Julius and the Soulcatcher (14 page)

‘'iggins,' hissed Emily. She shook his shoulder.

‘What?' he whispered. He was wide awake instantly.

‘Did you 'ear that?' she said.

‘Hear what?' Julius looked around. The forest sounds reminded him where he was.

‘Shush, listen.'

Julius listened. The chirruping and chattering made a constant wall of noise. The clergyman had stopped snoring.

‘I can't h—'

‘Shush,' hissed Emily. She nudged his side to shut him up.

Julius strained his ears to hear. There it was—a slithering and a flickering sound. It was a whisper compared to the chirruping. But it was there. Something was moving very quietly, trying not to be heard.

Julius stared into the darkness, trying to see. His ears were becoming accustomed to the sound. It was all around. He felt Emily's arm slip around his.

‘Somefing's coming,' she whispered.

Julius took the pocketwatch out, but dropped it in his haste. The slithering stopped as soon as the watch hit the floor. Julius froze. He listened. The slithering started again. He reached out, blindly searching for the watch.

Found it.

He spun it and tapped its side. Immediately blue light shone out as the pocketwatch spun above his open palm.

Emily screamed. Julius gasped.

The clergyman jolted and sprang up.

Orchids surrounded the doorway. Hundreds of them were crawling along the floor and walls.

Julius and Emily jumped to their feet. The soulcatchers were closing in on them.

The clergyman stared at Julius and Emily, his mouth agape like a surprised haddock. Emily threw one of the books at the soulcatchers, squashing one and scattering those close by.

‘Out the window,' said Julius. ‘Jump into the river.'

He flung the table at them, scattering more.

Emily leapt onto the windowsill.

‘Stop,' cried the clergyman. ‘Not the river.'

Emily grasped the sill to stop herself from falling.

‘Why not?' said Julius.

‘It's teeming with piranha fish,' he said.

‘Wot's that?' said Emily.

The clergyman looked at her as if she was the stupidest thing he had ever seen.

‘Man-eating fish. They'd strip you to the bone in ten seconds,' he said.

Julius faced the advancing soulcatchers like a goal keeper at a village football game. ‘Climb onto the roof,' he shouted over his shoulder.

The nearest soulcatchers were only feet away. ‘Do something,' he shouted to the clergyman.

Julius saw Emily's foot disappear at the top of the window.

‘Come on, 'iggins,' she called out from the roof.

The clergyman waved his arms at the soulcatchers. ‘Shoo. Shoo,' he said.

Julius tried to climb, one-handed, onto the windowsill. The clergyman threw himself into the carpet of soulcatchers, waving his arms and kicking his feet. They carried on over him as if he wasn't there.

Julius grabbed the pocketwatch and shoved it into his pocket. Suddenly it was dark again. A hand grabbed his shoulder.

‘'iggins, up 'ere,' said Emily.

He stood on the windowsill and scrambled onto the roof. He looked around frantically. The ceiling of stars shone above the river and the village. There was nowhere to go. Julius spun the pocketwatch again and tapped its side. The blue light illuminated the few square yards of branches and dried leaves where they would make their last stand.

The slithering was all around them now, drowning out all other sounds. The soulcatchers were climbing up to the roof on all sides. They would be overrun in seconds.

‘It has to be the river,' said Julius. He grabbed Emily's hand. ‘There's no other way.'

‘I can't bleeding swim,' she cried.

Julius snatched the spinning watch and put it into his pocket.

‘Neither can I,' he said.

CHAPTER 12

Saturday June 30th 1832

4:02 AM

Julius and Emily scrambled to the river side of the roof and leapt over the advancing soulcatchers. Julius's legs kept running through the air as if they were trying to keep him up.

Splash. He hit the water and kicked out with his arms and legs hoping to ward off the man-eating fish. Was he still holding Emily's hand? He didn't know. He only knew that he couldn't breathe.

His foot hit something. He pushed up. Something was pulling him down—was it Emily's hand? Yes, it was. He didn't know if his eyes were open or closed—all was black. Was he being eaten alive yet?

His foot touched something again. This time he used his grip on Emily's hand to pull her closer. He
felt her other arm wrap around him. He pushed up with both legs as if he wanted to jump to the moon. Up they went.

Julius broke through the surface. The night sounds exploded around him. He opened his mouth to suck in the air, and the river water rushed in. Julius felt himself going down. Had the fish started eating him yet? He still couldn't tell.

He felt Emily's arm around his neck. Her grip tightened and he felt the reassuring sensation of something solid and in control. He was being pulled up to the surface. He spluttered out some water and gulped in a mouthful of air before he went under again.

He grabbed at Emily. She was steady in the water, like a warm, soft rock. Julius pulled on her shoulder and came up for air. He breathed, a whole lungful this time.

Emily was holding onto something to keep her up. Julius reached for it too and touched solid wood. He hugged it tight. He had never in his life been so pleased to meet a fallen branch. He made a mental note to be more appreciative of trees from now on.

‘You all right, 'iggins?' said Emily.

He gurgled something and coughed up water. He hugged the branch while he got used to breathing again. He could hear Emily doing the same.

It still did not feel like he was being eaten alive. He moved his legs to check them. They were still there.
He hoped Emily's were too.

‘Got to get on dry land, 'iggins,' she spluttered.

‘I know. Man-eating fish,' said Julius. ‘Are you all in one piece?'

‘I fink so.'

He felt Emily's arm wrap around him from behind.

‘Move,' she said.

Julius pulled himself along the branch until his feet touched the riverbed. Then he dragged himself and Emily towards the bank. He could see the dark outline of the clergyman waving them into shore.

Julius fell onto the bank with Emily still clinging to his back and lay there exhausted.

‘Get up, quickly. You must leave the island now,' said the clergyman. ‘The soulcatchers can sense that you're not one of us.'

Julius rolled onto his back and stared up at the stars as the clergyman looked down at him.

‘I'm alive,' said Julius.

‘Congratulations,' said Emily.

‘Thank you.'

Then Julius remembered the pocketwatch. He patted his sodden shorts. It was still there. He wrapped his hand around it. It was wet but he could feel its tick-tock in his hand and through his body.

Safe and sound, Higgins. Safe and sound.

‘Are you listening to me?' said the clergyman.

‘Wot you mean, “not one of us”?' asked Emily.

‘Not carrying the soulcatcher seeds in your blood,' said the clergyman. ‘You must go back to you own village.'

‘'ow do we do that then, gov?' Emily asked.

‘I have a canoe,' said the clergyman. ‘Leave now, but steer clear of the men on the far shore. Darwin is a good fellow but Skinner has no scruples. He is an orchid hunter.'

‘We saw 'im try to kidnap a nippa?' said Emily.

‘Yes, he wanted to take the child back to England to parade before his orchid collector friends. He wanted to show the child go mad and sprout flowers from his mouth, and to watch his soul being taken by the soulcatcher. Come quickly, I'll take you to the canoe.'

‘Sure fing, gov,' said Emily, getting up from the mud.

The clergyman led Julius and Emily upstream, along the riverbank.

‘Hurry, now. Hurry. You must not come here again,' he said as he they went. ‘This island is damned.
We
are damned. Do you understand?'

‘No, I don't fink so,' said Emily.

‘Our souls are taken by the soulcatchers. Never to be released. You wouldn't like that to happen to you, would you?' said the clergyman.

‘No, not on your nellie, gov,' said Emily.

They walked on. Following the river's edge.

‘Here we are,' said the clergyman. He set about sweeping leaves and twigs away from a canoe. Julius helped him to pull it out over the water.

‘Now go, quickly,' said the clergyman. ‘Ask you parents to whip you as soon as you get home. It will do you good.'

‘Sure fing, gov,' said Emily.

Julius climbed into the front of the canoe and Emily behind him while the clergyman held it steady. They grabbed the paddles from under the seats.

‘Off you go, and God be with you,' said the clergyman. ‘Don't come back or I'll whip you myself.'

He pushed the canoe out onto the water.

It wobbled, almost capsizing. ‘Steady,' said Julius. ‘One paddle on each side like Darwin and Skinner did it.'

‘Aye, aye, cap'n,' said Emily, dipping the paddle into the water like it was a soup ladle.

They zigzagged their way into the current.

Dawn was on its way. The forest sounds were changing again and the shades of black and charcoal were turning to dark-greens and browns.

‘I fink we should get 'ome for our whipping, 'iggins, don't you?' said Emily.

Julius turned around to answer her, nearly tipping the canoe.

‘Oi, careful,' said Emily. ‘Don't give them fish a second go at us.'

‘Sorry,' said Julius. ‘We'll steer for the other side and keep watch on Darwin and Skinner.'

‘Aye, aye.'

Julius and Emily pulled into the shore and crept along the riverbank to Darwin's camp. They crouched in the undergrowth and watched.

After a while Skinner stirred. He sat up and rubbed his neck. Then he glanced over at Darwin lying fast asleep on his side under a blanket. With great care Skinner laid his own blanket aside and stood up. He drank silently from a canteen. Then, in his bare feet, he crept over to a leather satchel and undid the buckles.

‘Wot's 'e up to?' whispered Emily, close to Julius's ear.

Skinner took a specimen jar from the satchel and glanced at Darwin.

‘Wot's in the jar?' asked Emily.

‘I'm not sure,' whispered Julius.

Skinner moved towards Darwin. He knelt and carefully lifted the blanket away. Then he slowly unscrewed the lid of the jar and held it out as if he was going to pour something over Darwin.

‘No,' shouted Julius. He ran from his hiding place waving his arms. Skinner turned in surprise and Darwin woke with a jolt, knocking the jar out of Skinner's hand. Skinner rolled back and the soulcatcher inside fell out and latched onto his face.

Skinner screamed and writhed on the ground clawing at the orchid. He managed to catch it and fling it at the dead campfire. Emily picked up a piece of firewood and pounded it into a green and red pulp.

‘That's for your mates last night,' she said to it.

Red lines cut across Skinner's face where the soulcatcher's tendrils had cut into his skin. He said something Julius did not understand. Darwin leapt to his feet and said something back.

What strange language are they speaking, Higgins?

Skinner scrambled to his knees and covered his face with his hands. When he took them away they were smeared with blood. A look of complete incomprehension filled his face and quickly turned to rage. He glared at Julius and Emily. Then he lunged at Darwin, who jumped aside. Skinner fell into the campfire. The cold ashes rose up in a cloud, covering his face and hands. Darwin said something which, again, Julius did not understand.

Of course, that's it, Higgins. You only understand the native language.

Skinner sobbed and mumbled to himself, ignoring Darwin.

‘Wot's going on, 'iggins?' said Emily. ‘Why don't Darwin speak English proper?'

‘He does,' said Julius. ‘It's us. Remember, when we time-jumped here, the forest wrapped its atoms around our consciousnesses and made local versions
of us. So that means we're speaking the local language, but it sounds like English to us because we can understand it.'

‘But the clergyman,' said Emily. ‘'e spoke to us.'

‘Yes, but in the native language,' said Julius. ‘When he spoke to Darwin and Skinner it was in English.'

Skinner shouted something at Darwin, who shouted back.

‘I fink they've fallen out,' said Emily. ‘Must 'ave been somefing Skinner said.'

Skinner glared at Emily through his ashen mask.

‘Step away, Emily,' said Julius.

Then Skinner glared at Julius. He said something that sounded like a threat.

‘'e's not 'appy wiv you, 'iggins,' said Emily.