The Feral Child

by Che Golden

  “It can’t be,” said Maddy.

  “Maybe it is,” said Roisin. “Maybe it exists in both places at the same time. You know, like parallel universes.”

  “Is that possible?” asked Danny.

  “At the moment, I’d believe in anything,” said Roisin.

  Maddy studied the mound carefully. For a second it blurred. Then it shifted back into focus again with a sharp buzzing noise she could feel crawling around. She shuddered. “It certainly looks like the one at the castle. I think we should head back here as soon as we’ve found Stephen.”

  The laughter faded out of their eyes as they looked about them.

  “Any ideas about how we do that?” asked Danny.

  “Well, that tower is the only sign of civilization we have seen so far,” said Maddy, “so I say we head for that and see if anyone there can help us. He might even be there.”

  “You said this faerie stole him,” said Roisin. “What are we going to do if he doesn’t want to give him back?”

  Maddy shifted the backpack on her back and heard the pokers clank against the horseshoe. “We’ll have to deal with that when we find him.”

  “It doesn’t sound like much of a plan,” said Danny.

  “It’s not, but feel free to think of a better one,” said Maddy as she whistled for George. “Right now, I suggest we get going.”

  “We don’t know how to get to that tower!” said Danny. Maddy began to walk down the hill, Roisin skipping ahead, while George ran in giddy rings.

  “Is it going to come to you sitting on wet grass in the middle of who knows where?” asked Maddy over her shoulder.

  Danny shrugged and followed them down the hillside.

  They plunged into the dense forest, the evergreen canopy blocking the sky. They were pleased to find that there was a path, and they followed it. Now and then they heard the sound of sweet singing drifting to them through the air, and they saw lights bobbing among the trees. Sometimes tall, elegant creatures who radiated light passed close by carrying lanterns, the warm yellow glow bathing their lovely faces. Impossibly tall men and women glided over the forest floor, turning to talk to one another, a laugh tinkling through a group of them like a bell. Their richly embroidered clothes rustled and whispered as they swept past, taking no notice of the children.

  Maddy wanted to stare at their perfect faces, but for some reason the sight of the faeries made her mind blank with panic. They were beautiful, like paintings come to life, but their eyes and faces were hard and cold. She could see jeweled daggers sparkling at their waists, and something told her there was a good chance she wouldn’t wake up if she ever fell asleep in their company. Roisin and Danny were quiet and white-faced when they saw the faeries, so she knew they felt the same way. Every time a faerie passed by, they crouched in the undergrowth like rabbits, their hearts beating in their throats.

  Not all were lovely. As they hid from one shining group, a darker faerie hurried along in the bright ones’ wake. This creature was stooped and wrapped in a murky cloak that covered even its feet. A chill radiated from it rather than a light, and as the creature passed them by, Maddy caught a glimpse of a twisted, cold face.

  The farther into the woods, the fewer faeries there were. The forest was dark and thick here, a wilder place. Brightly colored birds swooped and fluttered around them, perching on snow-crusted branches to sing silvery songs that bubbled from their throats. Soon the air was thick with songbirds, and Maddy held her face and hands up as they swept over. The breeze from their wings puffed against Maddy’s skin, bringing the scents of wild flowers and wet grass as they brushed their soft, feathered bodies against her chilled fingertips.

  The gloom lightened as hundreds of tiny faeries appeared in a cloud and mingled with the birds, light pulsing from their bodies as their translucent wings beat as fast as a hummingbird’s. These sprites swarmed, sparks streaking in their wake. They raced the songbirds and tickled their bellies, lifted strands of Maddy’s and Roisin’s long hair and tugged, and they pinched and stroked any bare skin they could find. They whirled around Danny, spinning a web of candy-colored sparks. He laughed and held out his hands to the little creatures, tempting them to sit on his palms. The faeries ignored him and whirled faster and faster, sparks fizzing and spraying into the air. The colors shivered across the snow and lit up his face like fireworks.

  “This is wonderful!” he cried.

  One faerie broke away and came to hover in front of Maddy. She stared at her for a moment before a smile split her tiny face. Then she leaned forward and touched the tip of Maddy’s nose.

  “Ouch!” Maddy yelled, as pink and blue sparks flew and a jolt of electricity ran through her.

  The faerie giggled and circled her finger at Maddy.

  “Buzzzzz,” she said.

  “Don’t you dare!” said Maddy. She lifted her hands up and clapped them hard. “Or else!”

  The faerie gave an indignant squeak, her face clouded with anger. She took off into the trees above, her friends racing to join her. Sparks rained down, and the air filled with the smell of singed hair. Maddy brushed her hands over her head to feel blackened strands break and fall away from her fingers.

  “Oh, Maddy, why did you scare them off?” asked Roisin. “They won’t come back now.”

  “I didn’t fancy getting barbecued by your little friends, that’s why,” said Maddy.

  “Hey, one of them is coming back,” said Danny. “C’mere, girl—I won’t hurt you.”

  The same little faerie who had tried to set light to Maddy’s nose fluttered down in front of Danny.

  “I’d watch her if I were you . . .” Maddy began, but it was too late. The faerie gripped one of Danny’s fingers. Her body glowed white, and then the light pulsed up Danny’s arm.

  “Ow, that really hurts!” he cried. The little faerie simply stuck her tongue out and flew up into the trees.

  Maddy laughed. It was good to see Danny on the receiving end for once. She glanced down at the leash wrapped tightly around her fist and looked for George, whom she had forgotten in all the excitement. She really shouldn’t have let him loose, but she was surprised to see him walking close behind her, his nose almost touching her heel.

  She was relieved that the grizzled old terrier had decided to behave himself. She didn’t need him chasing off after animals in here—she had no idea if she would get him back.

  A quick movement in the darkness beneath the trees caught her eye. It wasn’t much, a flicker of a lighter shadow, but it was enough. Something else was walking with them. She peered harder into the trees and saw what the birds and faeries had stopped her from seeing before.

  Long, dark shapes glided close to the ground, keeping pace with them as they walked along the path. Now and then, huge green eyes gleamed before the animal turned its head away and loped on. She could see them moving on either side of the path, and she realized they were surrounded.

  George hadn’t been behaving—he had caught the scent of wolves.

  Maddy watched as the little terrier carefully avoided looking to the left or right. He stooped lower and lower until he was practically crawling on his belly. When Maddy picked him up and hugged him close, he tucked his face into her armpit.

  She wanted to warn Danny and Roisin, but she was terrified to make a noise or do anything to break the tension. It was obvious the wolves knew they were there, but Maddy kept her eyes ahead and hoped that if she ignored them, they would leave them alone.

  Roisin was still giggling over the faeries while Danny walked ahead of them all in a huff, his pride injured. But after a while the silence pressing in around them became too obvious. Maddy saw Roisin look around, a frown on her face. When she spotted the wolves, she drew in a breath to scream, but Maddy grabbed her arm from behind. Danny looked back at them.

  “What’s wrong now?” he said.

  Just then a wolf stepped into a patch of light and looked straight at Danny, its tongue lolling from its mouth. Danny looked back at Madd
y, his own mouth opening in a panicked O, but she hurried past him, dragging Roisin with her.

  “Don’t say anything, don’t look at them, don’t wind them up,” she whispered as she overtook him. “Just keep walking.”

  Now Maddy realized how quiet the forest was. There was no trill of songbirds, no clicks of magpies, no harsh cries of crows. The only sound was their breathing and the occasional thump of snow sliding from an overladen branch. The wolves were silent and loped by the path, their huge paws stepping lightly over the carpet of leaf mold and pine needles.

  Maddy desperately searched the gloom for help, for someone, for a shack with a door that could be locked, anything. But there was no other sign of life beneath the dripping trees. Only the dark, shaggy shapes that drifted like smoke, keeping time with their footsteps.

  “Why are they not attacking us?” whispered Danny as his eyes darted from side to side.

  “I don’t know,” said Maddy. “Maybe they want us to run?”

  “Why?”

  “They like playing with their food?”

  “Are they herding us?” asked Roisin.

  “They haven’t made us go anywhere yet. They’re just following,” said Danny.

  “It’s Little Red Riding Hood,” said Roisin.

  “What are you on about?” said Danny.

  “Little Red Riding Hood,” said Roisin. “It’s obvious. The wolf got her because she was a bad girl and left the path. We’re staying on it so they can’t attack us.”

  “Rubbish,” said Danny.

  “Have you got a better idea about what’s going on?” asked Maddy.

  “No, but I mean, they look like normal wolves,” said Danny. “Unless someone read them the book, they don’t know anything about Little Red Riding Hood. Which means, if they are hunting us, staying on the path isn’t going to help. I’m climbing a tree. You should always climb trees if you think a wild animal is going to attack you.”

  “No, don’t!” squeaked Roisin. “Step off the path and they’ll get you. You have to stick to the rules. The stag said what we know would guide us.”

  “You two can do what you like,” said Danny. “But I’m not sticking around to become a main course.”

  Before either Maddy or Roisin could stop him, Danny stepped off the path toward the nearest tree. Instantly a shaggy gray wolf burst from the undergrowth and with a snarl leaped at him. Danny went down in a tangle of limbs.

  “Help, help,” he screamed. “Get him off me!” He beat at the wolf’s head as the animal bit into his arm and tried to drag him deeper into the undergrowth.

  Roisin stood frozen, but Maddy dropped George on the path and rushed to help Danny. She shrugged the backpack from her shoulders as she ran and unzipped it, pulling out the poker. Running full tilt into the wolf, she smacked it hard across the ribs with the iron rod. The animal yelped and let go of Danny to turn to face her. It growled and bared its huge fangs, eyeing the poker as she held it before her like a sword. Its ears swiveled round as Danny scrambled to his feet and made a dash back to the path. Maddy kept her eyes locked on the wolf’s as she stepped back slowly. The animal began to retreat itself, growls still rumbling in its throat, until the gloaming swallowed it whole.

  “That thing nearly had the arm off me!” said Danny, his voice shaking.

  “Are you surprised, you prat?” snapped Maddy. “You should have listened to Roisin. They’re not coming anywhere near us now.”

  “We’ve got to stay on the path. Stay on the path and we’re fine,” said Roisin, still rigid with shock. “We follow the rules and we’ll be OK. It’s just a faerie tale. Nothing really bad ever happens in faerie tales.” She looked at Maddy. “We can’t get hurt in here, right?”

  “Roisin, the big bad wolf ate Little Red Riding hood, remember?” said Maddy. “Did it hurt you much?” she asked Danny.

  “I’m not too bad,” said Danny. “My arm aches though.”

  He got to his feet while Maddy scooped George up again. The little terrier was panting with fear, and his breath rasped in the silence. She grabbed Roisin by the arm. “Come on—let’s keep moving.”

  As soon as they started to walk, the loping shapes appeared again. Roisin flinched and let out a little sob. Maddy squeezed her arm. “Just keep putting one foot in front of the other,” she whispered. “This path has to lead somewhere.”

  Then Maddy saw what was waiting for them up ahead. The forest opened up into a clearing filled with tall, frost-hardened grass. The path they were on led into the clearing, but there it stopped.

  It was a dead end.

  “What happens when the path runs out, Ro?” asked Danny.

  “I don’t know, do I?” snapped Roisin. “It never runs out in the story.”

  “Maybe this is what they want—a clear site, no trees to climb,” said Maddy.

  “Then we won’t go in,” said Roisin. “Let’s just turn around and walk back the way we came.”

  “But that way doesn’t get us home, Ro,” said Danny.

  “I don’t care,” hissed Roisin. “I am not getting off this path.”

  “I don’t see that we have much choice, Danny,” said Maddy. “Let’s just turn around slowly and walk back. Sooner or later they’ll give up, and we can find another way to get to the tower.”

  As the three of them turned to retrace their steps, a huge black wolf stepped on to the path in front of them. He planted massive paws in the grass to lower his head and snarl, showing what had to be the biggest pair of fangs Maddy had ever seen in her life. The hair on his back stood up as he paced toward them, narrowing his green eyes, his muzzle quivering as he peeled black lips back from his teeth. Saliva dripped from his mouth, and his tail twitched behind him.

  Carefully, all three children retreated, never taking their eyes off the wolf. His rasping snarl filled their ears, and his paws moved forward slowly and deliberately. They found themselves backing into the center of the clearing, where all around them wolf eyes glowed in the forest. The big black wolf stopped snarling, sat down in the center of the path, and curled his tail around his paws as neatly as a cat. He stared at them. The silence stretched tight.

  “What do we do now?” whispered Maddy, as George trembled in her arms.

  “I know it didn’t work last time, but I think we should climb a tree,” said Danny.

  “But that means running toward them,” said Roisin. “We’ll never make it.”

  The black wolf threw his head back and let out a long, trailing howl that shivered the silence apart. The pack grew excited, and Maddy could see them milling in the undergrowth, yipping and barking, but none joined in with the howl.

  Suddenly he bounded toward them. They dropped to their knees and curled in on themselves, their arms wrapping around their heads, as he leaped over them and raced away into the trees. The pack crashed after him, all grace gone, as they chased after their leader.

  The children stayed where they were for a few seconds, not daring to move a muscle. Maddy’s mind was numb with fear, and she kept waiting to feel the wolf’s hot breath on the nape of her neck. What she could feel was wet seeping through her jacket. She looked down at her clothes and the spreading yellow stain.

  “I don’t believe this!” she yelled as she held George away from herself.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Roisin.

  “It’s George—he peed all over me!” said Maddy.

  Roisin and Danny looked at each other and burst into hysterical laughter.

  “It’s not funny!” yelled Maddy, which made them laugh so hard they bent double, clutching their stomachs. She held George up in front of her face, his belly wet. “You’re a bad, bad dog,” she scolded. He wagged his tail sheepishly and licked her face in apology.

  Danny and Roisin subsided into giggles, while Maddy ripped up handfuls of the frosty grass and tried to wipe her jacket clean. She nudged George with her knee. “You could do with a wipe as well,” she said.

  “What was that all about then? Why didn’t tha
t wolf go for us?” asked Danny in a very shaky voice.

  “I have no idea,” said Maddy. “I am just glad he wasn’t feeling hungry.” She staggered to her feet. Her legs were rubbery with shock. “Well, the path stops here. I can’t see a clear way through the trees,” she said. “We are going to have to leave it if we want to keep going forward.”

  “Nuts to that,” said Danny.

  “Leave the path?!” yelled Roisin. Tears started to well in her big brown eyes. “You want us to do the one thing we know is going to get us eaten? Why do you think we should listen to you anyway? It’s your fault we’re here, your stupid idea to go after Stephen.” She started to cry.

  Maddy looked at Danny, who shrugged his shoulders in disgust.

  “I’m not standing around here waiting for them to come back,” he said. “She’s blubbing so much we wouldn’t hear them sneaking up on us. I’m going to climb a tree and see if I can spot a way out of here.”

  He went over to a huge old pine tree and started looking for a way up.

  “I did tell you to stay home, Roisin. I never asked you to come after me,” Maddy said.

  “Wherever you go, there’s trouble,” Roisin sobbed.

  Maddy felt hurt. She opened her mouth to say something back, but Roisin sighed and wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. “Sorry,” she sniffed. “I’m a bit freaked out.”

  “Um . . . yeah . . . no, that’s understandable,” said Maddy, surprised.

  “I hate it when I cry,” said Roisin, scrubbing at her wet face. “It doesn’t mean I’m a coward, you know. I just cry easily, that’s all.”

  “I never said you were,” said Maddy.

  “He does,” said Roisin fiercely, jabbing her chin in Danny’s direction. “He thinks I’m a crybaby.”

  “I’m not Danny,” said Maddy quietly. Roisin looked at her for a moment and then offered a watery smile.

  Embarrassed, Maddy looked toward Danny to see how he was doing, but he was standing as if rooted to the spot. She frowned and walked over to him.

  “What’s up with you?” she asked.

  “The tree is staring at me,” said Danny, his eyes never leaving the trunk of the pine.