The Power of Five Oblivion

“Do you know where they are?”
    “The library has a bell,” the Librarian said. “If you ring it, they’ll hear it and they’ll come.”
    “I know,” Matt said. “I read it in the book.”
    They were back in the entrance hall. The Librarian was standing in front of him, his hands folded. As ever, he was unperturbed. “Is that what you’d like me to do?” he asked.
    “It doesn’t matter whether I’d like it or not. It’s what happens. You leave me here. You climb up the tower and you ring the bell. The others arrive. We meet outside. And as for you and me, we never see each other again.”
    “Then I’ll go.”
    “Yes. Go.”
    “Matt … I’m sorry.”
    “Just do it. Please.”
    The Librarian turned and walked back through the door they had taken, but of course it could now open somewhere completely different. Matt sat where he was, staring ahead of him, trying to block out the thoughts that were running through his head.
    Pain. Humiliation. Death .
    Eventually he heard the tolling of a bell. The same sound would be heard all over the dreamworld and the others would come. Jamie would be the first, then Scarlett and Pedro. And finally Scott. Matt knew all about Scott.
    The bell rang out.
    Matt waited.
    When the bell fell silent and the Librarian came back through the door, Matt had already gone.
    The five of them met at the top of the hill, where Matt had first seen the library.
    Jamie was the first to arrive and, despite everything, Matt was glad to see him. Jamie was always positive, always upbeat, and the two of them had struck up a friendship when they had travelled to London. Matt sometimes thought that if the five Gatekeepers had a leader, it should have been Jamie, not him. After all, Jamie had been at Scathack Hill. He had taken part in the first battle long ago, when the Old Ones had been defeated. He had even helped to construct the first gate.
    They embraced warmly.
    “I thought I was never going to see you again,” Jamie said. He looked past Matt at the vast construction. “What is this place?”
    “It’s a library.”
    “Scar told me about the library when I travelled back in time. And there’s supposed to be some sort of woman who lives here too.”
    “I haven’t seen her.” Matt smiled, grateful for this moment. “Where are you, Jamie?” he asked. “In the real world?”
    He knew the answer. He knew all the answers. But if he stopped talking, he thought he might break down. He had to hold it together for all their sakes.
    “I’m back in England. I was in a village but it was attacked and now I’m on a canal boat heading for London. There’s that church you told me about. St Meredith’s. I reckoned if I could find the door, I could somehow get to join you.”
    “You know that London has been destroyed.”
    “London and pretty much the whole world, from what I can gather. Nothing is the same any more. Somehow I managed to lose ten years.”
    “We all lost ten years. If we’d just spent a few more seconds in Hong Kong…”
    “It wasn’t your fault, Matt. You had to get us out of there and you did. It’s just bad luck we ended up all split apart…”
    “Matt! Jamie!”
    Scarlett had appeared, quickly climbing the hill towards them, with Pedro just behind her. She was dressed in exactly the same clothes she had been wearing when she had entered the Tai Shan Temple, but Matt could see that she had been hurt. She was thinner and she had a slightly pinched look in her eyes; the memory of recent pain. Pedro too was different. Although he did his best to smile, and he was evidently glad to see Matt again, he was hiding something and he couldn’t disguise it. One of his hands was wrapped in a bandage.
    His finger was broken. Matt knew about that too.
    Matt went over to them.
    Scarlett kissed him on the side of his cheek. At that moment she was close to him and looked deep into his eyes. She pulled away. “What is it, Matt?” she asked. “What’s happened?”
    “Nothing,” Matt lied. He had already decided not to tell any of them about the book. “I’m really glad to see you.”
    “I’ve really missed you.”
    It helped to keep talking. Say anything. Ask questions .
    “Where are you?”
    “I’m in Egypt, on the way to Dubai. I’m with your friend, Richard. He’s going to be so relieved that I’ve seen you. He asks me about the dreamworld every morning. What do you want me to say to him?”
    “Just tell him I’m glad he’s OK. And say I’m glad