'Perhaps it was someone on the train that caused it?' asked Moira quietly.
'But we checked through all the carriages. Everyone was under that weird statue spell,' Lana replied.
'I can't see anything untoward. I think we should get off the train and try and get to a spot where we can use our phones,' Declan suggested. 'I'll lead, with Emma behind me for light. Liam and Diarmuid, you follow behind the rest of the gang and keep an eye out. Come on, let's go.'
The teenagers and their mentor carefully climbed down from the train and slowly began to walk through the dark tunnel towards daylight.
It was damp, dark and cold.
After a couple of minutes, Nisha suddenly stopped, causing Penny to crash into her.
'Oops, sorry. What's up? Nisha, are you okay?'
When she received no reply, she yelled ahead to Declan.
Turning to look at the young red-haired girl, he shouted, 'What's up, Penny?'
'It's Nisha… I'm not sure.'
'Nisha?' he yelled, 'You okay?'
The Indian girl suddenly looked upwards, oblivious to Declan's and Penny's calls.
'Hello? I know you're there,' she whispered. 'Show yourselves.'
Nisha watched as the ghosts of countless men hovered above their heads.
'Who are you?' she asked as Lana and Emma shivered in front of her.
But as quickly as they appeared, the ghostly men disappeared and the tunnel was empty once again.
'Did you see them?' Nisha asked as Declan made his way towards her.
'See what? What's going on, Nisha?'
'The ghosts of a hundred souls,' she whispered breathlessly.
'I didn't see anything. Do you think it's them? Do you think the ghosts could have caused this phenomenon?' asked Rupert.
Declan shook his head, 'No… not ghosts. I don't think ghosts would be capable of anything like this. Come on folks, let's get out of here.'
The twelve teenagers and Declan sped up, running until they finally reached daylight. Exiting the tunnel, they leant forward to catch their breaths before climbing up the steep incline of earth until they stood directly on top of the tunnel.
All of them pulled out their mobile phones and walked around, trying to get a signal to call Eleanor at Praxos. All of them failed.
'Jesus, what's going on?' Lana yelled in frustration as she looked around at their beautiful green surroundings. 'It seems so quiet,' she added.
'I need to speak to the ghosts, maybe they can help,' said Nisha suddenly, as she started to climb back down the steep incline.
'Nisha wait!' yelled Penny, 'Don't go back in there, not on your own, anyway. It could be dangerous.'
Feeling a pull from below ground, Nisha was determined to speak to the ghosts of those men, so she ignored her friend and rushed back into the darkness.
'Declan!' squealed Penny as Nisha disappeared below them.
oOo
'It's alright, you have no need to fear me. You can show yourselves,' whispered Nisha as she cautiously tiptoed back through the tunnel, alone.
The gentle sound of breathing filled the area and soon she was surrounded by a large group of men, covered in dirt, all carrying pick axes.
Up until recently she would have been terrified at the prospect of talking to ghosts, but since becoming a Watcher, a new-found confidence filled her. Besides, she had a feeling these ghosts weren't there to hurt her.
'Who are you?' she asked with a smile.
'It matters not, child. You must leave… you must leave now. You are in danger. They are awake…' said one.
'We have been at peace for so long, yet this very morning, they awoke us from slumber. Dash, child, dash. Get out while you still can…'
'Don't let them get to you or else it will be too late…'
'But I don't understand. Who? Who woke you up? What endangers us? What's going on?'
oOo
'Where is she?' asked Declan.
'She wouldn't wait, she went back into the tunnel to speak to the ghosts.'
Declan threw himself down the bank, skidding to the bottom, rolling on his back before eventually landing on his feet. He ran back into the darkness, with the others close behind him.
'Nisha? Nisha?' he whispered but he couldn't see a thing.
Suddenly, the place was as bright as a hospital room as both Diarmuid and Emma lit themselves up to allow Declan to see.
But before he could do anything more, Imran yelled out, 'We're too late, look,' he said, pointing towards the statue of their 16 year old classmate.
'No!' sobbed Penny and Ava.
'Damn it,' shouted Lana.
'I'll grab her. You lot get out of here!'
Declan ran as fast as he could towards her, picked her up and then dashed back out into the sunlight, making sure no-one was left behind.
Standing above the tunnel, they gently placed Nisha on the grass.
'What do we do now?' asked Lana.
'We'll have to walk until we reach civilization and make the call from there,' Declan said.
'Do you think… do you think she's going to… to… d-d-die?' sobbed Penny.
Declan gently put his hand on her shoulder and shook his head. 'Whatever this is, we're going to get to the bottom of it. We're going to help Nisha and everyone else on that train, okay? This is the kind of thing that you're being trained to deal with. This is what the academy is for. Stay strong and we'll get through this. We'll have to carry Nisha with us, we certainly can't leave her here.'
'I'll take her,' volunteered Liam, whose super strength would allow him to easily carry her any distance.
'Okay, folks, let's go. I'm pretty sure there's a small hamlet close by. Follow me,' Declan said as they began walking across the top of the tunnel.
CHAPTER 4
'There's something really weird going on,' said Ava a few minutes later.
'No, really?' said Lana before realising what a cow she sounded and apologised.
'That's okay, Lana. But I wasn't talking about all that happened this morning on the train. I mean, something else. You know that I can normally hear things for miles around and stuff? Well, I don't seem to be able to hear anything.'
'What, like your power has gone?' Lana asked, shocked.
'No, I don't feel like I've lost it… I just feel like everywhere has gone quiet,' she whispered.
'That's freaky, Ava.'
Ava lifted her eyebrows and said nothing more. She just concentrated on trying to hear the world around her, like she'd been able to do since she turned 16.
'There's a house!' shouted Imran from the front of the group and he began to walk faster.
'Wait up, Imran. I'll go and see if there's anyone home first. You guys wait here. Stick together. Whatever you do, don't split up,' Declan said as he rushed towards the gate. As he pushed it open, he noticed a small dog sitting in front of the door.
'It's okay, mate, I'm a friend,' Declan whispered, leaning forward to pat it on its head. The moment he touched it, Declan stopped for a moment. Like Nisha and the people on the train, the dog was cold to the touch. Whatever had affected the others, had also affected the dog.
Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the front door. After a few minutes of silence, he turned the door knob to find it unlocked. Pushing it open, he peered into a small, cosy living room.
'Hello? Is there anyone here?' he yelled.
Nothing.
Walking through the house, he looked into every room until he found a telephone. Stopping, he picked it up, hoping for a dial tone. He cursed as he realised the landlines were down too.
Putting it back down, he wandered through to the kitchen where he was faced with a woman in her dressing gown, feeding a toddler. Both were frozen in time.
Cursing again, Declan rushed out of the house and back to the group of Watchers.
'Any luck?' they asked but his face said it all.
'No phone?'
'Landlines are down,' he said, 'and the people in there are affecte
d too.'
'But why aren't we? I don't understand,' said Cassie, pouting.
'It must have something to do with us being Watchers. Maybe it only affects humans, 100 percent humans, if you know what I mean,' suggested Rupert.
'But then why did it affect Nisha?' asked Emma.
'Perhaps she got too close to the source? Or something like that?' Imran suggested.
'If that's the case, then we ought to track down other Watchers in the area. The group in Bath were expecting us this morning so let's just try and get to them. We can figure out what to do from there. There's a main road over there. Maybe we can borrow someone's car to get there.'
'There are 13 of us, Declan. We'll need a mini bus,' Rupert said, trying to make light of the situation.
As they rounded the corner, Declan laughed, 'Well then, it's a good job there's a minibus parked just over there then, isn't it?' he said, as they all ran towards the vehicle.
'No keys though,' he said. 'Climb aboard everyone. Liam, can you try and make Nisha as comfortable as possible. Diarmuid, can I borrow you to start this engine?'
Diarmuid looked a little confused.
'I reckon you'll be able to start the ignition with your ability. Give it a go will you?'
He nodded before sending a surge of electricity through the keyhole.
'Where do you think the driver is?' asked Penny.
'I don't think it really matters now, does it?'
Declan turned to the front and grinned as the engine purred into motion.
'I knew you could do it, mate. Thanks.'
Diarmuid grinned and took a seat next to his girlfriend.
'Thank God something's going right this morning,' Lana smiled as she put on her seat belt.
'Buckle up, everybody!' shouted Declan as he screeched away from the kerb, narrowly missing two men who appeared to be in the middle of a fist fight.
'Oops,' he said as he watched in his mirror as one of the frozen figures wobbled slightly and then fell to the ground.
'I can't believe it,' whispered Emma as they slowed down to avoid all the cars that had randomly stopped all over the place on the road between the hamlet of Box Hill and Bath.
'It's chaos,' Lana added.
'I know. What if some of these people are injured?'
'I doubt it. If you really look around, there doesn't seem to have been any accidents. The best thing we can do right now is to try and get to the bottom of this,' Declan said from the driver's seat.
oOo
The drive shouldn't have taken very long at all, but given all the vehicles scattered all over the place and the random people just stuck in the middle of the roads, it ended up taking ten times longer than it ought to have.
Eventually pulling up outside the Royal Crescent, one of Bath's most renowned addresses, Declan climbed out of the minibus and stretched his arms and legs. Looking around, he noticed a coach load of Japanese tourists, armed with cameras, taking photos. They were all stuck mid-pose, frozen like everybody else.
The moment the teenagers began clambering out of the vehicle, a stranger appeared from one of the stunning Georgian houses within the crescent.
'Declan! It's about time you came down for a visit to see the new place,' shouted the odd looking young man with ash white hair and a black goatee. He approached his old friend and hugged him.
'Shayne. It's good to see you, old pal. I wish the circumstances were different though. Do you know what's going on?'
Shayne shook his head, rubbing his goatee in thought.
'I wish we did. We have no record of anything like this ever happening, well, not here anyway. All the master files are at the HQ in London. All the phone lines are down, as is the Internet. Even the TV seems to have frozen. We've been trying to get through to Eleanor but we're having no luck.'
'Yeah, you and me both.'
'Oh, is she one of yours?' he asked as Liam carefully pulled Nisha out from the back of the minibus. She looked like a mannequin from a show window display.
Nodding, Declan explained what had happened.
'We don't understand it either. We're drawing a blank here. Where's the rest of the gang?'
'I've sent most of them off to try and reach the other Watchers around the country. We've got CB radios but we haven't had any luck getting them to work yet. I thought Eleanor had them down at HQ?'
'Yeah, I'm pretty sure she does.'
'That's weird. Anyway, come on in, you all must be parched,' he said as the group followed him into a grand Georgian hallway that led into a large open plan office.
'Oh, I wasn't expecting this,' Diarmuid smiled as he admired the architecture.
'Yeah, some of the houses were made into offices a while back. We've kept the upstairs as living quarters though,' Shayne smiled. 'A group of us live and work here. We moved in a few years ago.'
'What do you do?' asked Lana.
'Pretty much the same as you guys in London. Well, what you guys will be doing once you've finished your studies. We help the police and the government, catch the bad guys, round up those pesky supernatural bad eggs, you know? Try and solve weird things that happen. Today is just another day at the office, really,' he chuckled. 'Come through. You're welcome to have a look around while I get you guys something to eat and drink,' he said warmly as the group wandered around.
'Declan, why don't you follow me? I've sent Sara and Amber off to find us a chopper, that way we can fly back to London and get to the bottom of this. So tell me more about this morning… tell me exactly what happened…'
oOo
'What do you think is going on, Sis?' asked Emma a little later, as they sat in the living room waiting for Declan to return.
'I haven't got a clue and it's kind of freaking me out that no-one else seems to know, either. I just hope Eleanor can shed some light on it all.'
'That's if we can get through to her.'
'Oh I'm not worried about that. Didn't you hear that Shayne sent some of his colleagues off to find a helicopter? Once they've sorted that out, someone will fly down to London to get help.'
'Do you think this is happening all over the country?'
'It must be. All communication is down, isn't it?'
'Yeah, I guess.'
Turning around on the sofa, Emma peered out of the large window, looking down at the large group of frozen tourists below. Beyond them was a large open area of green grass, where the odd couple could be seen hand in hand, going nowhere.
'It's beautiful, isn't it?' said Shayne as he and Declan silently appeared from the hallway.
Emma nodded without turning back.
'It's the Royal Victoria Park, 57 acres in total. Impressive eh?'
Just as she was turning back to face them, Emma caught sight of movement on the green.
'Oh… what was that?' she muttered, squinting.
Shayne and Declan both rushed over to check it out.
'It shouldn't be any of our lot, they're unlikely to be back for a while yet,' Shayne said as he tried to locate the source of the movement.
'I can't see anything.'
'Let me have a look,' offered Rupert.
'He can see for miles around,' Declan told his colleague after seeing his eyebrows knit together in confusion.
'There,' Rupert pointed. 'There's something moving just behind that tree. It looks like a… like a, um… I'm not sure what it looks like, really. It's certainly not human, but it's not very big. Less than a metre tall, squat-looking, ugly. Oh…'
'What? What is it, Rupert?' asked Declan.
'It just vanished into thin air.'
Shayne and Declan shared an odd look, both nodding at the same time.
'Pixie trolls.'
'Pixie trolls?' asked Lana as the rest of the gang began to walk into the living room to find out what was going on.
'Yeah, it certainly sounds like trolls,' Declan offered.
'But I thought trolls were like giants, gruesome snotty creatures who carried large clubs and smashed things
to bits…' Emma said innocently.
'Harry Potter, Sis? Really?' Lana chuckled, shaking her head.
Emma shrugged her shoulders.
'They come in all shapes and sizes, depending on what part of the world they come from. These ones sound like ancient pixie trolls but I thought they were extinct.'
Declan nodded as he listened to his friend, 'You and me both. Do you know how to handle them?'
Shayne reluctantly shook his head, 'Afraid not. I thought they died out long ago. It's a bit before my time. We really need to access your files in London.'
'So what do we do now?' asked Emma, who was gripping Diarmuid's hand.
Declan glanced at Shayne, 'We have to wait for the girls to return with the chopper.'
'Well, can't we fight them?' asked Liam.
'Afraid not. We don't know how many there are and we don't know where they are. Chances are that we might be surrounded by the little blighters,' said Shayne.
'Surely we would be able to see them if that was the case,' Penny said as she continued to stare out of the window.
'Not necessarily. You see, pixie trolls have the ability to become invisible,' Shayne replied.
'No way?' Imran said from the doorway.
'Afraid so.'
'Great, so we're stuck here?'
'Until we figure something out… yes.'
'Maybe there is something I can do to help?' asked Imran.
'Of course,' said Declan slapping his forehead, 'Imran has a unique ability to time travel. He could go back to when we were in London, get all the facts we need and bring them back here.'
'Perhaps he could go back and warn Eleanor before this all happens?' Shayne suggested.
Declan nodded and Imran stood, ready to make his move.
'Just give me a little space,' he asked as he flipped his baseball cap around on his head and began to concentrate. Closing his eyes, he thought of the time and place he needed to return to. Preparing himself for the intense spinning that usually accompanied his journey through time, Imran was confused when nothing happened.
Opening his eyes, he looked around before trying again. But it was useless, his power seemed to have been lost.