First Draft unedited: The Skipping Stones

The Skipping Stones
(A strange day in July)

He threw with all his might, but the third stone kept skipping back. Jack reached down and plucked it from the waterline, throwing it again. One, two out. Two, one back in and back to where it had been plucked. He looked up at Darwin, seated on a low branch of a nearby tree swinging her legs idly.

“Why does it keep coming back?”

Darwin chuckled. “Do you think, if I knew that, we would be here now?”

Jack sighed. He ran his thumb over the smooth surface of the stone, and then discarded it. Selecting another, he did the same and with a flick of his wrists, it skimmed across the glassy surface of the water. Following the exact trajectory that it left on, the stone once again returned.

“You can do that all day, you know. It’ll keep coming back. Doesn’t matter which stone, doesn’t matter where you throw it along the waterline, it’ll return to you.” Darwin spoke with the experience of many hours sat the lakeside, watching the stones come back and forth. Jack grinned.

“Not necessarily!” Eyes lit, he grabbed at a bumpy half-brick. It weighed a considerable amount and would clearly not skim. The crow walked along his branch to get a better view of the scene that was about to unfold, and Jack’s puppy edged towards his side. Overarm, with the skills taught to him during his time on his well-regarded sixth form college’s cricket team, he flung the brick out into the water. It sailed through the air and landed with a silence-splitting splosh into the green water. Jack jumped on the spot, and the puppy joined in his jubilance. He turned and pointed at Darwin.

“I made it stop! I made it stop!”

Bored, Darwin was fishing around in her leather satchel. A smile played on her lips as she found her target; an apple was pulled from the bag and she tossed it between her hands. “The apples in Cam are much juicer than yours, you know.”

“You don’t care that I fixed it?”

“You didn’t fix it.” With almost perfect timing, something crunched behind Jack. He turned, and already puppy was sniffing around a wet patch in the shingles. Peeking from the mass of small rocks, there was a red tip. A wet, red tip. Jack’s shoulders slumped and he bent down, running a hand across the back of the golden dog. With the other, he reached into the pebbled and pulled out a half-brick, soaking wet with the greeny-water of the lake.

“I did warn you. They always come back.” Darwin had dismounted from the tree and strode past the younger boy, taking a bite from her apple as she did so. “Come on.”

Jack trailed behind, dragging his skater shoes through the pebbles as they dissolved into grassy knoll again, away from the lake. “So, what now?”

“We work it out.” Darwin spoke as if it were obvious.

“We work it out how?”

“You think I just spent my days coming and going between Cam and Cambridge? This is what I do. This is my life. People bring me their problems, and I fix them.” Jack was struggling to keep up with Darwin’s stride, coat billowing behind her, and she had to turn to look at him. “This is my life.”

“You’re an agony aunt?”

“I’m an investigator. My superior knowledge of Cambridge means that I’m much sought after, even if business has been slower lately.” The final words were muttered; The Order of Trinity were slowly stopping her business through trickery, slander and gentle guidance of the more believing residents of Cam. The Evesham name was no longer the respectable mantle that it once was in general public, although those below the Order’s reach still held it in high regard.

“Like a detective?”

“No. A detective words with the Order. I’m not popular with the Order.” Jack cast his mind back to his only experience with a member of the Order. The Honour they had met in the snow-covered yard hadn’t seemed friendly towards her then, but he hadn’t thought anymore of it.

“They don’t like you?”

“They don’t like my family. In actuality, I myself have yet to wrong against them. Well, until yesterday when I crossed into your house.” Darwin grinned; she enjoyed breaking the rules, particularly when it was truly at the expense of the Order. This particular mischievous act meant that she could bypass the tolls they placed on Reality Checkpoint.

“It’s illegal?” Jack was confused.

“Not.. illegal, no. Unknown. The Order doesn’t like people passing into Cambridge. You can do so, at Reality Checkpoint, but it incurs a toll and unless you have permission you can’t bring anything back, or take anything up. Having your doorway means I can do both, and all without paying a toll.” Darwin sounded positively proud of her achievement, although it was more luck than skill that she found the doorway.

“I see. I think. Maybe. I’ve been to France, I guess it’s the same there. They toll their roads, you can’t drive anywhere without paying. But, Reality Checkpoint, that’s a lamppost?”

“In Cambridge. Here, it’s a military checkpoint. They can search you; question you, whatever they like. The Order reign supreme here.” Darwin’s voice rung with bitterness. She rebelled against the Order whenever possible, but having seen the torture that they applied to her parents, she ensured that whatever she did toed the thin line between order and disorder. That way, perhaps she wouldn’t face the same fate. “There’s no way that we can take you through Reality. They keep lists of everyone in the City. You’d come up immediately as a stowaway and then we’d both be for it.”

They walked through Rose Crescent together, crow on Darwin’s shoulder and puppy bouncing along at Jack’s feet. Already they had bonded well, and in his mind Jack had attributed the animal the name ‘Puppy’. At least that way, he could wrestle his demons about the poor thing not having a name, and yet still appear normal for Cam.  Rose trees snaked up the buildings surrounding them, covering the frontages of the houses in arrays of beautiful colours. Far beyond the spectrum of Cambridge roses, these were purple, pink, red, blue, yellow and beyond. Any colour Jack could imagine, he would find it in the roses along the crescent. So captivated by them, it wasn’t until the puppy started yapping impatiently at his feet that he glanced around to notice Darwin had vanished.

“Dar? Darwin?!” A slight panic overtook his voice and a chuckle came back in return. It came from a small dark alleyway, not unlike the one that led back to his house in Cambridge and Jack had to duck to fit down it. Pushing a black door open, he stepped into Darwin’s apartment.

It was a rag-tag affair, everything a little patchwork and all over. Clearly bought together at separate times in her life, the furniture didn’t match anything else in the room and yet it all came together in a beautiful harmony; perfect for Darwin’s demeanour. The crow has taken roost on a long branch that clearly belonged to him. The puppy dashed up and leapt skilfully onto a red corduroy sofa, twisting around her body once and flopping down. She had done a lot of walking today; she was clearly exhausted.

Darwin emerged from a side room and passed him a bright green towel. “I have a spare room. You must be exhausted.” He took the towel gratefully and smiled.

“Oi, little puppy? Are you coming?” He glanced over his shoulder, and as quickly as she had leapt onto the sofa, she shifted back off. Together, they padded into Dar’s guest room, only marginally exploring their new territory before flopping together into bed and falling asleep.

Darwin, on the other hand, stood underneath the crow’s branch, fingers wrapped around a mug that steamed softly. “What do you think, my darling? Could he be useful to us?” She smiles to herself, bringing the mug to her lips and blowing softly. “If nothing else, at least he’s easy on the eyes. He needs scrubbing up a little though, eh?” The corvid spread his wings and shook them. “Aye, you’re still my boy. Calm your feathers.” A chuckle and a hand on his back seemed to calm him, and placing the mug onto the mantle she turned to leave the apartment.

*

Bright daylight streamed through the unshuttered windows when Jack woke again. He shook his head, flopping hair falling over his eyes once more and as he brushed it back, he noticed a pile of clothing on the hammock chair in the corner of the room. Rising, he disturbed the puppy, who had slept at the foot on the bed. With one lazy brown eye, she watched him collect the note on the top of the clothing. Blondie helps you fit in here, but you still need to look the part. Underneath the note, there was a smart suit in black velvet, lined with smart purple silk. They were the colours that Jack had seen the Honour wearing, and he could only assume it was an army uniform. At least it looked comfortable.

Darwin let out a low, teasing whistle as Jack emerged into the dining area of the apartment. Smart black brogues clicked against the beautiful wooden floorboards, and he turned in a circle to show off the suit.

“Check you out. You look like a proper Jack!” She giggled again, something she found herself doing more and more frequently since Jack arrived.

“Thank you. How much money do I owe you?” He reached into an inside pocket to find his Cambridge wallet.

“Your money is useless here. Anyway, I pinched it.” She shrugged; it was clearly a normal event for her. “Anyway, you’re going to pay me back with your services.”

“Services?”

“Aye. Firstly, having a Jack on my side will bode well for me moving around the City. As you know, I’m hardly a happy face to see here anymore.” She paused, reaching for a piece of toast. Jack mirrored her movement, munching on it without butter or jam. “Secondly, we have a mystery to solve.” Flicked from her thumb, a smooth pebble spins high and Jack reaches out to collect it. Before he manages it though, the crow swoops low across the table and snatches it in his outstretched talons. On the floor, puppy goes mad, barking and twirling. Jack holds a hand out about her, but it does nothing to pacify her. Darwin glances from one to the other.

“Are you ready to go then?”

*

Back at the edge of the lake, Darwin sat on a large boulder with her bare feet skimming the top of the water. She threw her stone back and forth, allowing it to return to her each time. Jack lay behind her, jacket hung on the branch of a tree while his lavender shirt was uncuffed and rolled to his elbows. He tossed his own returning stone up and down, keeping it from the water.

“What do you think it means?” Her voice was pensive, almost as if she wasn’t talking to him. Perhaps she wasn’t, but he replied nevertheless;

“I haven’t a clue. But listen, listen really carefully.” They both fell silent.

“What am I listening for?” Darwin broke the silence first, and Jack replied in a low, quiet voice.

“It’s like a humming.” They listened again, and Darwin broke into that smile. Jack couldn’t help but feel that it lit up her face.

“That’s just the sound of majic here, you dope. What does majic sound like in Cambridge?” It was an honest question; something that she had never considered before.

“What does, majic.. What does majic sound like?” Jack stressed the words majic and sound; magic was something that he watched street performers do, or something that appeared on his television. It didn’t have a sound; it was simply sleight of hand. He explained this to Darwin, much as a parent might gently explain the non-existence of elves, or the tooth fairy.

Darwin’s high laugh rung out across the lake. “No, you silly boy! Majic! It’s the lifeblood of everything, it makes the world go around. Literally!” She had risen to her feet and was spinning on the boulder, arms spread wide. Deftly, she leapt backward, diving into the lake and pushing off the bottom, swimming out into the middle. She broke the surface and spun, finding her bearings against the shore again. Still stood on the boulder, it was Jack’s turn to laugh.

“The water is freezing!” she gasped, calling out to him.

“I’m not surprised, you know! The snow is still fresh on the ground over here, Dar!”

Impatiently, the crow circled overhead and cawed loudly. Dar glanced up.

“Alright, you daft thing. I’m getting out.” Darwin began to pull herself back to shore, but the crow swooped and struck the water in front of her. She flinched. “What is the matter with you? Stop twisting your tail feathers!” But the strike did halt Darwin, and she turned a little in the lake. Jack frowned at her from the shoreline.

“What’s wrong?”

She paused.

“What does the majic sound like there?” Darwin questioned him from the middle of the lake.

“It’s a hum. I told you that already!” He was impatient, worried for Dar’s health in the cold water. “Now, come back to shore, please!”

“Wait, wait. It’s a cry here. Not a hum. The lake; it’s crying.”

*

Darwin climbed out of the lake and spread her shirt out over the rock. Jack averted his eyes, shy around this confident female who felt no shame in simply wearing a bra. Busying himself, he collected his jacked from the hook on the branch and passed it to her. “Don’t stay cold, Dar.” Her pleasant smile spread across her lips again, bringing an identical expression to his lips as she draped the jacket around her. Her green-gold eyes scanned the surface of the water.

“It has to be linked. The crying and the pebbles.”

Jack nodded; he had reached that assumption independently. “But how?”

“I don’t know, yet. We need to work it out.”

He came to sit next to her and tentatively placed an arm around her shoulders. “You need to get warm again.” They both knew it was a lame excuse, but Darwin did not shake him off. “You know, we have a lake like this in Cambridge.”

“You do?” Jack nodded.

“It’s just like this. The rocks and everything. I haven’t been there since a small child, though.”

Darwin considered this. “It’s rare for a naturally occurring structure like this to the mirrored in both worlds. Can I see it?”

Jack paused. “I don’t see why not.”

*

It hadn’t taken them long to weave their way back to the doorway into Cambridge. Jack entered first, aware of his dress; here in Cambridge, the only time he had worn a suit was for his grandfather’s funeral over a year ago. He checked his watch; everyone would be out.

“It’s ok. My mum, she’s at work. Danny, my brother, he’ll be at school. We’re ok.”

Darwin breathed a sigh of relief; although she dealt with Cambridge residents on her regular trips into the upper city, she was never comfortable doing so. Their lives were so far apart she was always concerned that she would make it obvious that she had no idea what she was doing, particularly when it came to money and current affairs. Thankfully, Jack dealt with bus fare and they rode the double decker through the city and into the suburbs. After about 25 minutes, the two disembarked from the bus; both animals had been left in the basement of the house, Jack aware that they would not be permitted on public transport. This in itself made Darwin uncomfortable; without an extra set of eyes to help her out, she was constantly casting around herself.

“It’s just down here, Dar. Come on.” Leading her across a common, Jack pulled her between a set of trees and emerged on the edge of a lake. The female gasped and brought a hand to her mouth.

“Oh Jack. It’s identical.” But he had already begun to play spot the difference.

“Almost. Look.” Carefully, he ran his fingers over the surface of the water and lifted them up to her eye line. She took his hand in her own, turning his fingers over. They flittered with a strange rainbow substance that she hadn’t seen before.

“What is this? It’s beautiful.”

Jack pulled his hand away and rubbed his fingers against his thumb. “It’s oil, or petrol, I think. I’m not sure. But it’s not natural, even if you do think it’s beautiful.” Jack cast his mind back to images he had seen of oil and petrol spills in the news. “It kills birds, fish, animals. Everything. It’s a vicious substance, it’s horrific.” He spoke more to himself than to her, and looked across the lake again. In Cam, it teemed with wildlife around the edges that had previously captivated his attention; birds dived in and out of the water, king kingfishers but large, small, red, green. A spectrum of beautiful creatures that he wished he could catalogue rigorously. Fish that swam, danced, frolicked in the clean, cool water. He couldn’t see any of it here. The lakeside was eerily quiet, a peace that didn’t sit well with him.

“Where are the animals?” Darwin read his mind.

“Gone, I hope.” The idea that they may have been killed by the substance in the water hung between them, and neither dared to mention it.

“Where did the pittrol come from?”

“Petrol” Jack corrected her gently. “I don’t know. We need to find out, though.”

*

Darwin and Jack walked the perimeter of the lake several times, batting theories around while they discussed the possibilities of the petrol in the lake. Could it be affecting the lake in Cam? Darwin had never heard of twin areas of the cities being so closely connected. Seating themselves back at the original point of contact with the water, Darwin reached into a pouch on her belt, tugging one of the third pebbles loose. She turns it over in her hands. “Jack..” He looked up.

“What is it?”

“Take this.” She dropped the pebble into his outstretched hand. His eyes widened.

“It’s like a phone!”

Darwin screwed her nose up. “Those things in the red boxes?” The male shook his head.

“No. We have mobile phones, and they vibrate if you have them on silent.” He gazed at the rock in his hand. “Why is it doing that?”

“I have no idea. Maybe it knows there’s something wrong here.” Jack opened his mouth to argue that it was nonsense to even consider that inanimate objects may be able to sense things, but cast his mind back to his lesson on the manna of majic. It was lifeblood in Cam, and this was a Cam object. Why wouldn’t it know? He closed his mouth again. “We need to find that petrol.”

Darwin nodded. “The stone will help up!” She stated it as if it was obvious fact, and why didn’t Jack consider it? Lifting the stone from his hand, she turned it over. It was as smooth as silk, perfect for the purpose. With the skill of one who performed the action often, the woman flicked her wrist and spun the pebble out into the middle of the water. Ignoring Jack’s cry, her eyes never left the object as it wove a path over the water. Hopping onto the other side, Darwin took into a run to collect it back up.

“It’s clean, Jack! There’s no pittrol!”

*

They spent some tip skimming both their stones over the lake, experimenting with the paths that they took across the surface of the water. Gradually they began to map where the petrol was the most concentrated and took that bath along the riverside. Darwin tipped her head to one side.
“There’s no happiness here.”
Jack looked up at her. “What do you mean?”
“The lake. It’s sad. It’s.. it’s more than sad.” Her tone reflected the emotions she described. “It’s like it’s dead.”
Jack paused and looked around. “There is no life here. Isn’t the lake in Cam crying?”
She nodded. “I’ve never known places to be this connected. Cam feels the pain inflicted here.” A pause. “Pain, by your greed.”
Jack knew that she wasn’t referring directly to him, but the words stung regardless. They walked the rest of the way around the water in silence.
“Do you think we can do anything?” Jack looked up, across the water; Darwin may be giving up hope (they had already circled the lake twice in this current stroll), but he hadn’t.
“Yes! Look!” Pointing across the water, she had spotted something. In the middle of the lake, bobbing up and down was a single oil barrel.

*

This was Jack’s world, and Darwin subdued to his superior knowledge. Pulling a mobile phone from his pocket, and in turn caused Darwin much hilarity at the strange communication device that worked here and not in Cam, he rang the local police. Over the next few days the barrels were removed from the lake and their original location sourced. Through the newspapers he collected to bring back to Cam during his visits to Cambridge, jack learnt of how the company was going to be fined for illegal tipping. Charities worked together to clean the pond and gradually, peace was restored.

As the snow melted and the first taste of spring taunted the air, Jack and Darwin returned to the lake in Cam. Wandering around the perimeter of the water, Jack collected a handful of stones and juggled causally with them.

“What do you think? Will they skim?”

Darwin tilted her head and smiled sweetly. “Try them.”

 

They stood together and watched all three skim across the silky surface, without a single one returning.