by Terry Nation
Grisby stopped dead in his tracks. His hands began to shake and his face went deathly pale. Even his fur coat seemed to go a shade lighter. His whole body trembled.
“What is it?” asked Rebecca nervously.
Grisby could hardly speak he seemed so frightened. Finally he managed to croak out: “The GHOST warning. Come on. Run for your life!”
CHAPTER FOUR
Grisby exploded into action. He started to run at a speed that astonished Rebecca. From the back he looked like a great, green, grizzly bear. He seemed to have forgotten about his feet completely. They were moving so fast that they vanished into a blur.
Rebecca sped after him. She managed to draw alongside.
“What are we running away from?” she gasped.
“The GHOSTS,” panted Grisby. “Horrible evil monsters. If they catch us they’ll take us away and do wicked things to us!”
He managed a nervous glance over his shoulder and gave a little gurgle.
“Here they come!” he said. And though it seemed impossible, he doubled his speed, travelling now like a flash of green lightning.
Rebecca turned to see what had so frightened Grisby.
Coming along the path behind them were…‘things’. There was no other word to describe them. One moment they looked as though they were made from grey jelly, the next they seemed to be billows of oily smoke. You could almost see right through them.
Their shape changed as they moved. First they were toweringly tall, then slinkingly short. Thin, then fat. They seemed to have neither arms nor legs, but despite that they were moving at great speed.
Rebecca wasn’t sure whether she imagined it, but she thought she saw gaping red mouths and huge, sharp teeth. What she didn’t imagine was that these were the most frightening things she had ever seen. They looked like shapeless pieces of a nightmare that had escaped into day.
Rebecca didn’t stare for a moment longer than was necessary. Her legs moved so fast she couldn’t feel her feet touching the ground. She and Grisby were running neck and neck, and both were so breathless and frightened that they couldn’t speak.
They were approaching a point where another path crossed the one along which they were running. As they reached it, Grisby put out his right arm, then made a skidding turn to the left. Rebecca was so confused by this that she went on for several yards before she could stop and change direction. By which time Grisby had put a fair distance between them.
The GHOSTS were now catching up. The little mouse called fear was not only running up and down Rebecca’s spine, it was also crawling across her scalp and making her hair stand on end.
Grisby seemed to be heading for a group of wooden buildings some distance ahead. Rebecca could see many other people running in the same direction. All fleeing in terror at the approach of the GHOSTS.
As she drew closer, she could see that the other fugitives were running into a doorway in the centre of the largest wooden building. By the time Rebecca was close enough to see the place properly, everybody had vanished inside. Only she and Grisby were left running towards it.
Then Grisby reached the doorway, and he too disappeared.
Rebecca was alone now. The gaping black entrance was about ten yards ahead. She allowed herself a sigh of relief. She was nearly safe.
She was within one stride of the opening when, with frightening suddenness, the two great doors slammed shut in her face. She smashed into them with the force of a cannon ball, but was too scared to feel hurt. She banged on the door with her clenched fist.
“Let me in. Please let me in,” she yelled at the top of her voice. “Please…please, Grisby. Let me in.” But the doors stayed firmly closed.
Desperately, she turned around. The GHOSTS were less than a hundred yards away. They had spread out in a long line and were advancing slowly towards her. They were making a sort of hissing sound like ten million angry snakes. As they moved, they gave off a slithery noise.
They came closer and closer.
Rebecca looked swiftly to the right. There was nothing. To the left she saw there was a narrow opening between two of the buildings. She ran towards it, noticing there were no windows or openings of any kind in the wooden walls.
She darted into the gap and found herself in a narrow alleyway, flanked on each side by tall timber walls. Her footsteps echoed and clattered as she ran.
Behind her the first GHOST darkened the entrance. It oozed forward to follow her and the others slithered along behind it. They were moving quickly now. Rebecca reached the end of the alley where it made a sharp right-hand turn. She hurried along the new section. Then stopped in horror.
A high blank wall barred her way. It was a dead end. Rebecca clawed at the wall trying to find a handhold so she could climb to the safety of the roof. It was impossible.
She heard a sound behind her and spun around. There was a GHOST at the corner. It gave a loud hiss, and she saw several more of the creatures crowd up behind it.
They started to slither towards her.
CHAPTER FIVE
Rebecca pressed her back against the end wall of the alley and wished that the ground or sky or the wall would open up and swallow her. But they didn’t.
The GHOSTS edged closer. She could hear their heavy, eager breathing. By now there seemed to be a whole family of fear mice scampering all over her body. The GHOSTS, who thrived on fear, sensed Rebecca’s terror. They seemed to crackle with laughter, knowing their victim could not escape. Rebecca put her hands over her eyes and peeped through her fingers. There was only one thing left to do.
SCREAM!
She felt the scream start somewhere deep down in her body. It travelled up through her chest, along her throat, and had nearly reached her mouth, when she heard a sound. The scream halted and lurked behind her teeth not knowing if it should come out or not. The sound came again. From above her.
“Zarrrooo!…Thwak!…Bamo!” the voice said. “Fear not, small, innocent, trembling child. Captain ‘K’ will save you!”
Rebecca stared up the high walls to the edge of the roof. Perched there was the figure of a man. He was dressed all in red. She had no time to catch more than a glimpse of him before he launched himself off the roof and dived headlong towards her, his little red cloak floating out behind him.
He hit the ground just in front of Rebecca with a sound like a jelly falling from a great height. He gave a moan of pain and said: “Splattt!” Then, with a few achey groans, he got to his feet, shook himself, and turned to face the GHOSTS.
From his belt he pulled what looked like a stick. It was not much thicker than a finger and half as long as his arm. He waved it around like a sword.
The GHOSTS stopped in their tracks and made angry hissing noises. The man in red moved towards them, waving the stick and jabbing it at the GHOSTS. As he advanced, he shouted: “Pow!…Zapp!…Zonk!…Kerchowww!”
To Rebecca’s delight the GHOSTS started to back away. Slowly at first, but then as panic gripped them, faster and faster. The man jabbed his stick at the nearest GHOST. There was a loud, wet, popping sound and it vanished like a soap bubble. The remaining GHOSTS turned and fled.
The scarlet figure followed them up to the corner and watched until all the GHOSTS had disappeared. Then he turned and started back to where Rebecca was standing.
She had her first chance to take a good look at him. He wore black boots and red tights. He had a long-sleeved ‘T’ shirt in the same colour red, and on his head was what looked like a tight-fitting Balaclava helmet. Over his eyes was a red mask, and over that a pair of spectacles.
He would have looked quite smart except that all the clothes seemed to be about three sizes too large for him. The tights and ‘T’ shirt were wrinkled and baggy. There were a few darns here and there which had been made with wool that didn’t exactly match. The bit of his face that Rebecca could see underneath the mask seemed quite nice and friendly.
He smiled at Rebecca.
“Once more the forces of evil have been va
nquished,” he announced. His voice was a bit high and pipey.
“You saved me from goodness knows what,” said Rebecca. “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it,” said the man in red. “It is my sworn duty to champion the weak and the oppressed. To protect the innocent and fight for all that is good and decent.”
With a rather grand gesture he pushed the stick back into his belt, missed his aim slightly and tore a little hole in his tights. He tutted, wetted his finger, and dabbed it on the hole so the tights wouldn’t ladder. Rebecca remembered her manners.
“My name is Rebecca,” she said. “How do you do?” They shook hands.
“I,” said the man, “am the foerless fee…I mean the fearless foe…of all that is wicked. I have dedicated my titanic strength to the leeing of this frand…I mean the freeing of this land…from the tyranny of the GHOSTS.”
“What’s your name?” Rebecca asked.
The man in red smiled a modest little smile. “People call me Captain ‘K’,” he said.
“You say people call you Captain ‘K’,” Rebecca said, “but what’s your real name?”
He looked a bit shifty and embarrassed. “You’ll laugh if I tell you,” he said.
“No I won’t,” promised Rebecca.
“Well you mustn’t tell anybody,” said Captain ‘K’, “but my real name is…Kitty.”
Rebecca giggled.
“I knew you’d do that,” he said mournfully. “Everybody does. It’s very hard to be a hero with a name like Kitty.”
He looked very miserable. Rebecca tried to cheer him up.
“You don’t look like a Kitty,” she said. “Let’s pretend you didn’t tell me your name. I’ll always call you Captain ‘K’.”
The mouth beneath the red mask spread into a beaming smile that revealed two large front teeth with a gap between them. He straightened his rather rounded shoulders, jutted his slightly receding chin and stuck out his less than ample chest. He took Rebecca’s hand.
“Come along, friend,” he said. “Let’s tell the people in the GHOST shelter that the danger is past.”
Rebecca felt very proud that he’d called her his friend.
CHAPTER SIX
Captain ‘K’ knocked on the door of the GHOST shelter and called that the raid was over. Soon the people were streaming out and returning to their homes in the glass city.
Rebecca noticed that standing by the door of the shelter was a man who collected money from everybody as they came past. He was wearing the most spectacular suit she had ever seen. Every inch of it was covered with precious stones. They glittered and gleamed and dazzled. When he caught the light you could hardly look at him. There was sparkling jewellery on his wrists and fingers and around his neck. He looked like a firework going off.
When she was able to see beyond the dazzle, Rebecca observed that he was very handsome. Gleaming white teeth. Suntanned skin. Beautifully styled hair with flecks of silver. But what was nicest about his face was that it seemed so happy. His eyes twinkled with laughter and he smiled all the time.
Rebecca nudged Captain ‘K’. “Who is that?”
The Captain twisted his mouth into what he thought was a sneer.
“That,” he said, “is Mister Glister. A cruel, wicked and heartless monster. He exploits the peak and the woor…I mean the weak and the poor. He is an all round bad egg. He is my avowed enemy.”
Rebecca couldn’t believe her ears. Mister Glister looked such a nice man.
The last two people to leave the shelter were Grisby and another man, who wore a long, black overcoat and a false moustache. It was obviously a false moustache, because every time he spoke it slipped down on one side and had to be pressed back into place. Grisby and the other man gave Mister Glister some money, then all three walked across to where Rebecca and Captain ‘K’ were standing.
Rebecca blinked in the blinding light of Mister Glister’s suit. When he spoke his voice was as soft and smooth and sweet as blackcurrant cordial.
“Hello, Kitty.” Captain ‘K’ writhed uncomfortably at the mention of his name. “How is the do-gooding business?”
Mister Glister pointed to the little piece of stick in Captain ‘K’s’ belt. “I’m still willing to buy your GHOST stick from you. Just name your price.”
Captain ‘K’ put a protective hand on the stick. “I’ll never sell this,” he said, trying to make his voice sound very deep and heroic. “It will never leave my side until your power is broken forever.”
Mister Glister didn’t seem in the least put out.
“Tell you what I’ll do,” he said. “I’ll give you your weight in diamonds, throw in a ton or so of gold, and just for good measure a bucket of assorted rubies and pearls. Emeralds too if you like.”
Rebecca’s mouth fell open. All that for a little piece of stick?
Captain ‘K’ shook his head so violently that his spectacles fell off. Mister Glister shrugged.
“OK, pal…have it your way.”
Then Mister Glister looked at Rebecca and gave her one of his dazzling smiles. “I’ve not seen you before, young lady. Come to tea this afternoon and tell me about yourself. About four o’clock.”
“Thank you,” said Rebecca. “I’d like that very much. In fact I’m quite hungry.”
Mister Glister nodded, smiled again and turned to walk away towards the city. He looked like a very slow shooting star.
Grisby introduced the man with the false moustache. “This is Kovak,” he said.
Rebecca shook hands with him. The little jerking motion made the moustache fall right off. He picked it up quickly and pressed it back on a little lopsidedly.
“Why do you wear that?” asked Rebecca.
“I’m a spy,” said Kovak in a secretive whisper, looking around to make sure he was not overheard. “I’m known as the master of disguise…the man of a thousand faces.”
“All of them embarrassingly alike,” added Captain ‘K’ softly.
Kovak ignored the interruption. “Watch this,” he said.
He turned his back, made a quick movement with his hands across his face, ruffled his hair, and then turned around to face Rebecca again.
“What about that?” he asked proudly.
He was wearing a black eye patch, a big red celluloid nose and a ginger wig. But there was no mistaking that it was Kovak.
“Very good,” said Rebecca doubtfully.
Kovak smiled modestly.
“Everybody says that. Sometimes,” he went on, “I even fool myself. Only yesterday the ’phone rang. I picked it up and somebody asked for me. I looked in the mirror, didn’t recognise myself and told them I was out.”
“That’s very interesting,” said Rebecca. “Who do you spy for?”
Kovak shuffled his feet a little uneasily. “To tell you the truth,” he said, “I’m unemployed at the moment. You don’t happen to know anybody who wants a spy do you?”
Rebecca said she didn’t.
Captain ‘K’ suggested that they all walk into town, and they set out. Grisby limping and moaning about his painful feet. Kovak changing his appearance all the time with a variety of false noses, wigs, beards and moustaches. And Captain ‘K’ striking dramatic gestures and muttering things like “Pow!…Zapp!…Zerunccch!”
Rebecca looked at her new friends. Things certainly were not dull on this new world of hers, but the people were a bit odd.
CHAPTER SEVEN
The city of glass was quite the most beautiful and fantastic place Rebecca had ever seen. The glass was made in rainbow colours. The buildings spired into the sky, and arched and dived and flowed. It was as though a vast display of fountains had been frozen into still life.
Rebecca’s new friends pointed out all the places of interest. What didn’t need pointing out was that almost every shop and building had Mister Glister’s name outside. He seemed to own everything.
After they had walked around the city, they made their way to a paved garden in the centre and sat on a bench
. Once again Rebecca noticed the total absence of trees.
She mentioned it to her companions. Immediately, Captain ‘K’ looked as though he was about to cry. Grisby looked more miserable than ever. And Kovak, who was in the middle of changing noses, was so surprised that he plonked the new nose in the middle of his forehead, which made him look like a unicorn.
They pulled themselves together and told Rebecca the story. Captain ‘K’ began.
“Years and years ago,” he said, “this planet was virtually one great forest. A forest of the most beautiful trees you ever saw. They were tall and graceful. Their leaves had a thousand colours and glittered like humming birds, and at night they glowed with warm, gentle light. The scent from their blossoms…”
Captain ‘K’ couldn’t find the words to describe it. Indeed at the memory of the trees, his voice choked and tears started to run down his mask. Grisby took up the story.
“Then the Glister family discovered how to make glass,” he said.
“I don’t see the connection,” said Rebecca.
“Well,” went on Grisby, “they needed great furnaces to melt the special minerals and the only way they could keep them fired was with wood from the trees. Everybody wanted things made from glass. I tell you, when I was a lad and my feet were young, this land rang with the sound of axe and saw. Day and night. It wasn’t long before nearly all the trees were gone and this city had taken the place of the forests.”
Grisby sniffed a bit and rubbed his left foot. Kovak chipped in.
“Our fathers and grandfathers and great grandfathers, and even the fathers before them, had always called them GHOST trees. Nobody knew why. Of course, when we found out why it was too late.”
“Found out what?” asked Rebecca. She was fascinated by the story.
Captain ‘K’ took over again. “We found out,” he explained, “that the scent from the trees, in fact everything about the trees, was what kept the GHOSTS away. When they were nearly all cut down the GHOSTS had nothing to keep them back, and they invaded.”