The Amphiblets (4 page)

Eight Years Later

In the heart of the Midlands, safely tucked away in the countryside and shielded from view by beautiful woodland, stood an old house. Thin vines of ivy grew everywhere, twisting their fibrous hooks into each available space, until they covered the brick walls and the roof entirely, like a disease. It was as if the owner wanted to hide the house from everything, including helicopters.

In a study, an old man, with a long straight-pointed nose and wild grey hair, was busy organising his papers. Today was an important day and he wanted to make sure everything went according to plan. He checked his watch. He would be receiving a phone call soon.

A few minutes later the phone rang on time.

‘Hello?’

‘
Professor
?’ It was a man’s voice.

‘Yes?’ The Professor glanced behind him to make sure no one was listening.

‘
Have you thought any more about what I proposed?
’

‘Yes.’

‘
And?
’

‘I will sell only one, for the same amount. That’s my final offer. Take it or leave it!’

‘
I wanted all three. It’s not fair to separate them.
’

‘Take it or leave it,’ said the Professor once more.

There was silence for a brief moment. ‘
You drive a hard bargain. I’ll take one. Which one will it be?’

‘I haven’t decided. They are all gifted in their individual ways. You won’t be disappointed.’

‘
No, I’m sure I won’t be. I’ll see you later at the convention. I’m bringing a friend with me, I hope you don’t mind.
’

‘I
do
mind. It’s an exclusive gathering. No one else should be there. Professor Kyle Adams won’t allow it.’

‘
It just so happens that she’s also a good friend of his
.
He’s already agreed to it
.’

‘Has he now?’ said the Professor, gritting his teeth in a bid to control his temper. He couldn’t afford to upset the man on the other end of the phone; it would be detrimental to his future. ‘Fair enough. I shall see you later and make further arrangements.’ With that he slammed the phone and immediately rang Kyle.

‘
Hello?’
came a deep jovial voice.

‘It’s me,’ said the Professor.

‘
Ah! Professor Snipes. I was just thinking of you. Is everything well
?’

‘No. I understand you’ve allowed an extra person to witness the event this afternoon.’

There was a slight pause. ‘
Yes, only a dear friend of mine. Scarlet Raven is an adept scientist and just as capable as you and me. She’s as secretive as they come. How did you know?’

‘Let’s just say that I did,’ said the Professor. ‘Is there anything else I should know?’

‘I’m not sure what you mean,’
came the reply. ‘
Today is your day and we’re all looking forward to it. I wouldn’t have agreed to arrange it here otherwise. Remember I’m doing you a favour. By the way, two people have sent their apologies – Mr Peashore for one. He will not be able to attend following his unfortunate accident yesterday: he shot himself in the foot while out hunting. And Ms Honeysuckle won’t be coming because she’s currently recovering from a bee sting.
’

‘I’ve heard some excuses in my time but
a bee sting
?’ mocked the Professor.

‘Well, actually … and you didn’t hear it from me … a recent experiment of hers was to calm a swarm of bees. Well, it failed. They became angry and aroused instead. She was stung by more than two hundred of them in the end.’

The Professor tried not to laugh. ‘Oh, well. That’s what is known as a stinging failure.’

‘
Yes quite,’
replied Professor Kyle Adams stiffly.
‘Well, I have much more to do so I’ll see you later
.’

‘Yes, goodbye.’ The Professor replaced the phone and took a deep breath. Scarlet Raven. Who was she? He had never heard of her before. He shrugged and made a note to meet her before the talk went ahead. If the wrong people knew about his experiment it could cause a lot of problems he didn’t need right now. The rest of the world wasn’t quite ready to hear of his achievements yet. They were just too astounding.

The Professor shuffled through the papers on his desk, before gathering the relevant ones together in a pile. As he neared the end of his task the pouting face of young boy peered around the door. He was a tall, thin lad, with short, dark hair and refined features in a narrow face. He was frowning miserably and his bottom lip stuck out petulantly.

‘Dad! Will won’t give me back my coat!’

‘Will! Come here!’ shouted the Professor, impatiently. He didn’t have time for such petty problems. This afternoon was important and everything had to be perfect.

Will (or William, to give him his full name) entered the room like a spider, crawling upside down on the ceiling and carrying his brother’s coat across his stomach. His hands and feet were sticking to the surface.

‘Here I am!’ He glanced towards the Professor and, seeing his stern expression, shook his mop of wavy blond hair and smiled mischievously. His eyes were striking – ordinary in shape but frog-like in colouring.

‘Give your brother his coat
right now
! We haven’t got long before we leave,’ snapped the Professor. Why couldn’t the child see how important this day was to him? He glanced at his watch. Only another two hours before they would leave.

‘I was only having some
fun
,’ squealed Will. ‘It’s not my fault Riley’s scared of heights.’

‘It’s not my fault you’re always climbing up the walls and ceilings instead of keeping your feet on the floor!’ replied Riley, who had eyes like his brother, though closer together.

‘It’s cleaner on the ceiling than on the floor,’ argued Will. This was certainly true.

At that moment another young boy entered the room, holding a sketchbook and pencil. He too had similar eyes to his brothers, though he resembled Will more in appearance. His face was narrower than Will’s and he was a fraction taller in height, but not as tall as Riley. His hair was also a shade darker but was still blond. He was a brilliant artist with an ability that the Professor had never encountered before. At the age of eight he already possessed the skills of a talented adult. It was truly amazing but then again all the boys were gifted.

Riley had an extraordinary intellect – he was a genius with anything electronic. He had an uncanny ability to fix any electronic problem without having been taught. It was a skill that he was born with and he could do this with the same ease with which Ed could produce lifelike images on paper.

Ed’s memory worked in an unusual way. Anything he had seen his brain had recorded, making it possible for him to recall an image and later reproduce it as a drawing. Every now and again, Ed would draw a picture of an unknown woman. He would often wonder who she was and why the Professor always insisted on ripping up her picture. He soon learnt to avoid showing him any more of his drawings of her.

The explanation for this was simple. Riley, Ed and Will were the triplets that the Professor had stolen from Penny, – their mother, whom they had last seen eight years ago when they had been seven months old. Yet, the image of her face still revealed itself to Ed and he continued to draw her despite not knowing who she was.

Will, on the other hand, was far braver and more physical than his brothers. He enjoyed climbing, swimming and performing acrobatics every hour of the day. Which is why he leapt from the ceiling, landing on his feet and, after throwing the coat to Riley, ran from the room to find Hugo.

‘Hugo!’ he called, sprinting across the driveway towards his friend, who was polishing the car, in readiness for their outing. Hugo immediately turned and smiled. He dropped the polish and cloth, and linked his fingers together. Will made a gigantic leap towards him, his feet landing neatly in the palms of Hugo’s hands. Hugo then swung his arms up and sent Will soaring through the air, turning one somersault after another. He had no fear for the boy always landed on his feet like a cat.

‘That was brilliant!’ breathed Will.

‘Sure was,’ replied Hugo, who was used to Will’s stunts.

The Professor watched Will from the study. The child was full of energy, too much sometimes. It was hard to keep up with him. Riley stood next to him watching enviously, wishing he were as brave as Will.

The Professor turned away and rubbed his forehead. He had a decision to make and it was giving him a headache. It was better he chose now before the convention. He tapped his fingers on the desk. Yes, it was for the best. His mind was made up.

For the past few weeks, he had been having the same dream about creating a new species. He knew what he had to do. He was a scientist but he desperately needed money to cover the cost of further experiments. His work was something he was driven to do. Nothing or no one could stop him – not once he had made up his mind.

The Professor would earn money from the convention, as each guest would buy tickets for the event. The money would be split between the Professor and Kyle Adams, who had kindly agreed to lend him his garden for the event. But it still wasn’t enough to fund his new project. Sacrifices had to be made and the Professor had made the decision to sell one of the boys to raise more funds. And he knew which child it had to be.

‘Listen to this, Dad!’ cried Riley, picking up the newspaper. ‘That strange beast has killed again.’

The Professor flinched as he listened, placing the notes for his speech inside a black folder.

‘It’s been loose for eight years and no one has caught it yet. I wonder what it could be. They think it’s an undiscovered breed of alligator that has settled in Loch Ness. Yeah, right – the Loch Ness monster. They want tourists to go and visit the area to bring in more money for the locals, isn’t that right, Dad?’

The Professor smiled weakly. ‘It sounds like it.’ He was well aware of the movement of the beast, for it was Ali-man, whom he had freed eight years ago. A tranquilliser dart had been enough to knock the monster out until they had safely escaped the island. Since his release, Ali-man had been on an angry rampage. The Professor swallowed hard. He wondered how much longer it would be before Ali-man found him; he was certain that the beast would want its revenge.

Half an hour later, with the house locked securely and everyone in the car, they began their journey to Professor Kyle’s house. Will sat directly behind Hugo, who had the seat back as far as it would go to accommodate his long legs. Riley sat in the middle and tended to sit forward so he could talk with his father, while Ed sat on the other side of him staring out of the window.

Throughout the journey the three boys chatted excitedly. So far, the Professor hadn’t mentioned much about the convention, except that the three of them were to be the guests of honour.

‘What will we have to do?’ asked Riley.

‘Everything you do at home. It’s a chance for people who are interested in your special gifts to meet you.’

‘Why?’ asked Will.

‘Because you can do things that they can’t.’

‘Thanks for taking us, Dad.’ Riley was beaming broadly.

‘You’re welcome,’ he replied.

The boys were as good as gold during the long trip. They chatted and laughed quietly among themselves while observing the passing countryside. Although the children had been to visit places before, it was usually dark so no one else could see them. This was their first trip during daylight hours and it felt wonderfully exhilarating.

‘How many people will be there?’ asked Riley.

‘About fifty,’ said the Professor. ‘Most people will turn up.’ He thought of Ms Honeysuckle covered in bee stings and gave a laugh.

‘What’s so funny?’ asked Ed.

‘Nothing,’ said the Professor, who laughed even louder when he thought of Mr Peashore shooting himself in the foot. After a while, he regained his composure. ‘Your genetic disorder makes you extremely special and rare. Your condition is something truly remarkable for scientists to learn from.’

‘How many people suffer from what we have?’ said Riley.

‘I have only ever heard of one other man,’ said the Professor dreamily, as if remembering something from his past. ‘His name was Ivan something or other; he was a famous painter.’

Ed smiled. ‘So I’m not the only one with this condition who can draw?’

‘No, you’re not. Ivan was incredible. Absolutely incredible,’ the Professor’s voice drifted off as he lost himself in his thoughts.

It was an hour later when they arrived at their destination. By now it was early evening but still light. They drove between a pair of magnificent cast iron gates and along a straight driveway bordered with neat green trees on either side. As they drove closer to the house, the highest branches of the trees met in the middle, forming a tunnel of leaves.

‘We will enter the front of the house in order to get you ready. Everyone else will be going round to the back garden. That’s where everything will happen. Professor Kyle Adams is a very good friend of mine. He can’t wait to meet you and insisted we were to come here for the meeting. We’ll probably be here for three hours in total but your demonstration should only last an hour.’

Ed started feeling butterflies in his stomach. ‘I don’t know if I can do it,’ he whispered. ‘I don’t think I like the idea that people have come here to gawk at us – it feels strange. I want to be normal. I don’t want people looking at me as if I’m different.’

‘You are perfectly perfect,’ exclaimed the Professor, as he parked the car. He switched off the engine and was the first to exit the car. The triplets had to wait for the Professor to release the child locks and open the back door. He leaned into the car before the children could climb out.

‘Remember this,’ he said, more seriously. ‘I don’t want you shaking hands with anyone. Since you haven’t been exposed to many people you could be quite vulnerable to an illness. Your immune systems aren’t strong. Something bad could happen to you. It could be the difference between life and death. I don’t want to lose any of you. You mean too much to me.’

‘Welcome! Welcome!’ interrupted a short, fat man with a drooping, brown moustache.

‘Professor Kyle,’ exclaimed the Professor, turning around to shake the dumpy man’s hand. ‘Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.’

‘Nonsense, my dear fellow, we scientist’s are all the same, aren’t we? I will always offer to help those of the same mindset as me. Science must go on. It must continue and grow. New ideas must be discovered and researched. Nothing must hinder the future of science.’

The Professor smiled. ‘Please meet my three sons: Riley, Ed, and Will.’

‘Yes, yes, yes! Three handsome young boys! Well, I can see where they get their good looks from.’ Professor Kyle fell silent and his face turned white as his eyes rested first on Hugo’s feet and then slowly continued all the way up until they reached his face.

‘And this is my dear friend, Hugo,’ said the Professor quickly, trying to avoid embarrassment on Professor Kyle’s part, for staring so rudely at Hugo. ‘He’s my…’ the Professor hesitated, ‘my bodyguard.’

‘Yes, of course,’ said Professor Kyle, awkwardly. ‘You are most welcome here. Any friend of the Professor’s is a friend of mine.’

Hugo was oblivious to the awkward moment and shook Professor Kyle’s hand which was lost in his gigantic sized palm.

‘Yes, well, it must be nice to be tall,’ Professor Kyle muttered. ‘Anyway, please follow me. I will brief you on the timetable for tonight and please add anything that I might have missed. I know we have already discussed this evening on the phone many times but we must make sure everything goes to plan.’

‘Yes, indeed,’ bowed the Professor, following close behind.

They entered a beautifully clean home, where all the surfaces appeared to be sparkling. No dust could be seen anywhere. The boys stared in wonder. This was the first time they had entered anyone else’s house. It was light and comfortable – not drab and filthy like their home.

‘The boys can wait in the drawing room while we talk,’ said Professor Kyle, walking through the hallway and into another room.

Ed grew excited: he liked drawing. But he soon discovered the drawing room had nothing to do with actual drawing. Instead, bookcases covered the walls, filled with hundreds of books, and there was a grand desk, a smaller table and chairs. Once the boys were shown the room and given a glass of apple juice each, they were left to their own devices.

‘This place is awesome!’ gasped Will. ‘Can you imagine living here?’ He spun around. The sun shone into the room, turning the wood a golden brown. In the far corner, he noticed a blue sheet covering something and briefly wondered what was beneath it. But before he investigated that he decided to scale the bookshelves; his aim was to reach the highest book. 

Ed and Riley were feeling less energetic and, having spotted a pile of magazines on a table, they went to pick them up and leaf through the pages. Suddenly they became aware of another presence in the room.

‘Hello,’ smiled a young girl, roughly the same age as the boys.

‘Hello,’ Will replied, jumping nimbly and landing on his feet. ‘Where did you come from?’

‘Over there,’ said the girl pointing behind her towards a wall.

‘Professor Kyle never mentioned having a daughter,’ said Will, grinning.

‘I’m not his daughter, silly,’ she laughed and threw her hair back behind her. She eyed them curiously. ‘Are you the Amphiblets?’

Will nodded.

‘What’s it like?’ she asked.

‘What’s what like?’ replied Will.

‘What’s it like being an Amphiblet?’

Will shrugged. ‘It feels normal to us but other people find it interesting,’ he replied, remembering his father remarks on how special they were.

‘I bet they do,’ agreed the girl, observing their webbed fingers and staring curiously into their frog-coloured eyes. ‘I’m not actually meant to be here but Mum says it might be good if I introduced myself to you while you’re waiting to perform tonight. She came here with Peter. She’ll be in the audience and wants to meet you. She likes interesting people. By the way, my name is Ruby. Which one of you is Riley?’

Riley put his hand up.

‘And I’m Will,’ said Will politely, reaching to shake Ruby’s hand. Will had never seen a girl before and was absolutely smitten with Ruby. She was beautiful, with her long, black hair and bright, green eyes that shimmered. As their fingers touched he felt how warm and soft her hands were. Ed quickly knocked his brother’s arm away from her touch.

‘What did you do that for?’ complained Will.

‘We shouldn’t touch anyone,’ said Ed. ‘You could become ill.’

‘He’s right,’ said Riley. ‘That’s what Dad told us.’

‘Oh,’ said Ruby. ‘I’m sorry. I hope I won’t get you into any trouble. I didn’t know. Well, it’s lovely meeting you all. Good luck with tonight. Oh, and before I forget, Mum wanted to know if Professor Snipes was treating you nicely.’

‘Huh?’ replied Will.

‘She wanted to know if Professor Snipes was treating you well.’

‘Of course he treats us well. He’s our dad. That’s what dads do.’

Ruby frowned and bit her lips, as if knowing something they did not. ‘That’s okay then.’

‘What did you mean by that?’ asked Riley.

‘Nothing,’ she said a little too fast to be convincing.

Before they could discuss it any further, their attention was drawn to the door, which clicked opened. The Professor and Hugo had arrived to collect them. When the boys turned to Ruby she appeared to have vanished but not by the door, for there was only one and Hugo was totally blocking it.

‘Time to rock and roll!’ said the Professor, grinning merrily. ‘This is your night! So go out there and enjoy it.’