A World Apart (36 page)

“Hooooo” cried a nearby bird that had just landed on the wobbly television arial, hooting loudly down the chimney. Edward awoke and wondered silently into the kitchen, refraining on waking the girls from their sleep, scared at the thought of them shouting at him again. He searched the cupboards for food, finding some food that was just in-date. The fridge was heaving with a sewer like stench, which made Edward close instantly. The clock above the sink indicated that it was quarter to ten. He was so privileged to see actual time, that’s if it was still running correctly. He decided to put some things together for the journey tomorrow, collecting knives and forks, tinned food, fizzy drinks, crisps and snacks that were lying around unwanted. He found a suitable rucksack in the cupboard underneath the stairs and started loading the items into. He found a torch which he added to his collection and a swiss-army knife. He placed the full rucksack next to his armchair and retreated back to his position where he fell asleep listening to the rustling wind against the gigantic tree nearby.

The morning came quicker than they had expected. Francesca and Alexandra awoke to the noise of Edward trying to use the water in the house, although he hadn’t realised that it would be stopped working now. The rest had done them all good, apart from Edward who couldn’t sleep much.

“So, what is that key for then?” asked Francesca, her hair frazzled as she tried to flatten it with her hands. A strip of red ran across her face, an imprint of where she was lying in the night. Alexandra paused to respond as she stretched and looked in between the wooden boards covering the window.

“I and my sister would visit this sweet shop around two miles from here near the station. It was the most fantastic place you could ever imagine. Sweets like you have never seen. The toys were so wonderfully crafted that you could never be tired of playing with. The best thing was the magical door. See you had to answer a riddle to open the door. Jessica, being a devil must have forgotten to put it back” said Alexandra, remembering the fond days of her childhood. The thought of Jessica made her choke. Her whereabouts is still to this day unknown.

“It sounds great. I can’t wait to see it” replied Francesca, very excited at the thought of a never-ending sweet or chocolate bar.

“I’ve found some supplies from around the house that may come in use on our journey. I’m guessing that we are not staying in the same place twice” said Edward, cutting the mood of their conversation as he entered clutching his rucksack.

“Oh, yes. Well done Ed!” said Alexandra, pleased with Edward’s preparations and foresight.

“Are you sure you remember where it is?” enquired Edward.

“Yes, it’s near the railway station, just up the road slightly. You’ll love it in there!” replied Alexandra sounding rather happy this morning. They grabbed what belongings they had and headed for outside early in the morning. Six thirty-two the clock indicated, although Alexandra felt it was earlier for sure. Edward was hunched at the window, peering through the hole that he had cunningly devised. A turquoise eye came into view. Edward leapt into the air as though someone had sent a thousand vaults through him. Francesca’s laugh stifled its way through Edward’s body as he looked through the hole again and saw a huge smile.

“That’ll teach ya for being nerdy” said Francesca, referring to his military approach to keep them all safe.

“Haa-Harr. Very Funny!” said Edward, full of wit, laughing at his own misfortune. Once Edward’s heart beat decreased he pulled down the wood from the window and helped the girls through to front garden area. Francesca was still smiling about making Edward jump moments ago. She glanced over to him and noticed that he looked substantially more alert thanks to her. Fog bumbled its way down the frosty street. It was so cold for late summer. On the contrary, the sun poked its head in the distance, half asleep, waiting to warm the land. Alexandra trotted nervously behind Edward and Francesca like a new born calf struggling to balance. The cold made their toes numb like they were covered with pure ice and moving them felt so fragile that they might snap with too much force. The narrow road disappeared in the low fog that swarmed the houses, making it impossible to see further ahead. Despite this, they carried on down the road. Edward hoped it wasn’t to far away and the thought of a fire kept his muscles moving.

Ten minutes later the children had almost clear vision of the land. The fog cleared and the sun awoke. A broken underground sign lay on shattered outside of a disused station. The three crossed a small bridge, which now contained little water and mainly weeks and hedgerow. The road took a dramatic turn for the worst and headed vertically towards where Alexandra remembered walking as a child. She slowed her footsteps unknowingly and cast her mind back, welling up at the thought of her family. The freshness of the morning made the tears in her eyes sparkle like diamonds.

“Mr Biggles’ sweet shop is over the other side of that hill” said Alexandra, shivering courageously.

“I want to get up this hill quickly” burst Edward as he sprinted like a bolt of lightning up and over the hill. Francesca and Alexandra decided against the moving of their joints as quickly and lagged behind.

“Wow, you’ll never believe this!” shouted Edward, echoing defiantly as he stood on the top of the hill looking down.

“What is it?” asked Alexandra utterly worried. Edward didn’t reply and just stayed still. Francesca started to jog up the hill, so Alexandra followed suit, only more like a young lady. They reached the top short of breath. Alexandra felt her heart drop to the floor. Francesca made a jerking noise with her mouth but no words followed. The shop was immaculate. It stood untouched amongst the debris and houses torn to shreds.

“How is that possible?” said Edward, asking himself.

“It can’t be” added Alexandra, running her fingertips through her hair with wrath. They headed quickly down to the shop; distraught by the fact that one house was still in tacked. There were no signs of old age or general wear and tear on the house. It had been missed completely and looked brand new. Alexandra brushed past Edward and ran straight for the door and opened it. To her horror it was still open. She entered without the others. Francesca and Edward’s voices could be heard as they walked down the road. Alexandra felt at home as soon as she entered. The decoration and toys still in their original place. The shop was completely untouched, not the slightest ounce of damage spotted. Alexandra waved back to Francesca, urging her presence at the top of the hill. Francesca broke into a light jog to reach them. It was though the earth had preserved one building out of the surrounding flattened houses.

“This is so odd!” informed Edward. The shop gave off an aura of mystic as the sun shimmered across the pale brown tiles, tap dancing along the roof and down the street. The brickwork remained as golden as toffee, preserving the contents of the shop. Everyone knew that there was something magical about the sweet shop, but never this.          

“I don’t remember it being this tidy and glamorous” mumbled Alexandra as she followed Francesca’s footsteps down towards the wonky wooden gate that led to the shop. The gate was the only piece of destruction around the house, it lent against the concrete, relaxing its joints. A dog lead swung peacefully from the gate slats. Alexandra found it odd, as Arthur never has any animals, apart from a few insects in the house that was it. Jessica used to have the ability of finding the spider she often used to pick up and scare Alexandra with, naming it Simon after her first encounter. Their mother Lensa chuckling in the background every time she held him. Their father Joseph found it silly and mucky that she would do such a thing.

Alexandra withdrew the heavy silver key from her cold inner pocket. Edward and Francesca were mesmerised by its unique curvy shape and wonderfully craftsmanship. The edges were as sharp as a blade and its finishing made it as durable as something ten times its size. Alexandra held the key towards the cobwebbed keyhole and paused. A great surge of air hit their feet from underneath the door frame. The clouds darkened and the sun smothered by cloud hands. The children poised as they looked around, dead locked on what was happening in the sky and all around them.

“What is going on!!” stuttered Francesca, part of her words sliced by the frantic wind change. They all struggled to keep their balance as the wind swept them from side to side, shaking them in all directions. The vibrant clonking noise scared them all as Alexandra bravely inserted the key and began to turn it slowly. The lock must be heavy as Alexandra used both of her hands to twist the sparkly silver key one hundred and eighty degrees. The door brushed open with an old creak from a stereotypical ancient house. Everyone noticed the atmosphere resume to normal, the clouds parted and the wind died down. An unusual cough came from behind them all. Alexandra thought it may have been one of the others and continued inside, placing one foot inside.

“BRRRR…. HOU HOU SO WHERE DA YOU THING YAR GOIN THEN” said a voice from behind them all, stopping them in their tracks.

“YA CANT JUS WONDER AP ERR AND EXPECT TA COME IN NOW CAN YA?” asked the voice, coughing and splurging everywhere. The children were reluctant to turn around and face what was shouting to them. For a moment they considered whether to run in the house and close the door, however something harmless about the voice made them turn around.

Alexandra was the first to turn around as she looked over Francesca and Edward to see nothing around them.

“There’s nothing there” whispered Alexandra, shrugging her shoulders as she continued to search the street with her eyes.

“HOU YOU CALLEN NATHIN?” said the voice once again.

“JUS BECUS UM SMALL DASNT MEAN IM ARMLESS” continued the voice, outraged by what Alexandra had just said.

“Arggh…something’s got my leg!” cried Edward like a girl. The others looked down and couldn’t believe their eyes.

“What are you?” asked Francesca zombie-like.

“AM GUSTOS THE GIANT GATE O’ CORSE, OU ELSE?” replied the sodden gate that was clinging to Edward’s leg. Edward looked down at Gustos, and fell straight to the ground unconscious. Alexandra and Francesca dived to catch his fall, however they were beaten by Gustos.

“SAMONE’S GOT A WEAK ART THEN I TAKE ET” adding Gustos as he held Edward in his wooden slats, that the girls presumed were arms. The whole few seconds seemed surreal from them all.

“Are we dreaming?” asked Alexandra to Francesca as they both watched Gustos place Edward down and reach form something in his satchel that was over his shoulder.

“I think were back in the regeneration dome, surely this can’t be happening!” replied Francesca as she watched Gustos throw the dog lead onto the floor and look back at them both.

“THA’S BIN DRIVEN ME CRAZY. OU AND NO YOUR NAT IN THA DOME, YOUR FURTHER FRAM THA THAN YA THINK” replied Gustos, now tidying himself by picking split pieces of wood out from his chest and wiping with a cloth.

“How can you be real though, you’re just a gate!” said Edward, regaining his consciousness.

“AR, BOYS AWAKE NOW. WELL YOU HAV YOUR WAYS, WE HAV ARS” replied Gustos walking over to where a gate should be, his skinny legs fragile and rotten.

“OU, THER IS ONE THING I NEED TO SAY. IF YOU AR THENKIN OF GHOIN IN THERE, DON TRUST ANYTHIN GREEN” said Gustos, sounding as thought he was resuming his post.

“ER TAKE THES WIY YA” continued Gustos, throwing a bottle high in the sky towards them all. The purple liquid bashed against the inside of the glass. Alexandra caught the glass with both her hands, being quite a lot taller than the rest made her feel even more in charge now as she had caught the bottle.

“What is it?” asked Francesca, but Gustos had resumed his post at the front of the house and lent lazily against the ground. The others felt as though they had all gone slightly silly from all that has happened to them, but realised it must be true because they still had the bottle and the dog lead was now stretched across the street.

“Things have really changed around here” deduced Francesca.

“I don’t think that is what we need to be scared of” replied Edward, ejecting Francesca’s comments like trap door.

The children continued into the house, noting the cleanliness had seen better days by the black dirt build up on the inside floor and windows. The outside of the shop had given them false hope at the appearance within. The room still had the tangy smell floating around the room, although there was now a potent odour of dust and dried insects that overpowered most smells. Sweets and toys were still left around the shop, the sweets withered and mouldy. Toys were left unloved and flung around spontaneously. Some scrolls and a glass of milk lay neatly on a small table next to the secret door Alexandra used to remember. The signs and materials were still in their original position, only the riddle board replaced with a blank blackboard.

“The riddles are gone” beamed Alexandra, making the other two look in the wrong place without her noticing. Alexandra remembered everything to be a lot bigger, although when she cast her mind back, she was considerably smaller then. Edward wondered around bravely, still feeling dizzy after his fall to the ground and slightly concussed. He dropped a globe that luckily bounced back against the ground and didn’t smash.

“Ed…please don’t. You never know who might be living here, we don’t want to cause a scene or mess things up” lectured Alexandra as she noticed the refrigerator door wide open in the kitchen, and pointed in the direction.