Adventure 2016

Chapter 12: Squidducken.

James could barely manage to open his eyes when his alarm went off on Thursday morning. His dad came in twice to wake him up. He contemplated saying he was sick and just staying under the warm duvet. The animals could work it all out between themselves. But if he was sick, he wouldn't be allowed out after school to use the key to the sewers.

He dragged himself out of bed and got dressed for school, just in time to grab a lift with his mum. She dropped him at the school gate, or as close as she could get without stopping on the yellow zigzags. A familiar face was waiting on the fence by the entrance. Notail.

"Hi Notail," James said. His voice was croaky from lack of sleep.

The squirrel hopped onto his shoulder and squeezed his ear. James gave it a rub on the top of its head.

"I've gotta get something to eat, and you wouldn't like it inside -- too many kids."

Notail hopped back to the fence, then quickly ran up a tree as another child arrived for breakfast.

James found Jenny eating toast. She had the key out and was looking at it between each mouthful. James put his toast down and sat opposite.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

"Awful," Jenny said. "I'm trying to think about where to use the key, but all I'm really thinking about is going back to bed."

"Any sign of Elf yet?"

"Nope."

Elf had said that she would persuade her parents to take her to see Claudia first thing, so she could apply the remedy that the King Under the Fort had given her. She'd get into school as soon as she could afterwards.

James asked to see the key. Jenny slid it over to him. It was brass, and tarnished and brown in places. It was bigger than a house key, but not much. And it had an interesting shape to the end that you gripped. James thought he'd seen the shape before, but couldn't think where. It was a round, almost fish-like head, with wings, or fins coming out of it. Definitely fishiness to the creature.

"Any idea where we should try first?" James asked, yawning at his toast.

"Well, the key looks old, so we could try around the Laines," Jenny yawned too. "I'm not sure I'll be awake enough to go looking straight after school."

"I might have to sleep during maths," James said.

They were not getting anywhere with finding Lord Ratzenberg. And any further chance they had to think disappeared when Elf sat down. She started by telling them that she'd manage to see Claudia, and she was still in a coma. Elf had rubbed some of the dried plant that the badger had given her on the cat's fur. Nothing magical happened. Then she came to school.

And that was all she had time to say, as she was suddenly surrounded by excited children all asking her about the mega grotto.

The mega grotto. James groaned. He'd actually managed to forget about it for a few hours. Now he was reminded that he was not going to get a chance to ask for the telescope.

A boy pushed through the crowd around Elf and sat down next to James. Another one followed. It was the two years fours, Wilf and Abie.

"Shame the plan didn't work," Wilf said. "But at least someone we know is going."

That didn't make James feel better.

"Hey, what's that?" Abie said, picking up the key. "It looks like Squidducken!"

"What? Gimme that." Wilf grabbed the key and eyed it closely. "Yeah, you might be right. We could get Laurie with this!"

"No you couldn't," James held out his hand for the key. Wilf reluctantly gave it back. James continued, "This key is important. If only we knew where to use it. And what's 'squidducken' anyway?"

"It's something that Wilf's brother, Laurie, spotted," Abie said. "I came up with the name, and told him it was an evil spirit. Or something like that."

"No, I came up with the name," Wilf said. "You came up with the rhyme:

Squidducken, Squidducken he's after you,

You're out of good lucken, Squidducken boo hoo."

Abie grinned. "You got it wrong, it's Squidducken poo poo at the end!"

Wilf and Abie started laughing and saying the rhyme again. James stopped them

"Hang on, where did Laurie see the Squidducken?"

"Oh, just near our old flat. It's carved into the Clock Tower in Preston Park." Wilf said. He and Abie walked off repeating the rhyme and doubling over laughing when they got to the end.

James held the key and thought about it. The Clock Tower at Preston Park was close enough to check out right after school. In fact it was right by Elf's house. He wanted to talk to Jenny about it, but she was busy talking to Elf and the other children about the mega grotto. He'd go himself and let them know what he found.

He did manage to stay awake for the rest of the day. Even through the headteacher's assembly. He even managed to ignore the incessant talk about the mega grotto. Thursday meant art club after school. At lunchtime he wrote a note to the art club teacher saying that he wouldn't be there this week because his mum was taking him ice skating. He gave it to Ella who said she'd pass it on.

When the school day ended he was first out of the class. He marched to the school gate. Then someone was next to him. It was Jenny.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"I was, er," He instantly felt bad for not telling her his plan. But he didn't feel like company. "I'm tired. I wanted to get to bed early. We can meet up after dark like yesterday."

"Ok," Jenny said. "I'm going to check on Claudia with Elf. I'll message you if there's any news."

"Fine."

James wanted to go straight down Balfour Road to Preston Park. But because Jenny was there he crossed the road and went up the stairs as if he was going home. Then he turned right at the top, and ran down Osbourne Road and toward the park.

He was at the clock tower just after half past three. It was on the edge of a big open space nestled among tall trees. There were dog walkers and school children walking along the path nearby. He went to the door which faced the path and the road behind.

It was large and wooden and, he discovered, did not have a keyhole anywhere. He even tried pushing the key into a deep knot-hole, but it didn't fit. He looked around at the carvings and decorations.

There, on each of the pillars around the tower, was Squidducken. It was the same as the key. He spent time around each Squidducken, searching for anything that could be a keyhole. He tried the key in every gap, crack and cranny. Nothing he tried opened the way into the sewer.

He sat on the stairs of the clock tower and looked out across the park. Even just after four, the sun was nearly down. He was running out of time. He twisted back to the tower and noticed a different kind of Squiducken. It drawn on the opposite wall to the side with the door. Graffiti, or just some kid tagging the wall. But it definitely looked the same as the creature on the key.

Closer up, one of the eyes of the graffiti creature was not the same at the other. It was, in fact, a hole. Feeling a little stupid, or a little desperate, he pushed the key into the hole and turned. There was a click, and the lower part of the wall swung inwards to reveal a set of steep steps.