Wirl's End Chapter 7.

Chapter Seven.

Resolution.

Brian dashed into the cottage, followed by the others. He gave the bell a good hard tug and set it jangling. He put his mouth on the speaking tube and shouted. "Mr. Warder, are you there?"

          After a few seconds of agonising wait, an irritable voice echoed round the room, "You don't have to shout, I'm not deaf. Who is it?"

          Brian recognised the voice straight away, "Mr. Warder, it's me, Brian."

          There was a loud sniff from the speaking tube. "So you say. What is your mother's name?"

          "Rosemary," Brian said, quieter this time.

          "About time too," grumbled Mr. Warder. "This 'thing' is getting stronger by the minute. We won't be able to keep it in the sacks for very much longer. Have you found Lexa?"

          Brian quickly explained Lexa's and Verity's problems.

          Before there was an answer, Brian could almost hear Mr. Warder thinking on the other side of the wall. "Yes, if you send them through the Door, the magic will stop and they will return to their true selves."

          Brian and James cheered.

          Mr. Warder ignored the interruption. "But you do realise that if you can only send two people through, one for each of these 'things'."

          That stopped the cheering.

          Mr. Warder had not finished. "And if the two you send here, ever try to go back, they may immediately change back into the form they had on that side of the wall.

          That message really sobered them all up.

          "And, you will have to be quick in deciding. These sacks are not as strong as they used to be. And we have been lucky so far. The Evil beings on this side have not arrived yet to try and get through, but it won't take them much longer."

          "The girls have to go through, there is no choice really. We will have to stop here." Brian said.

          James nodded sadly. "But," he said, "I don't want to spend the rest of my life here when she is over there."

          "Well, I do not want to spend the rest of my life here either. My mother needs me," said Brian.

          Both cats stayed still and silent.

          "Right!" Brian became all businesslike to cover his feelings.

          He spoke into the tube again. "Do we need to do anything when the 'things' come through?"

          "No, they will be too weak from the crossover to do anything for a few weeks, and anyway, once they are in that world, they have very little power. Just stand well out of the way of the open door in case they try to grab on as they go through. Give us five minutes for Mrs. Turnkey and me to carry the sacks to the Door, and then open it from your side. The magic will do the rest." There was a sigh and Mr. Warder added, "We really are getting too old for this sort of thing, you know. We should have retired long ago."

          That final comment gave Brian an idea, but he said nothing for the moment. Despite the Verity cat's protests, she and the Lexa cat were put in front of the Door.  

          Brian opened it carefully, keeping well out of the way. There was a faint whooshing sound, and Brian thought he heard a thin, distant cry,  nothing he could put a name to. The Door slammed shut and Lexa the cat and Verity the cat were no longer to be seen.

          Brian and James rushed back into the cottage. Brian rang the bell.

          For ages, there was no answer, and then Mr. Warder spoke. "All right, all right, no need to get excited. They arrived safely."

          Brian heaved a sigh of relief.

          Mr. Warder went on. "Mrs. Turnkey says that girl is the image of herself when she was that age. And got the same name too. Verity Turnkey. Would you believe that?"

          Brian said, "There is a young man here called James Warder."

         Before he could go on, Mr. Warder interrupted with a chuckle. "Well, well, well, the same name as me. This is wonderful."

          Brian smiled to himself. "When you said you and Mrs. Turnkey were too old for the job, did you mean it?"

          Mr. Warder replied. "Yes, we would love to be able to hand over the job to someone new, but there has been no answer from your side of the Wall for as long as we can remember."

          "That's because they all ran away from the witch," shouted James. "I am sorry. The King and the Witch have gone to bring them back."

          "Idiots!" Mr. Warder muttered.

          Brian carried on. "If you and Mrs. Turnkey do not mind camping out in the empty cottages until they arrive, I am sure this James would be very happy to take over your job on that side of the Wall,"

          James's face lit up, and he nodded enthusiastically. "I would rather not be here when my parents and Verity's do arrive. They were very angry with us before we ran away, and now, well.........." He shuddered.

          There was silence from Mr. Warder's side of the Wall. Brian crossed his fingers. The silence dragged on.

          When Mr. Warder finally spoke, both Brian and James jumped. "We think that is a very good idea. Give us an hour to collect our things and some food and blankets and we will swap over."

          Brian and James cheered and danced around the room.

          The hour was the longest Brian could ever remember, but eventually Lexa's voice came over the speaking tube. "They are standing by the Door. Open it from your side as their hands are very full. And be quick. Mr. Warder says that the Evil beings are very close by."

          Brian and James raced to the Door and opened it. There was that faint 'whoosh" and Brian found himself back in the familiar scene of Wirl's End. Lexa and Verity came rushing up. Verity threw her arms around James. Lexa smiled at Brian. "Welcome home!"

          Brian turned to James. "Welcome to Wirl’s End."