The story of the Missing Children

It was rather dark in the room since the only light source was a lantern that was hanging next to a huge metal door. There were no windows and both the walls and the floor were solid concrete. The room was like a huge concrete box, and there was a moldy smell lingering in the air. When Debbie opened her eyes she could see twenty or so other children laying in sleeping bags around the room. There wasn't much space and it was quite cold, so every child was huddled up next to another in hope of keeping warm.

Debbie rubbed her eyes and blinked at least a dozen times to make sure that she wasn't dreaming. Suddenly she felt how the air was running out her body with her heart pounding so hard that she could hear her heartbeats in her ears, a feeling that felt like an eternity but in reality only lasted a minute or so. Gasping for air, she turned to her daemon Similan who tried to calm her down.

"Try to calm down Debbie or you risk to faint again", Similan whispered to me.

"Breath in, breath out, breath it, breath out", she calmly repeated.

"Shh, I hear footsteps, somebody is coming" , said Similan in a low hasty voice.

Debbie tried to move in the cramped room but noticed that it was almost hopeless. It was crowded and with almost no light she did not dare to make sudden movements or loud noises. She tried to sit up to get a better view of the room, when a lady with red hair stepped into the room. The lady looked like a nurse in her white medium-length dress, small pointed white hat and a garment on the front of the dress that looked almost like an apron. In a loud and clear voice, she told all the children to get ready for departure in a couples of minutes.

"Departure ?!", Similan said confusingly.

The room was filled with small whispers for a brief second when a sound silenced all the children.

The red-haired lady stomped her heel two times straight down into the concrete floor, the whole room stopped. Without making a sound, she stared at us and we immediately knew by the look in her eyes that we did not have any other choice then to obey.

We lined up like little mini soldiers and marched in steady short steps through a long and narrow hallway, led by the lady in red hair and four guards dressed in black. The red headed lady in front of the line, one on each side and the last in the back, the thought of doing something other than following felt impossible. We were surrounded, not only by these strangers but by the fear they endured. We then went out towards the courtyard which was surrounded by high walls made out of bricks and with black ash trees, we turned left and a guard opened a large silver gate. We were now out of the house and no longer indoors which was the perfect time to take a deep breath ,a breath that was very much anticipated after spending much time in the concrete box, however, it was not over yet. We continued through a narrow, dark alley that smelled sewage and with few light poles. The few streetlights were not helpful , Debbie fixed the gaze on the person in front of her in order to focus on her steps.

After a short moment, Debbie heard sounds of water waves. For a brief second, she thought that maybe they would let them go and that they would return home but that was her being her. As Debbie was gazing through the light foggy darkness, she saw a harbour and a ship. A small brown full- rigged ship. Debbie had never seen such a ship before and it seemed as if the other children had not done so either. We continued down to the end of the pier, the waves and the wind felt stronger. One of the guards placed a short thick wooden plank between the pier and ship so we could enter.

At this point, both Similan and Debbie are worried. They have been away from home for a while now they were heading to an unknown destiny with strangers. Similan turned himself into a magpie from a butterfly and with anxiety in his voice he said to Debbie;

"Debbie, where do you think we're headed? Who are these people and why are they taking us?"

Without a faintest clue, Debbie took Similan in her arms and said

" I do not know Similan but everything will be fine, don't worry".

All children boarded the ship, however, the red headed lady and the guards that followed them stayed behind, there were new guards on the ship . Debbie went inside and took a seat next to a misty window behind the restroom, some children sat alone and others in small groups. To get her thoughts away from her worries, she started fantasizing about home. Gyptians are like one big family and everyday was a perfect day. The sound from the water waves where playing children jumped from boat to boat while Ma costa baked small hot scones, the stories about Gyptians legends Lord Faa used to tell us under a sky full of stars and most of all, her mothers sweet voice. Debbie has a very strong bond with her mother and the thought of being away from her and the Gyptian community was unimaginable. Debbie's mother, Justine, took the role of both a mother and a father after their family lost their father to pneumonia right before Debbie's first birthday. Her home is with her family and to the Gyptians, wherever that may be.

Similan turned himself into a colorful butterfly again to cheer Debbie up. She wiped the tears off her cheek and gave Similan a smile.

A couple of tables from Debbie sat a short girl neatly fashioned with a thick brown braid that reached her back. They made eye contact and the girl walked up to Debbie.

"Hi. My name is Jeni. I am eleven years old. This right here is my daemon, Octavius. Ocatvius was in the form of a Toyger cat."

With a quite a happy voice, Debbie responded, "Hi, I am Debbie and I am ten years old. This pretty little butterfly is my daemon, Similan."

"Do you know how you ended up here?", Jeni asked cautiously

"I was playing hide and seek with my two cousins and brother. While I was hiding behind the bushes, somebody grabbed me and the next thing I knew I was in a room with other children."

Jeni had been a maid at a Lords house in her town, and wore a blue and white maids dress since she had been snached while on an errand for the household. Jeni felt sorry for Debbie and wanted to encourage her so Jeni decided that she would ask more questions or even focus on that for a while. However, they quickly formed a bond. Because of the loneliness, it was comforting for Debbie to find another girl of the same age who was so open. The two following days on the ship consisted of associating with Jeni. Together they would often wander the parts of the ship that they were allowed to be in.

On the second morning of the trip. A guard came into the dormitory where all the children were sleeping. He yelled;

"Time to go off!"

We had reached our destination.

After what felt like an eternity the boat finally reached its destination. The children were ordered to disembark from the ship by a particularly mean looking guard and it did not take them long before they all stood on the harbour outside. Karl was one of the last ones to leave the ship as he tended to stay away from others. Even though he prefered to be by himself he had talked a little to Jeni and Debbie and they seemed nice , but he did not like talking to other children and mostly kept quiet. The wind was cold and crisp and a little sign said "Trollesund". The fresh air made Karl feel a little better because he felt slightly sea-sick the whole boat ride.

The Guards made all the children line up on the harbour and ordered them to start walking. The harbour was quite worn-down and the strong smell of fish did not help Karl shake the last remnants of sea-sickness. They walked for a little while under strict surveillance from the guards who made sure that nobody deviated from the group. After what felt like about twenty minutes the group turned a corner and something that nobody in the group had ever seen appeared before them. Some sort of royal air vessel. Karl had never seen one before but it looked almost as big as the ship that had brought them here by sea with large turbines on the sides and what looked almost like a sail on top. Every detail was clad in gold and everything about it looked pristine, a stark contrast to the shoddy harbour and its inhabitants.

For a second the sight of the vehicle and all its glory made Karl and several of the other children forget the situation they were in. Spellbound by its splendour they gazed upon it with mouths wide open.

They were quickly brought back to reality by the noise of a guard who started to bark orders. They were ordered to start embarking without further delay.

Karl got onboard and noticed that the vessel had looked way larger from the outside. The inside was one big room and a few small ones. Among the small ones was a kitchen and two bedrooms for longer travels.

The inside smelled like an old library and the interior almost resembled one. The walls were clad in dark brown wooden planks with small circular windows that were quickly obscured by curious children peeking out of them. From the ceiling hung a large chandelier that gave the room a sense of royalty and the floor was covered in bench rows like in a church. The children were ordered to stay inside the main room and were to be punished if they made a ruckus.

Being almost twelve Karl was taller than many of the other children and could thus look over the head and out one of the small windows. Were the situation any different this experience would be something to remember but all Karl felt was indifference. Some of the children were crying about how they missed home and their families but Karl did not have either. Being orphaned at the age of five. His mother had died giving birth to him and it drove his father mad. While his father was still alive he was absent, as if Karl was a constant reminder of his wife's death. He barely got Karl through infancy and when Karl was old enough to work in one of the factories his father left him to work there and live at an orphanage. He quickly learned the meaning of hard work and the work was relentless as orphaned child laborers were seen as expendable. Over the years he had seen many of his friends disappear after they had injured themselves on one of the machines or simply worked their bodies until they physically could not continue. There were rumours among the children in the factory about how they were sent away to be put down like dogs or even worse, to be experimented upon by mad scientists. Karl never knew that there was some truth in the rumors about experimentation but when he broke his finger operating a large sewing machine he was taken away by somebody working under a " ''. No doubt Mrs. Coulter had contacts everywhere and acquiring children that for most people does not even exist is seemingly not a problem.

The view from the air vessel was not that interesting to Karl, nothing but mountains and clouds so he sat down on one of the benches. Suddenly his daemon Nick poked his head out from under the ragged jacket that Karl had inherited from one of the factory-children that had gone missing.

Nick was a dove and he did not like the cold, or people so he spent as much time as possible huddled away in Karls jacket.

Nick had been a good companion to Karl through all his life and his only true friend. Perhaps him being a dove represents hope for a better future.

Suddenly the other children started clamoring and crowded the windows. They had spotted a large building after nothing but mountains upon mountains. The room got even more tense than before and a sense of fear filled the room.

As the airship descended towards the ground the guards had the children line up and prepare to go outside. Tension was now higher than even and a few children sobbed as quiet as possible, to not enrage the guards.

The doors of the airshop opened up and Karl felt an intense cold, it almost felt like it hit him in the face. His old, torn jacket was not warm enough and soon he could feel Nick start to shiver.

As they marched towards the building it became clearer what it actually seemed to be. It looked to Karl like some sort of institution and it was a lot larger than it had looked from the airship. Karl was not usually one to be afraid, he had lived a harsh life and was pretty hardened at this point but he couldn't shake the thoughts of the horror stories he had been told by the other children way back in the factory.

"Do you think they will turn us into monsters, Nick?", Karl asked nervously.

"Don't be silly they can't do that... I think", Nick replied from under the jacket.

When they got off the airship, they were assigned into two lines, girls in one and the boys in the other. Then they entered the institution through a large metallic door, and inside stood two men in white coats and two women that looked like some sort of nurses. Mrs. Coulter, who had joined them in Trollesund, must have walked off the airship before them because she was stood there too with her golden monkey by her side, conversing with one of the men. The room they were stood in gave the children the impression that they were in a hospital. It was very warm in contrast to the cold winter weather outside, and very well lit. Everything was either white or made of stainless steel, and there was a lingering feeling of cleanliness and sterilization in the air. However, it didn't feel bad, rather the children were filled with a neutral feeling.

Eventually, when she was done talking, Mrs. Coulter walked off into one of the many corridors that were connected to the room, and the two men came up to the group of children. Each started asking the children questions and the nurses would write what the children were answering on a notepad.

Jeni stood last in the line and it was finally her turn to be asked questions.

"So, child, what is your name?", asked the man, whom Jeni had gathered was a doctor.

"Jeni Isaacson,"

"And, how old are you?"

"I'm eleven, but my birthday is coming up soon, so I'll be twelve soon."

The doctor's expression changed, and he glanced at the other doctor. The nurse gave Jeni a slight smile, but the smile felt hollow and sent a chill down Jeni's spine.

"Where is your daemon? Does he still change?", asked the doctor.

Octavius, who had been hiding as a kitten in Jeni's coat, popped his head out, jumped onto the floor, and changed into a Toyger cat.

"Ah, I see. Clara. Emma. Please take the children to the bathing rooms."

Each nurse proceeded to guide each line of children into separate corridors. For the first time since meeting each other, Karl was separated from Jeni and Debbie. Jeni glanced back one last time and saw the two doctors conversing while watching her with alarmed expressions.

In the bathing room the girls were undressed from their old raggy and by now dirty clothes, and then they were washed. A few strands of Jeni's brown hair had escaped from her braid, and her blue maids dress was dirty from the long journey. After the bath, all children were dressed in the same, clean, uniforms.

"Where are we? What is this place?"

The nurse was calm and collected, and all the answers she gave to the girls sounded rehearsed as if that were not her first time answering them. Her daemon was a tiny little dog that followed her every step. The children had noticed that the nurse was very distant, and it left them feeling uneasy.

Finally, after having been cleaned they were reunited with the boys in a large canteen where they were given delicious food and hot drinks. Jeni had never eaten bacon before because her mother could never afford it, but she had never imagined it would be this tasty.

Karl's daemon snuck over to the girls table and three daemons filled each other in on where they had happened. Karl's experience had thus far been very much like the girls'.

"Now, children. It is bedtime.", and so they were taken to another new room in one of the connecting buildings.

The room was rectangular shaped and there were beds placed along the longer sides. The girls were tucked in and the nurse, Clara, turned off the lights and left. Within a few moments one girl was standing by the door, another turned the lights on, and a third came up and stood next to the newcomers. The girls, who had been there for different amounts of time, filled in the new girls on where they were, or at least they tried to, for they themselves did not know much more than they had been told. The Jeni and the other new girls told their stories of where they were from, and how they had been caught.

"So, I started walking faster, and the men walked faster too, and my heart was pumping hard cus' I was really scared, you know. But then, there was this lady, and she said she would protect me, and then the men were gone, and then…,"

"There lady was Mrs. Coulter, right?", one of the girls, Sam, interrupted.

Jeni had been telling her story of how she had been lured by the Gobblers. Many children had been taken by Mrs. Coulter, and Jeni was no exception. Jeni just nodded and looked at the floor, for in hindsight she felt very ashamed of her choice to trust Mrs. Coulter. She had been working as a maid for Lord Beachum, and one day she was sent to get bread from the local baker. On her way to the bakery, she noticed that two men were following her, but she was saved by a lady with a golden monkey daemon. Jeni had heard of the GOBBLERS, but never did she think she would be taken by one of them.

She laid down on her bed, and Octavius nuzzled himself in next to her. The other girls talked only a while longer and then they too got into bed and soon all of them were asleep.

The following morning, after breakfast, Jeni, Debbie, and one other girl were taken to a room where they got measured in different ways. A doctor would direct them to stand on different scales and in different looking boxes. The girls did not know what was being measured exactly, nevertheless, they did as the doctor told them to.

"Jeni, is it? What is your daemons name?", asked the doctor, who had been watching Octavius with a puzzled look for a while.

"Octavius. Why do you ask?"

Ever since she had arrived at Bolvanger, Jeni had bombarded the adults and children with follow up questions and general questions of wonderment. She had always been a curious child, and she got more and more courageous the older she got. So, even though Bolvanger was a rather scary place Jeni revealed in curiosity. Why are we here? What's down that corridor? Why are you measuring us? She had been her for less than a day, and she had already become a nuisance for the adults. The doctor had by now learnt to not pay any heed to Jeni's questions, so he just ignored her.

"Hm, am I correct in assuming that Octavius had not changed since you arrived yesterday?", he said while looking at his notepad that contained the measurements he had just taken of Jeni.

"Yeah, he prefers being a cat. He says it's easiest to explore the wonders of the world when he is a cat. He can jump high, and crawl through tight spaces, and climb, and all sorts of stuff. One time when we wer-,"

"Yes, that is quite enough Jeni! A yes or no would have sufficed.", the doctor interrupted, and Jeni became quiet. It was evident in the doctor's face that he had been annoyed by her rambling.

He stepped to the side and whispered something to the nurse who immediately rushed out of the room. She returned a few moments later with another doctor, and then the two doctors converse quietly, like they had done the previous night, while looking at Jeni and Octavius. When they were done, they told the nurse to take Debbie and the other girl back to the rest of the children. Debbie and Jeni exchanged worried looks, and in a matter of seconds Debbie was gone and Jeni was left alone in the room with the two doctors.

"Come with us Jeni, let's go and explore the institute together.", said one of the doctors.

They were walking down a hallway that she had never been in before. The doctors were walking closely next to her, and each was holding her by her upper arm very hard as if they were afraid that she would try to run away. She did not know what was happening or why she was not sent back together with the other two girls, but she was very much aware of her heart that was beating really hard because of the fear she was feeling. Octavius felt her fear as if it had been his own, so turned into a grey wolf in hopes of making Jeni feel safe and hopefully scaring the doctors and their daemons.

They finally arrived at the end of the hallway and walked into a room Jeni had never been in before. She was now in the severing room, but she was not aware of what usually transpires here. She could see the silver cage and the silver blade that hung above it, but she knew not what it had the power to do.

"You know Jeni, curiosity killed the cat, but if you keep calm it will not kill you.", said one of the doctors.

Something was wrong. Jeni could feel it in her core, and Octavius felt it too. He transformed into a hawk in hopes of flying over to the men and digging his claws into their flesh, but it was already too late. The doctor's demons had lunged at Octavius and pushed him down against the cold concrete floor, and the men tighten their grips on Jeni. Jeni and Octavius were dragged towards the cage and the sharp blade, and within a few, fast, moments they were locked inside.

"No! No! No! Please, no!", Jeni kept yelling. "Whatever you're doing, please stop it! No! Please, no!", but the men paid no heed to her pleading.

Octavius kept turning - he was a grey wolf, a leopard, a bear, but nothing was working, and he could not break free from the cage. One of the men walked over to a bank of switches and started flicking them on. The blade started rising upwards. Tears clouded Jenis vision as she kept on crying for the men to stop what they were doing. And then, for a short moment, the silver blade halted. Jeni stopped weeping. Maybe nothing bad would happen? But, just as a little glint of hope had sparked within her, the blade started moving downwards.

"Nooo-", she shrieked out one last time, and then the blade flew past her.

Moments later, the cage was opened, and Jeni's stiff little body fell out. Jeni was no more, and Octavius faded away.

Karl and Debbie never found out where Jeni had gone, or what had happened to her, but they noticed that the children would come and go, and the faces they met in the cafeteria/canteen were ever changing. One of the changing faces had been Lyras. After weeks in captivity the children got to know freedom again, and Lyra would be the one to free them.

Contribution

The colors of the text represent our individual contribution. Deborah Tcha, Kalle Andersson and Dzenana Isakovic.