by Loui Downing
“htap siz gnissorc ta tpmetta ton od. Θnoegip a ton ma ‘ i on dna, reilrae kaeps did i sey noitamrofni ray eF” chortled a European accent, echoing upwards through the funnel, startling Majtak as he received the sound loud and clear. He shifted his arm, placing it over the small creature. As his attention returned to the small bird-like creature, he watched as it struggled to balance itself.
“yaw ez ta mra ruoy evom ¿ diputs ro faed uoz era” continued the French accent, shunting Majtak’s heart closer to the skin’s surface. The voice was coming from further behind the bird. A petit posh fox approached, wearing a jagged but respectful suit jacket, accompanied by a monocle and stick. His raw red ginger fur sprawled out neatly in all directions.
“namuh weY! s’kep hcuot ton oD” added the fox creature, reaching inside his trailling overcoat. Such a nice overcoat for a delightfully well-spoken fox, thought Jessica, her eyes glazed as she looked very far from the world she was standing. The idea of talking to animals was now sinking quickly in her subconscious as she started to question whether she was dreaming.
“Is this real?” asked Jessica, her eyes now back in reality and puppy-like concerned. Majtak ignored her question and squinted as if to try and work out what the creatures were saying.
“We might wake up any minute” responded Majtak after a short pause for thought.
“I sure hope we do…I mean, it’s not every day that you fall through a door and wake up talking to animals. Mr Deeds thinks that you can actually talk to any creature on some level. I seriously think he would be shocked if he was here though!” pondered Jessica trying to simplify their predicament.
“People wo-…” continued Jessica.
“Jess please, I’m trying to work out something!” intervened Majtak rudely as he knelt to the dusty soil below and started writing. Jessica annoyingly read out the words in a monotone, which added to Majtak’s frustration levels. He scribbled away for a few minutes, erasing areas that he thought might be incorrect, carrying on anyhow until he had finished.
Hello, we are lost. We came from a door behind us but that has disappeared now. Please can you help us get back? Our names are Majtak and Jessica
The words were written in thick brown soil lines, darker than the rest of the ground.
“Majtak, no offence but I really don’t think this is going to work” spoke Jessica sarcastically as she slowly folded her arms.
“Wait! I’m not done” sparked Majtak, unfolding her arms with his words to feel in control. Majtak began writing the words out next to the original sentence, only the words were in reverse. The fox was stunned and shuffled back a few paws, thorns colliding with his shinny waistcoat but luckily none of the spikes protruded. The fox spoke quietly to the guard below, whose silence had started to worry them both. Unfortunately, Majtak was not able to make it out, whatever it was it was not in English. Majtak cued the fox to spell out what Flex had written in the soil in the opposite way he had, Flex looking more concerned with the distorted stick he was holding. Flex wrote extremely fast in the soil and in seconds it was complete.
“You can call me Flex. We welcome your kind to our home. Please follow us; we can provide shelter, food and warmth” spoke Flex the fox creature, startling them both at the shear fact that it could talk. Jessica’s expression was profoundly cheerful, although Majtak could detect a flicker of jealousy in solving the language barrier.
“How did you know to do that?” enquired Jessica, trying to tie the pieces together herself.
“I’ve heard it was used by a famous artist century’s back. It was a way of concealing his work from probing eyes” answered Majtak, hoping to have sparked a reaction from Jessica but she couldn’t believe that he had been listening.
“I thought you used to just doodle in history class” responded Jessica. Majtak face lit up with a delightful grin as he struggles to get any sort of appraisal.
“Do you think we should follow?” whispered Jessica, peering towards Flex who was impatiently leaning against the bark of a bruised birch tree. Any offer to follow a fox who speaks in another language would surely be way off the sensibility scales, but strangely they felt a need to trust anyone they could to try and find a way back.
“I think we should, for now anyway, until I’ve figured out where we are and made a plan of how to get back” replied Majtak after serious deliberation.
“Is that a yes then?” queried Jessica. She was always unsure how to take Majtak. Whenever he would tell a joke, she would require a prompt from Majtak.
“Yes. I think we should however keep our senses alive. These are strange creatures after all. If it wasn’t for the games at school I think something like this would have been severely off the scales” said Majtak defiantly. Flex had descended to a small dip halfway down the hill. The guard bird still hadn’t spoke, it just starred at them both inquisitively until it spotted a possible treat on the ground. Majtak took the stick and wrote in the soil ‘we will follow you’ backwards and coughed loudly to gain the attention of the guard. The guard bird placed down a juicy worm and looked up as though Majtak should not have interrupted whilst it was eating. Jessica swallowed hard as she was sceptical about the creatures more than Majtak. The grumpy grey bird fluttered unhealthily in the air as it flew towards Flex.
“llew yreV” said Flex, as Majtak and Jessica started to follow them both. Soon they approach an octagonal entrance to what looked like a passageway. A dim light shone on the beams and the materials of the inside. The sunlight disappeared within a matter of minutes, and before Majtak could believe it they were scurrying along the dusty octagonal tunnel, the light resembling a tiny speck in the distance.
“I’m terribly sorry. I forgot to say, my friend’s name on the other side is Houbber Venser, he will accommodate you and ensure that you have everything you need” echoed Flex, flicking his eyes from all the dust particles.
Majtak felt a watchful eye behind him so he swivelled on the spot without thought. Two bulging juicy eyes were glowing as he looked back to the entrance of the tunnel. Majtak supported his balance by holding a wooden beam that was above his head.
“Jess” shouted Majtak at the top of his voice. She turned back a few seconds later and looked concerned as she too found the eerie atmosphere of someone spying on them all.
“Did you see that? Back at the entrance, I saw something, they were watching me” continued Majtak frantically as though words were falling off his tongue.
“No, what was it?” replied Jessica, now facing Majtak.
“It was green, with bright bulging eyes. I only saw it briefly and then it disappeared in a flash” said Majtak, paniking with every word. Jessica could only see the densely dark sky and scattering of wincing stars. She nodded and turned back around to follow the creatures that have already started to move.
“Great, now she thinks I’ve lost the plot” murmured Majtak to himself. Without hesitation they all carried on walking through the tunnel that stretched for around two and a half miles.
“Wait here!” demanded Flex, pointing down at the ground. Flex and the guard urged forward a few steps and then stopped once again.
“!drowssaP” spoke an electronic voice coming from a ghastly door.
“yrrbellcE” replied Flex as he cleaned his glasses on his handkerchief. The door unlatched and a cold breeze ushered in. It appeared to be coming from the icy blue gap between the door and its frame. A hairy figure immerged as the door blew wide open, temporarily causing Majtak and Jessica to be immobile. Flex and the guard bowed to the ground as they starred at the gigantic hairy beast. However, Majtak and Jessica were still transfixed at the volume of the beast’s abdomen to notice Flex and the guard bowing. Flex looked back at them as it doesn’t normally take this long to enter. Jessica noticed Flex looking over and felt rude.
“Get down you two, good heavens. Didn’t your school teach you anything?” whispered Flex, glaring at them both.
“What?” shouted Majtak deeply mortified.
�
��I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. Please just bow, we need to pass through here” replied Flex, talking over him in a hurry which decreased Majtak’s patience slightly. He calmed down after they eventually bowed. The door slammed horrifically.
“No…no…It can’t be” cried the guard bird, flying at the door to see if he could squeeze through before it closed.
‘SPLAT’ went the guard bird against the thick coco coloured doors as Flex watched him slide down and thud to the ground. The guard bird looked up at Flex as he began laughing.
“He’s gone. I cannot believe this!” winged Flex, who was now perched on a round rock, his hands forcefully embedded into his forehead.
“You have no idea what you have just done! If we don’t get back by a certain time, the next gate will not open” explained Flex after restructuring his sentence for a more savoury one he had in mind.
“We’re really sorry Flex, we didn’t re-” chirped Jessica, her posture lent inwards like a balancing robin on a weak branch.
“It’s no use now” interrupted the guard bird, his words tailing off back up the tunnel. Flex searched his pockets and then an inside pocket, he winced as his nose twitched as the sound of paper rustling filled the tunnel. It was difficult to make out the lettering but the content looked ancient.
A late autumn breeze smothered Jessica, which made her shiver like a trapped leaf in a decaying hedgerow. Jessica hadn’t thought of it until now, but started to question where they all were, it then came flooding to her like a receding wave. She had noticed the sudden season alteration compared to at school. Her attention was grabbed by the guard bird placing the piece of paper down and pecking at a large square marked ‘llah tsepmeT’ as blue stars shot out of the paper and into the air, where they swirled around.
“Wow! What is that?” asked Jessica; she loves anything shinny and blue.
“Ah…here!” spoke the guard bird for the first time.
“This is Earth, welcome! The place we are in at the moment is called ‘Ounfour’, entrance to the ‘llel layer’. The llel layer divides all and sees all. Nobody could enter undetected” explained Flex, sniggering momentarily at Majtak’s and Jessica’s expression.
“What about Mr Deeds? The wall?” replied Jessica, raising her voice.
“I don’t think we are on Earth Jess!” interjected Majtak, taking an unnecessary amount of air in with his breath.
“We’re in some kind of simulation, surely!” continued Jessica, tears surfacing as her throat tightened.
“I know it’s hard to understand, but I have a feeling that these people can help us” reassured Majtak, facing away from Flex and the guard bird.
“Right, everyone please take a Nectar and hold on tight” commanded the guard bird as he pointed at the tiny bouncing blue bulbs.
The tunnel darkened and fell a deathly silent. All that could be heard was a humming noise that gradually came to a roar. Flex and the guard bird bowed once more towards the mushy soil. Majtak and Jessica searched for words to describe their view, only to be distracted by the immergence of a naked flame. A pink flame licked the city buildings and houses, enabling full view of where they were. The flame came to rest at the foot of the hill.
“!won e mot meht gnirB” scratched a wicked voice, echoing contagiously around the valley plains around them. Flex was rather tense and started to fidget. Majtak and Jessica found themselves being pushed to the floor, their faces splattering against the sticky mud and gruesome grass filled with garish ghouls. Two dwarf like creatures stood behind them and lifted them onto the back of a craft that hovered midair.
“What’s happening? Where are you taking us?” shouted Jessica, crying yet no tears had formed. Flex and the guard bird didn’t say a word as they watched them being taken away. A rapid whoosh of air fired by as the hover craft left the area into the cloudless purple sky.
CHAPTER TEN
The Truth Torch
Perhaps it was the raw smell of animal carcass that tore its way to the back of Neville’s throat or the trickling waterfall across from where he lay. He lay motionless on a dozen brambles, branches and bits that he could find. As he lay there he tried to piece the past few months together. His brother was out there somewhere, which worried him, especially with what is going on at the moment. The note from his father riddled him with uncertainty, which threw his conclusions off the radar. If he could reach his brother, maybe this would all be a lot clearer. He knew that he had to keep moving to avoid detection, as he lifted his head he noticed the beautiful sunrise blinding him. His thick black hair stuck up crazily in all directions and his face sucked in as though he had lost quite a lot of weight. The clear water trickled elegantly from the waterfall and into the stream. He sat up and strolled over to the stream and extracted plenty of water with his hands and drank as much as he could fit into his tiny mouth. It was such a joy for his body as he gulped more and more of the fresh wild liquid.
England was pleasantly mild today compared to the blizzards that swarmed over the country last night. Neville assumed that it was late November time, although he could not be certain. One thing he had noticed and that was the decrease in insects and some animals compared to when he first arrived. The rotten corpse beside him was starting to make him feel nauseated so he decided to head for the old bridge in the distance to find a road so he could carry on moving.
As he passed through the leafless trees he heard the tiny chattering of birds high up in the tree tops. Neville has become quite an expert in survival after the past few weeks on the run since he was at his parent’s house. Nightfall was always the scariest for him; he would hear wild animal noises and things falling from trees that would sound like the patrols searching for him.
As he approached the preserved bridge he was delighted to see some remains from before his time. The bridge had a cream plaque that was embedded into the brickwork. Two names and a date etched into the side of it ‘James & Thorn’ ‘1935’. Neville couldn’t believe that something that old would be preserved nowadays, what with all the technology and the advanced bridges implemented everywhere in America. A proud feeling blushed through him at the handmade bridge, something that will stick with him for a very long time. He climbed up the steep embankment towards the road, scrabbling with his hands to regain his balance. He reached the top and started to walk down the bleak road in front of him. He stopped and looked around, confused which way to go. An abandoned car lay miserably in the ditch further in the distance, so he headed for that.
The car was a nineteen-seventy-three MG convertible, well preserved considering the time it must have been left here lifeless. Moss and various other life forms grew on its body, covering it like a blanket. The windows looked as though they were steamed up, although they couldn’t be. Neville hoped to be able to get some rest in the car, he hadn’t slept now for three days and it was evident in his face now. Tired and worthless, he reached for the handle door but it was locked tight. He used all his force and yanked a few times before he gave up and smashed the window with his elbow. A trickle of blood fell to the ground and crashed against the gravel below. A horrified faced lent up against the door covered with a blanket over their head. Neville stood back and covered his mouth; the smell was so powerfully disgusting he couldn’t take it. Still, he went back to the car and gently pulled back the blanket. He only had pulled it back a short way but that was all that was needed. Neville held the side panel of the car and was sick alongside the car. The rotting stench scratched at his throat, too much to cope with. He composed himself and inspected the car, noticing that one of the wheels was punctured and sagged against the tarmac. The body jerked and thudded against the car door, making Neville jump in and out of his skin.
Neville decided to take a look around the other side and gain access to the car via the passenger door instead. He took to the raised grass area and opened the door with no problem, for some reason it wasn’t closed properly. A hand print remained on the side window, large and i
ntact. Neville opened the door and slid in, moving magazines, tissues and food wrappers out of the way. He sat down and inspected everything around him, making a real effort to touch as little as possible. Neville couldn’t spot anything peculiar about the situation. The thought of driving the vehicle was unbearable, so he decided to leave the car and the body where it was. He noted the make of car and its registration details on a scrap piece of paper from a magazine and closed the door as it was before he arrived. He knew that he would be kicking himself later if he didn’t take the car, but found the thought of moving a body disturbing and also he wanted to restrict the possibility of being found, let alone being accused of murder. The thought of getting away from the body really appealed to him and he walked on coughing and breathing the fresh air.
A light drizzle at this time of the year was nothing out of the ordinary. Neville’s forehead receiving a large splat as the rain droplets came tumbling out the sky. He could see life ahead of him, or what looked like areas that were still in one piece. A cottage was the first thing he saw, hidden within a small forest of trees and plants. His excitement soon ended when he got level with the house, noticing that the other side of the house was demolished and in tatters. A tiny shack at the back of the cottage and through a field was still in good condition. Neville was so weak and exhausted from escaping the patrols, all he wanted now was some rest and to be left alone. Hobbling through the field, he battled with the undergrowth towards the standing shack, passing a welcome sign to the village Thorness.
