoooooooooooooo.’ The distant trees let out a particularly mournful wail.

Something rustles in the undergrowth and I race back inside clutching a short stick and a couple of feeble lengths of ivy, which were the only remotely useful things I spotted. Back in the bell tower, Eric’s hanging on to a rotting stump and leaning out over the water with a branch.

His branch is at least an arm too short. ‘What are those things on either side of you, Jacob?’ he says, stretching his hand another millimetre.

‘Poor, pathetic Billy and Flora Rose,’ says Victor, strolling out from the gloom.

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