Chapter 1: Arrival by Water

The floor of the train suddenly slipped away from him, and Adam put out his hands to save himself from falling. Too late. He landed heavily on the corridor between the seats, spilling the cup of coffee in his hand. There was a murmur, then a ripple of laughter throughout the carriage.

"I thought it was a train crash." said Adam, picking himself up.

"Honestly," said Abagail, "Just a little bump in the tracks. Can't you do anything properly? We've no money for another coffee."

"Sorry, Abbey" said Adam, apologetically, "I really couldn't help myself".

The train went into a long tunnel, causing pressure on the two children's ears. Conversation became difficult for a moment.

"I just hope there's no St Tom's people in this carriage" said Abagail, "you'll have embarrassed us before we start".

"First years start a day later, so they'd have to be first years as well" said Adam. "I couldn't spot any on the way to the buffet car".

Adam and Abagail were on their way to St Tom's, a school in the Hebrides, from their home in London. It had been a long journey. Their mother and her boyfriend, Alex, had seen them off at Euston station. The sandwiches had long since been eaten and the flask of orange juice drank. Reluctantly, feeling thirsty after six hours, Abagail had decided to spend a little money and sent Adam to the buffet car for a coffee, which was now spilt over the carriage floor.

They had set off in the early hours of the morning, now it was beginning to get dark.
"It gets dark sooner, here in Scotland" explained Adam, "It can't be long now. Daddy should be back from work".
Their father was not allowed to see them unsupervised, because of some issues involving the police and their mother. Adam and Abagail weren't even meant to call him without permission, although they sometimes did, but never when he would still be at work. He had separated from their mother two years ago, and the divorce had come through last year. Their mother had then invited Alex to stay at the family home. Handsome, and a rich management consultant, the children had first taken to Alex. However after he had been with their mother a few months the treats and gifts of money gradually stopped. Adam began to argue with him, always over nothing, like whether people watched Formula One racing (Alex was a big fan) only for the crashes, or whether Adam was old enough for his own tube pass. Abagail had become silent, hardly talking to him, slamming the door of her bedroom as soon as she decently could after coming home and then spending all evening on the Internet chatting to online friends.
Eventually Mummy had come in, saying, "We've got good news for you, darlings. Your father and I have decided that we've got enough money, when you leave primary school, to send you both to prep school." The original plan had been to send them to separate schools, but Adam and Abagail begged and begged. However Alex said that the only decent co-ed schools were too expensive. Eventually Daddy had insisted on St Tom's. "It's not a prep school," he explained, "it's a small monastic school that goes all the way through to eighteen. It takes boys and girls. I think you'll be happy there."

"Daddy, is that you?" said Abagail, "I just hope the train doesn't go into another tunnel and cut us off. We're nearly on our way to St Tom's, the school you chose for us".
"Do you have permission to phone?" asked the low, male voice at the other end.
"No, Daddy", said Abagail, "but since we're going to St Tom's no-one's there to check up on us, at least until the end of term. Mummy can't check to see if your number is on my phone. In fact we can phone you every day".
"Very well," said the voice, "I wish you all the best. I hope you'll like St Tom's. I think it's the best solution all round. But as for phoning me every day, you're welcome if you can, but I think you might find it harder than you imagine."
"Daddy", said Adam, "can't we be with you instead of going to boarding school?"
"I'm sorry," the voice was firm, "some time that may be possible, but not for the foreseeable future. St Tom's is the school I chose for you, but I can't afford it myself. We're relying on your mother and Alex for the bulk of the fees. Don't disappoint me, my darlings, and don't let me down. St Tom's is the best place for you now, believe me. Goodbye for now, and don't rock the boat."
He rang off.

"That's that," said Adam, "at least we've going where Daddy has sent us, rather than some school Alex has chosen."
"At least we're away from Alex" said Abagail, "I hate him, I really do."

The train came to a stop beside a small Scottish village. It was completely unlike London. A deep loch cut into the landscape. There was a street with a some shops, including a small Tesco's supermarket, and a few cars parked in the road. There was no moving traffic. The platform opened straight onto the road, with no ticket barrier or visible staff. Adam and Abagail hauled their trunks out of the train, and stood on the platform. The train pulled away. It would call at every small Scottish station on its route round the West coast.
"We've got to get the ferry" said Adam, "I can't see a ferry terminal"
"You're think of something like when we went to Belgium," said Abagail, "that boat's the ferry."
So it proved. A jetty led from the bottom of the road to the loch, and a small motorboat, big enough to hold a single car or maybe a dozen people, was tethered to it. Adam and Abagail borrowed a trolley from the station and trundled their luggage to it. Unlike in London, there was no need to guard the bags.
The boatman was a gruff old man, with a greying beard and a thick Scottish accent.
"You're for St Tom's, I see", said the boatman, "Aye, we've brought many over, now and yesterday. I think you be the last."
"How much is the fare, sir?" asked Adam. He knew already, but it seemed the only thing to say.
"Six pounds, always six pounds" said the man, "Aye, you've given me another journey, taking the last train. I could have fitted you on with the last".
"We've come from London", said Adam.
"I can tell from your manner O' speaking. Brother and sister, are you?"
"Yes sir," said Adam, "we're twins."
Adam slipped the coins into the boatman's hand, and the motorboat pulled away, into the loch.
"We've GPS and radar, now" explained the boatman, "but previously I didn't do night sailings to the island. Too dangerous. You'd have had to have waited until morning. There's some still won't go to the island by night."
"Why ever not?" asked Abagail.
"Ghosts", said the boatman, "it's an old monastery, recently restored. But whilst it was in ruins, people still saw lights on the island. The monks, they say, wanted revenge for when their abbey was destroyed at the Reformation. Most of them gave up their orders and took wives, but some refused to abandon the island and were hanged".
"Oh, I've heard about that", said Abagail, "Henry VIII and the dissolution of the monasteries".
"This was no Henry VIII" said the boatman, "this is Scotland. On a clear day, just to the South and West, you can see Ireland. Hate runs deep in these parts of the world."
"Are you Catholic?" asked Abagail.
"Now, young lady, mind your own business" said the boatman.

The island came suddenly into view through the gloom. A cowled figure was stood on the quay, holding a lantern. There was just enough light for the boatman to nudge the boat up to the dock.

"We've been waiting for you" said the figure, extending a hand, "welcome to St Tom's. I'm brother Dominic. We hope you'll have a pleasant time with us."
"Thank you, Sir" said Adam.
"Did you remember to tip the boatman?" asked brother Dominic.
"No Sir," said Adam, "we paid him his fare".
"You should always tip the boatman", said brother Dominic. "Too late now, but next time."

They walked up a steep path, and past some ruined arches. The building before them was obviously new, but built with old masonry. The door was wooden and arched, and led to a hallway, someway through there was a large dining room, which could accommodate maybe a hundred people. Eight children, four boys and four girls, were sitting in it, laughing and chatting. They seemed to be first years, dressed in the St Tom's uniform of brown blazer and grey trousers for boys, and light brown dress with straw hats for girls.
"We are now a complete company," said brother Dominic, "Adam and Abbey are twins, and are the last to arrive, from London.”
There was a whirl of greetings. James, Albert, an Asian boy called Ibrahim, Sebastian, Mandy, Cecilia, Mary and another Mary. The twins were quite confused.

"You're probably all feeling a little bit apprehensive" said Brother Dominic, "it was the same for us. I was very apprehensive, on my first day here at the monastery, as a novice. For various reasons, your parents have decided to send you to St Thomas More. For some of you, that's a positive thing, your parents have chosen our school for the many benefits it can provide. For others, not so positive, the reasons are practical or even imposed. You must forget that now. You are here and life is what you make of it, regardless of why you are here."
"Most boarding schools have bounds. In St Tom's case, I don't really need to tell you the bounds. The whole island is ours. I do ask you to show a bit of common sense round the rocky areas of the coast. Certainly I don't want to see children in the sea, at this time of year. In summer term we allow supervised swimming. What we call the enclosure of the monastery, the monks' living area, is also obviously out of bounds. Particularly to the girls. Sorry to be sexist about it, but that is a Church rule. No girls or women within the enclosure, under any circumstances. Boys only by invitation."
"That's pretty much all I have to say on bounds. Now you'll be joining in the spiritual life of the monastery. That means daily mass, and most of the offices. Now who knows what we mean by the office?"

A hand went up. It was Mandy. "Is that what monks sing?"

Brother Dominic smiled, "Yes, the offices are the seven daily prayers that monks offer, or Benedictine monks like ourselves sing, every single day. You are expected to join most, but not all of the offices. The idea is to get you into the Benedictine way of life. For most of you, it's something that you then carry forwards into a normal adult life. For a few, it is the start of a vocation as a monk. In fact we hope that some of you will become religious."
"The important thing is to work hard at your academic studies, because that is what your parents are paying for, and to pray hard, but most importantly to enjoy your time at St Tom's."

A bell rang, and seven other monks, all clad in black habits, drifted into the dining room.

"We now have dinner, in the Benedictine manner, in silence", said brother Dominic.

A monk mounted a lectern placed to the side of the hall, and began to read. Dinner was served by two older girls, who looked resentful, as thought they were there unwillingly. It was sausages, cabbage, and boiled potatoes. Adam rolled the sausage round dubiously with his fork. It was partly undercooked on the underside. "Can't eat this" he said, softly, to Abagail.
"Dinner to be held in silence" said brother Dominic.
The monk reading was reading some arcane set of laws about bedding arrangements for monks. "And let the younger monks sleep between more experienced brethren, on sacks or upon straw or whatever the abbot has chosen to provide".
Adam ate the potatoes, which were hard, the cabbage, and a little bit of the sausage. The monks at the other table seemed unbothered. The other children were pushing food about their plates. Abagail had eaten almost nothing. She was resigned to going very hungry when pudding appeared, tinned peaches, which was at least edible, if tasting slightly of metal and preservatives.
“Finished you guys?” asked one of the serving girls, of Abagail and Mandy. She took the bowls away without waiting for the reply. “Enjoy it whilst it lasts, food's especially nice, the first day”. She grinned at them. Brother Dominic frowned and she beat a retreat.

After dinner the children got their first view of the dorm. There were two houses, the girls' house and the boys' house. There were only about ten to twelve pupils in each year, hence in first year, five boys and five girls in each dorm. They had obviously been trashed by the previous occupants, bits of plaster were missing and tired strips of sellotape were attached to the bare white walls. The beds were very flimsy, iron-framed affairs, with thin and hard mattresses. However there were duvets. Posters were allowed, but neither Adam nor Abagail had thought to bring any. Abagail bagged the bed next to the window. Adam lost out and got the one nearest the door, which no-one else wanted. The hot tap in the washbasin gave a trickle of tepid water, the cold tap was absolutely freezing. There was no mains supply on the island, it all came from a rooftop tank and you were meant not to drink it. Adam asked about brushing teeth and Brother Dominic just shrugged and said it was OK.

"The food is horrid" said Cecilia, a short girl with a snub nose, "and have you noticed that the monks are all men? I call that creepy. I want out of here. I'm going to call my parents and ask to go home."
"Cecilia," said Abagail, "you've only been here maybe four hours. Don't you think it's a bit early to give up on St Tom's already?"
"The thing is" said Cecilia, "my mother didn't want me to come here. But my father insisted that St Tom's was the place for a good Catholic education. I said I'd try it, and I made her promise that if I didn't like it I could come back immediately. Well I've seen it, and I've seen enough to know its a dump. I'm calling it quits".
She produced an extremely small and elegant mobile phone, and began to call out.
"No signal" she said crossly, "of course, silly me, there probably isn't one, on this island in the middle of nowhere. Where can I get a landline?".
"In the abbot's office?" suggested Abagail. "Cecilia, I think there isn't one".
"We're trapped. This is my rights which are being violated" said Cecilia.
"Oh just shut up" said one of the Marys. This was the tall blonde Mary, the other one was short and plump and with dark hair. "I think we all wish we could just go, but it's not going to happen. You're just upsetting everyone".
"I don't like it here either, but I don't want to go home" said Abagail, then wondered if she had let on too much.

A bell rang, and the whole school, some one hundred boys and girls, assembled in the chapel. The building was lit with candlelight, and psalms were sung in Latin. The first formers could hardly understand a word, but they could follow the Latin phrases from the printed cards they were given. “Deus in adjudorium meum intende”, it began, and followed on from there, lines sung alternately by congregation and cantor. The monks somehow gave each line an emphasis towards its end. This was Compline, the last office of the day. Adam felt his heart overawed by the beauty of the service. "Maybe I should be a monk" he thought to himself. Considerations of food drifted away. "I want to be at St Tom's" he told himself.

There was a buzz of excitement for the first night in the dorm. None of the other boys except for Ibrahim, who had been to a prep school in Pakistan from the age of eight, had ever spent a night away from home before. There was a bit of a fight for the washbasin. "You're spitting toothpaste around, Adam" complained James. "That's how I clean my teeth at home" protested Adam, "Well, you're not at home now".
Brother Dominic ordered lights out, and ten minutes later the end to talking. Adam was too excited to go to sleep, and the mattress was hard and uncomfortable. "I should say some prayers" he thought, but couldn't. Everyone was silent, in obedience to Br Dominic's order, but Adam could sense from the breathing that no-one else was asleep either.
After what seemed like an age there was a noise at the door. Adam turned his head from the pillow, but it was too dark to see anything. There was a sudden commotion, and boys' and girls' voices. Hands seized him through the duvet.

"Hey", Adam struggled to free himself.
"Shut up". A punch landed on his chest, not enough to wind him, but hard enough to hurt.
Someone shone a torch, and there was a bit of light. Adam's hand were pinned behind his back by two attractive, freckle-faced girls. A rather lanky boy tied him with a piece of rope. Then a blindfold was placed over Adam's head. Though he couldn't see exactly what was going on, it was obvious that the same was happening to the other members of the dorm.
He was frogmarched in bare feet and pajamas out of the dorm, down some stairs. The breath of fresh air into his nostrils and the coldness and roughness underfoot told him he was outside. There was a yelp as one of the boys behind was struck.
“Serves you right”, Adam heard form a few paces behind. It was a older girl's voice, in an American accent.
They were led a distance of several hundred paces, and then told to stop. Most of the abductors then left, though, still blindfolded and pinned, Adam couldn't tell exactly how many were left to guard the prisoners. A few minutes later, another party came back. The girls, Adam guessed.

"You first" a boy ordered someone. There was a splash, as if of someone falling into water. Then more splashing, and some loud moans. It was James.
"You next", the same boy ordered. The boy next to Adam appeared to move, then there was a soft plop as he entered the water.
"Now you", it was Adam's turn to be driven forward. He felt apprehension tug at the pit of his stomach. "We initiate you as a member of St Tom's, by risking death by drowning" intoned one of the captors. Adam was impelled forwards. Then the ground felt springy under his feet. "Keep moving" ordered a captor.
Suddenly the ground under his feet gave way, Adam tripped awkwardly, and did a bellyflop into cold water. The first sensation was one of ice cold swiftly making its way into every part of his body. Then a hand held his head under the water, and a sudden calm came over him. He couldn't stabilise himself because his arms were still pinned, but he kicked out strongly with his feet. "Mustn't breathe" he thought, "surely they won't actually drown me". Just at the point where his lungs were about to give out, someone yanked him out of the water. He took a deep breath, and was pushed down again. This time he breathed some water. He coughed and was pulled up again, then dragged out of the sea altogether. He coughed and spluttered for a few minutes like a beached fish, then the emergency of choking was replaced by the realisation that he was wet and intensely cold.
From the sounds of the cries the girls were obviously being dunked next. Two captors then untied his hands, but kept hold of him. With no fight left in him, Adam didn't struggle. Then, laughing, their tormentors ran away. Adam pushed the blindfold off. The entire first form was standing on the beach by the jetty, in wet nightclothes. A plank attached to the jetty itself showed where they had been walked into the sea. The water was about waist deep at that point.
"Initiation rituals" said Sebastian, "my father warned me about those"
"I though that sort of thing had been abolished" said Adam.
"Obviously not" said Sebastian.
"I'm freezing," said Abagail, "Can you boys just get us back to the dorm, instead of standing about discussing things?".

The boys' dorm was relatively easy to sneak back into. There was essentially no risk of any strangers being on the island, and the door to the house was left unlocked. So it was a simple matter of opening the door without making any noise, which could be achieved by placing a wet pajama over the handle to muffle the sound of the mechanism being turned. The girl's was more difficult since their door was locked from the outside. However there was a fire escape. This was alarmed, but a window led onto it, from Abagail's bed, which was not. The problem was that the opening part of the window wasn't large enough to allow egress.
Sebastian and James had a natural sense of what to do. First they went back to the boys' dorm and obtained a torch. Then they could see what they were doing. It emerged that the lower pane of glass in Abagail's window was held in only by nails. Someone had taken out all the putty. The nails could be twisted by hand, and the pane of glass removed. Someone had used that route before. The five girls filed back into the dorm, one by one through the window. Then holding the glass at an angle James passed it though to Abagail, who replaced it. It was a two person job, but otherwise a perfectly serviceable entrance and exit. "Just make sure you don't break the pane, old girl" warned Sebastian.
The girls safely home, boys stripped naked as soon as they returned to the dorm. It was a relief to get the clammy clothes from their skin. They placed the wet pajamas over the radiator and dried themselves with towels.
The door burst open and light flooded in. Adam dropped his torch. It was brother Dominic.
"What time is this?" he asked. The boys stood still, clutching towels to their private parts. "About three O'Clock in the morning. So what is all this noise?" No-one answered. "Have you been swimming in the sea?" the brother persisted.
"Sir," said Adam, "we were pushed in."
Brother Dominic frowned. "I see, and how did you come to be by the seaside, so that someone could push you in."
"It wasn't that, Sir", interrupted James, "we went swimming." He gave a gentle kick to the back of Adam's leg.
"So, that wasn't the truth, was it Adam? You were lying to get another boy into trouble."
Adam looked at the floor. "Yes, Sir" he stammered.
"Now you have been at St Tom's for less than a day" said brother Dominic, "and already school rules have been broken. I am very disappointed. Boys cannot be expected to do their work effectively if they are up at three O'Clock at night. And swimming in the sea is not allowed. Particularly, swimming after dark is not allowed and is especially dangerous. So you are all in detention for next evening. Adam, come here."
Adam began to shake uncontrollably.
"We have an additional punishment for you. You report to Father Abbot half an hour before Matins, in gym kit. Then you run round the island. If you do not complete the run within set time, you run round an additional two times. Now I want to see everybody dried off, in bed within five minutes, and no more noise from this dorm."
He left.

"That was unfair" Adam complained.
"You don't sneak" James rounded on him furiously. "Adam, you'll get this dorm into trouble. Tomorrow they'll know that someone has been sneaking on them."
"Five minutes" called brother Dominic, from the landing.
Thinking angry thoughts, Adam pulled the duvet over his head and buried his face in the meagre mattress. He was still thinking, and had not a moment's sleep, when the bell rang for morning.

Meanwhile the girls in Abagail's dorm were holding a council of war.
"We've got to get revenge" said Abagail, "or we'll be treated like this all our time at St Tom's."
"Like, how?" asked blonde Mary.
"I hate them", said Cecilia, "when I tell my mother about this, I'm straight out of this school"
"Well we don't exactly all have such loving mummies" snapped Abagail, "I've got to stay, and you're staying here, whether you think you will or not. We've got to get revenge."
"It's easy to say that, Abbey", said blonde Mary, "but how exactly are you going to do it".
"Just push some of them in back?" suggested Mandy.
"We're first years," commented short Mary, wryly, "the lowest of the low. They're bigger than us, and there are more of them. We're not exactly going to get one of them out of bed, tied up, and down to the sea, are we. Be realistic."
"So we need something cleverer" insisted Abagail, "there got to be a way of getting even. Just think."
"Do we even know who did it?" asked Cecilia.
"Yes" said Abagail, "there was a girl with an American accent who seemed to be taking the lead. I don't know her name, but I know which one she is."
"But wasn't it" said blonde Mary, "like all the school ganging up on us first years?"
"Yes," said Abagail, "but if we single out one it's easier to get revenge. I know what we'll do already. She's American, so waterboarding"
"Waterboarding?" asked Mandy.
"I've read about it. It was a technique used by the American CIA on terrorist prisoners. You tie someone to a board and tip them up. Then you place a wet cloth over their face, and dribble water over it. It's perfectly safe, but it feels like they're going to drown. That's what we're going to do to that American girl. We're going to waterboard her."
"Abbey" said blonde Mary, shaking her head, "you never will."
"You want a bet?" said Abagail. "That American girl will be waterboarded. Trust me. All I need is an agreement from you girls that we will stick together."
"Agreed" all girls said at once, and put their hands together.
Abagail was thinking furiously. The skeleton of a plan was beginning to form in her mind.
"I think I've got it" she said at last, "we just need to sleep on it, and I'll start the ball rolling tomorrow morning".
With that the girls went back to bed, and soon fell into a deep sleep.

"I'm telling you, you should have banned this, years ago. One of the children sometime soon will end up drowned."
Brother Dominic was engaged in a furious debate with Father Abbot.
"Relax", the rather overweight abbot leaned back in his comfortable armchair. "These are little kids, and strapping sixth formers dipping them in. All of whom have done their life-saving. And the sea is safe round the jetty. I don't see any danger."
"It's brutal, and it brutalises them. Adam, now we've got a really sensitive kid there. I could see he was upset. Father Abbot, it's time to stop it."
"Stop the traditions of St Tom's?" the abbot shook his head, "there are some things that it's difficult to change. The older boys would never forgive me if I did. Besides, don't think, brother Dominic, that you can just legislate brutality away, by whim of the Abbot. Believe me, if we ban initiation ceremonies, you will see much more bullying come out, in a nastier, more insidious form. It's a constant."
"Well, I've put the first year boys into detention for you, and Adam on a punishment run." said brother Dominic.
"Adam, what did he do?"
"Tried to blame the other years."
"Has he got problems, or did he not know?" asked the abbot.
"I think it was both, father. As I said, he's very sensitive. One to watch."
"Very clever as well, I hear"
"Indeed, his entrance paper showed the most promise." brother Dominic paused "If you're going to allow this sort of thing I'm not sure St Tom's is really right for him."
"His parents and I decide that." said Father Abbot. "Anyway, we've had our work cut out tonight. Let's get some sleep."
"Oh, and brother Dominic", the abbot called back.
"Yes?" said brother Dominic.
"Obedience, brother Dominic, obedience. It's the hardest rule you know".
Brother Dominic smiled, and returned to the house.