The Battle for Duncragglin (7 page)

“That's not a problem – in fact, it's perfect,” Alex said, sounding braver than he felt. “Your dad won't even know we're gone.”

Annie frowned. “Do you want us to come out here in the middle of the night?”

“Look,” Alex reasoned, “once we get in the caves, it will be dark no matter what time of day it is, right?”

Annie didn't reply. Her brow furrowed, she stared at where the waves were being sucked under the rocks.

The board didn't seem important anymore. Alex wedged it between some rocks to mark where they were, and they hurried to catch up with the others.

T
he morning sun projected a window outline onto the opposite wall of the bedroom. Annie sat on Willie's bed, her pen poised over a notepad. “We need to be prepared,” she said. “This is going to be a very difficult excursion. Now, what should we bring?”

Willie's hand shot up. “My rock-climbing gear – in case we need to climb some walls.”

“Not so loud!” Annie said with a quick hand flutter. “Craig might hear you.”

“Nah,
don't worry. He's watching TV.” Willie leapt up to rummage through his closet.

Annie scribbled on her notepad. “We'll also need to bring torches and extra batteries – and our headlamps.”

“Headlamps?” Alex asked.

Willie tossed his rock-climbing harness onto the carpet and strapped a circular light to his head. “Got it. What's next?”

“We'll need chalk to mark the way we came.” Annie scribbled some more. “And some baler's twine to unroll behind us.”

Willie groaned. “Unrolling twine will take too long. And we won't need it if we have chalk.”

“It's non-negotiable,” Annie said crisply, putting her pad down. “What we're about to do is dangerous, Willie. People
die
doing things like this. We need to take every precaution.”

“We need to take every precaution,”
Willie mimicked, but Annie refused to take the bait. Willie finally agreed to the baler's twine as well as a water bottle and some emergency rations, but only after Annie's suggestion of taking biscuits was augmented with chocolates. He put his foot down, though, when she suggested that they each bring a blanket.

“We're not going for a sleepover,” he said. “We'll all be carrying heavy packs as it is. Blankets are too bulky. If we get cold, we'll just build a fire.”

“There probably won't be any firewood,” Annie retorted, “and even if there is, we can't light a fire as it might use up all the air.”

Air?
Alex and Willie looked at each other in surprise. They settled on bringing the set of silver emergency blankets that were sealed in a little packet and stored in the back of Mr. McRae's car.

“Shall we take along a hairbrush and a change of clothes?” Willie tossed his head back and thrust out a hip. “Always need to look our best, you know.”

Annie picked up a pillow to smack him. She paused. “Actually, that might not be such a bad idea. What if we get wet?”

“No way, no way,” Willie howled. “Me and my big mouth.”

In the end, they agreed to pack a change of clothes, wear layers, and bring jackets in case it got
really
cold. All that was
left was to convince themselves they would need everything that they'd planned to bring.

Willie slapped his knee. “My music! I almost forgot! I need to bring my music.”

Alex and Annie stared.

“I cannae go without ma tunes.” Willie sat up straight and put his hands in his lap. “It's non-negotiable.”

Annie's pillow hit him squarely on the side of the head.

In the days that followed, Annie, Willie, and Alex gathered everything they needed, keeping it hidden in Annie's room. “Craig won't find it there,” she said, “and Dad never goes into my room since, unlike you guys, I keep it tidy.”

Following the calf-feeding and feed-grinding, they had gone into the equipment shed and wound a great long length of baling twine onto a stick. There was such a huge spool in the baling machine that Mr. McRae would never notice some was missing.

They wondered how they would get the emergency blankets from the boot of the car. Mr. McRae usually kept the car keys in his pocket, and the interior boot latch was broken. The problem was solved during the weekly grocery run into Straith Meirn. While hefting grocery bags, Annie managed to slip the set of emergency blankets into the bread bag without Mr. McRae noticing.

For rucksacks, they used school packs that had been stowed away for the summer on the top shelf of the hall closet. Annie emptied the assorted feathers, stones, paper scraps, and outright junk from Craig's pack into a plastic bag,
which she left behind on the shelf, and gave the pack to Alex. Craig wouldn't miss it – not until school started. By then, they would be long back.

They checked the weather channel for the precise day and time that the tide fluctuations would reach their lowest point. It was less than a week away. Much to Annie's dismay, her prediction that low tide would be at midnight was confirmed.

They counted down the days, praying low tide would come before Alex's aunt Fiona got better and sent for him. Craig seemed to be getting used to having Alex around and no longer sought ways to challenge him, annoy him, or complain about what he did. Alex suspected Craig was secretly happy to have him help out with many of his regular jobs, especially the nasty chore of shoveling out the henhouse.

Finally the night of the lowest tide arrived, and Alex, Annie, and Willie found it hard not to let on that something was up. They exchanged knowing glances and whispered snatches of furtive instructions at every opportunity.

Annie caught Alex in the hall, away from prying eyes. “I'll bring the rucksacks down and place them outside the back door around ten-thirty,” she said. “Pass it on to Willie.”

“How will you know when your dad is asleep?”

“He snores. Big, snorting, hungry-pig kind of snores. I can hear them right through my bedroom wall. As soon as I'm sure he's out, I'll go and shine a torch up at your window. Make sure you don't wake Craig.”

The bathroom door opened and out stepped Craig. “What are you two whispering about?” he demanded.

“Nothing.” Annie casually carried on down the hall.

“Well, you
better
not wake me!” Craig called after her.

Alex encountered Annie again in the kitchen. “What do you think he heard?” he asked nervously.

Annie rummaged through the drawer for a can opener. “Don't worry. If he heard more than the last sentence, he would have let us know by now.”

During the evening meal, there were long stretches where the only sounds were the clinking of cutlery against plates and the deliberate smacking noises Craig made while chewing his food.

“Well.” Mr. McRae wiped his lips with his serviette. “Everyone must have got a lot of fresh air today.”

Willie pushed back his plate. “Not feeling well,” he mumbled, keeping his eyes cast down on the table.

Mr. McRae felt Willie's forehead. “Do you think you might be sick?”

Willie nodded. He got up shakily and Mr. McRae helped him up the stairs.

Alex didn't feel well either. His stomach felt like a clenched fist. It seemed that, like Willie, he was suffering from a case of nerves.

Later, when Alex and Craig went up to the bedroom, Willie was facing the wall, a bucket next to his bed. He did not stir.

Alex got into bed, his heart beating so loudly that he thought the others could hear. It was hard to lie waiting for Craig to fall asleep, waiting for Annie's signal, waiting for it all to begin.

Finally Alex heard Craig's steady breathing turn into light gasps. Alex propped up his head with one hand and kept an eye out for Annie's signal. It took so long, he wondered whether he should see if she'd fallen asleep. If he met Mr. McRae, he could pretend he was going to the bathroom unless, of course, Mr. McRae caught him tiptoeing into Annie's room. At that point, he would have a
lot
of explaining to do.

Just when he could stand it no longer, a flash illuminated a sliver of the ceiling. Quiet as a ghost, Alex slipped out of bed and closed the curtains – the prearranged signal for Annie to know he was up. It also made the room darker. Alex bunched up his bedcovers to make them appear as if he were still in bed. He picked up his carefully arranged bundle of clothes, crept over to Willie's bed, and gave him a shake.

Willie groggily raised his arm. “What? What?”

“Shh!
Come on, let's go!”

Willie dropped his arm over his face. “You go ahead,” he mumbled. “I'll be right there.”

Alex tiptoed down the stairs to the front room to get dressed. He hid his pajamas under the couch and slipped out the side door. He shivered in the night air as he laced up his shoes.

Annie came around the corner lugging three rucksacks. “Where's Willie?”

“He's coming. I had to wake him.”

“He fell asleep?!” Annie stamped her foot. “I don't believe it. You can't count on him for anything.”

They sat on the steps, Annie impatiently drumming her fingers on her pack. She jumped up and strode angrily around
the house to flash the light at the window again. She returned more annoyed than ever.

“I'll go get him,” she said, climbing the steps to the house.

As she reached for the handle, the door suddenly swung open.

“Craig! What are you doing up?”

Craig stepped out and closed the door behind him. “I'm coming too,” he said.

“No, you're not.” Annie raised her hand to her mouth. “I mean, we're not going anywhere … now get back up to bed. Why are you dressed?”

“Because I'm coming with you,” he said doggedly. “I want to find out about Mum as much as you do, you know.”

Annie stared in dismay. She knew there would be no way to stop him – he was just too stubborn. Either he came with them, or no one went. “Let's get Willie,” she said at last.

“Oh, I wouldn't do that.” Craig gave a short laugh. “He was hanging over his bucket a moment ago – it wasn't pretty.”

Annie sighed. “Okay, let's go. Craig, you take Willie's pack.”

They strapped on their headlamps and trudged in single file, Annie in the lead, Craig in the middle, Alex right behind. Alex told himself that, in all likelihood, they would find that the hollow led nowhere, that there was no way into the caves, and they would all be back safe and sound in their beds within an hour or so. In the morning, they would report to Willie that he had not missed anything at all: there were no caves, no anything. Repeating this helped calm his nerves.

It was the darkest night Alex could remember. Not a single star could be seen anywhere across the vast blackness. They could see only what fell in the beam of their lights. The terrain changed from shrub to rock, and eventually they found the edge of the cliffs. A heavy stillness filled the air. It felt like it would rain.

They followed a path that wound down the front of the cliffs. The sea was quiet but for a light slapping and gurgling of swells trickling about the rocks.

Soon they reached the water's edge, but there was no sign of the board. Alex became convinced they had gone the wrong way. He stooped to squeeze through a narrow gap in the rocks, taking care not to get his feet wet. Shining his light into the blackness ahead, he stopped short, suddenly realizing it led straight into the cliff.