Time Hunters and the Spear of Fate, The (11 page)

Chapter 15

Where there’s a Will …

Time stopped. A cloud of disbelief
descended upon them all.

Becky began to tremble, unable to
tear her eyes from the sickening sight before her. She wanted to scream but no
sound came out.

Not wasting a moment, Uncle Percy
dashed over to Edgar, raising his keys to his mouth. ‘Barbie… to the Time Room,
please.’ He fell to his knees and lifted Edgar’s wrist, his fingers probing for
the pulse. ‘Will, would you be so kind as to bring me the medi-box please?’

Will jumped up, rushed to a drawer,
and pulled out a small bright green box, as a loud
pop
heralded Barbie’s
arrival. ‘At your service, sir.’

Uncle Percy looked up at her. ‘My
dear, I need you to bring Doctor Aziz, Terence Brown and Emily Appleby here.’
He spoke quickly but clearly. ‘The relevant time coordinates are in your
database. I also need you to sterilize Medi-room 1 on floor minus 2. You may need
to do a short trip to enable you to do it in time. I’d also be grateful if you
could prepare the oxygenesic refribulator, the Revescopy equipment and the
autotrace sterilizers.’

‘Indeed, sir,’ Barbie nodded. In a
flash, she had disappeared.

Opening the medi-box, Uncle Percy
pulled out a syringe filled with a blue liquid and injected it into Edgar’s
arm. He turned to Will. ‘Can you give me any clue as to what we’re dealing with
here? What happened to him?’

Will face darkened. ‘He has seen
hell…’

Before Will could continue, three
balls of light materialized to their left, ballooning in size until a
shattering
BANG
revealed four figures: Barbie; a tall Asian man with a
goatee beard and a long neck that made him resemble a giraffe; a stern-faced
woman wearing a nurse’s uniform and carrying a leather handbag; and a short,
middle-aged man with blonde hair, a sloping forehead and a rose-red nose.

‘The medi-room is prepared, sir,’
Barbie said.

‘Thank you, Barbie,’ Uncle Percy
replied.

At the same time, the Asian man sped
to Uncle Percy’s side. ‘Good afternoon, Percy.’

‘Doctor Aziz, thanks for coming.’

‘Not at all, Percy,’ Doctor Aziz
said. ‘You’re keeping me busy today.’ He glanced at Edgar’s lifeless body. For
a moment shock lined his face, but this was swiftly replaced by a look of calm,
unruffled professionalism.  ‘A Minotaur, eh? Now that is something you
don’t see every day.’

‘Indeed, it isn’t,’ the woman said,
running over. ‘But a patient is a patient.’ She looked back at the shorter man.
‘C’mon, Terence. This may be more up your street than ours.’

The short man’s eyes fixed nervously
on Edgar. ‘I –’ Then his eyes swirled white and he fell backwards. He was
unconscious before he hit the floor.

‘Trust the vet not to be able to
handle it,’ the nurse frowned.

‘Barbie,’ Uncle Percy said. ‘Would
you make sure Terry is okay?’

Barbie nodded and stomped over to
the unconscious man.

Uncle Percy smiled at the nurse.
‘Thanks for coming, Emily.’

‘Anything for you, Percy,’ the nurse
replied. ‘And I have to admit I was more than a little intrigued to meet this
Minotaur you’ve told us so much about. Now, is there somewhere we can take the
patient?’

‘The Medi-room is set up and ready,’
Uncle Percy replied. ‘May I use your portravella, Emily?’

The woman passed over her handbag.
‘Of course.’

Uncle Percy turned to Becky and Joe.
‘I’m going to take Doctor Aziz, Nurse Collins and Edgar to the Medi-room.’

‘What can we do?’ Becky asked.

‘Just pray,’ Uncle Percy said
quietly. ‘I’ll make sure you’re kept in the loop. These are three of the very
best medical practitioners in their fields and I have state of the art
equipment in the Medi-room. I’m sure Edgar will be fine.’ He looked at Will.
‘And, Will, thank you for bringing him here.’

‘He is a true friend,’ Will replied.
‘I would do nothing less.’ His voice grew dark. ‘But there is more to discuss
when the occasion is right.’

‘I’m sure,’ Uncle Percy said, keying
digits onto the time-pad fitted to the bag’s strap. ‘For now, let’s see how Edgar
responds to treatment and I’ll come and find you.’

Will nodded.

‘Barbie, if you could ask Terry to
join us when he regains consciousness?’ Uncle Percy watched as the handbag
became enveloped in light. His fingers wrapped lightly around Edgar’s hand.
‘Hold on, Ahmed, Emily.’ The doctor and nurse seized his arm as, with a loud
SNAP
,
the four of them vanished.

Becky’s mind was struggling to catch
up. It had all happened so quickly. Without thinking, she rushed into Will’s
arms and buried herself into his shoulder. It was then she noticed his clothes
were speckled red. ‘Are you hurt? You’re covered in blood.’

‘Tis not my blood!’ Will replied in
a way that suggested he wouldn’t expand further. ‘Nor is it Edgar’s.’

Joe joined in the embrace. ‘Then,
whoever’s blood it is, I hope you put the smack down good and proper.’

Will looked confused. ‘Smack down?’

‘Doesn’t matter,’ Joe replied.

Becky hesitated before she asked her
next question. ‘So what did happen? To Edgar, I mean.’

Will fell silent. ‘All I will say is
that some men’s evil knows no bounds,’ he replied gravely.

‘Why d’you say that?’ Joe probed.

‘Was it Drake?’ Becky asked in a
quiet voice.

‘No,’ Will replied tartly. ‘It seems
Drake has enlisted another, as foul a man as I have ever heard of.’

‘What do you mean?’ Joe asked.
‘Who?’

‘I will not talk of it now,’ Will
said decisively. ‘I need to eat, to bathe; I have been gone some time. Come to
my tree house in one hour, and I shall tell you all that has been. But it is no
tale for the faint of heart, of that I assure you.’

*

Becky went back to her room.
Changing out of her heavy clothing, she found herself brimming with anger,
desperate to get whoever did this to Edgar and make them suffer. She found
herself pacing the room, brandishing Orff’s knife and sneering at the Christmas
decorations, which just seemed trivial and foolish in light of all that had
happened. Every now and again, she would flop down on her bed and stare
longingly at the hologramophone receiver, hoping that Uncle Percy would call to
let her know Edgar was fine … but no call came. To make matters worse, Will’s
words revisited her time and time again: ‘
Drake has enlisted another, as
foul a man as I have ever heard of.’
She couldn’t help but recall the last
villain Emerson Drake had recruited:
George Chapman – Jack the Ripper
.

‘Who could be more foul than Jack
the Ripper?’ she mumbled, laying Orff’s knife on the dressing table and sighing
heavily.

When the hour was up, she went to
collect Joe and together they made their way to Bowen Forest.

Normally the very sight of Will’s
tree house would delight Becky, but not today. Even as the wooden platform
ascended, revealing the glittery white countryside before her, she felt nothing
but a deep sense of emptiness. She looked at Joe and could tell he felt the
same.

Will greeted them at the top with
two goblets of hot blackberry juice and a platter of bread and cheeses. He
ushered them into a room where a small log fire sputtered and popped, sending
thick coils of smoke into a red stone chimney. Settling onto the large
cushions, it was Joe who seemed most eager to talk. He told Will about the
Spear of Fate, the Gadeirus Tablet and the astonishing revelation that Edgar’s
ancestors may have descended from Atlantis. Will took it all in his stride, in
fact most of it didn’t appear to shock him one bit.

‘Your words may indeed explain some
of the vile things I’ve witnessed,’ Will said grimly.

‘What do you mean?’ Becky asked.

Will was about to continue, when a
stale wind blew back Becky’s hair. A flickering orb appeared in the corner of
the room, growing in size, before shooting twisting fingers of light all
around.  A moment later, there was a
crack
and the light vanished
to reveal Uncle Percy, his face jaded and tired. He did, however, wear a look
of satisfaction. ‘Ah, Becky, Joe, I’m glad you’re here.’

‘How’s Edgar?’ Becky asked
immediately.

‘He’s not quite out of the woods
yet, but there’s been a marked improvement. Indeed, I have every confidence
he’ll be absolutely fine. The medical team are working hard to restore him to
full health and he’s responding to treatment.’

‘But he looked so pale,’ Becky said
softly.

‘I’m afraid he’s lost a lot of
blood.’

‘It was
his blood
they
sought,’ Will snarled.

‘I’m sorry, Will,’ Uncle Percy said.
‘What do you mean?’

Will’s eyes glowered with disgust.
 ‘We trusted Drake’s motive for the Minotaur slayings to be vengeance. And
perchance it was. But from what I could judge it wasn’t Drake who carried out
the slaughter. Another gave the commands.’

‘Another?’ Uncle Percy asked,
surprised.

‘A doctor. As immoral, as dissolute
a man as any to have lived.’

Uncle Percy looked shocked. ‘A
doctor?’

‘Aye. He was the one who instructed
Edgar be tortured. He was the one who coordinated the experiments.’

‘What kind of experiments?’ Uncle
Percy asked. ‘How do you know all of this?’

Will inhaled slowly.  ‘Permit
me to tell you of my recent journey. I travelled back to the Minotaur camp one
last time to try and prevent the death of Gergo and Gergan. The Omega Effect,
as before, barred my intervention. However, some time after the attackers had
departed the camp, taking Edgar with them, I discovered a deceased Associate -
it seems Edgar’s brothers fought valiantly before death took them. Anyhow,
fortune smiled upon me for the corpse wore a travelling device. Studying this,
it presented me the coordinates to their most recent base.’

Uncle Percy nodded appreciatively.
 ‘Very clever, Will.’

Will accepted the compliment with a
half smile. ‘I journeyed back two years to when the base was sited and found
myself at once familiar with its setting.’

‘Where was it?’ Becky asked.

‘Do you recall the decimated village
on the path to the Red Caves on the Island of Kera?’

Becky nodded. ‘Yes.’

‘Wasn’t that the site of a
massacre?’ Joe offered.

‘Indeed,’ Will replied. ‘I believe
it was this doctor that commanded that atrocity, too, after which he erected a
medical camp on its site, a camp created to interrogate, study and brutalize
Edgar. Again, the Omega Effect prevented my intervention. I had to watch
powerlessly from a distance, knowing all the time Edgar was being subjected to
such horrors I dare not imagine. Anyhow, as luck allowed, I captured an
Associate and used certain means to make him talk.’

‘What kind of means?’ Joe asked.

‘That I will not say,’ Will replied
darkly. ‘But I felt no guilt from it, and it did yield results. He told me they
had journeyed from 1360BC, that they had been scouring the length and breadth
of Egypt, gathering evidence of Atlantis and searching for somewhere called
The
Chamber of the Ancients,
a place that could lead them to the Spear of Fate.
They believed that Edgar may hold the secret to its location.’

‘The Chamber of the Ancients?’ Joe
repeated.

‘Indeed.’

Becky turned to Uncle Percy. ‘Have
you heard of it?’

‘No,’ Uncle Percy replied, shaking
his head. ‘Please continue, Will.’

‘Opportunely, after three nights had
passed the Omega Effect lifted and I battled my way into the camp. I could not
locate this doctor or I would have surely had him meet my blade, but I did
manage to seize Edgar and return him here.’

‘And thank God you did,’ Uncle Percy
said.

‘So Drake’s made some connection
between the Minotaurs and Atlantis?’ Becky said.

‘It appears so,’ Uncle Percy replied
miserably.

‘And now we have to find something
called
The Chamber of the Ancients
in Egypt?’ Joe added.

‘It certainly requires further
investigation,’ Uncle Percy said. He hesitated before turning back to Will and
asking one final question. ‘About this doctor … did you find out his name?’

‘Aye,’ Will spat. ‘The Associate
called him Heim.’

Uncle Percy gulped. ‘Aribert Heim?’

‘I heard no forename,’ Will replied.

Colour bled from Uncle Percy’s face.

Becky noticed. ‘So who’s this
Aribert Heim?’

Uncle Percy hesitated before he
spoke. ‘In my opinion, Aribert Heim is just about the vilest monster to have
ever walked the earth…’

Chapter 16

Doctor Death

Seconds crawled by, until Joe’s voice,
weaker than usual, breached the quiet. ‘He can’t be worse than Jack the Ripper
though, can he?’

‘George Chapman was a psychopath,’
Uncle Percy replied, unable to make eye contact. ‘His pathology, although
terrifying, was relatively straightforward; he was a fiend that remained in the
shadows, hiding from the world, playing out his repulsive fantasies to no one
but himself.’ Each syllable he uttered sounded as though it stabbed at his
heart. ‘Aribert Heim, on the other hand, was quite different … a so-called
doctor in the Nazi party during the Second World War, he was a visible figure,
and used the pretext of scientific advancement to do unspeakable things.’

‘What kind of things?’ Becky asked
quietly.

‘You really don’t need to know,’
Uncle Percy said frankly, his voice listless and hollow. ‘Listen, I have to
return to Edgar and may be gone for some time.’ He took a heavy breath. ‘Sadly,
whether I like it or not, I get the feeling you’re going to investigate Heim’s
nefarious activities online. Am I wrong?’

‘Probably not,’ Joe replied
honestly. ‘If he’s the bad guy, it makes sense to find out what we can about
him. Know you’re enemies and all that. What d’you reckon, Becks?’

Becky didn’t reply. She knew
agreeing with Joe would disappoint Uncle Percy, but he had made a very good
point.

Uncle Percy’s eyes dimmed. ‘Trust
me, the less you know about Aribert Heim, the easier you’ll sleep at night. I
can assure you of that.’ He activated his wrist portravella and vanished into
nothingness.

All went silent again.

Becky looked at Joe.  ‘Maybe
he’s right, maybe we shouldn’t check up on Heim.’

‘Becks, we’ve fought Jack the
Ripper, Otto Kruger, Zombies, Harpies and Sea Serpents. I ain’t gonna be scared
by Doctor Doolittle, no matter what he’s done.’

Before Becky could reply, Will’s low
voice met their ears. ‘But fear should be your companion, boy. Fear inspires
caution. Caution spurs accuracy. Accuracy ensures victory. Aye, from what I’ve
been told, it is right you fear this man. Should our paths cross, it may be the
only way to defeat him …’

*

Becky and Joe stayed with Will for
the next hour and then returned to the Hall. Entering the kitchens, it was Joe
who said, ‘Shall we get crackin’ with some research, then?’

‘Into Heim?’ Becky replied
hesitantly, keeping her voice to a whisper in case Maria was close by.

Joe shook his head. ‘Forget him for
a moment. There’s loads of other stuff we can look into: Atlantis, The Sonchis
Scroll, The Gadeirus Tablet, The Chamber of the Ancients? Let’s just see what’s
out there.’

For the next few hours, they sat in
Joe’s bedroom, trawling dozens of websites and getting progressively frustrated
at how little information they could find; although there were endless
conspiracy theories about Atlantis, they found no conclusive proof it had ever
existed in the first place. Furthermore, there was no mention whatsoever of The
Sonchis Scroll, The Gadeirus Tablet or The Chamber of the Ancients. By the time
nightfall had descended, they were feeling dispirited, exhausted and fed up.
Just as Becky was about to suggest they stop and continue the next day, Joe
glanced at her and said, ‘I suppose we should check out the Deadly Doc then?’

Becky looked nervously back at him
and said, ‘Go for it.’

Joe inputted the following letters:
 
H – E – I – M
and hit the return button. His eyes flicked to the
left where he read:

Showing results for: Heim

Aribert Heim – Noledge, the online
encyclopedia

www.noledge.com

Tentatively, he hovered the cursor over
the link and double clicked. Straightaway, text and imagery peppered the
screen. In the top right-hand corner, a young, undeniably handsome dark-haired
man, with a long, pointed face smiled back at them, his piercing brown eyes
scorching the screen.

Becky gave an involuntary gasp.
There was something about Heim’s face that raged with a cruelty the smile
couldn’t conceal. Hesitantly, half wanting to slam the laptop lid shut, she
began to read.

Aribert Heim – ‘Doctor Death’

Aribert Ferdinand Heim (28 June 1914
– 10 August 1992?) was an Austrian doctor, also known as Doctor Death. A member
of the Waffen-SS, he was a physician in the Nazi concentration camp at
Mauthausen, and was involved in the murder and torture of hundreds of men,
women and children under the guise of scientific advancement. Indeed, his
experiments on camp inmates, particularly children, were some of the most
horrendous to have ever been performed. He lived for many years in
Cairo
, Egypt, under the name, Tarek Farid Hussein and it is reported he died
there on 10th August 1992, although there has been no evidence of it and a body
has never been recovered...

The article left nothing out, Heim’s
sickening deeds being detailed with a detached, brutal honesty. With each word,
Becky felt ever more appalled, but forced herself to continue.

…. Following the war, Heim was
captured by American soldiers and sent to a prisoner of war camp. He was
released
and avoided immediate prosecution due to the mysterious
omission from his file of his activities at the Mauthausen camp. After this, he
worked as a practicing
doctor at Baden until,
following a tip off a
warrant
had been issued for his arrest,
his disappearance in 1962
.
Heim escaped to Spain, Libya and
Morocco before finally locating to Egypt.

In spite of international efforts to
find him, he has always eluded capture. Always an enigmatic figure, even his
death remains a mystery, with many believing he didn’t die in 1992, and could
even be alive to this very day …

By the time she finished, Becky’s
eyes leaked tears. She wiped them away quickly as she heard Joe’s voice, which
was small and flat.

‘So he was a doctor at a
concentration camp during the war?’

‘Yes,’ Becky replied.

Joe exhaled heavily. ‘And he
experimented on kids, too? The bloke was a sickoid.’

‘Deffo.’

Becky left soon after that. She
needed to be alone. She had a shower, dried herself off, and then promptly
jumped back in, desperately hoping the water would wash away all of the
repellent things she’d read. It didn’t work. At seven thirty, she and Joe
joined Maria and Jacob for dinner. Maria questioned them incessantly about
Uncle Percy’s whereabouts, but much to her frustration they remained tight-lipped
and evasive, thinking it better to receive the odd scowl and dismissive tut,
than to inform Maria that a Minotaur was recuperating in the grounds of Bowen
Hall.

As expected, Becky couldn’t sleep.
Each time she came close to dozing off, Heim’s smirking face assaulted her
mind. Giving up on sleep altogether, she spent hours staring at the hologram
receiver, longing for a message from Uncle Percy to say Edgar had fully
recovered, but still no message came.

The next morning, feeling groggy and
bleary-eyed, Becky threw open her curtains to see a liquorice black sky was
turning stony grey. Feeling the need for fresh air, she decided to visit Peggy
and Gump. Dressing quickly, she left her room and exited the Hall. Walking at
pace, she negotiated the rear path, careful not to slip on the icy ground.
Soon, Bowen Lake extended on the horizon, a thick layer of ice covering its
surface like a silken tablecloth. It was then she glimpsed a recognizable
silhouette in the distant archery field. Walking over, she watched Joe pull
back his bowstring, take aim, and release an arrow, which struck a straw
target. Her eyes scanned the archery field to see all ten straw targets had
arrows embedded in their centers. ‘Hey up,’ she shouted over.

Joe looked up and lowered his bow.
‘Morning.’

Up close, Becky could see Joe’s eyes
were inflamed, the bags beneath them puffy and black. ‘You couldn’t sleep
either, eh?’

‘Nah.’

Becky inclined her head towards the
bow. ‘It physically hurts to say it, but you’re brilliant with that thing now.’

Joe shrugged. ‘I’m all right,’ he
said modestly. ‘You heard owt about Edgar?’

‘Nope,’ Becky replied. ‘How about
you?’

‘No,’ Joe said glumly.

‘Hopefully that’s a good sign,’
Becky said. ‘I mean, if there was something wrong then we would’ve  -’

A stale wind brushed her face and a
small globe of light appeared to her right; growing rapidly, it exploded with a
SNAP
, to reveal Barbie looking up at them. Panic shot through her.
‘Barbie, what is it?’

‘Your uncle requests your presence
in the medical wing,’ Barbie said. ‘If you would each take a hand I shall
transport you there.’

‘Is it Edgar?’ Becky asked at once.
‘Is he dead?’

‘Quite the opposite,’ Barbie
replied. ‘He’s in excellent spirits. I do believe he’s eating his seventh bowl of
Cornflakes as we speak.’

Becky looked at Joe, who was
grinning. ‘Cornflakes?’

‘Yes,’ Barbie replied. ‘I offered
him Weetabix but he said it looked like
Harpy Glubba
, whatever that may
be. Anyway, he’s asked to see you both.’ She offered out her hands.  ‘He’s
really very nice, isn’t he?’

*

Becky felt herself shake as she took
Barbie’s right hand, Joe taking the left. A moment later, ragged forks of light
were spiralling up her arm, before encircling her entire body. Her stomach
lurched as a shattering
crack
sounded and the scene changed.

A dim light above illuminated a
wide, lengthy corridor with countless doors on either side of its bleached
white walls. She knew at once she was somewhere in the vast complex beneath the
Time Room floor. The temperature rose notably and a sour smell of disinfectant
met her nostrils. She turned left and saw a set of double-doors, above which
was a sign that read
Medi-Room
1; standing beside it, a broad smile
lighting his face, was Uncle Percy.

‘Thank you, Barbie, you found them
okay then?’

‘Indeed, sir,’ Barbie replied. ‘The
Alto-radar is fully operational now and working effectively.’

‘Excellent.’

Becky, however, wasn’t in the mood
for small talk. ‘Is Edgar in there? She pointed at the double doors. ‘How is
he?’

Uncle Percy gave a relieved sigh.
‘He is, and he’s going to be fine. Ahmed, Emily and Terry have left and feel
confident he just needs rest from now on. And he must be feeling much better –
he’s certainly got his appetite back.’

Becky smiled. ‘Good.’

‘Can we see him?’ Joe asked keenly.

Uncle Percy nodded. ‘Of course. I’ve
attached a pair of transvocalisors to him so we can all communicate. But before
that, please bear in mind that he’s suffered a terrible ordeal. He’s exhausted,
he’s weak and he may look slightly worse for wear. However, I assure you the
injuries are only superficial. In time, he’ll make a full recovery.’ Leaning
forward, he pushed the door slowly open. ‘Now I’ll be working on a time machine
in the Auto-Hall. But there’s a Hologramophone situated next to Edgar’s bed.
Call me if you need me.’

Becky nodded and took a hesitant
step through the doors. Entering the Medi-room, a lump formed in her throat.
Looking over at the far wall, she saw eight machines surrounding a succession
of mattresses placed parallel to one another to make a gigantic bed; each
machine was connected to an intricate network of wires and tubes which fed into
the giant figure below. Edgar lay there motionless, his eyes closed, like a
corpse
.

Becky gave a dismayed squeak.

Upon hearing this, Edgar’s huge
ebony eyes shot open and he jolted up, turning his giant head to face them.
‘Lordy … fancy seeing you two here!’ His voice was as soft and melodic as ever.

Becky’s heart soared. ‘Edgar!’ she
screamed, sprinting over to him, Joe following a few feet behind.

Edgar gave a hearty chortle. ‘My, my
… haven’t you both grown?’

Becky was about to hug him when she
froze with shock.  Up close, she could see huge cuts and grazes all over
his face and torso; his long, curving horns, usually so polished and gleaming,
were scratched and dull.

Edgar noticed the shock on Becky’s
face. ‘Don’t worry about my appearance, Miss Becky. I am healing and will soon
be at full health.’

‘I know,’ Becky replied quietly.

‘And seeing you again can only
hasten that recovery,’ Edgar said. ‘Now, where is my snuggle?’ He extended his
giant arms and Becky fell into them, squeezing him tightly. ‘And you, Master
Joe. Snuggle, please…’

Joe grinned and joined in the
embrace.