The earth trembled as the creature left its lair at night. It wound its way across the fields and slunk over the town bridge. It slithered across the churchyard and its skin shimmered as it slid past the windows of sleeping children. Its shadow raced along the stone walls by the light of the moon.
It glided across the village green and then silently through the narrow cobblestoned streets. It went past the pub and the tiny teashops, past the village library, searching. It had known the place for centuries. In the market square it stopped.
It let out a screech that was wild and full of rage. That cry echoed down the laneways, through the thatched roof cottages, reverberated over the fields. It was a noise that had not been heard for many years.
Miss Mary-Kate Martin chose from her lucky items collection carefully. First, she chose the lucky silver packet that contained the last seven pieces of gum that her father had left behind before he disappeared on Mount Shishapangma when she was five. She placed it carefully at the bottom of her suitcase.
She also chose the lucky novelty torch shaped like Big Ben and her lucky stress ball, which was a miniature world globe. It didn’t seem nearly enough lucky things for a train trip to somewhere she’d never been, so she added her lucky international coin collection that contained thirty-three coins in a small glass jar.
‘Make sure you pack sensible shoes,’ her mother, Professor Martin, called from her bedroom. Mary-Kate looked down at the red sparkly shoes she was wearing…
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