'What's going on?' he asked as he began to shake. 'This hasn't happened before. I don't get it.'
'It's okay, Imran,' reassured Moira.
'No, it's not. You've all still got your powers, haven't you?'
The others nodded.
'Then why has mine gone?' he asked, removing his cap and turning it around and around in his hands. Looking down, he glanced at his watch. It had stopped that morning at 9.57am.
Looking back up to his classmates, he grabbed Moira's wrist, her watch had stopped at the exact same moment. Moving forward he lifted Diarmuid's arm to see that his watch had also stopped. All the others began to follow suit, looking at the time on their watches. Everyone's watch showed the same time in the morning.
Shayne rushed out of the living room and into the hallway where he peered at the grandfather clock. It had stopped at precisely 9.57.
'I can't believe I didn't notice it before…' Shayne said, shaking his head in disbelief.
'The trolls haven't frozen everyone, they've frozen time.'
'But what does that mean?' asked Lana, confused.
'The one good thing about this is that when we finally sort it all out, the humans won't know anything ever happened. We won't have a huge, countrywide panic to sort out,' he grinned.
'Well woop de doo,' said Lana. 'And in the meantime, we've got to stop these killer trolls before they cause even more mayhem.'
Shayne chuckled at her before he looked at Declan, who shrugged his shoulders with a smile.
'You've got some unique ones this year, my man.'
'Tell me about it,' laughed Declan as Lana suppressed a giggle.
Changing the subject back to his own problem, Imran interrupted them, 'But what has this got to do with my power disappearing?'
Clapping him on his shoulder, Shayne faced him, 'There is no time for you to manipulate. Sorry, my man.'
Imran chewed the inside of his cheek as he thought about his predicament before muttering, 'So basically, I'm pretty useless then.' He plopped himself down on an armchair feeling sorry for himself.
'Of course you're not useless, Imran,' offered the rest of the group, but it made little difference. It was the first time in months that he'd felt like - well - like a human and not the half angel that he really was.
'Don't worry, we'll sort it out. And remember, you're a Watcher. Your ability to time travel is just one of your many talents, the others will appear eventually. Just give it time,' Declan reassured him.
'Time? It looks like we've got all the time in the world,' said Rupert as the sound of propellers could be heard in the distance.
'The chopper!' yelled Shayne happily. 'They found one!'
CHAPTER 5
Landing safely on the green grass at the back of the Royal Crescent, the blades of the helicopter began to slow.
The two young women on board, Sara and Amber, were about to exit when Amber spotted something strange at the window of their home.
A large white sheet was being held up. Squinting, she could just make out the words messily scribbled on it.
TROLLS. STAY ON THE CHOPPER!!
'Wait,' she yelled to Sara just as she was about to open the door. Leaning across her, Amber grabbed the handle and pulled it closed.
'What? What are you doing?'
'Look,' Amber pointed towards the building.
'Trolls? Oh Jesus. What do we do now?'
'We stay put until Shayne figures something out.'
oOo
'Can we make a run for it?' asked Liam.
'Maybe... but only the ones who can run seriously fast. That's you and...'
'Me,' said Cassie as she stepped forward with a grin, her hand on her hip.
'Okay then, it's decided. You and Cassie head to the helicopter, the girls can fly you to London and you can get help from Eleanor. We'll just have to stay here and wait,' Declan said as the two began to prepare themselves to run through what could potentially be an invisible barrier of pixie trolls.
'We could do with a diversion, really,' suggested Shayne as they all stood looking out the window.
'I wonder if they're affected by electricity?' pondered Diarmuid as he turned to look out the window. 'Maybe I could try and send out an electrical force field while Cassie and Liam make a run for it?'
'Actually, that's not a bad idea,' nodded Declan. 'Yeah, let's do it. I just wish we could let the girls know what's going on.'
'Oh! Well I could do that,' offered Ava. 'I can place my thoughts in their heads, remember?'
He nodded with a smile. 'Do it.'
'Sara, Amber. My name's Ava, I'm one of the students from London. We're trapped inside because we can't see where the trolls are due to their power of invisibility. Diarmuid, one of my classmates, is going to send out an electrical force field in a moment. We're hoping it will distract the trolls enough so that Liam and Cassie can run out to you in time. The four of you need to fly to London to get the info we need from Eleanor. I'm sorry about invading your thoughts but it was the only way. Do you copy?' she thought, before adding, 'Erm, sorry, I can't actually hear your thoughts but Declan can,' she chuckled quietly.
'Copy that, Ava and Declan. We're ready. Good luck guys,' Amber thought back.
'Gotcha, Ava. Good luck,' thought Sara.
'Okay, they're ready,' Declan said just as they heard the helicopter's engine purr into motion again.
'Good luck,' Ava whispered to Liam as he leant forward and kissed her quickly on the lips.
Standing by the front door, Diarmuid took a deep breath before Shayne pulled it open and nodded. Holding out his arms, he flicked his hands so they were wide open, releasing the awesome power of electricity. It was like a massive bolt of lightning, shattering the calmness of the day. As the force field moved forward, Declan grinned as the sound of hundreds of panicked voices filled his head.
'It's working,' he yelled, 'I can hear them.'
'I see them,' yelled Rupert. 'Look,' he pointed as one by one, the trolls seemed to flicker in and out of invisibility. The electricity was temporarily stunning them.
'Now, go now!' shouted Declan as Diarmuid quickly moved aside, allowing Cassie and Liam to rush through the doorway.
They watched as the couple moved at the speed of light. Cassie arrived first, climbing aboard the helicopter with ease, her blonde curls bouncing around her face. As she sat down, Sara turned to high-five her with a grin.
Liam was almost there when an ugly little creature suddenly revealed itself, right in his path. Before Liam had the chance to do a thing, it poked him in the leg. The instant he was touched, Liam became just like the rest of the frozen club, stopped in time.
'No!' Ava cried out in shock as she watched his body become eerily still.
'Ava, you must calm down,' Declan said, 'You need to tell the girls to go, they'll have to leave him. Tell them to leave him,' he ordered.
With tears pouring down her face, she reluctantly nodded and passed on the message to Amber and Sara.
Moments later, the helicopter began to lift into the air. Cassie's shocked face could be seen peering through the window as it disappeared into the distance.
The rest of the group looked on as Liam was left alone, standing dead still, mid-run, on the grass below.
'Poor Liam,' said Lana as she gently hugged Ava and led her away from the window so she didn't have to watch her frozen boyfriend stuck out there with those little monsters.
'We need to get him back inside,' Rupert said sadly, but Shayne shook his head, 'I'm sorry, but we can't. From what we've seen so far, the trolls are only freezing people, they're not actually harming them. He'll be okay out there. He'll have to be - for now.'
Taking a deep breath, Rupert flopped back down onto the sofa next to Lana, Emma and Diarmuid. They all looked utterly helpless.
'I'll go make us a cup of tea,' offered Moira as she walked out of the room, rubbing her eyes. In the kitchen, she put the kettle on and grabbed the closest teapot. Looking up while she waited fo
r the water to boil, she caught her reflection in the mirror on the wall. Her eyes were red. She removed her glasses, putting them down on the worktop. Rubbing her eyes just as the kettle clicked off, she picked it up and began to pour hot water into the pot. Glancing upwards, she caught sight of herself again and dropped the hot kettle, letting it crash to the floor.
Ignoring it, she moved closer to the mirror and gasped at the sight of her eyes. Her usual brown eyes weren't looking back at her. Instead, they shone silver. She gulped and grabbed her glasses. Putting them back on, she turned back to the mirror only to find the same old reflection that she always saw.
'Are you okay, Moira? We heard something smash?' Lana said as she rushed into the room with Emma and Declan.
'I'm… I'm fine, I just dropped the kettle that's all. I'm fine.'
Looking down, Lana bent to pick it up.
'But Moira… you've got water splashed all over your legs. Are you sure you're okay?'
Looking slightly confused, Moira smiled and took the kettle out of her hands.
'Honestly, I'm fine. I didn't feel a thing. Here, do you want to take the cups out?'
CHAPTER 6
'Why aren't they trying to get inside?' whispered Lana later that afternoon as the sky grew darker with thunderous storm clouds.
'I've no idea. Maybe they have to be invited?'
'What? They're not vampires, Em.'
Emma shrugged, 'Well… you never know. Why else wouldn't they come and get us?'
This time Lana shrugged as Shayne turned up the thermostat on the central heating.
'It's chilly today,' he said just as Ava let out a sob in the corner of the room, making everyone go quiet as they thought about Liam out in the miserable weather.
'At least the cloud cover is offering a little protection from the cold,' reassured Moira with a yawn.
'Why don't you have a nap, Moira? You never know, maybe you'll learn something we need to know in your dreams?' suggested Lana.
'Good idea,' she replied, closing her eyes and nodding off with her head resting on the side of the sofa.
'You've certainly got some interesting students with fascinating powers this year, Declan. I wish I'd have met them under different circumstances. I had a great day planned for you all,' Shayne smiled.
'Oh yeah? What were we going to do?' asked Emma who was curled up on the soft carpet by Diarmuid's legs.
'Well, we've heard some rumours about strange occurrences on the Pulteney Bridge and we were planning on investigating that. to start with.'
'What kind of strange occurrences?' asked Imran quietly.
'Just hauntings, mainly. Nothing serious. It would have been something light and easy for you guys to get your teeth into… to start with, anyway,' Shayne smiled.
'We'd also planned a trip to the Roman Baths for lunch… not that we were investigating anything there, we just figured we'd take you somewhere a bit special for a bite to eat. After that, we were intending to take you into the centre where, in recent months, several people have reported seeing a pair of glowing red eyes staring at them at night. We're thinking possible werewolf but there have been no attacks as yet. Bath Abbey was another place to take you as well, as that's been haunted by monks for years.' Shayne sniggered to himself before continuing, 'And lastly, we were thinking about taking you to the area around Abbey Church where the spirit of a naked man has been seen on numerous occasions. It's about time he was passed over, to preserve his modesty.'
Lana perked up, 'A naked man?' she asked as Emma laughed at her sudden interest.
'Why haven't you solved any of these hauntings?' asked a curious Penny.
'We just haven't had the time. We've been working on more serious crimes lately.'
'What kind of crimes?'
'Have you heard of The Skulls?' Shayne asked, looking around the room.
'Heard of them? We've met some of them,' Lana shuddered.
Shayne nodded, 'So you're well aware how dangerous they can be?'
Everyone nodded.
'Well, the Skulls are becoming more and more troublesome, not just around these parts but elsewhere in the country too. We've been picking up the pieces, so to speak.'
Moira suddenly kicked out from the sofa and began to whimper, sobbing in her sleep. After a couple of minutes, the sobbing became louder and she began to lash out with her arms and legs.
Declan stood up and walked over to her. He gently shook her arm, 'Moira? Moira, wake up,' he whispered but she refused to come to.
Her body was beginning to shake uncontrollably. It was almost like she was having some kind of seizure.
'Something's wrong,' said Declan.
He shook her more firmly but nothing would wake her.
'Diarmuid, I'm sorry to ask you but she's going to need jolting awake. Can you give her a gentle shock?'
Nodding at his mentor, Diarmuid scooted over and placed his hand on hers. He gulped before releasing a jolt of electricity. They waited as her breathing began to slow down and she stopped shaking, but she still didn't wake up.
'What's that?' asked Emma as she noticed something on her arm beneath her sleeve.
Declan lifted the sleeve of her jumper to reveal a sore, red gash, oozing silver fluid.
'I'm not sure. Has she mentioned this to any of you before?'
'Not lately. Although she was slightly injured that night in Abney Park but she said it wasn't anything to worry about.'
'Injured? How was she injured?'
Lana and Emma shook their heads and shrugged their shoulders.
'Shayne, does this look familiar to you?'
As he stood up to take a closer look, Shayne's eyes grew wider and he nodded.
'She's been bitten, Declan.'
'Bitten?' said Lana, 'By what?'
'A Skull.'
oOo
It had taken quite a few weeks to take its toll on Moira's body, but she now had Skull poison flowing through her veins. And if she wasn't treated fairly quickly, Moira would start to change… and not for the better.
Gently placed in a bed upstairs, the Watchers took their turn keeping an eye on her as the strange, fitful sleep continued to plague her.
'What can we do?' asked Emma as Diarmuid took his turn at Moira's bedside.
'There's not a lot we can do at the moment. Not while we're trapped in here by the trolls,' Shayne replied.
'But if we could get out, what is the best way to treat Moira? Is it with antibiotics or something like that?'
Declan sat down at the oval dining table, next to Shayne, Lana and Emma while the other Watchers slept in the living room.
'I'm afraid antibiotics would have little effect on her, Emma. Moira needs to be treated at the Praxos hospital.'
'I've never heard of that before. Where is it?' asked Lana, resting her chin on her hands.
'It's in Arundel.'
'Arundel? Where's Arundel?' asked Emma.
'West Sussex,' he replied.
'We need the helicopter back,' she said.
'I know, but we can't reach them, unless Ava's ability will stretch that far?' Shayne wondered.
'I doubt she's that strong yet. Maybe in a couple of years perhaps, but not yet. You forget she's only 16, Shayne,' said Declan.
'I guess you're right.'
'I'm afraid there's nothing we can do but sit it out and hope that Moira's condition doesn't worsen before the chopper gets back.'
'This sucks,' said Rupert as he walked into the dining room, stretching his arms and yawning. He walked over to the window and flicked the curtain to one side. Rain had just started to splash against the glass.
A crack of thunder made them all jump, Emma especially, as until recently she would have been cowering under the table with fear of storms and all that they entailed.
'Hang on a minute,' said Imran who had wandered sleepily into the room, 'If time has been frozen, how come the weather is changing? Surely it should stay put too?' he asked.
'Sorry, but I've no idea wh
at's going on out there,' Declan answered.
As the rain began to pour, Rupert continued to stare out the back of Royal Crescent.
'Hey… I can see them!' he said suddenly. 'The rain - the rain's making it possible to see their outlines. There's hundreds of the little blighters. Look…'
The others rushed to his side to watch as the outlines of the pixie trolls clearly became visible beneath the now constant downpour of rain.
The pixie trolls had the back of the building surrounded.
Emma rushed through the house looking for a window that looked out onto the opposite side of the building. Several of the bedroom windows did and she smiled to herself when she realised there were no trolls there.
'Hey!' she shouted, 'Shayne, is there another way out of this place?'
'There's a front and a back door,' he replied as he approached her, 'Why?'
'Because the trolls are only out by the grass. Look,for some reason they're not on the other side of the house.'
'Hmm, that's interesting,' he said, stroking his goatee.
'I wonder…' he rushed away from her and down the stairs until he reached what was actually the front door - they'd entered the back door earlier.
Peering through the letterbox, he watched as the rain poured from above. 'You're right, I don't see any. The car is parked just over there,' he said, pointing to a black Range Rover in front of the building. 'Perhaps someone could take Moira and drive to Arundel. I know it's risky but she's very ill and she really does need treatment as soon as possible.'
oOo
So focussed had they been on the back of the Royal Crescent and Royal Victoria Park that no-one had even thought that the front of the property might be free of trolls. Declan drew straws on who would accompany him and Moira to the hospital in Arundel. Lana, Elliott and Emma drew the short ones.
'The rest of you must stay here with Shayne. Stay safe indoors until the helicopter returns and then do whatever Eleanor instructs you to do. Ava, I know it's a long shot but try and stay in communication with us. I know the further we go, the harder it is, but if you could shoot me a thought every 15 minutes, we'll try and stay in touch, okay? At least for as long as possible.'