The Mirror of Morglaw Rocket's Island

He might be the perfect foster kid.

He said someone was going to destroy you,

and I could tell from Ben's face it was him.

-Look out!

-Argh!

Rocket's fine, if you were wondering.

You was lucky today.

Why do you trust him over me?

Are we going to do this every single time there's a new foster kid?

When the sun, the earth and the moon

all join up in the closest elliptical orbit,

that's a "king tide".

It means a big tide, OK?

The biggest.

You know, you usually know about this stuff.

Combine that with a changing climate and the storm from last night,

and you get a 100-year tide.

This normally happens once in a...

Hundred years?

In a blue moon.

It means the sea gives up all kinds of stuff.

It looks like the ocean threw up.

-Er, what're you doing?

-Nothing.

They are all lefties, no righties.

Mum said you need to come back for breakfast.

Sorry, Ben. We'll find something at the next king tide.

Were you in the storm?

Are you all right?

THEY SCREAM

Move. I need to study here.

What?

I've got an exam?

It's the weekend.

DOOR SLAMS

-Knock knock. Rocket upstairs?

-Ah, no.

-He's gone down the beach with Ben.

-Just them two?

POLICE SIREN WAILS

-That's heading towards the beach.

-So?

Rocket!

Oi, oi, oi! Stand back!

Stand back, I tell you!

Why should we?

Because I am the police, and that's just the first thing

they teach you at the Academy, get everyone to stand back.

So stand back!

Are you OK?

No.

Look what we've found.

-We heard sirens, are you all right?

-Let's have a look. Come on.

We're the ones who found it.

Know what I'm talking about?

-I just caught Ben staring at Rocket like...

-Like what?

Like he hated him.

I knew it. I told you, didn't I? I'm telling you,

he's planning something.

Something bad.

Just like the Tell Stone said.

Well, blow me down.

This IS big news.

It looks like you found Lord Loomis.

Who's Lord Loomis?

A wealthy eccentric who went missing around these parts

150 years ago,

searching for the Mirror of Morglaw.

What's the Mirror of Morglaw?

It was an ancient mirror

that was said to reflect your true nature back at you.

Terrifying prospect.

It was a myth, of course.

Only, Loomis believed it to be true.

Lost his life looking for it.

The king tide must have dislodged the boat from its resting place.

It was out in no-man's land, I'd say.

That's where he was last seen.

This is going to make the press!

-Stop staring at me.

-Sorry. I've never seen you like this.

I've never seen you like this.

Don't you have to get an A in that test

-if you're going to be a solicitor?

-DOOR OPENS

-Look what I got.

-Where did you get that from?

Nabbed it before Beddoe saw it.

Loomis's journal.

-"The Mirror of Morglaw."

-PC Beddoe reckons he died of shock.

As if he sat down and never got up again.

I bet he saw his true self. I reckon he found that mirror.

It stops halfway through.

-He never made it. You better take it back to PC Beddoe.

-Come on.

That's not like you.

We better.

DOOR OPENS

Hold on. Hold on. Wait till everybody's here.

THEY LAUGH

Wow.

They're laughing at him.

"Lord Artemus Loomis, known in his time as Lord Loony,

"spent his inheritance pursuing mythical objects.

"He went missing whilst attempting to find the so-called

"Mirror of Morglaw, which if real would have reflected back a fool."

What, he's a fool for believing in something others didn't?

I've changed my mind.

-Ah, Lord Loomis.

-You know him?

I met him just briefly a week before he disappeared. I liked him.

Is it true? About the mirror?

Well, I believed Loomis when he said it.

He was sure of it.

He says in the journal that the mirror

was first mentioned in a 300-year-old sea shanty

that he thought was based on the real thing.

# Oh to be sailing home on this sound ship

# Bound for Llanerch-y-Mor

# And not to be tossed and thrown

# Torn and ripped, wrecked Wrecked on eerie Dirgel Mor. #

But here's the bit that gnawed away at him.

"Open this shore On no man's brow

"And, lo, the rabbit's hole No, daren't stand afore

"The glass of Morglaw

"Lest thee see thy hidden soul."

See, I don't think the entries stopped at all.

I think they were just hidden. Like in your book.

-Written with invisible ink.

-Now what makes you think that?

That's what I would do if I didn't want anyone beating me to it.

Can you shine your lamp on it?

-The Victorians didn't have electric lights in their time.

-Told you.

They used wax.

"The rabbit hole."

TAPPING

-Hey, Woody Woodpecker. Do you mind?

-Sorry.

TAPPING

OK, spit it. What's on your mind? Come on.

Let's have one of them, what do you call it? A girlie chat.

I'm fine, thank you.

I think something is wrong with Ben. I think he might be dangerous.

-I know it. Don't you think he's a little weird?

-You're all weird.

Where are you going?

Won't this tell you everything you need to know?

You can't do that.

A-ha.

Ooh!

OK, fine.

SHE SIGHS

Not what you were expecting?

He's an angel.

Hey, what are you doing?

Nothing. I...

You've been warned about this before.

Do I really have to start locking everything up?

No, but... Ben has been acting strangely lately, Dad,

and I thought...

You thought you'd find out an alien werewolf's ghost

had come to the farm.

Are you disappointed?

-Confused. The bit about his...

-It's none of your business, all right?

He's a good lad just trying to make his way.

Which is more than I can say for you right now.

-Do these exams really mean nothing to you?

-Yeah, of course.

And you want to risk blowing everything away. All that hard work.

It's not for me, Alli, all right? It's for you. OK?

"No Man's Land." This is only accessible by boat.

The tides are bad here. It's surely what became of Loomis.

"Cast him deep into one of the cliffs and never let him out."

-It's the reason you can never go.

-What?

-It is too dangerous, Rocket.

Promise me you won't go near it.

-Are you sure you don't want to come?

-Before school?

-It's the only way.

Oh, no. Please don't tell me you're going to find the mirror.

-I'm going to clear Loomis's name.

-You promised, Rocket.

Dibbs, do you remember in Year Two

when a chocolate bar melted in your back pocket and nobody believed you?

And for a whole year you were called Mr Squidge.

What if that name stuck with you for ever?

Wouldn't you want somebody to put things right?

It really was a chocolate bar.

-What if there really is a Mirror of Morglaw?

-But you promised, Rocket.

You told Grandad you wouldn't go anywhere near it.

I said we wouldn't go by sea. We're not. We're going by land.

We are approaching along the coast. On foot.

Usually the water is too high but there's a small window

during the day where the tide drops low enough for us to walk it.

-You coming?

-No way. You're crazy.

What if the mirror really did show you your true self?

What would we see? What could it reveal?

You know what? I changed my mind. I'm coming.

But he's coming too.

What are you doing here?

Going to find the Mirror of Morglaw before school.

-You should come.

-That thing that Loomis guy was looking for?

-Right.

It reveals your true self. Don't you see?

The mirror will expose Ben for who he really is.

It will show the real him.

-I've got my exams today, Dibber. I can't mess this up.

-But you saw.

-Rocket...

-Rocket's fine.

I checked Ben's file. He's amazing.

He's got glowing reports from every family he's ever been with.

Gets on well with the birth kids. He saved a family dog from drowning.

But the stuff we've seen? Your mum saying what she feared has happened?

The hay bales? The weird behaviour?

Well, maybe we saw what we wanted to see.

But what about the Tell Stones?

I guess they got it wrong.

Someone ripped Rocket out of the photo, Alli. Who?

You'll be fine.

-That's it. We're here.

-Where?

-No Man's Land. The headland.

Somewhere around here is the rabbit hole.

It's where the Mirror of Morglaw is.

-Do you really want to see the truth about yourself?

-Why?

What are you afraid it will show?

That's it.

Look. Right there.

The rabbit hole.

You may begin.

(Oh, no.)

Alli...

-Loomis was here.

-Looks like he left in a hurry.

I want to go back.

Ssh!

TRICKLING

What's that?

TRICKLING GETS LOUDER

-It's not going anywhere.

-I don't get it. Where's the mirror?

The waterfall. This is it. This is the Mirror of Morglaw.

Who wants to go first?

Who wants to see their true self?

HE MOUTHS

See? Doesn't do owt.

No, that's just who Rocket is. What you see is what you get.

No. Not you.

It's your turn.

You try.

SHE SCREAMS

Oh! Tide's coming up.

-What's going on?

-Is that his true self?

-No. It's his brother.

-His name is Barney.

-What is this?

-Isn't it obvious, brother? My grand entrance.

He ran away from his foster home. He's been hiding out on the island.

Ever since you thought that girl was a vampire.

That killed me.

That's what your mum and dad were talking about.

They knew he'd run away but they didn't know where to.

Penny dropped when I saw a symmetry question in my exam.

And I thought, "What if Ben's brother wasn't just any brother,

"but a twin?" And what if he was here?

What's going on?

Don't you see? Sometimes we've been with Ben,

sometimes we've been with Barney.

That's why they act differently.

-You've been tricking us.

-Not on purpose, Rocket.

I never did it on purpose.

-I did.

-I didn't know he was going to do this.

Barney's the troublemaker.

-There's that phrase again.

-He just gets a little jealous sometimes.

He's been a problem child for every family he's been put with.

Social services had to split them up for Ben's sake.

Ben wasn't staring at Rocket on the beach. Barney was.

Ben weren't the one that kissed Bethany. Barney was.

Barney tore Rocket from the photo.

Barney pushed over the hay bales at the party.

No, that was an accident.

We were just trying to watch Jade's trick and they toppled over.

Don't forget the made-up map and the journal.

Barney did that too.

-This is all fake.

-I fooled you.

-Er... Everyone...

-That's the tide coming in!

Guys, where's the rope gone?

It was here when I came down.

"The Face is the Mirror of the mind, and eyes without speaking confess

"the secrets of the heart."

-Was that there before?

-That wasn't me.

It was Loomis.

Is there another way out? Is there another way out?

The Tell Stones were right, Rocket. He is going to destroy you.

Someone help me with this.

No, he's not.

Raise it up.

That's it.

Be careful, Barney.

THEY GASP

-He's OK, guys.

-I'm all right.

He's done it.

Whoo!

You're on detention. All of you.

What did you think you were doing?

-We just thought...

-No. You didn't think, Rocket.

You do not mess around with tides.

They can kill you.

And you! Running out on your exams.

Two years of hard work and you throw it away in an afternoon.

Your social worker says you're like two peas in a pod

but that... Put your hand up if you're Barney.

But that you just don't handle care as well as your brother here.

Did you ask to be split up?

-He didn't care.

-Yeah(!)

He's travelled all this way just to be with you.

He's hid out. He's scrounged food. Just to be around you.

So why acts so crazy? Why ruin it again?

I'm guessing maybe Barney didn't like what he saw.

Why? I'm happy.

Exactly.

Maybe he thought you didn't need him.

Course I do.

-You replaced me pretty quick.

-With Rocket? I didn't replace you.

That could never happen.

Maybe it should.

You said it yourself. You're happy here.

A proper brother would let you be happy.

KNOCK ON DOOR

That the social worker?

-I'm real sorry.

-You're good. I'll give you that.

The journal is real. I only added in the invisible map.

Take care of him.

Yeah.

Wait.

-I want to come too.

-No, you're better off here.

-I'm better off with you.

-I wreck everything.

You didn't destroy Rocket. You saved him. You saved me.

There's more good in you than you let on.

And I need my brother. Why do you think I talk to you

even when you're not there?

You won't wreck it any more. Will you, Barn?

Promise me?

I promise.

-You got everything?

-Yes. Except this.

This is for Archie. The dragon's tooth.

Where's Rocket?

Guess I deserved that.

Wait.

A picture.

Bye, Ben. Bye, Barney.

ENGINE STARTS

CAR HORN BEEPS

-Everything back to normal.

-Everything is not back to normal.

Rocket nearly lost his life this week. And Alli?

She's thrown away all her grades. All that work, down the pan.

Anybody could see that coming.

Do you remember what we said when we first started letting the kids

into our home? Hm?

As long as we don't take the attention away

from those who need it.

As long as we've got enough time to give to all of them. Hm?

And this week's proved that we don't.

So what are you saying?

I'm saying maybe we don't take in any more kids.

Sarah has taken on

another foster kid.

I'm Izzy Wizzy.

Who are you?

Come and meet Bradley.

He's in the barn.

She's never been on a farm before?

We all do jobs on the farm.

I want to help.

Izzy, look out!

I bet I'm the first one

they ever send back.

You started this rumour about the

-talking pig then.

-Yes.

-Is it true?