~
Over dinner, Polly noticed that most of her guests was left-handed. 'That's an unbelievable coincidence,' Polly said, 'and so many twins. You Piers, and you Miles and Lily and Lucy, you are so lucky,' she said to Piers and Miles, I always wanted to be a twin.'
'Well, I thank God there's only one of you, Pollump,' Hamish said deliberately, grinning, knowing Polly hated her nickname.
'You are such a beast Hamish. For that, you can clear the table.' Piers got up to help and followed Polly into the kitchen.
'Anything I can do?' he asked. 'Apart from falling in love with you,' he added.
'You are such a flirt Piers,' she said and gave him a nudge. 'Take in the strawberries please, and ask who would like coffee.' He saluted, and did just what he had been told.
'Anything else you want me to do, Pollump?' Hamish brought the last of the dishes in.
Ignoring his nauseating humour, she said, 'what do you think of Gemma?'
'She really is stunning - not my type, but Nick is smitten. He hasn't taken his eyes off her all night.'
'Really? Any chance for Barbara?'
'Great if I wanted a dog - and a cocker spaniel at that.'
Trying not to giggle, Polly frowned and said, 'you are so mean, Hamish. She's incredibly successful, and looks aren't everything…'
'They are to me. Come on, sis, I've seen better-looking in the monkey house.'
'Yes, I thought the same.' Barbara came into the kitchen, and Hamish nearly died of embarrassment, she had heard what he'd been saying. 'Hamster is right, Polly,' she continued. 'Your animals do look sort of like monkeys.'
Hamish breathed a sigh of relief. Barbara had only caught the end of what he'd said. 'When I was talking, they both seemed to change colour. Well, their eyes did,' Barbara said.
Polly frowned again. What was that that fizzed in her head?
'Take in the chocolate cake please, Hams?' she said and followed him into the dining room as casually as she could. Piers was staring openly at her while Barbara was still talking and bragging, and the creatures were still changing colour if only slightly.
After the food was finished, and everyone was congratulating the two chefs, the visitors broke up into groups, drinking and enjoying the party.
The party's over
A knock sounded on the door, and Polly, who was deep in conversation with Piers and had no intention of leaving him, called. 'Hamish, get that, will you?'
Hamish walked down the hall, opened the door and was surprised to see his friend Ape.
'This is unexpected. When did you get back? We're having a party. Come on in. There's plenty of food and drink left.' Ape followed Hamish into the lounge.
'Hi sorry everybody I didn't mean to gate-crash.' And a tall, well-built man with a healthy tan walked into the room.
'Listen up, everybody!' Hamish shouted above the happy chatter. 'This is notorious gate-crasher and ex-SAS officer Captain Algernon Ponsenby Eagles - Ape for short.' Algernon looked round the room for any familiar faces.
'I was just passing, saw the light was on and called in for a second. I won't eat much.' Everyone laughed and said hi.
'I need to talk to you Hamish.'
'Stay Ape. Have a drink. We can talk later.'
'I have a friend in the car.'
'Bring him in.'
'It's a her,' Ape said.
'Well done old man. I'll go and get her. Polly pour Ape a drink and get him something to eat, he's always starving.'
And before Ape could say no, Hamish was out of the door, running down the drive. Ape excused himself and followed Hamish out.
'Hamish!' he called. 'Please! We have to talk it's very serious. Remember what I told you the other day about Rebels from another universe?'
Hamish was still not sure what was going on in Ape's head so decided to humour him. 'Can't it wait till tomorrow? My sister's in there trying to impress one of those blokes.'
'No, not if you want to save her life it can't.'
'What do you mean, save her life?' Hamish knew his friend was not prone to exaggerate, so this time, he took what Ape said seriously. 'Do you mean from those blokes in there?' He started to run back in.
'No, no. They are in as much danger.'
'So what is it?'
'Well, Piers and Miles are twins, and they don't know it, but the firstborn babies were stolen and taken to another universe. Now they are Rebels and, along with others, are planning to destroy Earth.'
'What are you rambling about, Ape? This is a lot to take in and understand. Look, I have fought with you for too long to dismiss what you are saying.' However Hamish thought, now he's going on about Rebels from another universe again. Maybe Ape was pulling his leg.
'Hamish, what are you doing out there?' Polly's voice floated over the garden.
'Just catching up,' he called back. 'Won't be a sec. Look, things will have to wait till this party's over. Will that be okay?'
'I suppose it has to be. We'll meet tomorrow morning at the Brown Sugar Café for breakfast with Polly and Alison. Get them to invite Piers and Miles. I want to see how much they remember, and we can go from there. Don't leave the girls alone tonight. I'm not sure how safe they'll be. Try and wind up the party as soon as you can, Hamish. I don't want the house to protect you by swallowing you all.'
'Swallowing us? Christ, Ape! Hamish said. He shook his head. The house swallowing us, now Hamish was convinced his friend has lost it or was drunk. Now I'm really worried.'
'You should be. Tomorrow at ten. See you then.'
'Hamish.' Polly's voice came across the garden.
'Coming Polly. Tomorrow, Ape, at ten.' And I hope he remembers Hamish thought.
Hamish waved goodbye to Ape and his mystery passenger and went back into the house.
~
As he walked in, the smile left his face. He could not believe what he was seeing.
'What…? What the bloody hell's happened?' he said as he looked round. The house looked like it had been attacked. Broken furniture and glasses were strewn round, and it looked like it had not been lived in for years. 'Polly! Alison!' Hamish screamed.
He dismissed his impulse to run for his life to call Ape for help. Instead, he ran into the house to find his sister and cousin and the others wherever they were, hoping no one was hurt, or worse.
At the bottom of the stairs, he stumbled over a body. 'Oh my God! Polly!' he said as he turned her over. She lifted her head and moaned. 'Thank God! Polly, are you hurt?'
'I think I must have fallen down the stairs,' she said.
'What on earth happened, Pol?'
'I don't know. I went upstairs to get a jumper, and that's all I can remember.' She rubbed the back of her head. 'I must have banged my head when I fell.' She touched the bump, 'ouch it hurts.' She opened her eyes and looked round and screamed. 'Oh my God Hamish, what's happened to the house?'
Hamish helped Polly up, and they walked into the kitchen.
'Where is everyone? Hamish, did a bomb go off, did everyone get out safely.' She suddenly collapsed, and burst out crying. 'What's going on in my head Hamish? I'm remembering things I know couldn't have possibly happened to me.' Polly exclaimed. 'And why am I still here?'
'Maybe because you were upstairs, whatever happened missed you. Let's look around and try to find Alison or any of the others and then get out of here, if what Ape told me is true, we are in great danger.'
They had a quick look round the house and then ran out the front.
'What about all the others? Where are they?' Polly said, her thoughts racing.
'I wish I knew.' Hamish frowned. 'I can only think the worst.'
Hamish had gone through a lot with Ape… so many sorties, so many fights. They were closer than brothers. He trusted him with his life, and whatever had happened, he now believed him. They had to meet him the following day.
~
They got to Hamish's house, and Polly slumped down on the sofa, still crying. 'I wish Alison were here,' she said, and
with that wish, Polly remembered nothing more.
The next morning, Polly and Alison woke, and they were both in Hamish's spare room.
'What happened?' Alison said. 'I can't remember us going home with Hamish.' But Polly remembered what had happened and thanked God Alison was with her. She jumped out of bed, calling Hamish as she did.
Chapter 2
Unexpected Invasion
Ape was already at the café when Hamish, Polly and Alison arrived. He gave Hamish a look that said. "Say nothing. Wait till we are alone".
'Where's everyone, Hamish?' Polly asked. Hamish told her everyone who was at the party was to meet for breakfast.
'They'll be here soon,' Ape said and thought back to the previous night.
Luckily the house had relayed to the Freeflyers the Rebels were going to attack Byzantine Crescent, that evening. They were going to kidnap all the guests and take them to the Dark Universe, and that wasn't going to happen. In the seconds Hamish walked Ape to the car, the Rebels attacked. But they had walked into an ambush, as the Freeflyers had already sent everyone to safety, but Polly. The battle that was fought destroyed the inside of the house, so when Hamish walked back in, Polly was the only one in the house. She was lying unconscious on the floor at the bottom of the stairs, and the house was wrecked. By the time Polly and Alison got to go back, Byzantine Crescent would look its usual self, smart house.
~
'Well,' said Alison, 'I'm dying for a cup of coffee, let's order.' But everyone was looking at the door as Brad Capriole and Steve Smith walked in.
'And where were you the other day Polly?' Brad said, a smile flicking across his full lips. 'I thought we had arranged a meeting.'
Before Polly could say a word, Hamish jumped up. 'Sorry Mr Capriole. I'm Polly’s brother. You will have to blame me.'
'No blame old son, and if you would invite us to join you, I'm sure we could forgive you.'
Brad waited for a nod from Hamish before he and Steve Smith sat down. He squeezed between Polly and Alison and called for a menu.
'So Polly,' he said, as he snuggled close to her. 'When can we come and see your house? It looked perfect from the outside.' He looked directly into Polly's eyes, expecting her to swoon and agree to his every wish.
'That can't happen,' interrupted Hamish. 'Sorry, Mr Capriole' Hamish said again. 'We're going to do some renovations soon,' he lied, 'and the noise would certainly disturb your movie making.'
Brad turned to Hamish, a look of distaste on his perfect face. 'I'm sure our little Polly here would love to star in my movie… with me,' he added. Polly looked at Brad, delight and disbelief on her face.
'What's the working title, Steve?' Brad asked.
'The House of Secrets,' Steve answered mysteriously. 'And Polly could be the star, along with her house.'
Lily brought some coffee pots to the table, as Barbara, with Piers and Miles in her wake, arrived at the café's door.
~
'So you are here,' Barbara announced. 'Piers said you would be Polly. Oh my God! I woke up this morning with a headache bad enough to drop a charging rhino. I honestly can't remember a thing, and the boys said the same. I was on my way to your house when I got your message and bumped into these two. So here we are. What was in that punch? None of us can remember getting home!' And she walked directly to the pastry display.
Ape stood, nodding to Hamish stay to keep an eye on the proceedings, and he quietly slipped out.
'As you were saying, Mr Capriole,' Polly said, speaking in her most posh accent, still not sure what to call him.
'He was saying nothing,' Hamish said. 'It's not going to happen.'
Barbara checked out all the cakes, ordered what she thought everyone would like and then walked over to the table.
'Here's my lippy… bottom of my bag as usual,' she said, looking up from the huge bag she had been ferreting in. She looked up and saw who was sitting at the table. 'It's Brad! Brad Capriole!' she screamed.
'Oh dear. Time for us to go,' Brad said. 'I'll call you later, Polly.' He looked pointedly at Hamish, and the two famous men rushed out by the back door before screaming women surrounded them.
'Who wants coffee?' Barbara brandished the coffee pot. 'And just look at these pastries I ordered.'
~
Piers and Miles had been in a state of shock since they'd woke in their beds that morning, decided they had to talk to the girls to find out what was going on. 'Not for us thanks, Barbara, we're leaving. Want a ride home, girls?' Piers looked at Polly and Alison.
'Well, I'm staying. Look at all these lovely pastries,' says Barbara. 'Hamster, share them with me. We can have such a feast, and a nice long chat.'
'No, not for me either, thanks anyway, Barbara. How much, Lily?' Hamish called out.
'It's gone on Brad Capriole's account,' Lily said. 'All settled.' Just before the door closed behind Polly, Lily called out, 'I'm going to close soon. Can I come round, Polly?'
'Of course! See you at home,' Polly answered, and they all walked out into the bright sunshine.
Hamish called out to Polly. 'Polly, come here. I want to talk to you.'
'No Hamish. You're not my boss. If you want to talk to me, you come here.'
'Don't make any decisions I might regret!' he shouted a grin on his face.
'Love you,' Polly called over her shoulder as she put on a crash helmet that was very becoming. She sat astride the motorbike and put her arms around Piers waist.
'Yeah, love you too. See you, Pollump,' he called back. 'Oh, do I have an invitation for dinner tonight?'
But Polly had gone. She always has food for me, Hamish thought. I'll pick up Ape, and we can both cadge dinner.
The Place called Eden
Rebels Zack and Knox lay back feeling totally relaxed, things were going their way.
'What now, eh, Knox? I think we should capture Piers and Miles and use them as bait for Polly and Alison.'
'Waste of time, Zack. I have a better idea,' Knox said. It took a mere smile, and within a tenth of a scannul, Brad Capriole and Steve Smith suddenly appeared in the garden.
'Welcome to the Garden of Eden, my Earth home,' Knox said.
'Amusing name,' Steve sneered. 'And for your next trick?'
'That's easy!' With a finger snap, a bottle of the most expensive Earth-side champagne, four crystal glasses, and four dozen oysters topped with caviar appeared on the table before them.
'Earth food and my favourites,’ Brad smarmed. That's what I like about you, Knox, you always do things with style.' He picked up an oyster and held out a glass, the crystal glass sparkled in the sun. 'This is a beautiful place. Now, what's this all about? I was in the middle of a very important meeting with this beautiful blonde.'
'We need your help.' Zack said.
'You need my help? Little old me? That's hard to believe.' Brad Capriole was openly sarcastic. 'And me… only an honourable Rebel.'
'Alright, Brad, how much?' Knox said. He looked Brad directly in the eye. Brad lost a little of his bravado but not all of it.
'Not how much, but what,' Brad said. He knew if Knox had summoned him, he was needed. He knew what he wanted, he wanted to be King the world, but would Zack and Knox give it to him?
More smoke and mirrors
'What's all this about?' Lily walked into the kitchen and saw Polly and Alison looking at travel brochures.
'Guess what!' Polly was so excited she was jumping up and down. 'We are all going overseas.'
Lily started to laugh. 'What are you talking about? With what? We're all broke.'
'Polly won it, and she doesn't remember going in the competition. The letter came through the post today. An overseas trip and she can take three friends.' Alison started to make Lily a cup of coffee. 'Will you be able to get time off work?'
'What do you mean, will I be able to get time off work?'
'Well, you are coming with us, aren't you?'
Before Lily could answer, the doorbell chimed.
'That'll be H
amish. He must have forgotten his key. I'll get it.' Polly raced to the front door.
Two young men stood at the door. 'Hi. We are from Universal Tours, with the tickets and cheque. Congratulations, Polly Pippin.'
Polly was overcome with excitement. 'Hello! Come in! We're having a celebration in the kitchen. We can't believe it.'
She turned and walked towards the kitchen the two men following. 'Ali, Lily, these gentlemen are from Universal Tours.'
The hellos went round the table.
'My name is Mann, and my friend here is Kind. We are here to help you with your travel plans.'
'Well, we have only just started to look,' Polly said.
'So we have no idea,' said Alison.
'And I've just been told,' Lily added.
The door chimed again. 'That will be Hamish.' Polly jumped up and raced to the front door.
'Hamish, guess what! I've won a trip overseas. The men who organised it are in the kitchen with Ali and Lily. I'm so excited.'
'Calm down, Polly, and tell me what's going on.'
'I've told you. Come on Ham, come and meet them.
Hamish followed by Ape walked into the kitchen, and Polly was surprised to see the two men were gone. Alison and Lily were drinking coffee, still looking through the brochures.
'Where have they gone?' Polly asked.
'They suddenly remembered they had an appointment and rushed out of the back door.'
'Anyway, they have left four tickets and a pile of traveller's cheques. We just have to decide where we want to go.'
'Is that right?' Mrs Hart said, as she suddenly appeared at the kitchen door. 'And what makes you think you can go away anywhere? I doubt if you will get permission from your parents to travel unaccompanied.'
'I agree with you Mrs Hart,' Hamish said. 'Not a good idea.'
'Hamish, you are such a pig.' Then Polly suddenly stopped yelling and said, 'what if I invite Hamish? With her voice laced with persuasion, she said. 'What if you come with us, Hamish? After all, I have four tickets.'
'That's not going to happen,' Hamish said. 'Sorry Polly, but no deal. You're not going.'
'I will never talk to you again, Hamish. Firstly, you are refusing to let Brad Capriole make the movie here, and now I can't go overseas. Well, my dear brother, I promise you both will happen.' And she flounced out with Alison following close behind.
Polly Pippin and The Tunnel of Death Page 3