The Lost Witch (23 page)

"He's a pig! Wait till the gang hears 'bout this. Pigs ain't allowed. The Prophet says so.
Boy, would it burn his butt, knowin' there's one in town right now, right under his nose."

"That's why he has to stay hidden. He has to be protected."

"No problem. I'll keep an eye out, but I get to meet him."

"Once we get back," Carole promised.

"Why aren't pigs allowed in town?" Martin said.

"Don't ya know nothing? Cause of the Apocalypse. That's why this town's special. This
is where it'll happen. The end of the world!"

"Here?" Martin looked around. "Why here?"

"Because of the pigs and the revelation."

"What have pigs got to do with the end of the world?" Zack looked even more
confused.

"Geez, everybody knows that. The revelation says that the world will be split asunder,
and that the pigs are the guardians of the gateway ta the Apocalypse."

"Excuse me?" Carole said.

"They wander the countryside keeping townsfolk in and strangers out."

"Pigs?"

"Pigs! Hundreds and hundreds of 'em. Thousands! Wild and ferocious. They live in the
woods all 'rount the town and will tear ya apart if they catch ya. No one dares go into the woods
no more, not even me and my gang. You're the first ta make it along the old road in ages."

"Have they gotten anybody, lately?" Carole tried to keep a straight face.

"Well, no," the boy admitted. "But everyone knows they would if yer dumb enough to
get in their way. B'sides, they're a sign and the Prophet says all signs is ta be left alone."

"What about the pirates? Are they a sign too?" Martin said.

"Naw. Prophet says the pirates are a test sent ta see which side of the Apocalypse the
town folks is goin' ta be on. The side which gets torn asunder or the side which gets spared."

"What do you think?" Carole said.

"Don't rightly know. Ma says this place would be a sight bit better if Near-Here just up
and beat it. She says the pirates help keep Near-Here in line. Can I see yer pig now? Never seen
one up close."

"Better wait 'til we get back. You know how pigs can be."

He nodded.

"Could you do us a favor in the meantime? Will you make sure nobody else finds him?
He might be tough, but he is small. "

"You betch'a. I can watch from my tree."

"Great. His name's Runt. I'm Carole, this is Zack, Lil and Martin. What's your
name?"

"Name's Bart, though folks arount here calls me L'il Bart."

"Okay L'il Bart, we're going to scout out that certain spot in town. Anything else we
should know about?"

"I'd stay pretty low if'n I was ya. Avoid Near-Here and his sidekicks, 'specially Smithy.
He's a real snitch. Most people ain't too happy 'bout Near-Here these days, since he went and cut
out the 'lectricity, but ya never can tell. 'Bout the only ones ya can trust outright, 'sides me and
Ma, is Mr. Wilkins who sells kerosene at the hardware store and Ole Pete at The Marauding
Boar. That's the town pub.

"Wilkins and Pete don't care a whole lot 'bout what Near-Here says, but most everyone
else in town is miserable."

Armed with directions on how best to enter the town unseen, Carole and her friends
moved quickly towards the back alley L'il Bart had pointed out.

"If everyone around here is so miserable, why are we doing this?" Martin muttered as
they ducked into a side street.

"Because there's a lot more to this place than just a bunch of pirates and a crazy old
prophet," Carole said.

"You think the Conundrum's affected the people?" Lilly said.

"Something sure did. We've got marauding pigs, a mysterious gateway, a man talking
about the world being split in two. And I'm definitely sensing something."

"Not another dimension?" Martin groaned.

"No, more like a vortex but it's very weak."

"You think the gateway L'il Bart's talking about is the dimensional connector?" Zack
peered around a corner before waving them into a second alley.

"Might well be, but we won't know until I can check it out."

The section of town L'il Bart had directed them to was full of old cottages and
boarded-up shops. Most of the buildings were still in decent shape, except for peeling paint, though many
showed signs of recent patchwork repairs.

"I guess The Prophet doesn't believe in paint, except for his church," Zack pointed to a
gleaming white steeple, rising above the other buildings.

They finally reached the lane they wanted. Minutes later they were peering out at the
town square. It was actually a tiny park at the intersection of two main streets. Like the rest of
the village, it was deserted. Judging by the weeds growing in the center of the park and the
partially collapsed bandstand at one end, the square hadn't been in use for some time.

"Whatever I'm sensing is coming from in there." Carole pointed towards the middle of
the square. "I'm certain of it." She dashed across the empty boulevard, hopped a rickety railing,
and ducked behind the bandstand. Picking her way through brambles and weeds, she came upon
a curious sight. Once it might have been a wishing well or perhaps an ornamental fountain, but
now it was buried beneath a mound of sandbags that were wrapped with coils of rusty barbed
wire.

Relaxing her vision, Carole saw light streaming from behind the sandbags. "It is a
vortex," she called to her companions. "Very small, but there's no mistaking those colors. This
must be the Monobrain transdimensional tunnel."

"Great." Zack waded through the weeds, followed by Martin and Lilly. "What about the
connector, can you see that, too?"

"No. It might be here but I can't tell." She poked her staff through the barbed wire,
trying to dislodge a sandbag. "There's too much junk in the way."

"So what now?" Martin surveyed the scene.

"Obviously we bust in," Zack said, circling the enclosure.

"Not without a pair of heavy-duty wire-cutters, we don't."

"Guess our next stop is the hardware store," Lilly said.

"Can you imagine--" A loud bell drowned out whatever Zack had to say. A second peal
echoed the first.

"Let's get out of here!" Carole said.

They raced for the alley.

A man barreled towards them from the opposite side of the alley. "Hey, you!"

"Should we run for it?" Martin whispered.

"No, it's too late!" Carole said softly. "Besides, we've done nothing wrong."

"Don't ya kids know there's a pirate curfew-- Wait a minute, you're not from here!
Where'd ya come from and what are ya doing snooping arount town?"

"What's going on here, Smithy?" The high-pitched rheumy voice came from a small,
pasty-looking man with a long gray beard. He wore a white canvas robe.

"I caught these four young'uns sneaking arount, Prophet."

The Prophet was barely taller than Zack, but he carried himself with a look of absolute
authority. "'Tis a strange thing ta have visitors about town any time o' day," he said cagily. "We
don't get much in the way of a tourist trade. Came ye off a sea vessel?"

"No," Carole said, "we were hiking through the hills and followed an old road into
town."

"They're lying. None comes ta 'The End' through the old way. 'Tain't possible." The
smithy sounded suspicious. "The swine would've had em fer sure."

"Still, that's the way we came."

"How's it possible Prophet? You said none could get past the guardians. What about the
Apocalypse?"

"Tis indeed, a sign," the Prophet said in a loud ringing voice, as his gaze shifted
nervously over Carole and her friends. "And most certainly one which requires careful study
before making any premature pronouncements. But I will tell ye this, Smithy. It could well be
that these four are a foretelling that the horsemen will soon be loosed upon the land."

The smithy stepped back. "Could they be the horsemen?"

"'Tis possible. Perhaps sent in disguise ta ferret out the wicked in our midst."

"Oh come on!" Carole muttered.

"Whatever ye be, 'tis certain that ye's a test sent ta catch us unawares and challenge our
purity and resolve," the Prophet bellowed. He lifted his face and arms skyward. "A challenge we
shall not fail!"

"Amen!" said the smithy.

"See to it the townsfolk know ta avoid these tempters." The Prophet turned on his heel
and stalked away. The smithy hurried after him.

"So what now?" Zack said.

"We still need those wire-cutters."

* * * *

A bespectacled man looked up from the counter and smiled as they entered the hardware
store. "Afternoon, kids. Nice ta see some fresh faces in town."

"Seems you're about the only one who thinks so." Carole stared out the window.

"Ah. I take it you've met the Prophet or Smithy."

"Both." Zack said.

"What's the story on that guy? He was saying some pretty weird stuff." Carole nudged
Martin who began to walk down the isles, looking over the merchandise.

"Well, that's a tale and a half. A tale and a half fer sure." Mr. Wilkins popped a licorice
stick into his mouth and held out the candy jar to Carole and the twins. "I guess it must be close
ta ten years by now, when the Prophet first came ta town. Back then he was just a down-and-out
drifter, whose only purpose seemed to be to rile up Bad Bart. Bart was sailor, though some say
pirate was closer to the mark, and he hated that drifter with a passion.

"On the day it happened, Bart caught himself a real foul mood and was determined ta
make the drifter accountable. So he jumped ship on the other side of the cove, snuck into town
and snagged the drifter completely unawares. Let me tell ya, that man squawked ta beat all, but it
did absolutely no good, 'cause he was caught surer than a beached whale at low tide.

"Then Bart hauled him over to the town well. I s'pose the drifter realized he was about ta
be pitched in, so he goes ramrod straight, points a finger at Bart and bellows, 'Judgment's a
coming and I say verily that ye, Bad Bart, and yer evil ways shall be torn asunder from this very
earth!' And that's when it happened."

"What?" Carole, Zack and Lilly spoke in unison.

"Some say they was devils; others say angels, but everyone agrees that out of nowhere, a
group of 'em appeared, snatched hold of Bart and vanished again. Then next thing ya know
there's this terrific flash and the well just sort of blows apart in a cloud of dust.

"Well sir, when that dust finally settled, there's the drifter, his arm still outstretched, his
finger still pointing. And on the ground in front of him was Bad Bart, or what was left him
anyway, dead as a doorknob.

"After that the drifter became known as the Prophet, and these days what the Prophet
says pretty much goes."

"I guess that's everything," Martin said dropping an armload of supplies onto the
counter.

* * * *

As they approached the edge of town, they saw a commotion up ahead. It was hard to
tell exactly what was happening, but one thing was certain. Runt was part of the excitement. He
and L'il Bart were running towards them at full speed.

As soon as they were within earshot, L'il Bart blurted out, "Some dogs sniffed him out
and roused a whole pack of farmers. Ya'd best hightail it out a here 'til things cool off
some."

"We can't go back that way!" Carole could see scores of farmers, armed with hoes and
rakes, streaming in from the fields.

"Head fer the harbor," Bart pointed to the bay. "Got us a secret clubhouse 'neath the
rotten wharf, just above the high tide mark. It smells a might, but ya can hide out there whilst I
gather up my gang ta help." Bart sped off, sporting a huge smile and obviously loving every
minute of this latest turn of events.

"Keep between us, Runt," Carole advised as they ran towards the water. But even before
they reached the first street, Runt was spotted and cries of "pig" began to ring out.

"Forget the wharf, we'll never make it." Zack ducked into an alley. The others followed
and soon they were zigzagging about, desperately trying to lose the gathering mob.

"The whole town must be after us!" Martin peered out from behind an outhouse.

"This way." Zack pointed towards another back street.

"There they are!" someone yelled from a distance.

They darted into the alley.

"We're trapped," Martin groaned, when villagers appeared at the other end. "There's no
way we can get away now."

"Maybe not us," Carole admitted. "Runt, scoot out of here before that crowd arrives.
Double back to the fields and wait for us by the edge of the forest. And keep an eye out for
dogs.

"Come on. Let's buy him some time!"

She ran into the street. Lilly and the boys joined her. Standing shoulder-to-shoulder,
they shielded Runt from the oncoming mob. He dashed down the street and vanished around the
corner.

The crowd surrounded the youths, waving rakes and fists, yelling about pigs and the
Apocalypse, and calling for the Prophet. They marched Carole and her friends to the center of
town. More people were gathered there. The Prophet stood among them, looking extremely
nervous.

"Now what's this all about?" he demanded shrilly.

"They brought a pig!" Smithy charged. "It was hiding on the outskirts of town all this
time."

"It's true."

"There was a pig."

"We saw it."

"You have a pig with ya?" The Prophet frowned, as if trying to appear stern, but he
came across sounding rather alarmed.

"He's my pet."

"Don't ya know that pigs are outlawed in this town? Don't ya know what they stand fer?
Do ya want to bring the Apocalypse down upon yer very own heads?"

"Maybe they's devils in disguise! Maybe they's in league with the devils that took Bad
Bart! Maybe they's a wantin' the Apocalypse!"

The words raced through the crowd like a grassfire. Many backed away. Others readied
their makeshift weapons.

"Now, now, good people. This is just another test, another sign ta prepare ourselves fer
the coming end. Do not be a'feared. "