by Denis Byrne
Then something extraordinary happened. About a hundred feet from being splattered into lifelessness, Danny’s flight towards extinction came to an abrupt halt. It was as though some invisible puppet-master overhead had manipulated strings attached to Danny to stop him in his tracks. He just hung there motionless, suspended above the ground, his chin reposing on his chest, for all the world looking as though he was asleep. Charlie couldn’t believe it.
He manoeuvred himself directly beneath Danny’s dangling form, eased himself upwards with a gentle flutter of his jaded wings, until he was in a position where Danny could climb onto his back again. But nothing happened. Danny appeared to be unconscious.
Charlie didn’t know what to do. If he moved from where he was, Danny might suddenly crash down the remaining distance and break his neck. Charlie was so overcome with guilt at what had happened, great big tears began falling from his eyes to splash down on the green space below. They continued to descend in a waterfall of grief, resulting in the area directly below looking as though it had been chosen to receive a sudden, isolated cloudburst, leaving the surrounding terrain perfectly dry.
‘Will you for heavens sake stop blubbering like a baby,’ a voice came from beneath Charlie. ‘How do you expect me to help if I’m in danger of being drowned in this downpour?’
The voice sounded familiar, but Charlie couldn’t quite place it. All he knew was that the last time he’d heard it, it had made him lose his temper. He couldn’t make out who it was down there in the darkness. And he never wished more dearly before for anything than that he had the ability to communicate verbally with humans. He was unlike the other animals Danny conversed with on a regular basis. Charlie understood what people were saying, but was incapable of answering them. He sniffled back the tears as best he could, finally managing to put a stop to the waterfall.
‘That’s better,’ the voice rose up to him. ‘Now, just move aside so I can bring him down all the way.’
Charlie was at a loss. He’d never felt so helpless in his life before. If he did as he’d been requested, and Danny came down with a bang, he’d be the one responsible for whatever might happen to him. He was already responsible for the whole horrid situation, with his high jinks and his desire to get a little of his own back on Danny. But he’d gone too far. He turned his huge scaly head up towards Danny for guidance, but Danny’s eyes were closed, his chin still resting on his chest, out to the world.
‘Look!’ came the voice from the ground. ‘Do you want me to help or don’t you? I can’t even see him now with you hovering under him like that.’
Charlie decided the best thing to do was compromise. He folded his wings and settled down on the ground directly under Danny. That way, if Danny did fall, at least he’d have Charlie’s body to land on. With a bit of luck, he’d just bounce off his back on to the grass, instead of impaling himself on a spiky scale. But it was a chance Charlie knew he had to take. He simply didn’t know what else to do. He peered through the dark at the man who was quite close to him now, and immediately recognised him, despite the infra-red night-vision goggles he had strapped over his eyes.
‘That’s better,’ Mr. Pearson said. ‘Now I can finish what I’ve started.’
He didn’t seem all that bothered that he was standing closer than might be good for his health to a prehistoric flying reptile. He’d been watching Charlie’s aerobatic performance through the goggles earlier, and had decided that he was a bit of a show-off. Mr. Pearson didn’t like show-offs. He’d been a bit surprised to come across the extraordinary spectacle as he was setting out on one of his research and development projects just as soon as his wife had gone asleep. His intention had been to carry out some further experiments with his latest gadget on owls and the like, but good fortune had directed him to a much more challenging task.
So far, everything had worked wonderfully. He hadn’t even known it was Danny Dempsey until he’d frozen him in mid-air just in the nick of time. He’d been watching Charlie doing his impersonation of the Red Arrows only a few minutes after he’d left the house.
At first he thought he was imagining it, and had discovered the Loch Ness monster of the skies. He couldn’t believe his luck. The owls could go hoot tonight for all he cared. If his latest creation worked on this overgrown bat, it should certainly do the same where his wife was concerned. It was moving so fast, though, it didn’t look like it was going to be easy to score a direct hit on it with the beam.
It was when Mr. Pearson was adjusting his goggles properly to get a bead on the creature that he saw that there was someone clinging on for dear life, before slipping off and tumbling down in a flurry of failing limbs. It was then he’d sprung into action.
Now, he was about to complete his lifesaving mission, Charlie peering on anxiously, almost afraid to look to see how things would work out. But he needn’t have worried. Mr. Pearson was in control of the situation. Well, almost. He pointed his creation at the suspended figure of Danny, his finger lingering for a few seconds over one of the buttons.
To be fair to Mr. Pearson, this was the first occasion on which he’d had the chance to carry out tests under real conditions. And he’d incorporated six buttons in all into this gadget. They were coloured differently, and it was taking him a while to remember the exact function of each particular button. He’d had to hurriedly press three or four of them in quick succession before the yellow one had stopped Danny’s death dive.
Now, Mr. Pearson pressed gently on the green button, applying the minimum amount of pressure possible. It was just as well he hadn’t jabbed it all the way down. Danny shot up another fifty feet into the air. Alarmed, Mr. Pearson quickly removed his finger from the button. The second he did so, Danny became static again. Mr. Pearson was concentrating so avidly now, he’d forgotten Charlie was even there. If anything bad happened to Danny, there was little doubt Charlie wouldn’t be very long reminding Mr. Pearson he wasn’t very far away.
The next button Mr. Pearson tried made Danny begin to swing from side to side like a human pendulum. That button was rapidly dispensed with. Mr. Pearson had to wait for a while before Danny stopped swinging. If looks could kill, Charlie’s would long ago have been responsible for Mr. Pearson’s death.
Mr. Pearson finally hit the correct combination. The red and the blue buttons did the trick. The red one had the effect in unfreezing Danny, and resulting in him becoming conscious once more. Although the yellow button had initially unfrozen Danny, it hadn’t woken him up. Regaining his senses and finding himself plunging feet first towards the ground wasn’t the way Danny would have wished to wake up every morning if he had any choice in the matter.
His heart was racing like wildfire, his mouth dry, his lungs about to explode. And he wasn’t looking forward one little bit to coming into contact with Charlie’s spines. And to make things worse, it all came back to him. He remembered sliding off Charlie ages ago. He must have blacked out in the meantime, then regained consciousness just as he was about to hit the ground.
He was bracing himself for the impact, eyes tightly shut and hoping he’d fall into a haystack or something to break his fall, when suddenly the tremendous pressure on his lungs disappeared, and the speed at which he was falling was miraculously reduced to a slow, graceful descent, as though the parachute he knew he didn’t have on had suddenly opened above him. Danny had been preparing to have his legs shoot right up through his body and emerge somewhere around his shoulder-blades the second he hit Charlie’s back. Instead, he found himself floating gently down to land on it like a feather.
Then he saw Mr. Pearson standing not very far away, busily engaged in manipulating his gadget, easing his finger off the blue button which had been responsible for bringing Danny safely to earth without so much as a scratch.
Danny couldn’t get his head around the fact that this was the same Mr. Pearson he’d seen haring up the street some time ago in his tattered pyjamas, his wife in hot pursuit. This must surely be his twin brother, looking calm and c
omposed, smiling from ear to ear in delight at the success he’d achieved. The only thing that made him look a little strange was the goggles he was wearing.
Danny still felt dazed after his experience. He was only vaguely aware that Charlie was bearing him over closer to where Mr. Pearson was standing. When he realised what was happening, he became alarmed. Mr. Pearson was still engrossed with his gadget, making adjustments here and there, re-setting the buttons, patiently ensuring that the master-switch underneath it was in the correct position.
Danny was about to hiss a command to Charlie not to go any nearer, when Mr. Pearson glanced up and saw them coming towards him. Instead of shaking in his shoes with fear as Danny had expected, Mr. Pearson’s smile became even broader. Quick as a flash, he depressed the freeze button. Charlie and Danny immediately became immobile, two carved statues not moving a single muscle.
Mr. Pearson’s whooped in delight, started hopping up and down on the spot. Then, finally feeling so overcome with ecstasy, he couldn’t stop himself from twirling around in circles with the sheer joy of it all.
But he didn’t stay dizzy for long. He removed his goggles and replaced them with a pair of spectacles. He couldn’t suppress another whoop of delight at the thought of shooting his wife up into the air and leaving her hanging there for as long as he chose. He could even set her swinging like a pendulum if he felt like it.
After Mr Pearson calmed down, he brought Charlie out of his state of suspended animation. He decided he’d unfreeze Danny in another few minutes, wanting to see if he’d topple over when Charlie became mobile again. Mr. Pearson wasn’t doing this with any malicious intent, he was merely carrying out the exercise as just another scientific study. Danny did fall off Charlie’s back all right, but the reason he did so didn’t do anything to further Mr. Pearson’s research. Charlie was so anxious to thank him, he went down on his knees the second he got close enough, wrapped his wings around him in gratitude, then licked his face with his tongue. Naturally, Danny slid to the ground as this was taking place, totally oblivious that Mr. Pearson was wrapped in Charlie’s embrace, and was having the face kissed off him.
‘All right! All right! All right!’ Mr. Pearson managed to splutter good-humouredly, as his skin was being sandpapered in affection. ‘That’s enough, thank you very much! Now please let me go, if you don’t mind! I realise you’re grateful, but this is ridiculous!’
Charlie instantly did as he’d been requested. This in itself was amazing. Danny was normally the only person on earth whose commands he’d obey. When there were other people within earshot, Danny only ever used Animal-Speak when issuing orders to Charlie. And he spoke to his other animal friends in the same manner for the same reason. But both he and they could also converse in English if they so wished.
Animals in general preferred humans to remain in ignorance of their ability to understand everyday language, and Danny respected their wishes for this to remain a secret. So Danny would have been hugely surprised had he been conscious to see Charlie back away immediately as soon as Mr. Pearson told him to. The tears of gratitude in Charlie’s eyes would have been something of a mystery to him too. Later, after hearing of how Mr. Pearson had saved his life, he understood them only too well.
Mr. Pearson was quite modest about the whole thing. After he’d brought Danny around, he explained how he’d just happened to be passing by, and was only too happy to be of assistance. He didn’t go into very many details, refraining from informing Danny he’d set out specifically to test his invention, or, indeed, why he’d resorted to constructing it in the first place. Danny already knew he worked in an electronics plant, and was into all sorts of gadgets. He was hardly likely to forget the one that had held him helpless the morning he’d foolishly taken Charlie for a walk in his original form. It had certainly held him fast until Mr. Pearson was forced to shoot away from the bedroom window as Charlie had been showing off his wall-climbing abilities.
Now, as he listened to Mr. Pearson explaining some details of his invention, and how various buttons could be brought into play for different needs, Danny was in absolute awe. Here was a Mr. Pearson a million miles removed from the one he thought he knew. Every time Danny had seen him previously, he was practically being towed along by his wife as though on an invisible lead. But this was a different man entirely. He was confident and friendly, and not in the least bit proud or boastful about what he’d just accomplished. He didn’t seem to even notice that the terrifying monster that Charlie now was, was gazing at him with what could only be described as a mixture of admiration and adoration. And that sort of reverence, coming from a pterodactyl, was something to behold.
‘But you saved my life, Mr. Pearson,’ Danny said for about the fifth time, after each of his attempts to thank him had been brushed aside as nothing to get excited about. ‘Only for you I’d be dead now.’
‘Well, I suppose,’ Mr. Pearson conceded. But I’m sure you’d have done the very same for me if the circumstances were reversed.’
‘But I wouldn’t have been able! You’re a genius, Mr. Pearson. I’ll never be able to repay you for what you’ve done. But let me do something! Please! Anything at all. All you’ve got to do is ask.’
Charlie was feeling very guilty. He wished a hole would appear to swallow him up, or that Mr. Pearson, much as he admired him, would go away, so that he could turn into a squirrel or something, climb up a tree and hide his face in its foliage. Then he heard Mr. Pearson saying something which made him wonder if his prehistoric ears were playing tricks on him.
‘Well, there is one thing, seeing as you’re so insistent. I’d simply love to zoom around up in the sky the way you were doing earlier. It looked so exciting! Do you think you could persuade your friend to let me have a go?’
‘Are you sure, Mr. Pearson?’ Danny asked nervously. ‘You saw what happened to me.’
‘I’m certain, Danny. Absolutely certain. I’ve got something special to celebrate tonight.’
Danny watched anxiously from the ground. He needn’t have worried. Charlie had learned his lesson. But he didn’t hold back too much either when providing the thrills Mr. Pearson had asked for. He dipped and rose and tilted ever so slightly as he sped along, skimming in between trees, only missing colliding with them by a hairsbreadth, giving Mr. Pearson the flight of a lifetime, without any fancy looping the loop or aiming for the moon that might possibly precipitate another accident. He thought it was the least he could do for the man who’d just saved Danny’s life.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Lily was glad to feel the cold night air in her face after Mrs. Stevens finally agreed to take her for a short walk. She knew for certain now all that talk about wild animals and ugly monsters was nonsense. Mrs. Stevens would never have taken her outside otherwise. It was a bit scary, though.
It was very, very dark, and Lily couldn’t help but wonder why a rich woman like Mrs. Stevens hadn’t had proper lighting installed so that they could see where they were going. Apart from the faint glow of light underneath the extending roof of the house itself, everywhere else was covered in an impenetrable black cloak. But Mrs. Stevens seemed to know exactly where she was going. She held Lily’s hand tightly, so that Lily had to ask her if she could please hold it more gently, as she was hurting her.
‘I’m sorry, Lily,’ Anna said, loosening her grip slightly. ‘I just don’t want you to get lost.’
But Lily knew it was more than that. Her uneasiness about the whole situation she found herself in was causing her more anxiety with each passing day. She knew something wasn’t right. She realised she was only a child, and that her Mommy did peculiar things from time to time, but never anything quite like this.
And how was it that when she saw the house from the outside it looked enormous, yet inside where herself and Mrs. Stevens were staying was quite small in comparison? It was as though as soon as they’d gone in the main entrance that first day, the house had shrunk in size. It didn’t make any sense. She didn’t believe in magi
c any more than monsters and the like, so what was it, she’d asked herself over and over again, that was going on? And why hadn’t Mrs. Stevens allowed her to text her Mommy when she’d asked her to? Or even talk to her on the phone? The excuses Lily had been given hadn’t sounded very convincing to her.
Mrs. Stevens brought her right around the house. Lily noticed that one of the windows seemed to be covered in black paint or something. She hadn’t noticed anything like that from the inside. That was another thing to add to the list of her concerns.
Lily couldn’t say afterwards what had come over her. She just instinctively felt it was the right thing to do. If she’d planned it beforehand, she imagined she’d have been too scared to even try it.
‘Excuse me, Mrs. Steven, but my lace has opened.’ she said as they were coming back around to the main entrance again. ‘I don’t want to trip and fall.’
Anna released Lily’s hand. ‘We couldn’t have that, now could we?’ she said, kneeling down to tie the offending lace. ‘Your Mommy wouldn’t think I’d been taking good care of you if you went home with a bruised knee.’
Lily grasped her chance as soon as Anna knelt down. She hadn’t expected her to, but it made her task that little bit easier. She leaned forward and shoved Anna’s shoulders as hard as she could, sending her sprawling, then raced off blindly into the inky darkness as fast as her legs could carry her. But, oh dear, the thing was now to decide in which direction she should go?
The field over which she raced was very uneven. She fell a few times, once stumbling into an unexpected hollow, then was tripped by a big turf of grass which had grown into a miniature hillock. Next, she ran full tilt into a gorse bush she didn’t see until it was too late. She scratched her legs, but hadn’t time to worry about it. She’d more important things on her mind. Like trying to locate that big steel gate hidden behind the hedge Mrs. Stevens had driven through the day she’d brought her here.