The One You Shouldn't Let in [5/9]
Jay turns up a clue - is this what is turning kids zombie-like?
Previously Jay is startled awake at 3 am. Three times he’s been drawn in search of the origin of the menacing power. He finds a person he knows, distraught and sobbing, ‘they shouldn’t have let him in’. Last night the menace claimed Lulu.
Alex was shocked and distressed when he heard that Jay’s sister was the latest victim of the menacing entity.
“That can’t be! Lulu is like family, I’ve known her since she was a toddler,” he choked. “Who came into your house?”
He was struggling to imagine the intruder.
“No idea. It’s a complete mystery, Dad was home all day, the dog always hears when someone is at the door. Another puzzle is what could link Lulu to the older kids?”
The boys fell silent as they trudged down the hill, their brains churned through the possibilities. J’s thoughts kept circling round a central idea: If they could pinpoint what the victims had in common, it would lead them to the zombie-maker.
With Lulu becoming the latest victim, it seemed personal, driving J to find a solution. He wouldn’t leave his sister or the other children as mindless shells. Those he’d observed they did not look after themselves, or care to eat; pretty soon they would get ill and their condition worsen.
He parted ways with Alex for morning lessons, with plans to meet at lunch to bounce theories around. But gloom was a heavy shroud, he couldn’t bear to recollect how frightened and upset dream Lulu had been. What if the trance she was now in was irreversible?
The previous day he’d seen Laurie visit the drama annexe, so he resolved to investigate what would draw him there, in his uncaring, zombie state. Was there a strong need? Maybe the zombie kids were in thrall to instruction or there was some kind of compulsion, which would be a vital clue. The moment the bell rang to end his lesson, his books were scraped together and he hustled to the drama annexe to nose around.
In the corridor, a notice board held a display featuring the latest school play — photos of cast, programmes and performance times. Drawing nearer to the music rooms, he saw information about a forthcoming talent show. Past experience told him pupils who learned an instrument— guitars and drums— would be forming bands. Several posters boasted ‘celebrity’ judges. Jay felt the first piece of the puzzle drop into place: Katie was billed to impersonate ‘Sharon Osbourne’. Laurie was listed as the lighting technician for the show.
The two of them would’ve been rehearsing together. Boom!
Unfortunately J could not figure how his sister Lulu fitted into this pattern, but he was elated to have made a start. He unpinned one of the fliers, and hurried to the canteen. Alex looked up, he had almost finished eating.
“Brilliant!” he exclaimed, muffled by a mouthful of chocolate chip cookies. He examined the leaflet. “It explains how Katie knows a nerd like Laurie.”
J scowled at Alex. He liked Laurie and found the term nerd disrespectful.
“But what about Lulu?” He unwrapped a sandwich and bit down. “How might she have come into contact with these guys?”
“Babysitting?” Alex took a guess. “Has Katie ever come to your house to babysit? No, scrub that,” he scoffed. “You’d have said something before now if a fit girl like Katie came around to yours while your parents were out.” Alex snorted so hard with laughter, he couldn’t take bite from his biscuit.
J narrowed his eyes, then said. “Remind me again why we are friends,” before draining his drink with a loud slurp.
“Why would Lulu need a babysitter when I’m around? Anyway, I haven’t abandoned the idea of the Librarian being involved somehow. I’m off to scout out her lair, on the premise of returning this.” He presented the ridiculous book on lace making he’d borrowed earlier in the week, then grabbed his tray and rose from the table.
J stood and peered through the glass panel in the door to the Librarian’s office. His hand was poised to knock, but she was absent. He tried the handle and found it locked. He checked his watch, and decided he would hang around for 5 minutes before abandoning his plan.
While kicking his heels, J racked his brains as to who could have visited not only his house, but also Katie’s and Laurie’s. And for what dastardly purpose? The Librarian didn’t show, so J gave up, deposited the book and went to his next class. It was art, presenting him with an ideal opportunity to observe Katie, and possibly gather more clues.
His heart sank, because Katie looked worse than last time he’d seen her. Her hair hung in dull, oily hanks against her chalky complexion while her eye sockets were shadowed purple, which lent her eyes a feverish glow. She moved at half speed, did not interact with other classmates, and only responded to the teacher in a robotic way.
As he watched, J felt overwhelmed with sadness, and a little panicked to think his little sister could be trapped in the same state.
It was imperative to solve the mystery and break the evil influence which Lulu was under.
The bubble popped when the final bell of the day rang: Chairs were set scraping while bags were stuffed with books, as every pupil prepared to go home. J stood to the side of the busy corridor. All the student traffic was surging in the same direction, a one-way street, leaving the building. That’s what made Danny different. The lad was moving in the opposite direction, and he stuck out like a sore thumb.
Then came the oddest moment. It occurred when Danny drew near to Katie: they locked eyes and it was as if he held her mesmerized, in the beam of his gaze.
Even watching from a distance of 100 meters, J felt slightly dazzled himself, until Danny blinked, and the moment passed.
The older boy was approaching, but walked on by, leaving J puzzling over what he’d seen. Alex had rugby practice after school, which left J walking home solo. As he climbed the hill, he pulled the flyer for the talent show out of his pocket. If Katie was playing Sharon O, he wanted to know who was playing Simon Cowell. Something was nudging against his sixth sense. He studied the bold yellow banner which boasted that the famously acerbic judge would be impersonated by none other than Danny Randall. Now the nudging became a prickle of awareness, as further puzzle pieces began forming a picture.
It was a rush of adrenaline, when J recognised the common factor as Danny Randall. Danny was rehearsing for the talent show, alongside Katie and Laurie, plus he had been the clown entertainer at Lulu’s birthday party.
Flaming gremlins! Jay could hardly wait to share this break-through with Alex.
[To be continued …]