Chapter 47
Howie Doyle’s flat
Friday 23rd October
7.59 a.m.
“What time is it?” asked Jodie, stepping out of Howie’s spare bedroom, her vision blurred by sleepy dust.
“Eight o’clock,” replied Markland, caressing a mug of coffee.
“How long do we have the hire car for?” said Howie.
“Two more days, but I don’t suppose it really matters how long we keep it.”
Howie looked at him inquisitively.
“Because soon we’ll be departing this world.”
Howie became perplexed.
“I’m referring to this parallel world. Hopefully we’ll soon be leaving this world and returning to our own.”
Howie relaxed and nodded.
Jodie poured herself a drink from Howie’s small coffee filter machine.
“So, gentlemen. What are our intentions? Do we have a plan?”
Not much had been discussed during the previous evening. The chore of swapping from one world to another, travelling halfway around the southwest of England and experiencing the improbabilities of parallel world hopping had sapped the last bit of energy from them. They had all been far too tired to think about the next day.
“We need to try again. We have to locate James and somehow get him back to where he belongs,” said Howie, “Although, I’ve no idea how we do that, I’ll leave that to you two experts,” he added.
“I think there’s only one thing we can do, which is to take a leap of faith. We return to the burial mound and hope something happens,” said Markland, before taking another mouthful of tepid coffee.
“What if we end up in a parallel world which is still the wrong one? I’m worried about getting so far away from our world, that we may never return,” said Jodie.
“Perhaps we should leave a trail of breadcrumbs, like in the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale,” said Howie glancing back and forth between them with a smirk.
“Do you feel any better today? You lost it a bit in Exeter,” asked Jodie.
Howie nodded.
“I was confused. I didn’t anticipate such a thing could actually happen. Even though the vision on the hill warned me about Dean Barrington-Smyth and Helena, I had been confident that we could march into the house, grab James, and return him to where he belongs. Also I felt stupid. The two of you made me look a fool by suggesting I was a mental case.”
“I’m sorry, Markland and I were thinking on our feet.”
“Okay, let’s chalk it up to experience and hope that today’s attempt is more successful,” said Markland.
They took it in turns to wash and change. Jodie and Markland’s clothes had dried from the soaking they’d received when they were caught in the downpour the other evening. Both were happy not to be wearing Howie’s cast offs.
Howie opened the door and glanced at his un-roadworthy Ford Fiesta. It was a reminder that although he felt he was at home, he wasn’t. The flat wasn’t really his, it belonged to another Howie Doyle. Although they’d shared the same memories, laughed at the same jokes and cried the same tears, they were different people living different lives. The life of the Howie, who lived in this flat had taken a different direction to the Howie who had burst into this world. He wondered what had happened to the Howie who lived here. Was the other Howie now in the parallel world from which he, Markland and Jodie had come, or had he branched off into a new unchartered world, never to return to this one? His muddled mind struggled to comprehend what was going on. But now he was in the thick of it and he was determined to see it through.
Howie shared the last of his cornflakes and passed the milk. The three of them ate in silence. All that could be heard was the steady munching of jaws.
“We need to bear in mind we have limited resources,” said Jodie after finishing her last spoonful.
“I’ve got about seventy pounds left after hiring the car, and we need to make that last. The Astra’s got three quarters of a tank, but we’re going to need to buy food,” added Markland.
“If we do end up in another parallel world, I guess we could always raid the petty cash tin again,” suggested Howie.
“You have a point,” said Jodie, “I guess that in another parallel world, the cash would still be in the school safe.”
Markland smirked to himself. The idea of him being an ex-policeman and becoming some kind of quantum world jumping criminal made him smile.
“Okay, let’s finish breakfast, then head over to the woods,” said Markland, taking his empty cereal bowl to the sink.
At just after eight thirty, Markland parked the hire car in exactly the same place he’d parked his own car on Wednesday evening. He wondered what was happening back in his world, and whether his car was still there. Perhaps it had been reported to the police. After all, it would had been on single yellow lines for two days. He dismissed the thought and concentrated on what they’d come here to do.
They stepped out of the car, and made their way to the entrance of the woods. Jodie noticed that the street lamp over the path wasn’t flickering, like it had in the world from which she’d come. It was a gentle reminder that although things seemed the same, they definitely weren’t.
They strolled past the tree which had been struck by lightning and headed towards the burial mound.
“Look, over there,” said Jodie pointing, “Howie’s right, the monument’s not there.”
Markland wandered in the direction of where the monument had been, and stopped at the bench. He sat down and looked at the hill. Most people would be in a state of disbelief after going through what he’d experienced, but little seemed to faze Markland. He’d learned to embrace the unknown. He couldn’t fight it, so had no choice but to go along with whatever the hill threw his way.
Jodie strolled over and sat beside him, whilst Howie ambled around the perimeter of the burial mound.
“Howie said something back at the flat, which I think was in jest, but it’s something I think we should consider,” said Jodie.
Markland threw her a glance.
“He said something about leaving a breadcrumb trail, so we could find our way back. I think he has a point. We don’t know how many parallel words we’re likely to end up in on our hunt for James. I don’t know about you, but I’m keen on getting back to the one I came from.”
“What do you propose?” asked Markland.
“I’m not sure, but perhaps we should leave some kind of marker to prove whether we’ve been to a world before….. or whether we haven’t.”
Markland didn’t speak, which urged Jodie to continue.
“I was thinking we could carve a mark into a tree, or perhaps into this bench,” she added, looking at the weathered seat on which they sat.
“It’s a good thought, but who’s to say that in another world this bench doesn’t exist. After all, there’s no steel monument here. You need to think of leaving a mark on something that’s constant. Something we can guarantee will be here in any world we may end up in.”
“How about that oak tree?” said Jodie, pointing to an ancient and venerable tree which was just beyond the burial mound.
“No, it can’t be relied on. The other tree, which was struck by lightning is a fine example why we can’t rely on that tree. Besides, in another world, it may have never grown in the first place.”
Jodie wasn’t keen on hopping from world to world, with no way of getting home. She closed her eyes and tried to think of something which was constant in all the worlds they were likely to end up in.
“The only constants I can think of are the sun and moon, and I don’t suppose they’ll be much help,” said Jodie.
Markland didn’t speak. He was mulling an idea over in his mind.
“There’s something else which should be in any parallel world and it’s staring us in the face,” said Markland looking forwards.
>
Jodie followed his gaze and realised he was referring to the burial mound.
“Of course she remarked, but what kind of marker could we leave on the hill?”
Markland was about to reply when Howie sauntered over.
“What are you two talking about?”
Jodie and Markland told him of their idea, based upon Howie’s suggestion of leaving a breadcrumb trail.
“I was only joking, I didn’t mean for you to take me seriously.”
“It’s a great idea. It’ll give us a point of reference to know which world we’re in. Markland suggested putting some kind of marker on the burial mound, as it’s likely to be in every parallel world we end up in.”
“Jeepers Jodie, just how many worlds are we likely to end up in?”
“I’ve no idea, but worlds could be infinite and it’s possible we could end up bursting in and out of many.”
“We need to leave some kind of mark which can’t be erased, so if we return from another world it will still be there. That’s the only way this could work,” added Markland.
They sat in silence and concentrated on Howie’s breadcrumb idea.
Howie cast his mind back to the evening he visited the burial mound and scooped the bagful of soil. He jumped up from the bench, causing Markland and Jodie to flinch.
“I think I’ve got it! Follow me.”
Markland and Jodie trailed behind Howie, who jogged to the hill and scurried to the top. It took him a few seconds to find what he was looking for. Markland and Jodie caught up to find Howie on his hands and knees.
“It’s still here,” said Howie. He removed moveable earth and grit to expose a large rock embedded in the top of the burial mound.
“I remember this boulder from when I came here alone a few nights ago. It’s in this world and it’s in the world we came from.”
“This thing’s huge. I can’t imagine it going anywhere soon,” said Markland, disturbing the soil around the rock with the toe of his shoe. “I think Howie’s found our marker. Now all we need to do is leave some kind of sign on it. Something which will identify whether we’ve been to this world or not.”
“Let’s number it,” suggested Jodie. “If we mark this stone as number one, we’ll know which world this is. We’ll number each world consecutively, and that can be our breadcrumb trail.”
Howie searched his pockets and pulled out his pen knife. He bent down and scratched the Roman numeral ‘one’ into the sandstone boulder.
“Good job,” said Markland, before turning and making his way back down the hill towards the bench. Jodie followed him, whilst Howie stood by the boulder admiring his handiwork. Howie was struck by a thought.
Markland and Jodie saw Howie making his way towards them.
“Hey, hey, I don’t think this will work. My breadcrumb idea won’t work.”
“Why not?” asked Jodie and Markland in unison.
“Because when, or if, we get back to our world, there’ll be no marker on the boulder. We should have marked the boulder in our world with a sign. How will we ever know if we return to our world?”
Howie had a very good point. If they marked the boulder in each world, they would never know if they were in the world from which they’d all come.
“I know, I’ve got it,” said Jodie, ambling away from the bench and towards the oak tree. “There are certain things that we know of in our world, which are likely to be different in other ones.”
“Such as?” said Markland.
“Our mobile phones, our cash cards. They are likely only to work in our world,” she said turning her head towards the entrance of the woods. “And the street lamp at the beginning of the path. It flickered in our world. Here it’s on, and it doesn’t annoyingly flash on and off.”
“She’s right, and if we’re lucky, my car will be parked just where I left it on Wednesday.”
“I think there are plenty of markers in our world for us to……”
Jodie was interrupted mid-sentence, and let out a muffled scream.
Howie and Markland looked up to see a man who appeared to have come from nowhere. He wore a black leather coat, white T-shirt and jeans. He had a grey beard and his face bore the scars of a long ago bout of acne. The man grabbed Jodie and pulled her towards the hill. She tried to call out, but the man had his hand over her mouth as he dragged her up the side of the hill. Howie and Markland ran towards Jodie as the man hauled her to the top of the burial mound. He stood atop the hill, and held her close with his hand still clasped over her mouth. Howie and Markland stopped when they reached the bottom of the hill. Jodie looked terrified as she tried to wriggle free.
“Don’t come any closer, or I’ll kill her,” shouted the man.
Markland recognised the man, but from where he wasn’t sure. He was too concerned about Jodie to work out who the man was. Cautiously, he edged forward.
“I said don’t come any closer.”
Markland weighed up the situation. The man holding Jodie was large in stature, but a little over weight. He was certain he and Howie could overcome him and release Jodie from his grip. He looked to his right and saw Howie poised and ready to sprint up the hill. They threw each other a knowing glance, aware of what the other was thinking. Markland nodded, mouthed the word ‘now’, and the two men dashed towards Jodie and the man.
They made it three quarters of the way up the hill, but were hit with such a force that both men fell backwards and tumbled to the bottom. What felt like a tornado, had quite literally lifted them from their feet and thrown them off balance.
Markland scrambled to his feet and attempt to try again. Howie lay crumbled on the floor and watched the man wrestle with Jodie. She fought hard to escape his hold on her.
Markland didn’t even get one foot on the base of the hill, before what felt like a force nine gale whipped around and prevented him from getting any closer to Jodie. He called her name and watched her mouth something to him. He couldn’t make out what she was trying to say. Her clothes bellowed in the wind, and the man’s coat lifted behind him as if it were a cape.
Howie watched and noticed that throughout Jodie’s ordeal everything was silent. There was no roar of wind, nor could her voice be heard. It was as if she was calling for help from behind an invisible force.
Markland was not giving up. He remained on his feet and pushed against the hurricane force storm which grew in intensity. The more he struggled, the more it had a silent stranglehold upon him, making it difficult for him to breathe.
And then everything stopped.
Markland fell forward, facedown upon the side of the hill. Before he regained his composure, he was aware of Howie’s voice calling Jodie’s name at the top of his lungs.
Markland saw that Jodie and the man had gone. There was absolutely no trace that they were ever there.
Howie sprinted past Markland to the top of the hill. He wore an expression similar to a confused child who’d been shown a magic trick.
“What happened, where did she go?”
Markland climbed to his knees and looked up at Howie and the empty space around him.
“He’s taken her,” whispered Markland, stating the obvious below his breath. He climbed the hill and stood beside Howie.
The two men surveyed the area in silence, and wondered whether they’d ever see Jodie Standwick again.