Keppelberg (18 page)

I was at home when Robert returned. He had a glowing smile on his face as he went directly to his bedroom. I often wondered how he occupied himself while he was there. I didn't believe that he read books all the time. More likely he was planning to conspire with the other schoolchildren, plotting to do what he thought was right. I was intrigued to know what he intended to do but kept my cool to stay right out of it. Instead I sat in the lounge with Bridget who had just started to read another book. She was well engrossed in it when I disturbed her by slapping my hand aimlessly on the side of the armchair. She looked up puzzled as to why I had done so, and I caught her attention immediately.

‘I've been thinking about Townsend's visit,' I began, playing the devil's advocate more out of sheer boredom that anything else.

‘Whatever that man told you, I'd forget if I were you,' she advanced sharply. 'He spouted nonsense!'

‘I'm not so sure,' I persisted mischievously. ‘Maybe he did speak sense. Sometimes if you turn a situation upside down you come to the right conclusion.' I toyed with the idea that if I did leave I'd be free, unencumbered, without a partner or her child.

‘What on earth are you thinking of?' she asked vaguely.

‘Perhaps it's my destiny to leave,' I told her cautiously. ‘When it all boils down, I'm a stranger who knows too much about the secret of the village.'

‘What do you know?' she enquired as if I was trying to fool her by pretending that I understood the secret.

‘I know that everyone here takes two tablets every day which keeps them looking young and virile. At the same time, it allows them to live for much longer than normal human-beings. Obadiah Keppelberg, who founded the village, was a brilliant chemist who discovered an element which allows people in their eighties to look no more than twenty-seven years of age. The children are suppressed and angry because they remain looking exceedingly young when they're about the age of forty. Keppelberg discovered the element P13 which is the ingredient that keeps everyone look young and helps them to retain their age. He also laid out a set of conventions to retain the village as it was in his day and it still remains different to the rest of Britain, keeping out all strangers... except for myself of course. It has to, by convention, keep it population at the figure of eleven hundred people to retain the balance of the village. How am I doing so far?'

‘Very good,' she commented, applauding by clapping her hands.

‘There's just one thing that baffles me,' I went on, charging like a bull in a china shop. ‘I don't see a lot of the villagers walking around during the day. They tend to remain in their houses... except for those who tend the fields and look after the cattle. And they don't enjoy any exercise. I've noticed that. No one runs or jogs here. There's no outdoor activities. Everything's pretty much static.'

‘Well that's something you didn't find out, did you?' she laughed pleasantly. ‘The reason is that the tablets don't work the same on everyone. The metabolism of some of the villagers resist the effects of the tablets. The villagers still look young but when they get to a certain age, usually about a hundred years, their joints stiffen and they get a touch of arthritis. Obadiah's tablets didn't account for everything. That's why they don't do very much outdoors.'

I nodded at the details and pursed my lips together thoughtfully. ‘What would you do if I decided to leave?' I asked, believing that I knew what she would say but I was astounded by her answer.

‘I'd come with you, of course. Naturally I'd have to take Robert with us... I doubt whether he would mind.'

‘Really!' I exclaimed with surprise. ‘You'd leave the village?'

‘Our intimate life is so fantastic I'd give up everything just for a few years of it.'

‘You realise you'd run out of tablets in due course,' I explained. . ‘What would happen to you then?'

‘I have no idea. One of the villagers told us that, in time, we wouldn't need to take the tablets because our systems would become immune but that theory has never been tested... and Richard, my late husband, died because he stopped taking them. I'd exchange the rest of my life just to be with you.'

I realised that I had gone too far and I was flattered that the woman was so deeply in love with me that she would sacrifice her life to live outside the village as long as I stayed with her.

‘Maybe it's not such a good idea to leave,' I told her, retracting all that I had said. ‘I love you Bridget McBain and, yes, our intimate relationship is fantastic. I'll agree to that. You're a very beautiful woman... your hair, your eyes, your body... especially your body...'

We both burst into laughter at my comment and she moved from her armchair to hug me and kiss me on the lips lovingly.

‘What work would you do if we did leave?' she asked innocently, although I knew that it was a hypothetical question.

I dwelt on the question for a few moments not knowing what to say. ‘I think I might sign up again with the army now that they've finished fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.' I paused for a moment and then changed my mind. ‘No... I think it's best if I stay in the village.'

She smiled at me with an evil grin on her face. ‘Come on, Ross,' she said laughingly. ‘Come to bed! I command you to come to bed!'

I sighed for a moment, closing my eyes. We had enjoyed wonderful physical intimae sex for the last fourteen days in succession. It was consistent, regular, exhilarating each time, but I was beginning to weaken with my resolve even though I enjoyed ever moment I made love to her. The problem was time and energy. I certainly needed time to restore my strength and enthusiasm. She was a lithe, virile, exciting woman and we had learned a couple of new positions outlined in the book she had obtained from the library which enhanced our sexual activity to a much higher level. In essence, life in the bedroom was absolutely wonderful and if I left the village it would all be taken away from me, especially if she changed her mind and decided to stay. At last I had proved to her that, even though I knew the secrets of the village, I would never reveal them to anyone in the outside world... least of all to my sister, Mary!

Chapter Fourteen

The children met at school on the following day. I had previously warned the Headmaster that they were plotting against the village in the schoolyard for a particular cause of which I had no knowledge but he had ignored me. He preferred to remain like an ostrich with his head in the sand... until something of significance occurred. I became aware of the meeting at breakfast time when Bridget asked Robert to outline the lessons he had for the day. His reply was sonorous to say the least and I suspected that he was plotting something more sinister than just his lessons.

I left the entrance of the village at lunchtime to go directly to the school instead of the cafeteria. All the teachers had departed to go for their mid-day meal and there was no sign of the Headmaster. The children had gathered in the school playground at the rear of the building and they were sitting cross-legged in a circle facing each other. Robert appeared to be the key figure in the discussion and he spouted his grievance to the others.

‘My friends,' he began, like a politician speaking in public, ‘we have a severe grievance to which no one will listen. No one at all. It cannot be allowed to continue to our detriment. I say we have to make them listen or our lives will become forfeit and we shall lose out on all the fun that adults enjoy. It'll go on that way until we die!' There was a general hubbub of agreement from the others as they listened to him intently. ‘We've always been regarded as children,' he went on, ‘yet we've arrived at middle-age without any of the benefits afforded to the adults. We're repressed by the tablets we take and, as a result, we're unable to grow up. We cannot enjoy our lives as adults... can't take wives or husbands, we're denigrated in terms of adulthood, not allowed to make decisions or join in adult activities, and we're stuck here at school every day. In general, we remain as children and it has to stop immediately!' There was a rousing cheer from the rest of the group. ‘Our first endeavour is to stop taking the tablets to allow us to grow older. If we do that, we shall eventually reach maturity. Why should we always stay as children for the rest of our lives? I've been coming to this school for thirty years and I say enough is enough!'

The children took up that last part of his speech and began chanting in unison. ‘Enough is enough! Enough is enough! Enough is enough!'

The noise became so great that, shortly, the Headmaster emerged from his room to find out the cause of the commotion. He entered the school playground to stare at the children and his face turned to thunder.

‘What's going on here?' he demanded angrily, with a note of fury in his voice.

‘We're standing up for our rights!' declared Robert boldly, flying in the teeth of adversity. ‘We want the same rights as the adults and, more importantly, we want to be adults!'

‘And how do you intend to achieve that?' asked the Headmaster sharply. ‘In the first place, you're physically still children...'

‘But we don't intend to remain as such for very much longer,' interrupted Robert rudely to the applause of the rest of the children. ‘We shall stop taking the tablets to allow us to grow into adulthood. After all, most of us are around forty years of age. Once we do mature, we'll have more years of enjoyment.'

I had to admire his nerve and his capability. He spoke like a seasoned politician, eloquently, stating his argument in very clear terms. The Headmaster, on the other hand, as a result of the outburst, was reduced to a stuttering individual almost incapable of coherent speech. As he paused to clear his mind and associate himself with the problem, the children began to chant again.

‘Enough is enough! Enough is enough! Enough is enough!'

It was at that moment the Headmaster lost control of his temper. He hurried over to one of the boys, lifted him up by taking hold of his collar, before thumping him across his head with the flat of his hand. His irrational action infuriated the rest of the children who stood up to attack the Headmaster, tripping him up and kicking him in the head and body repeatedly. As soon as the onslaught occurred, I ran out to help the man, who lay inert on the ground, shouting to the children to keep clear. They halted at the sound of my voice and moved slowly away, with no remorse showing on their faces. I leaned down to feel the Headmaster's pulse but there was no heartbeat at all. As a result of the attack, the man lay dead in the school playground. I mused that his death may have come after he was tripped and struck his head on the concrete but that didn't resolve the problem. I stood up looking at the children accusingly.

‘You've killed him,' I remonstrated. ‘You little bastards! You killed your Headmaster for no reason whatsoever!'

They shied away at my angry reproach and looked for leadership towards Robert.

‘He shouldn't have attacked, John,' came the reply. ‘All adults who stand in our way in future will have to answer to us. We're going to make certain they understand our message one way or the other until they co-operate fully with us.'

‘You could have conducted a peaceful demonstration,' I told them curtly. ‘There was no need for such dire action as this!'

‘What do you think we've been doing so far?' demanded Robert with venom in his voice. ‘We even burned down the village hall but that didn't make any difference. They take no notice of us, Mr. Ross. We have to make them recognise our needs... somehow. If not, we'll remain as children for ever. Can't you see our dilemma?'

‘This isn't the way,' I explained simply. ‘You realise I have to report this matter to the police.' I covered the body with a tarpaulin that was laying in the playground before moving towards the exit. ‘They'll have the body removed and they'll deal with you all accordingly.'

‘We don't buckle under threats, Mr. Ross,' retaliated Robert. ‘Not any more. We're too organised now to concern ourselves about punishment.'

I ignored the final comment and left them, walking swiftly to the police station to file my report. For a village that had no crime, murder suddenly seemed to be the constant factor with the television crew and the Headmaster being the victims. It seemed that despite all the good intentions, the constitution was beginning to fall apart. The children would stop taking their tablets and there was no telling what they would do next to stake their claim into becoming adults.

‘The Headmaster's dead,' I told the Desk Sergeant point-blank.

He stared at me bleakly with a frown appearing on his forehead. ‘How did it happen?'

‘I warned him recently that the children were plotting but he refused to listen to me. They're determined to achieve adulthood and nothing's going to stop them. They even admitted to burning down the village hall just to make a point.'

He began tapping his pen on the desk awaiting an answer to his question. ‘How did it happen?' he repeated slowly.

‘The Headmaster struck one of the boys and they rushed at him in anger. He tripped and I think he struck his head on the concrete in the playground. He died instantly. I covered his body with a tarpaulin.'

PC's face was a picture of misery. ‘Damn!' he muttered irately. ‘He was a really good man. He didn't deserve such treatment! I'll arrange for someone to pick up the body.'

He left the police station and I moved closer to the Desk Sergeant. ‘You realise this is only the start. They intend to do more damage to get their own way.'

‘What can we do about it?' he bleated. ‘This has always been a peaceful village. Suddenly we're faced with four murders. Not only that but the city police are on our tail.'

‘Well... if you want the school to continue, you'll need to find a new headmaster. And, even if you find one, these children aren't going to back down.'

‘What's the answer?' he asked disappointedly.

‘Let them have their way with adulthood,' I reasoned. ‘They're already saying they're not going to take their tablets any more. I have no idea what the result will be on that score alone. Only time will tell.'

‘It's up to Mr. Townsend to make the decision, I suppose,' he went on, his voice falling into self-pity. ‘I can't say or do anything.'

‘Well someone had better come up with something positive otherwise there will be mayhem,' I predicted.

I left the police station with the Desk Sergeant looking exceeding concerned. He was truly under the whip with four murders and a group of children threatening to destroy everything that had been nurtured over the past one hundred-and-fifty years. The village was moving from crisis to catastrophe!

* * *

When I related the incident to Bridget, she stared at me with disbelief.

‘Robert!' she exclaimed. ‘Are you telling me he was the ring-leader of the group that killed the Headmaster?'

‘He incited them to riot,' I told her plainly. ‘Mind you,' I added, ‘it was the Headmaster who struck the first blow. He lifted one of the boys by the collar and hit him across the forehead. Not surprisingly, the children went crazy. They knocked him down and he fell to his death.'

She sat down on a chair as though her legs had given way at the news. ‘It's hard for me to understand,' she began, trying to reconcile the fact that her son had driven a group of children to murder. ‘He's such an ordinary boy.'

‘Well he's certainly demanding things now,' I submitted firmly. ‘He wants to be allowed to grow up. I don't really blame him. Put yourself in his shoes. He's forty-two years old and he still has to go to school. That must be a chore in itself. He can't do anything adults can do because he's small... a child in everyone's eyes... a nonperson. Suddenly he wakes up and realises what adults do and he wants to do the same. All the children do.'

‘But they are children,' she insisted. ‘Robert's only a child.'

‘Bridget,' I went on. ‘You have to look at the situation in real terms. He was a child once but he's now grown up in his mind. He wants his body to follow suit. I'd better tell you that he's going to stop taking the tablets.'

She paused to consider the comment and the effect it might have on the boy. ‘Obadiah Keppelberg never explained what would occur if we stopped taking them. The children may find it devastating. Anything could happen to them.'

‘And it will,' I concluded. ‘You can be certain of it.'

‘Where is Robert now?'

‘I've no idea. He's probably with the other children plotting even now.

The room fell silent as Bridget considered the options. ‘I'm willing to let him go,' she said eventually. ‘He can do what he likes with his life. I mean he's old enough now.'

‘That's a start but the problem is physical.' I advised her, trying to be as helpful as possible. ‘If he stops taking the tablets he's likely to grow old as he reaches manhood. I don't know how long it will take to come about. It's not something that can be measured. Perhaps the way forward is for me to have a word with him just to say that you're prepared to release him... to let him do anything he wants.'

Bridget nodded as she thought about the problem some more. I realised that she had enjoyed Robert's company as a child, especially during the days when her husband was dying. I was asking her to wretch herself away form him indiscriminately to set him free. It was a tall order to ask any mother despite the fact that so many years had passed since he had been born.

When Robert returned home for the evening meal, I drew him into the lounge and made him sit down in an armchair to listen to me. ‘Your mother's willing to let you go free,' I told him candidly. ‘You can do anything you wish... go anywhere you want. She can't be any fairer than that. And if you desist from taking your tablets, well that's your affair.'

‘That doesn't solve the problem,' he returned curtly. ‘This village is controlled by Mr. Townsend and if he says we have to continue going to school nothing will change. Look, Mr. Ross, I'd be foolish to think that things will change overnight. Now we've stopped taking the tablets, I should imagine it'll take some months or even years before we reach maturity. Bones and tissue don't just grow overnight. We have to remain patient until it happens but we need all the adults to be on our side.'

‘No it doesn't solve your problem, I can see that but its' no use taking it out on the village. It'll almost certainly take time for you to grow up but I can't tell what the effect of not taking the tablets will have on you. It's possible that you may grow old very quickly before you've matured in which case you will all look like ageing dwarfs. Have you thought about that carefully?'

‘We don't know what will happen until the effects of the tablets wear off but we're willing to take the chance. I know that you want to help us but it's something we have to do for ourselves.'

‘I'm willing to let you do anything you want,' I replied easily, ‘but there is a solution you haven't thought of.'

His ears pricked up and he stared at me with his dark brown eyes. ‘What's that?' he asked with an element of hope in his voice.

‘There are male and female children in the village. Lots of them. If you wish to live like adults, why waste time. The males and females ought to get together as adults... if you know what I mean. Age and size mean very little when you're both the same. Look at me. I'm a young man but I go to bed with your mother who's eighty-seven. Discount the age and act like an adult. If I can do it, so can you!'

‘You know, Mr. Ross,' he said with a broad grin on his face, ‘I think you've solved part of our problem. Thank you very much!' He rose from the armchair and went to the door. ‘You don't mind if I leave, do you? I have business with a beautiful auburn-haired girl in my class.'

I nodded and smiled as he left to start becoming an adult. What would happen if they all acted in the same way was not my concern. I had merely put forward a suggestion which might alleviate some of the difficulties arising among the children. Their future was in the hands of fate. Despite having resolved part of Robert's problem, some of the other children took a different view. When young McBain outlined the relationship the boys could enjoy with the girls, a few of them considered that he had backed down in his demands. They immediately appointed another leader who was hell-bent in causing chaos. If the villagers thought that Robert was a severe mischief-maker, they were in for a shock. They had yet to recognise the damage which Thomas Howard could inflict upon them. He had one particular aim in mind that would affect every villager and begin the downfall of Numbwinton but he deliberately avoided revealing it to the children at their next meeting. However, it was only a matter of time before he started his campaign and, in his mind, there was a time-bomb that had a very short fuse.