Mr Ghastly's Book of Little Nightmares

The Lost Boy

"Don't trust the ravens!"

I hopped to one side in surprise. The raggedy old lady appeared out of nowhere. Startled, I clenched the phone in my hand and marched onwards with my head down, pretending I was engrossed in an old text message from my Mum. It reminded me I hadn't spoken to her in a while - she would definitely be worried. My quiet little Welsh home was an enormous contrast to the stone giant of a city I now inhabited. This city was busier, housing a cacophony of colourful cultures and an ocean of businessmen constantly on the go. I was somewhere in the middle - a student with a tiny bank account and aspirations higher than the sky.

The light from the phone brought dancing colours before my eyes, distorting the night around me. I blinked hard - and there she was again!

"D'you hear me, boy?" The raggedy lady snapped.

I jumped back again.

"Don't trust them!"

"S-sorry?" I stuttered.

"The ravens!" She slapped my wrist and I almost dropped my phone. "Don't listen to them, don't trust them, and for God's sake don't follow them!"

I was already in a rush and couldn't afford any more diversions! It was my tough luck to have missed the last train, now I had to find the nearest bus stop, which was near enough impossible in this labyrinth of a city. I scurried away.

The lady was long-gone and I was wandering the length of a desolate street when I heard the first 'caw!' I hesitated. What at first I thought to be a wandering shadow turned into two shadows, then five, then ten... The creatures ruffled their feathers and peered through the dark. It was a strange sight to see so many ravens at this late hour. They lurked upon the fence of a closed-off park and watched with hungry little eyes.

"Are you lost, boy?" Said the first raven. I daren't reply.

"We know the way, boy. We know this whole city." Said the other.

"We have it mapped-out on our feathers. Every street, every park, every alley."

"We'll help you find the way."

"Everything lost has a home in London."

They all giggled.

I swallowed hard. "I'm not lost," I said firmly.

In a sudden chaotic flurry the ravens flew toward me. I shielded my face with my arm and felt my phone leave my hand. The cackling ravens flew off above me. I saw the light of my phone as they took it away down the road.

"Hey!" I called after them. "Give that back!" I ran after the phone light, watching the cloud of darkness whisk it into a nearby building - a tube station! The gate had been left open and I slipped inside.

It was eerie and dark inside and my footsteps echoed against the old marble floors. I listened to the ravens as they cackled down the stairs.

I fled to the barriers. They were shut tight. I dug my hand into my pocket and forced my old ticket into the mouth of the machine. A stroke of luck! The ticket slipped in and the barriers sprung open.

I charged after the ravens, following their horrid cawing and the distant glow of my stolen phone. They led me to an empty platform and disappeared into the tunnel, swallowed by its darkness. The station was desolate, cold, and completely isolated. Dust fell in thin sheets like cobwebs, and the cobbled platform floors were littered with debris from many years ago. Every sound echoed tenfold into the darkness, every step rattling like a ghostly chorus of drums into the emptiness of the tunnel ahead. I knew it was a bad idea, but I had to follow!

My feet hit the tracks as I climbed down from the platform, my knees quivering, my chest heaving, my fists clenched, and I ran towards the dark mouth of the tunnel.

I stumbled on the tracks in the darkness and had to catch myself from falling once or twice, and then finally I spied a crack of light coming from a doorway nearby. I hurried over. There was a strange burning smell coming from within. I wrinkled my nose, shielded my eyes, and ducked inside... I was not prepared for what I saw.

The old chamber was burning bright with glittering lights, and the ravens perched high on chandeliers and tall ancient candelabras. But what shook me was the creature beneath them, a towering, monstrous lizard with pointed wings and sharp, terrible teeth. Smoke poured from its great nostrils, and I realised there and then I was staring into the face of a real-life dragon. It was a hellish creature, a gargantuan beast with sharp yellow eyes and a wide, toothy grin.

"Hello lost boy," The creature purred. I could not speak for I was frozen in horror. "Welcome to the lost-and-found of the London Underground." The creature moved slowly, its great claws caressing the treasure it rested upon. I saw a few old books, shoes, cracked phones, umbrellas - the list was endless.

"I-I'm not lost," I stuttered again. The words escaped me faster than I intended them to. The dragon grinned. Just the sight of it made me shudder.

"Then why are you here?" Its oily voice crooned.

"My-my phone! They have it!" I pointed at the ravens. They all flapped their wings and cawed like a jeering crowd in an arena, thirsty for blood.

"SILENCE!" The dragon's booming voice filled the chamber and the ravens fell silent. The creature turned back to me. "Lost boy, you are lying. You see, my ravens wouldn't have found you if you hadn't been lost. Do you know where you are?"

I shook my head.

"Then, I'm afraid, you're lost." Its cavernous mouth began to open as the dragon crawled towards me, "And now you are mine."

***

The raggedy lady wandered the quiet street alone. She stopped dead in her tracks and stared down the street. She could hear the excited mutterings of the ravens on the fence and see their evil little shadows as they waited in the dark. They wouldn't have her today. She made to leave when something caught her eye.

She counted the ravens. There had always been ten ... but today there was eleven. A crease appeared in her brow. She heaved a heavy, melancholic sigh and slowly turned on her heel. Before disappearing down the road she muttered to herself a quiet word of very good advice:

"Don't trust the ravens..."