by Paul Simpson
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” he screamed, as the portal spun faster, shrinking until it twirled into nothingness.
A sudden silence fell all around, even the storm outside came to an abrupt halt, the clouds began to disappear revealing clear full Halloween moonlight. It shone through the gaps in the attic roof and all the new holes obtained from the fight. From the corner of the room George appeared with a limp and Ffion rushed over to help give him support.
“Oh George, thank you! I never would have been able to do this without you!” she gushed with sincerity.
“That’s alright, what are friends for?” he replied with a wince of pain “I saw you lead Jack into the attic when I came to find you. It took me a while to find a way in. But what about your necklace? You won’t be able to change back to a human without it!”
“Unless somehow I can break the spell….” she pondered.
In the distance the church clock tolled midnight.
“At least I’m still here…” she mustered.
There was a long pause before either spoke.
“George, listen, before…back at the hut…I’m sorry.”
George smiled, “Don’t worry, we’re your friends, we’ll always be there for each other.”
Ffion grinned and purred with joy, rubbing her head against George’s chin.
“So what now? Arnie’s guarding the scout house and…” George was interrupted with a loud creak and rumble.
“Did you hear something or am I just hungry?” he asked.
The whole house moaned and shifted.
“I think we had better get out of here,” said Ffion.
The house had been weakened by the force of the battle and the building was beginning to shake and rattle. A floorboard broke with a large snap, the doorways twisted and windows buckled shattering glass all around them. The two cats ran for their lives as the building started to collapse.
They dived through a broken window, tumbling onto the grass, just in time to see the mansion crumble to dust and rubble behind them. There was nothing left standing. The two coughed, catching their breath as the ground below them continued shaking.
“Oh what now?” said Ffion.
The violent movement of the earth beneath them knocked George further down the sloping garden, as the ground around Ffion began to crack and tear itself apart. Shards of brilliant light shone out from the earth, trapping Ffion in a cage of light. George could hear Ffion crying out in pain.
Suddenly a booming voice came from all around them.
“The debt is paid,” It echoed.
As the light faded, it left behind the human form of Ffion, lying motionless on the ground.
George approached her, nudging her with his nose. Ffion’s eyes opened to see the face of her friend.
“You did it Ffion! You broke the spell!” shouted George with excitement.
Ffion lifted herself up from the wet grass and stood filled with joy. She looked down at her human hands and feet, grinning from ear to ear.
“Hey I’ve just had a great idea!” she said. Effortlessly, she turned back into a black cat at will.
George looked on puzzled. He wondered why Ffion had turned herself back into a cat…and then he grinned.
“Are you about to do what I think you’re going to do?” he asked.
“Oh yes! Let’s go have some fun!” she said in a mischievous tone.
Chapter 14
Goodbyes
Back in the alleyway, the local cats had gathered to discuss all of the strange occurrences. A tabby was telling the group about her adventure, but was cut off mid-sentence by the fat cat.
“Well! Well! Look who the cat’s dragged in!”
George and Ffion walked up to the front of the group.
“So have you come to tell us that story again?” taunted the fat cat.
Before George turned to reply, he sneaked a grin toward Ffion.
“Well, my chubby feline friend, not only can we tell that story again but we have some pretty conclusive proof that will amaze your little green eyes.”
The fat cat shuffled his weight around; reflecting on what George had just said and knowing all eyes were on him waiting for his response.
“Well then!” he said loudly to mask his awkwardness, “Let’s see this proof of yours!”
All the other cats joined in with the nervous laughter as Ffion moved into the centre, ready to do her thing.
“I hope that after tonight, you will have seen enough to believe what I have always said.”
The alleyway fell silent as all eyes were on Ffion.
“This is going to be good!” George said watching from a corner.
“Well? We don’t have all night you know!” said the fat cat.
Ffion looked him dead in the eye, “Alright then!”
She closed her eyes and cast her spell, sending a swirl of light reaching higher and higher around her. The alleyway was aglow and the cats started to back off. There was no laughter in their panicked voices now. The fat cat began to tremble as the lights were stopping and a tall, dark human figure stood where a cat had once been. The group of cats stared with disbelief, the brave ones getting closer for a better look.
“Boo!” she menaced, leaning in towards the fat cat.
He screeched and hissed and arched his back, the remaining half of his tail filling out, hair on end. He ran towards the nearest fence, which took several attempts to get his fat belly over, his claws scraping frantically against the wood. The other cats also turned and fled, streaming out of the alleyway as fast as their little legs could carry them. Meanwhile, George rolled around on the floor in fits of laughter at their reaction. Ffion giggled too, after all those years of being picked on by her feline peers, she had finally got the better of them and it felt very good indeed. George picked himself up and walked over to Ffion grinning.
“George I…” said Ffion, but the words failed to come out as the laughter slowly stopped.
“You’re going to say that you have to leave now, aren’t you?”
Ffion nodded. “There’s something I have to do and I think it’s best if I go alone.” She quivered as emotion built up inside her. “But I promise I will return one day…”
She lifted him off the ground and hugged him. Ffion carried him away from the alley, bathed in the glow of warm friendship.
“I need you both to guard that book until I come back, its important but I can't take it with me, can you and Arnie stay and do that for me?” she said tickling his ears and chin. George gave a silent nod and Ffion placed him back on the ground.
Slowly, Ffion walked down the street and left her friend behind. She kept her back turned to hide the tears running down her face. As he looked on, George failed to notice that Arnie had come to rest by his side.
“Bark!” said Arnie.
“Yeah, I know. I’m gonna miss her too.”
The two friends sat and watched Ffion disappear into the night.
“She’ll be back,” George said, “She made a promise,” he smiled up at Arnie and in his heart he knew that everything would turn out fine. The two turned to walk away, back to the book to keep it safe within the village just as George had promised. As they walked away, the duo faded away like ghosts into the night.
Epilogue
A new journey begins
As she stopped at the corner of the road, Ffion turned to give one last look at the place that had been her home for so many years. The houses were empty, the streets bare. Most people had fled to safety from the night’s encounters while others were in hiding, not daring to show their faces at the window. She had been born here centuries ago and now finally she had broken the spell. It would take time for the village to heal itself. Ffion knew it would also be a while before she would return back here again as a new future now lay before her.
With a shiver, still not being used to her human lack of fur, Ffion waved her hands and a hip length black Jacket formed over her. Pulling the buttoned sides in
close around her to keep warm she grinned and walked off into the darkness past the ruined mansion's grounds. Its remains covered with shards of Jacks ember, all glowing bright in the crisp night air as the large metal entrance gates now swung with ease in the cold gentle breeze. Looking into the distance, a faint glow beckoned to her from the witching stones on the hill.
“I’m coming mother, time to find out what comes next” she said aloud with a buzz of excitement and a new found optimism in her voice.
A light breeze blew as she walked uphill and, with her head full of thoughts, she walked quickly past a pumpkin lantern that had been abandoned on the pavement. The light within the pumpkin glowed dimly now, silently grinning as she passed by. The candlelight within flickered and died, the faint sound of Jack’s laughter could be heard as the smoke wisped away into the cool night air.
But what is the end of one tale was to be the beginning of another....
Find more on Facebook: facebook.com/TailofaWitch
Continued in Book2
Ffion - The Devils Game
How the story began
The real story started in 2000 for a competition. The Princes Trust was supporting an event for computer games, one of the entry topics was for a ‘Concept Story’. I decided I wanted to tell a scary story, as the game world was still buzzing with the first two ‘Survival Horror’ games that have since set a standard amongst other titles over the years. My problem, however, was how to make a zombie scary again? I solved this by making them huge like a building and the hero character small, like a cat. I figured that the point of view aspect would add a new perspective in the mix, just think how tall people really seem to a cat!
With cats and zombies ready to do battle, it seemed that Halloween would be a great setting for the story to unfold. Needing to find the perfect bad guy, I researched associated legends and found the myth behind the Jack O’ Lantern, which also, at the time, became the title of the story. I now needed to create my hero, who would fight the villain, and a reason why they were a cat. I decided on a female character as I believed this would suit the cat best. Once I had this, I then looked for an appropriate name for my character and ‘Ffion’ stood out above any others. Although at the time I was unaware it could be pronounced differently, my first reading of the name was ‘Fee-On’ which felt quite feline in itself, and it stayed with me all the way even after searching many alternatives. Now I had everything, so I submitted my 500 word concept of "Jack O’ Lantern.”
It was a close call but I didn’t win, however I had many ideas on how to expand the story and wanted to carry it on until it ran out of steam. The next phase was to create more of a background and drawings to fill out the concept to a few 1000 words, maps, character drawings and even adverts to promote it as a computer game. Printing a design for the box I submitted the ideas to various companies over the next 2 years. Those that did reply were very kind in complementing my story and designs but all of them turned me down each time.
Feeling disheartened, I began to wonder if I should give up the dream of getting my game idea recognised and move on, but I wanted to give it one last test to see if it was worth the effort as I don’t believe in wasting a good idea. I sent one more box to GamesMaster magazine for their ‘Designers Workshop’ page and waited. In issue 134, June 2003 I had made it into the magazine. The Winners Gong that month had gone to my story. It was such a highlight to me that in reply to me asking if they thought the idea was good, they printed it as that months winner. If anything, as well as the support of my family, this gave me more reason to carry on. Later I thought I'd try again and sent the idea to PS2-Play magazine. Once again in October 2003, issue 107 I had a full page dedicated to my idea in the ‘It ought to be game’ section, reviewed by game developers staff.
Another win and boost to my confidence I set about spending my time at home after work drawing more and expanding the whole mini universe of Jack O’ Lantern.
The project became more of a hobby now, slowly working away at it, getting anyone’s thoughts and comments. I had written so much information for my game bible, I thought that, instead of writing small snippets to explain how the game plays out, I would write the entire story as a book. I fully admit I am not a writer or have ever chosen to go down the route as a profession, but this is a project that kept coming back to me time and time again. In 2005 I had written the first draft of the story. It was badly written so I didn’t really let anyone read it, my method for writing it was all based on computer games and how they worked in telling a story rather than how it would read as a book. With the story complete in full and the time line of events recorded, I looked for a direction to take the idea again.
It was not long before I decided that if it couldn’t be a computer game, what about a board game. Within a year I had made several incarnations of the board until I felt it was right. I then made the figures, playing cards, rule book and box design. Thanks to a small group of friends, I tweaked the rules and played the game until it was enjoyable and easy to follow within a short space of time, especially for the children’s and young teenage market. Again I applied to several companies but there were no takers. At the end of this process though I did realise one thing in a ‘glass half full’ kind of way, I had set out to make a board game and I had it, ready to play and hold in my hands.
After a break from the project, working on other ideas as well as finally getting some of my designs/artwork finally into a computer game (a goal of mine achieved in a small way, but achieved none the less), I came back to Jack O’ Lantern in 2012, in an effort to bring the idea to a close. Firstly I decided to drop the original title altering it to something that worked better for the story and ‘Tail of a Witch’ became the replacement. In preparing the text for release, I once again became engrossed in the world I had created. While others helped out with proofing and corrections, I began writing plot ideas, so much so that I continued on and wrote a second book. At the time of writing this is called ‘Tail of a Witch – The Devils Game’ and completes a mini arc of the plot from book one.
To date, I have now completed three books and working toward part four. Looking back at my work, I have decided again to change the title to just ‘Ffion’ as well as update and add to the books artwork along with tweaks to the story to help bring the bigger story together.
As I have noted, I never set out to write books but I have created something I have thoroughly enjoyed, loved and grown with over the years and hope that others will see that and enjoy it as much as I have. This is a project of the heart and I hope it inspires others who read this part of the book to not give up on their dreams and recognise their own success when it happens, however small.
P.Simpson
Thanks and Acknowledgements
I would like to say thank you to those who have helped over the years. Even though it’s a short story it has been rewritten in different ways for different uses, from a computer game concept to a board game and now this book.
‘Rocker’ John Bowler – first draft proof checking and grammar.
Sian Upton – rewrites, proofing and formatting.
Wayne Upton - in book story illustrations.
Vix, Shelby, Hayley, Karen, Suzanne and Laura for reading and giving feedback.
Mark Lovatt-Harris, Digiprintuk – for the Hardcopy book proofs and playing the board game for hours until it was right.
Martin and Louise Quinn - for all their support of the project on and off line.
GamesMaster magazine and PS2-Play magazine - for picking my idea over the rest all those years ago.
Finally and most importantly...
Claire & Chloe - for the inspiration, and everything else through life. Also for all your help and support in getting the book released xxx
To all my family, those here and those lost over the years but never forgotten, for all their support in my crazy ideas with always more yet to come!
Thank you and I love you x
Thank you for reading books on Archive.