She threw out her arm so that the cat was cast away downwards, and headfirst she let herself slither and slide after it. Starting to go up the stairs, Gary was knocked off his feet and the two of them ended in a heap by Abby.
As they struggled up, Abby grabbed them both and all three burst out into the garden.
That was the moment when three firemen, in masks and helmets, came running round the end of the building.
Matthew, who had watched it all from halfway up the path, not knowing what on earth he could do to help, ran to them.
“There's one still inside!” he yelled.
Even as the men swung round to enter the house, Roy lurched out through the doorway, smoke swirling after him. He made it over the doorstep, took three staggering steps up the path and then collapsed face down in the flowerbed.
* * *
It wasn't long before they were sitting in an ambulance, on the way to hospital for a check-up after breathing so much smoke, and for Roy's head-wound to be cleaned.
The woman para-medic said, “From what I saw, you kids did quite a job back there.”
There was an awkward silence, but Abby broke it. She could hear herself sounding just like Aunty.
“Yes, wasn't it lucky we turned up then. We'd all just got there, because we meet on that corner sometimes, helping Cherry to look for stray cats - she's mad on them, aren't you Cher - when there was this big bang and everything went up in flames. Was that when you got your cut, Roy?”
He jumped, then nodded, looking at her with such gratitude that she laughed, turned it into a cough, and ended up choking.
“I wonder what caused it?” she went on, once she could breathe again.
“Had to be gas,” the medic said, “to have gone so fast. Probably leaking pipes. Must have gone up like a bomb. Can't blame squatters with it all bricked in. Could be a firework went down the chimney and set it off. Actually you were pretty lucky yourselves!”
“There were some big rockets just before. That's what it must have been then,” Abby said. “Do we all think that?”
She looked a question at the others, seeing what a state they were in. Roy was the worst, with blood down the side of his white face. Cherry and Karen were still having a job to breathe without choking, but Matthew was actually grinning. A lift back up to the hospital was suiting him very well. He had plenty to tell John, and he'd even get answers this time. Gary seemed to be in a contented dream of his own.
“We thought it was a gas explosion too, didn't we,” she said again. “The way it just went up as we were turning into the alley. Didn't you say that, Roy?”
“Uh, yes,” he mumbled, and the others nodded, meeting Abby's look. Trust Abby, Cherry was thinking. But why not. Roy had been going downhill, getting really stupid, but he could never have meant it to happen like it did. And the two of them did do all right at the end.
“Hey Cherry,” Abby went on, “you found the moggy then! I saw it come flying out of the smoke.”
“Yep,” Cherry said. “I knew as soon as I picked it up which one it was! I was thinking it didn't deserve to be rescued ‘cos it's been telling me it was a stray for ages and all the time it was stuffing itself in Jim and Amy's. Then I remembered I owed it something. It saved me once, didn't it!”
She looked straight at Karen, who glanced down quickly, shaking her head, then at Roy who made a movement with his hand as if to push away the words, or the memory.”
But then she giggled. Her sparkle was coming back fast. “Forget it,” she said. “Good job it knew me anyway, or I couldn't have caught it. Matt, tell us about John. Is the coma really over? When's he going home... ?”
Dear Reader,
Whoever you are and wherever you are, if you enjoyed this story do let the writer know. You could tell your teachers or friends about it too. You might also like to try 'Dan and the Teacher Ghost' as well if you fancy a spooky story.
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Nightmares in the Dreamhouse Page 12