Read Time Hunters and the Spear of Fate, The for Free Online

they could have done it along with his brothers. No, I think Drake
wants him alive. I’m sure of it.’
    Tears fogged Becky’s
vision. ‘I hope so…’
    Silence surrounded
them.
    ‘I’m taking this
costume off,’ Joe said. ‘Forget the stupid party.’
    ‘I agree, Joe,’ Uncle
Percy said, removing his hat. ‘I don’t think any of us are in the mood for it
now.’
    Cheerlessly, Joe
turned round and was about to climb the stairs when a hand pulled him back.
    ‘No, Joe,’ Becky said
quietly. ‘I don’t particularly want to go now, either, but I think we should.
We can’t do anything for Edgar from here, and if we don’t go tonight we won’t
be able to thank the people we should. There are loads of travellers trying to
find dad. The least we can do is show up and thank them.’
    Joe hesitated,
pondering this for a moment. ‘Okay.’
    ‘I’ll tell you what,’
Uncle Percy said. ‘Let’s leave it an hour. Talk it through amongst yourselves.
I certainly don’t mind giving it a miss if that’s what you want.’ He gave a
half-smile. ‘What I will say is that if your only reason for going is out of
obligation to the GITT community you really shouldn’t. They’re trying to find
your dad because they think the world of him. He’s part of their family. It’s
as simple as that…’
    *
    Becky went back to her
room. The minutes crawled by. Her every thought was plagued with terrible
visions of the murder of Gergo and Gergan, of Edgar being forced to watch it
all. It felt like someone was stabbing her heart with a knife. Her hatred for
Emerson Drake raged within her like a forest fire. The hour soon passed and
before she knew it she was rapping firmly on Joe’s bedroom door.
    The door opened to
reveal Joe, now wearing a pair of trousers, a Manchester City football shirt
and a jacket. ‘So we’re going?’ he asked.
    ‘I think we should,’
Becky replied. ‘We don’t have to stay long.’
    Joe forced a smile.
‘Maybe it’ll cheer us up.’
    Becky didn’t look
convinced.
    A few minutes later,
Becky and Joe returned downstairs to see Uncle Percy had changed into a formal
black suit and tie. ‘I didn’t feel like dressing up either,’ he admitted. ‘Now
are you sure you want to go? We really don’t –’
    Becky took a deep
breath.  ‘Let’s do it…’
    An icy breeze
pummelled Becky’s face, forcing her to concentrate on something other than
Edgar, as she followed Uncle Percy across the winding side path towards the
Time Room. A few moments later, Uncle Percy pointed a small gadget at a
circular pad to the right-hand side of the door. ‘I think it’s time you both
met Betty, the third of my time machines, don’t you?’
    Entering the Time
Room, Becky’s eyes widened. In the centre of the room was an old fashioned
American car, coloured from bumper to tailfin in the most brilliant bubblegum
pink.
    Uncle Percy approached
the car. ‘I really was hoping we might all be in better spirits when you first
met her.’
    ‘What type of car is
it?’ Joe asked enthusiastically.
    ‘A 1955 Cadillac Coup
Deville. Isn’t she a belter?’
    Joe’s eyes bulged like
golf balls. ‘It’s the coolest car I have ever seen.’
    Becky wasn’t so sure.
‘It’s very, err, pink.’
    ‘Pink’s my favourite
colour,’ Uncle Percy replied. ‘As a matter of fact, it’s Betty’s colouring that
resulted in her being involved in an amusing and somewhat culturally
significant story. Would you like to hear it?’
    ‘Sure,’ Becky said.
    A smile split Uncle
Percy’s face as he recalled the memory. ‘Well, some time ago I took her on a
time trip to 1952, to Memphis, Tennessee. Anyway, I was driving past Loew's
State Theatre when a young usher, evidently with his mind on other things,
stepped out into the road and I nearly hit him. Fortunately, I swerved and
struck a water hydrant instead.’
    ‘Were you hurt?’
Joe asked.
    ‘Not in the
slightest. I did, however, feel like I’d been walloped over the head when