The Caterpillarian

Chapter 9

Down the stairs we descended, my sword striking any catfish or fly that got in my path. Entering the living room, more creatures turned their attention to us. We continued forwards, a newfound surge of adrenaline coursing through my body. Alison lit our path through the room and the kitchen, as I continued swiping my sword and Jasper launched his web. Puss rained down over the furniture, and I wondered what my parents would say if they saw the mess.

The back door was in sight and my free hand reached out for the handle. What if this had been some kind of mistake? What if we'd misinterpreted the message? I imagined the feeling in my heart if the door handle remained unmoving.

But it did move, and we darted down the steps, my feet stinging against the cold garden path. We'd forgotten to put on our trainers but we didn't care. We were free; at least for now. And I made sure nothing would follow us by slamming the backdoor shut.

The cool night air breezed wonderfully against my cheeks and I breathed it in. If I could describe the feeling: it was like when your leg had been placed in an awkward position for a few minutes while sitting down, and it's tingling and stinging, and then you finally move it.

Ahhhhhh.

Or when the bathroom or kitchen tap's been dripping constantly, and you finally tighten it and you're left with that pleasant silence.

Bottom line—it felt good.

"We're free!" Jasper shouted to the dark sky.

"Yes!" Alison held her fists up and her head back.

I stood still for a moment, just wanting to enjoy it while it lasted. Perhaps it would last. Maybe this was the final task.

I looked at the row of conifers on the left side of the garden. I and my friends would usually hang out behind them—it was a pretty decent den.

On the right was the shed where my dead put all of his gardening tools. I didn't usually go in there, though it did have a nice smell. My football net was just in front of it. I really fancied a game, but that felt like kid's stuff now.

Behind it was a fence, and behind that was where my dad grew his vegetables. I often snuck in there to grab a snack. I was a weird kid who liked the taste of raw peas.

Yes, my garden was the envy of every kid I knew. It was HUGE. The biggest garden I'd ever known or seen.

And it was great to be back.

But another task awaited us.

"Let's go," I said, starting after my friends down the path.

Jasper took a shot at the net, sending it flying over the bar and into next door's garden.

"How did you miss that?" Alison asked before breaking out into laughter.

It was an awful miss. The ball had been sitting right in front of the net, after all. To be honest, I and Jasper were both bad at football. No one ever wanted us on their team at school. Good thing we had such sparkling personalities to make up for our lack of skills, otherwise we'd have no friends. And to be fair to Jasper, he liked playing in the net. He still wasn't good at it, though. He said it was just because he liked throwing himself around.

Alison didn't play, though when she did, she wasn't much better than us. She was good at kicking heads, not footballs.

Jasper shook his head in disbelief. "That was bad even for m—"

"What's up?" Alison asked. He'd looked towards Alison but then his eyes had heightened and widened. Then his jaw dropped and so did he. He held a shaky finger up, pointing to something behind us.