The Time Hunters (Book 1 of the acclaimed series for children of all ages) (6 page)

Uncle Percy’s expression grew stern. ‘Now, both of
you, I must ask that you do me a favour. And I’m deadly serious about this. What
you see at Bowen Hall
must
remain
our
secret. Absolutely no one can
know about what happens here… not your friends, your teachers, not even your
mother. Do you understand?’

‘But -?’ Joe said.

‘There can be no
buts
, Joe,’ Uncle Percy said firmly. ‘I must ask you to give me your
most sincere assurance you won’t tell a soul. If you did, everything here -
every person, every animal - would be in danger. In fact, the whole world would
be in danger.’

‘What kind of dang -’ Joe said.

‘Just promise, dweebling!’ Becky snapped. ‘Of
course, we do. Don’t we, Joe?’

‘Course,’ Joe said sincerely. ‘We won’t tell a
soul.’

‘You give
your me
your
word?’

Becky and Joe nodded.

Uncle Percy looked relieved. ‘Excellent,’ he smiled,
stretching in his chair.

‘May we …may we come with you on a journey?’ Becky asked
nervously.

Joe’s face ignited like a firework.
‘Pleeaaase.’

‘I’m afraid not,’ Uncle Percy replied simply.

‘We’ll be good, I swear,’ Becky added.

‘I’m sure you will, but travelling can be dangerous.
I wouldn’t want to put you in harms way.’

‘Then take us somewhere you know is safe,’ Becky
said.

‘Can we see a T Rex?’ Joe said.

Uncle Percy chortled. ‘I wouldn’t say that corresponded
with my definition of the word ‘safe’, young man.’

Joe shrugged. ‘It would be cool though. Wouldn’t it,
Becks?’

Becky ignored him and looked again at Uncle Percy. ‘Seriously,
you wouldn’t have to take us back far, either. Debbie Crabtree was run over by
a granny on a mobility scooter in Primark last week. I’d give anything to see
it.’

Uncle Percy looked quite shocked.
‘Poor
Debbie.’

Becky gave a flippant wave of her hand. ‘Oh, don’t
worry about her. She’s a bully and a right cow.’

Uncle Percy was about to reprimand her, when she appeared
to notice this and continued. ‘And she wasn’t hurt. No, my point is, it doesn’t
have to be years. It’s just the fact that we would’ve done it.’

Uncle Percy hesitated. ‘I’m sorry. I really can’t. I
could never forgive myself if something happened to either of you.’

‘Nothing will happen,’ Becky said. ‘And as mum
always says, ‘you can’t lead a horse to water and not expect it to take a
drink.’

‘But I didn’t lead you anywhere, did I? You stumbled
upon across the whole thing because of Joe’s bladder.’

‘Either way,’ Becky grinned. ‘We know about time
travel now and we won’t stop badgering you until you take us on a trip. And we
can be pretty annoying when we badger, can’t we, Joe?’

‘Dead annoying,’ Joe smirked. ‘We’re great
badgerers.’

‘And we’re here for another four weeks,’ Becky said.
‘That’s a lot of badgering.’

‘Badger, badger, badger,’ Joe said.

Uncle Percy looked defeated. ‘Then let me sleep on
it. I promise you I’ll give it some serious thought. Now, is that okay with the
two of you?’

‘I think so,’ Becky said, casting him the sweetest
smile she could. ‘And you know it makes sense.’

‘That’s right,’ Joe agreed.

Uncle Percy laughed. ‘For now though, I think we
should all get some rest. It’s been a very long and most eventful night.’
Raising himself from his chair, he scooped up the mugs and approached the
kitchen sink.

Joe gave an almighty yawn, his eyelids wilting. He
folded his arms on the table, lay down his head and closed his eyes. Becky
waited a minute, watching as his breathing grew heavier, then rose quietly from
her chair and joined Uncle Percy at the sink. ‘Can I ask you a question?’ she
said softly.

‘You can always ask,’ Uncle Percy replied in a way
that suggested he knew what her question would be. ‘I can’t guarantee you’ll
receive an answer.’

‘Jacob and Maria are from the past, too, aren’t
they?’

Uncle Percy stopped what he was doing and stared
darkly at the window. ‘Yes.’

‘Where are they from?’

‘They’re German.’

‘From what period?’

‘The Nineteen Thirties.’

Becky looked up at Uncle Percy’s eyes. For once,
they seemed sad and colourless. She nodded coolly and moved back to the table
to wake up her brother. She didn’t know why, but something told her she
shouldn’t ask about Jacob and Maria’s past.

A short while later, Becky lay in bed, listening to
the dying gasps of wind outside. Sleep was out of the question. In a matter of
hours her understanding of life - past, present and future - had changed, and
changed forever. She was living in a stately home with a time traveller, Will
Scarlet, two Sabre-tooth tigers and a dinosaur. A house where milk floats
appeared on the lawns in the dead of night.

A house of miracles.

Chapter 7

The
Time Room

‘We’re going!’ Joe bellowed. ‘We’re going!’

Becky’s eyes shot open to see him burst through her
door, eyes wide, ruby faced. Even half-asleep she knew the reason for his elation.
Uncle Percy had agreed to take them on a journey through time. He’d actually
agreed.

She, Becky Mellor, would be a time traveller.

Becky and Joe ate their breakfast as quickly as they
could; in part, to get the day underway, but also, and more significantly, to
get out of Maria’s way.

Maria had been in a terrible mood all morning,
banging pots and pans around the kitchen, chasing Gump with a mop for tramping
dirt on her freshly scrubbed floor tiles, and screaming at Jacob for having a
particularly loud cough.

‘It’s not right. It’s not right,’ she grumbled,
ferociously scrubbing the breakfast dishes. ‘Little ones should not be messing
with such things. Stupid man - stupid, crazy, man!’

By the time she had finished washing up she had
broken three glasses, a carafe and a rather old bone china teacup. And when
Uncle Percy appeared at the door, Maria barged past him, yelled ‘BAH!’ in his
face and stamped on his right foot before clumping off down the corridor,
shouting, ‘Dummkopf.
Idiot!’

‘Maria’s in a peculiar mood today.’ Uncle Percy
winced, rubbing his foot.

‘I don’t think she likes us going back in time,’
Becky said.

Uncle Percy sat down at the table.
‘Really?
I don’t see why not.’

‘That’s not what you said last night,’ Becky said.

‘I’ve had time to think about it. I can’t deny it is
a marvelous scholastic experience, and who am I to stand in the way of your education?’

‘That’s the spirit,’ Becky said.

‘So where are we going?’ Joe asked impatiently. ‘And
will we see a T- Rex?’

‘I certainly hope not, Joe,’ Uncle Percy said. ‘No,
today I’m taking you somewhere very special to me.
Very
special, indeed.
In fact, with the exception of Bowen Hall, it’s my
favourite place in my favourite period in history.’

‘So we’re not going to see Debbie Crabtree get
knocked over then?’ Becky quipped.

‘Where’s the educational value in that?’

‘There isn’t any,’ Becky replied. ‘But I bet it’s
hilarious.’

Uncle Percy sighed. ‘I think I can do a little better
than Miss Crabtree’s accident.’

‘Go on then,’ Becky said eagerly.
‘Where?’

‘You’ll have to wait and see,’ Uncle Percy said
secretively. ‘Anyway, I suppose we’d better get this show on the road. It’s
about time I showed you my laboratory?’

‘The laboratory?’
Becky said. ‘I thought we weren’t allowed in there.’

‘Well, if truth be told, it’s not a conventional
laboratory. It is, however, where I keep my time machines.’

‘Time machines?’
Joe said. ‘You’ve got more than one?’

‘Oh, yes,’ Uncle Percy replied casually. ‘I have
five
…’

*

A cool breeze whipped Becky’s hair as she trailed
Uncle Percy along the path to the side of the Hall. She grew more nervous with
each step, and found herself questioning whether this was a good idea. She
didn’t particularly enjoy flying, how on earth would she feel about travelling
through time?

When they reached the laboratory, Uncle Percy pulled
what looked like a tiny mobile phone from his pocket. Keying in a sequence of
digits, he pointed it at a circular pad to the right of a thick steel door. A
light shone green and a loud grinding sound as though a thousand metal bolts
were rotating could be heard. Slowly, the door inched open. ‘I call this The
Time Room
.’

Becky gasped loudly. She was staring at a cavernous room
with high white walls lined with towering stacks of computers, their monitors displaying
endless streams of numerical data. Above each screen were hundreds of soundless
clocks, each reading different times. A metal spiral staircase led to a raised platform
that overlooked the large, empty space in the middle of the room.

‘This-is-ace,’ Joe said, enthralled.

‘Do you think so?’ Uncle Percy said. ‘The lower
levels are much more impressive.’

Becky glanced at Joe.
Lower levels?

Uncle Percy led them up the stairs. Stopping at a computer
terminal, he spoke into a microphone, ‘Percy Mathias Halifax. TT98.’

An automated voice spoke back: ‘Embarkation
procedure initiated. Today’s password...’

‘Sagacious Sprouts,’ Uncle Percy replied.

The workstation burst into life. Immediately, the beaming
face of a middle-aged woman with long, curly auburn hair and rather too much
lipstick appeared on the monitor.

‘Well, well, stranger,’ the woman said brightly.
‘I’ve not seen you for a few weeks.’

‘Good morning, Annabel.’ Uncle Percy flashed
her a
wide smile.
 
‘Love the new look.
My compliments to your stylist.’

‘Thank you very much,’ Annabel said, coiling a lock
of hair between her fingers. ‘You’re positively the first TT to notice.’

‘Well, the rest of them are too blind to see
anything in the present.’

‘How very true,’ Annabel replied. ‘Anyway, what can
I do for you today?’

‘I’d like to log a trip, please.’

‘No problem,’ Annabel typed something onto a
keyboard. ‘Is it just you or is Will going too?’

‘No Will today. However, my niece and nephew will be
joining me.’

‘Becky and Joe?’
Annabel said, sounding shocked.

Uncle Percy motioned for Becky and Joe to join him. ‘Come,
meet Annabel Mullins – heart, soul and if I may so bold as to say, the gorgeous
face of the travelling community.’

Annabel’s already blushed face went a deeper shade
of pink. ‘Oh, shut up, Halifax, you old dog. Hi, kids. I’ve been so longing to meet
the two of you.’
 

‘Hi, Annabel,’ Joe said.

‘Err, hello,’ Becky said.

Annabel noted the look of surprise on Becky’s face.
‘Don’t look so shocked, Becky. I knew you were staying at Bowen Hall for the
summer – it’s all your uncle’s been talking about for months. In fact, he’s been
more excited about your visit than I’ve seen since he invented the
Dungwamblefigger,
or something equally
ridiculous as that.’

‘The Duncloxifier, my dear,’ Uncle Percy corrected
her. ‘And I’ll have you know that it’s quite an innovative contraption if
you’re interested in Flimpostatic imuldification.’

‘Yes, but who is?’ Annabel replied with an impish
grin. She looked at Becky and Joe. ‘Anyway, I’ve only ever seen photographs of
you but you’re both much more lovely in person.’

‘Thank you,’ Becky said.

‘Cheers,’ Joe said.

‘It’s my pleasure,’ Annabel said sincerely, before turning
back to Uncle Percy and saying, ‘So much for you saying you wouldn’t be introducing
them to time travel this summer, eh?’

Uncle Percy looked rather awkward. ‘I’m afraid my
plans changed when they discovered me performing some dental work on Milly last
night, rapidly followed by Keith Pickleton’s arrival in his magical milk float.
I’m afraid even I couldn’t talk myself out of that one.’

Annabel laughed. ‘I see. Well, Percy, where are you
taking them today?’

‘Timeline 14, sector 2, coordinates 10 - 10 - 79.’

‘Not there again,’ Annabel replied. ‘I swear one day
you’ll go there and never come back.’ She inputted the data and a buzzing sound
rang out; what looked like a fat cube of jet-black marble fell into a slot
beneath the monitor.

‘Many thanks, Annabel. Please pass on my best to
your husband and cheerio.’

Becky and Joe exchanged their farewells with
Annabel, and Uncle Percy logged off the terminal and picked up the
strange-looking block.

‘What’s that?’ Joe asked.

‘This, Joe, is Gerathnium. It’s the power source
that makes time travel possible. It’s very rare. That’s why we keep it stored
at a central base, ready for distribution to travellers across the world.’

‘A central base?’
Becky said inquisitively.

‘At GITT headquarters.’

‘GITT?’
Becky laughed.

‘It is rather amusing, isn’t it?’ Uncle Percy
chuckled. ‘Henry Locket came up with the acronym. It stands for the Global
Institute for Time Travel. It’s a worldwide organisation for the regulation,
sanctioning and coordination of all travelling activity. In actual fact, the
Institute fulfills many functions.’

‘Like what?’ Joe said.

‘Well, primarily, it ensures the safety and welfare
of the travelling community. For instance, if a traveller gets stuck in time,
for whatever reason, it can send someone to fetch them. It’s a very big
operation.’

‘How come no one knows about it?’ Becky asked.

‘The Institute goes to great lengths to maintain its
anonymity. You see, time travel is potentially the most destructive power that
the world has ever known. That is why, today more than ever, it must remain
secret. For that reason you can’t mention this to anyone.’

‘We understand,’ Becky said.

‘So who wants to go back in time?’ Uncle Percy
asked.

Becky and Joe eagerly nodded their agreement.

‘Why have you got five time machines?’ Joe asked.

‘Each one is a different type of vehicle, for
different types of trip. Today, I think we’ll use Bertha. She’s my favourite.’ He
clapped his hands twice and said in a loud, steady voice, ‘Activate Bertha.’ All
at once, the ground rumbled beneath them; the walls vibrated gently. ‘You might
want to watch this.’

Becky and Joe raced to the banister. Their eyes
widened as the Time Room floor separated in the middle and began to disappear
into the wall. Something was emerging from the level below. A few moments later
the floor had been completely replaced by a revolving platform. Standing on it,
gleaming under the strips lights was a green and white campervan.

‘My lovely Bertha,’ Uncle Percy said as if
introducing an old and very dear friend.

Becky’s jaw dropped open.

Joe, on the other hand looked slightly disappointed.

Uncle Percy noticed. ‘She might not look much, Joe, but
I’ve made plenty
of
minor modifications.
’

Becky couldn’t help but smile. She remembered only
too well the last time Uncle Percy had made
minor modifications
to a vehicle.

Uncle Percy descended the steps, and ran his hand
fondly across Bertha’s bodywork. ‘You see most travellers build their time
machines out of their favourite vehicles. Mine happens to be the 1963
Volkswagen Campervan.’ He inserted the Gerathnium into a slot to the rear the
van and slid open its door. ‘Come on.’

Becky and Joe clambered in and sat opposite each
other. Uncle Percy closed the door and climbed in the front, settling himself
onto the driver’s seat. He leaned over to the dashboard and typed a destination
code onto a small keypad. Almost immediately, the campervan rumbled, shuddering
as a surge of power resonated beneath them.

‘Nervous?’ Uncle Percy asked.

‘Excited,’ Joe replied.

‘And you, Becky?’

Becky’s heart threatened to burst through her chest.
‘Terrified.’
Her knuckles clung tightly to a handrail
below the window.

Uncle Percy nodded kindly. ‘Don’t worry. I’ve done
this more times than I care to remember.’

‘So where are we going?’ Joe shouted over the
escalating noise.

Uncle Percy grinned. ‘Kansas.’

‘And when?’ Joe pressed.

Before Uncle Percy could reply, fizzy blue and white
light spilled from the front panel. Becky clamped her eyes shut.
 
All of a sudden, twisting torrents of light
surrounded them, extending to every inch of Bertha’s interior. Becky covered
her
ears,
bracing herself for the explosion she knew
would come.

And with a
BOOM
,
Bertha disappeared.