Westerfield Manor

Chapter 9

        Grace reached the barn doors, pulled the bolt back and dragged the door open. It was dark inside so she turned on her torch and cautiously stepped inside shining the torch into the corner where the poles were set up. There was a slight haze of smoke in the barn, probably a result of the static discharge from the lightning strike.

At first her torch beam just reflected off the white smoke but as she edged closer to the corner of the barn the two poles slowly came into view, and there right between them was......

She almost couldn't believe it. It was just like in her dream, a fuzzy rectangular door size shape, and there beyond it was a glimpse of a dead forest. But there were no children and no dark shadows to be seen.

"Michael, Elizabeth," she called.

"Grace!" She turned to see a scared looking Laura and Shannon standing behind her holding their torches.

"Do you see this?" Grace said urgently pointing at the opening.

Her friends both nodded. "Is that the portal?" Shannon whispered.

"Yes," Grace answered, "But we don't dare get too close to it. I'm sure the shadow creatures are around somewhere, and they don't want to give up the kids."

"No wait," Laura exclaimed, "Look!"

They all stared into the opening to see a man and a woman slowly emerging from between the trees. They smiled and the man waved. "Come through," he called, "It's perfectly safe. We'll take you to the children."

The smiling man and woman had a relaxing effect on Grace. She felt like she could trust them. She took a couple of steps forwards. She wanted to go through the opening. Laura and Shannon walked forwards as well. But when the three of them reached the very edge of the opening an alarm went off in Grace's head. She remembered what had happened in her dream premonition the previous night.

"No!" she screamed, seizing her friends' arms and pulling them back.

"Why, Grace?" Laura murmured. She looked like she was in a trance. "They're nice. They're going to take us to the children."

"No they're not," Grace said, continuing trying to pull Laura and Shannon back, "They're the shadows!" 

As soon as she spoke the words Grace saw the images of the man and woman in the dead forest start to sway back and forth, and before her eyes they slowly appeared to dissolve and gradually transform into dark shadows which started moving towards the opening.

Voices hissed in Grace's mind. "You can't have them."

Both Laura and Shannon screamed and turned to run as the shadows reached the doorway, but an instant later there was a bright flash and an explosive crashing sound. All three girls were knocked off their feet. A jagged blue light crackled between the two poles for a second, then the portal vanished.

As Grace struggled to her feet she realised what had happened. Lightning had struck the rod on the roof of the barn for a second time, but this time it closed the portal keeping the shadow creatures from passing through. She helped Laura and Shannon up. They were shaken but unharmed.

The poles had fallen down and the wiring melted.

"Grace, are we safe?" Shannon asked in a trembling voice as Grace surveyed the damage with her torch.

"Yes, I think so," she answered, "I don't think this set up will work again unless we wire it back up."

"But the children," Laura mumbled, "We couldn't get them out. They're still in there with those things."

"H-hello," a small voice stammered from behind them.

The girls whirled around shining their torches towards the far end of the barn.
Standing in front of the tractor were a girl and a boy. They looked to be about ten years old, and were wearing pyjamas which were dirty and blackened.

Grace gaped at them in astonishment. "Michael? Elizabeth?"

The boy nodded. "Are we back home? Are we safe?" he asked in a shaky voice.

One final chapter to go.
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