THE FERALS 


By Tessa Harvey


Then the cat heard it: a faint crackling noise. He saw tiny flares of ruby light burst into  life in the kitchen and smelled smoke, a terrible thing that led to disaster.

The cat leapt onto Jake's bed and yowled, scratching at the thin summer bedding. Jake was one of those rare beings who could wake instantly and be alert. At once he could smell the smoke and hear the crackling. His first thought was to check Brodie, then see what was wrong and then get help. He saw the fire source was the kitchen, closed the doors, dialled Emergency to report the fire and give his address.

Calmly he gathered up his son and found the cat's transport cage. "Sorry buddy, we have to go." His son stumbled along sleepily, holding onto his dad's shirt.
Shadow did not object to being bundled in the carrier. Having raised the alarm, he was now trembling with fear, eyes wide.

Jake felt like doing that, but prayed instead. He banged on the neighbour's door, roused the inhabitants and left his son and the cat with them.

Then he heard sirens and went to direct the rescue workers.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
THE FERALS By Tessa Harvey Alice saw what was happening and stepped back sadly. Sophie was very upset and none of Alice's explanations satisfied her. "I thought we were all going to be a family," the child lamented. Secretly Alice had hoped for that one day and had been resolving to reveal more serious interest in Jake. Now she felt it was too late. No more "Alice in Wonderland". Her dad had often teased her about her "romantic" dreams and ideals. But she had never wanted a casual relationship and then she had met Gareth, who had shared her ideals. Alice had never regretted her marriage to Gareth. Perhaps she had been dreaming again, thinking of someone else. Yet she had talked once with Gareth about the possibility of one of them dying early. He had asked her to consider re-marrying if anything happened to him. Thinking it just a joke, Alice had laughed, but promised all the same. He was so fit, so healthy. He had gone to China, to a place called Wuha...
Read more
Image
THE FERALS   By Tessa Harvey CHAPTER EIGHT A few days later, Ethel decided to take the children for a "feast." Seeing Ethel reminded Brodie of the fish 'n chip shop near where they used to live, and he kept talking about their time there on Christmas Eve. He was beginning to realise it was meant as a joke when Ethel had said she had come to visit  for a "nice cuppa" and somewhere to sleep, but he was still a little puzzled. Didn't she have food and drink and a bed at her house? Couldn't she see that their house had burned down? After a while he shrugged and got on with his life. As the children left with "Auntie Ethel," happy and chatting, she gave Jake a wink and said, "now lad, get a move on!" The children didn't really notice, but Jake flushed scarlet. Yesterday Ethel had talked to him in a motherly way and told him life was "too short to muck around!" So he had invited Alice and Sophie to visit. When the two adults w...
Read more
Image
THE FERALS   By Tessa Harvey But Jill was staring out of one of the windows. The view was of the primary play equipment. Brodie was playing on the climbing frame with Sophie and a few other children. As she watched, Jake strolled up, followed by Alice. Seeing Jake, Jill felt a sudden sense of loss. It had been a game, but she realised she did like him. She also realised something else and her face paled. "You saw Brodie run away that day and why!" It was a statement. "Yes," agreed the senior woman. "But I did not think he could get through the fence. It has been reinforced since. As Brodie was found safely, I thought it unnecessary to stir up enmity against you." Jill blushed and looked down. Raising her eyes again, she looked directly at Judy. "Thank you," she said softly and turned to leave.
Read more