Polly Pippin and The Tunnel of Death (4 page)

'I have a friend in the car.'

'Bring him in.'

'It's a her,' Ape said.

'Well done old man. I'll go and get her.
Polly pour Ape a drink and get him something to eat, he's always
starving.'

And before Ape could say no, Hamish was out
of the door, running down the drive. Ape excused himself and
followed Hamish out.

'Hamish!' he called. 'Please! We have to
talk it's very serious. Remember what I told you the other day
about Rebels from another universe?'

Hamish was still not sure what was going on
in Ape's head so decided to humour him. 'Can't it wait till
tomorrow? My sister's in there trying to impress one of those
blokes.'

'No, not if you want to save her life it
can't.'

'What do you mean, save her life?' Hamish
knew his friend was not prone to exaggerate, so this time, he took
what Ape said seriously. 'Do you mean from those blokes in there?'
He started to run back in.

'No, no. They are in as much danger.'

'So what is it?'

'Well, Piers and Miles are twins, and they
don't know it, but the firstborn babies were stolen and taken to
another universe. Now they are Rebels and, along with others, are
planning to destroy Earth.'

'What are you rambling about, Ape? This is a
lot to take in and understand. Look, I have fought with you for too
long to dismiss what you are saying.' However Hamish thought, now
he's going on about Rebels from another universe again. Maybe Ape
was pulling his leg.

'Hamish, what are you doing out there?'
Polly's voice floated over the garden.

'Just catching up,' he called back. 'Won't
be a sec. Look, things will have to wait till this party's over.
Will that be okay?'

'I suppose it has to be. We'll meet tomorrow
morning at the Brown Sugar Café for breakfast with Polly and
Alison. Get them to invite Piers and Miles. I want to see how much
they remember, and we can go from there. Don't leave the girls
alone tonight. I'm not sure how safe they'll be. Try and wind up
the party as soon as you can, Hamish. I don't want the house to
protect you by swallowing you all.'

'Swallowing us? Christ, Ape! Hamish said. He
shook his head. The house swallowing us, now Hamish was convinced
his friend has lost it or was drunk. Now I'm really worried.'

'You should be. Tomorrow at ten. See you
then.'

'Hamish.' Polly's voice came across the
garden.

'Coming Polly. Tomorrow, Ape, at ten.' And I
hope he remembers Hamish thought.

Hamish waved goodbye to Ape and his mystery
passenger and went back into the house.

~

As he walked in, the smile left his face. He
could not believe what he was seeing.

'What…? What the bloody hell's happened?' he
said as he looked round. The house looked like it had been
attacked. Broken furniture and glasses were strewn round, and it
looked like it had not been lived in for years. 'Polly! Alison!'
Hamish screamed.

He dismissed his impulse to run for his life
to call Ape for help. Instead, he ran into the house to find his
sister and cousin and the others wherever they were, hoping no one
was hurt, or worse.

At the bottom of the stairs, he stumbled
over a body. 'Oh my God! Polly!' he said as he turned her over. She
lifted her head and moaned. 'Thank God! Polly, are you hurt?'

'I think I must have fallen down the
stairs,' she said.

'What on earth happened, Pol?'

'I don't know. I went upstairs to get a
jumper, and that's all I can remember.' She rubbed the back of her
head. 'I must have banged my head when I fell.' She touched the
bump, 'ouch it hurts.' She opened her eyes and looked round and
screamed. 'Oh my God Hamish, what's happened to the house?'

Hamish helped Polly up, and they walked into
the kitchen.

'Where is everyone? Hamish, did a bomb go
off, did everyone get out safely.' She suddenly collapsed, and
burst out crying. 'What's going on in my head Hamish? I'm
remembering things I know couldn't have possibly happened to me.'
Polly exclaimed. 'And why am I still here?'

'Maybe because you were upstairs, whatever
happened missed you. Let's look around and try to find Alison or
any of the others and then get out of here, if what Ape told me is
true, we are in great danger.'

They had a quick look round the house and
then ran out the front.

'What about all the others? Where are they?'
Polly said, her thoughts racing.

'I wish I knew.' Hamish frowned. 'I can only
think the worst.'

Hamish had gone through a lot with Ape… so
many sorties, so many fights. They were closer than brothers. He
trusted him with his life, and whatever had happened, he now
believed him. They had to meet him the following day.

~

They got to Hamish's house, and Polly
slumped down on the sofa, still crying. 'I wish Alison were here,'
she said, and with that wish, Polly remembered nothing more.

The next morning, Polly and Alison woke, and
they were both in Hamish's spare room.

'What happened?' Alison said. 'I can't
remember us going home with Hamish.' But Polly remembered what had
happened and thanked God Alison was with her. She jumped out of
bed, calling Hamish as she did.

Unexpected Invasion

Ape was already at the café when Hamish,
Polly and Alison arrived. He gave Hamish a look that said. "Say
nothing. Wait till we are alone".

'Where's everyone, Hamish?' Polly asked.
Hamish told her everyone who was at the party was to meet for
breakfast.

'They'll be here soon,' Ape said and thought
back to the previous night.

Luckily the house had relayed to the
Freeflyers the Rebels were going to attack Byzantine Crescent, that
evening. They were going to kidnap all the guests and take them to
the Dark Universe, and that wasn't going to happen. In the seconds
Hamish walked Ape to the car, the Rebels attacked. But they had
walked into an ambush, as the Freeflyers had already sent everyone
to safety, but Polly. The battle that was fought destroyed the
inside of the house, so when Hamish walked back in, Polly was the
only one in the house. She was lying unconscious on the floor at
the bottom of the stairs, and the house was wrecked. By the time
Polly and Alison got to go back, Byzantine Crescent would look its
usual self, smart house.

~

'Well,' said Alison, 'I'm dying for a cup of
coffee, let's order.' But everyone was looking at the door as Brad
Capriole and Steve Smith walked in.

'And where were you the other day Polly?'
Brad said, a smile flicking across his full lips. 'I thought we had
arranged a meeting.'

Before Polly could say a word, Hamish jumped
up. 'Sorry Mr Capriole. I'm Polly’s brother. You will have to blame
me.'

'No blame old son, and if you would invite
us to join you, I'm sure we could forgive you.'

Brad waited for a nod from Hamish before he
and Steve Smith sat down. He squeezed between Polly and Alison and
called for a menu.

'So Polly,' he said, as he snuggled close to
her. 'When can we come and see your house? It looked perfect from
the outside.' He looked directly into Polly's eyes, expecting her
to swoon and agree to his every wish.

'That can't happen,' interrupted Hamish.
'Sorry, Mr Capriole' Hamish said again. 'We're going to do some
renovations soon,' he lied, 'and the noise would certainly disturb
your movie making.'

Brad turned to Hamish, a look of distaste on
his perfect face. 'I'm sure our little Polly here would love to
star in my movie… with me,' he added. Polly looked at Brad, delight
and disbelief on her face.

'What's the working title, Steve?' Brad
asked.

'The House of Secrets,' Steve answered
mysteriously. 'And Polly could be the star, along with her
house.'

Lily brought some coffee pots to the table,
as Barbara, with Piers and Miles in her wake, arrived at the café's
door.

~

'So you
are
here,' Barbara announced. 'Piers said you would be Polly. Oh my
God! I woke up this morning with a headache bad enough to drop a
charging rhino. I honestly can't remember a thing, and the boys
said the same. I was on my way to your house when I got your
message and bumped into these two. So here we are. What was in that
punch? None of us can remember getting home!' And she walked
directly to the pastry display.

Ape stood, nodding to Hamish stay to keep an
eye on the proceedings, and he quietly slipped out.

'As you were saying, Mr Capriole,' Polly
said, speaking in her most posh accent, still not sure what to call
him.

'He was saying nothing,' Hamish said. 'It's
not going to happen.'

Barbara checked out all the cakes, ordered
what she thought everyone would like and then walked over to the
table.

'Here's my lippy… bottom of my bag as
usual,' she said, looking up from the huge bag she had been
ferreting in. She looked up and saw who was sitting at the table.
'It's Brad! Brad Capriole!' she screamed.

'Oh dear. Time for us to go,' Brad said.
'I'll call you later, Polly.' He looked pointedly at Hamish, and
the two famous men rushed out by the back door before screaming
women surrounded them.

'Who wants coffee?' Barbara brandished the
coffee pot. 'And just look at these pastries I ordered.'

~

Piers and Miles had been in a state of shock
since they'd woke in their beds that morning, decided they had to
talk to the girls to find out what was going on. 'Not for us
thanks, Barbara, we're leaving. Want a ride home, girls?' Piers
looked at Polly and Alison.

'Well, I'm staying. Look at all these lovely
pastries,' says Barbara. 'Hamster, share them with me. We can have
such a feast, and a nice long chat.'

'No, not for me either, thanks anyway,
Barbara. How much, Lily?' Hamish called out.

'It's gone on Brad Capriole's account,' Lily
said. 'All settled.' Just before the door closed behind Polly, Lily
called out, 'I'm going to close soon. Can I come round, Polly?'

'Of course! See you at home,' Polly
answered, and they all walked out into the bright sunshine.

Hamish called out to Polly. 'Polly, come
here. I want to talk to you.'

'No Hamish. You're not my boss. If you want
to talk to me, you come here.'

'Don't make any decisions I might regret!'
he shouted a grin on his face.

'Love you,' Polly called over her shoulder
as she put on a crash helmet that was very becoming. She sat
astride the motorbike and put her arms around Piers waist.

'Yeah, love you too. See you, Pollump,' he
called back. 'Oh, do I have an invitation for dinner tonight?'

But Polly had gone. She always has food for
me, Hamish thought. I'll pick up Ape, and we can both cadge
dinner.

The Place called Eden

Rebels Zack and Knox lay back feeling
totally relaxed, things were going their way.

'What now, eh, Knox? I think we should
capture Piers and Miles and use them as bait for Polly and
Alison.'

'Waste of time, Zack. I have a better idea,'
Knox said. It took a mere smile, and within a tenth of a scannul,
Brad Capriole and Steve Smith suddenly appeared in the garden.

'Welcome to the Garden of Eden, my Earth
home,' Knox said.

'Amusing name,' Steve sneered. 'And for your
next trick?'

'That's easy!' With a finger snap, a bottle
of the most expensive Earth-side champagne, four crystal glasses,
and four dozen oysters topped with caviar appeared on the table
before them.

'Earth food and my favourites,’ Brad
smarmed. That's what I like about you, Knox, you always do things
with style.' He picked up an oyster and held out a glass, the
crystal glass sparkled in the sun. 'This is a beautiful place. Now,
what's this all about? I was in the middle of a very important
meeting with this beautiful blonde.'

'We need your help.' Zack said.

'You need my help? Little old me? That's
hard to believe.' Brad Capriole was openly sarcastic. 'And me… only
an honourable Rebel.'

'Alright, Brad, how much?' Knox said. He
looked Brad directly in the eye. Brad lost a little of his bravado
but not all of it.

'Not how much, but what,' Brad said. He knew
if Knox had summoned him, he was needed. He knew what he wanted, he
wanted to be King the world, but would Zack and Knox give it to
him?

More smoke and mirrors

'What's all this about?' Lily walked into
the kitchen and saw Polly and Alison looking at travel
brochures.

'Guess what!' Polly was so excited she was
jumping up and down. 'We are all going overseas.'

Lily started to laugh. 'What are you talking
about? With what? We're all broke.'

'Polly won it, and she doesn't remember
going in the competition. The letter came through the post today.
An overseas trip and she can take three friends.' Alison started to
make Lily a cup of coffee. 'Will you be able to get time off
work?'

'What do you mean, will I be able to get
time off work?'

'Well, you are coming with us, aren't
you?'

Before Lily could answer, the doorbell
chimed.

'That'll be Hamish. He must have forgotten
his key. I'll get it.' Polly raced to the front door.

Two young men stood at the door. 'Hi. We are
from Universal Tours, with the tickets and cheque. Congratulations,
Polly Pippin.'

Polly was overcome with excitement. 'Hello!
Come in! We're having a celebration in the kitchen. We can't
believe it.'

She turned and walked towards the kitchen
the two men following. 'Ali, Lily, these gentlemen are from
Universal Tours.'

The hellos went round the table.

'My name is Mann, and my friend here is
Kind. We are here to help you with your travel plans.'

'Well, we have only just started to look,'
Polly said.