Sand Glass (35 page)

‘Go. My
friends. Fly!’ and with a last effort he pulled the monster back
towards the falling rocks.

Oliver and I
scooped up Jared. And the two girls pulled us forwards. We ran as
the mountain crumb led around us. I wrapped my arm round Jared, and
half pulled, half carried him, as his face contorted with pain.

‘Now!’ Marcia
shouted with all her might. They all linked arms with us two as we
ran towards the edge. Somewhere behind us there was a horrible
noise of hissing and bellowing.

We saw the
light rise and heard the roar of the water, and as all the ground
broke under us as we leapt into the bright air and the light. At
that moment Jared cried out, as the silver knife pieced his back,
thrown by the evil Rimmington. And Elland… in a last incredible
moment of strength had deflected the monster’s aim and stabbed it
through the heart with his own knife.

We fell through
air and light and the foam, and convulsions of white horses came up
to meet us. In a flash of heavenly blue and gold the sun shot
through the twisting raging glassy beauty of the wild water. I
breathed in. And then we plunged in. Down and down sinking like a
stone. Jared was spinning round me. And sinking. I felt for the
clasp of his pack and unclipped it. I could see much but we were
falling sucked down and down. I free him from the pack and it
dropped out of sight through the darkness. Then released my pack
letting it fall away. I still had the hunting knife. I slit the
laces of our heavy boots and pulled them off. And then we seemed to
be going upwards. Jared’s eyes were closed. But he seemed to be
holding his breath. I saw Oliver drop his pack and swim with
powerful strokes towards the paler mottled bands of light above.
Then I saw light and bubbles streaming upwards. I didn’t let go of
Jared and kicked for the surface. I could not see the other
two.

Then I felt a
tug. I could hear nothing but my own heartbeat hammering in my
ears. We were still swimming. Light above. Swishy and indistinct.
We swam upwards, a stream of bubbles tracing our path. Suddenly It
felt as if the earth convulsed deeper beneath. Or like a charge had
exploded in the water under us and we shot to the surface.

I was breathing
automatically again. And swimming. We were all there. I blinked and
coughed. I could see the sky above me. I was instinctively treading
water. I finally cleared my eyes. I could see a line of colours
that I recognised as the sandy banding of coastal shore line under
a cloudy sky. Janey was to my right. And Marcia and Oliver were
behind me. Between them they supported Jared in the water. A thin
trail of blood leaked from his upper body. It was a long way to
shore. I turned around in the water. We had to make it to the
beach.

‘Davey!’
someone calling me. I turned to see the body of a small boat
bobbing about thirty feet away.

The slosh and
slap of water on the hull was accompanied by the cries of gulls.
The water felt cold. The boat came alongside us.

Two pairs of
arms reached down and hauled me in. I slid across the deck. The
next was Marcia. She turned to help lift Jared out. Oliver and
Janey were pulled in last.

Jared laid in
the bottom of the boat. Joe and Violette were there ripping the
clothing apart. I felt the world turn over and the sky seemed to
darken. Adam got hold of me, and stuck my head over the side just
in time.

I was violently
sick. He just kept me there until it passed. The boat was moving. I
turned. Jared was pinned down by Violette and Joe and Oliver. He
was gabbling something completely incoherent. His blood stained the
decking. He was struggling against those who were trying to help
him. His eyes glazed and fixed, as if he was still in that other
place, feeling the touch of that dark fire out of some hell of
Rimmington’s personal residence. Adam took the helm as we steered
to shore. And there was Alex. He bent over Jared.

‘Listen….
Listen to me. This is England. I’m Alex. And this is my boat!’ He
took Jared’s hand. He went limp and his eyes turned to the Man bent
over him.

‘I’m Davey’s
friend…. Do you hear. I came to save you all; to fish you out of
the drink, my friend. And you must be worth a lot for my best mate
to go off on this wild goose chase for all this time! Look at me.
We’ve got people waiting on shore. We’ll patch you up…. Steady
now….’

Jared calmed
then. He focused on Alex, and said in a voice I never thought I’d
hear in this world ‘Thanks boatman….’

‘It is Alex.
And I’m a nice guy. Nice enough to watch Davey’s back and come out
here when I should legitimately be down the pub!’

‘Hello Alex…’
Jared said and then his face changed and screwed up in the sharp
pain as the salt water must have stung the wounds. Violette tutted
and tried to make him keep still. Janey bent over him and stroked
his face. They rolled him onto his side to take a good look. I saw
him looking upwards; and his hands relaxed. I think Violette must
have given him something for the pain then, because a few minutes
later he was relaxed against Janey’s shoulder as Joe and Violette
stopped the bleeding. I turned away exhausted. I started to feel
cold.

I looked up. I
heard the cry of the seagulls. And the chill salty air filled my
mind and I was staring upwards as we neared the landing place.

‘Davey?’ Janey
came and sat next to me. Violette and Joe had Jared bound on a
stretcher ready for the others waiting at the shore to receive
us.

I turned to
Janey again. She was looking at me. And now…. She was real. Dragged
out of the waves by the inestimable Alex, as if she was some
strange mermaid. I looked across at Marcia and Oliver. Chatting and
making a joke. Marcia caught my eye, and smiled.

‘Alright there
Milnes?’ said Oliver

‘Yeah. I think
I am.’ I looked towards the beach with a hungry look.

As we slid into
the shingle; I fell on my knees on that sandy shore and blessed the
very stones. I said a quick prayer of thanks for deliverance. I had
enough of adventures for now.

I took Janey’s
hand, as we waited in the nearby hospital waiting room. She looked
at me but seemed distracted. They called us then. Jared was sat up
smiling as we all trouped in. I must say looking a lot cleaner that
the rest of us. And he whispered something to me that I didn’t
understand, until we were sat drinking tea in a local hotel.

‘What did Jared
tell you?’ Janey asked me.

‘He said…. I
think he said…’

‘What?’ she
shook her head puzzled.

‘He said to not
forget who I really am.’

‘He was always
telling me the same thing.’ Janey replied.

‘I think he’s
afraid if what might happen. We nearly lost him there.’

‘In more ways
than one.’ I said.

‘Yes,’ she
looked down. And seemed sad.

‘Are you
alright?’ I asked.

‘Tired.’ She
looked up and seemed to unfocus and her eyes wandered intlothe
distance, ‘I wonder if she made it back?’

‘Your other
self?’

‘Yes. In her
reality. In her world, he’s still sleeping. Still in a coma.’

‘Yes.’

‘Did you see
it?’

‘No.’

‘Why did you
help us?’

I looked away.
And I saw that pretty mouth and wished that I might brush her lips
against mine. I didn’t say anything though. But she sat with me
then, and we watched the sun leave the sky. Marcia came back and
seemed pleased with things. She said down next to me as well.

‘It was the
right thing to do.’ I said suddenly.

‘You are just
like him.’ said Janey.

‘Why?’

‘Answering
questions an hour later.’

‘Oh.’ I said
and looked at Marcia. She just patted me on the shoulder and got up
and ordered more tea.

‘What day is it
today?’ I said suddenly.

Marcia was back
looking pleased. ‘Oh! The fifth.’

‘Of what?’

‘November.’

‘Does that mean
fireworks?’ I asked her.

‘We’ll find out
soon enough. One step at a time.’ Marcia seemed puzzled.

‘You’re not
still worried about that missing knife are you?’

‘No. Just
curious.’ I said.

‘Do you two
want anything from the bar?’ Marcia stood over us.

‘Whatever
you’re having…. Unless it’s really horrible beer. And not white
wine. Whiskey would be nice…’

‘Davey?’ Janey
put her hand over my mouth.

‘Mmm?’

‘Shut up
now.’

I crawled up
out of the water of a dark dream. In the shadows and lights of
re-reflected light, I half sleep walked to the bathroom.

The sudden
brightness, painful; cold light that was stark and surreal. I bent
over the sink, running some water into the bowl as I did so. There
in the silence, punctuated by the drip drip from the tap, I was
grappling with the internal welling of images, and my half formed
conclusions about my recent experiences. I glanced in the mirror. I
was still there; still me.

I went
downstairs to the kitchen, to a warmer glow of light. I made hot
chocolate and plonked myself down in a chair and switched on the
lounge lamp. It served no purpose but to make me doubt my sanity
yet again. Every time I had tried to sleep in the last three days,
I had woken from dreams in a rush at about 2am. I was shattered,
but could not rest properly. I pulled the phone towards me. I
wondered if I should ring the number Violette had given me….she had
given it to all of us. The debrief would be in a few days, at
George’s house (the big place with the cellar). Who was I calling?
It was a special number… you could always call and get one of the
people assigned to protect our minds right there, to take down all
the crazy things that we would say. I thought they were letting us
shed our snakeskin into their hands. We were slowly being stripped
of all the useful data. I wasn’t stupid enough not to recognise a
ploy like that when I saw it. Yet….when the foul stench of your
subconscious is something you want to run from where else could we
go? Any ordinary doctor would think us to be having some sort of
break with reality. And they’d be right. But the reality we had
forsaken, and the dream we had searched and travelled through were
both real.

I curled up in
the chair, exhausted…. But knowing that the moment it started again
I would jolt awake.

My state of
mind at that point was one that I look back on with a sense of
shame or fear. I wasn’t used to not having at least some
control.

I rang the
number.

‘Davey? This is
Sam. I’m not far from you. Would you like me to come round right
now?’

‘You do
that?’

‘Yes. It can be
helpful,’ he paused as if picking something up, ‘You are ten
minutes from me right now.’

‘What are you
doing in the area?’

‘Assignment of
a dubious nature. I guess I wanted the job because it sounded
interesting. What would you like me to do?’

‘You really are
in the area?’

‘Yes. Five
minutes away now. Could be an error.’

‘You’re using
sat nav?’

‘Yes.’

‘Only come
round if you agree to switch it off right now!’

‘Okay. It’s
off.’

‘Just like
that?’

‘Definitely.
You are far more important than the other thing.’

‘Other
thing?’

‘I’m not
supposed to tell you…’

‘Are you
laughing at me Sam?’

‘No. I just
want to tell you something to make you feel better.’

‘Are you nearly
here?’

‘Just
arrived.’

Outside, I
heard the sound of a car pulling up. I dived for my keys and went
to let Sam in.

‘Tea and
crumpets? I am honoured.’

‘Only if you
eat then right now. Otherwise they’ll end up down my gullet!’

‘Davey? Is
there anything I can help with that is about something other than
an all-nighter emptying the contents of your fridge?’

‘I don’t keep
them in the fridge.’

He held up a
hand. ‘No need to be so literal, the point is made.’ He held up a
fag packet, ‘Do you mind if I smoke?’

‘Yes… actually
I do. It makes me gag. Actually anything makes me gag at the
moment.’

‘I does?’ Sam
rolled a unlit cigarette between his fingers, ‘I wondered…. When
did you last eat?’

‘We’re having
crumpets.’

‘I meant you
eating, there you are.’

'Oh!' I sipped
from the cup in front of me, 'that was yesterday.'

'Are you
sure?'

'What is this?'
I shifted in my seat.

'It's okay....'
Sam reached out an stopped me, by putting his hand on my wrist. I
sat back again.

'If you mean
properly.... Then not since I've been back...' I looked at him
directly then expecting a scolding.

'Thanks David,
for being honest with me,' he tapped the cigarette on the little
coffee table, and slid it back into the packet, 'I have to tell
you, that you're not the only one.'

'I'm not?' all
my thoughts ran towards Janey, and then back to Sam sitting there
regarding me so solemnly.

'I could open
the back door. And you could stand outside it?'

'What?' Sam had
obviously been running through something in his mind. He got up out
of the chair, I followed him.

Sam leaned
round the door jamb and blew a stream of smoke out into the cold
night air. The smiled with satisfaction.

'Better?' I
asked.

'You bet. This
is not a good time to give up. But I wish I could.' -then seeing
the look I gave him, 'Everyone's obvious weakness is the one people
always remember you for.'

'What?' I set
about putting the kettle on. Seemed kind of safe.

Sam came and
stood next to me, 'I've locked it.'