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Dangerous Waters "So - tuck in!" He cried. Drevin grabbed his knife and fork and began to eat. We followed his lead, and swallowed mouthful after mouthful of soft, squishy cheese, and crumbly biscuits. Always a good meal, although some people don't think so.
Chatter emerged from all over the long table with its many inhabitants. Various coversations could be head about animal sightings they'd seen that day; how the wife was; who's birthday present had been opened first, and all sorts of other gibber - gabber that occupies mealtimes.
Fidget turned to me. I knew Fidget fairly well - we worked together, after all. We shared a buisness - selling cat collars. We had had a good day. We'd sold over half our stock, and so it was good that another load was coming in that evening. But outside of work, Fidget and I rarely met. "So - how's your family?" he asked. A safe question. Nothing too personal, Nothing too vague. "They're ok - all apart from junior Fidget - he's got a cold, poor lad." "Aww, wish him health for me - he's sweet, as well as being a junior me." Fidget grinned heartily and chewed at a big piece of cheese. "Thanks. I will do." I turned back to my dinner, not expecting him to say anything more.
But he did.
"Hey - you really wanna stay here?" He asked suddenly, surprising me, and making me choke slightly on crumbs. After slapping me on my back, he looked at me, expecting an answer. "Umm, not really." It was the truth. I had never liked formal dinners, where everyone dressed up, and put on false airs and mannerisms. It was too fake for me. I like to think of myself as a very honest person. And then suspicion arouse. "Why?"
"I'm seriously bored, and we could be doing something much more fun." He answered looking glum. "Like what?" "Like going on an adventure!" "An adventure?" "Yeah! We could tease the cats..." "I did that yesterday." I sounded bored to death, and I knew it. "Shame... we could visit Sharon!" He exclaimed, his face brightening up at the idea. "Sharon? I don't know..." Sharon was well - known for all the murders that went on around here. She was supposedly highly dangerous, and to be avoided at all costs. However, some reckless fools went and 'visited' here for dares or for fun. "Oh, go on! We'll be extremely careful, I promise. I won't let you get hurt. I know you have a family and everything." Fidget's eyes cloud over slightly. It was the one thing he's always wanted. A family, with children and a good, loving wife. But it had never happened. It was rumoured that Cally from the other street liked him a lot, but he wasn't interested. It was a shame really. "I still don't know..." "Please? Pretty please? I've always wanted to do this. We're big boys now. We can stay safe. We won't stay long. Yes?" He clasped his hands together and looked up at me with those big, round eyes of his. I still wasn't sure. I didn't know Fidget very well. I didn't know if he was reckless like some of the younger lads around town, or whether he was actually pretty sensible, but the sort of person who liked a bit of fun now and then.
In the end, I agreed. True, I was reluctant, but I was also very excited. Hardly anyone I knew had been to Sharon's house, and I would be a hero when we got back - if we did get back.
We raced over the fields, the wind blowing in our hair, and whistling in our ears. The grasses ticked us, but we just laughed happily. This was definately an adventure, and this was definately more fun than a stuffy, formal dinner.
When, eventually, Sharon's house came into view, we came to a halt. It loomed over us. I had never thought of it being so big! I had imagined it as a cottage; it was in fact a castle. With grey, stone walls, and a hard, wooden door, it stood in our path. Dropping onto all fours, we crept up to the door.
My heart was scampering around inside me - it had a life of its own. As for my lungs? Well, my breath was coming out in quick, short bursts, and I usually found myself holding my breath for no apparent reason.
But Fidget seemed totally confident in what he was doing. He ran up to the huge door, and quickly found a crack.
We slipped in. We were supposed to be silent, but I'm sure someone must have heard my little heart beating rapidly. To me, it sounded like a clock - consistently ticking away, being ignored but trying to be the centre of attention. But I swallowed my nerves, and dared myself onwards.
As soon as we were fully inside, Fidget gasped, and I did the same. And for a reason. The place was just like home... apart from the fact that it was giant. Really giant. I had never seen chairs so big (at least I presume they were chairs - it's kind of hard to make out objects when your 300x smaller than they are!) and the tables hovered over us like canopies. And then I jumped out of my skin.
I saw why this place was so full of dangers. Two cats were lying by the ginormous fire (which had enormous flames leaping swiftly in it; flames which scared the life out of me). But these cat were bigger than I'd ever seen before. Like everything else, they were miles bigger than Fidget and I were.
I touched Fidget gently on his arm, and I felt him jump under my fingers as he saw the beasts. "Cats?" He whispered softly, his voice full of fear. "Shh..." I hushed him quickly, terrified that we would be heard.
And for a moment, I thought my fears had come true, for a pair of shoes marched into the room. Shoes that could hold 10 of me in. And with the shoes came legs, arms, a head, and a long, thin body inbetween.
I was struck dumb for a second, before Fidget grabbed my wrist, and pulled me to one side, next to a wooden cabinet door who's handle was so high up I could barely see it. I breathed in, desperately trying to blend in with the light brown of the wood.
The shoes came closer. Dangerously close. I could smell them. Boy, did they smell! They stunk worse than anything I knew - even worse than skunks, in my opinion (which isn't worth much)!
I grabbed hold of Fidget's hand, I was that scared. I was shaking like mad. Fidget stiffened - he obviously wasn't exactly happy with holding another male's hand - but then relaxed, and in fact squeezed my hand harder than I was squeezing his.
Then came the scream. It was such a high - pitched sound that for a dreadful moment I seriously thought my ear - drums had snapped. But thankfully they hadn't, although it did leave me a headache.
Fidget started to run. I followed suit, but he was much faster than me, and I couldn't quite keep up. Noticing this, he turned, and slowed down, preparing to wait.
"Fidget! No! Run! I'll be ok!" "No - I'm waiting. Come on!" I smiled at him. He was willing to wait.
Eventually, I caught up with him, and we legged it across the big kitchen tiles. The stomp, stomp, stomp of feet came after us.
And then suddenly, incredibly, we were lifted up by our heads! We were lifted higher and higher, our feet dangling below us, our heads pounding bcause of the sausage - like fingers that held us. But, by now, I wanted them to hold me. I realised quickly that if I was to fall, I would fall to my death. It wasn't hard to work out.
To my dismay, however, the fingers loosened their grip slightly, and we began to move. I cast a terrified look in Fidget's direction. He wasn't moving. His head was at a strange angle, and there was a glimmer of white as a bone protruded through the skin.
I screamed. My head whirled. Fidget was already gone - with a broken neck. I was on my own. And I was sure that I was the next target. Nausea crept up on me, and I vomited.
Sharon (it had to be Sharon, hadn't it? I was in her house, after all) cried out as my vomit splashed against her top. I yelled back at her; cursing her for all the wrongs she had done, all the lives she had taken.
I vomited again. With another angry and disgusted cry, Sharon flung me. I travelled faster than I had ever gone before. I was trying a lot of new things that day. I had a great sensation up in the air - a sensation that had nothing to do with my surroundings.
I honestly felt like I was free - free as a bird, and all my worries and doubts immediately disappeared. It gave the impression that I was alone in the world, and for a fleeting moment, I was enjoying myself immensly and I was undoubtably happy.
Until I hit the window.
I went smashing through it. Glass tore at my soft skin, cutting me, and leaving trails of red blood behind. It hurt like mad. I swore madly, at about 15 words per second. And I was still soaring through the air. But the sensation was gone. I just felt sick, tired, and hurt. But it wasn't just my body that was hurting. My heart hurt too.
I screamed and screamed until I finally hit the floor with a big bump. I was lucky - I had fallen on my backside. But even so, I could feel a large bruise forming there already. I lay on my back, breathing in deeply. The smell of the grass and the pollen relieved me greatly. My legs began to ache, and I sat up, studying my body as I went.
My legs were badly cut, with gashes everywhere. Each one displayed droplets of dark blood. I brushed the blood away, wincing at the pain of it. My body was worst off. Absolutely covered in grazes, scratches, gashes and wounds of every variety, my body looked like it had been used as a chopping board for a chef. I brushed away tears at the sight of the state I was in. My arms hurt to be moved. They too were bashed up - with blood seeping from one particular cut that looked very deep and nasty.
More tears emerged. I wiped them away frustratedly. Self - pity. That's what I was showing. I'd lost a friend, and instead of weeping for him, I was crying for my own, battered body! It wasn't good enough. It wasn't right.
Slowly, I got to my feet and shuffled forwards a few steps. I tripped almost immediately. My legs hurt to much to move, and my muscles were screaming at me to stop moving altogether anyway. So I obeyed them. I fell to the floor, and rolled over in the grass for a few moments, waiting for the gentle slope to stop pulling me downwards.
Eventually, I stopped moving, and I lay there, under the big blue sky, which was dotted neatly with fluffly white clouds that belonged in a picture book. I felt on edge, for some reason.
That's when I realised that I was literally was on edge. I moved slightly, and felt the ground fall away from beneath me! I tumbled downwards, expecting death, or at the very least, broken bones. Instead, I fell to the mercy of the river.
I landed in it with a splash. It was fast - moving, and I was swept along with it. Water bubbled and exploded around me. It went in my eyes, ears, it went everywhere. My cuts pained me so much I thought I would collapse. They stung! And stung. And stung. I tried to take deep breathes, to get over my shock, but every time I tried to do so, water just rushed in and I choked on it.
I choked often. Water rushed to the back of my throat, surprising me, and I would splutter and cough in an effort to regain control over myself. And all the while I was being rushed along in a river.
More than once I was tipped upside down. Those were the worst times. When I was surrounded by water and bubbles. The noise was terrific under there. I had no sense of direction. I had no idea where the floor was. I panicked. I couldn't breathe! Water was drowning me... slowly.
But then it would flip me over and over and I ended up back at the surface, gasping for air, and feeling faint.
Much more often, the water raced over my head, ducking me under. I held my breath as long as I could, and I tried to propell myself upwards. It worked. But even I, with all my techniques on surviving in a flowing river, knew I wasn't going to last long.
Another thing was the temperature. I had never been anywhere so cold! It paralysed my legs, before seeping to the rest of my body. I had to fight to keep myself alive. I kept myself moving.
And alongside all that, I saw pictures of my familly, about how they'd miss me, and how they needed me. I hated Fidget! He had got me into this mess! But then I thought of how he'd hung from those fingers, which his head lop - sided, and his bone sticking out, and my anger recided, and sorrow took its place.
I needed to get out. I needed to escape the river and its freezing depths. I just had no idea how! I thought as best as I could as I was being tossed about, but it was hard to concentrate on anything. My body was stiffening, and was no longer obeying my brain. My brain itself was shutting down. My lungs seemed incapable of breathing any longer. They seemed too full of water.
I began to give up. It was almost gratefully that I sank to the bottom of the river in a faint ten minutes later.
I woke up feeling faint. Very faint. And I thought 'is this it? Am I dead? Is this what death feels like?' I actually felt strangely excited. It was a first - time experience that you only had once in a lifetime, and would - presumably - never happen again. So I tried to make the most of it.
Or I did, until I realised that I wasn't dead. How was I alive? I had sunk to the bottom of a river, for goodness' sake! Of course I was dead! How did I survive?
"Hiya, sweetheart." My wife loomed over me, her sweet smell penetrating my nostrils. I breathed her in, so glad to see her. "How do you feel?" She looked worried... and tired. "I feel ok. How did I... get here? I can just remember sinking under the water, and.. and..." I trailed off, my mind whirling at the memory of the events that had happened. "Shush, darling. Take it easy. I had happened to be walking alongside the river, and I noticed you." "But how did you get me? I was at the bottom of a river!" "Hush... I managed to catch you before you sank completely, with our two darling children holding onto me while I leant in and pulling me up after I'd caught hold of you." She smiled, softly, briefly. "You saved me?" "Yes. With Sammy and Michael. You were unconscious, nearly dead, and full of water, but a kiss of life seemed to do the trick." Another of those beautiful, subtle smiles. I was swallowed up in her gaze. I knew then that I loved this woman with all my heart, mind and soul. "You saved my life... I love you so much.." I left the sentence there, and leapt up from the soft bed I was lying on.
I stood beside Grace, and I kissed her. My whole heart went into that kiss. Our minds connected; our hearts were on fire. Our hands held, Our heads tilted, and our tails entwined. We were one. We were inseparable. Nothing would make us part.
"Montie... you are the bravest mouse I ever knew." Grace whispered into my ear. I hugged her tighter, and thought sadly of poor Fidget. I though of how he'd waited for me; and how he'd wanted a family. The tears fell, and Grace embraced me harder, comforting me. I didn't want her to ever let me go.
Boook Worm · Fri Feb 01, 2008 @ 04:57pm · 2 Comments |
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