The Temporal Stone

Chapter 2

His face dropped as he turned to face the rest of the group. 'He's erm… he's…'

'He's what?' asked Lana.

Rupert kind of shook his head awkwardly, 'I can't describe it. He's just, well, he's…'

Lana turned to look at the ginger-haired class comedian, 'Oh for goodness sake, Rupert, spit it out. Where is he? What's the matter with him?' she tutted.

Returning his attention to her, he shrugged, 'It's not just him, it's the others too.'

'What do you mean?,' asked Liam as he pulled Ava protectively towards him.

'Well, Rupert, is the driver there or not?' Lana asked quietly.

'He's there alright. It's just that he's kind of… not there too.'

'Huh?' asked Emma as Diarmuid held her tight.

'Let's just calm down, okay? Rupert, you're really not making any sense, mate,' said Declan.

'I think you need to see for yourselves,' Rupert whispered.

The lights flickered back on again, giving the group a moment to check on the women at the back of the carriage. Declan smiled encouragingly at them before noticing something odd. It was only then that they all realised how quiet the train had become.

'Declan?' Emma whispered as she followed his gaze.

'Declan? Something's up with the women…'

As she approached them with her arm out-stretched, she held out her hand and touched one of their faces. She was stone cold and, although they were sitting in exactly the same position as before, the four women appeared to be no longer conscious. Their empty eyes stared back at her like lifeless porcelain dolls.

Declan rushed to her side and inspected them.

'The other people have stopped shouting too,' said Moira, as she took off her glasses and wiped her forehead, before she opened the door to the next carriage.

'What's going on?' she whispered. 'What's happened to them all?' she asked as she looked over all the people who seemed to have frozen, just like the women.

Following behind her, Declan and her classmates walked silently through the carriages, astonished at what they saw. It was as if the people were playing a game of Musical Statues. Each and every person was frozen, their eyes wide open, but there was nobody there.

Lana waved her hand in front of one of the middle-aged businessmen she'd noticed earlier. He was standing up, leaning over the seat in front, a newspaper tucked under his arm and his laptop on the seat next to him. His mouth was open and his eyebrows were knitted together. He looked as if he'd been shouting. She turned her head so she could look directly at his face and waved a hand right in front of his eyes.

'Hello?' she asked quietly.

The man did nothing. If it wasn't for his beating heart that she could hear quite clearly when she placed her ear against his chest, she would have thought he were dead.

'This is so freaky, Sis,' she said as she stepped backwards and turned to see her sister waving her hands in front of an old couple who sat cowering in their seats. Fear was etched into their faces.

'You can say that again,' Emma gulped as she too, stepped backwards just as Declan rounded up the Watchers.

'There is definitely something supernatural going on.'

CHAPTER 3

'All the doors are locked,' said Diarmuid as he walked back towards the group. 'I couldn't get into the driver's cabin, but Rupert was right, he's frozen, just like the rest of them.'

'Did you see anything else?' asked Liam.

Diarmuid shook his head, 'Nothing superstitious... well nothing more weird than this,' he said as he waved his arms, indicating the carriage.

'At least the lights are back on now,' whispered Ava nervously.

'Is anyone getting a phone signal?' asked Declan.

'No, nothing,' were the general replies after they'd fumbled in their bags and pockets.

'Well, we're going to have to break open the doors, then.'

'I'll do it,' offered Liam, as he rolled up his sleeves and turned to face the nearest door. Taking a deep breath, he grabbed hold of the handle and pulled it aggressively. The handle, with the door attached to it, came off in his hand like it was nothing but a thin piece of paper.

He threw it to one side and peered out into the darkness of the tunnel.

'It's too dark, I can't see a thing. Diarmuid, Emma, perhaps you could bring some light?' he asked as he began to climb out.

'Not so fast, Liam,' shouted Declan. 'We don't know what's out there, mate. Let me go first,' he said gently pushing Liam behind him.

'Diarmuid, stand behind me and light up please, mate.'

Doing exactly as he was told, Diarmuid concentrated so much that he was soon a beacon in the darkness. Looking both ways, Declan could see nothing but an empty tunnel. There was no sign of anything out of place.

'Perhaps it was someone on the train that caused it?' asked Moira quietly.

'But we checked through all the carriages. Everyone was under that weird statue spell,' Lana replied.

'I can't see anything untoward. I think we should get off the train and try and get to a spot where we can use our phones,' Declan suggested. 'I'll lead, with Emma behind me for light. Liam and Diarmuid, you follow behind the rest of the g**g and keep an eye out. Come on, let's go.'

The teenagers and their mentor carefully climbed down from the train and slowly began to walk through the dark tunnel towards daylight.

It was damp, dark and cold.

After a couple of minutes, Nisha suddenly stopped, causing Penny to crash into her.

'Oops, sorry. What's up? Nisha, are you okay?'

When she received no reply, she yelled ahead to Declan.

Turning to look at the young red-haired girl, he shouted, 'What's up, Penny?'

'It's Nisha… I'm not sure.'

'Nisha?' he yelled, 'You okay?'

The Indian girl suddenly looked upwards, oblivious to Declan's and Penny's calls.

'Hello? I know you're there,' she whispered. 'Show yourselves.'

Nisha watched as the ghosts of countless men hovered above their heads.

'Who are you?' she asked as Lana and Emma shivered in front of her.

But as quickly as they appeared, the ghostly men disappeared and the tunnel was empty once again.

'Did you see them?' Nisha asked as Declan made his way towards her.

'See what? What's going on, Nisha?'

'The ghosts of a hundred souls,' she whispered breathlessly.

'I didn't see anything. Do you think it's them? Do you think the ghosts could have caused this phenomenon?' asked Rupert.

Declan shook his head, 'No… not ghosts. I don't think ghosts would be capable of anything like this. Come on folks, let's get out of here.'

The twelve teenagers and Declan sped up, running until they finally reached daylight. Exiting the tunnel, they leant forward to catch their breaths before climbing up the steep incline of earth until they stood directly on top of the tunnel.

All of them pulled out their mobile phones and walked around, trying to get a signal to call Eleanor at Praxos. All of them failed.

'Jesus, what's going on?' Lana yelled in frustration as she looked around at their beautiful green surroundings. 'It seems so quiet,' she added.

'I need to speak to the ghosts, maybe they can help,' said Nisha suddenly, as she started to climb back down the steep incline.

'Nisha wait!' yelled Penny, 'Don't go back in there, not on your own, anyway. It could be dangerous.'

Feeling a pull from below ground, Nisha was determined to speak to the ghosts of those men, so she ignored her friend and rushed back into the darkness.

'Declan!' squealed Penny as Nisha disappeared below them.

oOo

'It's alright, you have no need to fear me. You can show yourselves,' whispered Nisha as she cautiously tiptoed back through the tunnel, alone.

The gentle sound of breathing filled the area and soon she was surrounded by a large group of men, covered in dirt, all carrying pick axes.

Up until recently she would have been terrified at the prospect of talking to ghosts, but since becoming a Watcher, a new-found confidence filled her. Besides, she had a feeling these ghosts weren't there to hurt her.

'Who are you?' she asked with a smile.

'It matters not, child. You must leave… you must leave now. You are in danger. They are awake…' said one.

'We have been at peace for so long, yet this very morning, they awoke us from slumber. Dash, child, dash. Get out while you still can…'

'Don't let them get to you or else it will be too late…'

'But I don't understand. Who? Who woke you up? What endangers us? What's going on?'

oOo

'Where is she?' asked Declan.

'She wouldn't wait, she went back into the tunnel to speak to the ghosts.'

Declan threw himself down the bank, skidding to the bottom, rolling on his back before eventually landing on his feet. He ran back into the darkness, with the others close behind him.

'Nisha? Nisha?' he whispered but he couldn't see a thing.

Suddenly, the place was as bright as a hospital room as both Diarmuid and Emma lit themselves up to allow Declan to see.

But before he could do anything more, Imran yelled out, 'We're too late, look,' he said, pointing towards the statue of their 16 year old classmate.

'No!' sobbed Penny and Ava.

'Damn it,' shouted Lana.

'I'll grab her. You lot get out of here!'

Declan ran as fast as he could towards her, picked her up and then dashed back out into the sunlight, making sure no-one was left behind.

Standing above the tunnel, they gently placed Nisha on the grass.

'What do we do now?' asked Lana.

'We'll have to walk until we reach civilization and make the call from there,' Declan said.

'Do you think… do you think she's going to… to… d-d-die?' sobbed Penny.

Declan gently put his hand on her shoulder and shook his head. 'Whatever this is, we're going to get to the bottom of it. We're going to help Nisha and everyone else on that train, okay? This is the kind of thing that you're being trained to deal with. This is what the academy is for. Stay strong and we'll get through this. We'll have to carry Nisha with us, we certainly can't leave her here.'

'I'll take her,' volunteered Liam, whose super strength would allow him to easily carry her any distance.

'Okay, folks, let's go. I'm pretty sure there's a small hamlet close by. Follow me,' Declan said as they began walking across the top of the tunnel.

CHAPTER 4

'There's something really weird going on,' said Ava a few minutes later.

'No, really?' said Lana before realising what a cow she sounded and apologised.

'That's okay, Lana. But I wasn't talking about all that happened this morning on the train. I mean, something else. You know that I can normally hear things for miles around and stuff? Well, I don't seem to be able to hear anything.'

'What, like your power has gone?' Lana asked, shocked.

'No, I don't feel like I've lost it… I just feel like everywhere has gone quiet,' she whispered.

'That's freaky, Ava.'

Ava lifted her eyebrows and said nothing more. She just concentrated on trying to hear the world around her, like she'd been able to do since she turned 16.

'There's a house!' shouted Imran from the front of the group and he began to walk faster.

'Wait up, Imran. I'll go and see if there's anyone home first. You guys wait here. Stick together. Whatever you do, don't split up,' Declan said as he rushed towards the gate. As he pushed it open, he noticed a small dog sitting in front of the door.

'It's okay, mate, I'm a friend,' Declan whispered, leaning forward to pat it on its head. The moment he touched it, Declan stopped for a moment. Like Nisha and the people on the train, the dog was cold to the touch. Whatever had affected the others, had also affected the dog.

Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the front door. After a few minutes of silence, he turned the door knob to find it unlocked. Pushing it open, he peered into a small, cosy living room.

'Hello? Is there anyone here?' he yelled.

Nothing.

Walking through the house, he looked into every room until he found a telephone. Stopping, he picked it up, hoping for a dial tone. He cursed as he realised the landlines were down too.