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Episode 47

The first knock on the door had received no response.  The second attempt had failed to achieve a better result.  The third, and much louder knock, had resulted in the sound of high heels reverberating loudly on the highly polished West Indian mahogany floorboards.   As they turned their head in the direction of the oncoming sound, a short, petite, woman in her fifties rounded the corner.  “I am afraid he’s out at the moment.” She smiled politely as she passed the facts to their already fractious minds, “He should be back in a couple of hours.   Would you like for me to leave a message for him to call you when he returns?”

********

They had agreed to the woman’s suggestions and found they had two choices to while away the hours, instantly deciding against returning to the room where the trunks awaited a more thorough inspection, and were now about to enjoy their first drink when Joseph proposed a toast.

“Here’s to success … and honesty amongst friends.”   He proposed as he raised his glass.

Mary and Martin raised their glasses and returned the salute, though for Mary, Joseph’s choice of words was beginning to make her feel apprehensive about where this conversation was heading.  But she had no idea that Joseph was feeling exactly the same way as he attempted to manipulate the situation.  Joseph needed to know what Mary knew about the events that were taking place in Trenthamville that they didn’t, but he had to be careful not to have the tables turned on him and the precariously balanced reality of his own situation collapsing; he knew the complete revelation of the truth would relinquish his credibility with Martin, and that could ruin everything for all of them … and perhaps prove to create a dangerous situation for them all.

Joseph had changed both mentally and physically in the few short days since this adventure had commenced; he felt more alive than he could ever remember, and he felt certain that he could actually help solve this mystery of the missing statue, obtain the antidote … and prevent the repercussions that the conclusions to the task seemed to indicate would take place.  But he would have to make certain that he kept both Martin and Mary on side, and not get into a situation where either one asked the wrong questions about his involvement with the other.  Every skill that he had developed in diplomacy and tact in his time at Johnson’s Import and Export would be required.  He decided that he could take the risk and be up front with most of the details to gain reciprocal information from Mary … he just had to phrase his wording in the right way.

“Mary, our main aim is to locate a statue and a knife that has been brought into the country, perhaps illegally, and hand them over to a gang of supposed cut-throats that call themselves the Punjani in exchange for a cure for Rosetta’s father, and now, also for Rosetta, as both of them are currently comatose.  Who placed them in this position, you ask … I have no idea.  Nor do I particularly care.   They are not my main concern at the moment; finding the statue is. Though, after what happened last night, perhaps I shouldn’t be so flippant about them.

Anyway, I realise that this all seems like its something extracted from a boy’s own adventure story, but I can assure you that it is all true.  However, I cannot prove any of this to you at the moment because we are still learning more and more about what we have got ourselves caught up in.  I can only explain what you are getting yourself into if you decide to join forces with us.”

“Are you asking me to?”  Mary asked, her voice cracking with the dryness that was quickly forming over her larynx as she tried her hardest to restrain herself from yelling out loudly in glee at his offer.

“I intend to, Mary, but I would like you hear me out fully before you agree to anything.”

“I am all ears, Joseph.  Please go ahead.”  Mary said with a gigantic smile bursting out on her face.

Joseph gave Mary a short responsive smile, but almost immediately the smile subsided and a look of total seriousness returned to his face as he began to sell his story as carefully as he could.

“The reason that I am here in Trenthamville is simply to help Martin and Rosetta find the missing statue that Rosetta’s father seems to have hidden somewhere close by to the farm.  The statue was discovered somewhere overseas and brought here to England in order to find a suitable home at a museum where it could be safely housed and studied.

The statue, apparently, was a special; unique, find.  A find of something so valuable it seems almost incomprehensible to believe that nobody seemed to know it existed before it was discovered.  Yet it was certainly not known to the general history and archaeological specialists according to the professor’s notes, and I very much doubt the general public is any better informed on this blast from the past.  More details of its background were only in the early process of being uncovered by Rosetta’s father when he was attacked and placed in a coma.  We don’t know why he was attacked, nor by whom.  At first the Punjani were suspected of being the culprits as they had the antidote, but it didn’t make sense.  They would have been more likely to have given him a truth drug, or simply tortured him.  But to prevent his ability to communicate before they had located the statue was irrational.  It was the doctor treating him that had realised that a particular drug had been injected into his system … an extremely rare drug according to the doctor; a drug not expected to be found in this country.  Martin had been a friend of the family for years and offered to see what he could find out about the drug and its users and eventually made contact with somebody who could arrange for an antidote.  But it would come at a cost.   The contact had said that a secret sect residing in London, the Punjani, had an antidote, but they wanted the statue in return.  How they knew about the statue being in the professor’s possession is still a mystery to us.  Or at least it was until we heard Vittorio’s story where he suggested they had been set up by the Punjani in order to get the statue out of the country to somewhere safe where they could retrieve it, but something had gone wrong at this end when the professor was attacked.   An agreement was made with the Punjani for the antidote, and Martin and Rosetta made arrangements to come down here to see if they could find it.  But Martin wanted a second pair of eyes to help search for the statue.   When Rosetta made him aware of the value of the statue he presumed that her father would have taken extreme cautions to safeguard it, which could have included camouflaging it, or moving it to a new location.   Martin thought he could do with an extra pair of eyes to search for the unobvious should that seem necessary, and someone to help him interview the locals should it be deemed necessary, so he and Rosetta asked me if I could help, and I agreed.  However, since we have arrived in the village, all of these other events that we have encountered, and the stories that we have been told, cast a new light on things.   What started off as a fairly simple search for a statue is turning into something that is usually the backdrop of supernatural movies.  Witches, gremlins and flying monsters seem to be running amok in the village and it is getting harder and harder to determine what is factual; and what is simply hysterics.

Now I don’t want to over exaggerate anything in any way, because whatever is going on, I feel certain can be explained in a more realistic manner if we have all the facts, rather than all the questions that we have at the moment.   But something out of the ordinary is going on and we have wandered into dangerous territory.   Whether we are ‘preordained’ participants, or simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, is a matter for the history books.  But we are involved in it.

And, like it or lump it, Martin and I have to find a way of obtaining the statue without putting ourselves in too much danger.   At this stage Rosetta and her father’s future lives are in our hands.   We have no idea what we are really up against, but we are finding and more about it the longer we stay in the village and we hope that we will find out more from Mister Jones when he returns.  In the meantime, Martin and I need to know everything that you do so we can perhaps come up with a plan to not only locate the statue, but safely deliver it to the Punjani.  If there is some kind of underworld contest involved in getting the statue, we need to know so we can make certain that we obtain the antidote and let the bad guys sort themselves out.”

“I understand the value of what I know, because I can now understand a lot more about it than I did when it was first told to me, but why William Jones … what does he offer?”   Mary asked.

“I have no idea, but not only did your friend Harvey recommend him for information, but so does Martin here after the two met last night.   I was rather sceptical of what Martin was telling me that William had told him, and I dismissed most of it.  But now, after this morning’s events … I don’t know.   Just now, however, what we would like to know is what other information you have come across, so we have a consolidated understanding of what we seem to be up against, before we talk to Mister Jones.”

Mary felt relief at the level of the question asked.   For some reason she had felt that she would be asked more detailed questions regarding her purchasing the farm, and what she was really doing in Trenthamville.   But considering what had happened and been said today, and the events of the previous day, Mary realised that she was involved in something that, nasty and creepy as it was, it still deserved recognition of its existence in one form or another – and she saw no harm in sharing her knowledge with them, including the occasion with the thing in the photograph.  And secretly she was pleased with the outcome because it gave her a chance of becoming closer to Joseph now that Rosetta was conveniently indisposed … and off the scene for quite some time to come.

“So where would you like me to start, Joseph?” Mary asked excitedly, ready to rock Joseph’s socks off with the information she had garnished over the past two days.

“You can start wherever you like, Mary.” Joseph replied as he relaxed in his seat and sipped on his drink, and two more glasses and one coffee were to be slowly sipped and consumed before Mary was to finish.

********

And when she did finally finish, Joseph was uncertain if it was the drinks, or the information she had provided, that was making his head swim.

“That photograph.” Joseph remarked, after Mary had finished telling what she knew, “I saw something in it too.  Only I also saw people, including one I now recognise to be Vittorio, running from the farmhouse.  He ran into the darkness, while the others ran into the light.  It was just like he told us happened.  It was like watching some kind of time delayed television hologram or VR broadcast. It was most unusual and I haven’t got the foggiest what caused me to see it.   I eventually turned my head away for a second and it was all different again when I returned my gaze.   Then it must have been group hysteria because both Martin and I both suddenly saw a creature emerging from the picture and it began chasing both of us as we ran through the door.   But you, you really have had some weekend so far haven’t you?”  The tone in Joseph’s voice betrayed his admiration for her, and the courage she displayed.  Mary smiled a rather embarrassed smile in return.

“This creature that cut you – did it also touch you?  I mean, was it a physical thing that was happening or more like an image projection?”

“I don’t know.  I am not sure.”  Mary replied, “But I could feel its presence … and that felt as real as the knife.”

“I am sure that I would have taken off a long time ago if it had happened to me,” Martin commented dryly.

“I am sure that you wouldn’t have, Martin. I am sure that you are as heroic as any man.”  Mary said encouragingly.

“Thank you.  But you must admit that it’s not an everyday occurrence that you have been through.”

“What do you think that we have got ourselves into?”  Mary asked sombrely, “Do you think that we do have some sinister event happening around us?

“It’s certainly something far darker and sinister than I had ever imagined I would have been involved in forty-eight hours ago.”  Martin conceded; his voice equally sombre. “There really are some strange things going on in this village, and it seems that they have been for some time.”

“And it seems to attract strange people.  It is also a very bizarre co-incidence that this Doctor James had dealings with both the Punjaniti and the Punjani, and then he suddenly turns up here in the village where the professor had brought the artefacts that the Punjani wants so badly.” Joseph noted somewhat sceptically.

“I am sure that it is only co-incidence, Joseph.” Mary cut in defensively.  She had a liking for Doctor James after hearing his story, despite her initial doubts, and she didn’t want to see him cast in a dark light.

“Perhaps it is only a co-incidence, or perhaps it a game of chess being played by greater powers than we can imagine,” Martin offered.   ‘Perhaps the good doctor is now worried that the creature is coming to get him for leaving the Punjani.

“That’s a lot of perhapses.”  Joseph commented with a wry laugh, “Perhaps, after what happened to Rosetta, we should be more careful of what we are doing, and who we deal with.  I want to help Rosetta and her father, but I certainly don’t want to die in the effort … and at the moment that seems to be an extreme possibility.”

“Do we actually have a plan?”  Mary asked hopefully.

“Unfortunately, guesses are all that we have for the moment.   Hopefully, Mister Jones will be able to put some light on what is going on and we can plan our next move a bit more safely.  There has been a bit of real life skulduggery involved in whatever is happening here in Trenthamville, along with a fair bit of the unexplained.   I don’t want to go down the ‘return of the devil’ path, or expect ‘raiders from space’ to really exist, but I will keep an open mind.  There have been many unexplained events that have taken place in this world over the many years man has existed here; anything is possible … and we may yet have to accept the seemingly impossible.  Mary, because things are the way they are at the moment it might be safer if you keep away from us until this whole thing is resolved.”

Joseph was both surprised and delighted to see the disappointed look that appeared on Mary’s face. “Oh.” was all she said in reply.

“But if you wish to take the risk and help us search for the statue, it would be very much appreciated by all of us.”  Joseph continued.

“Oh, yes please.”  Mary answered, almost before the words finished coming out of Joseph’s mouth.

The smile that threatened to split Mary’s face in two was the most pleasant thing that Joseph had seen since he had first agreed to accompany Rosetta to Trenthamville, and he reacted to it without thinking by reaching over and squeezing her nearest hand.  Mary was both surprised and pleased by his reaction and her other hand was quickly placed over the hand that held hers, and squeezed it tightly for a second, then their hands departed each other’s company as quickly as they had joined.

“Well then, welcome to our nightmare.   By the way, I will be going up to the hospital to check on Vittorio after we have seen Jones, if any one wishes to come with me.”

“I will come with you, Joseph.” Mary gushed, almost tripping over her tongue in her hasty attempt to respond.

“That will be nice, Mary.  What about you, Martin?”

“No.  I might give it a miss if you don’t mind.  I think that I have had enough running around for one day; instead I think that I will get totally inebriated and sleep the sleep of the dead tonight.  The old body is not getting any younger and it needs a good rest, and talking about drinking – who needs a refill? … Both of you … Right you are,”

Martin, his body already half-risen out of the seat as he spoke, had answered himself and was already on his way to the bar before either Joseph, or Mary, had a chance to respond … and a second later he was in the process of placing his order, when William Jones walked up to where he was standing.

“These are on me, Martin.”  Martin was advised as William turned to the bartender.  “Jimmy, be a good lad and bring these drinks into the conference room will you please.”  Turning around, he placed his arm under Martin’s and headed him down towards where Joseph and Mary were sitting.  “I believe you have been waiting for me, so let’s go where we can have some privacy away from prying eyes.” He announced as they looked up in surprise at this sudden intrusion, uncertain what to make of this thin, pale, bespectacled middle-aged man that stood in front of them.  But he was not about to give them that chance, for, with his arm still under Martin’s, William took off down the hall towards the lobby at a fast gait.  Joseph and Mary had difficulty getting out of the large, comfortable, lounge chairs fast enough for them to see where the other two had gone.  By the time they arrived in the lobby, the manager was standing in front of a large open oak door beckoning them with a finger extended from a rolled fist.

“Come on in, you two,” he motioned with a smile and a happy tone to his voice.

Inside, the room made an immediate impression on them with its dark cedar tongue and groove wall, and beamed ceiling.  Hanging on the wall opposite the entrance, above a large ornate fireplace, a huge painting of a foxhunt in full flight proudly exposed its grandeur to the entire room.  Three huge leather lounges and a dozen single chairs, also leather covered, were scattered around the wide room, as were half a dozen coffee tables, some with glass tops, while others were solid polished timber.  A large sideboard cabinet, sprinkled with various bottles of expensive liquors, occupied half the length of one wall.  There was a small bar some distance from the fireplace, and a middle-sized billiard table stood about four feet out from the third wall.

“Please make yourselves comfortable.”  A gushing William offered as he waved his hand at the chairs, “I call this the conference room because it pleases the bank manager.  In reality I use it mainly for my own relaxation and entertaining friends.  Occasionally some city folks book it when they have one of those bonding weekends, but normally it’s just me.  Big city people and bank managers seem to be impressed when you say that you have a conference room.

When things get a bit quiet around here, and you need an extension on your loan, the banks are a bit hesitant – it’s only a country hotel they say.  But then you remind them that it’s got a conference room and it becomes a new ball game.  Bend over backwards to accommodate you, they do … funny isn’t it?  Anyway, I assume that you want to talk about the farm, don’t you?  Want to know about what it was that you saw at the garage today, and who shot the professor’s brother.”

Joseph, Mary and Martin looked at him in amazement.

“Oh it’s not quite as impressive as it appears.”  William said with a huge grin,  “Both the Inspector and his constable dropped in for a lunchtime meal, and Harvey dropped in later for a quiet drink and to let me know that you would possibly come by for a talk.  So how do you think that I can be of assistance to you?”

Joseph felt a little disappointed at William’s down-to-earth explanation; he had been expecting some sort of paranormal explanation to be forthcoming.

“Harvey indicated that you may be able to guide us on our quest, and Martin here seems to think that you are some kind of medium.”  Joseph replied.

“Well so far I agree with your thoughts.  Please go on.”

“You mean that you are a medium?” Joseph asked in surprise.

“Not exactly … what I am about to tell you is confidential – not to be repeated to anybody – please understand that point clearly – tell nobody.   Even if you think they have a right to know … they don’t!”

“Then why did you confide in Martin last night?”

“That is because you three need to know of my existence.  It has been ordained.  But nobody else must know.  And most importantly, those that have already been privileged to share my secrets over the years must not know that you are aware of my powers.  Not at this point in time, at least.

“Does that include Laurie?”  Joseph asked, his question throwing everybody in the room off balance.

William looked hard at Joseph, looked deep into his eyes and soul, but he said nothing.

A pause covered the room for several seconds before William spoke again, but when he did finally begin to talk again, an excited grin covered his face.

“Not the next time that you run into him, Joseph, but eventually.  You will know when the time is right, Joseph.  So do you all agree to my request of a vow of silence?”

William looked at the assembled trio in his office and took their nods as acceptance of his statement.  “I am a guardian.  Or to put it in retrospect, I am a guardian’s interpreter.  But a medium is just as good a way as putting it for the moment.  I receive messages and instructions that affect the safety of the village from time to time and take whatever action is necessary.   Please continue with your questions.”

“So you don’t do readings and talk to dead people.  You communicate with a living entity.   Is that correct?”

“Yes.”  William replied.

“And this entity is not of this world?”

William’s face grew a shade ashen as he answered.   “Yes, that is right.”

“And his name is Arkerious?”

This time William was at a loss at what to do.   These were not the questions that he had been expecting.  “Am I being tested?”   He finally asked in despair.

Joseph realised his questions were throwing his host out of sync and decided to refrain from asking anymore questions and listen to what William told them, hoping that he would find the answer to questions that were currently haunting him somewhere amongst the story.

Joseph paused for a second or two, deep in thought.  “William.  May I call you William?”

“Please do.”

“No. you are not being tested.  I am sorry if my questions offend you in any way.  I only asked because last night I had a strange dream which I forgot almost immediately once I woke up.  However, now, being here and hearing what you have already said, it feels like déjà vu.   Bits and pieces of the dream are flashing through my mind as we speak, and the questions that I asked are thoughts that my brain seem to recognise, but I cannot force the complete dream back into my mind.   I only have the fragments that jump in and out.   I apologise for my disruption and I will attempt to restrain any new thought that may erupt in my head while you are speaking … unless I see it as a national emergency, so as to speak.

“Was it me that you saw in this dream?

“No.   It was a tall man of slim build, but I never saw his face.   He wore a black cloak and hood.  All I could see was a glimpse of his jaw, and even that was fairly nondescript.

“I see.  Well that explains a lot.   Please it would be better if you ask your questions, and we’ll see if I can provide you with the answers you seek.”  A slight twinkle seemed to glow in William’s eyes: his face and mannerisms seemed to evoke an inner excitement as he spoke.

“I am sorry.   It explains a lot about what, exactly?”

“I will explain shortly, but first relate to me the purpose of your visit and we will see what needs further explanation once I have given you the answers to your questions.”

The meeting was not going exactly the way Joseph had expected it to.  Joseph had expected William to expose a huge secret; something meaty, juicy and tangible; a warning perhaps?  He had expected this from the build up to the meeting both Martin and Harvey had injected into their advice that Joseph should speak with William.  But, instead of being given valuable information regarding his quest, he, himself, was seemingly to be the one that provided the questions on a subject he barely understood.  He was here to receive advice, not perform an inquisition.  However, Joseph decided, whatever William may have been holding back, he had not tried to ignore Joseph’s last question; he had just simply delayed answering it.  And with that thought in his mind Joseph decided to reverse the situation – bringing it back to his reasons for being in the room; he wanted answers … not games.

“William, we came to this village to visit the farm where our friend Rosetta’s father had been staying to try to recover some goods that he had hidden so that we could exchange it for some special medicine that we hoped would help him recover from his illness.”

Joseph’s voice was cool: rational; his words spoken slow and calculated.  “What we thought would be a relatively simple ‘search and locate’, turned out to be just the opposite.  We have been overwhelmed with stories about cults and witches; we have witnessed strange happenings; two of us have been physically attacked, Rosetta copping the worst of it, the three of us witnessed an attempted murder, and both Mary and I have been subject to mind games that have been inflicted on us by god knows who … and we are getting very tired of it.  There are lives at stake here and we need to do something about it … and do it quickly.

This is not my daily routine – far from it in fact, and I would be very happy to go back to the normality of my life.  But I can’t do that without first finding what it is that we are seeking, and to do this I find the path fraught with danger.

Nevertheless, despite the apparent danger to our lives, Martin and I, with some help from Mary, intend to find the missing item and exchange it for the antidote … then get the hell out of this weird little village as fast as we can, regardless of where the statue ends up.

But of course it won’t be that easy, will it, William?  There is something abnormal going on in this village and until today we took most of it with a grain of salt and a shot of humour.  Things such as a fire that won’t go out after nearly two weeks of burning inside a house where strange demonic paraphernalia and supernatural art is spread throughout, and a continuous flow of tales involving unexplained happenings from the past to the present being fed to us.  What we have heard and seen since we arrived in the village, we have found hard to accept.   All sorts of ghosts and goblins were offered to us on a plate.   Everybody seemed to have a story totally unbelievable to tell, and were all willing to share it with us without hesitation or solicitation, which made the possibility of the stories being coated in truth rather unlikely.  However the story we gleaned from the professor’s diary, combined with the words that poured out of the obviously deteriorating mind of his brother, seemed to offer a slight possibility that truth may have been what the villagers had been offering.

Now none of this was helping us locate the object of our desire, but it did lead us to begin to understand that there may be several parties interested in our efforts.  But putting Rosetta in a coma and shooting her uncle in the chest seemed a step too far for us, regardless of who was behind the two incidents.  There has been absolutely nothing in our findings to date to warrant such attacks against Rosetta and her family.

And the final condemnation of this farce is poor Mary here, who has been the subject of a hallucinatory nightmare, quite possibly induced into her subconscious via coffee supplied by the village mechanic.  A woman with far less strength would most likely have found themselves in a mental institution by now after what she has been put through.

However, as ludicrous as things may be, we have to put all of these distractions out of our minds for the moment.  We are running out of time to complete our mission, and we are finding ourselves perplexed at every turn.  Then suddenly our luck seemed to have turned a corner.  Acting on advice from a trusted friend, we arranged a meeting with a special guide who, it has been suggested, can, theoretically, help us in our attempts to travel in the safest and smartest direction to complete our task, and for a moment we were awe struck at the thought that our search is coming to an end.  But when we find this marvellous guide, this incredible mystic soothsayer … he turns out to be not a prophet with a scroll from the heavens, or a diagram of the farm at his side.  Nor is he a man with a ready answer to overcome our despair …no, he is a ‘guardian interpreter’ for an interplanetary creature from Mars or Galifray … or somewhere equally as factitious.  Pray tell, William… what in hell is a ‘guardian interpreter when it’s at home.

Joseph’s tone clearly indicated his frustration at the circles that they seemed to be travelling in.  He needed some straight answers, not answers to questions that he had no idea how to muster up from nowhere.  Indeed he doubted his chances of obtaining anything to be of any benefit from this seemingly time wasting charade they were currently attending … and William’s answer reinforced his expectations.

“A guardian interpreter is one that communicates with those in another world on behalf of their own planet’s safety.”

“You mean like ghosts?” Joseph sneered, his mood quickly changing as his instincts told him that this was as much a waste of time as the search of the barn had been, even after they had finally found the light switch.

“Not exactly, “William smiled, ignoring Joseph’s mockery, “there is a world that exists between the wonders of the heavens and planet Earth.  It is called Garogia.  Those that live in it are neither dead, nor alive; not in the way that we know life and death.  Existence for them in their world is completely different to ours.  And before you ask, no, they are not space zombies.  While we go about our daily routine, oblivious to good and evil in its purest form, the guardians job, twenty four seven, is to watch out for imminent danger and protect us all from it.  And this protection applies to several other selected planets throughout the universe. We are all protected from the things from the dark side that try to enter these worlds.   It is my duty to liaise with them to do whatever is necessary to stop the dark side from entering my assigned area.”

“Do you mean that there are thousands, and thousands, of people like you all around the world?”

“No, there would only be a few of us stationed at the gateways.”

“Gateways?”

“Portals to a planet: a doorway from space or dimensions.  I said earlier that the would-be invaders cannot simply arrive on certain planets such as Earth and take over the planet.  The guardians have the power to prevent them from doing that, but not to destroy them, at least not by themselves. It is much, much more complex that what I am about to say, but think of it like they could simply wave a hand and cast a spell that would totally prevent the evil invader from ever gaining entry through the portal.  Now, in a manner of speaking, that is precisely what they do.  However, there are several secret ways of manipulating the spell.  And should the creature somehow come across the secret they can use their ability to make physical and verbal contact with intelligent inhabitants of the planet and offer them rewards in return for their help.  Once the entities have connected with the self-serving traitors they have the ability to use a limited version of the power they possess to rid themselves of any obstacles that would be in their way once they eventually arrive in the world.  But their power is limited at this point and once again requires the assistance of the self-serving traitors to use that power.  But once they are physically able to enter into the world they want to invade, their power very quickly becomes almost unlimited… and often considered unstoppable.  Though, having said that, I am reminded that eventually all invaders were either finally destroyed or repulsed, but with much bloodshed and unnecessary loss of life before that took place.  There are only a couple of places here on Earth where evil can enter into this world with the help of the traitors – and Trenthamville is one of them.

In the world of Garogia there are watchers who have been assigned the eternal task of protecting the selected planets from invaders from the dark worlds.  They are known collectively as the Garogian Guardians in one language or another.  Most times they are successful; sometimes they are not.  God knows we have had enough wars and dictators over the eons to prove that.  When the Garogians are successful it is usually due to the help and cooperation of the guardian interpreters, like myself… though I doubt very much that I personally have been involved in anything too incredulous to date.  But that is all about to change, or so I believe.

However, the reason for the guardians using interpreters is that there is often a need to cast a spell using a certain kind of magic, or there is a need to become physically involved in the destruction of the invader, and they both must always be done from our side of the boundary … .not from theirs.

“Do you mean magic like in Harry Potter’s world?”  Mary asked enthusiastically and the thoughts of wands, brooms, dragons and Dementors.

“No, not really, the guardian transmits instructions to me as to what has to be done in the form of an energy burst and I retransmit it.   For me using the guardian’s magic is relatively simple.  All I have to do is channel the energy that I receive through a motivated source.  That is somebody that has the ability to use their inbuilt energy in a variety of ways, but has no idea just how strong their power is.  That way the identity of the guardian interpreter is never revealed, and nor is the source of the transmitter. .  I often use Laurie Wellington as my transmitter.  But, of course, he has no idea that is what I am doing, and it works much better that way.   If something ever happened to one of us, the other could still operate independently without the aggressor being aware of their existence. There are occasions when we are up against a nemesis who has telepathic powers, and this way they cannot trace the source to the Laurie, because he is unaware that his mind is being used, and there is no reason to suspect me because I am directing the power directly to Laurie, not the unwilling participant who eventually receives the power burst.

“I was under the impression that Laurie was a white witch and considered himself responsible for his own powers.”  Mary objected.

“And that is the way that the guardian and I prefer it.  It is much easier to channel the power through someone who believes in his or her own abilities, rather than through someone that doesn’t.  Laurie comes from a long line of believers who were granted their powers many eons ago.   Laurie is what is referred to as a white witch; someone who can perform a variety of minimal magic, but whose sole purpose in the chain of things, is to act as a front in order to protect the identity, and existence, of a guardian interpreter.   They are rarely, if ever, advised of this spiritual relationship, and in this instance that is the case.  Laurie knows he gets some help at times, but has no idea where it comes from.”

“And how do you know when to use your power and override Laurie?”  A sceptical tone rang from Mary’s lips, for she had earlier decided to believe in Laurie whose stories and claims she had taken to like a duck to water.

“I can well believe your distrust in what I say, Mary, as I can understand your incredulity regarding all that has befallen you over the preceding forty-eight hours.  You have a right to be sceptical.  It probably seems incredible to you … to hear me tell you in one breath that I must remain an anonymous secret from the world … then turn around and tell you everything that I know about what is currently affecting your lives!

There is a reason for everything that happens, and there is a reason for my telling you what I am.  The things that happened to the three of you have happened, and they have happened for one reason… and that reason is direction.  One of you has a gift that you are not yet fully aware of, though you may be slowly becoming aware of it, while the others are there are to become specialist soldiers in a most unusual war.  This gift that is coming to one of you is going to be very important in defeating this terrible power that is trying to enter this world.

For reasons that are completely unknown to me at this point in time, the three of you, as well as some others who are as yet unaware of their involvement in things that are happening at the moment, have been chosen by the Cabinet of the Garogians to contribute to the safety of this world.  In due course it will become more and more necessary for me to pass on communication from the Garogians to you as they advise me.  Much the same as I did with the photograph in the garage.”

“You were responsible for the knife attacks on Mary and me?” Joseph asked, as much in awe of William’s knowledge of events, as in fear for his own safety if William was responsible for what had happened to the pair of them.  And while Joseph pondered on this unexpected information, Mary went straight into shock at William’s statement because it hit her immediately … if William knew about the attack, then that meant that it had really taken place … all of it.  She had not been drugged; she had been attacked … and for just a second she felt the horror that she had felt earlier roll over her once again.  But, the fear subsided almost immediately as she felt Joseph’s closest hand squeezing hers – and a feeling of complete safety suddenly rolled through her entire body.  Her face lit up in a grateful smile and she looked up to mouth a thank you to him, however, she got a shock when she realised he wasn’t even looking at her.  It was as if he had eyes in the back of his head.  She shook her head and squeezed his hand instead.  Joseph squeezed her hand once more – then released it, never once taking his gaze and attention from William … and Mary had no idea what to make of the preceding event.

“No!  No!”  William cried defensively.  “I merely transmitted the image of the photo as it had appeared to me in the garage where it had been housed.  I was told to.  There was no malice involved.  I am unaware that it displayed motion.  It certainly didn’t have that capability as I remember it.  I am completely unaware of any thing else happening other than what I transmitted … a single photo of Forster’s Farm taken on the night of the long light.  I never transmitted the image to Mary, just Joseph.”

“Then what was the thing that attacked me and cut me?” Mary demanded.

“I’m sorry, Mary.  I was not aware that you also had a vision created through that photo in the garage, nor was I aware that you were attacked.  In fact I did not know that you had seen the photo.   I have only been told about Joseph and Martin’s encounter this morning.”

“Well, so much for your Garogians.  Where were they when I needed them?” Mary retorted smugly, “I am sorry, Joseph, but William has convinced me that I wasn’t drugged – I was attacked.

William’s face showed no sign of anger as he spoke, his reply was softly spoken, confident in its tone, showing no hint of retaliation to Mary’s barbs.

“I don’t need to be told everything that happens in the village.  I’m not the village gossip, Mary, just its contact with the guardian.  If the guardians wish to make contact with somebody else that is their provocative, as they seem to have done with Joseph through his dreams.  Why you were also attacked, I have no idea.  There are other forces at work here in the village at the moment, as Joseph has correctly pointed out, and they may have had something to do with whatever happened to you.  Though there is one thing to be considered – you say that the guardians weren’t there to protect you when you were being attacked, but were you alone at the time, or was someone else around to help you?”

Mary felt her balloon slightly deflating as she admitted to Frank’s presence at the garage, and his saving her at the last moment.  ‘And then there had been the creature chasing her through the reeds with Joseph coming to the rescue.’ she reminded herself.  For a brief second her mind flashed an endless array of images relating to her attempting to outrun the creature as it chased her through the huge reeds just before she arrived at the farm.  She was most unwilling to tell that part of the story to William; she had not even mentioned the event to Joseph and Martin during the de-briefing she had given them before coming here to the conference room.  By-passing it entirely when she opened up about the events that had taken place in the garage and all the things she had been told by the locals, before quickly moving forward to her arrival at the farm and her first encounter with Vittorio.  Mary was uncertain why she had not wanted to talk about it, though part of her wondered if she was a bit embarrassed to mention Joseph’s role in what had taken place.  But now, considering the way that this was all heading, she felt that perhaps tonight, as they walked to the hospital, she could bring the matter up with Joseph.  Then a sudden question arose in Mary’s mind as to why she was actually accepting any of the fantasy that had begun to surround her mind the minute she entered the Trenthamville village limits.  If it had not been for the reality of the fear that had overtaken her both at the garage, and then on the way to the farm, Mary would have thought that she had somehow devoured magic mushrooms or died and been reincarnated as Dorothy from Kansas for most of the two days.  But she had been scared witless several times in the past twenty four hours, so something was going on in this village that was out of the ordinary … and she knew that it was the fear of the unknown and unexplained that was keeping her on edge.  And now it seemed that William was not going go spill the beans on what the future held as Harvey had seemed to expect him to do.  So, yes, maybe she had better confide in Joseph and tell him what else had happened to her yesterday.

Mary had accepted Laurie’s incredible stories as truth much to her own surprise right up to this very second, but now she suddenly found herself questioning her naïve acceptance of everything she had heard with the exception of Joseph’s warning about her joining them to locate the statue.   Joseph was right; things were now moving into sci-fi territory, with so many different people, including Peter James, and now this man that sat facing her… all, supposedly, being gifted with such strange and bewitching lives that it was almost common place in the village.  It was all becoming too much for her and she wasn’t too sure that she wanted to hear anymore about horrible monsters and witches at the moment and was on the point of excusing herself and going out to her car and having a chat with Gizmo as once again she wondered what it was Johann .P. Biggs had got her into.

However, William was not going to let her off that easily. “Mary would you mind very much telling me exactly what it was that happened to you at the garage, in the clearest detail that you possibly can?”

Despite her reservations, Mary responded with an incredibly accurate recount of the previous day’s events, including what Frank said that he had witnessed, but she failed to mention what Frank had told her about his own adventures all those years ago, and again failed to mention the incident in the reeds. That was for Joseph’s ears only.  By the time that Mary had finished, William’s face was ashen in colour.

“Please, Joseph, tell me about the knife that you saw in the photograph.”   He asked so softly it was as if he didn’t want to know the answer.

Joseph told him what had happened, how the knife was slicing through the air as he and Martin ran out of the garage.

“Oh, my sweet lord, this is far worse than I thought.  This creature is running interference on my channels.  Even worse, it must be getting close to entering into our zone and it is using my channels to expedite things.  Oh this is truly, truly terrible.  I will have to advise Arkerious immediately.  It is a threat to our safety, and there is nothing that I can do about it until I receive my instructions.  Joseph, I should imagine that the first part of the projection was what you were meant to see for yourself.  To verify the story that Vittorio would relay to you.  To help you began to truly believe that the creature is really coming.  But the rest … I have no idea, and it doesn’t sound too promising.”

“Can you tell us how you receive these instructions William, or is that a trade secret?”  Joseph asked.

“Yes, I can tell how the projection was done.  I have seen the photograph in the garage.  Everybody in the village has seen it because they were still interested in the strange light most of them had witnessed on the night of the long light as some call it.  But I saw it purposely to memorise it in response to a request by Arkerious.  This morning I learnt the reason for the request.  At exactly the same moment you went into the garage I began to concentrate on the photograph.  Eventually a vision of the inside of the garage began to replace the photo in my mind.  It was at this point that you picked up on the energy that was emitting from my brain through the photograph into the room.  In my mind I could see you approach the photo, but I had no idea what you were seeing.  My mind was using all of its power to keep the channel open, and I assume Arkerious controlled whatever it was that you saw.  I really don’t know.  Anyway, I kept the channel open as long as I could, but eventually it drew too much energy from me and I was forced to stop.  That was the only contact I had with the photo, and until just now I had no idea what happened at the garage.”

“How were you able to project something like that?  I have heard of the possibility of mind control, but I have never found proof that anybody has mastered it.”

“I had a good teacher.  His name is Arkerious.”

“The guardian taught you?”

“Taught me, and performed a few tweaks on my brain to take the power up a notch or two.”

“That’s cool.  Do you do party tricks?  Joseph was totally taken with the concept of the human mind doing so many things that seemed both possible, and impossible, at the same time … and found himself slightly jealous of William’s powers.

William, however, appeared to have misread the intent of Joseph’s words.  “All in good time, Joseph … all in good time.”   William replied amicably as he abruptly rose from his chair and began moving towards the door.  Reaching his destination he reached out for the door handle and slowly began to open the door, repositioning his body so he faced the trio who were in the act of departing their own chairs, never once pausing in conversation as he continued with his actions.

“Your words still hints at scepticism, Joseph, however it is of no matter at the moment.  From what you two have told me tonight, I would expect the creature to attempt its entry sometime within the next forty-eight hours … mind you, I could be wrong, I am only working on instinct here.  But if I am right, Arkerious is cutting it fine to release the chosen one into the mix.  Though, I expect he knows what he is doing.  I will have to try and contact him now and make certain that he is aware of what you all have just told me so I will need to terminate this meeting for the time being.  In the meantime, please be ready, wary, and take heed of all that happens…we will talk again, soon, very soon, no doubt.  Good night to you all.”   And with that William completed the task of opening the door and disappeared through them.

********

Go to Episode 48