Jack scrambled out of his chair, dusted himself off- then stopped.

“Darren? How do we get out?” he inquired.

“Ah.” said Darren. “I forgot to mention that. There’s a staircase over there.” He pointed to the far corner of the room. Jack couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed it before! Jack thanked and told Darren that he would see him later, and climbed up the staircase. He heaved open the trapdoor that appeared above him, and poked his head out. He seemed to be on the edge of Darren’s garden. He scrambled up and out, while closing the trapdoor behind him. The garden was a beautiful sight, even in the, still wet, darkness. Jack could tell that it looked spectacular during Spring. He ran across the garden and jumped the fence into his backyard.

As he was about to take a step forward his foot connected with something squishy- and soft. Amber! She screeched and ran towards the back door. Jack followed her, opened the door and she dashed inside. Jack glanced at the clock- 11:00pm. He set his watch to go off at 5:15am. Then he threw on some pyjamas and settled in for the night.

* * *

Bleep! Bleep! Bleep! Jack’s watch woke him a with a fright. It was still dark and rainy outside. He rolled out of his bed and toppled onto the floor. He knew he wouldn’t have any time for breakfast, so instead just quietly put some clothes on, being wary of the fact that his parents were still sound asleep.

I suppose I’d better get ready. Jack thought, and spotted his backpack by the door. He threw in some food from the fridge and his drink bottle. He also included his pocket knife set. The door loomed appealingly at him, so he gave up on doing anything else and exited the house.

Back in his study, Darren was waiting excitedly for Jack. As soon as he arrived, Darren lept out of his chair.

“Okay mate, let’s go!”

Sorry about this, but this picture I took of my cat is so cute that I just had to show it to you!

“W-what are you d-doing here?” Jack stammered. “What’s g-going on? Who’s coming at d-d-dawn?”

Darren sighed. “I knew this day would come. My hideout is too obvious for the adventurous types.” He glanced at his watch. “Well, I might as well start from the beginning. Take a seat.”

Jack sat.

Darren continued to stroke Cupcake. “For as long as I can remember, I’ve always had a sixth sense. The ability to predict the future and the present. Normally it works in favour of me- such as this time. I built this study to give myself a place to think and research my abilities.

“About 3 weeks ago, a strong feeling of anxiety began to creep into my system. I had dreams and visions of a gang of vicous dogs coming for our town. I know it sounds strange, but it’s true. I researched it, and found out that these dogs are known all over the world as a myth, and that they cause cats to become out of character. Hence Cupcake venturing out of the house.”

“And Amber hating warm milk” said Jack quietly.

Darren continued. “I even managed to find the exact time and date that these canines would arrive. Tomorrow at 6:00am. But now, since I have told you everything, the offer becomes more apparent. Would you come with me to help ward the dogs off?”

Jack sat up. “Are you mad?! Of course I will! Anything to get Amber back to normal!”

“Great then!” Darren clapped his hands together. “I knew, as soon I saw you come through that bookcase, that you were the perfect helper. Only a true adventurer could figure out how to get down here. Shall I meet you back here then, at say, 5:00am?”

“Sure!” said Jack.

To be continued…

Jack’s head was suddenly abuzz with questions. Who were ‘they’? Why were they coming? Where was Cupcake? How did she get out? His eyes traced the path of the paw prints. They began at the bean bag underneath the trapdoor, and finished right where he was kneeling. They were a little scuffed where they stopped, so Jack guessed that she either had to jump, stand on her hind legs, or crawl to get to the exit. Jack remembered a story he had read when he was younger. It was about a boy who was trapped in a room, and the only way he could get out was through the bookcase. How had he done it? It was right on the verge of Jack’s mind… 

He got up and paced back and forth in front of the bookcase. Maybe it was blocking something- the exit could be behind it. Jack walked over to a side and pulled. Nothing happened. It wouldn’t even budge!  

Suddenly, Jack’s eyes caught sight of something. It was a book called ‘Handles’. The author was ‘Ima Doorknob’.

That’s ironic, thought Jack. Too ironic. He walked over to it and tried to pull it off the shelf. A faint ‘click’ was heard, and the entire bookcase swung towards him. Jack was hit and flew back towards the beanbag. He wasn’t put off, however, and jumped up straight away -but somewhat cautiously- to meet the sight before him.

His eyes slowly took in what he was seeing. It was Cupcake, proudly purring, and sitting in the lap of Jack’s 50- something year old neighbor, Darren. One hand being used to stroke Cupcake, Darren leered at Jack from a rickety old rocking chair.

‘I see you’ve found my study.’

To be continued…

Jack scrambled under the dripping flowers and readied himself to jump down into the trapdoor. Then a terrifying noise stopped him. It sounded like an animal hissing- but it didn’t sound like Amber. He slowly turned around and found himself face to face with the neighbor’s cat, Cupcake. Her normally calm ginger face was twisted into a snarl. Jack froze.

How could this be Cupcake? She never comes out of her house- especially in the rain. He made a fast, loud noise- but Cupcake didn’t budge. She didn’t even run away like her usual self would. What could Jack do? Suddenly, Cupcake pounced. Jack rolled sideways out of the way, and Cupcake went sprawling down the open trapdoor.

Phew. Jack quickly scanned the dark garden for any more strange happenings, but seeing nothing, turned back around and followed Cupcake down the trapdoor. He fell in darkness for a few seconds, but then landed with a thump on top of something. Something soft. He looked down and realized that he was sitting on top of a squishy bean bag.

What the heck… Jack’s eyes swept the room and they fell upon a dusty wooden floor, a table with a lit candle on it, a full bookcase, and another bean bag. It was some kind of secret room. A rush of fear and confusion came to Jack- the candle was already lit! Somebody had been in here, and they were definitely human. How could a cat light a candle?

Cupcake! Jack suddenly remembered. Where was she? He lifted up the bean bags, checked under the table, and scanned the floor. Nothing. Not a trace of fur anywhere. Just a few paw prints in the dust leading to the bookcase… Jack jumped in shock- he hadn’t noticed those before. He followed them, but they came to a halt at the bottom shelf. Then something caught his eye- a note sticking out of one of the books. The book was called ‘Canines from Afar’. Jack pulled the note out. Written on it, in scrawled messy handwriting, were the words;

“They will come at dawn.” 

To be continued…