Carved in Stone: Monochrome Destiny (9 page)

That
idea was too awful to think about.  The concept of lying undiscovered in a
house for days, or being too ill to do anything but watch your family die
around you, was terrible.  The thought of having to lie with their bodies
in the house, knowing that you were next, knowing the inevitable outcome, was
awful.  The problem was that it was plausible.  The look of horror on
Robyn’s face betrayed her.

“You
don’t like that theory?”

“It’s
a good theory.  I don’t like the idea of being undiscovered because you
live remotely that’s all.”

Andrew’s
eyes narrowed, ending that small respite from the brooding, “Afraid of being
alone?  You’ve chosen the wrong place to live if that’s the case.”

She paled under
his gaze.  It shouldn’t have been possible with her light complexion, but
he watched the blood drain from her face.  She seemed to shrink before his
eyes.  He had enjoyed goading her earlier, she was a smooth opponent, but
he hadn’t expected this.  He stared at her as she struggled to take a
breath and felt as if his own breath had been knocked out of him.

He
moved closer, thought about offering her a comforting arm and then realised
that she would hate him for it.  “Robyn?”

She
looked up, her eyes wide and fearful.

Max,
ever aware of human emotions, lifted his head to lay his brown face on Robyn’s
lap.  Andrew felt the briefest moment of jealousy before he saw that the
dog helped her.  She focused on Max and managed to slow her errant
breathing.

“What
did I say?” he wanted desperately to take it back.  It tormented
him.  Why did he care?  His anger at himself came out in his voice
and it sounded like he demanded an answer.  Christ, what was it with this
woman?  Could he not control himself at all?

“It’s
fine, really.  It’s just Kat’s not back yet and I was expecting her yesterday. 
I’ve not heard from her since she left, so I don’t know what her plans are.”

She
was babbling yet her tone was flat.  She was clearly worried but she was
trying not to be.

Andrew
thought about another who had left without a word and his anger took a second
to contain.  He would not speak to her again with angry words.  Not
until she was over whatever this was anyway.

“You’ve
had no contact from her?”

“No. 
She’s not answering her phone or returning messages.  We had a falling
out.” Her shoulders hunched and he could almost see the burden of guilt she
carried.  Whatever the ‘falling out’ had been about it was significant.

“Do
you think she’s angry with you?”

Robyn
looked up, her eyes glistening with unshed tears and her face gaunt.
 “Yes, she’s angry with me,” she sighed. “She’ll be home when she gets
over it, I guess.”

Andrew
sat up straight.  He couldn’t look at her, not when she was so
distraught.  He’d wanted to hold her for Christ’s sake and offer
comfort.  What the hell had gotten into him?

 “I’m
sure she’ll be back before school.”  He needed this conversation over and
over now.  He needed this woman out of his house.

“I
hope you’re right.”

He
forced a smile, “You’ll see.”  He leaned back again, forcing his body away
from hers.  He needed to think of her as just another colleague. “I didn’t
mean to worry you, Miss Darrow.”

“Robyn,”
she answered automatically, “my friends call me, Robyn.”

Robyn dreamed of
gravestones, giant grey monoliths set in a never-ending maze against the
blackest night.  As she ran through the solidified soldiers she knew that
she had to find someone, but no matter in which direction she ran, she only
found more giant headstones.

Her
legs were tired, her muscles ached with every step, stored energy spent. 
She didn’t seem to be getting anywhere.  It was as if the air were made of
treacle, a sticky atmosphere that held her back by adhering to her skin. 
Each step was so slow but she had to get through, she had to fight, for she was
not alone.  Something dangerous lurked in the corridors of stone.  It
was stalking, hunting and Robyn was its prey.  She tried to scream, but no
sound came out in the thick air.

Suddenly
a figure, in a simple gown of the brightest red silk, its sheer colourful
brilliance an illuminate contrast to the never ending monochrome of everything
else, ran barefoot around the corner and out of sight.  The silk of the
gown flowed out in ripples against the thickness of the air.  It was her.

Robyn
gave chase, renewed by hope, but when she turned the corner, all she saw were
more stones, grey and covered in moss.

Exhausted,
she dropped to her knees, despair a heavy burden, and grabbed at tufts of grass
in desperation.  In both frustration and fear, she clawed at the ground
before looking up and screaming.

Deeply
carved lettering was immortalised into the stone above her.

      
R.I.P.

Katherine
Harris.

Robyn sat up in
bed sharply, a scream echoing off of the walls.  Her night shirt was
soaked with sweat and plastered to her skin.  Her hair, wet from fear, had
gone curly from the moisture and was now a tangled mass of knots.

As
her heart rate decreased and her breath became deeper and smoother, Robyn sat
staring at the window attempting to find her composure.  It worked, until
a glance at the clock revealed no time to spare.

She’d
make first lesson but would just have to miss morning briefing.  Her night
had been late, waiting ever patiently for Kat to make an appearance, but sense
had overridden worry sometime after midnight.  Kat must have come in
sometime after she’d fallen asleep because Robyn had not heard her friend
return.

The
dreams had been tormenting Robyn since Wednesday.  Every time she shut her
eyes the dark churchyard filled her vision.  She felt exhausted, as if she
had actually run all those miles around the tombstones.  Only seeing Kat
would break the hold that the nightmares had upon her.

When
lesson two finally drew to a close, the bell signifying break, Robyn sighed and
sank onto her teaching bench in anticipation.  Kat would come to find her,
she was certain.  She would have many a tale to tell.  Life with Kat
was never dull.

Minutes
ticked by and Robyn told herself that some of the girls must be taking their
time changing, making Kat wait. But as the clock hands moved steadily on, a
lump of doubt seated itself solidly in her gut.  Uncomfortable, Robyn
fidgeted on her chair but was unable to clear the building feeling of dread.

Robyn
stood and began to pace.  The lump was growing as each second ticked by
but her animation helped.

The
door creaked behind her, the heavy wood opening a fraction against the strong
mechanism that automatically shut it.  Robyn swirled to the sound, elation
and hope bringing a radiant smile to her lips, but it was not Kat who entered
her classroom.

“She
isn’t here.” Andrew stood just inside the doorway.  The collar on his
white shirt was unbuttoned underneath an elegant charcoal suit.  He stood
rigid and concerned.  “There is some panic in the office.  They are
trying to cover her lessons.”

“What!”
Robyn stepped toward him, unable to process his statement.  She stopped
herself from grabbing his lapel and instead thrust her hands to her
sides.  “Did she call in?” The lump doubled in size and became almost
painful.  There was no way Kat would miss work.  Something was wrong.

“If
she did, it was late.  Pupils were caught wandering at the end of period
one, that’s when they discovered her absence.  I thought you knew, but
when you turned to me when I came in
. .
.”  He
shook his head.  “I only came to warn you that the Head’s secretary is out
for blood, yours in particular.”

Robyn
grabbed her keys, intending to go to the office and find out what they knew but
the feel of the cold steel in her hand made her look down. 
“Her car.”

Andrew
took another step into the room, coming close, too close.  Robyn’s
nostrils were filled with a deep musk and spice scent that threw her for a
second.

“What
about her car?”

“I
didn’t notice if it had moved.  She parked it at the side of the cottage before
she left and I didn’t look this morning when I left, I just assumed she was
ahead of me.  I . . . I was running late.”  She’d have seen it if
she’d had just glanced behind her but she hadn’t had she.  She’d run
straight to the MG and left without a second glance.  “What the hell is
happening here?”

Robyn’s
gut twisted.  Kat had been gone for a week.  Where was she?

“I
have to go to the office.”  Robyn went for the door but Andrew shifted,
blocking her way and held the door closed.

“Stay
out of it.”  His tone was cold, demanding.

Robyn
widened her eyes.  Was he really doing this?

“Get
out of my way.”  Kat was unreliable certainly, but not about work, not to
this extent.  Robyn knew that there was something seriously wrong here and
Andrew
Obursen
certainly wasn’t going to stop her
from finding out what.

She
sidestepped but he shifted again, blocking her once more.  “Don’t go
there, Robyn.”

“What
the hell has it got to do with you?”  She could feel the anger heating her
cheeks as she spat the words.  Andrew simply stilled.

“As
you appear to insist on constantly appearing in my life, it is you who has
gotten me involved.”

She
looked up at him.  “Then I am getting you uninvolved.”  Anger
competed with panic.  She couldn’t think straight enough to argue with him
when every atom of her body was desperate to get to the office. 
Frustration had her shaking as she looked up into his pale eyes.  Stepping
forwards, she came almost chest to chest with him.  “I have to know if she
called in.”

The
bell rang, unwelcome and calamitous.

“You’ll
know, in time.  Just don’t go down there now.  Allow them time to
sort this out first.  If you run down there now, the Head’s secretary is
going to take it out on you.”

Robyn
didn’t care, she had very little thought except to find out what was going on,
but her next class had begun to line up outside the room and circumstance had
her trapped.

Andrew
took her firmly by the shoulders and made her look at him.  “Listen to me,
Robyn?  Wait, please wait.”

Robyn
knew she didn’t have a choice, not with her most challenging class filling the
corridor, but there was also something in the way Andrew spoke that stopped her
from angrily thrusting him out of her way.  This was not a demand but a
request.

Bewildered,
Robyn nodded as Andrew turned and left, allowing year ten to wander in. 
Difficult, unwilling and filled with raging hormones, the class had to be
handled firmly and certainly not left unattended.

Robyn
stumbled through the lesson, repeating herself more than once.  She then
forgot to set the required homework.  Robyn was relieved and a little more
composed when year twelve strolled in for the lesson before lunch. 
Knowing that she could trust them, she set work and headed out of the room.

Reception
and the office were just a few doors down from her classroom and the
receptionist, Emily, was pleased to see her.

“She’s
a little busy,” Emily replied when Robyn asked to see the Head’s secretary,
“She’s trying to organise cover for this afternoon and get a supply teacher in
for the rest of the week, but I’ll ask.”

The
office was situated behind reception.  Robyn watched as Emily disappeared
through the inner door. 

Emily
returned smiling.  “Go through, Robyn, Mrs Young would like to see you
anyway.”

Robyn
went out the reception door and in the next door along to find Mrs Young at her
desk.  In her mid-forties, she dressed as if she was much older and
currently wore a woollen, A-line, mid-calf length skirt and a shapeless
blouse.  The outfit was somewhat austere, further enhancing the comparison
many of the staff made to the Wicked Witch of the West.  Add her attire to
the fact that she rode to work on and old-fashioned shopper bicycle, complete
with wicker basket, and the similarity was complete.

The
two other women, a secretary and the bursar, in the office had their heads down
apparently working, but Mrs Young caught Robyn in a direct and cold stare
before standing and beckoning her through to the Heads office, which was empty.

“Would
you like to tell me what on earth is going on with your friend?” Mrs Young
rounded on Robyn as soon as the door was closed.  She was a slight woman,
but her stare could turn you to ice.

“Um, what?”
Robyn
stammered, “I came in here to ask you?”

“You
cannot tell me that you didn’t know what was going on.”  Her frame was a
few inches shorter than Robyn’s but she made up for it in sheer presence. 
Robyn felt like she was being battered down by a larger opponent.

“I
have no idea what you’re talking about.” Confused and exasperated, Robyn walked
further in the room before turning back to Mrs Young.

“Your
friend, Katherine, decided not to turn up for work this morning.”  Each of
her words were emphasised separately and a little too vehemently.  “I have
had a nightmare getting her lessons covered on such short notice.”

“I
don’t know anything.” Robyn frowned. “She went away at the beginning of half
term and was meant to come back on Wednesday, but I haven’t seen or heard from
her.”

“Really?”
she drawled it out as she raised her brows, leaving Robyn with the feeling that
she was on trial. “She didn’t tell you anything? I thought you two were as
thick as thieves.”

It
was the hands on the hip stance that got Robyn’s back up.  This woman was
used to being obeyed and Robyn didn’t like her attitude one bit.  “I don’t
know what you’re referring to, but I’ve been worried about her all week. 
I thought she would turn up today.”  Robyn stepped forwards and gave Mrs
Young a stern stare of her own.

“Well,
she’s not going to turn up today or any other.” Mrs Young was in full flow now,
her voice raised, her candour that of a society Lady looking down on the help.
“She has informed me, very late in the day I must say, that she will not be
returning to work and has had second thoughts about a teaching career.”

“She
did what?”  Robyn’s legs numbed and the room seemed to be moving. 
She slumped into a chair.

“She
said she was unhappy, and that she was off to see the world, or something
equally ridiculous.”  The secretary spat out as she vehemently gestured
with her hands

“But
she would have told me.” Robyn’s voice had lost all power.

“Well,
I guess she’s just a devious little madam who doesn’t care who she hurts. 
Now I’ve got to get cover for her lessons and find a replacement as quickly as
possible.  Do you know what kind of task that is at this time of
year?  God only knows what standard of applicant we are going to get from
all the people who couldn’t find a job last year.  Ridiculous!” she mumbled
as she walked towards the door, opened it and stepped out into the noise of the
secretarial office once again.

Robyn
sat for a minute, taking everything in, before a thought occurred.  She
walked straight up to Mrs Young as the secretary stood at the photocopier.

“She
phoned you?” It was meant to be a question, but in her fervour, it came out
more like an accusation.  Mrs Young looked up to stare with utter
disdain.  This was a woman you did not challenge, especially in her own
domain.

Robyn
stood her
ground              

“She
phoned you?” she asked again, steady but insistent.

“Yes
she phoned, eventually, at 10:15 no less.  Now, can you please let me get
on with my work?”  Mrs Young turned away and started a run on the
machine.  The conversation was over.

Stunned
by the news, Robyn walked in a daze back to her classroom.  Year twelve
were getting on with the exercise that she had left so she had time to
think. 
Too much time.

How
could Kat have made such a monumental decision and keep it from her?  Kat
was too open to hide a lie like that and Robyn just wasn’t able to believe what
she was hearing.

Looking
out of the small glass square in her classroom door, Robyn saw the Head Teacher
returning to his office.  Without thinking, she yanked open the door and
ran up the corridor to cut him off before he could disappear.