There was a puddle of water on the pavement.  Unless it was actually some poor kid’s blood.  You couldn’t tell, in the dark.  You’re not on Butcher’s Corner anymore, Natalie told herself, but somehow that didn’t make much difference.

She walked past it, her teeth tightly clenched to keep them from chattering.  They were in a grid made up of long, dark roads, and any minute, something could appear at the other end.

There was a roar in the sky, overhead.  “It’s just an aeroplane!” Natalie yelled, more for her own benefit than for Steph’s.  Her chest kept tightening and tightening, like she was an elastic band being twisted in smaller and smaller loops.  The hadn’t passed the church yet.  She’d been so sure that this was the right way, and they hadn’t even passed the church.  Should they turn back?  But what if that was exactly what Mr Miacca wanted?  What if he was lying in wait, three or four streets behind them?

They got to the corner, and Natalie saw…  She thought she saw…  There might have been something she recognised, just across the road and to the left, but it was too dark to even see what it was.  Natalie wasn’t about to hang around squinting at it, though, so she just crossed the road and headed towards it.  Maybe they’d be lucky.

There were no people around here.  There weren’t even any cars on the road.  All Natalie could hear was the wind rustling through the leaves.

On the other side of the road, there was a fence that looked exactly like a cage, all metal squares from the ground to three metres in the air.  The kind of cage you’d need to keep in a monster.  All Natalie could see through the fence was a blotchy concrete floor.  There was a small building in the distance, but close by, nothing at all.

“My legs hurt,” said Steph.

“Mm,” said Natalie, keeping her eye on the fence.

“Why do we have to walk home?”

“I told you.  Mum had to stay late at work.”  They should have listened to Andrea.  They should have stayed where they were.  At least then they wouldn’t be lost.

“But why couldn’t we…”

“Wait!”  Natalie stopped walking.  For the first time since they’d started out, she stood perfectly still, because she had to get a good look at what she’d just seen up ahead.

The big yellow sign saying M&Ms.  The little pink and white notices in the window.  It was closed now, but it was definitely the sweet shop round the back of their school, the one where Natalie and Steph bought Skittles every Friday afternoon.  And the school was closer to their house than the Girls’ Brigade church was, so this proved it.  They were going the right way.

“Look, Steph!” said Natalie, pointing across the road with her free hand.

Stephanie looked over, and nodded.  “The sweet shop,” she said, cheerful but not impressed.

For a moment, Natalie thought about going down the next street and actually going into the school.  Maybe one of their teachers was working late, and maybe they’d give them a lift home.  But then she got a proper look at the next street, and changed her mind.  Too dark, and who said Mr Miacca wouldn’t live near a school?  It would be the one place where he’d be guaranteed to catch kids away from their homes and their parents.  Besides, Natalie had been to school plays and parents’ evening at her school and Andrea’s, and they were both creepy at night.  Eerie lights glowing from the windows; weird noises echoing from the other side of the building; dark, empty classrooms with the chairs stacked up on the tables.  Natalie didn’t want to go there if she could help it.

Natalie led Steph on, looking from one side of the street to the other and trying to remember exactly what she saw through the car window in the morning, when Mum drove them to school.  Her chest had loosened up a lot now that she knew more-or-less where they were, but she knew she couldn’t relax completely.  They weren’t home yet, and Mr Miacca was still out there somewhere.

She did recognise this street, but not for any good reason.  It was the one where most of the houses had furniture piled up in the front drives.  Years ago, in Year One or something. Natalie and her friend Paul had wandered close to one of those front drives to get a better look at a rusty old swing-seat, and a witchy old woman had popped out of the front porch, yelling, “This is private property!  Keep off!”  She didn’t want that happening again.  Besides, all that furniture would probably be perfect for Mr Miacca to hide behind.  Natalie walked a little faster.

Natalie looked at the houses as she passed them, trying to see if she could remember which one was the old lady’s.  Instead, she remembered something else.  The reason she’d been with her friend Paul that day was that Paul lived nearby.  On the next street, if she was remembering right.  And maybe if they found his house and knocked at the door…

OK, Paul’s mum and dad didn’t have a car, so they couldn’t give Natalie and Steph a lift home.  But they could invite them in, and phone Mum at work so that she could come and pick them up from there.  And that way, Natalie and Steph would get to spend the rest of the evening playing with Paul and his brother instead of trying to escape from Mr Miacca.

They crossed the road and, thank God, Natalie could see Paul’s house from here.  “Let’s go and see if Paul is in,” she told Stephanie, and practically ran to the door.

Paul’s house was painted white, and the door was blue.  The front garden was small and neat and didn’t have any furniture in it.  Natalie went up to the front door and knocked, thinking about what they could do once they were in there.  Paul had a Playmobil pirate ship and a Batman game on his computer.  He had a whole bunch of books that Natalie had never read.  He had…

Natalie looked at the windows, and realised that none of the lights were on.

She knocked on the door, and didn’t hear anything.  No voices, no footsteps rushing down the stairs.  There was no-one in the house.

They’re gone.  Mr Miacca’s taken them.  But Natalie knew, even as she thought it, that it wasn’t true.  Paul and his family had just gone out to dinner or something.  They were miles away, and they had no idea that Natalie and Steph desperately wanted to come in.  They had no idea that Natalie was staring at the front door, trying not to cry.

Natalie swallowed, and looked at Steph.  “Nobody’s home,” she said, trying to sound cheerful, “Come on.”  And they walked onwards.

(To be continued)

The worst part- the worst part of the first few minutes, anyway- was when they came to the corner of the street they were on.  Mr Miacca had taken the boy in the story from the corner of his street.  As soon as they stepped away from the corner and crossed the road, they’d be in Mr Miacca’s territory.  This was their last chance to turn back and wait for Andrea like she’d told them to.

It wouldn’t be so bad… began a nervous voice in Natalie’s head, before she blocked it out, took hold of Stephanie’s hand, and led her across the road.  You couldn’t hesitate.  If they just strode forward and acted like they owned the place, they might just get away with what they were doing.

They made it to the other side, and kept on walking.  What they needed to do, Natalie decided, was go back the way they’d come and get back to the church.  They could find their way home from there a whole lot easier than they could from a dark, unfamiliar street where someone might jump out at them at any moment.  If they were really lucky, someone might still be there- the Captain or the Lieutenant, maybe, putting the chairs up and locking the equipment cupboard- and maybe that someone would be able to call their mum at work, so they wouldn’t have to walk through Mr Miacca’s territory after dark.  Maybe.  But they had to find it first.

Across the road, there was a thin fence that looked as if it was made out of cardboard, and on the fence, there were words written in white paint.  KEEP OUT.  KEEP OUT.  DANGER.  But what kind of danger?  What was behind that fence that you needed to keep away from?  And how was a fence as flimsy as that going to keep it from escaping?  Natalie moved as far as she could away from the road.  If it escaped, there were bushes they could duck behind.  There were trees they could climb.  They’d be able to get away from it.

“Why isn’t Andrea coming with us?” asked Steph.  She didn’t even sound worried.  This was just a new, interesting thing that had happened in her day.

“Because she wants to watch a film with her friends,” said Natalie, trying to keep her voice level.  Part of her wanted Stephanie to be more alert, to be on the lookout for Mr Miacca so he wouldn’t get her, but in another way, it was good to hear her sounding calm and happy.  As if Natalie needed reminding that people could still be calm and happy.  It was easy to forget, at the moment.

“Oh.”  Steph went quiet, apparently satisfied.  Natalie squeezed her hand, to make sure she was still holding it.  Her own hand had gone numb.

They walked on, quick enough to look confident, but slow enough to keep a proper eye on their surroundings.  Natalie kept looking back at the fence with the writing on it.  It still hadn’t escaped, whatever it was, but she wished they didn’t have their backs to it.  Maybe it was the kind of thing that could sneak up behind you.

Stephanie had a thought.  “Maybe…  Maybe we’ll get home, and Andrea will already be there!”  She smiled in sheer wonder.

“Mm.  Maybe.”  It was too dark here.  The sun was all the way down now, and there were too many trees on this road, blocking out the moon and the stars and anything else that might have given off light.  It made Natalie think of another book she’d read, about a girl who met an evil green troll in the middle of the forest.  Those trees could hide anything.

But then, those trees could also hide Natalie and Steph, if they needed them to.  They’d make it easier for Mr Miacca to sneak up on them, but if they saw him coming first, then the trees could help them.

In fact, now that she thought about it, the safest thing of all might be for her and Steph to climb to the top of one of them and stay there until their Mum came looking for them.  As far as she knew, Mr Miacca couldn’t climb trees.  For a moment, Natalie looked at the trunk of the nearest tree, considering it, but then she heard a noise from one of the nearby houses and hurried on.  It was too risky.  What if they were in the middle of climbing it when Mr Miacca came along?  He’d be able to pick them off the side like they were leaves.

Now that Natalie came to think of it, there were a lot of noises coming from the nearby houses.  Raised voices, from this one, like a mum and dad arguing, or telling their kids off.  It echoed out into the street, as if Natalie and Steph were being told off, too.  For not being good and waiting for their big sister like she’d told them to, even if it meant that Mr Miacca would come and get them.

Natalie saw a street sign, and wished she hadn’t.  “Butcher’s Corner.”  A butcher was just a shop on the high street that sold bacon and lamb chops, but butchering was what Mr Miacca and his wife did to the children he brought home.  That was exactly the kind of name that Mr Miacca’s street would have.

They had to get out of here.  And no sooner had Natalie thought that, than she saw a fork in the road, just up ahead.

Now, which way had they come?  Which way had they come?

Natalie felt like crying.  There was one road that went forward, and another one that went right, and she couldn’t remember which one took them back to Girls’ Brigade.  It was coming closer and closer as they walked, and she still couldn’t remember.  And she couldn’t stop to work it out.  She couldn’t hesitate for a second, or Mr Miacca would seize his chance and…

They crossed the road, and went right.

It looked familiar.  Bits of it, anyway.  Natalie went on, gripping Stephanie’s hand in hers, and left Butcher’s Corner behind.

Girls’ Brigade was about what you’d expect.  Natalie had two points taken off because she wasn’t wearing the shirt that went with her uniform (Mum had forgotten to put it in the wash yesterday, but the one she was wearing looked almost exactly the same).  They had marching practice, where they had to bring their knees up to their stomachs, which no-one could actually do for more than three or four steps, which made Natalie suspect that it was all just a practical joke the adults were playing on them.  They sat in a circle, singing the songs from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, because they were going to put on a production of it sometime before Christmas.  And the whole time, the whole two hours in that little, echoey church hall, Natalie got more and more nervous.  That walk home was looming in the future, moving closer and closer.  The walk home without any adults, with only Andrea to protect them, outside where Mr Miacca could pounce on them at any moment.  Even if Andrea was old enough not to get eaten herself, was she old enough to keep him away?  Natalie just didn’t know.  And as the seconds ticked by, she just got sicker and sicker.

Finally, it was all over.  The songs had all been sung, the Bible stories had all been told, and a small group of parents had started to gather in between the door and the front table.  Time for Natalie to find her sisters and face whatever was going to happen next.

It took her a few minutes to find Stephanie, who’d crawled under a stack of chairs just to see what she could find.  “Come on out, Steph,” said Natalie, poking her back with her plimsole, “Andrea’s taking us home tonight, remember.  We need to go and find her.”

Steph backed up enough to smile at her.  “There’s loads of chewing gum under there!”

“There’s always loads of chewing gum under chairs.”  Natalie had never actually seen anyone chewing gum at Girl’s Brigade, but someone probably did.  Just very quietly.

Stephanie wriggled out, and Natalie spotted Andrea over by the door, talking to her friend Carla.  She took Stephanie’s hand and led her over.  “Hi Andrea!” said Natalie, “We’re ready to go!”

Andrea turned to look at Natalie over her shoulder.  “We.  Are.  Talking,” she snapped, and turned back to Carla.  Natalie shrugged and settled in for a bit of a wait.  Andrea and Carla couldn’t talk forever.  She glanced at the sign on the wall, the stony, bluish-grey thing that looked like it was supposed to be one of Moses’ tablets.  I promise to do my duty to God and the Queen.  Natalie had never understood that.  How were you supposed to do your duty to the Queen at a Girl’s Brigade meeting?  It wasn’t as if she ever showed up or anything.  Besides, the Captain and Lieutenant had never even mentioned her.  They were pretty clear about how you did your duty to God- be honest, help people in need, and sing a hymn now and then—but the Queen was a complete mystery.  If she ever came to check up on them, they’d be in big trouble.

Andrea and Carla began to wander towards the door, so Natalie took Stephanie’s hand and followed them.  They went out of the building, up the path, and along the pavement up to the traffic lights, and throughout it all, Andrea never once looked back.  For all she knew, Natalie and Steph might not even have been following her.  For all she knew, they might have snuck round the other side of the church to look for ghosts in the graveyard.

It was getting dark, but it wasn’t completely dark yet.  Natalie didn’t think that would make much of a difference to Mr Miacca, though.  By the sound of him, he could come along and capture you even if it was broad daylight.  Natalie glanced up and down the street.  It looked empty, apart from the four of them.  But maybe streets always looked empty, until it was too late.

They crossed the road and went up the next street.  Natalie didn’t recognise this route, but she wasn’t worried about that.  She was willing to trust Andrea.  Right up until Andrea turned right and headed up a garden path towards an unfamiliar house.

“What are we doing here?” asked Natalie.

Andrea glanced back at them.  “This is our friend Marina’s house,” she mumbled, then turned back to Carla.  “Do you think she’s got The Mask?”

“Dunno.  We’ll have to ask her.”

Natalie tried to calm herself down.  Andrea probably didn’t mean that they were going to go in and watch a whole film.  She probably just wanted to borrow the video and take it home.  And even if she did want to watch a film, at least that meant they’d be inside for the next hour or two, where Mr Miacca couldn’t get them.  By the time they finished watching it, Mum would probably be finished with her work thing, and she could pick them up after all.  Natalie didn’t like the idea of going into a strange house where she didn’t know anyone, but if it was what they had to do to stay out of Mr Miacca’s way, then she could put up with it.

Andrea’s friend Marina answered the door.  Natalie took a step sideways to get a look at her, but it was practically impossible.  She was wearing a hat and a jumper that were both too big for her, so all Natalie could see was wool and hair.  “Alright?” she said in a sleepy voice, “What do you want?”

“Andrea’s here,” said Carla, with a wicked little smile as if she was making a joke, “Are we going to watch The Mask?”

Marina scratched the side of her face.  She strained her neck, spotting Natalie and Steph behind Andrea and Carla.   “Who are these?” she asked.

Andrea glanced behind her.  “They can play in your living room while we’re watching it, right?”

Marina shook her head.  “Mum’s doing repairs in the living room.  She’d never let me have little kids in there.  Too dangerous.”

The three older girls went quiet and thoughtful.  From what Natalie could see, one of two things was about to happen.  Either Andrea would give up and take her and Steph home, or Marina would think of another room to abandon them in.  Silently, Natalie crossed her fingers and hoped for the first one.

After a moment or two, Marina shrugged her shoulders.  “Well, they can just play out here while we watch the film, right?”

Andrea looked worried.  “Well…”

Carla turned back towards Natalie and Steph.  “You can play out here for a bit, OK?  We won’t be long.”

Steph, unable to think of anything to say to that, gave Natalie a confused look.  “What?” said Natalie, “You’re just going to leave us out here?”

Andrea looked up and down the street.  “Look…  Look, it’s perfectly safe out here, alright?  You’re not stupid.  You know not to talk to strangers.  We won’t be long.”

“But you were supposed to take us home!”

“We.  Won’t.  Be.  Long.”  Andrea turned her back and went into the house.

Carla followed her in.  “Try not to play in the road!” she yelled with a laugh, before slamming the door behind her.

Natalie stared at the closed door, willing the older girls to open it and announce that it had all been a joke and of course they could come in.  But it didn’t happen.  The door stayed closed, and they stayed outside.  They were sitting ducks.

Stephanie gave her a worried look.  She didn’t say anything, but she didn’t have to- that was a What are we going to do? look if Natalie had ever seen one.  Natalie looked at the door again, and tried to think.

They could wait out here until Andrea and her friends finished watching the film… but the film was probably going to be more than an hour long.  Mr Miacca could have picked them off ten times over before Andrea came out.  And what if she didn’t come out at all?  What if they put on another video, and another, and left them out there all night?  Even if Mr Miacca didn’t come along, what would happen when they had to sleep, or go to the toilet?

They couldn’t stay out here and wait.  So what could they do?

Natalie looked from one end of the street to the other.  They were on a long, dark road, and anything- anything– could appear in the distance.  But it would probably get them a lot faster if they stayed still.

Alright, she didn’t know where Mr Miacca was.  Maybe if they went somewhere else, they’d run right into him.  But maybe if they were quick…

Natalie looked at Steph, and tried to swallow down the cold, tight feeling in her throat.  If Steph thought Natalie was scared, then she’d get scared too.  “Looks like we’re going to have to walk home by ourselves,” she said, taking her sister’s hand, “Come on.”

(To Be Continued)