The Catchers

by Stuart J. Kent

  “See you!” he said to Trixie.

  “Yeah, see you,” she replied with a smile.

  “Bye, Marty, Streak,” he said, giving them a little wave.

  “Yeah, take care kid,” replied Marty sat on the cart as Streak turned his head and gave a little nod.

  Jamie then turned back to the door before glancing up at Colin once more.

  “Will I ever see you all again?” he asked

  “Maybe! You never know what might make its way into your world that we might have to come and fetch,” Colin replied with a smile.

  Jamie then climbed up the wooden stairs back to his room and when he reached the top he stepped into his room and watched the door slowly close and he knew his magical friends were gone.

  “Tea!” he exclaimed, suddenly remembering why he had rushed back, before he quickly ran out of his room, down the stairs and into the kitchen.

  “Mum, I am so sorry I’m late, I really am,” he said stepping into the kitchen. “But you wouldn’t believe where I’ve just been,” he continued as he sat down at the small wooden round table in the middle of his mum’s very pristine, white, super-clean kitchen.

  It was then he noticed his mother was not saying anything about his lateness, or moving or doing anything other than standing and looking out of the window.

  “Mum?” Jamie said, looking concerned. “Mum, you all right?” he asked getting up from the table and stepping towards her, but his mother didn’t reply, she just stood motionless looking away from him.

  “Mum?” he said nervously again, slowly approaching her. Jamie then stood right next to her and, looking up to see her face, he suddenly gave a little gasp of horror and despair as his mother, Isla Ellebert, a fairly attractive thirty-year-old woman with blonde, flowing hair and a warm loving smile and a thing for cute fuzzy pigs, was stood transfixed looking out of the window like she was frozen in time.

  “Mum?” he said once more, giving her a gentle poke in the side, but still she remained frozen, staring out of the window with a blank expression on her face as if she had just missed out on the world’s greatest shoe sale. Jamie then reached up and placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a firm shake.

  “Come on, this isn’t funny anymore,” he muttered worriedly. “Mum, wake up, wake up!” he groaned, beginning to feel rather upset and angry. “MUM!” he shouted, hoping to scare her out of it, but still she remained frozen, as frozen as an ice lollipop in a freezer, in the middle of Antarctica; in other words, really frozen.

  Then a large old hand clutched Jamie’s shoulder making him jump and cry out in terror.

  “Don’t hurt me!”

  “Easy, Jamie, it’s just me,” said Colin, stepping up behind him.

  “I can’t wake her, she won’t move,” Jamie said worriedly, looking round at Colin.

  “Okay, let me have a look,” replied Colin, pulling Jamie away and then stepping closer to examine the problem. As Jamie stepped back, Trixie appeared behind him, and in a gesture of friendship she wrapped her arms around him and held him tight, as a tear began to roll down his face.

  “She won’t move, she’s just stuck,” he muttered.

  Colin stared into Isla’s eyes, then her ears, opened her mouth slightly and peered in at her fillings and then nibbled on a strand of her hair.

  “Honey and tangerine if I’m not mistaken,” he muttered, tasting her shampoo. Then he turned his attention to the kitchen and quickly he leant forward and tasted the sink water.

  “Soapy,” he muttered as a bubble left his lips. Then he checked the air, inhaling deeply around Isla before finally he got down on his hands and knees and sniffed the floor.

  “Lemon fresh!” he muttered once more. “Well, she definitely keeps this place clean,” he said with a smile, standing up.

  “But what’s wrong with her?” Jamie asked, more concerned for his mother than her kitchen cleanliness.

  “I’m afraid this is dark magic, powerful dark magic that has entranced your mother in this frozen state,” Colin replied.

  “Can’t you undo it? Can’t you unfreeze her?” Jamie begged, sniffling and wiping a tear away from his eye.

  “No, I’m afraid not,” he replied with a heavy sigh. “This is dark magic at its most dangerous, it’s just too dark and dangerous to be tampered with; I’m sorry Jamie, there is nothing I can do for her.”

  “But why? Why can’t you just undo it?” Jamie asked.

  “Because it’s dark magic Jamie, and it could be booby-trapped; if I got the spell even just a little wrong, I could end up harming your mother permanently or worse! No I’m really sorry, I truly am, but there really is nothing we can do for her right now,” Colin replied, assuring Jamie of the horrible truth.

  Jamie took a deep breath and then wiped another tear from his face before he pulled away from Trixie and moved towards his mum. Standing beside her he looked up at her frozen, lifeless face, longing for her to just wake up right then and smile down at him the way she always did.

  “What do I do now?” he asked after several seconds of silence.

  “Where’s your father?” asked Colin.

  “I don’t know, he left us when I was still a baby,” replied Jamie.

  “Men,” muttered Trixie in disgust.

  “Is there anyone else, an aunt, or uncle who lives nearby?” Colin inquired.

  “No,” replied Jamie.

  “Well then, I guess you will have to come home with us,” Colin said with a smile. “Would you like to stay with us until we can get this sorted?”

  “Yes, I would like that,” replied Jamie.

  Colin clapped his hands together happily. “Good, then you shall.”

  Jamie then turned and gave his mum a long, deep, loving hug before standing on his tiptoes and giving her a little peck on the cheek.

  “Bye, Mum,” he whispered, before taking a step back.

  “Don’t worry, Jamie, I will keep her safe, I promise you, I have a spell that will make sure of that,” Colin said reassuringly.

  Then they all headed back into the hallway, but instead of going up the stairs back to his room where the magic door was, they strolled towards the front door instead.

  “Where are you going?” asked Jamie, a little confused.

  “Ah, well! The reason we entered your house in the first place, was that the magic door wouldn’t relock,” replied Colin.

  “That’s how we knew something was wrong,” added Trixie.

  “So we had to relocate the door in order to seal the gap between our two worlds,” continued Colin. “Come on, this way” he beckoned, opening the front door. They made their way outside into Jamie’s front garden; it was a small area with a rectangular piece of grass just big enough to mow and a tarmac area for Jamie’s mum to park her car on. Colin then turned to face the small red-brick house with its four small windows and bright-red front door, and then he began to mutter some magical words that made up a special incantation and then pulling his crooked wand from his sleeve and giving it a flick, a bubble began to descend over the house.

  “There we go,” Colin said, a little chuffed with himself as the bubble completely engulfed the house. “I’ve just put a protection spell over your house, nothing will be able to harm it and nothing will be able to get in, your mother will be completely, perfectly safe and no one here in your world will know the difference.”

  “Thank you,” replied Jamie as the bubble quickly disappeared from view so it became invisible to the naked eye.

  “Let’s go then,” said Trixie.

  “Where’s the door?” asked Jamie, curious as he glanced around for it.

  Trixie then stood by an old metal lamppost just outside the garden on the public path.

  “Here it is, come on,” she said opening the small rectangular door on the pos
t, before crouching down and stepping in. Jamie stared in amazement at the tiny doorway that Trixie had just disappeared into and then cautiously followed her in, and as he stepped through the tiny doorway, Colin suddenly spoke up.

  “Watch that first step,” he called out, but it was too late and once again Jamie fell into the Magic world with thud.

  Chapter Three

  The next morning, Jamie woke from his slumber, opened his eyes, blinked and stared around at the small, cosy bedroom that he had been sleeping in. It was a rectangular room with yellow and pink flowery wallpaper, there was one single wooden bed along one side of the room, and a large old wooden wardrobe in the far corner that sat next to a small square window which had some lovely yellow flowery curtains to match the wallpaper, which Jamie didn’t care for or like but as it wasn’t really his room he wasn’t going to complain about it.

  Jamie climbed out of bed in a pair of old red plaid pyjamas that were far too big for him but Colin had kindly leant him, it was that or a pink flowery set of Trixie’s which he was definitely not going to wear. He stepped down onto the cold, bare wooden floor, stretched up to wake himself and then sniffed something delicious floating in the air.

  “Breakfast!” he grinned excitedly.

  A few minutes later, after dressing, he made his way down an old squeaky, rickety wooden staircase and stepped into the front room. Where a large open space with an old green sofa and a couple of red armchairs that were positioned around the large open brick fireplace sat, and there were bookshelves full of books and ornaments as well and old newspapers on the coffee table between the chairs; but filling the rest of the space were various collections of catcher equipment, including several sizes of metal cages, many stacks of wooden boxes and several other types of vessels and containers all stacked up in piles that almost completely filled the room, making it less a front living room and more a storage room for a small packing company.

  “Morning!” Colin called out from the back of the room where he stood in a small open kitchen area, dressed in a long blue nightshirt, matching cap and long red silk dressing gown over the top.

  “How did you sleep?” he inquired.

  “Okay, I guess?” replied Jamie with a shrug as he gazed around the room at the half-organised mess. Colin then noticed Jamie staring at all the different piles of equipment.

  “Part of the job, I’m afraid, you never know what type of vessel might come in handy next, although I guess I could have a bit of a clear out. I probably don’t need all those large jam jars and cabbage boxes, but in my defence we have been kind of busy recently,” he sighed. “Come on over here, Jamie, have a seat, I’ve just made some breakfast,” he said, ushering Jamie to a long, old, wooden rectangular table in the kitchen area, where a whole assortment of breakfast foods sat waiting to be eaten.

  “Didn’t know what you liked, so I made something of everything,” said Colin, cheerfully.

  “Thank you, it all looks great,” replied Jamie with a smile as his eyes lit up seeing the feast before him.

  Marty then stepped out of a large wooden doll’s house on the end of the table and strolled towards the food.

  “Do I smell sausage and bacon?” he grinned eagerly.

  “Yes, you do,” replied Colin.

  In a tiny pale blue dressing gown and matching slippers, Marty made a beeline for the plate of cooked delicious meats that sat piled up in front of him.

  “But don’t think for one minute you can eat all of them, they’re for everybody,” Colin added, sternly.

  “Just try and stop me,” Marty grinned naughtily.

  Jamie then pointed to the bright pink and white wooden abode that Marty had just walked out of.

  “Is that your house?” he asked in disbelief.

  “Yes, it is, charming isn’t it?” replied Marty sarcastically before giving a long sigh of displeasure, and making Jamie and Colin smirk as they tried not to laugh.

  “Yes anyway, eat up Jamie, before he eats it all,” Colin said, encouraging Jamie to try something. They all quickly helped themselves to various fried meats, toast, eggs and potatoes, and for a while they sat happily munching away in silence, filling their bellies. Then Colin finally broke the silent munching.

  “I don’t think we need to rush into work this morning, so we will pop into the village first, I need a few things and Jamie can see the local sites,” he said before biting into his second large sausage.

  “Good idea!” mumbled Marty trying to fill his tiny mouth with a whole slice of bacon in one go.

  “What about Trixie? Where is she?” asked Jamie looking around for her.

  “Ah, alas, my young niece is not a morning person I’m afraid,” replied Colin with a sigh.

  “She’s a lazy witch,” added Marty, chewing loudly.

  “Thank you, Marty,” Colin said, giving him a disapproving look.

  “Trixie just doesn’t like getting up in the mornings, it seems when all wizards and witches reach a certain teenage age they lose the ability to wake up at an appropriate time in the morning,” Colin said wearily.

  “But I do know something she will rise for,” Colin added before clearing his throat. “YES, JAMIE, WE WILL GO INTO THE VILLAGE AND DO SOME SHOPPING TODAY!” he said very loudly so it could be heard upstairs before he held his finger up for a moment. Suddenly there was a dull thud on the floor above them, and then there was a quick, light tapping of feet moving fast across a wooden floor and then as if by magic a bedraggled-looking Trixie, wearing a long purple and white nightshirt, appeared at the top of the squeaky stairs.

  “Did someone say shopping?” she asked eagerly, peering down at them over the wooden bannister.

  “See!” grinned Colin as they all began to chuckle.

  An hour or so later they were about ready to leave and they stood in the front garden enjoying the morning sunshine. Standing on the well-kept blue grass, Jamie was once again gazing in amazement at all the weird and wonderful multicoloured magical plants that filled the big flowerbeds and bushes around Colin’s garden. Then he noticed for the first time the front of Colin’s house, because by the time they had arrived back the night before, it was already dark and he didn’t really get a good look at the place, but now he stared in disbelief at the typical old English-style cottage, with its rickety red-tiled roof that was bowing gently out of shape, and its little square wooden windows, and the large white-painted walls that bulged outwards so much that it looked like the whole house was about to explode at any moment.

  “It’s been in my family for generations, my grandfather grew up here, my father grew up here, Trixie’s father and I grew up here.”

  “I threw up here,” added Marty, cheekily interrupting Colin.

  “And of course all the rest of the family grew up here and now Trixie’s getting to grow up here too,” Colin said, proudly ignoring Marty’s comment. “Yes, it is a wonderful old house,” he added, giving the timber frame doorway a firm pat. Immediately, a tile from the old roof slipped free, and then hurtled downwards before smashing on the stone path beside them, making them all jump in surprise.

  “Ah yes, I’ve been meaning to fix that,” muttered Colin sheepishly before strolling away.

  The little group then left the garden and slowly made their way along a very quiet peaceful country lane, passing similar little picturesque cottages and small red-brick houses as they strolled towards the centre of the village.

  “So, Jamie, this is the village of Teathorpe, we have a very pleasant and peaceful community here and even though it is a small place, there are a lot of very important witches and wizards from the Ministry living here,” said Colin proudly as they strolled along.

  “Yes, it’s a very posh place,” said Marty, pushing his nose upwards, making Jamie laugh.

  “Taking pride in one’s surroundings is not something to be laughed at,�
� Trixie said sternly.

  “Yes, a man’s home is his castle,” added Colin.

  “Or hers,” added Trixie.

  Then as they rounded the corner into the next quiet lane, Colin pointed across to his right.

  “Speaking of which, there is Teathorpe Castle,” he said, pointing to a grand old grey-stone castle that had one large round turret on the side of the large square building, and was surrounded by a watery moat with what appeared to be a small black and red griffin sleeping soundly in the well-kept front garden.

  “In fact, this is one of those very important homes I was talking about, because this castle is Lord Teathorpe’s and he is on the Magical council which makes him a very important wizard indeed,” continued Colin before Trixie suddenly cried out.

  “Duck!”

  “Where, I don’t see a duck?” asked Jamie, looking hard at the castle.

  Suddenly a rather large, plump, grey-and-black-feathered bird crashed into him knocking him to the ground and then tumbled next to him on the floor.

  Then, just as quick as it appeared, it stood upright, shook its feathery body and then started to speak angrily at Jamie.

  “Hey, hey, watch where you’re going, sonny,” it snapped in a Scottish accent.

  “Sorry!” muttered Jamie sitting up, and then staring in amazement at a talking duck.

  “Hey, you watch where you’re going, bird-brain,” snapped Marty from Colin’s top jacket pocket.

  The duck then looked up to see Marty staring at him.

  “Oh it’s you, wee man, I’ve told you before wee man to watch yourself around me,” snapped the duck, pointing a feather finger at Marty.

  “Yeah, just try it, you talking pillow-stuffing,” replied Marty, waving his little fist at him.

  “Oh you want some do ya? Do ya? I’ll bill your butt, little boy,” snapped the duck bobbing its head angrily as it began to get worked up.

  “You’ll be nothing but a Sunday roast when I’m done with you,” replied Marty, raising both of his little fists ready.