Shortcuts — Book 1 by Brittlestar

Shortcuts

Synopsis

While walking to his first day of middle school, Simon Trekker discovers there are secret shortcuts to anywhere in the world and only he seems to know about them. He takes his friends to various places using his newly discovered shortcuts but when he starts showing up in various photos online taken by people from all over the world, the government and some others dark characters take notice and they want to know his secret.

Shortcuts — Book 1

by Brittlestar

Copyright © 2011 by Stewart JW Reynolds
Cover design by Stewart JW Reynolds
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
First Digital Printing: December 2011

www.Acceleglobe.com

Dedication
For Shannon, Owen and Gregor

CHAPTER 1 — ‘A Discovery’

“Simon, where’s your backpack?” Aunt Peggy yelled up the stairs. “Simon!”

Simon stood in his bedroom looking at himself in the mirror. His hair looked ridiculous. His school blazer was itchy. It was dark blue and made of some material that wouldn’t stain easily… at least that’s what his aunt had told him. It had been a hand-me-down that a friend of Aunt Peggy’s had given them. A new blazer cost more than his aunt and uncle could justify. The only cool part was the crest on the left side. It was a lion rampant with a scroll in it’s mouth on a shield. Underneath it had the letters GMS and in latin ‘hinc cito ubique’. It was the one thing that made wearing the itchy coat bearable.

In general, Simon hated school. He loved learning about new things but school just seemed so rigid and musty. He was, however, a bit excited about starting middle school. Grade 7. New school. New people… well, some new people. He grabbed his backpack from his bedroom floor and tried to fix his wavy hair by licking his hand and smoothing it down. It didn’t work.

“Simon. Where is your ba…” Aunt Peggy’s voice sounded slightly angry. “Ah, you’ve got it. Good.” She smiled at Simon and fixed the collar of his jacket as he stood on the second last stair.

“Simon! Have you had breakfast?” Simon’s Uncle James bellowed from the kitchen.

“Yes!” Simon shouted back.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes!”

“What did you have?”

“What?”

“What did you have for breakfast?” Uncle James spoke the words loud and slowly.

“I had cereal,” Simon assured him.

“It’s not enough, boy! You’re growing! You need more fuel for the machine!” Simon’s Uncle James was constantly concerned with making sure Simon ate. Simon knew he was just looking out for him, but it did get a bit annoying sometimes.

“Si, you’re heading off on a brand new adventure today. Grade 7! Middle School! It’s hard to believe!” Aunt Peggy had tears in her eyes as she cupped Simon’s head with her hands. “Stay safe and have fun!”

Simon looked at his aunt and smiled. She had raised him like she was his real mother. Both her and Uncle James had been there for him throughout the years. Getting bandaids for scraped knees, teaching him how to ride a bike, school recitals… everything. Every now and then he felt sad that he didn’t know his parents but he loved his aunt and uncle just as much as if they were his parents. They were so good to him.

Simon had lived with his aunt and uncle since he was a baby. Less than a year old. He had no memory of his parents. Only stories that had been told to him by his aunt and uncle and some people around town. His parents were well liked, very nice people and they loved him very much, he had been told repeatedly. It was nice to hear but it didn’t make him any less sad when he thought about them.

His parents had gone on a trip and left Simon in the care of his aunt and uncle. They were only supposed to be gone for a few days but they never returned. Simon had often asked what happened to them. There was an accident, he was told. What kind of accident, he would ask. We’re not sure, they’d say. He didn’t really miss his parents because he never really knew them… but he did feel empty when he thought of them. What happened to them? How did they die? Why does no one seem to know? It made him feel like he had lost a connection to who he really was.

Aunt Peggy gave Simon a kiss on the forehead. “Have a wonderful day, sweetheart.”

“Go get ’em, kiddo!” Uncle James shouted with his fist in the air.

Simon smiled at both of them and headed out the door.

~

Simon lived in the small town of Gatesburgh. It wasn’t tiny but it was definitely a small town. The main street had pretty much every shop the town had to offer on it and it stretched from one side of the town to the other and was always bustling. The town itself was pretty much in the middle of a bunch of fields and farmland. The nearest big city was over an hour away. The town wasn’t near anything. It was just there. It was as if one day the guy who founded the town just decided to stop on his way to somewhere else.

Simon’s aunt and uncle’s house was also small. A one and a half storey brick house that stood half way up a hill on Minstrel Street. Simon actually quite liked it. His bedroom was upstairs and his window looked out over a small stream that ran behind their house. He had spent hours upon hours as a little kid playing by that stream. Looking for fish. Digging up rocks. Pretending that the other side of the stream was an entirely different country and all he had to do was jump over and he would be somewhere new and exciting.

The walk to school would take about twenty minutes. The middle school was much further away from home than his old school. Simon knew the way. At least he thought he knew the way. As he kept walking, Simon started to notice buildings and surroundings that he didn’t quite recognize. There was a closed down shopfront with a sign that looked old and worn that read ‘Joyland Curiosities’. He had never heard of it before. He started to wonder if he had missed the turn. He had walked there so many times before with his aunt and uncle to go play in the big field behind the school. Why didn’t I pay more attention, he thought to himself. He stopped and turned around. Where am I, he wondered. I’m going to be late for my first day.

Simon checked his phone. He had now been walking for an hour and school was starting in a few minutes. He was hot and he was tired. His backpack felt like it weighed a ton. He swung it off of his back and set it on the ground. He kicked it out of frustration and it tipped over. The side pouch was open and his pencil case, which was unzipped, spilled out.

“Gahhh!” Simon exclaimed to no one.

He bent down to pick up his pens and pencils. This day was really going downhill fast. He was so eager to get to his new school and he wanted to make a good impression but now here he was practically late for his first day at Gatesburgh Middle School and with no idea exactly where he was.

His eyes started to tear up.

Simon picked up the last of his spilled pencils, zipped his pencil case, stuffed it back into his backpack and stood up. Then he saw it.

There on the fence across the street was an arrow slightly hidden by some tree branches. A small arrow about the length of your finger but definitely an arrow carved into the fence. It was pointing to a gap between two fences.

Simon checked for cars and walked across the street.

When he got closer to the arrow it was harder to see, but if he didn’t look right at it, he could see it. It was like he could only see it in his peripheral vision. The sides of his vision. If you weren’t consciously looking for something in that part of your sight, you’d never see it.

He pushed the branches away from where the arrow was and saw some letters scrawled above but he couldn’t quite read them. He turned his head and looked just past where the arrow and letters were…and he saw it. Plain as day, he saw it.

‘G.M.S.’

Gatesburgh Middle School?

And underneath, ‘sucks’.

That made Simon chuckle, but he wondered why there would be an arrow pointing to his new school out here. He was half an hour away from the school by now.

He took a few steps and looked down the narrow space between the two fences. There was nothing there except some overgrown grass. He looked down at the end of the little alley and saw a building… and kids.

It was his school.

It didn’t make any sense but Simon was about to be late so he didn’t care. He pushed past some of the long grass and ran through. There was barely enough room for him and his backpack to fit through and it brushed against the fence.

When he arrived at the other side he came out of a similar spot between two fences.

He was directly across from the school.

Simon couldn’t believe it. He must have somehow gotten so mixed up while walking that he circled back around to the school… though he was positive he had walked in a straight line.

None of that mattered now. There was only one minute to the bell. Simon bolted into the school.

~

“Cutting it close, Trekky!” Declan whispered to Simon with a massive smile on his face.

Declan was Simon’s best friend and had been since they were nine years old when Declan’s family moved to Gatesburgh. He had a mop of blonde hair that covered his eyes. He spent the majority of his time wiping his hair out of his eyes, flicking his head or blowing it away from his eyes. He was tall and skinny and his legs seemed disproportionately longer than the rest of him.

Declan always played it cool and always had something funny to say but he worried about everything. No one knew that except Simon. Well, Simon and Clara.

Clara Maeve had known Simon since kindergarten where she dared him to pee in the sandbox… and he did. They were not really best friends but more like honourary siblings.

“Shut up, you two,” Clara hissed under her breath at Simon and Declan.

Clara prided herself on doing well at school… and dressing well… and doing well at sports… and pretty much everything else. She had strawberry blonde hair that fell on her shoulders in loose curls. Her skin was almost porcelain white and her cheeks looked freshly pinched. She looked every inch the adorable and cute young girl but she hated to lose at anything. She had a fierce competitive streak that was only matched by her loyalty. She had saved Simon, and Declan, in many a fight when they were younger. Jumping in to pummel their unsuspecting aggressors who wondered just where this pretty girl with the bow in her hair had learned to punch so hard.

They were sitting in the gymnasium awaiting the start of the first day assembly. The entire school was crammed into this one room, all waiting to hear who their teacher for the year was going to be.

The principal took to the stage and raised his hands to quiet everyone down.

“Welcome back to Gatesburgh Middle School to our Grade 8’s and a special welcome to our new Grade 7 pupils,” he said. “My name is Principal Perry. We are excited about the upcoming year and we hope you are too. We won’t keep you in suspense any longer. When your name is called by one of the teachers at the front, please line up behind them. We’ll start with Grade 7’s.”

Three teachers stepped forward. Two women and one man. They all looked nice, Simon thought. All of them smiling and acting casual.

The male teacher started first. He rhymed off the names in a quick military fashion but with a smile. The students he called all dutifully went up and stood behind him.

Then the first female teacher started calling out names.

Simon, Declan and Clara all sat waiting nervously for their names to be called. Hoping that they’d be in the same class together.

The third teacher stepped forward. That was it. Simon, Declan and Clara knew they were in the same class. There were no other Grade 7 teachers.

“All remaining Grade 7 students, please line up behind me,” the last Grade 7 teacher announced to the gym.

“Yes!” Simon whispered to Declan and Clara.

The three of them stood and walked triumphantly to the front of the gym.

“Oh, no,” said Declan, looking ahead.

“What?” replied Clara.

Simon and Clara looked up and saw Nigel Palingwright and his group of hangers-on shoving each other and laughing, standing behind Simon’s new teacher.

“THEY’RE in our class?” Declan said disgustedly.

Simon sighed and closed his eyes and his walk turned from celebratory to condemned.

Simon hated Nigel.

Nigel Palingwright was annoying. At least to Simon he was. He always had the right clothes, the right toys, the right computer, the right bike, the right vacations… he had the right everything. Nigel’s family were super rich. Not wealthy. Super. Rich. Simon had no idea why they were super rich. He just knew they were. Nigel could have anything he wanted. His birthday parties were legendary, even when he was six. In fact, for his sixth birthday party his father had booked the town’s fall fair and turned it in to a private fair for twenty-two kids. The whole class had been invited. All the rides were free. All the midway games were free. All the food was free. Even at six years old, it bothered Simon. Nigel had all that money, all that privilege and he just expected more. During that ridiculous birthday party Nigel had complained that his gifts ‘were boring’. Can you believe that? Nigel was a rich jerk.

Nigel caught sight of Simon, Declan and Clara and stopped laughing.

Nigel looked at Simon, “Ahhh, Loser…” he said, smiling as a mock greeting, then looked at Declan, “..aaand Loser.”

When Clara passed him he said, “Why do you even bother hanging out with the Loser Twins?” Nigel liked Clara. He always had but his words to her were always tinged with disgust because of her association with Simon and Declan.

“Looking fantastic as usual, Trekker,” Nigel snickered at Simon.

“Whatever,” Simon said back.

“That blazer you’re wearing has been at this school longer than everyone in this room put together!” Nigel said and his thug friends laughed.

The words stung Simon a bit, but he was used to Nigel’s taunts. He tried to think of a good comeback… he ALWAYS tried to think of a good comeback to say to Nigel… but all he managed was “You’re an idiot, Palingwright.”

Nigel’s thug friends stepped menacingly towards Simon and Nigel put his arm up to stop them. Nigel smiled at Simon, “Trademark quick wit, Trekker.”

Nigel and his crew walked to the other side of the group of kids standing behind the teacher.

“Si, I’d say you need to work on your comebacks, but I don’t particularly want to get in a fight because of you,” Declan said, fretting slightly.

“He’s an idiot,” Simon said through furrowed brows.

“Yes, you said that already. Come on, let’s get in line,” Clara teased Simon and pushed him from behind.

Everyone stood in line and the teacher turned to speak to them. “Good morning, everyone! My name is Ms. Bollard. Welcome to class 7C.”

CHAPTER 2 — ‘Someone Knows’

‘Be careful. People are watching.’ one note read.

‘Hurried is never quick.’ read the next one.

‘Knowledge abused is knowledge wasted.’ read yet another.

~

It was already October. One month of school down. Things had been going very well. Simon had been nervous about going to a new school but things had turned out okay so far. Even Nigel and his band of thugs had left him alone, apart from the occasional insult in the hallways.

What was even better was that someone had re-opened that old ‘Joyland Curiosities’ business. The store was packed with all sorts of weird and obscure things like old toys, magic tricks and candy from all over the world. Delicious candy. Karach Halwa from India, Jila Mints from Australia, Golden Domes from Russia and so many more. Simon, Declan and Clara loved it there. They were there every lunch hour. It was miles away from the school, so there were never any other kids in the store when they were there. Thanks to the shortcut Simon had found though, it took them seconds to get there and back.

They swore to each other that they wouldn’t tell anyone else about the shortcut. It was just too cool to share with anyone else.

~

The first time Simon had told Declan and Clara about the shortcut they hadn’t believed him.

“I’ve found a shortcut that will take us to that Joyland shop,” Simon announced to Declan and Clara.

“We have less than an hour for lunch, Simon,” Clara protested “We’d never make there and back in time.”

“We can and we will,” Simon said, smiling confidently. “Follow me.”

Simon’s two friends followed him across the street.

“Where are we going?” Declan asked concerned

“Joyland,” Simon said, marching onward.

“I know what you said, but where are we going now? We’re going to be in so much trouble,” Declan replied.

“We’ll be fine, Dec,” Simon said confidently.

Simon pushed himself between two bushes and held the branches back for Clara and Declan to follow.

“You know that this isn’t Joyland, right?” Declan mocked.

Simon crossed his eyes and made a face at Declan, then turned and said “Just follow me.”

The three made their way through the same narrow laneway between the two old fences that Simon had discovered by accident. Everything looked completely normal until suddenly they were standing across the street from the Joyland Curiosities shop.

Simon smiled and turned to look at Declan and Clara who were standing motionless, mouthes open and eyes wide.

“How did…” Declan sputtered.

Clara quickly composed herself. “Is this a different Joyland shop?”

“Nope,” replied Simon.

“But…” she stammered.

“I know! Cool, right?!” Simon said and then ran to the shop doors.

Declan and Clara looked at each other in disbelief and slowly walked over to the shop door.

~

Even Simon found it hard to find the shortcut from the school side the first few times. It was hidden behind a row of bushes and almost behind a tree in a gap between two old homes, both of which seemed to be empty. At least, no one had ever seen anyone coming and going from them. Whenever the three of them had used the shortcut, they would race out of the school ensuring that they were the first out, then they’d dash across the street and quickly disappear behind the tree and the bushes and make their way through the shortcut. As far they could tell, no one had seen them using the shortcut.

At least that’s what they thought until the notes starting to appear in Simon’s locker.

For the past three weeks Simon would arrive at school on a Monday morning, open his locker and small piece of folded paper would slip out containing a weird message. At first he thought it was Declan playing a joke on him, but Declan replied to the accusation in his usual style.

“Umm, I think I would do a much better prank on you than just leaving you weird love letters,” Declan said to Simon, who agreed.

“They’re not love letters,” Simon snapped back. “They’re messages from someone. I don’t get it.”

The notes were handwritten in cursive. The kind of writing that an adult would do. An older adult. No one writes like that these days, Simon thought to himself. Each note was on a half size piece of letter paper, carefully folded in the middle. The message itself was written on one of the inside halves of the paper. The paper was thick and felt expensive and looked like it had been ripped from a larger sheet of letter sized paper.

Monday morning was here again and Simon opened his locker slowly. Declan and Clara were standing beside him waiting to see if there would be yet another note.

As Simon opened the locker door a new message slid out onto the floor.

Declan picked it up and read it aloud.

“Brazen acts bring consequences,” Declan read in his attempt at a deep scary voice. “Wait, what does ‘brazen’ mean?”

“It means being bold or shameless,” Clara sighed. “Let me see it,” and she grabbed the note from Declan and studied it.

Simon opened his locker door wider and another message fell down to the ground, but this one was written on a piece of a Jila Mints container.

Simon read the note and looked even more puzzled.

‘Short and sweet aren’t always good for you.’ it read.

“Well, what does it say?” Declan took the note from Simon’s hands and read it. “What does THAT mean?”

Declan handed the note to Clara who read it and re-read the first note. Her face went pale.

“Someone knows,” she said.

“Someone knows what?” said Declan.

“About the shortcut. Someone has seen us.”

“So?” replied Declan. He tried to sound tough but it was evident that he was concerned.

“Yeah, so what? Why bother sending these messages?” Simon made an effort to sound like he didn’t care.

“Someone obviously has seen us taking the shortcut to Joyland,” Clara tried to make sense of the situation, “and they’re telling us to be careful… but I don’t know why.”

Simon and Declan looked at each other and shrugged.

“Don’t you get it?” Clara asked. “They know about the shortcut to Joyland.”

“But who’s ‘they’?” Simon said to no one in particular.

~

Simon loved the weekends, especially now that he was in middle school and his aunt and uncle would let him go for walks with Clara and Declan downtown. They’d head out on a Saturday morning around ten o’ clock. They’d meander around the main street, stop to talk to friends and maybe browse some of the shops. They’d normally stop for something to eat at lunch time at the diner. It was cheap and the food was tasty. It was on the corner and they could normally get a table by the window, which meant they could eat and people watch at the same time when they ran out things to talk about.

“What do you guys want to do after this?” asked Declan.

“Dunno,” replied Clara and Simon, almost in unison.

Declan pushed a french fry around the lake of ketchup on his plate.

“That’s disgusting,” Clara said, her face scrunched up.

“No it’s not. It’s art,” Declan replied.

“It’s lunch… or it was,” she replied. “Just eat it or put it down.”

Declan kept pushing the fry around his plate but now he added motorcycle noises.

“Rrrrrrrr… errrrrrrr!!!…. rrrrrrrrr” Declan’s motorcycle french fry noises were now being made directly at Clara.

“Shut up!” Clara hissed.

Declan’s motorcycle french fry was now driving erratically around his plate and ketchup was starting to splatter.

“Stop it!” Clara yelled.

“Urrrghhhh!” Simon exclaimed. “You two are driving me nuts! I’m going to the washroom. Try to stop annoying each other before I come back.”

Simon stood up and headed towards the back of the diner where the washrooms were. You had to pass the kitchen to get to the mens room which was the very last door on the right.

As Simon walked down the narrow hall he saw that the back door of the diner was propped open. There was a slight waft of grease that drifted in from the diner’s vent outside. Blecch, Simon thought. Then, just as he was about to push the men’s room door open, he saw it.

Out of the corner of his left eye, just like the school shortcut, he saw it. Another arrow. This time on the brick of the building behind the diner. Simon walked out through the propped open door. As he approached the spot on the wall where he thought he had seen the arrow, he turned his head slightly and he could see it again. Above this arrow was the word ‘Beach’. It was pointing to the end of the alley to the left where it seemed that the two buildings met against another brick wall. It looked like a dead-end.

Simon walked slowly towards the end of the alley. As he got closer the smell of grease started to give way to a different smell. But what was it? Whatever it was it smelled good. It smelled fresh… and kind of salty.

Before he reached the very end of the alley his phone buzzed. It was a text from Declan, ‘have u fell in???’

Simon put his phone back in his pocket and took a few more steps… then he saw that the building on the right side didn’t actually meet up with the brick wall at the back. There was a space, about three feet wide, that ran along the back of the building and beyond it… and beyond that, there seemed to be a palm tree. Wait, a what? Simon thought to himself.

Simon walked behind the building stepping over bits of trash. As he walked the smell got better. He was now almost past the building and he swore he could hear water. Not running water but like… beach water. Like the sound of waves.

The small space Simon was walking down got suddenly quite dark. Simon stopped and wondered if he should turn back. I mean, he thought to himself, Gatesburgh is a small and relatively safe town but walking down a tiny dark alley behind a building downtown wasn’t exactly smart. He squinted his eyes and looked ahead. He couldn’t see the palm tree anymore. He took three hesitant steps forward and the alley got brighter. He looked up again and this time he did see the palm tree. He took a few more steps and then he swore he could see sand… and water. He started walking quickly. The smell got stronger. It was definitely a beach smell. He was running now. He could hear his running shoes hit the pavement.

Suddenly he found it hard to run and he looked down. Sand! He slowed and stepped out from behind the building onto a beautiful white sandy beach. Ahead of him, about twenty feet ahead of him, was the clearest blue water he had ever seen in his life.

~

“What is he doing?” Clara said.

“Umm, Clara, he’s in the bathroom. Do you really want the answer to that question?” Declan chuckled.

“He’s been gone for over ten minutes,” Clara said concerned.

“Fine,” Declan sighed, standing, “I’ll go check on him.”

Just as Declan stood up and started walking towards the washrooms Simon approached them. His jeans were soaking from the knees down.

“Oh my gosh, Trekky!” Declan was looking at Simon’s pant legs and laughing. “You DID fall in!”

Simon ignored Declan’s comment and sat back down in the booth with Clara. Declan followed.

Simon had a huge smile on his face.

“What happened to you?” Clara asked.

Simon smiled even wider and put a handful of seashells on the table. Declan and Clara looked at each other confused.

Simon’s eyes lit up.

“Who wants to go to the beach?”

~

The days were great. They’d get to the back of the diner by around 10 AM and slip through the back gate that led to the alley behind. From there it was only about two minutes until they were on the beach.

The three of them had been spending as much time as they could in their new found paradise. Swimming in the warm water. Picking up shells. Basking in the sunshine. As everyone else in Gatesburgh took on a wintery paleness, Simon, Declan and Clara all had a mid-summer glow to their skin.

The hardest part about their secret beach trips was making sure they shook all of the sand out of their towels before they returned home and that they kept their still wet bathing suits out of sight in their rooms so as to avoid any questions that they’d have a hard time answering.

The beach was beautiful. Like you would see on a TV commercial. White sand. Crystal clear blue water. Lightly swaying palm trees that began at the bottom of pure green hills. The coastline stretched out in either direction and curved around the hills on either side. The weather was amazing as well. Simon wasn’t sure what the temperature was exactly but it felt like summer. It even smelled like summer… only better. The only weird thing was that they hadn’t seen anyone else at all. Just an occasional plane flying overhead.

“Why is no one else here?” Clara piped up.

“What?” replied Declan with his eyes closed with his towel bunched up under his head as he lay on the sand.

“Why are we the only ones here?” Clara asked again. “I’ve never seen another person… apart from the planes.”

“Dunno,” replied Declan, his eyes still closed.

“It doesn’t make any sense,” Clara continued. “Why isn’t this beach full of people? Why are we the only ones here?”

“Why, why, why. You ask a lot of questions,” Declan mumbled in reply, his eyes still shut.

“I’m going for a walk,” Clara stated.

Declan opened his eyes and shielded them from the sun with his hand.

“Where?” Simon asked. He had been standing with his feet in the water.

“Around,” she replied. “Doesn’t it seem weird to you that we’re only five minutes from downtown but no one is here?

“Clara, this whole thing is weird… but it’s good… a good weird, so I don’t want to ask any questions whose answers might get us kicked out of here,” Declan said sitting up.

“I’m going,” Clara stated and started walking back towards the thick line of palm trees and tropical plants behind them.

Their shortcut to the beach took them out past a large boulder at the edge of the plant life. Clara was walking to the right of where the shortcut was, directly into the darkness of the tropical forest.

“Clara!” Simon yelled, “Wait up!” as he struggled to put his shoes on his wet feet and then took off after her.

Declan sighed, looked out at the water and then jumped to his feet to catch up with them.

The ground rose quickly as they marched into the forest. They were headed up hill. Clara pushed away branches and leaves as she walked. Simon and Declan had caught up and were only a few steps behind her.

“I suppose I’ve kinda wondered what’s up here too,” Simon said to Declan.

“I haven’t even thought about it,” replied Declan. “I mean, it’s dark and a little bit scary. I prefer the sunny safe beach, don’t you?”

They pushed pass some plants with the biggest green leaves that Simon had ever seen when they heard Clara from up ahead, “Guys. Come here. Now.”

Simon and Declan looked at each other and then ran up to meet Clara. She was standing at the top of the hill.

She was pointing straight ahead. “Look!”

In the distance was a small building. Part wood and part stone. Flying from a pole in front of the building was a flag with blue stripes on the top and bottom, white stripes and then a large red stripe. There was something else in the red stripe but they were still too far away to see what it was.

“Let’s go,” Clara said as she started walking.

“Clara!” Declan said, trying to get her to rethink this decision.

Clara started up the slight incline towards the building. Simon reached forward and grabbed her arm. He was just about to tell her to slow down when a man walked out of the building and looked directly at them.

“Hey! ¿Qué estás haciendo aquí?” he yelled at them with a worried look on his face… though they had no idea what he said.

Simon pulled on Clara, and Declan grabbed her other arm and they took off down the hill back to the beach. They could hear the man yelling as they ran.

“¿Cómo has llegado hasta aquí?” The man was now running towards them.

“He doesn’t sound happy,” Declan tried to joke as they ran.

“Just keep going!” Simon said, breathing heavily.

They broke through the tropical plants on to the beach, grabbed their towels and ran towards the boulder by the opening to their shortcut. They ran past the palm trees and into the darkness. Simon slipped and put his hand out against the brick of the building beside the diner. They ran past the diner and out onto the street in downtown Gatesburgh.

~

Monday morning came and Simon was glad of the boring routine of a school day. The beach now seemed dangerous. Who was that guy and what language was he speaking, he wondered. He, Declan and Clara had said quick goodbyes and run to their own homes when they left the beach and hadn’t even spoken on Sunday because they were so scared.

Declan and Clara were waiting by his locker.

“He was speaking Spanish,” Clara said.

“Good morning to you too,” Simon replied.

“I can‘t remember exactly what he said but I remembered hearing the Spanish words for ‘how’ and ‘here’,” Clara said proudly.

“Impressive,” Declan said, mockingly.

“Aaaaand, the flag we saw,” Clara continued, “is the flag of Costa Rica.”

“I have no idea where that is,” Declan said while fiddling with his backpack.

“It’s in Central America, you moron,” Clara shoved Declan.

“Oh, you mean like Kansas,” Declan said to Simon, smiling.

Clara made a face at Declan.

Simon opened his locker and something fell out. He bent down and picked it up. It was a another folded piece of paper. He hadn’t had one since they discovered the beach shortcut. Simon, Declan and Clara looked at each other. Simon tried to swallow but he was suddenly too nervous. He opened the paper. It was a printed out picture of the Costa Rican flag and underneath was written…

‘There’s more. Joyland. 6PM’.

CHAPTER 3 -’The Old Man With The Suitcase’

Arlo Wayfarer had lived in Gatesburgh his whole life. Sixty-eight years to be exact. He was a small, round faced, balding man with a whisp of white hair. He had spent his career working in an insurance office. He had always said he loved travelling, but as far as anyone who worked with him knew, he had never been anywhere. He never took holidays. He never even took a long weekend. Even though he never seemed to go anywhere, his desk was full of trinkets and souvenirs from all over the world. A little plastic Eiffel Tower, some Russian nesting dolls, a little carved wooden elephant from India and more. Even though he never took a holiday, his desk made him look like he was a world traveller.

When he retired from the insurance office he had told his co-workers that he was going to take some time to really, as he put it, “explore this little planet for a while”. For the next few years, the people in Gatesburgh only saw him occasionally. In the bank or buying milk at the grocery store. Then one day, Arlo opened up Joyland Curiosities.

“A one stop shop for the best of the weird and wonderful from around the world,” he told people.

Joyland Curiosities was full of just that. Weird and wonderful things from all over the planet. Everything from candies and toys to one of kind crafts. There seemed to be new items arriving every week.

Everyone in town agreed that Arlo was a nice man. He volunteered for various causes and donated cash to charities whenever asked. He always had a smile and a hello when you would pass him on the street. The only odd thing about Arlo Wayfarer was the old suitcase he carried with him everywhere.

It was a mid-size suitcase. A very old-fashioned suitcase. It was a light gray colour and it was covered in stickers from all over the world. He seemed to carry it with him everywhere which, if it weren’t for the fact he was always dressed very well and was clean-shaven, would have given him the look of a homeless person.

Every now and then you could see him, after his shop had closed, sitting behind the counter going over what looked like a map. He’d smile, fold the map and then he’d be out the door, suitcase in hand.

This day, he wasn’t reading his map after close. He was waiting by the door.

~

“Why are we going to meet a mystery person at a shop on the other side of town again?” Declan said.

“Because they know about the shortcuts,” Simon replied.

“Umm, again… who cares??” Declan snapped back.

“I do,” Simon shot back.

“Declan, just come on. We need to find out who they are and what they know,” Clara tried her best convincing tone.

“Guys, this is CRAZY,” Declan’s voice sounded panicked. “All I can hear in my head is ‘Stranger Danger! Stranger Danger! Stranger Danger!’”

“Dec, shut up. We’re going,” Simon said sternly.

Simon pushed the branches back and the three friends disappeared down the Joyland shortcut.

~

Simon, Declan and Clara couldn’t quite believe their eyes. They had now been standing in Joyland Curiosities for over an hour, all crowded around the counter where Arlo had carefully spread out a map.

It was a map of Gatesburgh…. well, Gatesburgh was at the centre and it branched out to various other places. From various points in the town there were arrows with names of cities beside them. One arrow by the back of the train station read ‘Paris’, another was pointed to the side of the library and it read ‘Rome’. The arrows and the city names were all handwritten in pen.

“I don’t understand,” Clara said, holding her head in her hands struggling to take it all in.

“I don’t either,” replied Arlo with a smile. “I just know that I can get to almost anywhere I want to go in the world from here.”

“Did you make this map?” Simon asked.

The map was old. Very old. It was the colour of very old paper. Sort of brown and yellow in places.

“I’m old but I’m not THAT old,” Arlo laughed. “I found it after my wife died.”

“Where did you find it?” Declan asked.

“In the library. Travel section…of course” Arlo laughed.

No one else laughed. It was all too weird for Simon, Declan and Clara. They had spoken to Arlo when they had been in the shop but never had any sort of actual conversation with him… and now, here they were, standing in his shop, which was closed, looking at a map that seemed to point out shortcuts to anywhere in the world that they could walk to from their very own little town.

Arlo, realizing that no one else was finding his joke funny, continued in a more serious tone, “I found it inside another book. It was folded up inside an old Atlas. I have always loved maps. Myself and my wife used to enjoy looking at them and pretending that we could go anywhere we… wanted to…” His eyes suddenly looked sad and his voice trailed off.

Simon, Declan and Clara stayed silent.

Arlo cleared his throat and smiled, “… and now I can.”

“So, who does the map belong to?” Simon asked.

“I don’t know. I just know that it’s old and it’s true,” Arlo replied.

“But… but… how is this even possible?” Clara asked with her brows furrowed.

“I don’t know,” Arlo answered, shaking his head. “I don’t know and I don’t care.”

Clara looked over the map at all of the different destinations listed. “You’ve been to all of them?”

“Yes,” Arlo answered proudly.

“And they all actually take you to the places they say they do?” she asked skeptically.

Arlo nodded.

“This is crazy,” Declan said in disbelief.

“Why did you put those messages in my locker?” asked Simon.

“I didn’t put them in,” Arlo replied. “I told the janitor I was your grandfather.”

“Didn’t he wonder what the weird notes were about?” Simon asked.

“I told him we had a riddle game going,” Arlo chuckled.

“But why did you send them to us in the first place?” Clara demanded.

Arlo’s face turned serious and he took a deep breath. “Because, if I knew you were using the shortcuts, then others would know soon as well… and that wouldn’t be good.”

“Why? Why wouldn’t it be good?” Clara asked quietly.

“I found the map about ten years ago and, until I saw you using the shortcut to the school, no one else has known about them,” Arlo said in a quiet voice. “Think about the political implications…”

“The what?” Declan looked up confused.

Arlo took a deep breath. “Think about it. What if one country wants to spy on another one? They would be able to sneak into any country undetected!”

“I suppose he’s right,” said Simon.

“Though I’m sure we’d notice a bunch of James Bonds walking around Gatesburgh,” Declan joked.

“I’m serious,” Arlo put his hand on Declan’s arm and Declan stopped laughing. “No one can find out about the shortcuts. Agreed?”

“So, why are you showing us the map?” Clara asked.

“Because,” Arlo said quietly, “you already know about them and I want to make sure no one else does. Now… agreed?”

Declan looked over at Simon and Clara. They all looked at the map then looked up to Arlo, and answered in unison, “Agreed.”

~

There were forty-two shortcuts in total listed on the map, leading to every corner of the world. Each one was almost hidden in plain sight. A small space behind a building. A barely noticeable path in a line of trees. The map helped guide them to the right spots but once they got there Simon could always see the arrows, which helped when they were returning to Gatesburgh from somewhere new.

The arrows and signs seemed to be very faintly painted on. Though it was hard to tell because they were almost impossible to see when you looked directly at them… but they almost shone when you knew where they were and looked just past them.

Arlo hadn’t known about the arrows and signs until Simon told him.

“Do you mean,” Arlo began, eyes squinting, “that there are signs at all of these shortcuts in town?”

“Yes,” Simon replied, “and on the other side of the shortcuts as well.”

Arlo thought for moment, then said, “But, who? Who put them there?”

“I don’t know,” said Simon.

“So, these arrows and signs are all over the world? Why has no one else seen them?” Arlo asked.

“I don’t know. They’re hard to see, I guess,” Simon offered. “You kind of have to not look for them if you want to see them.”

Arlo screwed up his face and shook his head. “Someone will find them and then someone will find out.”

Simon knew Arlo wasn’t happy about the arrows and signs but there was no way he was going to get rid of them. In fact, he couldn’t get rid of them. One day he tried to wash off the arrow to the school shortcut but it didn’t matter how hard he scrubbed, it refused to come off. All that happened was that some girls from school had passed by, saw him washing a random fence and probably thought he was insane.

“I like you kids,” Arlo said softly but sternly, “but I’m worried you’re going to slip up and someone will find out.”

~

It happened just before lunch on a Saturday.

Simon, Declan and Clara had gone to Joyland to see Arlo and decide where to go to this week. When they arrived the store was closed.

They walked around the shop looking for Arlo but he wasn’t anywhere to be found.

“Maybe he’s sick,” Declan offered and Simon and Clara shrugged in agreement.

They decided to head downtown to the diner.

“What do you want to do?” Declan asked the other two as they walked through downtown Gatesburgh.

Simon was just about to answer as they passed the library and they saw Arlo’s suitcase. It was on the grass by an opening in the bushes. It had opened and was lying upside down. There were brochures and other papers strewn around it.

All three of them ran over. Each of them had a look of dread on their faces. Arlo carried the map with him in the suitcase wherever he went. It was, without question, the most valuable item in his suitcase.

Declan looked around wildly to see if he could see Arlo. Clara bent over to pick up the suitcase and it’s scattered contents.

“The map!” Clara shouted at the boys and held it in the air.

“But where’s Arlo?” Declan asked, worried.

~

The two men who had planned on simply robbing an old man didn’t know where they were.

They had seen Arlo walking down the quiet street towards the library and decided to jump him. One of them grabbed the suitcase out of his hand while the other held his arms behind his back. Arlo had tried to struggle free but the men were too strong.

The man who grabbed his suitcase put it on it’s end, lifted his leg up and kicked down with his heel on the zipper. It split open and Arlo’s travel brochures, papers and the map flew up in the air. The man kicked the papers around and looked up at his partner in crime, “Nothing!”

He then looked at Arlo. “What’s the point of the suitcase, Grandpa? There’s nothing in it!” he exclaimed. “Let’s clean him out.”

He then motioned with his head and both men dragged Arlo through the small opening in the bushes behind the library.

They were holding Arlo as they pushed through the bushes into the darkness and didn’t even notice it when they brushed past the stone walls and stepped on to the cobbled streets of York, England.

Arlo knew exactly where they were. He’d been through this shortcut many times before and was planning on spending the day wandering the streets of the ancient city.

The first thing that the men noticed was that it was dark. Not dark like they had gone inside, but dark outside. They were standing outside and it was dark.

“What the…?” one of the men said as he looked up at the early evening English sky. “What time is it?” he said to other man.

The other man pulled out his phone. “It’s noon,” he said, with an expression that seemed to state he was not quite believing what he was saying.

The two men started to look slightly panicked.

“Let’s just take what we can get from this geezer and get out of here,” one of the men said, trying to take control of this suddenly weird change of situation.

He pointed to an empty garage across the busy street from where they were standing. He looked to his left for oncoming cars and stepped out in front of small but fast moving plumber’s truck on his right.

Realizing they were in England, Arlo knew the man had made the classic tourist mistake of looking the wrong way when crossing the street and he wriggled free from the man’s grasp just as the man stepped off the curb.

The impact smashed the windshield of the flat-fronted truck and sent the man flying like a rag doll about twenty feet down the road. He landed in a crumpled, bloody mess.

The other man let go of Arlo and stood looking shocked and pale. He had gone from a spur of the moment decision to rob an old man to standing on a street that was obviously not in Gatesburgh and his friend was quite obviously dead.

Arlo, spotting the police car speeding towards them, backed up silently and headed back down the shortcut home. Leaving the other man to be initially questioned by police about the accident and then, after explaining what had happened, held for psychiatric evaluation.

~

“I’m fine!” Arlo declared, as he stood facing Simon, Declan and Clara.

“Thank goodness you’re alright.” Clara took Arlo’s hand and was looking him directly in the eye in what seemed like an effort to ensure that he was telling the truth.

“So,” Declan started in a worried tone as he looked through the opening in the bushes, “they’re not coming back?”

“No,” Arlo looked at Declan and smiled reassuringly. Declan exhaled.

“They don’t have the map. That’s all that matters…” Simon said, “… well, that and you’re safe, Arlo,” he finished with a guilty look on his face.

Arlo smiled at Simon, then at Declan and Clara.

“I’m absolutely fine,” he crinkled his eyes and looked at each of them. “The shortcuts need to be protected.”

Simon, Declan and Clara looked at each other, then back at Arlo.

Arlo looked above the three children and said, looking into the distance, “I’m willing to do whatever I have to do to protect them.”

CHAPTER 4 — ‘Wish You Weren’t Here’

The plane descended in what seemed like slow motion over the boats, swimmers and sunbathers. It was a sleek white private jet. By the time it reached the beach it was so low it looked like you could just reach up and grab the landing gear.

Nigel Palingwright slumped back into the soft leather seat, looked out the window and put his head back on the headrest. His mother sat across from him and took a sip of her drink from a tall slender glass. His father was sitting across the aisle talking on his phone. He wasn’t yelling into the phone, but he was speaking sternly.

“Sit up, Nigel,” his mother said before taking another sip of her drink.

Nigel ignored her.

“How long are we staying this time?” Nigel asked without turning his gaze from the window.

No one responded.

“Oscar, is the house ready?” Nigel’s mother said across the aisle above the din of the engines. “Oscar… Oscar.”

Oscar finished his conversation on the phone and looked out of the window as the plane touched down.

“I hope this trip isn’t boring,” Nigel sneered to no one in particular as he looked out at the lush green tropical forest and the hills in the distance.

~

Simon, Declan and Clara watched another plane fly in as they stood with their feet in the shallow tide. It was a non-stop parade of small planes flying into the tiny island of Saint Barthelemy on the edge of the Caribbean Sea. The three of them had been spending the day splashing around and walking up and down the beach.

It was quite possibly the best way to spend a day during Christmas vacation. Gatesburgh was a winter wonderland of snow, which had it’s own merits but got a little tiring after awhile. Being able to take the shortcut to St. Barts every now and then to soak up the sun and warm up again made the cold in Gatesburgh more bearable and even almost enjoyable.

It was a beautiful island. Green hills gave way to white sandy beaches that fell into crystal clear water. Simon knew his aunt and uncle would love it here but he, as well as Declan and Clara, had promised Arlo that no one else could know about the shortcuts. That bothered him. He hated keeping secrets and he especially hated keeping secrets from his aunt and uncle. It felt wrong.

“It’s so beautiful here,” Simon began, looking out at the Caribbean Sea. “I want to bring my aunt and uncle.”

Clara and Declan didn’t respond.

Simon continued, “I think we could trust them.”

At this, Clara walked over to Simon. “No, we can’t. We promised Arlo,” she said firmly.

“Why? Why can’t they know?” Simon sounded slightly upset.

“We promised Arlo,” Clara offered.

“So?!” Simon shot back.

Declan came over to the two and put his hand on Simon’s shoulder in an effort to diffuse the tension. “Si, maybe someday we can tell them but not yet. If it weren’t for Arlo we wouldn’t know about all of the shortcuts. We owe him for that. Let’s just wait before we let anyone else know.” With that, he patted Simon on the shoulder.

Declan sounded much wiser than his twelve years. Every now and then Declan would surprise Clara and Simon by having this ability to make everyone see sense. It was impressive because Declan was usually the first to crack a joke in an inappropriate situation. A fart joke at a funeral. That was Declan’s usual area of expertise, but every now and then he would be the voice of reason.

Simon sighed and nodded. He knew Declan was right. The shortcuts were so amazing, and Simon was desperate to share them with his aunt and uncle, but they had made a promise and Arlo seemed very serious about making sure they knew that they must keep them a secret.

“I brought some snacks,” Declan said and swung his backpack around in front of him.

“Come on, Simon. Let’s just enjoy the day,” Clara offered her hand to Simon, smiling.

~

Nigel had been coming to St. Barts every Christmas vacation for as long as he could remember.

The Palingwright’s vacation home was on the side of a lush green hill overlooking the beach. It was a massive structure of stone and huge glass windows. A sprawling terra-cotta tiled terrace jutted out from the front of the house. Nigel would spend most of his days in St. Barts on the terrace sitting in one of the chaise-lounges by a pool that seemed to simply never end.

There were always staff around. When Nigel’s mother finished her drink and set the glass down on the table, she didn’t even have to look up from her Kindle. A member of the house staff would glide gracefully over with a new, full glass and remove the old one and then she would reach out and pick up the new glass and take a sip.

Nigel’s father, Oscar, spent most of his time in his large office on the top floor of the house. His desk faced a floor to ceiling window that looked out at the beach and the small harbour with its collection of sailboats bobbing gently.

The majority of Nigel’s time in St. Barts was spent on his own. He had no brothers or sisters, his mother was always distracted and his father mainly just worked in his office.

“I’m bored,” Nigel said to his mother.

“Nigel, we just got here. Surely you can just relax and enjoy it,” she replied.

“There’s nothing to do.”

“Go swimming.”

“Boring.”

“Play video games.”

“Boring.”

“Get André to take you down to the beach.”

André was Nigel’s personal staff member and bodyguard in St. Barts. His job was to make sure Nigel had whatever he wanted and was able to go wherever he wanted.

Without shifting his gaze from the pool, Nigel replied, “Fine.” He stood up and headed inside, bellowing, “André! Take me to the beach.”

~

“Who made these?” Simon asked Declan, his face puckering.

“Why?” Declan replied.

“They’re… um… soggy” Simon tried to sound polite.

“I made them!” said Declan indignantly. “There’s nothing wrong with them!”

“Declan, the bread is practically falling apart on the one side.” Clara pointed at the sandwich in her hand.

Declan looked at his own sandwich and then started to chuckle. “I… um… MAY have sat on them by accident earlier.”

The three friends paused mid bite… and then laughed.

“Let’s just eat these soggy, sat-on sandwiches and go for a walk,” Clara said while chewing.

~

Nigel had been up and down this beach too many times to count. He seemed bored by it. He only looked happy when they came across a dead fish or other marine life that had washed up on the beach. He’d get André to poke it, flip it over and generally investigate it. Even that seemed to be getting boring for Nigel. Not much changed on the island. It was always beautiful and always boring as far as Nigel was concerned.

The beach wasn’t crowded but it was busy. There were people everywhere. Laying on the beach. Chatting. Drinking. Walking in the surf. It was excellent people watching conditions. Which is exactly what Nigel and André were doing.

“Look at all these fatties, André,” Nigel sneered.

“Oui,” André replied, emotionless.

“Do you figure they came here by plane,” Nigel mock-asked, “or did they just beach themselves like whales?”

Nigel chuckled at his own joke.

André didn’t laugh and stayed silent.

“There’s never any kids here,” Nigel started. “I can’t stand this stupid island.”

It was as Nigel was finishing that sentence that he noticed three kids up ahead who looked to be the same age as him.

They stuck out not only because of their age but because on this beach full of people in skimpy bathing suits these three kids were wearing t-shirts and rolled-up jeans.

“Have you seen those kids before?” Nigel asked André.

“Oui, monsieur. They have been on the beach occasionally for the past week,” André answered in a thick french accent.

“Who are they?” Nigel asked.

“I do not know who they are, monsieur,” André answered, “Would monsieur like me to invite them to the house for a swim?”

“Yes. They look poor but I’m bored,” Nigel said while looking at the three kids in the distance. “I’m going back to the car.”

~

The tall French man seemed very polite. He explained that he worked for the family who owned the large house on the side of the hill and that he was in charge of their son who had invited them back to the house for a swim in their pool.

Declan looked worried and whispered to the other two, “Guys, I don’t know. Some stranger comes up to us and offers to take us back to his place for a swim? Yeah, that sounds totally legit.”

Simon and Clara looked at Declan in agreement and were just about to decline when the man spoke again.

“I… um… how do you say, comprehend that you may be worried that you do not know me or the young man I work for. Please come with me to meet him first. He is right over there,” the tall French man pointed to a sleek black car with a young boy sitting in the back staring at his phone.

“It’s probably fine,” Clara whispered to the boys.

Simon looked at Declan and nodded. Declan sighed and they told the tall French man that they would come over the car to meet this young man who had invited them.

~

Nigel was just about to complain that André was taking too long when he looked up and couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing.

Here he was, thousands of miles away from Gatesburgh and the three kids he had invited to come back to his vacation home were none other than Simon Trekker, Declan Lampert and Clara Maeve from his school.

As Nigel stepped out of the back seat of the car, Simon’s face went pale.

“Trekker?” Nigel asked with a puzzled look on his face.

Simon couldn’t speak.

Declan had stopped moving.

Clara’s mouth was open. She paused, blinked slowly, took a deep breath and pushing past Declan and Simon, said, “Nigel! How great to see you! Isn’t this wild? We had no idea you came to St. Barts. We love it here. We’re just on a vacation with Simon’s aunt and uncle. It’s so beautiful here, don’t you think? We do. Have you been to the beach yet? It’s so…”

Nigel interrupted her. “How did you get here?”

Clara was smiling at Nigel with a huge smile. Like she was trying to sell him something.

“How did you get here?” Nigel repeated, “and where are you staying? None of you can afford it here.”

“Oh! Ha. Funny, yeah. We’re… um… staying at… Simon’s aunt and uncle’s place. They have a place here,” Clara spat out.

Simon looked at Clara with a panicked expression.

Declan looked like as though he were about to faint.

“Trekker’s family has a place on St. Barts?” Nigel asked with a tone of disbelief.

Clara elbowed Simon.

“Um… yeah!” Simon blurted.

“How long have they had it?” Nigel asked.

Simon looked at Declan and Clara.

“It’s new. This is our first day here,” Simon answered.

Clara decided that this very uncomfortable situation had gone on long enough.

“Um… listen, thank you for the invite but we have to get back. Simon’s aunt and uncle are expecting us soon,” Clara offered. “Thanks again!”

She smiled at Nigel and André and pulled Simon and Declan away by the arms.

~

The three of them stayed silent until they knew they were out of Nigel’s sight.

“What just happened?” Declan asked.

“This isn’t good. This isn’t good. This isn’t good,” Simon was repeating to himself.

“Let’s just all relax and think,” Clara said, trying to reassure them.

“Relax? Relax?!” Declan exclaimed, pulling his hair back from his face.

“He doesn’t know about the shortcuts!” Clara said loudly in a calming tone. “He doesn’t! How could he?”

Simon and Declan slumped down against the small stone wall beside them.

“I suppose you’re right,” Simon ran his fingers through his hair.

“I know I am,” Clara replied. “Let’s just head back home.”

~

“I thought you said you saw them earlier this week?” Nigel said to André.

“Oui, monsieur. I did,” André said.

Nigel stared in the direction that Simon, Clara and Declan had gone. “Let’s follow them.”

~

The shortcut from Gatesburgh to St. Barts was an interesting one.

On the road out of town, right on the edge of the city limits, there was a billboard. The billboard was for a travel agency and it had a picture of a woman sunbathing on a beautiful tropical beach.

Just behind that billboard was a small but dense forest and on one of those trees was an arrow and the words ‘St. Barts’. Like the other arrows and signs, you could only see it if you looked past it. Simon had spotted the arrow right away when they stepped behind the billboard.

If people only knew, here in a wet field behind a billboard advertising a sunny escape from dreary winter Gatesburgh, sunny St. Barts was only a five minute walk away.

Simon, Declan and Clara made their way off of Shell Beach and headed north down Rues Des Normands.

About half way down the street they disappeared into the trees towards the shortcut home.

~

André stopped the car a comfortable distance away from where the three kids had walked into the trees. Nigel and he got out and walked quickly to catch up.

When they reached the path into the forest, Nigel hesitated. It was a sunny day but the forest looked dark, cold and not very inviting. Nigel was scared.

“Well?” Nigel said to André. “What are you waiting for? Lead the way!”

André sighed and started into the forest.

They couldn’t see Simon, Declan or Clara up ahead but every now and then they could hear them. They followed the trampled leaves and plants that made it obvious that this was the way the trio had gone. Nigel and André walked until they could no longer see the light from the road from where they’d come. Suddenly it got dark, pitch black even, but only for a few steps then it was light enough to see again. Nigel shivered from a sudden drop in temperature. He was wearing shorts and a short-sleeved top. He looked up and saw André standing motionless beyond the tree line in a clearing.

Nigel started to jog towards André and looked shocked when he put his thin running shoe into a snow drift that went almost up to his knee. He came to a stop just behind André and looked around their new snow covered surroundings.

André turned around and looked at Nigel with mouth wide open and confusion on his face.

“Où sommes-nous, monsieur?” André whispered to Nigel with a worried look on his face.

Nigel looked around. Then he looked around again and saw Simon, Declan and Clara in the distance walking back into town with their winter coats on.

Nigel looked back down at the snow under his feet then up to the sign at the city limits.

Nigel said in disbelief, “We’re… in Gatesburgh.”

CHAPTER 5 — ‘Arlo Pays the Price’

Nigel’s parents hadn’t believed him at first.

In fact, he could barely get his father’s attention.

“Father, you said you forgot your favourite reading glasses in Gatesburgh, right?” Nigel put the question forward like a challenge.

His father didn’t look up from his computer screen.

“Father!”

“Yes, Nigel,” Oscar Palingwright answered finally, “I did but I have many others here, so there is no need to be so abrasive.”

“I’m not being abrasive, father,” Nigel replied calmly. “I will get your glasses and bring them to you here within the hour.”

“Don’t be foolish, Nigel. You’re too old for silliness like this.”

“It’s not silliness, father. Trust me.”

And with that, Nigel left the room. Oscar shook his head and went back to his work.

Under an hour later, Nigel returned.

“There.” Nigel placed the glasses on his father’s desk.

His father didn’t look up and didn’t respond.

“I knew you wouldn’t believe me,” Nigel continued. “André?”

André came into the office with a young woman. He led her by the arm up to the desk.

Oscar looked up. “Louisa?”

Louisa was the Palingwright’s head housekeeper in Gatesburgh. She was a small woman with a round face. She seemed shy but she essentially managed the Palingwright’s entire home in Gatesburgh.

Oscar looked at Nigel.

“Believe me now, father?”

“Louisa, how did you get here?” Oscar asked.

Louisa looked at Nigel, who nodded at her to continue. She turned back to face Oscar and said, “Mr. Palingwright, Master Palingwright and André asked me to come with them because they needed me for something important. I followed them to the edge of town and now I am here… but I do not know how I am here.”

Oscar looked at Louisa and squinted his eyes. “Louisa, I do not take kindly to people who lie to me… especially those under my employ.”

“I am not lying, Mr. Palingwright,” Louisa implored, tears forming in her eyes. “I do not know how we got from Gatesburgh to here. We only walked for about ten minutes…”

“André, how did Louisa get here?” Oscar looked at André with a steely stare.

“We brought her back from your home in Gatesburgh, Mr. Palingwright,” André replied.

“When? Yesterday? Nigel I have told you that you are not allowed to use the plane without my permission.”

“Excusez-moi, monsieur. No, Mr. Palingwright. We did not use the plane. We went to get Louisa about thirty minutes ago. We walked,” André answered confidently.

There was a silence in the room as André’s last sentence hung in the air. Oscar organized papers on his desk and then slammed his hand down and looked at André and Louisa.

“If this is practical joke, you can both consider yourselves fired!” The impossibility of the present situation was not sitting well with Oscar. He was a man who needed to be in control.

“Father, this is not a trick or a joke. Give me half an hour of your time and I promise you, you will not regret it,” Nigel said with a smile.

Oscar looked at his papers and then his computer screen. He had a skeptical look on his face.

“Fine. Thirty minutes,” Oscar said the words as he rose from his desk and gave Louisa and André stern looks.

~

Oscar stood in stunned silence at his own front door.

He was freezing. It was December and it was snowing. Well, it was snowing in Gatesburgh, where he was currently, but it was not snowing in St. Barts, where he was a mere fifteen minutes ago.

André, Louisa and Nigel stood behind him. Nigel was smiling and waiting for his father to say something. Oscar had been silent since they passed the dark part of the shortcut. André stood emotionless as usual.

Louisa was the first to say something. “Mr. Palingwright, may I let you in? It is very cold out here.”

Oscar blinked, shook his head and turned to Louisa. “Yes… um… yes, please, Louisa.”

Louisa unlocked the door and the four of them went inside.

“Nigel, how did you find out about this?” Oscar asked his son.

“I saw three kids from my school on the beach in St. Barts and I knew they would never be able to afford to actually travel there by plane, let alone have enough money to stay there,” Nigel answered proudly. He had never been noticed by his father and his expression made it evident that it felt good.

“What do these children have to do with anything?” Oscar asked.

“They were acting strange. André said he had seen them lots of times the week before we arrived,” Nigel continued, “so we followed them… back to Gatesburgh.”

“And they took the same path we did?”

“Yes,” Nigel answered with a smile on his face.

Oscar’s face was now switching from a bewildered look to a smile. You could almost see his mind working. He walked over to the large front window of their home that overlooked Gatesburgh and clasped his hands behind his back.

Without taking his gaze away from the window, Oscar said quietly, “Fascinating.”

~

Arlo didn’t look pleased.

His small round face was red and he was staring at the floor of his shop.

“It was blocked!” he finally yelled, “AND guarded!”

Simon, Declan and Clara had their heads down and none of them responded.

Arlo started to pace back and forth behind the counter. “Blocked AND guarded! They know! They know about the shortcut!”

Arlo kicked his suitcase. Simon looked up briefly at Declan and Clara but then put his head back down quickly when Arlo started up again.

“I just went to spend a day in the sunshine and before I got to the shortcut I could see men guarding the path and other men putting up a fence! Who did you tell?!”

Arlo’s arms were flailing as he spoke.

Simon finally spoke. “Arlo, we didn’t tell anyone. Honestly.”

Arlo stopped pacing, put his hands on the counter and looked Simon directly in the eye. “Then how do they know?”

Simon, Declan and Clara exchanged guilty looks and then Clara spoke up. “We were in St. Barts and we met Nigel Palingwright.” She said the words slowly and just barely audibly.

Arlo closed his eyes tight and without opening them said, “The Palingwrights know about the shortcuts?”

“No! Just the one to St. Barts,” Clara said, trying to reassure him.

Arlo took a deep breath through clenched teeth. He straightened his posture and exhaled.

“We must not use any shortcuts now. YOU must not use any shortcuts for the foreseeable future until the Palingwrights have lost interest in you,” Arlo said. “They will be watching you very closely.”

~

“Who was that?”

The man speaking looked like a soldier but he wasn’t. He was one of Palingwright’s security people. They all wore black camouflage uniforms, had very short hair and carried guns. They were normally sent to guard building sites or patrol the grounds of the Palingwright home. He was speaking to another man dressed in the same uniform.

“Not sure but Palingwright wants us to tell him who every single person is who comes here,” replied another one of the men.

“Fine. Send MacIlroy and two others to follow him. Tell them to find out who he is and where he lives.”

“Got it,” replied the other man and he walked back to a group of uniformed men who were standing just outside the entrance to the shortcut.

~

Oscar Palingwright had purchased the land where the shortcut to St. Barts began the same day he found out about it.

It was a patch of rocky, unused field that sloped off into a forest on the edge of Gatesburgh. No one had paid any attention to it prior to this. Locals just assumed Mr. Palingwright was developing yet another piece of land.

The fence was put up first and stretched from the road, through the field and into the forest on one side and along the road on the other. It was during the installation of the fence that Palingwright’s men contacted him and asked him to come down to the site.

“I hope whatever you’ve brought me here for is worthwhile or you’re out of a job,” Oscar growled at the man in charge, who was leading him along the installed fence and into the forest.

“Yes, sir. It is, sir,” the man in the black camouflage replied.

The man walked a few steps ahead of Oscar and stopped at the corner of the fence. He turned to face Oscar and pointed towards the other corner of the fence.

Oscar walked forward and looked in the direction the man was pointing.

“What am I supposed to be looking at?” Oscar asked impatiently.

“The fence, sir.”

“Yes? What of it?”

“It keeps going, sir.” The man was obviously nervous talking to Oscar. “To the other side.”

“Yes? Yes? Of course it does. What are you getting at?”

“Sir, if you follow the fence it will lead you right around, through the forest and back to the road.”

Oscar was getting impatient. “Yes, of course it does. What is your point?”

“Sir, if you follow the outside of the fence you never leave Gatesburgh… but if…” The man paused and took a breath. “But if you enter from the roadside and walk towards this side of the fence…um, you end up in St. Barts.”

Oscar studied the man’s face.

The man continued. “Sir, if we walk from this side of the fence towards the road, we will come out at the road, but if we walk the other way, we end up thousands of miles from here. It doesn’t make sense, sir.”

Oscar looked over the fence towards the dark forest, then back to the man and said, “I want this area heavily guarded from all points. No section of this fenced area will be left unprotected. You and the rest of the men will say nothing about this to anyone. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Mr. Palingwright, sir,” the man replied and immediately pulled out a cell phone.

Oscar looked back into the darkness of the forest. “Fascinating,” he said under his breath.

~

It had been weeks since Simon, Clara and Declan had used any of the shortcuts. They were terrified that someone was watching them.

Arlo had gone to the St. Barts’ shortcut periodically to check on what the Palingwright men were up to, but he hadn’t used any shortcuts himself either.

It was just after six o’clock and Arlo had shut the shop for the day. He locked the door, pulled out the map from his suitcase as he had done for years and spread it out on the counter. He was making a list of the places he wanted to visit once he felt it was safe again.

He was completely unaware of the men in the van parked across the street who were watching him. It wasn’t until he heard the back door of his shop being kicked down that he realized anyone was coming for him.

~

Simon wiped his eyes. The smoke was overwhelming. A small crowd had gathered. He pushed past a few people and stood beside Clara and Declan.

He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Joyland Curiosities was a hollowed out and still burning shell. The large glass windows at the front of the shop had been shattered. The windows on the second floor were open and burnt curtains flapped in the breeze.

“Is Arlo okay?” Simon asked Clara, his eyes wide and fixed on the burning building.

Clara shrugged and Declan gave Simon a worried look.

Simon pushed out of the small crowd and walked towards one of the policemen standing guard. “Was there anyone in the building?”

The policeman looked at Simon and looked side to side as if he wasn’t really supposed to tell him anything. “No. Building was empty. Now step back. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

Simon slumped back into the crowd. He looked back up at the charred remains of Joyland and felt sick. They had been careless and now everything Arlo had was gone.

Simon could feel his eyes welling up. He started to shake. He had never felt so terrible in his life. He turned away from the building and started to make his way through the crowd away from Joyland. He passed Declan who tried to stop him by putting his arm on his shoulder but Simon pushed past. He had just moved out of the crowd and Clara was suddenly standing in front of him.

“It’s not our fault.” Clara looked Simon in the eye with a look that wanted to be assured but was betrayed by her own tears.

“Don’t be stupid,” Simon sniffed back. “It’s totally our fault! If we hadn’t kept going back every day to St. Barts, Palingwright would never have seen us there and Joyland would still be here and Arlo wouldn’t be missing.”

Clara wiped away a tear and took a step back to let Simon past.

~

The room was pitch black except for one light which hung from a wire.

Arlo woke up and looked around. The cement floor and chipped green paint on the walls made it feel very cold. He tried to move his hand to wipe his face but he couldn’t. He looked down and saw that he was tied to a chair. His arms were tied behind his back and his ankles were tied to the chair legs. He didn’t have any bruises or cuts but he was sweating and he had a small bandage on his left arm just before his elbow.

“Hello, Mr. Wayfarer.”

The voice startled Arlo. He looked around but there was no one else in the room.

“I hope you’re comfortable enough.”

Arlo lifted his head and blinked his eyes trying to focus on where the voice was coming from.

“How did you find out about the passage to St. Barts?”

The voice was coming through a speaker somewhere in the room but Arlo couldn’t see where. He didn’t respond.

“Mr. Wayfarer, please answer the question. How did you find out about the passage to St. Barts?”

The voice sounded like a woman.

“What do you want from me? How did I get here?” Arlo barked into the empty room.

“Arlo, we know you know about the… map of shortcuts. How did you find it? Who gave it to you?”

Arlo had a momentary look of terror in his eyes and then spat on the floor. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

There was a pause before the voice replied, “Your home is gone, Arlo.”

The voice was different now. It was still crackling and tinny but now it sounded like a man’s voice.

Arlo looked around slowly. “What do you mean?”

“Your home and your business are nothing but embers now, but your daughter is fine, Arlo.”

“How do you know about my daughter?” Arlo looked panicked. “Leave my daughter alone!”

“Your daughter is fine… provided you tell us what you know about the shortcuts.”

Arlo looked around the room and then down at his hands and feet bound to the chair. He started to sob. “Fine. Fine, I will tell you.”

“Excellent. Thank you, Arlo.”

~

Oscar Palingwright set the microphone down and turned to face a broad-faced fierce looking man wearing black camouflage. “Find out what he knows and then get rid of him.”

“Yes, sir,” replied the man.

“What would you like us to do with the map, Mr. Palingwright?” asked a young woman who looked barely out of her teens.

Oscar stopped, pivoted to face her and spoke without looking at her. “Secure every single location mentioned.”

“Yes, Mr. Palingwright,” the young woman replied as Oscar opened the door to leave.

“Thank you, Jessie”

CHAPTER 6 — ‘Visitors’

Simon, Clara and Declan were going mad with boredom.

After months of being able to travel to practically any place on earth they wished, they had been stuck in Gatesburgh, too afraid of getting caught by one of Palingwright’s men. Saturdays in sunny St. Barts had turned into rainy weekends in the diner downtown.

“I can’t take this anymore,” Declan sighed to Simon and Clara, who were sitting on the other side of the booth.

Clara looked out the window and into the heavy, grey sky. “I know. I’m so bored I can’t even tell if I’m awake or not.”

Simon pushed a sugar packet around in front of him on the table. His eyes were almost crossing as he looked towards the table at nothing in particular. He flicked the sugar packet at Declan. It hit his chest and bounced on to the ground.

“Hey!” Declan exclaimed, “I know you’re bored but you don’t have to take it out on me.”

Declan bent down to pick the sugar packet up off the floor and as he reached out for it, someone else grabbed it first.

The man was wearing a suit and a trenchcoat and was carrying a soft-sided briefcase. He was very well dressed and was slightly younger than Simon’s Uncle James. His hair was very short. Almost a buzz cut. He looked important, Simon thought to himself.

Declan pulled himself back up and the man handed the sugar packet to him and smiled.

“Which one of you is Simon?” he asked, still smiling.

Simon was just about to answer when Clara grabbed his leg and said sternly “Who wants to know?”

“You must be Clara.” His eyes were just slits as he smiled and spoke.

Clara, obviously taken aback by the fact the stranger knew her name, looked away sheepishly.

“Who are you?” Simon plucked up the courage to say.

The man chuckled, “I’m a friend. You must be Simon. My name is Darius,” and he extended his hand to Simon.

Simon didn’t move. “What do you want?”

Darius pulled his hand back and continued smiling, “I wondered if I might have a quick chat with you,” he looked at Clara and Declan, “and your friends.”

Simon looked at Clara and Declan for approval. Clara stared back at Simon. Declan did a barely noticeable shrug of his shoulders.

“Fine”

“Wonderful. May I sit down?” Darius said as he took his coat off, folded it over his arm and sat beside Declan.

Darius motioned to the waitress and she came to the table. “Could I have a coffee, please? Black. To go,” he looked at Simon and Clara. “Anything for you?”

“No, thank you,” Clara said cooly.

“I’ll have another Coke, pl…” Declan spoke but the waitress had already left the table.

Simon, Clara and Declan all looked at each other then to Darius. Darius clasped his hands on the table and took a deep breath. “I understand you’ve found some… um, shall we say, passages to various places.”

“No idea what you’re talking about,” Simon shot back.

Darius chuckled again. “I see. Let me show you something.” He reached into his briefcase and pulled out an iPad. He made a few swipes and placed the tablet on the table in front of them.

“Do you recognize this woman?” Darius asked all three of them.

The tablet was open to a Facebook page of a middle-aged woman with a shock of blonde hair. Simon, Clara and Declan looked at each other then at Darius and shook their heads.

“No, of course not,” Darius said smiling. “She lives in Vienna, Austria. Let’s look at some of her recently uploaded mobile photos, shall we?”

Darius made a few quick swipes and touches and there on the screen was a photo of the Austrian woman and what seemed to be her boyfriend or husband at a cafe. It seemed like a completely common and innocuous photo at first glance… until they noticed the three kids to the left of the woman in the background but in full focus.

There, in plain sight, were Simon, Clara and Declan laughing and eating a piece of cake.

Clara put her hand to her mouth in shock. Declan licked his lips.

Simon spoke up. “So? We went to Austria. So what?”

Darius, still smiling, replied, “Sure, sure. Take a note of the date and time on this upload. November 24th, 2:10PM. Now, let’s take a look at this…” and he made a few more swipes on the tablet until the Facebook profile of a broad-faced Hawaiian boy came up on screen. He then flicked to the boy’s mobile uploads and there, standing just behind the boy, were Simon, Clara and Declan all frolicking on the beach with an impressive volcanic island in the background.

“Take a look at the time and date on that one,” Darius smiled.

They all leaned forward. Declan spoke what they were reading, “November 24th, 10AM.”

“Let’s see, with the time difference that would be about eight hours after you were in Vienna, Austria… on the other side of the planet.” Darius slid the iPad back towards himself. “There are lots of other photos but you get the idea.”

Simon, Clara and Declan slumped down in their seats. Simon was feeling bad enough for letting the Palingwrights find out about the shortcuts and having Arlo go missing but now they had carelessly left a trail of their travels online for anyone to see.

Darius broke the silence. “Very impressive, really, isn’t it? How you could be in Vienna, Austria in the afternoon, their time of course, and then a few hours later be enjoying the morning sun in Kauai, Hawaii. Fascinating, absolutely fascinating.”

Simon, Clara and Declan looked at each other and decided the best reply was to simply stand up and leave, but as soon as they began to move, Darius reached over and grabbed Simon firmly by the arm.

His smile disappeared and was replaced by a grimace. “I know about the portals you’re using to go on your little trips. I’ve known about them for years. I just didn’t realize they were still working. If you tell me everything I want to know, then we can all stay friends.” His face changed back into a gentle smile by the end of his sentence.

The three kids settled back into their seats as the waitress arrived with Darius’ coffee.

“Let’s chat,” Darius smiled and lifted his cup in a mock cheers.

~

Simon, Clara and Declan walked out of the diner as calmly as they could.

As soon as they figured they were out of sight of the diner window where Darius was still sitting, they broke into a run. They kept running until they reached Furthermore The Book Store. They burst through the doors and walked straight to the back where the comic books were stocked on tall shelves and in deep bins. It was a typical busy Saturday in the shop and Simon felt safe in the crowd and the din.

“Who was that guy?” Declan said as he caught his breath.

“I don’t know, but I’m just glad we left,” Clara said, trying to calm them, and herself, down.

Simon pretended to browse the comics in one of the bins. “He said he was on ‘our side’. I think he’s from the government.”

“He didn’t seem to know any of the shortcuts in Gatesburgh until we told him,” Declan offered.

“At least we didn’t tell him about the map and Arlo,” Simon said as he rubbed his eyes.

The three of them looked exhausted. The boredom of earlier had been quickly replaced by fear and then defeat. Simon walked to the front window of the shop and looked across the street.

Then he saw it.

It was too far away to be sure, but he was positive he saw an arrow. It was on the side of one of the buildings. In the row of shops on the main street there was a gap where a building had once stood years and years ago but it had been empty for as long as anyone could remember.

Simon bolted out of the book store toward where he thought he had seen the arrow.

“Simon!” Clara shouted and then looked at Declan and the two ran after him.

When they caught up with him, Simon was looking in all directions around the side of the building.

“I saw an arrow,” he said breathlessly.

“What? You mean a…” Declan was interrupted before he could finish his sentence.

“Yes, a shortcut.” Just then Simon’s eyes lit up and he smiled. “Got it! Follow me!”

Simon took off along the side of the building and down through the overgrown weeds that had sprung up between the two shops. Clara and Declan were close behind as he made a sharp left turn behind the one building and pushed his way through some very tall bushes.

~

It was nighttime. Simon could tell that but wherever he was was still brightly lit. He was standing at the end of a street lined with terraced houses on both sides. He took a step back and Declan bumped into him.

“Where are we, Trekker?” Declan looked around. “This shortcut wasn’t on Arlo’s map.”

Simon didn’t reply.

Clara stepped out from behind the two boys and looked up at the street sign. “Journey Road.”

“Oh, thank you, Clara,” Declan’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “Excellent sign reading. Journey Road, where?”

“Listen, I’m only trying to help,” Clara shot back at Declan.

“Shut up, you two,” Simon snapped. “Why is there no one here?”

There wasn’t a car anywhere on the street. There were no noises. It was silent. There was a streetlight shining brightly in front of every second house but none of the houses had any lights on in them that could be seen.

Simon turned to his left and looked into the distance. Then he rubbed his eyes and did the same to his right. There was nothing. Just darkness and what looked like a forest on either side. It was as if the street full of houses had just been plunked down in the middle of a big field.

Simon took a step onto the street. He walked slowly down the middle of the road looking at each house as he passed.

“Simon!” Declan whispered loudly. “This place is creeping me out. Let’s go back.”

Simon ignored him.

Declan looked at Clara for support.

Clara shrugged and started to follow Simon. “Well, I guess if we’re here, we might as well find out where here is.”

Simon’s skin was goosebumped. There was a dampness that hung in the air that made the street seem even scarier.

With Simon in the lead, the three of them walked slowly down the deserted street. The sound of their shoes on the wet road made the only noise.

They were just about halfway down the street when Clara froze.

“Did you see that?” she whispered.

“See what?” Declan replied in a regular voice.

“Shut up!” she hissed back. “There was a light in that front room that just went out.”

“I think I saw it,” Simon said just above his breath.

Clara was pointing to one of the terraced houses that had been painted white and had the only red door on the street.

Simon looked closer and saw that the curtains in the front window were swaying slightly as if they had just been disturbed by someone or something. He looked back at Declan and Clara who both looked terrified.

“Let’s get out of here, Simon,” Declan whispered.

“It’s too late,” Simon said with resolve. “Whoever or whatever already knows we’re here.” And with that he walked directly to the big red door of the house.

“Simon!” Clara said in her loudest whisper.

Declan looked at Clara with worry. “This is a mistake.”

They both walked over and stood behind Simon as he knocked on the door.

The light in the front room went on.

They could hear noises inside now. It sounded like someone talking in a worried voice.

“There’s someone in there,” Declan said in a horrified tone.

“Of course there is. We just saw the light. That’s why we’re knock…” Simons voice trailed off as the voice inside got louder and the door suddenly opened.

“Aha, yes, um, sorry, no, we’re um, ha ha, yes, we’re, um, fine here. No need for new double-glazing or water heaters or whatever. Thank you though. Have a great day!” And with that the thin, tall, quick speaking man shut the door.

Simon looked back at Clara and Declan with a puzzled look.

“Well, that’s that. He’s obviously too busy to talk to us. Let’s go home,” Declan said resolutely and started down the stairs.

“I don’t think he’s that busy,” Clara said.

“What do you mean?” Declan replied.

“He’s looking at us through the front room window right now,” Clara answered and Simon and Declan looked just in time to see the man’s eyes go wide and the curtain be pulled quickly shut.

Even though the curtain was now closed, it was quite thin and Simon, Clara and Declan could still see the man’s head.

“Excuse me?” Simon shouted, “Sir? Excuse me, sir?”

“We can still see you,” Clara said loudly.

The man turned his head and looked down.

“Still can see you,” Declan said looking almost embarrassed for the man.

They watched the man’s silhouette stand up and they heard footsteps coming back to the door.

The door opened slowly.

“Who sent you?” the man said sheepishly.

“Pardon?” Simon replied.

“Who sent you? Someone must have sent you. No one knows how to get here.”

“Umm, no one sent us,” Simon replied. “We found this street by ourselves.”

“What? Really?” The man looked almost relieved. He started to smile. “Ahh! Great. Really great. That’s great,” and he started to shut the door.

Simon stuck his foot towards the door to stop it from closing. “Wait! Where are we?”

The man sighed and opened the door again. “Where are you? What a silly question. Who doesn’t know where they are? I mean, really. Well, recent victims of amnesia, I guess. Where are you? Don’t know, I’ve got amnesia. Yeah, I guess I could see that. But how would you know you have amnesia? I wouldn’t know. I could have it right now.” He suddenly paused. “Oh my goodness, I’ve got amnesia.”

“Sir!” Simon said loudly and the man shook his head and looked at Simon.

“Sorry. I get carried away. What was your question again?”

“Where are we?”

“Journey Road, of course.”

“Yes, we know that.”

“Well, why did you ask then? I don’t take kindly to time wasters showing up at …”

“Sir!” Simon interrupted. “We know we’re on Journey Road, but what city or country are we in?”

Simon could see the man was processing the question.

“You, um, you don’t know what country you’re in?” the man said slowly.

Simon looked back at Clara and Clara looked at Declan. “No, sir.”

“Aha. So, um, how did you get here?”

“We, uh, we…” Simon stammered.

“Did you, um, did you… walk?” the man asked.

Simon nodded.

“Aha. I see.” The man clasped his hands and then pointed in the direction from which they had come. “Did you come from that end of the street?”

Simon nodded again.

“Gatesburgh you’re from then?” the man smiled.

“Yes, sir,” Simon confirmed.

“Well then, perhaps you best come in,” the man replied, smiling nervously as he held the door open for them.

CHAPTER 7 — ‘Acceleglobe’

Alastair Casey was a tall, thin, nervous man. He seemed slightly concerned about having these three kids sitting in his front room but he also seemed genuinely happy for the company.

The front room of Alastair’s house was nicely decorated. Though Simon did think it looked more like the decorating choices of a grandmother rather than a bachelor. The front room opened up through an arch to a fairly large dining room that had a large dark wood dining set with six chairs. It was all nicely kept.

In fact, if it weren’t for the thick brown leather bound books stacked on chairs, tables and everywhere you looked, it would have been very nice.

Clara had pushed a stack of the books aside on the sofa and made enough room to barely sit down.

Declan walked around the room looking at the pictures and knickknacks.

Simon spotted an ottoman that was in front of the television and took a seat.

“Aha. Yes. You’re sitting there, are you?” Alastair asked Simon when he walked into the room carrying a tray of tea and biscuits.

“Oh, sorry, I can move…” Simon started to stand up.

“No, no! Have a seat. Make yourself comfortable. I’ll just… uh…” Alastair replied and he set the tray down on a stack of books and then sat on another stack of books.

“Tea?” Alastair smiled as he lifted the teapot.

“Uh, sure,” Simon replied.

“Do you have any biscuits?” Declan piped up.

“Declan!” Clara scolded.

“Yes, yes. Help yourself. Hob to the Nobs. Word. Mmmm?” Alastair struck a hip-hop pose with his hands and smiled. It was evident he was enjoying the opportunity to entertain.

“So, um… sir” Simon started.

“Call me, Alastair” Alastair interjected.

“Uh, okay. Umm, Alastair. We’re in London?” Simon asked.

“Yes, my good sir… well, actually, no, but yes. Near London. Close to Wimbledon, actually,” Alastair replied proudly.

“But I didn’t see any other streets or buildings,” Simon said, confused.

“Well, we’re in a quiet bit,” Alastair offered, “… in a field,”

Clara looked skeptically at Alastair and then looked towards the window.

“…in a forest,” Alastair continued. “The London Scottish Golf Club is nearby. Do you like golf?”

“Um, I guess… but wait, this whole street is in the middle of a forest?” Simon replied.

“Yes, sir. It’s quiet. I like it,” Alastair responded like there was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary about a street full of houses in the middle of nowhere.

Declan picked up a biscuit from the tray and popped it in his mouth. “It certainly is quiet. There’s nobody else on this street,” he said, spitting crumbs.

Alastair looked a little embarrassed and almost a little sad. He set his tea cup down, put his head in his hands and sighed.

“Are you alright, Alastair?” Clara asked.

Alastair lifted his head slightly, wiped away a tear and then smiled. “Yeah, yeah. Fine, me. Just a little lonely.”

“Why is there no one else here?” Clara leaned forward.

Alastair cleared his throat and wiped his nose.

“Alastair?” Clara was making an attempt to sound comforting.

“Everyone else is gone now. Have been for quite some time. I couldn’t leave,” Alastair spoke as his eyes welled up.

“What do you mean, you couldn’t leave?” Simon asked.

“There were too many who couldn’t get back… or, or were stuck somewhere in-between,” Alastair spoke emphatically, “I couldn’t just leave them there.”

“Stuck where?” Simon continued.

Alastair wiped his nose again and looked around the room at the stacks and stacks of brown leather bound books.

“Look, you know about the shortcuts from Gatesburgh, right?” Alastair asked and Simon, Clara and Declan all nodded. “Well, there are more of them… well, there were a lot more of them… there still are lot more of them. There are two kinds of shortcuts; the natural ones you found in Gatesburgh and the man-made ones here on Journey Road, like the one that brought you here.”

Clara stood up. “You mean there are other shortcuts? That weren’t on Arlo’s map?”

“Yes. This Arlo fellow you mentioned before must have had an old map,” Alastair replied as he took a sip of his tea.

“So, what did you mean when you said they were stuck?” Simon asked.

“Look, it’s not my fault. I’m just trying to fix this mess,” Alastair pleaded.

“No one’s blaming you for anything.” Simon tried to sound calm but he was getting frustrated.

Alastair continued, “The people were so happy. You know? Off on an adventure. Bags packed. They’d arrive and we’d send them off. They’d come back in a few days all aglow with stories from where they’d been. It worked so well for so long and then…”

“And then what, Alastair?” Clara leaned towards him.

Alastair took a deep breath. “They couldn’t get back.”

~

The TV screen glowed and crackled with static and then a picture appeared.

It was a logo for a company called ‘Acceleglobe’. Underneath the name it said ‘Meta-Tourism’. The music that was playing in the background sounded very old to Simon. Old and cheesy. He had heard similar music in some of the terrible educational films that they would watch in school.

Simon looked at Alastair, whose face had lit up when the music started like it had reminded him of a better time.

“What’s… acks-sell-iglobe?” Declan sounded the name out.

“That’s who I work for…”, Alastair replied without taking his eyes away from the television, “… worked for.”

“What’s ‘meta-tourism’?” Clara asked.

Alastair pointed at the television. “Watch.”

A man, about Alastair’s age, was walking down the middle of a street.

“That’s here!” Clara exclaimed.

The man walked towards the camera. In the background there were many people walking to different doors. All of them were carrying suitcases or backpacks.

Declan was just about to say something when the man in the video started to speak.

“Welcome to a new way to travel. If you’re watching this video, you are one of a very exclusive group of people who have been chosen to be the first to experience one of the most amazing discoveries in the history of mankind.”

The screen then broke into four panels. The top left had a picture of a caveman building a fire. The top right had a picture of a caveman carving out a wheel. The bottom left panel showed Benjamin Franklin flying a kite in a lightning storm. The bottom right panel showed Thomas Edison with a lightbulb.

Then a middle panel appeared blocking out most of the other panels. In this middle panel a good looking man and woman and their son walked through an opened door and stepped on to a beach.

The man on the video continued, “Meta-Tourism is the latest in mankind’s achievements, allowing you to travel anywhere in the world in a matter of minutes, and you are one of less than 200 people chosen to be the first meta-tourists in history.”

The man on the video was pointing towards the camera. He smiled as the following words scrolled up the screen rapidly:

Acceleglobe is not open to the general public currently and its existence is unknown to all international governments. As you agreed in your initial meeting with our meta-travel agents, you are strictly forbidden from telling anyone about Acceleglobe and/or your experiences during this testing phase of our service. Acceleglobe reserves the right to enforce all aspects of your signed contract if you reveal any aspect of Acceleglobe or its activities to anyone.

Declan hit the pause button on the aging VCR and raised an eyebrow. “Enforce all aspects? Sounds ominous.”

Alastair cleared his throat. “No, no. Nothing really. Provided people kept it a secret they were fine. No harm. Only had to get rid of a few, really.” He leaned forward to press play.

Declan’s eyes went wide. “Get rid of a few? What does that mean?”

“No matter. No matter. Not now anyway.” Alastair tried to brush over the question. “Just watch.”

The man on the video was now standing on the doorstep of one of the houses.

“That’s across the street!” Alastair said proudly, pointing toward the window.

The man on the video was holding a door open.

“Meta-Tourism is based on a discovery by Alden Trekker. During one of Alden’s frequent walks through the hillside, he came across a previously unknown passage that took him from the beautiful English countryside to the even more beautiful ocean paradise of Fiji. Initially keeping his discovery a secret from everyone except his wife, Alden spent years researching the science behind the passage. After a chance meeting with a world renowned physicist, Alden was able to reverse engineer all of the requirements to create passages to anywhere in the world.”

Simon, Clara and Declan’s mouths were all hanging open as they took in every word.

Declan whispered to Simon, “Did you hear that name, Trekky?”

“Is he related to you?” Clara asked in a whisper as well.

“I… I don’t know,” Simon stammered.

The man on the video was now standing on the other side of the door he had been holding, except that instead of standing inside a house, he was standing at the edge of a forest. You could still see the inside of door to the house behind him but he was definitely not standing indoors.

“From it’s humble beginnings in Alden Trekker’s imagination to this new, state of the art meta-tourism terminal, now seeing the world is as easy as popping over to the neighbours.”

As he spoke, a young family came out of the darkness towards him. A man, a woman and young boy. They were smiling and each carrying suitcase.

“Here are some day-trippers just returning.” He bent down to the speak to the boy. “Where did you get to today?”

“Africa!” the boy beamed.

The man tousled the boy’s hair and stood back up to speak to the father. “How long have you been gone?”

The father answered, “We left this morning. Went on a Safari. Saw the sights and we’re back tonight. Brilliant.”

“Amazing,” the host replied as the family walked out of the picture. The video then cut to the host standing back out on the street.

“Acceleglobe want to help people everywhere experience all the world has to offer. We know that with today’s busy schedules finding the time to travel has never been harder but now, with the introduction of meta-tourism, seeing the world just got easy.”

The man smiled at the camera and the cheesy music started to play again. Then on the screen were the words…

~

ACCELEGLOBE

Meta-Tourism

Currently in testing. Open to the public Summer 1988.

‘A SAFE and FAST way to see the world!’

~

“Pffft,” Alastair’s face had gone from happy to sad again.

“Tell us what happened, Alastair,” asked Clara.

Alastair took a deep breath and let out a sigh, then started, “Well, as you can guess we never actually opened to the public. We couldn’t though, could we?”

“Why?” Clara asked.

“Because!” Alastair threw his hands in the air and stood up, knocking over his empty tea cup.

He began to pace as he talked. “Acceleglobe was taken over by a group of investors. No one knew who they were. They were desperate to make money. So desperate that they ignored things. Most of the testers would come and go, all happy. But some of them…,” Alastair’s voice got quiet, “… some of them would go and not come back.”

“Go where?” Simon asked.

“Anywhere,” Alastair replied. “It might be France or Alaska or the Galapagos. They’d head off all happy from here and then there would be problems with the passage.”

“Problems? Do you mean they couldn’t find their way back?” Simon asked.

“No. The passage would just stop working. We found some of the testers close to the where the original passage… er, shortcut as you call them, was, but some of them have never been found. We don’t know if they got lost trying to find their way back, or if they made it halfway when the passage… shortcut… stopped working.” Alastair seemed to feel personally guilty about it.

“Were you in charge, Alastair?” Clara asked in a gentle voice.

“Me? No, no,” Alastair chuckled, “not me. I was hired to keep an eye on the street. You know, keep order. Keep it tidy.”

The three kids looked at each other.

“You were the custodian?” Declan asked.

Alastair looked at all three of them sheepishly. “Erm, yes. I suppose you could call it that. Bit more than that… but, er, yeah.”

“If you were just the cust….” Realizing she was sounding a bit rude, Clara stopped mid-sentence. “Why are you the only one here?”

“The rest of the Acceleglobe team — that’s what we called ourselves sounds really cool doesn’t it — they left as soon it became obvious that the technology was flawed and people were getting… lost,” Alastair replied. “I stayed because I wanted to do what I could to help find them. Well, that and I’m the only one with an actual house here.”

“What?” Declan asked in confused tone.

“The rest of the houses on the street. They’re just a facade. Like movie props, you know? Fronts are real, though. Oh, yes.” Alastair had a proud look on his face.

“The roofs are real too. Nothing inside though. They’re just gateways that Acceleglobe created to keep this little collection of, um, shortcuts, secret. We just look like a little street from the air or if you come through one of the entrances, like you did from Gatesburgh, but you can walk right around this street and you’d never know it was here. Just forest. Trees, plants and whatnot. Pretty cool, huh?” Alastair made a smug face.

“Umm, yes. Very cool,” Clara responded, a bit dumbfounded.

Declan was over by the front window looking up and down the street. “So none of these other houses is actually a house?”

“Nope,” Alastair replied proudly.

“And they all just lead to shortcuts?” Declan asked without shifting his gaze from the window.

Alastair started to tidy up the tea cups and put plates back on the tray. He stood up with the tray and answered, “Yes… but they’re too dangerous to use now.”

Alastair left the room to put the tray back in the kitchen.

Simon stood and looked at one of the stacked brown books and flipped through the pages.

“What are they, Simon?” Clara asked as she walked over to him.

“It’s just lists of names and places,” Simon replied.

“Let’s see.” Clara took the book from Simon and carefully looked at the opened page. “These are manifests.”

“What’s a manifest when it’s at home?” Declan asked brushing cookie crumbs off his shirt.

“It’s a list of people, where they were from and where they were going. Airplanes have them. It lists all of the passengers names,” Clara replied while still reading.

“So, these books have the names of every person who knows about the shortcuts?” Simon asked.

“I guess so…” Clara replied.

“I wonder why Alastair has all of them here?” Simon started to ask, “What do you think…”

“Simon!” Clara sounded excited but scared. “What were your parents names?”

Realizing why Clara was asking, Simon steadied himself.

“My father’s name was John,” Simon began, his voice trembling. “My mother’s name was…”

“Adria,” Clara read aloud.

Simon looked at Declan and the two of them hurried over to Clara as she pointed out the names.

‘John and Adria Trekker, Gatesburgh | Dest: Kerala, India — 21 Sept, 1991 | Returned?: Yes. 25 Sept, 1991’

“Trekker, your parents knew about the shortcuts?!” Declan asked excitedly. As soon as the words left his mouth, Declan put his hand on his head. “Oh. Simon. I’m… I’m sorry.”

Simon stepped away from the book and a tear ran down his cheek.

Alastair walked back in the room to find Simon wiping his eyes and Clara and Declan quickly putting the book down.

“What were you doing?” Alastair asked, sounding slightly betrayed.

“Nothing,” Declan quickly answered.

“Alastair, Simon’s parents were in that book. Were they… did they?” Clara tried to ask the question as delicately as possible.

“Were my parents lost in one of the shortcuts?” Simon looked at Alastair with tears in his eyes.

“I… umm, I… don’t…,” Alastair replied in a stammer. “What were their names?”

“John and Adria Trekker,” Simon’s voice was trembling. He had never really known his parents as they had never really been a part of his life but it still stung whenever he thought of them.

Alastair looked at Simon with an expression of shock. His mouth was open and his eyes were wide.

He started to laugh.

“There’s nothing funny about this, Alastair!” Clara reprimanded him.

Alastair composed himself and stifled his laughter. “Oh, no! Nothing funny at all. I agree. My apologies. It’s just that… you’re Simon Trekker.”

“Yes, so? Just tell me if my parents died because of these shortcuts,” Simon spat out.

“No, no. You’re Simon TREKKER. THE Simon TREKKER! Right here in my front room!” Alastair was almost giddy now.

“What’s so special about Simon?” Declan demanded.

“What? Really? You don’t know?” Alastair was almost tripping over his own words. “Acceleglobe! Meta-Tourism! This whole thing… I believe it’s all yours!”

Alastair put his hands on his hips and shook his head, smiling.

“What do you mean it’s all mine?” Simon asked.

“Your dad… no, no, I guess he would be your granddad. That was Alden Trekker! Your parents never told you?” Alastair asked with an incredulous tone.

“I never knew my parents. They died when I was a baby,” Simon’s tears had dried up now and he was getting tired of Alastair’s enthusiasm.

“Oh, yes, right. Sorry. Well… your dad… granddad, he discovered the shortcuts and he started Acceleglobe. We had been told that the company was staying in the family and that a boy was born who was going to inherit the lot, but then everything just stopped here and I didn’t… I can’t believe you’re here!” Alastair said excitedly. “You’re him! You’re the boy!”

“But what does that mean exactly?” asked Clara.

Alastair looked at the three kids. He was smiling a broad toothy smile and still giggling.

He turned to Simon and said “I have no idea… boss” and saluted him.

CHAPTER 8 — ‘One Way Ticket’

Simon woke up when the rifle touched his nose.

His head had been spinning with various thoughts after finding out that his grandfather and father had both known about the shortcuts. According to Alastair Casey, they had set up a company called ‘Acceleglobe’ that he, Simon, apparently owned by inheritance.

It was all too much to take in.

Which made the fact that he was being woken up by having a gun stuck in his face almost not that shocking.

The man holding the rifle was dressed all in black. He was wearing the equivalent of a ski mask over his face. Simon could see his own reflection in the man’s mask that covered his eyes and he was happily surprised to see that he didn’t look as scared as he felt.

“Who are you?” Simon managed to spit out before the man covered his mouth with his gloved hand.

“Just keep quiet, son.” The man’s voice was low and rough.

Simon pulled himself up in his bed, which was apparently okay because the man with the rifle and the other man standing by his bedroom door let him.

“Where are my aunt and uncle? Are they okay?” Simon spoke quietly but as sternly as he could.

The men didn’t answer. The man by the door was receiving some sort of communication through an ear-piece. He was holding his hand up to his ear and listening intently. After a few seconds, he nodded to the man holding the rifle and Simon was dragged to his feet.

“Get dressed,” the man holding the rifle said to Simon.

“I’m not doing anything until you tell me if my aunt and uncle are…” Simon stopped talking when the man with the rifle lifted it up to point at Simon’s head and flicked some sort of switch. Simon didn’t know what the sound was exactly but he had seen enough movies to know that it wasn’t a good sound. Especially on this side of the rifle.

“Fine,” Simon sighed and started to get dressed.

~

Clara had gone to Declan’s house early because they had band practice that morning at school.

Clara’s parents were gone on a business trip and her grandmother had been taking care of her. Her grandmother had woken her about two hours earlier than she needed to be woken up because she had to get to her aquacise class. Clara decided she would take the opportunity to go over to Declan’s early.

Clara banged on the door of Declan’s house.

“Declan!” she waited but heard no activity, “Declan! Wake up! It’s me!”

Declan’s parents worked the night shift at a nearby grocery store. It’s where they’d met as teenagers. He often woke up in the mornings with no one else in the house.

Clara kept banging. Finally she heard sounds coming from inside.

“Urrgghhhhh!! Fffmmmahhhh!” came the noise from what Clara assumed was Declan.

“What? Declan! Declan! Wake up! It’s me!” Clara continued shouting.

An elderly man walking his dog stopped on the sidewalk and looked up to see who was causing the commotion. “You alright, dear? Awfully early for all that noise,” he added.

Clara turned. “Sorry, Mr. Parker! Trying to get Declan up.” She smiled and the elderly man couldn’t help but smile back.

As soon as the elderly man started on his way again, Clara spun on her heels and hammered on the door again. “DECLAN!!”

She was just about to start kicking at the door when it opened.

“Clara? Why? Why? Why are you here? Why are you here NOW?” Declan’s hair was askew and he was still wearing pajamas.

“I had to leave the house early. My nana is gone to her aquacise class.”

Declan screwed up his face and shivered. “Urrghh, do you have to fill my head with images of old people exercising in water this early in the morning?”

“Just let me in, Declan.”

Declan stood back and Clara went inside.

~

The van pulled into Clara’s driveway quickly and quietly.

One man stayed in the driver’s seat. Three others jumped out the side-door. Two of the men went to the backdoor and one went to the front.

All of them were dressed in black from head to toe and all of them were carrying rifles.

The man at the front door held his hand up to his ear, then quietly said “Roger” and kicked the door open.

At that very moment across town, Declan and Clara were half way down the street and didn’t notice the van pulling into Declan’s driveway.

~

Simon had no idea where he was.

As soon as he had left his house and been put in the van, the man who had woken him up with a rifle to the nose put a bag over Simon’s head.

“Where are you taking me?” Simon demanded.

The man didn’t answer.

Simon tried to guess where they were driving based on the turns they were making but it was difficult. He had only paid attention when he was walking somewhere himself. When he was being driven by Aunt Peggy or Uncle James he just enjoyed the ride.

He wasn’t enjoying this ride.

The van stopped and Simon heard the side-door of the van open and then felt a rush of cool damp air.

He felt a hand on his shoulder pulling him out of the van and then guiding him as they walked. He heard a door open. It sounded like a large metallic door.

Then someone pulled the bag off his head.

“Mr. Palingwright?” Simon said, confused.

~

Alastair had only made the trip to Gatesburgh a few times since moving to his house on Journey Road.

He would go there for a walk around town and to pick up supplies. Sometimes he’d stop by this great little shop called Joyland Curiosities.

The reason for the trip to Gatesburgh this time was to show Simon some more entries in the brown leather bound manifests that listed John and Adria Trekker. Ever since Simon, Clara and Declan had visited Alastair, and Alastair had found out who Simon was, he was keen to help Simon discover what had happened to his parents.

Alastair shifted the four large books he was carrying into his left arm and knocked on the door of Simon’s house.

The door pushed open on Alastair’s last knock.

Alastair stood frozen with his hand still in the knocking position as he shouted, “Hello? Anybody about? It’s me. Well, it’s Alastair. Alastair Casey? I found your address, well, your aunt and uncle’s address online. You said you were living with them, so I put two and two together and… Hello?”

Alastair gathered his courage and pushed the door open wider. He looked inside to see the kitchen table was on its side. Two of the chairs were on their sides as well. There were footprints all over the carpet. Leading upstairs and back down.

“Simon?” Alastair barely shouted.

No response. Just silence.

“Oh dear,” Alastair said under his breath.

~

Clara was the first to notice the car slowing down behind them.

She nudged Declan and whispered to him, “I think that car is following us.”

“I’m freezing. Do you think he’ll give us a ride to band practice?” Declan deadpanned and Clara gave him a dirty look.

The car then pulled slightly ahead of them and the passenger window was rolled down.

Clara cautiously looked in. “Alastair?”

“It IS you. Simon is in trouble. Get in.” Alastair sounded deadly serious.

~

Simon was standing and shivering slightly.

Oscar didn’t say anything but just stood with his arms crossed, looking at Simon with a smirk on his face.

There were men with guns everywhere Simon looked. One on either side of Oscar. At least five behind Simon. The room they were in looked like an old lunch room. The windows had been blacked out and there was garbage everywhere.

Simon shivered again.

“Are you cold, Master Trekker?” asked Oscar.

Simon turned just as one of Palingwright’s men passed him pushing an old man in a wheelchair. The old man looked awful. He looked asleep or even passed out. His clothes were filthy and his arms and face were bruised. He looked practically dead.

The man pushed the wheelchair past Simon and stopped just in front of Oscar.

“Arlo!” Simon shouted and attempted to run towards him but two of the men grabbed Simon’s arms and pulled him back.

Simon looked at Arlo and saw again how beaten up he looked.

Simon started to cry. “What have you done to him?!”

“He’s fine, Master Trekker,” Oscar replied cooly, and looked at Arlo. “Well, he’s alive at least.”

Arlo stirred slightly and made a groaning noise. His head lifted and he squinted in Simon’s direction.

“I’m… sorry, Simon. I’m…,” the words looked painful for Arlo to say.

Simon looked confused. He tried to blink away his tears.

“Sorry for what, Arlo?” Simon sniffled.

“I… I… I’m sorry,” is all that Arlo managed to say.

Oscar smiled at Simon. “Mr. Wayfarer here has been very helpful.”

Simon couldn’t stop looking at Arlo. He felt guilty for getting Arlo into this situation. He just kept thinking, if they hadn’t met up with Nigel in St. Barts, none of this would be happening.

Oscar continued, “Mr. Wayfarer shared his map with us, showing all the… what have you been calling them? Shortcuts? I was fascinated, Master Trekker. You see, I was sure these shortcuts were a thing of the past, but then Mr. Wayfarer… good old Arlo here… he let me know that you and your friends knew all about the shortcuts too and that you know about more.”

Simon finally moved his gaze from Arlo and looked at Oscar as Oscar continued.

“I was even more fascinated when Arlo told me you are Simon Trekker. THE Simon Trekker. A Trekker! Your grandfather and my father knew each other very well.” Oscar was now pacing behind the wheelchair. “ Acceleglobe. Yes. Those were exciting times. It was the future, right here, right now! My father invested millions.”

Oscar stepped out from behind Arlo, walked over to Simon and leaned down to look him directly in the eye. “Millions and millions of dollars… and he lost it all. I grew up poor because of your grandfather’s failure.”

Simon tried to not meet Oscar’s eye but it was difficult as Oscar was now standing directly in front of him, slightly stooped and studying his face.

“Good old Arlo here told me that you know of more shortcuts,” Oscar smiled and looked back to Arlo, “and that you told him all about Acceleglobe.”

This was an outright lie. Simon didn’t even know about Acceleglobe when they had last spoken. Simon looked over at Arlo who lifted his head to meet Simon’s eye and then let his head slump down again.

Oscar walked behind Simon and put his hands on Simon’s shoulders. Simon bristled at his touch.

“Simon Trekker. Alden’s grandson! Rightful owner of Acceleglobe… well, by inheritance at least. After all, it’s practically all my money,” Oscar’s voice was turning from its usual calm drone to sounding quite upset. “Arlo was such a great help. Nigel had never bothered to mention you to me. I had no idea that you and he were classmates. Who would have thought? Control of Acceleglobe was within my reach this whole time. I get my father’s rightful property back and I sell the… shortcuts… I love the name ‘shortcuts’… to the highest bidder on the military blackmarket. It’s all working out…”

Oscar clapped Simon’s shoulders. “Well, enough chit chat. Arlo, you have been such a great help. You deserve a vacation, don’t you agree, Simon?”

Simon jerked his shoulder away from Oscar’s hand.

Oscar motioned to one of his men, who walked over to Arlo’s wheelchair and pushed it towards a large delivery door at the other side of the room.

“Mr. Wayfarer, thank you very much for your help. I’ve arranged for you to travel to South America. Brazil, to be precise. That’s where your daughter is, correct? You’ll be using one of my very own… shortcuts, that I developed after my family lost so much money in Accelegobe.” And with that Oscar’s man pressed a button on the wall that opened the door.

What was odd was that outside the door looked wavy, like when heat rises off of the pavement in summer. However it certainly wasn’t summer and these wavy lines in the air went horizontally.

Oscar’s man pushed Arlo towards the large open door and then lifted him to his feet.

Arlo looked shaky at first but then turned to look at Simon. “Simon,” he said in a weak voice, “I had to… I had no choice… I… I’m….” Then he turned and shuffled through the door.

As soon as Arlo took a step beyond the doorway there was a loud, low hum that overtook the room. Oscar covered his ears with his hands, as did his men. Simon watched Arlo turn with a panicked look on his face and then make an attempt to walk back into the building. The wavy lines in the air now surrounded Arlo.

There was a loud crackle and the hum stopped. Arlo seemed to be frozen, then suddenly the bottom half of his body went to the left and the top half seemed to stretch out to the right and he disappeared along with the wavy lines in the air.

“Arlo!” Simon yelled. He felt betrayed by Arlo but he certainly didn’t want him hurt.

“Oh dear,” Oscar said with a tone of mock concern, “it seems we haven’t perfected the artificial shortcuts yet.”

~

“Where are we going?” Declan yelled from the backseat of Alastair’s speeding car.

“We’re going to get Simon,” Alastair replied without taking his eyes off the road ahead.

The car was speeding through the industrial part of Gatesburgh at breakneck speeds. It was a small car that looked even smaller with Alastair’s unusually tall, thin body behind the wheel. Declan was sitting in the middle of the backseat, while Clara sat in the front with one hand on the dashboard and the other holding on to the grab-bar above the door. Between her and Alastair was a brand new iPod and speakers still in their boxes and a package of batteries.

“How do we know where Simon is?” Clara asked.

“I have a friend who’s been keeping an eye on Palingwright. He’s been trying to create his own shortcut,” Alastair replied.

“And you think he has Simon there?” Clara said with concern.

“A bit of a guess after seeing Simon’s aunt and uncle’s place all upside down but then I got a text from my contact confirming it,” Alastair said.

Clara turned around to Declan with a shocked look on her face.

“But why? Why would they want Simon?” Clara asked in disbelief.

“Ah, yes, well, you see… they have that old chap that ran Joyland… Arlo… and he’s told Palingwright where to find Simon and that you three know all the answers,” Alastair replied.

Clara and Declan both looked dumbstruck.

Alastair’s phone chirped and he picked it up to read the text that had just arrived.

“What does it say?” Declan leaned forward from the backseat.

Alastair set the phone down and tried to take a deep breath but it sounded shaky.

“They’ve killed Arlo.”

~

Simon was having a hard time processing what he had just seen.

Arlo had disappeared like the picture on an old television when you turn it off. It didn’t make sense. Why was the air wavy? What was the loud, low hum? Simon’s head was spinning and he almost forgot his own predicament until Oscar spoke.

“Master Trekker… Simon, tomorrow morning you’ll be taking me to Journey Road. Did you know I’ve never been? Neither had my father. Funny, isn’t it? Investing millions in something you’ve never seen?” Oscar’s voice was calm again.

Simon was barely listening to the words Oscar was saying to him.

“What happened to Arlo?” he finally managed to say quietly.

Oscar chuckled and then smiled at Simon. “Mr. Wayfarer’s gone on vacation! Where, I’m not sure. Will he be back? Doubt it. We’re just going to have to soldier on without him, eh?”

Simon was cold and tired. He could feel a nervous sweat on his brow and he could taste tears running down his cheeks.

“As I was saying… Simon… I’m excited for you to take me Journey Road.” Oscar just finished his sentence when the door behind Simon opened and another voice spoke.

“I can take you there now.”

~

Declan’s fingers were sore from ripping open the package of batteries.

“Gahhh… I think I’ve got a paper cut. No… I think it’s a cardboard cut,” Declan complained as he shook his left hand in the air.

“Just get them into the radio, Declan,” Clara admonished him while pulling branches over to where he was sitting.

“I don’t even know why we’re doing this!” Declan exclaimed. “Shouldn’t we be helping Alastair save Simon?”

Clara paused with a worried look on her face and then started gathering the branches again. “Alastair said to trust him and Simon would be okay, so we’re going to have to trust him.”

~

“Who ARE you?” Oscar demanded.

Oscar’s men moved to grab Alastair but Oscar waved them off.

“You want to get to Journey Road?” Alastair said in a tough voice that was entirely convincing except for the fact that his left leg was shaking.

Simon looked at Alastair with a puzzled expression. “Alastair, don’t.”

Alastair looked back at Simon, pursed his lips and turned back to Oscar. “I can take you to Journey Road.”

Oscar stepped towards Alastair. “How do you know about Journey Road?”

Alastair opened his jacket to reveal a blue t-shirt with the Acceleglobe logo on it. “I work… I mean, worked for Acceleglobe. I’ve just come from Journey Road. If you want to find out how to get there, you’ll let Simon and his aunt and uncle go.”

Simon looked suddenly pained. In all of the bizarre recent events he had forgotten about his Uncle James and Aunt Peggy.

Oscar smiled, “How do I know you’re telling the truth?”

Alastair screwed up his face and then looked up confidently. “I know about the shortcut to St. Barts on the edge of town. I know about the shortcut to York by the library. I know about all of them. You just have to trust me.”

Oscar looked Alastair up and down and then stared at the Acceleglobe logo on his t-shirt. “Fine.”

~

The three large black military Hummers looked slightly out of place in Gatesburgh’s small downtown.

Simon sat in one of the vehicles in the backseat with Alastair on one side and Oscar on the other.

The convoy drove slowly along the main street.

“This is it. Park here,” Alastair instructed the driver.

The driver looked skeptically at Alastair in the rearview mirror.

“Park here.” Alastair looked back at the driver and pointed to the overgrown space between two shops where Simon, Declan and Clara had found the shortcut to Journey Road.

The cars pulled over and stopped.

Palingwright’s men in the other cars got out first. They were careful to conceal their weapons but their all black military uniforms made them stand out anyway. If it wasn’t a quiet Monday morning there would have been more people on the streets watching, but as it was there was no one to be seen.

One of Palingwright’s men in the front seat of the Hummer that Simon was in put his hand to his ear, then turned to Oscar. “All clear, sir.”

Oscar turned to Simon and smiled, then turned to Alastair with a more serious look. “Let’s go, shall we?” and he opened his door and stepped out.

Alastair took two long strides from the sidewalk into the empty space overgrown with bushes and small trees.

“We’re very close. We’ll be on Journey Road in about two minutes. Let Simon and his aunt and uncle go and I’ll take you and your men to Journey Road,” Alastair was facing back towards Oscar and the street.

Oscar studied Alastair for a second. “I’m not so sure letting Simon and his aunt and uncle go is good business. Just take us there and we’ll let you all live. How does that sound?”

Alastair reached into his pocket and held up a small white pill.

“I’ve already sent the Acceleglobe files to various contacts around the world with a time release password lock. Unless I remotely stop the files from opening, everyone in the world will know about Acceleglobe, the shortcuts and what you’ve done. Release them now or I pop this cyanide pill into my mouth and I’m dead in less than ten seconds.” Alastair’s left leg was shaking again.

“Alastair, don’t!” Simon yelled.

Behind the branches and bushes, Declan looked at Clara with wide eyes. Clara returned the glance, then slowly blinked, took a deep breath and mouthed the word ‘focus’ to Declan.

“Fine,” Oscar said and motioned to one his men who immediately put his hand up to his ear and issued commands.

The man holding Simon let him go with a shove.

“What are we waiting for?’” Oscar looked at Alastair and smiled.

Alastair put the pill back into his pocket and started into the bushes. He stopped about twenty feet beyond the end of the building next to them and pointed to his left.

“Walk about fifty paces that way and you’ll be on Journey Road,” Alastair said to Oscar.

Oscar nodded to one of his men and all of them, along with Oscar, started to walk towards Alastair. One of the men pushed Alastair as he passed him.

“Now,” Alastair whispered to the branches and bushes beside him.

As quietly as he could, Declan lifted the remote and pointed it in the direction Oscar and his men were walking.

‘Wake me up, before you go-go

Don’t leave me hanging on like a yo-yo

Wake me up before you go-go

Don’t want miss it when you hit that high…’

The song blared out of the iPod and speakers that were sitting at the start of the shortcut to Journey Road.

Oscar and his men paused briefly when the music started behind them and seeing Alastair still standing there decided to continue.

Alastair smiled at Oscar and his men and waved as the air went wavy around them while the song played on.

It was then that Alastair yelled at Declan and Clara, “We’ve got to go… now!”

Declan and Clara leaped to their feet from their hiding spot and Alastair took Clara’s hand as they ran back towards to the street.

“What’s going to happen?!” Clara yelled at Alastair as they ran.

“Just keep running!” Alastair shouted back.

Just then there was a loud electrical hum. The song blasting from the iPod and speakers started to sound very weird. It changed pitch, sped up and slowed down at random. Oscar and his men turned around with their hands at their heads and tried to run back out of the shortcut. They all fell to the ground, motionless.

“What’s happening, Alastair?!” shouted Simon, running towards them.

Alastair looked back at Oscar and his men who were unable to move.

“Umm… we should probably take cover,” Alastair said calmly to the kids and then shouted, “Now!”

The hum grew even louder and changed very quickly into a high-pitched squeal, like feedback from a microphone but much, much louder.

Alastair, Simon, Declan and Clara all put their hands on their ears and crouched down just as the sound suddenly stopped and all was silent.

Declan looked at the other three. “What just happ…,” when there was an incredibly bright flash of light and a noise that went from very high to very low in less than a second.

The sound was so loud that it knocked over Alastair, Simon, Declan and Clara.

Simon was the first to stand up. He looked back towards the shortcut and saw Oscar and his men lying on the ground.

“Are they dead?” he asked Alastair.

Alastair stood and brushed himself off. “What? Dead? No, no. Just massive headaches and a bit wobbly. They’ll be out of commission for quite a while though. Probably hate WHAM! now as well,” he chuckled to himself.

Declan brushed his hair away from his face. “What’s a wham?”

“It’s the band that was singing… you know? Oh, probably before your time.” Alastair was still smiling looking where the entrance to the shortcut had been.

“So what just happened, Alastair?” Clara was brushing herself off as well.

“Aha! Well… you see the shortcuts… the man-made ones, don’t react that well to certain frequencies. It just so happens I know that song triggers a collapse. Found that out by accident once. Destroyed a new shortcut and got made fun of for listening to WHAM!. Not a good day all round, really.” Alastair looked proud of himself.

“What about the shortcut to Journey Road?” Clara asked.

“Oh, yes, well… gone,” Alastair replied, still looking towards the former shortcut entrance.

“But how will you get back to your home?” Clara asked with concern.

Alastair turned to her. “What? Me? I’ll be fine. Don’t you worry.”

Simon rubbed his brow and looked at Alastair. “You saved my life. You saved my aunt and uncle’s lives.” He paused. “And you were going to kill yourself by taking that pill.”

Alastair reached into his pocket. “What? This? It’s a mint,” and he popped it into his mouth while smiling.

Simon stood between Declan and Clara and put his arms over their shoulders and they all laughed.

In the distance they heard sirens approaching.

“Right. Well then. I imagine those sirens are coming here… and we’re standing beside a bunch of guys who look dead. We should all probably go,” said Alastair as he looked back to Oscar and his men still lying unconscious.

CHAPTER 9 — ‘Summer Holidays’

“The Gatesburgh Middle School Social Sciences award goes to,” the woman on stage opened the envelope and continued, “Clara Maeve.”

Clara stood and walked up to the stage. Declan nudged Simon as they applauded.

Simon looked back to where parents and family were sitting in the assembly hall and smiled at his Uncle James and Aunt Peggy. They were both smiling back at Simon and looked proud.

Uncle James and Aunt Peggy had no idea that Oscar Palingwright was behind their kidnapping. The authorities told them they had been the victims in a case of mistaken identity in a gang war. Other homes in Gatesburgh were also broken into that same morning, they were told. Though it had been terrifying, they were both none the worse for wear.

Clara had now returned to her seat with her trophy.

“Cheater,” Declan whispered under his breath to Clara.

Clara elbowed him in the ribs and smirked, “I didn’t cheat! I just paid attention.”

~

It was hard to believe it was the last day of his first year in middle school, Simon thought to himself. What had started out with a terrible first day of school had turned into an amazing adventure. The school year had flown by.

All of the shortcuts in Gatesburgh were still under Palingwright’s control but there were only a few guards at each one. The Palingwrights had left Simon, Declan and Clara alone since the implosion of the Journey Road shortcut engineered by Alastair. Most likely because they didn’t want to risk Simon telling everyone what he knew about the shortcuts, Acceleglobe and Arlo. Even Nigel had left them alone.

They hadn’t spoken to Alastair since the implosion. He had told them he’d be in touch but wanted to wait until things calmed down a bit.

Simon missed the shortcuts but he was happy for a rest. Declan, Clara and himself had decided to head to the diner for a celebratory drink and snack after their last day of school. When they arrived, Alastair was sitting in a booth waiting for them.

“Alastair!” Clara exclaimed and ran over to give him a hug.

Alastair looked very happy to see the kids. It had been almost a month since he had seen them last. He was looking relaxed in his jeans, jacket and Acceleglobe t-shirt. He had a messenger bag beside him on the bench.

Simon and Declan slid into the booth across from Clara and Alastair.

“Alastair, it’s so good to see you!” Simon beamed. Declan nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

“Likewise! Likewise, indeed!” Alastair replied with a big grin on his face.

“Where have you been staying?” Clara asked.

Alastair looked at Clara with a puzzled expression, “Home, of course.”

“On Journey Road?” Simon interrupted.

“Well, yes. Why?”

Declan sat forward with his hands on the table and whispered, “I thought we blew that shortcut up?”

“Well, we blew one of them up. Well, technically we didn’t blow it up, but instead blew it… in, I guess. There are other shortcuts to Journey Road from Gatesburgh though.” Alastair looked reassuringly at the three of them. “Not quite as convenient as the downtown one. I have to come in on the east side with all the big box stores. Not as pretty, that’s for sure. Good for picking up deals on socks though.”

Simon, Declan and Clara chuckled at Alastair.

“Why are you here today?” Simon asked.

“Ah! Yes. Glad you asked. First of all, congratulations on finishing the school year. Great thing, education. Learning. So good…” Alastair started to ramble.

“Alastair!” Simon interrupted.

Alastair re-focused. “Right, yes, sorry. Do any of you have plans for the summer?” Simon, Declan and Clara looked at each other, then back at Alastair and shook their heads.

Alastair then reached into the messenger bag beside him, pulled out a rolled up piece of thick paper and unrolled it on the table.

Simon looked down and saw that it was a map. In fact, quite a large map of the world. There were several cities marked and beside each one was what seemed to be a list of addresses. Beside each of the addresses a red line went out and connected to another address beside a different city somewhere else in the world. The map was covered in red lines.

He located Gatesburgh and saw all of the shortcuts that Palingwright now controlled. Underneath those were two other shortcuts that he didn’t know about. One went to New York City and the other went to Tokyo.

“What is this?” Declan asked.

Before Alastair could answer, Simon spoke. “It’s more shortcuts… all over the world. You could just keep traveling from one to the next.”

Alastair was smiling and nodding, “All 100% natural.”

Simon, Clara and Declan looked at each other with excitement.

Alastair smoothed out the map on the table.

“So where do you want to go first?”

CHAPTER 10 — ‘Creeper’

Darius picked up the phone and turned on the lamp beside his bed.

“Sir, I apologize for interrupting you at home,” the voice on the phone said.

“What is it?” he replied in a gruff voice.

“Sir, you had asked us to monitor some individuals and we have an update for you. I am sending you the file now.”

Darius pulled himself out of bed and walked over to a desk. He flicked on another light and pressed the space bar on his laptop.

He watched the file arrive and then it opened.

“Got it,” he said into the phone and hung up.

In front of him was a picture of a group of business men standing in downtown Tokyo. In the background were Simon, Declan and Clara, along with a tall, thin man.

He clicked on the next file name and a picture of a family popped on screen. The family were standing with a tour group in front of Ayers Rock. In the crowd of people you could easily spot Simon, Declan, Clara and the man.

He kept clicking and opening new photos. All of them had Simon, Declan, Clara and this new friend somewhere in the photo… somewhere in the world.

Darius slammed his laptop shut and picked up his phone.

“I need transport to Gatesburgh. Now.”

###

Thanks for reading. I’m going to make this into a movie.
I don’t know how yet, but I will.
Stewart / Brittlestar