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HAMPTON 6

MIRAGE

 

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Copyright  

Published  by  Hampton  Senior  High  School.  Morley  Drive,  East  Morley,  Western  Australia  6062  

Copyright  ©  Hampton  Senior  High  School  

All  rights  reserved.  This  book  is  copyright.  Apart  from  fair  dealing  for  the  purpose  of  the  private  study,  research,  criticism  or  review,  as  permitted  under  Copyright  Act,  no  part  may  be  reproduced  by  any  process  without  written  permission.  Enquiries  should  be  made  to  the  publisher/s.  

Distributed  in  Australia  and  overseas  by  the  publisher/s  

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To the children at PMH, we hope you enjoy reading our book as much as we

enjoyed making it.

We’d like to give a big thanks, to the people who helped make this year’s 2015 Book in a Day possible and to all those who purchased WABIAD prints from

previous years to help fund the day.

Warm regards, HAMPTON SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL.

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acknowledgements

Teachers and staff Literacy Committee

Parents Hampton Senior High School

authors

Annette Barlow Sean Devitt

Katie Nelson Mariam Wali Ali

illustrators

Klimie Cruz Francis Plando

CATEGORY Senior School

PARAMETERS Primary Characters: Doggie-wash operator Vegetarian

Non-human character: Kitten

Setting: Dungeon Secret Hollow Tree

Words: Eye- opening Curiosity Reflection Frantic Memory

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Chapter One

gaze

Chapter Two

vacuous

Chapter Three

resplendent

Chapter Four

metamorphosis

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It is on his way home that he feels the gaze. It started as a slight warmth, a gentle heat that began by nipping at the back of his neck

before billowing outwards and becoming two searing pinpricks gouging out his flesh. It was

Chapter ONE

gaze

 

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an uncomfortable feeling, one he was not quite accustomed to, and it made Cain pause in his step.

He was not a paranoid person. In fact, if he had to describe himself, Cain would have labelled himself a fairly relaxed individual, but the eeriness of the situation was making him doubt the decision to walk home rather than take the bus. The sun was just beginning to set, bathing the sky a gorgeous, honey golden colour. The air was crisp and, even though he wore a jacket, a deep chill had set into Cain’s bones, making his progress slow and uncomfortable.

It had been a busy day at the Dog-wash with a German Shepherd escaping his cage and making it into the backyard and two Labrador puppies that had refused to go under the showerhead. It was eye-opening, just how energetic animals could be. Cain was beyond exhausted but had still chosen the fresh air over the suffocating atmosphere of public transportation. He had nearly been home too, quickly crossing through the park opposite his street, when the awful feeling of being watched had started and he had frozen in his spot.

Cain ran a hand through his hair and tried not to wince as it snagged on one of the many chestnut-coloured knots. He hadn’t had a haircut in a while and now it fell in his deep blue eyes, another occurrence that made people compare him to the Old English sheepdog painted on the front of his store.

“Is anyone there?” he called after what seemed like forever, the quiet finally beginning to get to him. Silence was the only thing that answered him and crimson blossomed across his cheeks, embarrassment filling him at the realisation that he had become frightened over something as frivolous as an empty park.

With a frustrated shake of his head, Cain forced his body back into action and set back off for his house. However, with each step he took, the more his neck burned until he could no longer ignore it. With an angered grunt, he spun on his heels and looked sharply behind him, his rage at being made a fool of only growing when he could not immediately see anyone.

“Who’s there?!” he finally snapped, placing his hands on his hips to prevent them from curling into fists. His eyes darted to and fro, waiting for some glimmer of the person watching him to reveal themselves.

As tense as he was, he jumped when the bushes to his left rustled and he locked eyes with two glowing pools of dark gold. The pupils were mere pinpoints while the irises swirled like dye still trying to settle in water. Cain, as frightened as he was, was immediately caught in the gaze, his chest tightening in a bizarrely foreboding fashion as he felt himself sinking further and further into the leaf-shrouded eyes.

The staring match between the two seemed to go on for ages until a quiet noise broke the stillness in the air. Cain blinked in surprise and, before he could react, the golden eyes disappeared and a dark figure darted out and ran between his legs. He stumbled in his desperation to see what the shape had been and ended up tripping over his own feet, sprawling in the dirt a second after. With a grunt of pain, he pushed himself into a sitting position and narrowed his eyes, glaring across at the offending creature that had caused him nothing but trouble since he had originally felt its gaze on his neck.

A kitten. It was a mangy little creature at best— its fur a light ginger with rather scraggly looking

patches of brown fur dotting its pelt. It looked as if it hadn’t had a decent bath or a proper

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meal in some time, its oily, roughened fur clinging tightly to its ribs. Something dark matted the fur beneath its chin and Cain could only guess it had been its last meal, however long ago that might have been.

“Hello there,” Cain murmured soothingly, pity immediately replacing the annoyance he had felt barely moments before when he had thought it had been a person watching him. “You okay, kitty-kitty?”

He held out a hand to the creature, clicking his tongue quietly like he did with the more timid dogs he had to deal with at the dog wash. The kitten seemed to watch him for a moment, its disconcerting yellow eyes silently darting from face to hand before coming back to rest on his face once more.

So, imagine Cain’s surprise when it leapt forward and sank its fangs into his hand. A very unmanly yelp resonated from deep within Cain’s chest and he leapt back onto

his feet, clutching at his hand as it began to ooze a dark crimson liquid. Pain radiated steadily from the wound and he pressed it to his chest, totally oblivious to the blood soaking into his shirt in the process.

“What’d you do that for?!” he growled back at the cat who was sitting back on its haunches, watching him in disinterest.

He made to turn away, determined to just leave the little beast where it was, when something strange began to happen. His vision, which was usually as clear as crystal, palpitated; the sight before him wavering briefly before the world took on a fuzzy tinge.

“What’s… going on?” he mumbled under his breath, raising his free hand up to his forehead. The skin was burning up against his fingers and a fine layer of sweat had begun to emanate from there. He blinked and, by the time he had cleared his vision enough to see, it was to the sight of the ground rising to meet him. As the light faded from his eyes, the last thing he saw was a little ginger and brown kitten; golden eyes fixated on his face.

And then it all went black.

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Chapter TWO

vacuous

 

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The headache that accompanied the return of Cain’s consciousness was unbearable. The throbbing pain in his temple murdered the possibility of his vision rendering any light. The fact that his eyes were open was evident only by the minuscule impurities that attacked them, presumably being carried by the light breeze Cain felt upon his face. Thankfully that draft protected him from the harsh heat that radiated about his body as he lay on the firm, rocky ground. He rubbed the coarse particles out of his eyes before closing them, waiting out the breeze. The wind soothed the headache and, before too long, light invaded the pitch black that engulfed his vision prior.

Cain’s eyes focused and he recognized the infinite pale blue plane above him as the sky. Pushing off the incredibly hard surface that he laid on, Cain raised his torso, finding himself sitting in a barren, yellow landscape, expanding as far as his stinging eyes could see in every direction.

Lifting himself to his feet, Cain experienced a dizziness spell. Possibly the effect of some sort of disease in the mouth of that feline, he thought. Afraid to leave the spot where he stood, Cain slowly spun around, struggling to accept that he actually awoke in such an empty place. Continuing to spin, not knowing which direction was which, he noticed a large tree in the vast distance. Failing to stop for any arousal of curiosity and now wearing his jacket upon his head in defense from the attacking sun, Cain ran towards the tree in desperation of shade.

He embraced the shade, moving his jacket back down to his body to let the cool, moist air around the thick, lively green leaves sink into his skin. Trunks and branches towered above him, each one being the base for an abundance of leaves creating barricade after barricade between the sun and Cain. He looked to the ground, mesmerized by the dense brown roots digging into the dead, yellow desert floor.

He ran his hand along the tree’s base where the roots collated to link the structure to the earth. He put pressure on the stump, pushing his palm into it before finding his palm fall to the desert ground. Surprised by the stump’s disappearance, Cain looked up to discover the tree entirely gone. Confused as to whether he was going crazy or this was no ordinary desert, Cain stood up and looked for the possibility that the tree had just moved. A seemingly reasonable assumption considering that the tree had just minutes prior appeared in the desert out of nowhere.

With the vanishing of the tree taking away his only provision of shade, Cain found himself again at the mercy of the desert sun. He moved his jacket above his head, hoping to protect his neck and face from the burning heat—something that proved to be only a temporary fix.

“Water,” Cain mumbled to himself. He wasn’t sure as to whether or not he would get to converse with anyone again so it seemed like a good idea to begin talking with himself. “I need water.”

Unsure if it was a mirage, real or another occurrence similar to that of the tree, Cain saw a pool of water in the distance. Unimaginably blue, it shone under the sun that breathed down on him. His thirst was too great to simply toss this oasis aside and deem it as a mirage. Cain ran to the pool and collapsed down to his knees by its edge. He improvised a cup with his hands and went to submerge them in the miniature lake. But once again the desert played a cruel prank on Cain and his hands only collided with the sand, all traces of any pool of water, let alone any moisture, having disappeared.

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Cain was no longer at the mercy of the desert heat for his entire body had been overcome with immense frustration. His arms vibrated as his muscles tensed. The vibrations travelled up his shoulders and into his throat, his voice box ready to combust.

“FOR THE LOVE OF--” Cain released the anger from his throat but cut off suddenly when he heard an echo from behind. He turned around, facing the direction from which he came, only to find a large rock formation had manifested behind in, and at its centre; a cave opening. “HONESTLY THINK I’LL FALL FOR THIS ONE!?” he yelled, almost as if expecting a response from perhaps an unseen observer.

There was no way this cave was real. First waking up in a desert, God knows which one, next a massive tree appearing then disappearing and the same with a darn lake. Cain was at the conclusion that the cave would also be just a trick. Nonetheless he approached the cave, for sheer instinct powered his legs, bringing him closer to the cave’s mouth. Frustration once again rushed over his body, his muscles tensing and breathing becoming heavier.

“FLIPPIN’ HECK!” he let out, pulling his shoulder back and raising his fist. Cain launched the fist towards the cave’s wall, in an effort to punch away the illusion. But the efforts were in vain. “ARGH” he screamed, his entire hand up until his wrist immobilized in the moment by the excruciating pain.

Once the agony had slightly subsided Cain’s attention was drawn to the cave itself. He ran his fingers over the walls of the entrance waiting for it to dematerialize. He walked to the opposite wall, watching closely to make sure the mouth remained where it was before running his fingers along the rock. The formation was not disappearing. It appeared as if the cave were completely real.

Feeling as if it warranted further investigation, and wanting to escape the dry desert heat, Cain headed forwarded through the mouth of the cave and into the expansion of darkness. He continued away from the light, deeper into vastness. Step after step, Cain grew more and more curious until finally he missed one. The ground had been an inch or two lower and he found himself stumbling down a slope before meeting leveled ground metres below the cave’s entrance. He sat himself up, hearing behind him the crashing of rocks behind him, blocking the last source of light he had, and taking away his only exit from the now pitch black cave.

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Chapter THREE

resplendent

 

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Light. A luxurious luminescence that one often takes for granted, showered Cain. His beaten

hands immersed themselves in the moist mud as his eyes adjusted to the new found level of brightness, sourced from the glowing minerals imbedded in the stalagmites. He scanned his surroundings, only to find that the way he’d come in could not be used to go out, the cave collapsing in on itself during his fall.

“Argh... Why? Can this day get any worse?” sulked Cain, as he examined his injuries. “At least I was wearing my coat—otherwise I’d be worse off.”

He pushed his hands downwards, propping himself up, the grazes on his hands stinging as he applied pressure. It was like a thousand bees puncturing their razor sharp stingers in his hands all at once. Especially his right hand which he had flung at the cave—it felt as if it were on fire.

“Ouch,” he grunted, as if his aching body would listen and cease the pain. Standing tall, he wondered what to do. With no way back, the only way was to push

forward, into a dark cavern in the distance only alight by the occasional gentle glow of small gems and other phosphorescent materials. He ruminated whether to leave the safety of the brightly glowing minerals in the stalagmites or to progress into the unknown.

Pacing, he weighed out his options. Staying would be the best chance for being rescued, but with the desert being so empty, he doubted the likelihood of such occurrence. But then again did he really want to progress into the dank, dark cavern?

Thinking, he started reminiscing over past experiences, trying to find a memory that could help him make a decision. He remembered back to when he was a child, how he had to pick over being a doggie-wash operator, which he so desperately wanted to do, or to become a doctor as his parents had envisioned him in for so long. Even though this was merely a choice of career, and not a possibly life and death decision, he chose to go with his heart, so he decided to put faith in his heart once more again.

Suddenly, the silence of the dungeon like cave was broken. He heard what seemed to be like another person, weeping. As it echoed through the cave, he pinpointed it to be from the dank cavern. Now his heart and his soul were in the bet for the cavern venture.

Cain carefully approached the cavern, ducking down under the extremities of the cave. His tall, slender body flexibly maneuvered itself into the chamber. Stretching out once more, his muscles screamed with ache, like he had done a twelve hour day on his feet, washing the dense layers of fur covering man’s best friend.

His azure eyes dilated, as the new confined space was only occasionally lit by the soft glow of gems that sprinkled the wall every now and again. Once again he examined his new environment to establish a plan of attack. As he swept his surroundings, his eyes caught a black silhouette, located in the centre of the cavern. This area too seemed to be the origin of the noise that had been reflecting throughout the remainder of the cave.

Cain edged forward, carefully and cautiously, the only sound now being the squelch of mud under his black work boots. Each step also seemed to unleash the odours locked in the grains of dirt that made up the paste covering the floor, enhancing the moldy smell that already engulfed the cave.

As he got closer and closer, the black silhouette he had seen beforehand established itself to be a large stalactite. It was not unlike any of the previous stalagmites he had seen

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glowing at the entrance of the cave. This rock formation was much larger, probably just slightly exceeding the size of a Great Dane. He slowly raised his lanky arm and placed his grazed hands on its craggily surface; wiping his hands over the rock as if he was a child first experiencing the feel of nature. He paced, slowly around its circumference, examining its cracks and crevices. As he moved towards the back, the stalagmite suddenly took on a warm orange glow, as if a child had drawn a line down the centre and only allocated a colour for that half.

Then, he heard it again, the sound of a small child sobbing, wailing, like when being sentenced to the dungeons of their room as punishment for being naughty. Cain wished he had been sent to his room, at least being grounded offered the comfort of home and not the moist and moldy confinement like he currently found himself in. He stumbled forward, feeling as if he was getting nearer and nearer to what was making the sound. Cain’s legs shook with nervousness; he had never really been the courageous type.

Cain took one last step, and with that the source of the noise came evident. The sobbing was not coming from a small child but a woman, crouched down with her head in between her bony knees. The glow coming from the stalagmites bathed her hair in an orangey colour, and too glistened across her shoulders and her knees, resembling the colour of a ginger cat.

She shot straight up, her locks swishing back with her upwards motion. Cain was so tall that silently creeping had never been one of his assets. Her red rimmed eyes appeared startled by his presence.

“Hello… uh…” hesitated Cain as he introduced himself to the woman. Abruptly, she pounced upwards, her hands sweeping past her filthy yellow dress. She

too had scratches on her hands, just like Cain. Except hers appeared more deep and refined rather than the grazes Cain had obtained from the tumble initially into the dungeon-like labyrinth.

“Where did you come from?” she questioned, her soft voice barely audible to Cain’s ears.

“I’m not sure, I… well fell down and then landed here, in the cave, well back there. I looked around but couldn’t find a way to get back out. A bunch of rocks are blocking the entrance…” spoke Cain, trying to say all that he needed to in one breath.

“The only way is that way,” she said as she pointed towards a smaller dark tunnel in the distance.

“Here, come follow me,” she leapt up and headed towards the entrance of what appeared to be a deeper and darker tunnel than what had led to their current cavern.

Cain hesitated for a moment, his stomach churning at the thought of contorting his aching limbs once more through such a small space. The woman grabbed his right hand and Cain cringed as she squeezed his bruised, grazed knuckles.

“Come on, let’s go,” she pleaded, dragging him forward. “Okay,” agreed Cain. He reluctantly stepped forward, feeling as if this cave business was beginning to feel

like a game of Cat and Mouse.

 

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Chapter FOUR

metamorphosis

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They walked in silence, the only sound coming from Cain’s footsteps as his shoes squished the cushiony, mud-layered ground. He looked down at her bare feet, noticing how flecks of dirt covered her calves as her heels lifted off the floor.

“I’m Faye.” Cain politely looked away from her blackened soles and met her eyes. They were a

moss green, unnaturally bright from the crying. “Cain. Are you sure you know where we’re going?” he asked, squinting at the tunnel-

like pathway they were taking. There seemed to be no clearing, just darkness. His muscles tensed, almost as if he was subconsciously sending himself a message; something’s wrong.

“Certain.” Faye’s soft-spoken voice relaxed the tension in his chest slightly. “It’s the only chamber I haven’t fully explored. I went here yesterday and I saw some light coming through; I followed it for such a long time but eventually I guess night fell outside and I decided to come back. The only source of light is from those minerals back where you fell. I don’t like sleeping in darkness.”

“How long do you think you walked for?” Cain was beginning to feel dizzy again. Something about Faye’s silvery-white hair and the encroaching darkness made him feel like he was in a dream he couldn’t wake up from. It didn’t feel real. It couldn’t be.

“I’m not sure, but we should be seeing the light soon.” “What about where I came in from? Have you tried finding that opening?” Cain didn’t

like the idea of going further into the cave, no matter how much light she promised there would be. It didn’t feel like an opening, just an opportunity to delve further into this nightmarish adventure.

“Closed up, I can’t get up the slant. Trust me; I’ve tried everything, Cain. This could really be our only way out.” Faye paused in her step and turned to Cain, smiling slightly. There was something in her smile that was unnerving and pulled at the recesses of Cain’s mind, urging him to turn back and get as far away from her as he could. But her eyes, such a beautiful shade of green, promised safety and hope. He continued walking, causing Faye to follow.

“So what do you do, Faye? I mean, out there?” Cain waved a hand, indicating the world outside. Slowly, a thought permeated into his head, one that he was surprised he hadn’t thought of until now. “Wait… how long have you been here?” Her ragged dress and matted hair suggested that it had been a while since she had had a shower or even seen her reflection.

“I’m an environmentalist.” Cain raised an eyebrow, surprised by her answer. “Vegetarian, save the whales, tree hugger. You know?” She laughed softly, her voice like wind-chimes. “No, but seriously, I am all those things. Well, I was. I’ve been here for a long time. There it is.”

Faye pointed a scratched-up finger toward the beginnings of a faint, orange glow that reminded him of the golden sky from his walk home earlier. Slowly, the glow became a piercing light which made Cain squint and hold up a hand to shade his eyes. The light was too strong and, as he tipped his head to avoid it, it suddenly blinked off. He stumbled, the abrupt change making him lose his footing and his arms flailed out, searching for something solid to hold onto.

“Faye?” He called out as he hit the muddy soil. He couldn’t see a thing. “Faye, what’s happening?” Cain quickly rose to his feet again, nursing his right hand close to his chest.

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He’d forgotten all about the throbbing pain but now it was back and a second later even more prominent as a hand grabbed his and pulled. “Faye?”

As Cain began to be dragged forward, a pair of eyes appeared in the black chamber, a vivid, glowing green. The shape was exactly like Faye’s but the colour had been amplified and bore into Cain’s eyes. “Let go of—!”

His sentence ended in a loud grunt as he was shoved violently towards the ground once more, his head coming into contact with the hardened mud and the thin skin near his temple slicing open. He winced as he felt warm liquid oozing down his forehead and wiped it with his shaking fingers. Slowly, he lifted his head up and was met with a glowing, moss-covered tree.

“The Secret Hollow Tree,” a voice whispered behind him. Cain whipped his head around and instantly regretted it as his surroundings blurred and spun.

“What is this place?” he croaked. “Faye, what’s happening?” Even after her mistreatment of him, Cain wanted to trust her.

“Here, Kitty.” As Cain’s world stilled, he watched Faye slowly step to the base of the tree, walking

over white-washed sticks. The sticks were all different shapes and sizes, some with sharp edges and others rounded, almost like they joined with… bones. They were bones. Cain let in a sharp intake of breath and blinked rapidly, ferociously trying to mentally change what he saw. The trunk shifted like a mirage in a desert and he expected it to disappear at any moment but instead a hole began to appear at the centre of the glowing bark. The spirally roots pulsed a muted yellow and seemed to encompass Faye as she sat. Out of the hole, the same ginger kitten that had bitten him, padded toward Faye and leapt into her lap.

“It’s okay, I’m back, I found one.” Faye stroked the kitten softly and raised her eyes to meet Cain’s. “A long time. I’ve been here a very, very long time. You have no idea how many people I’ve met, just like you. Innocent, wide-eyed, gullible. How many bones have been licked clean, the flesh enjoyed by my… pet. It’s okay, Kitty. He’s for you. All for you.”

The kitten purred and snapped its head to face Cain, its almond shaped eyes flashing from a dull yellow to the same vivid green as Faye’s had become. His purrs gradually built to now sound like low, guttural moans. It jumped off Faye’s lap, its fur shimmering like an illusion of an oasis. It hissed, saliva spitting at Cain’s face, its teeth protruding as his jaw unnaturally began to grow. Cain could feel his muscles freezing at the sight of the small feline transforming into its hideous, monstrous, deformed counterpart. Cain could see his frightened reflection in the beast’s illuminating, green eyes.

“Heck,” he whispered.

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Chapter FIVE

white light

 

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It is the contrast that scares him more. Her laugh is musical and haunting all at the same time while the sound that leaves the

beast’s jaw is bone-tremblingly frightening. The two sounds mix together in Cain’s ears, forming something dangerous and bloodthirsty all at once that leaves his guts churning.

The beast stands slouched, as if the weight of its body is too great even for it to stand properly. The ribs are pronounced and stretch the skin around it nearly to breaking point. The kitten had looked unhealthy before, tiny and underfed, but now it looked like a walking corpse where someone had decided to play God when they shouldn’t have. The ginger fur with the brown patches was matted and spiked and, when it opened its mouth, Cain could just barely glimpse a row of orange-stained teeth.

He thought he might pass out. The lithe muscles of the beast contracted and Cain’s eyes widened in terror, unable to

do anything other than watch as it seemed to collapse in on itself like a coiled spring. A matted tail flicked back and forth behind it hypnotically but was unable to draw Cain’s attention from the two leering, yellow-turned-green gaze that never once left him.

“My pet is my purpose,” Faye said, her voice barely a chiming giggle that sounded far too melodic for the situation he was in. “And he is very, very hungry, Cain.”

She is higher than he is and yet he can see it perfectly when she raises her hand and places her thumb and index fingers inside of her mouth. A sharp, piercing whistle slices through the air and panic sets in in Cain’s mind. The green eyes of the monster pulse and the pupils retracts, almost completely disappearing as it focuses entirely on the meal its master had placed before it. Everything went silent as the whistle faded out and the two individuals on the ground remained locked in a staring contest, much like they had been back when the world had made sense.

And then Cain lost his balance. At the sudden movement, a loud, guttural growl tore itself from between the beast’s

lips, giving Cain barely a fraction of a second to respond before the beast took off after him. As he bolted from his spot, Cain couldn’t help but once again question exactly what was going on. Why had this happened? What on earth was going on? Why did none of this make sense? His mind was foggy and he was dizzy from the events of the last few hours but, as a deep, cracking noise sounded behind him, he was snapped back into unforgiving clarity.

He was being chased by a monster. He was being chased by a monster that wanted to eat him. A monster that wanted to eat him that looked as if it weight a hundred pounds. His body ached with everything it had been put through and yet he ran faster that he

had ever run before, all too conscious of the great hulking body that he sensed could move swifter than him even in its current condition. He could no longer hear its laboured breathing over his own, nor could he hear the sound of its footsteps as he pressed himself underneath one of the tree’s roots for a few seconds of reprieve to collect his thoughts.

“You cannot hide from us, Cain.” The voice rang out across the huge cavern and Cain could not contain the shudder that

wracked through his body at the words. He was terrified, something he didn’t even want to try and deny. He was in a cold, dark place with nothing but the light of the surrounding crystals casting shadows over everything and giving his predator thousands of places to hide.

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A gust of warm air ghosted over the back of his neck and he leapt away from his hiding spot, catching a glimpse of two glowing green eyes before the thing pounced back into the shadows.

He couldn’t help but feel like the prey in a game of Cat and Mouse. Cain was frantic by this point, desperately searching for a way out as he raced around

the perimeter of the cavern. His bruised and cut-up hands searched and worried over the craggy surfaces in case of a weakened point in which he could try to escape. Shadows danced on the edges of his vision and he felt his lungs constrict in fear—fear that something would leap from the shadows at any second to take his life in a flurry of screams and darkness.

A roar reached his ears and he ducked and rolled out of reach of a pair of clawed paws that snapped out from one of the open holes in the hollow tree. Cain shrieked as he felt a red hot pain begin to burn across his cheek followed by a wetness streaking down his face that he could only guess was his own lifeblood.

In his desire to get away, he grabbed a chunk of the bark between his hands and began to heft himself up. Why he went upwards, he wasn’t quite sure, but he put it down to the fact that the only place he hadn’t yet tested for a way of escape was the roof.

If he was wrong, he was dead. If he was right, he was alive. He wasn’t necessarily a strong person but the adrenaline of the situation fuelled his

actions enough to scale the tree a fair way up before he began to encounter problems. He was weary and in incredibly pain from the lacerations and bruises he had received during the course of the day and yet he knew he couldn’t stop no matter what.

The laughter had stopped by this point and it filled him with even more dread than it did when it was present. He could feel the girls eyes on his neck, much like the kitten’s had been before, and he could feel the heaviness of the stare trying to drag him down. He gritted his teeth and continued to claw his way upwards towards the roof, ignoring Faye even when she started screeching for her demonic pet to ‘get him, get him!’

He had just reached the top when Cain heard the sickening sound of crunching bark start from bellow. Dragging himself towards the edge of the canopy, he stared down through the leaves with a sinking heart only to see the corpse-like beast dragging itself up after him, climbing at a speed that he was sure wouldn’t give him another chance at escape.

With what little strength that he had left he began banging and clawing at the rocky ceiling above. It reverberated hollowly and a small spark of hope filled him, increasing his efforts. The sounds behind him grew louder and louder and, in his franticness, Cain struck as hard as he could against the rock, hard enough to rattle the bones all along his arm and cause an indescribable amount of pain to course through his system. Rocks became dislodged from the ceiling and he clawed at the cracks, causing one little opening full of white light to appear.

The ceiling was crumbling by this point and dust laced the air thickly as Cain tried to dig his way out of the darkness of the cave. An inhuman shriek reached his ears and he froze in his place, eyes wide as he stared across at a dark shape with jagged teeth and sharp claws.

As far as he was concerned, he was as good as dead. It jolted forward, jaw agape and claws extended as it aimed for his throat. He

screeched—a sound full of pure, unbridled fear that he didn’t dare try to contain. But, just as

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it grew close enough for him to feel its sour, moist breath against his cold cheeks, a sickening crack sounded and a section of the roof collapsed right on top of it, sending the two falling through the thick canopy in a barrage of branches and disfigured limbs. With barely a second to comprehend what had just happened, Cain sucked in a lungful of air and clawed at the hole that had just opened up in the roof. He reached towards it and—

And opened his eyes to find himself back in the park. He blinked blearily, confusion clouding his mind for a few brief seconds before

noticing an odd weight on his chest. Turning his gaze towards it, he narrowed his eyes, finding two all-too-familiar golden eyes watching him from its perch on his chest.

“Get off! Shoo!” Cain cried indignantly, waving at the kitten before getting back to his feet.

The creature darted off, reclaiming its previous position back in the bush off the side of the path. Cain glared at it for a few seconds longer before sighing and running a still bruised and bloody hand through his hair.

“This is why I’m a dog person.”

25    

 

 

The Mirage tells the story of an average, everyday doggie-wash operator, who, on his way home one night, is bitten by a seemingly

ordinary kitten and wakes up in a desert world where unfitting items manifest themselves and

there’s no clear way of how to get home.

Will he make it?

 

Recommended  Reader  Age:  10-­‐16