Sleepover Club Vampires (5 page)

“It looks to me like you all need your beds,” Uncle Bob grinned as we were starting to doze by the fire. “Bairns first, follow me.”

We all stared at him.

“He means you lot!” Dad laughed, pointing to Molly, Carli, my mates and me. “Off you go then, sleep well!”

Uncle Bob bounded up the stairs as we followed as quickly as we could, lugging our bags up with us.

“Here we have Molly and Carli’s room.” He flung open a door to reveal a pretty room with two enormous beds covered in rose-patterned eiderdowns. The curtains were all swagged and lamps cast a rosy glow.

“Cool!” Molly gasped.

Fliss looked in jealously. “It looks nice in there,” she agreed. “I wouldn’t mind sleeping in there myself!”

“With Molly?” Lyndz groaned. “You must be mad.”

“Now I thought you lassies would all like to be together for your sleepover shenanigans,” Uncle Bob told us as we walked a little further down the landing. “So I’ve put you all in here.”

He flung open the door to reveal an absolutely ginormous room. It looked about as big as one of our classrooms. There were five beds all covered in sprigged bedspreads with a mountain of blankets underneath.

“I’ll need a leg up to get in there!” Rosie giggled.

“The bathroom’s just across the way,” Uncle Bob pointed. “And don’t you go minding the strange noises. Things tend to go bump in the night but it’s usually only the hot water pipes. Nightie-night, sleep well.”

He closed the door and left.

“I’m n-not sure about this.” Fliss leant against her bed. “It’s s-so s-spooky!”

“No it’s not Fliss, it’s exciting. Look at that!” I went to the far end of the room and pulled back the curtains. The night outside was thick and dark.

“Look at the moon! It’s just—”

But I couldn’t go on, because something had just flown past the window. It was something small and black, I was sure it was. I blinked hard. Maybe I was more tired than I thought and was imagining things. No, there was another one. Something with big wings. A shiver crept down my spine.

“What’s up, Kenz?” Frankie demanded, coming to join me.

“I-I’ve just seen something fly past the window,” I told her. “But I don’t know what it was.”

Fliss started howling and Rosie and Lyndz ran to comfort her.

“That’s enough, Kenny,” Frankie said sternly, snatching the curtains and drawing them together roughly. “You never know when to stop, do you? Fliss is already freaked out and you pull a stunt like that. Enough, OK?”

“But…” I protested, but I could tell by the look on Frankie’s face that there was no point continuing.

“I’m sorry Fliss, I guess we’re all a bit tired.” I leapt up on to her bed. “I didn’t mean to scare you – honest!”

Fliss sniffed and smiled weakly.

“Let’s push the beds closer together so it feels more cosy,” Lyndz suggested.

“Good idea, Batman,” I agreed, and we heaved and shoved until they were all together at the end of the room nearest the door.

“Come on, let’s get the bathroom stuff over with,” Rosie suggested. “I don’t know about you but I feel I could sleep for a week!”

“Well don’t do that, Rosie-Posie,” I punched her lightly on the arm. “’Cos we’ve got a week of Scottish fun ahead of us, remember!”

Now we might have had a week of excitement ahead of us, but that night was no picnic, I can tell you. Fliss was moaning and shivering on one side of me, and Lyndz was snoring her head off opposite. Fun it was not. We didn’t even have a midnight feast because we were so tired. I was glad when it was morning so we could start to explore.

Over a mammoth breakfast of porridge and toast Uncle Bob told us, “Just you lassies make yourselves at home. It’s good to have some young blood in the house again.”

“Do you reckon
he’s
a vampire then?” I whispered to Frankie.

She just mouthed, “You idiot!” and whacked my leg under the table.

“Just steer clear of the loch, it is very deep,” Uncle Bob continued. “And it might be sensible to come inside when it starts dropping dark – you can see all sorts of shapes lurking among the trees at dusk. I wouldn’ae want you to be scared now!”

Fliss gasped and looked very anxious again.

“He is joking Fliss,” Mum said firmly, frowning as Uncle Bob left the room. “But I don’t want you roaming about in the dark anyway, it can get very cold. Just go and amuse yourselves quietly and we’ll see you back here for lunch at one.”

We all ran off, whooping and hollering. The first room we discovered was a library lined with books from floor to ceiling.

“Wow!” breathed Frankie. “I didn’t think one person could own so many books!”

Then we practised skidding down the hallway in our socks for ages, until Ben found us and wanted to join in.

“’Snot fair!” he whimpered as Lyndz’s mum scooped him up and carried him away.

“Sorry girls!” she called over her shoulder.

“Your mum certainly seems a lot happier!” Rosie said.

“I know!” Lyndz grinned. “She said she’d had the best night’s sleep she’s had in months. And she’s really excited about helping to get everything ready for the party too. It’s great!”

It certainly was great to see Lyndz looking so much happier too.

Running upstairs we could hear music thumping out of Molly and Carli’s room.

“We come all this way and they stay in their room listening to tapes!” I tutted. “They could do that anywhere. How could they pass up the chance to explore this great house?”

“Where do you suppose this leads?” asked Fliss, turning a door handle. “It’s not one of the bedrooms.”

She opened the door a crack and we peered into the darkness.

“There are some stairs,” said Rosie excitedly. “It must lead to the attic!”

We all looked at each other and shrieked, “Jeanne!” Then we burst out laughing.

We must have told you about the time we stayed in a hotel in Paris and nearly scared ourselves stupid because we thought someone was being held prisoner in the attic?

“I hope exploring up here’s not going to be as terrifying as last time!” Fliss shivered. “At least there’s no creepy maid this time. Boy, was that Chantal scary!”

“Wasn’t she just!” Rosie laughed.

We’d reached the top of the stairs and the attic looked pretty empty.

“No prisoners here!” Frankie announced.

“Only that blimming noise from Molly’s stupid tapes!” I snarled.

“If we follow the noise we can work out where her room is!” Frankie suggested.

“Excellent!”

The attic itself was vast with not much in it at all, just a few piles of dusty papers and some empty packing cases. We crept silently along, occasionally stopping to listen to the noises below us.

“Listen, I can hear Mum talking to Spike,” Lyndz whispered. “We must be above the boys’ room.”

“And we’re definitely getting nearer to Molly’s room,” Fliss whispered. “The noise is getting louder.”

We crept on a little further until we were standing directly over the music. The floor felt as though it was moving slightly from the vibrations.

“I’m surprised she’s not deaf listening to it that loud!” Rosie murmured.

“If we leap up and down she’ll probably think it’s part of the song!” Lyndz laughed.

“Well she would if we did it now!” I grinned. “But it wouldn’t half give her a shock if we did it in the middle of the night!”

“You wouldn’t!” Fliss looked part shocked, part scared.

“Well let’s just say – it depends,” I told them thoughtfully. “But, just in case, we’d better mark out exactly where Molly’s room is.”

We dragged a couple of packing cases over to roughly mark out the boundaries.

“Now if that sister of mine pulls just
one
stunt this week,” I told the others firmly, “we’re going to let her have it – big time!”

All the time we were having lunch we kept eyeballing Molly and Carli and laughing.

“Grow up!” Molly yelled at last. “You’re just so immature! Ignore them, Carli.”

“Molly for goodness sake, we’ve come away on holiday! Can’t you and Laura forget your differences for once?” Mum snapped.

“Not likely!”

“Well there’s plenty of room for you to stay out of each other’s way then,” Mum replied tartly. “And it might not do you and Carli any harm to get some fresh air. You can listen to your tapes any time. The air is so clean here, you ought to make the most of it before we go home.”

Molly rolled her eyes and made a being-sick face behind Mum’s back. Then she turned to me.

“You’re dead!” she muttered before stomping out, with Carli in close pursuit.

“I’m so scared!” I pretended to quake in my shoes.

“What have you girls got planned for this afternoon?” asked Lyndz’s mum.

“Exploring outside!”

“Well don’t stay out too late,” Mum warned us. “It gets dark a bit earlier up here. And for goodness sake, stay out of trouble!”

“Mother!” I looked at her innocently. “We
always
stay out of trouble!”

“If only I could believe that!” Mum sighed.

We grabbed our coats and, whooping and yelling, ran like mad things to the edge of the lake (or “loch” as Uncle Bob called it).

“It’s amazing!” Fliss breathed. “It looks like something out of a fairytale!”

“That it is, Felicity!” Uncle Bob had appeared silently behind us. “If ever I have any troubles, I bring myself here and they all seem to sort themselves out.”

“I could sort out all my troubles by pushing Molly into the loch,” I grumbled. “And holding her under!”

Uncle Bob laughed. He picked a few stones from the ground, then one by one he skimmed them across the lake so that they bounced along the surface, once, twice, even three times.

“That’s wicked!” Rosie gasped. “Could you teach us how to do that?”

“I reckon so!” he smiled. “First you’ve got to find nice flat stones – not too small and not too big.”

We hunted at our feet.

“Now then, stand at an angle to the loch and focus. The action’s all in the wrist. Relax, then whip it, like this.”

His stone skimmed the lake in four easy bounces.

“Now you try!”

Our stones just plopped in.

“Try again!”

Uncle Bob encouraged us and helped us with our aim. Just when we were starting to get a bit bored, Fliss’s stone skipped twice along the lake’s surface.

“I did it, I did it!” She leapt up and down.

That spurred us on to try harder and eventually we all managed it. It felt fantastic, a real sense of achievement!

“It’s a wee bit nippy!” Uncle Bob shivered. “But I know what’ll warm you up!”

He led us away from the lake to a clearing where Dad and Mr Collins were sawing logs.

“I’ve got us some helpers!” he grinned.

Dad looked apprehensive. “I’m not sure about that Bob, saws can be pretty dangerous.”

“Och, not when I’m supervising. Calm yourself, Jim,” Uncle Bob replied.

First Frankie and I had a go at sawing, then Lyndz and Fliss. Finally Rosie had a go with Uncle Bob. When we weren’t sawing we were helping to stack up the logs in great piles. I’d never got so hot, nor ached so much in my life, not even playing football.

“Right lassies, it’s almost dusk now!” Uncle Bob told us at last. “Time for a wee romp outside afore it’s time to go in. I’d check out the chapel by the loch if I were you. I’ve heard tell of great goings-on down there at about this time. You must have a look – if you’re brave enough, that is!”

“W-what does he mean?” Fliss looked at us anxiously as we walked away towards the lake again.

“Ah, nothing, Fliss! You should know by now that Uncle Bob’s just a big wind-up merchant. He just wants to tease us, that’s all,” I reassured her.

But as we approached the lake I wasn’t so sure. The light seemed to have faded in just a short time and everything seemed to be casting freaky shadows around us. The wind was whistling through the trees, twisting the branches into sinister shapes.