Jimble nodded and sighed, 'It is strange, very strange but they are not here here.'
Declan gave them a quick nod and split them up into two groups. 'Lana and Emma, you go with Sammy to see if you can find the school and we'll head to the Parish Council. We'll wait there for you to return. Okay, got it?' he asked as the group nodded and they went their separate ways.
'Don't you think it's weird that the trolls have suddenly disappeared?' asked Sammy as they walked away from their vehicles, leaving Amber and Sara to keep an eye on them.
'I know,' Emma said, 'something's not right.'
'Not right, not right,' muttered Jimble.
'So where do you think this school will be?' asked Lana as they approached a small parish church to their right where a funeral had been taking place before everything had stopped earlier that day.
The girls and Jimble stopped momentarily, almost as if to pay their respects to the person who had died.
'It's a bummer Nisha isn't here. She could probably have gotten all the info we need from the ghosts,' Lana said as they carried on walking.
'Yeah but Nisha is frozen in time too, remember?'
'I'd forgotten about that.'
'I take it Nisha is one of your friends, a Watcher too?' Sammy asked as they crossed the road.
Emma nodded, 'She was the first one of us to be frozen. It happened in the Box Tunnel, it was awful.'
'In the Box Tunnel you say? They froze her in the Box Tunnel, Tunnel?' Jimble asked, stopping and stroking his chin.
'Strange strange,' he muttered.
'Why is it strange?' asked Sammy.
'Because, because all the pixie trolls were summoned out of the tunnel before any of this happened happened. The only one of us left there was Ethelle and she cannot leave leave.'
'So, you're saying it can't have been one you guys that did that to her?'
Jimble shook his head before shrugging his shoulders, 'I don't know know, I don't know anything anymore anymore.'
'This is getting weirder and weirder,' Lana whispered as they approached a school gate.
'Do you think this is it?' asked Sammy.
Emma shrugged her shoulders, 'Well, if it is, it's got a different name now. Let's go in and have a snoop around.'
'I shall wait outside, outside,' Jimble said, raising his eyebrows.
'Oh, we should have brought your bubble,' Lana said.
'Okay, not a problem, not a problem.'
'We'll be quick,' Emma said as they disappeared inside the building, leaving him sitting on the grass cleaning his fingernails.
The main office was easy to find. There behind the desk, stood a middle aged woman with a pencil behind one ear and a telephone held up to the other. A large filing cabinet stood in the corner of the room.
Sammy began to shuffle through the paperwork, hoping to find a clue.
'These are all current student files,' she sighed.
'I can't see anything that would suggest it was even this school,' said Lana as she went through a load of old school newspapers. 'I don't even know what I'm looking for...'
'Over here,' Emma suddenly shouted from the hallway. 'Look,' she pointed to a number of plaques and old framed photos on the wall.
'This is from 1937. It was a cricket match between the Brockenhurst School for Boys and Lyndhurst School for Boys. That means it IS this school,' she clapped.
'So now we just need to track down their really old student records,' Lana moaned as Emma continued scouring the images on the wall.
'No,' she giggled, 'Look, this one has all the student names on it but I don't see anything with Geoffrey or Rudolph.'
'You might not but I do,' Sammy exclaimed a little further down the corridor as she looked at an old class picture on the wall. 'Brothers Geoffrey and Rudolph Bottomley!'
'Really?' asked Lana. 'You found their surname! That's brilliant. Let's head back to Declan and let him know.'
Almost skipping down the hallway, the three girls rushed through the main entrance door to find Jimble missing.
'Jimble? Jimble?' they shouted.
After a couple of minutes of frantic searching, the pixie troll appeared, ambling down the hill towards them, whistling.
'Jimble, you scared us to death,' Emma shouted.
'I did? I did? Sorry, Emma, sorry sorry,' he muttered as they approached him.
'Where did you go? We told you to stay here,' said Lana as she put her hands on her hips.
'Sorry sorry I said, sorry. I went back to the graveyard graveyard.'
'Why?' Sammy asked.
'Something strange there, something strange.'
'What do you mean?' Emma asked with her eyebrows knitted together.
'Something... supernatural supernatural,' he whispered.
'Then you shouldn't have gone on your own,' scolded Lana. 'Come on, let's get out of here. Now which way is the Parish Council?'
'Shouldn't we go and investigate the graveyard?' asked Sammy.
Lana raised her eyebrows, 'You've only been a Watcher one day and already you want to head towards potential danger?'
Sammy shrugged her shoulders, put her fingernail in her mouth and said nothing.
'Maybe we should get back to Declan first, then go and check it out?' suggested Emma.
oOo
'It's too vague. We'll never find them at this rate,' Elliott said as they went through file after file trying to track down the two boys.
'Yeah I know what you mean,' said Daisy from the adjacent room.
'Maybe the others are having more luck,' Declan said quietly as he tried to get into the computer but failed. 'Shame Imran isn't here,' he tutted. 'I never was much good with computers.'
'Declan!' yelled a voice from outside.
Running to the window he pushed it open ad peered out.
Looking up were Lana, Emma, Sammy and Jimble all grinning happily.
'You found something?' he asked.
'Yup... they were called Geoffrey and Rudolph Bottomley,' they said proudly.
Declan smiled and closed the window.
'We got a name!' he said to the others. 'Look up Bottomley.'
Leaving Sammy with Jimble outside, Lana and Emma rushed up the steps and into the building.
'Well? Anything?' Lana asked excitedly.
'Nope, not yet,' Elliott replied.
'I've got something!' Daisy shouted from the other room. Everyone dropped what they were doing and headed in to see what she'd discovered.
Phillip James Bottomley, father to twins Geoffrey and Rudolph and husband to Beatrice Honor. They lived at a place called Mayhead Manor in Lyndhurst.
'We drove past it on the way in to the village. It's really close,' Elliott said. 'It's a huge place.'
'I wonder if it's still in the same family,' pondered Emma.
'It's worth checking out. Come on, let's go. Great work people,' Declan said as they rushed out of the building and back down the steps to Jimble and Sammy.
'Declan, Jimble said there's something strange going on at the graveyard. Do you think we should check it out?'
Stopping for a moment to think, Declan nodded and they changed direction to head towards the small parish church where the funeral was in mid-flow. Well, kind of.
As they arrived, they walked slowly up the steps, each one keeping a close eye out for any enemy action. But there didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary.
'Jimble? What's going on?' whispered Emma.
Scrunching his eyes up and holding his head, the pixie troll suddenly dropped to the ground unconscious.
'Jimble,' yelled Emma as she bent down to grab him.
'No, Emma!' Lana screeched from across the pathway. 'Don't touch him!'
Emma stopped herself just millimetres from his head and yanked her hand away.
'You can only touch him when he knows you're going to touch him,' she murmured. 'That was too close for comfort. What happened?' Lana asked as the rest of the gang rushed to his side.
'I d
on't know, he just suddenly passed out,' Emma cried.
'Don't worry, Sis. We'll figure it out.'
'Elliott, take Daisy and run back and get the Range Rover. We'll have to use the catch poles to get him back into the car.'
Emma looked horrified.
'Sorry, Em but it's the only way,' he said as he suddenly looked around suspiciously.
'Guys, get close. We're not alone,' he whispered as two people appeared from within the church wearing long white robes.
'Stand back,' Declan said to the others as he stood up to his full height and faced the strangers. 'Who are you?'
Both of them stopped and slowly turned to face him. They removed their hoods to reveal bald heads with black tattoos inked across them.
'Neutrals,' whispered Declan.
'What are they?' asked Lana.
'Neither good nor evil. I reckon we should be safe with them.'
Declan nodded his head to them as they approached. They slowly returned his nod and stopped.
'Why did you knock the little guy out?' he asked.
'He is the source of this problem,' the first Neutral said, his voice long and hollow.
'No!' yelled Emma, 'He isn't. He's been helping us.'
The one who spoke turned to look at Emma blankly before looking at his comrade, who then opened his mouth to speak.
'He is the source of this problem.'
'What? Is that all you can say?' Lana replied, clenching her fists.
'What we're trying to say is,' Declan interrupted, 'we are well aware that the pixie trolls have been causing some problems but they aren't the source. He has been helping us. The source of this problem is the Temporal Stone.'
The Neutrals both raised their eyebrows at the exact same time, nodded and looked at each other. They seemed to communicate without saying a word.
Declan turned momentarily to the girls and shook his head, 'It's okay,' he whispered.
'The Temporal Stone?' they said in unison.
Declan nodded. 'We're trying to track it down so we can find it, and find whoever is truly responsible.'
The Neutrals nodded, 'Then we shall leave you to continue with your task. Your friend is quite alright. He has been returned to consciousness... without his power.'
'You can stop their powers?' Lana gasped.
The Neutrals smiled and their faces changed completely, becoming warm and inviting.
'We have neutralised it.'
'But how? Is there a way we can neutralise all of the pixie trolls? Well, not neutralise them as such,' Lana asked.
Emma looked up at her sister, horrified.
'I mean, neutralise their ability to freeze people,' she said nervously.
'I'm afraid you cannot, little girl. Only we have the power to neutralise. But fear not, our kind have been busy travelling the country and neutralising as many of these creatures as we can. There are few left with the power to stop time,' they said together. 'We have one city left - London. Our brother and sisters are almost there now. The pixie trolls will be soon at peace.'
This time, Emma gasped, 'But, you're not... killing them, are you?' she cringed.
Turning to look at her, the two strange bald-headed guys smiled and tilted their heads. 'Kill? We have not killed them, we have merely neutralised their power to stop time.'
'But you knocked Jimble out. How long are they unconscious for?' Sammy asked.
The Neutrals looked at the wavy haired girl and both took a step backwards. 'A new Watcher?'
'Huh?' she replied.
One of the Neutrals lifted his hand toward her and she dodged it. He smiled.
'Fear not, little girl. I have just never met a Watcher with your capabilities. You can communicate with both plants and animals. That will be a very useful trait to have.'
'Plants and animals?' she whispered.
'You did not know about the animals?'
She shook her head.
'When you have found the Temporal Stone, when the world returns to normal, you will see.'
'We wish you luck on your journey,' they then said to Declan before putting their hoods back on top of their heads and turning to walk away.
'Thank you!' yelled Emma as they watched them disappear down the steps and around the corner.
'What was all that about?' Lana said, her mouth dropped open in disbelief. 'Sammy, you can communicate with plants and animals -that's such an awesome power to have!'
Sammy, who was still in shock herself, didn't say a word as Declan grinned at her just as Jimble began to mutter something.
'Oooh, aaaah, oooh, aaaah, my back, my back. What happened, what happened?'
Emma bent down and helped the little guy up on to his feet.
'You've been neutralised, old boy,' said Declan with a chuckle.
'Huh? huh?' grumbled Jimble.
CHAPTER 19
Mayhead Manor was a huge, striking Georgian manor house with countless windows overlooking vast acres of beautifully kept green lawns and immaculate gardens, both in front and at the back of the property.
Right next to the massive gates at the bottom of the drive was a smaller entrance for pedestrians. The group walked through it and headed towards the house.
There were two gardeners. One sat on top of a ride-on lawn mower, leaving behind perfect lines across the green grass. The second man stood with hedge trimmers in one hand, the other placed on his lower back, mid-stretch.
The group ignored the frozen men and continued past them to the front door.
'It's locked,' Declan said and they followed him round to the back door, which was ajar. Pushing it to, they walked inside. Elliott whistled.
'Nice place,' said Declan.
'There's an office over there,' Sammy said as she spotted a large mahogany desk beyond another doorway.
'Then that's where we should look first,' Declan said.
Piled on top of the desk was a large amount of mail. The moment Declan set eyes on it, he grinned.
'Look, here's a picture of the boys. I recognise them from the school,' said Sammy. 'The house is still in the family.'
'Yep, and here's some mail to prove it,' Declan said as he held up a letter with the name Geoffrey Hugo Bottomley on it. 'Geoffrey still lives here.'
'You're right about that,' said a deep voice from behind a door that creaked open, revealing a tall thin elderly gentleman carrying a shotgun aimed directly at Declan.
'Who are you and what are you doing in my house?' growled the man with short thick white hair.
'Easy, easy,' said Declan with his hands in the air.
'We're here to help. I know it looks a bit suspicious but honestly, we're here to help.'
The old man's blue eyes seemed to darken.
'I've encountered your kind before. I'm not taken in so easily. Who are you?' he asked again.
'We're Watchers,' whispered Emma.
Declan tutted and rolled his eyes.
'W...Watchers?' the old man said.
Emma nodded, 'Look,' she said as she turned and pulled up her sweater to reveal her black tattoo of a winged eye with the words Lux in Tenebris Lucet written underneath.
'I have it too,' Lana said, glancing down at her dress and blushing.
'And me,' said Daisy.
'Me too,' quipped Elliott.
'We all do,' Declan said louder than the rest. 'And I'm betting you have one too?'
The old man lowered the shotgun just slightly.
'What do you want?'
'We're trying to track down the people responsible for stopping time so we can put a stop to them.'
'Why my house?' he grumbled.
'Because it involves a missing artefact. An artefact you and your brother found when you were little boys.'
The old man stumbled slightly, lowering the shotgun to his side. Catching his breath, he whispered, 'How do you know about that?'.
'We know because we're Watchers. We've been to the Tree of Tonuka.'
The man looked blank.
'I
t's an ancient tree where the artefact was buried. It's the tree where you found it.'
The man gulped and staggered.
Emma and Lana rushed to his side. He jerked away from them until he looked into their eyes and saw nothing but kindness. Leaning on them, he let them lead him to the large blue sofa that stood in the corner of the room.
Gently placing him down, Sammy noticed a pitcher of water and a glass on the desk. With her hands shaking, she poured some into a glass and turned to hand it to him. He took it with a weak smile.
After taking a long drink, he looked at them all.
'You're so... young,' he said. 'Well, most of you.'
Declan smiled and sat down beside him.
'They're students, learning the craft of being true Watchers. You'll be amazed at what they can do. They're pretty amazing.'
The teenagers grinned and looked across at each other proudly.
'Tell me, what do you need to know? I'll do everything I can to help you return life to some kind of normality around here.'
oOo
The Watchers followed the old man through the grand house where ornate wooden cabinets were carefully placed along walls that had been painted pastel blues and yellows. White ceilings contained intricate ceiling roses while the floors were covered with brightly coloured rugs on top of wooden floorboards. A large, gilded grandfather clock stood silent in the far corner of the hallway.
As they walked through room after room, they eventually came to a closed door. Geoffrey fumbled with a set of keys that he'd removed from his pocket until he eventually managed to put one of them into the keyhole.
Taking a deep breath, the elderly man slowly walked inside.
'Mind your heads and do watch these steps, they're quite treacherous.'
The door led to a basement, deep in the heart of the house. But it wasn't dark and dingy like many basements, this one was clean and brightly lit.
Sitting at the heart of the room was a large desk much like the one they'd seen upstairs, but it was what surrounded it that surprised the group. Shelves upon shelves littered the walls of the huge room below the house and each shelf was full of strange items, some in bottles of liquid, others in dry jars. There were also several filing cabinets overflowing with paperwork, just like the desk that was covered in papers that had clearly been there for years without being touched. A layer of dust had settled on everything, making Sammy sneeze.