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The Time Trippers-Maria Jack
The Time Trippers-Maria Jack
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CHAPTER ONE
New Life
"No, it isn't true! It can't be true!"
Matt Johnson woke up. It was that nightmare again.
The same nightmare every night for six weeks. It was so
real... His parents are in the car. They're happy.
They're laughing and talking about the summer
holidays; two weeks in Florida - Disney World, Cape
Canaveral, the ocean to swim in - a twelve-year-old kid's
dream!
Suddenly the car is out of control. Matt's dad is a good
driver but he can't stop the car. It's going too fast. It's too
late.
There's a tree. Crash! A terrible sound of metal
breaking.
Now there's silence. The car is upside down.
Only a wheel is moving. It turns and turns and turns...
Matt put his head in his hands and cried, like he did every
night. "It can't be true!" But it w as true. His parents were
dead and Matt was alone now.
"Cry, Matt, cry. Don't worry," said a gentle voice. The
sad, kind face of an old lady appeared in the light of the lamp
next to Matt's bed.
"I'm sorry, Gran," said Matt, and looked up. In the
lamplight was the pale face of a desperately unhappy young
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boy. It was a nice face, but his blue eyes were still full of
tears.
"I'm sorry," he repeated. "Gran, when will I start to
forget?"
"You'll never forget," said his grandmother, "but one
night your nightmares will stop. Then you'll start to dream of
the happy times with your mum and dad. Happy memories
never die."
Matt's grandmother smiled. She was a wise old woman
and the ideal person to help Matt at this difficult time.
"Let's go into the kitchen for some hot milk."
Matt got out of bed. He was quite tall for his age and
already looked down on his little grandmother. She was
small but she had a big heart. It was difficult for her, too.
Jane, her daughter, was dead and Philip, Jane's husband and
Matt's father, too. But now there was Matt to take care of.
Matt was her world now.
"Will you like living here?" she asked him, as they
drank their milk.
"I don't know," answered Matt, tired and sad. "It's so
different. I liked Newbridge very much. It was a nice city,
not too big, and the people in the north are kind and friendly.
I had a lot of friends. Greenwood's okay, but it's a very quiet
suburb and it's difficult to get to the centre of London from
here. I haven't got any friends here, except you Gran, and
there's no Newbridge United, and no swimming club."
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CHAPTER TWO
A New School
New School Greenwood Middle School or Greenwood
prison?
It was quarter to nine and Matt was outside the school
gate.
The gate was closed but through the iron bars, he could
see the school. It was a big, old austere building made of
grey stone. There were two floors with windows with iron
bars.
On the ground floor, there were three entrances with
doors made of wood. Over the central door was the school
motto in big black letters. It was in Latin. "Fugerit aetas:
carpe diem," read Matt. "Time flies - live for the day."
Above the door on the left was the word "Boys", and
over the door on the right, the word "Girls". Matt smiled.
"That's stupid," thought Matt. "Boys and girls have to go in
different doors!"
Matt stopped smiling when he looked around. A lot of
children were now outside the iron gate, all dressed
identically. The school uniform! Now he remembered - at
Greenwood, school uniform was obligatory. Matt, in his blue
jeans, black trainers and red Newbridge United football shirt,
felt very out of place. All the other children were wearing
their green wool blazers, the boys with black trousers and a
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white cotton shirt, the girls with dark skirts and white
blouses.
Then Matt noticed the green and gold school ties!
"They wear ties to school too!" he thought. "Oh no! This
place is really behind the times."
He felt hundreds of eyes on him. He wanted to go home
but it was too late. The gate was open. The bell rang and the
children starred to go in, all talking and laughing.
They were happy to see their friends again. Matt was
very unhappy. He felt very lonely.
"Boy!" Matt heard an angry adult voice. He looked
round.
"Yes! You boy! Where is your uniform?" Matt saw a
short, thin man with an angry red face.
"I'm sorry, Sir," he said. "It's my first day."
The man, obviously a teacher, looked at him carefully.
"From your clothes and your accent you must be
Johnson, the new boy from the north."
"Yes, Sir. Matt, Matt Johnson," replied Matt.
"Johnson, at this school," the man continued, "we use
surnames here, and I'm Mr Briggs. Did your parents forget
your uniform?"
Matt was hurt but replied, "My parents are dead, Sir."
"Oh yes. Now I remember that accident. It was in the
newspapers. Your father was that famous lawyer. Well, I
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CHAPTER THREE
A Bully
After a disastrous first day at school, Matt was very
unhappy. "What's the problem?" asked his gran.
"Nobody talked to me, the teachers were horrible and
the lessons were boring!" he answered. "I'm going to watch
TV."
His gran smiled kindly and said, "Things will change,
Matt."
That night Matt didn't have his nightmare. He dreamt of
the blonde girl. She was the only reason to go back to school.
The next day Matt went by bike to school. It was a
sunny day and the birds sang happily. He arrived early.
"Perhaps today will be better," he thought. He put his bike in
the bicycle shed and walked towards the boys' entrance. Near
the girls' entrance, he saw the blonde girl from yesterday,
talking to a tall boy.
Matt looked at the blonde girl. She had the same green
eyes and pretty, round face he remembered from his dream.
He thought, "She looks really nice, and she spoke to me
yesterday - I'm going to say hello."
As he came near, he saw the girl looking angrily at
Briggs. He heard her saying, "No! I don't want to watch your
silly football match! Leave me alone!"
She went towards the entrance but Briggs stopped her.
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CHAPTER FOUR
A New Friend
"My name's Matt, Matt Johnson. You spoke to me
yesterday," he said.
"Yes, I remember. My name's Linda Chapman. So
you're new here?" she asked.
"Yes, yesterday was my first day at this school," he
replied.
"I like your accent. Where are you from?" asked Linda.
"I'm from Newbridge," said Matt, "but now I live here."
"When did you arrive?" Linda asked.
"Well, about a month ago, during the summer
holidays."
"I see," said Linda. "Why did your family decide to
move to London? It must be nice to live in the north of
England."
Matt looked embarrassed. "Well, I live with my gran
now, because my parents died in an accident six weeks ago.
Gran is my only relative. I haven't got any brothers or
sisters."
Linda looked sympathetic. "Oh, I'm so sorry. It must be
terrible to lose your parents."
She stopped for a moment, looking for the right words.
"I know it's not the same, but my parents divorced recently.
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CHAPTER FIVE
An Unusual Teacher
Matt went through the boys' entrance. He went to the
school office to get his timetable. In the corridor, he saw
Johnny Briggs with some friends. Johnny's friends were all
boys and they had the same aggressive expression as Johnny.
They looked at Matt as he passed. Matt felt
uncomfortable but he ignored Johnny's sarcastic comments.
"There he is! The new boy!
He thinks he's someone important, but he's not. I'm glad
he's not in my class!" Matt put his hands in his pockets and
tried to look unconcerned.
"You again! Take your hands out of your pockets!" said
a voice.
It was Mr Briggs, Johnny's father. "You haven't got a
uniform yet, Johnson, but at least try to look tidy." Johnny
and his friends laughed. Matt felt embarrassed but he didn't
show it.
"Sorry, Sir," he said. "I have to go to class 2B, Mr
Wells' history lesson but I don't know where it is."
"It's up the stairs, first door on the left. Lessons start in
2 minutes, so hurry up," said Mr Briggs.
Matt arrived at the classroom and knocked on the door.
"Come in!" said a deep voice.
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Matt walked into the room and asked, "Is this class
2B?"
A tall, thin man with long, white hair, like Albert
Einstein, answered "To be or not to be, that is the question!"
Everyone laughed.
Matt laughed too and was pleased to see Linda there, at
her desk in the third row. There was an empty place next to
her, so Matt sat there. Linda smiled and said, "Welcome to
Mr Wells' history lesson. It's an experience!"
Linda was right. Mr Wells was not a typical teacher. He
talked very fast and he gesticulated a lot when he spoke. His
lessons were very interesting and fun. No-one looked out of
the window in Mr Wells' class!
That day they studied medieval history and the feudal
system. Matt was fascinated by the descriptions of life in the
Middle Ages.
Mr Wells introduced the class project, a study of
medieval castles.
"I want everyone to prepare for our visit to Ducksbury
Castle next month," said Mr Wells. "It's a perfect example of
a medieval castle. You can look for information on medieval
castles in general or Ducksbury Castle in particular.
If anyone has a computer, they can use the Internet to
find a lot of information. Tomorrow I'll show you how on
my portable computer."
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CHAPTER SIX
The Class Trip
It was the day of the class trip. Matt was very excited.
He was keen to see the castle, but the trip had other
advantages too. No school for a day, no school uniform, no
school lunch, no Briggs, and all day with Linda! The
doorbell rang.
"Matt! Linda's here!"
"Coming, Gran," said Matt, putting on his denim jacket
over a red sweatshirt and jeans. He went downstairs.
"Hi, Matt!" Linda was wearing a blue tracksuit and
trainers. "Have you got your packed lunch?" she asked.
"Here it is, Matt," said his gran, giving him a plastic
box.
"Cheese sandwiches, crisps, an apple and a chocolate
biscuit.
Buy something to drink at the castle." She gave him a
pound.
"Thanks, Gran."
"Have a lovely day, you two," his gran smiled.
"Thanks, Mrs Francis," said Linda. "Matt," she
continued, "you can put your lunchbox in my rucksack."
"Thanks. OK, let's go. We mustn't miss the bus."
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CHAPTER SEVEN
The Castle Tour
"Good morning, boys and girls. Welcome to Ducksbury
Castle." The guide was a jovial, rotund man with a large
white moustache. "Before I start any questions?"
Matt put up his hand.
"Yes, sir. Why is it called Ducksbury Castle?"
"A good question! Well, the castle is near the village of
Ducksbury. Near the village, there's a large pond, which is
the favourite home of a variety of ducks. So, that's
'Ducksbury', the village of the ducks.
In fact, Ducksbury Castle used water from the pond for
washing, cooking, drinking and filling its moat. Many castles
had ditches around them, without water, but a ditch with
water, a 'moat', was better for defending the castle. You can
see the moat is dry now.
Once there was a wooden drawbridge over the moat.
They raised this to stop intruders. Now we're at the main
gate. Once there were two stone towers, the gatehouses.
Between these was an enormous gate with iron bars, the
portcullis. Now let's go inside the castle. The walls were
stone and ten metres high. There were turrets and ramparts,
like those." He pointed to an intact section.
"Oh, I forgot to say the castle was built in 1156. It
functioned as fortress and a home for five centuries. The lord
of the manor lived in the keep, a big stone building and the
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CHAPTER EIGHT
Where Are
Matt was the first to wake up. ''What a strange dream!"
he thought. He stood up and looked around. "Where am I?
And Linda...? I was with Linda. Where is she?"
It was dark but now he began to distinguish his
surroundings. He was in the open air. There was a cool
breeze and he heard the noise of sleeping animals. There was
a smell, too, of the animals and of life in general. People
lived here, but what place was it? There were stars in the sky
above but he was surrounded by walls of stone.
"The castle! Of course! Now I remember. But there's
something strange about it... it's night... and where's Linda?"
"Matt! Is that you?" came a whisper from the dark, and
Linda appeared in the moonlight. She was confused and
frightened.
"Where are we? What's happening?" she asked.
"We're in the castle," said Matt, "but it's different, and
why is it dark?"
"I d-d-d-don't know," stammered Linda. "Matt, I'm
scared."
Suddenly a voice broke the silence of the night. "Who
goes there?"
"It's a guard! He's got a sword!" whispered Linda, and
instinctively they started running away from the voice.
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CHAPTER NINE
A Lord and a Jester
"A witch? Possibly. But a witch so fair?" The tall man
looked at Linda and she trembled. A guard said, "Lord
Blackheart, there was a boy with her. He jumped from the
walls. We must find him!"
"Don't worry," replied the lord. "Nobody could survive
that fall. He is probably at the bottom of the moat." He
smiled horribly and Linda felt desperate. "Oh, no! Matt can't
be dead!" she thought.
Lord Blackheart continued to look at her. "A very fair
maid. Take her to the Great Hall," he ordered. "I want to
question her."
The guards pushed Linda towards the huge door of the
keep. Inside there was an immense hall. There were many
flaming torches along the walls but the room was shadowy
and sinister. There were also numerous long standards of
different colours and a long wooden table in the middle of
the room. On the left, there was a very big fireplace but no
fire. Linda felt cold.
"Leave us," Lord Blackheart ordered the guards.
Linda shivered with cold and fear. She didn't want to be
alone with this horrible man. "This isn't happening to me,"
she cried. "I don't believe it - it's a nightmare!"
"Can a fool not sleep?" a voice came from the shadows
near the fireplace. It was a jester in a red and gold striped
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CHAPTER TEN
In the Forest
The forest near the castle was quiet. Under the huge
moon nothing moved. The forest animals slept. Suddenly
there was a noise; something running. A fox? The animals
woke up. The noise was loud. A hungry wolf? The animals
were agitated. They wanted to hide. Too late. A figure came
out into the moonlight. It was a boy. He stopped running,
exhausted. The animals were happy. There was no danger.
But there was a terrible smell!
The boy also noticed the smell.
"Yuk! Now I remember. The castle toilets were over
the moat!"
It was Matt. He wasn't dead, but he was very dirty and
very smelly. The smell confirmed it wasn't a dream. He and
Linda were in the Middle Ages!
"Linda," Matt thought, worried. "I hope she's OK. But I
can't do anything now. Tomorrow I'll go to the castle and try
to explain. Explain what? That we come from the future?...
The computer!"
Matt remembered the strange white light from the
computer.
"Mr Wells' computer! That's why he was so nervous.
This was his idea." Matt was very angry with Mr Wells, but
now the computer was more important.
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CHAPTER ELEVEN
A Medieval Village
"What's your name?" Matt asked the boy.
He laughed. "Watt is my name, Pilgrim." They were
out of the forest. "This is where we work."
There was a big open field, divided into strips. Every
strip was for a different crop.
"Do you have any animals?" Matt asked.
"Yes, some sheep, pigs and a cow. At night they stay in
our cottage." Matt was surprised. "But they don't smell like
you, Pilgrim!"
They crossed the field and came to the village. There
was one street of dry mud with a dozen cottages.
The cottages were made of wood and had a thatched
roof.
"This is my cottage," whispered Watt. "Sshh. The
children are sleeping."
"Watt," a girl whispered from the darkness. The voice
came from the cottage opposite.
"Anne, why aren't you in bed?" asked Watt.
"I was worried. Did you catch anything?" asked the
girl.
"Only a smelly pilgrim!"
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CHAPTER TWELVE
At the Pond
Linda opened her eyes slowly. It was morning and
there was a pale light in the room.
"It's time for school," she thought. Then she saw the
slimy stone walls and the tiny window and she remembered.
She wasn't at home in Greenwood - she was in the dungeons
of Ducksbury Castle, on a straw mattress on the floor. She
felt very cold and lonely. Somebody knocked at the door.
Linda stood up and pulled some straw out of her hair. The
door opened. It was the jester. He gave her some bread and a
bowl of milk. Linda thanked him and ate hungrily.
"Do you understand why you are here?" he asked. He
was friendly but serious and he spoke anxiously.
"Lord Blackheart thinks I'm a witch, but it's not true!"
she replied.
"I believe you," he said, "but my Lord is angry and you
are in danger. Today he will take you to the village pond for
a public ducking."
"A ducking?" Linda was shocked. She remembered
ducking from her history lessons - they put people under
water for a long time to test their innocence. They often died.
"But he can't do that to me! I didn't do anything wrong!" she
cried desperately. The jester looked at Linda sadly.
"I'm sorry, my poor strange maid. I can't help you now.
Good luck."
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CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The Ducking
Blackheart gave the signal and a guard pushed Linda
into the pond. The water was cold... and deep! Linda
desperately tried to swim but the sack of stones pulled her
under.
"Stay calm!" she thought, remembering her swimming
lessons.
"I've got enough air for a minute or two. I must take off
the rope!" Linda pulled hard but the rope was tied very
well...
Above the water, Lord Blackheart watched. Bubbles
came to the surface. The guards looked at him but he didn't
give any orders. Minutes passed. The villagers talked
nervously. "Why does Blackheart wait? The girl will not
survive!" they said.
The jester spoke, sadly and angrily. "You are all
responsible for this crime, a young maid's death is a tragic
rhyme."
Blackheart waited, then finally he was satisfied. "Pull
her up!" he shouted.
The guards pulled the rope and the sack of stones
appeared, but... where was Linda? The crowd, incredulous,
moved towards the water.
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CHAPTER FOURTEEN
A Welcome Return
"Stop!" ordered a strong, brave voice. Blackheart's
knights immediately stopped their attack. The voice came
from the village. Everybody looked in that direction. A
group of men appeared. One man was on a horse. He had a
chain mail coat, an iron helmet and iron leggings. Under the
helmet was a good, strong face.
"Stop, I say!" the man shouted again.
Watt remembered that face. When he was a small boy
that face signified justice. That was before Blackheart, before
his father's death, before poverty.
"It's Lord Ducksbury!" Watt shouted with joy. The
other villagers started to shout too. "Long live Ducksbury!
Death to Blackheart!" Blackheart's knights were frightened
now. They looked for their lord, but he wasn't there. The
villagers surrounded them, shouting, "Death to Blackheart
and his men!"
"Stop, everybody!" Lord Ducksbury was now at the
pond. "Where is Blackheart?" he asked angrily. "Where is
my brother's assassin?"
Watt saw a familiar figure running towards the forest.
"My Lord, I can stop him. Give me a bow and arrow," he
said.
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CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Back in Time
It isn't there because it's here," said a voice Linda
recognised. The jester was outside the stable and he had the
computer.
"Who's this?" asked Matt.
"A friend," replied Linda. The jester smiled.
"All the world knows I am only a fool, but only a fool
knows all the world. I observe and understand many things."
"What do you mean?" said Linda.
"I know you are strangers in this place. Your secret
must be in this special box," the jester replied, "but the stable
was not a good place for it."
"It's very important for us," said Matt, anxiously. "Will
you give it to us?"
"Of course!" laughed the jester." What favour can a
friend do, if not give all his help to you? This is yours."
Linda shyly kissed the jester on the cheek. He became
red.
"For once I have no words!" he said. "But now it's time
for you to go."
Linda opened the computer and they heard a familiar
beep. But the screen was empty.
"What do we do now?" said Matt.
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- THE END -
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