Adventure 2016

Chapter 8: Claudia.

James arrived at Elf's. He was breathing hard and sweating under his coat, despite the cold air on his face and hands. The lights were on behind the front door. He pushed the doorbell and tried the door handle. It was open. He let himself in.

"Hello?" he called. "Jenny? Elf?"

The sound of footsteps. Then Jenny appeared on the stairs.

"James!" she said. "It's terrible. Claudia's in the garden, come on!"

He followed her downstairs, through the kitchen and out into the garden. There were bright lights shining from the side of the house and they threw a pool of light on the decking and the near part of the garden. Elf was on the grass at the edge of the light. A moment later all three children were kneeling around the body of a cat lying on its side. Claudia was covered with and surrounded by feathers. Pigeon feathers.

James saw that Elf had been crying.

"Is Claudia alive?" he asked.

"I don't know," Elf sniffed. "I can't tell."

"She's still warm," Jenny said. "But I couldn't feel a pulse. I'm not sure where's best to find it on a cat."

"We have to get her to the vet," James said. "There's a few close by. Elf, is there a computer inside that you can use? There's a vet on Preston Drove. I ran past it, but I think it was closed. And there's another on Harrington Road, I think. Or we could get a taxi if we need to go further. Can you go and find out?"

Elf nodded and went inside. When she was gone James felt Claudia's neck. She was warm.

"What do you think?" he asked. "Could she be alive?"

Jenny said nothing. She started to clear the feathers away from the cat's fur. Claudia didn't move at all. James put his ear next to her mouth and tried to listen or feel her breath. Nothing.

"What's this?" Jenny said out loud. James peered over Claudia's body. Her fur was feather free. Except for one small blue iridescent feather at the top of her back leg. Jenny was looking at it closely. She took it carefully between her fingers and pulled gently. It pulled at the cat's flesh as if Jenny had a pinch of fur. Then it came loose. Claudia's leg twitched slightly. She let out a tiny breath.

James put his ear back to the cat's mouth. Another tiny breath.

"She's alive!" he said.

Claudia's head moved at the sound, and her eyes opened slowly. Her mouth moved without speaking and James leaned in to listen.

"The king," Claudia's voice was a strained whisper. James leaned closer still. "Under the Fort."

And that was all. Her eye's closed. She was still breathing. Short breaths, quick in-and-outs every few seconds.

James stood up. There was a movement on top of the far garden wall. He thought he saw two pairs of eyes looking at him. Then they vanished. Not pigeons, but another animal.

"Have a look at this," Jenny said, standing and holding out her hand. In the middle of her palm was the iridescent feather. It was so dark it was almost black, but as it moved the light caught it and a sheen of blue appeared at certain angles.

It was not just a feather; it was attached to a tiny stick. Smaller than a matchstick, straight and made of dark wood. At the other end was a sharp barb, perhaps a the thorn from a bramble, Or no, was it a bee's sting? In all, the object was only an inch long, and unmistakably arrow-like.

"Is that an arrow?" James asked. "You think she was shot? It could be poisoned, be careful!"

Jenny went quickly to the kitchen door and called to Elf, "Claudia's alive!"