The Goodacre Chronicles #1: The Piper Quest

1. Knock, Knock!

"Listen! Someone is knocking at the door," whispered Julie, as she turned her scared brown eyes towards her older sister, Jenny. Jenny put her hand on her sister's mouth, as she was about to let out a scream.

Jenny and Julie were sitting on the living-room couch, huddling together and wondering when the storm would pass. Storms were common during that time of the year in California - especially at the seaside where they lived.

However, the knocking on the door during a storm was unusual. This had happened once before that evening and it had only turned out to be Mrs Brown from next door. At the time, the day had been lighter and sunnier than it was at this moment - the heavens just beginning to close up; now, it was late in the evening with darkness swiftly taking over the sky. Jenny was quite certain that it was once again a neighbour asking to borrow the oven.

For Julie's sake, though, she walked up to the door and peered through the magic eye. However, since it was quite dark outside and it had also begun to rain very heavily by now, she could only just see a figure outside the hole at the flash of lightning. It was nowhere near familiar to Jenny, and she wondered if it could be someone from the neighbouring colony.

Julie, though, had been watching her sister in her brave act and constantly kept asking her who was outside. Jenny did not respond and Julie wondered why.

It was because, when the lightening flashed a second time, the figure was gone! At a third flash, the figure showed up once again; this time, though, it looked almost transparent! Jenny panicked inside, but she appeared cool as cucumber as she walked back to her little sister.

"Well, it appears that there is nobody outside, Julie. We must have heard the wind blowing rattling a door or a window somewhere inside." However, neither of the two looked really convinced; they were silent for what seemed like a long, long time.

Then, a loud bang was sounded outside, which brought Julie into Jenny's arms. Jenny realised that the rain was never going to end anytime now. She wondered what they were going to do. In time, the electricity also flickered and went out. It was only six in the evening and already dark inside; what light was left still filtered in through the windows.

Jenny decided to make the maximum use of the minimum light-she took Julie's hand and headed in the direction of the kitchen, feeling her way with her other hand, somehow got a candle that was kept on a table there. She struck a match which immediately went out. She threw it blindly and picked another from the match box and, this time, the candle glowed smoothly and steadily. Jenny heard a small sigh and realised how frightened her sister was and how much she depended on Julie for courage. Jenny was scared, too, but the fact that the little girl felt the same egged her on to do what she was doing.

Jenny placed the candle on its stand and took it out to the living-room to sit it on a table there.

Just then, another knock was heard at the front door and the two sisters exchanged nervous glances.

"It's probably nothing," Jenny said, trying her best to maintain her cool.

But, just at that moment:

"I know you're in there, children! Just let me in and I shall take a good care of you! It's raining hard out here, you know! And quite scary, as well!"

The voice reminded Jenny a little of Miss Carter, the neighbourhood nanny, a kind, gentle, and sweet young girl who was always ready to help young mothers. But, this voice sounded like someone was trying to imitate Miss Carter, but not quite successfully. Miss Carter's voice was a melody, but this one had a note of harshness in it.

"Jenny, is that Miss Carter?" Even as Julie asked this question, Jenny knew that she did not think so. Hence, only eye-contact was required to answer it. "Then, who is it?" asked that adorable little girl.

Jenny did not want to frighten the girl anymore by telling her she did not know. She was sure that she had not imagined that white, almost transparent figure outside, nor had Julie imagined the mysterious knocks on the door. Had their cousin brother Rodger been here, he would have wondered as to how an almost transparent figure could knock on a door without passing through it...

This thought frightened her even more, but she successfully (or so she thought) kept it to herself. Jenny felt Julie's weight as her sister pressed her body against hers.

Jenny suddenly realised that sitting on the couch, doing nothing was not going to solve the problem. So, when a third knock sounded on the door, she was determined to find out who it was.

"All right," she whispered to herself and she stood up, taking Julie's hand. She absorbed all the courage that Julie's fear gave her and walked up to the door.

She placed her hand on the knob and tightened her grip around it. She turned it slowly and, simultaneously, Julie buried her head in her sister's clothes. Jenny turned the knob slowly all the way round and paused as she breathed in deeply. She finally pulled the door open - slowly - and saw...