Free A Place Called Perfect by Helena Duggan

feelings just like she’s hurt Boy’s.
    “I’m sorry I didn’t mean it,” she whispered, sitting down beside her friend.
    “I’m not afraid of the Watchers you know.”
    “I know you’re not.”
    “Well let’s go in then.” Boy said, pushing off the floor.
    “Boys,” Violet sighed, they never made any sense.
    Listening again to make sure there was no one in the room beyond, Boy leaned his weight against the door. It began to move. He opened it just enough for the pair to slip through, then shut it quietly behind.
    Violet stood just inside the entrance. It wasn’t a room at all. It was more like a long, narrow hallway. Steel shelving ran the length of both walls standing about five feet high. It looked odd compared to the beautiful wood in the rest of the shop. The shelves were filled with rows upon rows of glass jars. Each jar held a strange coloured gas that glowed in the dark of the room. 
    “What are they?” Violet whispered, picking up a jar.
    The gas was dull, a dark blue green colour that moved sluggishly inside it’s glass. Beside her Boy was holding another jar with slightly brighter colours, dark blue greens mixed with hints of yellow and a single stream of bright red.
    “Look,” Boy whispered, shoving his jar into Violet’s face.
    A worn sticker on top of the jar read Mr. John Bumsbury. Completed 09th Dec 1983. Violet looked up at her friend.
    “Haven’t a clue,” he shrugged.
    She moved her jar towards Boy’s for a little more light then read the lid.
    “Mrs. Charlotte Cotts. Completed 24th March 1970. That’s ancient,” she whispered.
    “Come on,” Boy said, leaving down his jar.
    He walked towards the far end of the room not stopping until he reached a separate section of shelving. The jars here were different. They were only partially full, the gas was brightly coloured, almost luminous and moved rapidly through the confined space. The mixtures of colour were beautiful. Boy picked one up, Mr. Jim Joiners. Incomplete. Last Session 14th June 1985. NML.
    “I know him,” he said, his voice shaky, “he lives in No Man’s Land.”
    Quickly he put it down and picked another, Mr. Raymond Splinters. Incomplete. Last Session 01st Aug 2001. NML.
    “I know him too.”
    Violet was reaching for another jar when a noise startled the pair. Quickly they ran for cover. Violet dived for the bottom of the shelf she was standing beside. Pushing some jars out of the way she crawled in towards the back. Suddenly the lights flickered on.
    Footsteps advanced down the hallway towards her hiding place. A pair of large, polished, br own, leather shoes walked past, stopping millimeters from where she knelt hiding.
    “Ah Violet Brown,” George Archer suddenly said, “I hope you’ve been a good girl.”
    Her heart stopped. How had he found her? She waited in disbelief for the giant to bend down and grab her but he appeared to be distracted by some jars on the shelf above.
    “That blasted Watcher!” he spat, “Still not enough. Do I have to do everything myself?”
    Glass clattered angrily off glass and George Archer turned on his heels and marched down to the other end of the hallway. The lights switched off, a door slammed and the room was plunged back into darkness.
    “He was looking at that jar,” Boy said, jumping out from hiding to run to the spot where George Archer had stood.
    Violet crawled out less elegantly from her crouched spot and was by his side to hear him gasp. His hand shook as he held the jar. It was about a quarter full of brightly coloured gas, which raced around at lightening speed. He passed it silently to Violet. She stared, gobsmacked, at the spanking new label.
    Miss. Violet Brown. Processing.
    She handed the jar back to Boy and slid down the wall onto the floor.
    “What is it?” she trembled, “why does it have my name on it?”
    “I don’t know Violet,” Boy whispered, finding her side, “but I promise we’ll find out.”

CHAPTER 16
    The Warning
     
    The pair sat