29
A Shadowy Figure
At first, the sirens sounded as if they were somewhere off in the distance, but they were fast becoming louder and louder. From the noise it sounded like an entire fleet of police cars was speeding towards Raj’s shop. Jack’s eyes darted towards the newsagent accusingly.
“I didn’t call them! I promise,” said Raj.
“Mum must have!” uttered the boy. With no time to lose, he grabbed his grandfather’s arm and hurried him towards the door. “Wing Commander, we need to get out of here. NOW!”
But as they raced out into the dark, it was too late. They were surrounded.
Brakes screeched as a dozen or so police cars trapped Jack and Grandpa in a semicircle. There were blinding lights and a deafening noise.
“Put your hands up!” shouted one of the policemen.
The pair did what they were told.
“It’s straight to a prisoner-of-war camp for me. Colditz Castle, knowing my luck. Take care, old boy! See you back in Blighty!” whispered Grandpa.
Raj followed them out. He had attached his white handkerchief to a Curly Wurly and waved it like a flag to surrender. “Please don’t shoot! I have just had the front of my shop redecorated.”
Jack’s parents must have been travelling in one of the police cars because now they broke through the line of officers.
The pair ran towards their son and embraced him.
“We were so worried about you!” said Dad.
“I am sorry,” said Jack. “I didn’t mean to worry you.”
“Well, we were worried, Jack!” replied Mum, softening at the sight of her son.
“What’s going to happen to Grandpa?” asked the boy. “They can’t send him to prison.”
“No,” replied Mum. “None of us want that. Not even the police. I called that nice Mr Vicar tonight. Grandpa’s very lucky. By some miracle he has secured a place for him at that old folk’s home, Twilight Towers.”
Right on cue, a shadowy figure stepped out of one of the police cars. With the bright glare of the headlights behind her, at first all Jack could make out was her silhouette. She was a short stocky lady, with what looked like a nurse’s hat on her head and a cape draped over her shoulders.
“Who are you?” demanded Jack.
At a slow pace the figure walked towards him. Her high-heeled boots echoed on the cold, wet pavement. When she finally reached him, her face contorted into a pantomime of a smile. Her eyes were small and mean, and her nose upturned, as if she was sticking it against a window.
“Ah! You must be young Jack!” she said brightly. Her voice was light, but Jack could tell there was darkness lurking in her words. “I had a call from the charming Reverend Hogg. The vicar and I are so close. We share a concern for the elderly of this town.”
“I said ‘who are you’?” repeated the boy.
“My name is Miss Swine, I am the matron of Twilight Towers. And I’ve come to take your grandfather away,” purred the lady.
30
Twilight Towers
That night Grandpa was taken away to Twilight Towers. It was a condition of the police dropping their charges against the old man that he be sent there.
Needless to say, Jack had a sleepless night. All he could think about was his grandpa. So as soon as school had finished the next day, Jack raced over to Twilight Towers on his trike. The boy pedalled as fast as he could, desperate to see his grandfather, and desperate that none of the children from school see him on his toddler’s trike. Jack was saving up for a chopper, which looked more like a motorcycle than a bicycle, but so far only had enough for one of the pedals.
Twilight Towers was some distance from the centre of town. As the rows of little houses ended, so the moors began. Atop a hill sat an old building. Surrounded by a high wall, and with tall gates at the front, it looked more like a prison than an old people’s home. Disneyland it was not.
Jack trundled along the dirt track on his trike. He stopped as he reached the gates. These were made of thick metal, with spikes on top. Two ornate metal ‘T’s for ‘Twilight Towers’ had been welded on to them. There was a sign outside which read –
The place had only opened recently. The town’s previous old folk’s home – ‘Sunshine Place’ – had been demolished by the unexplained runaway bulldozer accident. Twilight Towers was in fact a converted Victorian lunatic asylum. It was a tall, brick building, dotted with tiny windows. All the windows had bars on them. It may have been called an old folk’s ‘home’, but in truth this building had such a sense of foreboding that it could never be a home to anyone. The building had four floors and a tall bell tower stood on the roof.
Two more recently built observation towers stood at either end of the grounds. On top of both were huge searchlights, manned by big, burly nurses. Whether all this security was to keep people in or out remained to be seen.
Jack reached out to rattle the gates to see if they were unlocked.
The boy felt a bolt of electricity flash through his body.
“Argh!” It was as if he was turned upside down inside out back to front all at once. As fast as he could, he took his hands off the gates, and breathed deeply. The pain had been so intense, the boy felt like he was going to be sick.
“WHO GOES THERE?” came a deep voice through a megaphone. Blinking back tears of pain, Jack looked up to see a nurse calling down from her observation tower.
“Jack.”
“JACK WHO?” The loudhailer made the nurse’s voice sound mechanical like a robot.
“Jack Bunting. I have come to visit my grandfather.”
“Visiting is on Sundays only. Come back then.”
“But I have cycled all this way…” Jack couldn’t believe he was being refused entry. All he wanted to do was see Grandpa for a short while.
“Any visitors wanting to come to Twilight Towers on any other day must have permission from the matron.”
“I have!” lied the boy. “Yes, I saw Miss Swine last night and she told me to pop round this afternoon.”
“COME THROUGH THE GATES AND REPORT TO RECEPTION.”
BUZZ!
CLINK.
The gates opened automatically and the boy slowly pedalled inside.
The gravel path was difficult to ride on, especially on a trike made for a toddler.
Eventually, Jack made it to the huge wooden door. As the boy rang the bell he realised his hands were shaking.
CLICK CLACK CLICK CLICK.
There must have been ten different locks on the door it took so long to open it.
CLACK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLACK CLICK CLICK.
Finally a big, burly nurse opened the door. She had thick hairy legs, a gold tooth and a tattoo of a skull on her arm. Despite this she sported a name badge that read ‘Nurse Daisy’.
“WOT?” said the lady in a deep voice. There was not a person on the earth less suited to the name ‘Daisy’.
“Oh, hello!” said Jack, politely. “I wonder if you can help me.”
“WOT DO YOU WANT?” demanded Nurse
Daisy.
“I am here to visit my grandfather, Arthur Bunting. He arrived last night.”
“WE’RE CLOSED TO VISITORS TODAY!”
“I know, I know, but I met the lovely Miss Swine of this place last night, and I just wondered if I could have a quick word with her?”
“WAIT THERE!” said the nurse, as she slammed the heavy oak door on him. “MATRON!” he heard her shout.
There now followed such a long wait that the boy all but gave up hope of anyone coming back. Eventually, he heard heavy footsteps echo along the corridor, and the door swung open to a TRULY TERRIFYING SIGHT.
31
The World’s Ugliest Nurses
The matron of Twilight Towers stood in the doorway. The short lady was wearing her nurse’s cap, and was flanked by two incredibly bulky nurses who dwarfed her. One nurse had a black eye, and ‘LOVE’ and ‘HATE’ tattooed on her knuckles. The other had a tattoo of a sp
ider’s web on her neck and what looked like stubble on her chin. Both scowled at the boy. They were the ugliest nurses you could ever hope to meet. Jack’s eyes darted to their name badges – ‘Nurse Rose’ and ‘Nurse Blossom’.
Miss Swine was twirling what at first glance looked like a baton. Holding it in one hand, she then rhythmically tapped the palm of her other. The effect was one of quiet menace. At one end of the baton were two little metal prongs, and at the other a button. What was this strange contraption?
“Well, well, well… we meet again. Good afternoon, young Jack,” purred Miss Swine.
“Good afternoon, Matron. It’s lovely to see you again,” he lied. “Nice to meet you too, ladies,” he lied again.
“Now, we are very busy here looking after all the old folk at Twilight Towers. What is it you want?”
“I want to see my grandfather,” replied the boy.
The two nurses chuckled to themselves at the thought. Jack had no idea how what he had just said could be considered funny.
“I am so, so sorry, but it’s not possible right now,” replied Miss Swine.
“W-w-why?” the boy asked nervously.
“Your grandfather is having a little snooze. My old folk here do love a good snooze. You wouldn’t want to interrupt that now, would you? That would be rather selfish of you, don’t you think?”
“Well, I am sure if Grandpa knew I was here he would want to see me. I am his only grandchild.”
“Strange. He hasn’t mentioned you once since he got here. Perhaps he has forgotten all about you.”
If this was designed to wound the boy, it succeeded.
“Please!” Jack was pleading now. “I just want to see my grandfather. I need to know he is all right.”
“For the last time, your grandfather is snoozing!” Matron was losing her patience. “He’s just had his pills.”
“His pills? What do you mean ‘his pills’?” Jack wasn’t aware that his grandfather needed any pills. In fact, the old man had always refused to take medicine of any kind, saying he was ‘fit as a fiddle’.
“I personally prescribed some pills to help him sleep.”
“But it’s still early. He doesn’t need to go to sleep now. It’s not his bedtime. Let me see him!” The boy lunged forward to try and get inside. Immediately he was repelled backwards by Nurse Rose. Her big hairy hand caught his face, and threw it back like it was a ball. The boy stumbled on to the gravel and landed on his bottom. The nurses had a good laugh at this.
“HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!”
Jack scrambled to his feet. “You can’t get away with this. I demand to see my grandfather this instant!”
“The wellbeing of my old folk is of paramount importance to all of us here at Twilight Towers,” announced Miss Swine. Her two little eyes glinted in the low winter sun. “So we keep them on a strict timetable. And as you can see, the visiting hour is listed right there…” She pointed to a sign on the wall with her baton.
It read –
Twilight Towers
OPENING HOUR:
SUNDAY AFTERNOON 3PM TO 3:15PM
LATECOMERS NOT ADMITTED.
all other times we are strictly closed to all visitors.
“That’s not even an hour!” protested the boy.
“Boo hoo hoo,” replied Miss Swine, before offering a sinister smile. “Now, if you don’t mind, I have my old folk to think of. I can’t have a nasty selfish little child ruin everything for them now, can I? Nurses?”
“Yes, Matron,” they replied in unison.
“Please escort this young man off the premises.”
“Yes, Matron.” With that, the two burly nurses stepped forward. Together Nurse Rose and Nurse Blossom picked Jack up by his arms. Without breaking a sweat, they carried him down the gravel path towards the front gates. Jack tried to kick his legs, but the nurses were so big and strong that there was no way he could take them on.
The matron watched as the boy was carried off. She smiled to herself and gave Jack a little wave as she called after him,
“Missing you already! Do come back and see us again soon!”
32
Weeping Willow
Nurse Rose and Nurse Blossom dumped the boy right outside the gates, like he was a bag of rubbish. Jack’s trike was tossed after him and it landed with a clatter on the ground.
CLANK!
Then the huge metal gates whirred shut.
CLUNK!
From inside the two nurses watched as the boy picked himself up, got on his trike and pedalled off down the road.
By this time the sky was shot with red as the sun set. Night was about to fall. As Twilight Towers was set on the edge of the moors, streetlamps were few and far between. Soon it was dark. Real country dark.
After pedalling for quite a while, Jack looked over his shoulder. Twilight Towers was now a long way off, and just as he could no longer see the nurses, they could no longer see him.
Jack was a boy who was not going to take ‘no’ for an answer when it came to seeing his grandfather. What’s more, it was clear Miss Swine and her gang of nurses were not to be trusted. As he reached an area of woodland, he jumped off his trike before hiding it under a bush and covering it with branches – just as Grandpa had told him the RAF would hide Spitfires on the ground from enemy aircraft above.
Slowly, Jack made his way on foot back to the sinister old folk’s home. He avoided the road, and instead made his way across the moors that led to Twilight Towers. With only the moon illuminating his path, finally Jack reached the perimeter wall. It was a great deal taller than he was, and barbed wire snaked its way across the top. Climbing it was going to be impossible, so Jack had to think. And fast.
There was a weeping willow tree growing next to the wall, two of its branches just draping over into the grounds of Twilight Towers. There was one problem: the willow tree was in full view of both observation towers. From the top of these, huge searchlights swept up and down the grounds. This was going to be dangerous. Jack was frightened. He’d never even dared to do anything like this before.
Slowly but surely, Jack began to climb the willow tree. That it was winter and the branches were bare of leaves made it easier. After he had shimmied up the trunk, he edged his way along a branch. But disaster struck as it buckled under his weight and disturbed a flock of ravens that had been perched there.
The black birds made an awful racket as they took to the air in fright.
The beam of the searchlights circled in the darkness before stopping on the tree.
As fast as he could Jack edged his body around to the far side of the trunk to avoid detection. He pressed himself up against it, and stayed as still as a statue.
The lights froze on the willow tree for some time, before eventually moving off. But the nurses atop the observation towers would be suspicious now. One false move from the boy and he would be caught. Who knew what Miss Swine would do to him then?
After counting to ten in his head, Jack edged himself back around to the other side of the tree. On his hands and knees now, the boy crawled along the branch that hung over the vast grounds of the nursing home. But not being used to climbing trees, Jack made a miscalculation. He had spent too long painting model planes in his bedroom and was not one for the great outdoors. So Jack crawled right to the end of the branch, thinking he could let his weight act as a lever.
CREAK…
But the branch was not strong enough to hold him.
CREEEEAAK.
And it snapped.
SNAP!
33
Slither Like a Snake
The boy fell into tall grass. Searchlights from the observation towers circled the grounds of Twilight Towers. Jack lay there still and silent for some time, despite being badly winded by the fall. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the lights circling closer to him. A part of the boy was i
n a terrible panic and wanted to flee, but he remembered what his grandfather had taught him to do in a situation like this. Do not move a muscle. When the searchlights eventually shifted off, the boy looked up slowly. There was still a long stretch of exposed ground between him and the building. How could he possibly get there without being seen?
Another lesson Grandpa had taught Jack was, when in open ground, to slither like a snake. Jack never dreamed he would one day have to use these skills in a real-life adventure. But that’s exactly what the boy did now, as he made his way across the cold wet grass.
It was hard going, but finally the boy reached the main building.
The problem now was that Jack had absolutely no idea where Grandpa would be. Staying close to the wall, he traced around the building, ducking under windows as he went. There was only one way in or out of Twilight Towers. That was the front door, which the nurses kept locked, double-locked and triple-locked. Jack spotted a doorway at the rear of the building, but it had been bricked up.
Being careful not to be seen, the boy peered through one of the windows. He saw a dormitory that must have had about twenty beds in it. The beds were arranged neatly in two long rows, and despite it being no later than six o’clock, all the old ladies in there were already tucked up in bed. Glancing along at their faces one by one, Jack noticed they were all fast asleep. There was not a man among them, so the boy quickly moved on.
A couple of windows along, Jack spied into a room that looked like a chemist’s store. From floor to ceiling, the room was full of bottles of pills, medicine and syringes. A hefty-looking nurse in a lab coat paced up and down. There must have been thousands upon thousands of pills in that store – enough to put a herd of elephants to sleep, let alone a hundred or so elderly people.
After peeping through a couple more of the windows on the ground floor and finding only a filthy kitchen and an empty living room, the boy decided to search the next floor up. So he gathered his strength, and pulled himself up a drainpipe at the side of the building.
Grandpa's Great Escape Page 8