Episode 2 - Chapter 34

“Fascinating,” says Edward. “Well that's positive I suppose.”

“Do you know what's going on?” Mary asks.

“Not yet, no,” Rose replies, transfixed by the room. “But I intend to find out.”

“Then what is it you find fascinating?”

“Your house, my dear, your house. Out there,” she points through the nearest window, “Out there is the Warp, in all its glorious beauty. Out there your house is part of the Warp. But in here,” she tuts again. “In here, your house is rippled with the Weave like raspberry in vanilla ice-cream.”

Episode 2 - Chapter 33

Rose keeps up the brusque pace as she enters the living room. “Good evening,” she says, “Call me Rose. I believe you've met my colleague, Raven?”

Mary's just getting to her feet when Fiona walks in. Both are about to speak when Rose cuts across everybody.

“Goodness gracious! Will you look at that.” She tuts loudly. “That will never do!” She races into the hallway and out the front door before returning a moment later.

“Look at what?” Mary inquires.

“What? Sorry, I forget you can't see it. It's fascinating, actually. I've never seen anything like this.”

Episode 2 - Chapter 32

“Fiona?” he blinks, as if blinded by the sight of her.

Before she can answer, Rose interrupts. “You must be Robert! Call me Rose.” She heads towards him, arm outstretched.

Robert blinks again, still staring at Fiona, which causes Rose to pause and take the scene in.

“Sorry,” she says. “No time for awkward feelings. Too much to do. May I come in? Thank you,” as she enters the house.

Fiona hurries after her. Robert begins to speak, but she cuts him short.

“Not now,” she whispers, touching his arm gently. “Too much to do.”

Episode 2 - Chapter 31

It's Rose that gasps when she first sees the house. “Oh my,” she sighs. “Isn't that something.”

Fiona looks at the house, but there's nothing out of the ordinary to see. “What?”

“The house ripples with the shadows of the Weave,” Rose replies.

“I don't see...”

“No, you wont. You don't have the right kind of eyes. Given your past, I could train you to see, but we don't have time now. Come along.”

Fiona follows her along the street to the front gate. As they enter the garden, Robert opens the front door.

Episode 2 - Chapter 30

...or every place became no place...

...the girl from two worlds can now truly see

the old voice is gone, she's finally free

but in fresh peace she's confused and lost

for the dream man's silence carries a cost...

...what if every place was commonplace...

...block from the forest clutched in her hand

her only anchor on quick moving sand

clutching at straws in order to breathe

this girl who was lost at the heart of the Weave...

...what kind of place would that be...

...her companion is sure that there comes a time

to gather lost children at the scene of the crime...

Episode 2 - Chapter 29

My husband and I sat staring at each other across the room. The smile from his laughter still played on his lips and that gave me strength, I think.

“Don't worry, my love” I said, “We'll get through this.” I poured us both another drink and smiled as he took a gentle slip.

The back of my mind was waiting to hear the front door close, but the sound never came.

“Is everything alright, Robert?” I shouted into the hallway. After a few seconds of no reply, I stood to go and check. Then I heard voices.

Episode 2 - Chapter 28

I couldn't help but laugh, they looked so comical. I noticed Robert chuckling too, and a sideways glance at Mary saw her breathe a sigh of relief. My outburst had broken the tension in the room.

“I'm going outside,” said Robert.

“Is that wise?” I asked. “Is it safe? Remember what Raven said about getting lost.”

“Looks like a normal summer's evening out there” he said from the window. “Anyway, I need some air.”

I looked at Mary who nodded slightly. “Just be careful,” she said.

“I will” he said, leaving the room.

Episode 2 - Chapter 27

That's when Mum slapped me. “Oh for god's sake Robert, pull yourself together!”

“Mary!” exclaimed Dad.

“I'm sorry,” she said. “We need to keep our heads right now, and wallowing in self pity wont help.”

Both cats were now wide awake, following our exchange closely. They seemed to come to the decision to leave at the same time, standing and stretching in unison before heading towards the door. As they moved across the room, they flickered between cat and human form, it was very disturbing.

Dad laughed out loud. “That's not something you see everyday.”

Episode 2 - Chapter 26

“You can pour me one of those if you like,” I said. I know that my son takes after his father when it comes to his nerves. “Let's just pause and have a drink. We may not have escaped the madness yet, but we're still together.” I took Robert's hand in mine and squeezed as Edward passed me a drink. “Let's take some comfort in that.”

“You don't get it, Mum,” Robert exclaimed, “He's not coming to the rescue. He got tricked, used like the rest of us. Now he's their prisoner and we're alone!”

Episode 2 - Chapter 25

I could see that Robert was going to pieces, turning his phone and whispering “No, no,” repeatedly under his breath. I wasn't feeling all there myself, to be honest, so I did the only thing I could think of: I grabbed the scotch and poured us large measures.

“There you go, son” I said, handing him one. He took the glass gingerly, and I held his scatter shot eyes with mine, trying to steady us both mentally. “Bottoms up.” I chinked his glass and drained mine.

“Raven said we'd be safe” he said. “I don't understand.”

Episode 2 - Chapter 24

“Well the cats are still cats,” I said, pointing to the two of them curled together on the chair. “That's got to be a good sign.” I don't think I sounded like I believed it myself, but Robert was descending into panic and I needed to find something positive to say.

Hearing itself mentioned, the dark cat yawned and stretched in that surprised way that cats do. She cleaned herself for a moment, then circled herself to curl up. As she did this, she became the beautiful young woman, just for a moment, before being a cat once more.

  

Episode 2 - Chapter 23

The face of my phone had reversed itself. Everything read backwards, a mirror image of how it should look.

“Something's not right,” I gasped. As I turned to show Mum and Dad, the screen corrected itself, then flipped out as I turned back. Every time I moved, the screen did something different, wonky. “Things are definitely not right.”

“I think you're right,” Dad pointed to the mantle piece clock. The hour hand was speeding clockwise round the dial, while the minute hand did the same in reverse.

“It lied to us” I said, “It's not over yet!”

Episode 2 - Chapter 22

We went on like that for a while. Mary tidying, me setting clocks, Robert staring. In shock, I thought, but it was he who broke the silence.

“What are you doing, Dad?” he asked, “You're setting the clocks to different times.”

“I don't know what time it is,” I confessed, laughing at myself.

“Then why are you doing it?”

“It's something to do.”

“Why don't you ring the speaking clock?” piped in Mary.

“No need, if we're back in the land of sanity, my phone'll tell us.”

Looking at his phone, Robert gasped.

Episode 2 - Chapter 21

And then we were alone. No more funny business with the house, safely beyond the perils of the Weave, completely alone.

None of us spoke for a good long while. I wanted to say something to break that terrible silence, but I didn't have the words. Instead, I busied myself tidying up. After a while, Edward noticed and got to his feet. His mouth opened, as if starting to speak, but nothing came. He closed it, looking a little surprised, then picked up the mantlepiece clock.

Poor Robert, meanwhile, sat slumped in his chair, two different jigsaw photographs in hand.

Episode 2 - Chapter 20

...what if some place touched no place...

...truth and knowledge, secrets and lies

currency to the weave, in the warp become ties

the best laid plans e'er games of chance

schemes played out in a motley dance...

...would no place become some place...

...the memories of broken children lie scattered all around

now their truths are toppled, crashed to hollow ground

there can be no heroes, not in endless war

for good men will do evil in defence of common law...

...or some place become every place...

...this waltz isn't over, no time to take stock

revelation hides in the face of a clock...

Episode 2 - Chapter 19

He usually avoids the ubiquitous coffee chains, but he likes the view from this one, especially if he can get this end booth. He's been taking his lunch here for about six months now, enjoying the bland familiarity of the piped muzak and grey coffee, looking out over the park. The sun's shining so there's plenty of people to watch. That's where he feels comfortable, at the edges, taking it all in.

As the steam from the coffee rises to fill his nostrils, he's dimly aware of somebody else occupying his booth.

“Why does The Forest hate us, Corvus?”

Episode 2 - Chapters 17 & 18

The ship judders as the cannons blast, almost knocking him from his feet.

“First mate, report!” He commands.

“Direct hit sir, but it's not slowing them down.”

“Prepare to fire again!”

The mate relays his orders, as the Black Dog grows ever closer.

“Fire!”

The ship rocks with the recoil, unsteady. Then a boom in the distance, the enemy returning fire. There's an almighty cracking noise as the mizzen-mast is shattered.

“It's no use, Captain,” shouts the mate, “They'll have us now!”

“Prepare to repel boarders!” He commands, drawing cutlass from his belt.

A second cannon ball rips through the hull, knocking him from his feet.

“John, what are you doing?” a female voice asks.

He looks up to see his girlfriend, Hilary, leaning over the duck pond.

“Sorry,” he says, “lost my footing.”

“You're such a clumsy oaf,” she laughs, standing and extending her arm to help him. As he rises, she gently pats his arms and chest to loose any dirt. “Ready for a cuppa?”

They head back towards the cosy little tea shop they'd passed earlier, pausing as they enter to enjoy its tinkling bell.

Episode 2 - Chapters 15 & 16

The Old West fades behind him as sliding doors close and he steps onto the bridge of a merchant galleon.

“Orders, Captain?”

“Is it definitely the Black Dog?” he asks.

“Aye, sir!”

“Then bring her around and prepare the cannons.”

“But sir, she's gaining fast!”

“And we have no chance of outrunning her. I do not propose that battling werewolf pirates is the best use of a Tuesday afternoon, so I suggest blowing her out of the water before she gets any closer is our best course of action.”

“Aye, sir. Bring her around!”

The ship turns slowly, burdened as she is with heavy cargo.

“It's going to be close,” says the first mate, fear cracking his voice. They can hear the howls of the Black Dog's crew now, turning their blood to water.

“Hold steady, and prepare to fire on my command,” he says, and the mate barks the order.

Turning still, they can see sunlight glinting off sharp metal against the silhouettes of the ship's monstrous crew.

“Steady.”

The air brings them the stench of an unclean kennel, mixed with the brine of the sea and rotting meat.

“Fire!”

Episode 2 - Chapters 13 & 14

The atmosphere is thick with laughter and tension. There's trouble here, as prairie men buy female company and hard liquor. Head down, he makes his way to the bar.

“Whiskey,” he commands, dropping coins on the counter. The shot rips over his throat, all sand and acid, stoking fire in his gut.

Behind him, silence falls as chairs are knocked over and tables scraped. He turns to see two angry men squaring off, whether over a woman or a card is unclear.

Making sure he's out of the firing line, he pushes back his hat to enjoy the show.

They face each other, eyes locked, while all around patrons and employees scramble for cover. Time slows, nothing moves, tension stretches impossibly thin.

Beyond the saloon, a cacophony smashes the moment. Bells ring, shouts are heard. “They're coming! They're coming! Goblins raiders! Man the defences, now!”

The adversaries break as he heads to the street. In the near distance, dust billows as the raiders draw closer. He casts about for vantage point, spying the barber's window. Keeping low, he scuttles across the street to the shop doorway. Drawing his pistol, he twists the doorknob to slide his way in.

Episode 2 - Chapters 11 & 12

For reasons which may (or may not) become clear, I'm going to be releasing two chapters a day for the rest of the week.

Just so you know...

He wakes at 7.13 AM precisely, two minutes before the alarm is due to go off, as he has done every morning for as long as he can remember. Morning ablutions, suit and tie, followed by a breakfast of fruit and muesli, washed down with strong, black coffee. Coat, hat and briefcase complete the package, then it's a brisk walk to the station, arriving as the train pulls up to the platform.

Something swoops overhead, leaving a rotting, foetid stench in its wake. The taste of irritation swells in his mouth. There was no mention of dragon raids in today's forecast.

They board the train in an orderly fashion, jostling to stow kit and find a seat. The carriage is awash with khaki and cigarette smoke, bold camaraderie and laughter tinged with nervous anticipation.

Rumours have been circulating for weeks, they've all heard them. The invasion is coming, that's common knowledge. They'll be taking the fight to the Jerries, reclaiming Europe from the Nazi evil. They've just not known when. But now orders are being issued, troops moving towards the ports, not long now.

Failing to find a space, he pushes through the carriage to the door, into the saloon beyond.

Episode 2 - Chapter 10

...in a place that is no place...

...there are no cages or doors you can lock

no shackles to bind your arms in a block

all prisoners here may walk as they may

a different path for a different day...

...what if no place is some place...

...the luxurious pillow where you lay weary head

is as likely by dawn to be straw in cold shed

nothing is fixed here, nothing is certain

who knows what's true when we pull back the curtain...

...or if some place is commonplace...

...all prisoners here are free to leave

but who can find doors at the heart of the Weave...

Episode 2 - Chapter 9

Fiona nods. “So you think I'm the imbalance?” she asks.

“I haven't ruled it out , but I suspect there's far more going on here than a child of two worlds, even one that has one of those.” She indicates the block clutched tightly in Fiona's hand. “Come along,” she barks, “Time to visit the in-laws.”

Fiona looks at the food on the table. “But we haven't had our tea yet.”

“Oh don't worry about that,” dismisses Rose. She waves her hand, and the table is suddenly empty. “A simple familiarity can often help focus the mind.”

Episode 2 - Chapter 8

“When the Forest becomes aware that something has changed the delicate balance between the Warp and the Weave, an agent is... summoned, for want of a better word. When that agent arrives at the imbalance, they have no information other than there is an imbalance that needs to be addressed. The agent's job is to acquire as much information as possible in order to identify and correct the imbalance as quickly and efficiently as possible. I arrived on that street where we met, looked for an imbalance, and found you drowning in the colours of the Weave. Do you understand?”