by Darren Lewis
She looked over to the curtains and saw a gap where they hadn't been closed properly. Moonlight shone through the gap. Did that wake me up, Ellie thought? She got up and slowly worked her way to the curtains, stepping over and nudging toys out of her way. She didn't want the sun waking her up too early otherwise she'd be grumpy all day. At the curtains she wondered what the garden looked like at night, as it was summer when she went to bed it was still quite light.
Ellie drew back the curtains. White moonlight bathed the garden and it looked beautiful. A soft breeze ruffled the long grass, causing the bushes to gently quiver. She looked up at the moon and saw it was full. When it wasn't cloudy, Dad said he liked to go outside at night and just gaze at the stars. When she asked why he just shrugged and said it was something beautiful that was there all the time, he felt privileged to see it. Looking at the moon now on this night Ellie understood a little of what he meant.
Ellie looked down at the garden again. Living in the countryside you sometimes saw foxes, owls and bats swooping around so she searched the garden, trees and bushes for these illusive animals. As her gaze roamed the grass and bushes she noticed something that seemed out of place at the back of the garden. For a moment she couldn't work out what she was looking at. She was seeing the garden in moonlight and the shadows were different, it looked strange and alien. There seemed to be a large black bar standing upright a few feet from the back of the garden. Ellie blinked her eyes and frowned, confused and unable to identify what it was. Behind the black bar was a dark rectangular hole. The moonlight glinted off the bar, which was why Ellie could see it, but the blackness behind it was complete. Nothing could be seen. Ellie looked back and forth from the bar to the black hole and had a thought. She looked around at her own bedroom door. It was always open to let light in from the hall. The light from the moon now glinted off the edge of her bedroom door, but she couldn't see the door itself, she was looking at it side on. Ellie's eyes widened in fear as she realised that what she was seeing inside, she was also seeing outside in the garden. The black bar was the edge of the gate, she was looking at it side on. Ellie drew back from the window, her heel catching a book, making her gasp in pain. The black iron gate was open.
*
Ellie opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. It was quite light. The sun shone through the gaps at the top of the curtains, making funny patterns on the ceiling. She blinked and tried to rub her eyes but her arms were squashed against her sides. On her left was Dad, his back to her, snoring softly, on her right was Mum with Jack asleep on her chest.
Ellie remembered what happened last night. After seeing the gate open she had run into her parent's room. Being scared she hadn't been quiet about it and unfortunately that had woken Jack. Mum and Dad had been angry at first as Jack had started crying but when they saw how frightened she was, Dad had given her a hug until she had calmed down. He had promised to look at the gate in the morning. When Jack had settled down they tucked themselves into the one bed. Surrounded by her family, Ellie felt comforted and safe and she had fallen asleep quite quickly.
She turned to look at Jack, who was awake but lying quietly, staring at his sister. Ellie reached out her hand and Jack grabbed it.
“Hi, Jack Rabbit.” She said. Jack smiled at Ellie's name for him. Dad made a snuffling noise and rolled over.
“Good morning my little animals.” He said. Jack giggled and Ellie huffed at being called an animal. Mum replied quietly.
“I hope you're not calling me an animal.” Jack and Ellie giggled this time. Then Ellie turned a serious look on her Dad.
“Daddy? The gate?” she reminded him. He nodded and stroked her hair with his free hand that wasn't squished up against her.
“Don't worry sweetie, I'll check.”
Chapter 3
Ellie stood in front of the black gate. It was closed. Dad had tried to make her feel better, saying she either dreamt it or maybe the wind had blown it open and then closed it again. But Ellie was quite sure the wind hadn't been strong enough to do such a thing. She didn't know what to make of it and felt a bit unsure about what she had seen. She stepped up to the gate and looked through the railings. The garden beyond was dark. Tall trees blocked out of most of the light. As Dad had noted, the path was surprisingly clear, though still matted with long dead leaves and dirt. The back of the house, like the garden, was mostly hidden in shadow, with the ground floor mostly swallowed up by ivy. The back door was just about visible in the gloom. Like the path through the garden the door was clear of ivy or any other vegetation.
Ellie looked over her shoulder. Dad had gone back inside to find some string or twine to secure the gate and stop it opening again, but as they were still unpacking it was taking awhile. From the open back door she could hear her Mum singing to Jack. Halfway through the song Ellie heard a noise from behind her. It wasn't loud so didn't make her jump. Instead it was a long drawn out creak. The gate was still closed and she knew a metal gate wouldn't creak, it would squeak. She looked further into the gloom. Maybe the breeze was making some of the tree branches creak? The trees seemed quite still though.
Ellie stepped right up to the gate and grasped the railings. She pressed her face against them in an attempt to see better into next door. Briefly the creak returned followed by a small bang of wood on wood. Ellie saw what had happened, the back door to the house beyond stood open. Ellie admitted that the wind could've opened this one and she was pretty sure she wasn't dreaming this time. There was nothing but darkness past the doorframe of the back door, and no matter how hard Ellie squinted or screwed up her eyes, she couldn't see anything. The longer she stared however the more she became convinced that something was staring back. The goose bumps on her arms and back of her neck rose and she shivered. She was about to call for Mum or Dad when something burst from the back door and into the garden. It was a great big ball of ginger fur, scrabbling claws and fluffy tail. Ellie jumped and gasped in shock but then quickly realised what is was and what she had probably been looking at.
“Grace. Good girl, come on then.” She called to her cat, chuckling, trying to encourage her to come over. Without thinking about it, she opened the black gate and continued making enticing noises to her cat as she walked down the path. The cat had wandered from the garden close to the back door again and sat there washing her ears. If Ellie had learned one thing about cats, it was that they pretty much did as they pleased. Distracted by the cat, Ellie had not paid much attention to the overgrown garden or the house until she reached Grace. The cat stood and twirled her way around Ellie's legs in greeting, she then looked up, waiting to be petted. Ellie grinned, squatted down and stroked Grace's back. Grace began purring and head butting Ellie's hand and knee for more attention. As Ellie continued stroking her cat she looked through the open back door and into the dark house. Now she was closer and more light was entering the room, Ellie could see part of a kitchen. It seemed mostly empty, but there was still a small table with two chairs and a very old fridge freezer. Ellie looked back at the garden and giving Grace one last stroke, rose and stepped back to study the rear of the house. The ivy, as she had noted earlier, had basically consumed the ground floor and was about to start an assault on the first floor. Ellie thought unless someone bought this house it would soon simply disappear, hidden from view forever by nature. The windows, if not broken, were dark and dirty, the frames starting to rot. It was a shame she thought as it would've been a very pretty house when it was built and now she was closer it wasn't scary, it just felt sad, sad at being abandoned. Grace had wandered over, her loud purr catching Ellie's attention so she leaned down and put out her hand for the cat to come over. Grace had other ideas though and scampered back to the door, her eyes intent on something inside.
“Grace, leave those mice alone.” Ellie told her. Grace had once brought Ellie the remains of a catch and left it on the doorstep. Mum had explained that it was a cat's way of taking care of its owner. Ellie thought that was very kind of Grace, but extremely gr
oss. Grace looked once at Ellie over her shoulder, gave a soft `wow' and ran into the house.
“Grace!” Ellie cried. Then she growled in frustration. Clearly the cat wasn't afraid to enter the house, but she couldn't leave her to run around it. Grace may get trapped somewhere. Ellie quickly looked towards her own house. Dad still hadn't returned to the garden, but thinking that it wouldn't take too long to find her cat, Ellie rolled her eyes in annoyance and entered the house.
*
On entering the gloomy kitchen, Ellie saw the swish of Grace's tail leaving the room, going further inside the house. She had a quick look around the room. Ellie saw layers of dust covering every surface. A few cobwebs, but not as many as you would expect in a deserted house. Stepping forward, she tested her weight on the wooden floorboards. They creaked loudly but seemed firm enough under her weight. The creak had made her look down towards the floor and she noticed something strange. She kneeled down and ran a finger across the floor. Her finger was almost clean, at least in a path from the back door to the rest of the house. It was if a carpet or rug had been laid down to stop this part getting dirty, or, Ellie thought, a lot of animals or people come this way. She shivered a little, reminding herself to be cautious as she searched for Grace. She rose and stepped through the kitchen door into a short hallway.
Soft grey light allowed her to see another room in front of her. Ellie slowly leaned in through the open door. There was no sign of the cat, just a couple of musty old chairs and a few books scattered across the dirty wooden floor. Ellie sniffed and smelled the dampness of the room and wrinkled her nose. Looking down the hallway, she saw the foot of a set of stairs and a closed door beyond that. Treading with care she made her way to the stairs avoiding the walls that were smothered in mould. At the foot of the stairs she found herself opposite the front door. More grey light flooded in through a large glass pane in the front door. Dirt and grime streaked the window, but it was lighter than the hallway. Grace was sat waiting at the bottom of the stairs, licking a paw.
“There you are!” Ellie said with relief, “Come on, we don't want you getting lost.” She reached for the cat, but Grace had other ideas and sprang away from Ellie's outstretched hand and ran around the back of the stairs.
“Hey!” she shouted, annoyed now that Grace was misbehaving. She chased Grace around the stairs. There she found an open door and a set of stairs leading down. Ellie shook her head and pulled a face, silly cat, she thought. As she looked down the stairs she realised that the stairs weren't dark and she could actually see to the floor of the cellar below. It was being lit in a very soft orange light from below that flickered like a fire. Ellie began nibbling on a fingernail, wondering if she should go any further alone. She had just decided to fetch Dad and he could get Grace from the cellar when the cat appeared at the bottom of the stairs. She looked at her and meowed. Ok, she thought, if I can't catch her at least I can chase her back out. Ellie went down the stairs, one hand on the wall to guide her. The stairs creaked and groaned but like the floor boards held her weight. Ellie made it safely to the bottom of the stairs where Grace was stood. The cat looked up into Ellie's eyes and she felt a chill pass through her. The last time she had been stared at like that was by her rabbit friends. The cat broke eye contact and looked into the darkness beyond the orange light. The cat almost seemed to sigh and then with amazing agility leapt around Ellie and darted back up the stairs. Ellie jumped back a little as Grace raced past her and she chuckled at the strange moods of cats. She looked up the stairs and saw something that drained the amusement from her face. Grace had stopped at the top of the stairs and was now stood on her back paws pushing on the cellar door. Before she could even move Ellie watched the cat close the cellar door and she heard, in horror, the sound of a key turning in the door, locking her in.
Heart hammering and chills running down her spine Ellie backed up against the wall near the stairs. She was taking short sharp breaths and was close to panic. What is going on here? She asked herself frantically. Her eyes darted around the cellar, at least the parts she could see. The orange glow was coming from an orb sat on a set of old wooden shelves. The glow flickered and danced creating writhing shadows. Ellie skirted around the wall closer to the light source, it made her feel a little safer. She looked into the darkness beyond the stairs, eyes straining to see something but not wanting to see anything. Ellie then heard something unexpected, a voice from the darkness. It sounded like a young boy.
“Uhh, hello?” it asked nervously.
*
Back up the stairs the cat was sat thinking. Had she made the right decision? She hoped so. She also didn't want Ellie to get into trouble with her parents so she decided to go and keep an eye on the rest of the family.
*
To try and calm down, Ellie took a deep breath. Was there a boy down here, hiding and afraid in the dark? She swallowed as her mouth was dry and replied.
“Hello, my name's, Ellie. Are you okay?”
The voice from the darkness responded.
“I'm okay. I know your name is, Ellie, she told me.” He said. Ellie's brow furrowed.
“Who told you?” she asked.
“Your cat.”
Ellie frowned and more confident now, slowly made her way back to the stairs. She sat down, resting her elbows on her knees. This was clearly an odd situation, though certainly not the first one she had been involved in.
“Okay. What's my cat's name, then?” she asked.
“Ginger.” Came the confident reply.
Ellie shook her head.
“No, it's Grace.”
“That's what you call her. But her real name, the name she has for herself is Ginger.” The voice explained. Ellie couldn't really comment on the truthfulness of that, she decided to try a different line of questions.
“What's your name?” she asked now. She sensed a hesitation from the dark.
“Colemanite.” The voice soft and shy replied.
“That's an interesting name.” Ellie commented, hoisting an eyebrow.
“You can call me, Cole.” Ellie nodded, that was much easier.
“Ok, Cole, you sound nervous, why don't you come out where I can see you, I don't bite?”
The question hung in the air. She could hear Cole shuffling around in the dark.
“Okay. Please don't be scared.” He sounded very nervous and Ellie felt sorry for this young boy who for whatever reason was hiding down here in the dark. His shuffling footsteps became a bit louder from behind her and she stood and walked back to the shelf that held the orange light so Cole could see her first. She detected a hint of movement in the darkness. It was strange, a dark patch moving against the blackness of the cellar past the stairs. Ellie tilted her head as she thought she saw something moving near the floor and then a large foot came out of the darkness and fell into the pool of orange light. Ellie realised she wasn't looking at a foot but a large pad, much like her cat's but with a set of razor sharp, vicious looking claws attached. They tapped as they moved forward. Ellie immediately backed up as much as she could. It made her knock into the shelves behind her, causing the light to sway and rock. In the moving light Cole emerged. After his claws there came a large snout and head, followed by a long thin scaly body with two folded wings on his back. Cole lay down in the light and rested his head on the floor bringing his long forked tail around him. He held the tip in his claws. Cole's eyes were still he closed. He raised his head to Ellie and she now noticed his eyes had been shut, he opened them. They shone a magnificent blue with flecks of gold. Ellie looked into those eyes and tears came to hers. These eyes were young and so, so sad.
“Hi.” Cole the dragon said softly.
Chapter 4
Ginger, formally Grace, trotted back through the gardens to Ellie's house. The garden was still empty so she went inside and could hear talking.
“Where's the string?”
“What string?”
“The string! The string we had in the useful drawer.”
“Well we did. Where's the box with the useful stuff in?”
“In the front room I think.”
There was a pause. Ginger sat down in the kitchen and scratched her ear.
“Honey?”
“Yes.”
“There are no boxes in the front room.”
Ginger rolled her eyes and went back into the garden, and lay down in the sunshine. Adult humans have a very strange way of communicating she thought, Ellie should be okay for a while.
*
Ellie and Cole were staring at each other. Ellie was thinking about last summer and all the wonderful things she had seen. Where did meeting a dragon fall on the scale of wonderful? He seems so lonely and sad. But, what if this is a trick? What if he now tries to eat me? Ellie's eyes widened as she considered the possibility just as Cole coughed nervously making her flinch slightly.
“Sorry.” Cole smiled a very toothy grin. Ellie snorted a laugh and relaxed. She suddenly was aware that Cole had lain down in a position so as not to frighten her. If he had come out of the dark all tooth and claws really wanting to eat her he would've done so and there would've been nothing Ellie could've done about it. Ellie studied Cole. She guessed he was about the size of their settee that she and Mum and Dad sat on. But his tail probably made him twice that length if not longer. It was difficult to see what colour he was, the orange glow made him look quite dark. Ellie felt comfortable enough now to continue the conversation.