No Adults Allowed

Three

Erik nodded. "Well, everything is very odd."

"Ha." Rufus lifted Erik's chin and smiled at him. "Not quite what I meant, but you're not wrong."

"Look," Flick said, pointing at the wolf. Another message.

HURRY

It turned and hurried away, leading them down towards the water where a huge mass of unidentified rubbish had apparently accumulated. As they approached it became evident that the coagulated filth was so thick and deep that it had formed an unnatural ford of sorts, almost damming the river. It was uneven and perilous to traverse, shifting constantly beneath their feet and frequently giving way entirely to reveal dark, sludgy waters below. Falling through would be the end for any of them. The ancient stink rising from the depths was enough to make him retch.

Halfway across there was movement in the stagnant waters either side of the piled waste, and dark shapes began to emerge, slinking from below the surface and clawing their way up onto the ford. As the water and slime dripped away, animalistic bodies not unlike the wolf were revealed, though these seemed larger and more threatening in their posture and movement. They started moving slowly towards the party, threatening to cut off their route in both directions.

Rufus knew immediately that he was going to have nightmares about them, assuming he would ever sleep again. "Now what?"

"Run!" Flick shouted, leading the way, leaping nimbly across the cracked and unpredictable ground. Eva followed, picking Erik up and holding him bodily in front of her chest, his legs wrapped around her waist, while Rufus pursued a few steps behind. He could hear the creatures clattering on the loose surface of the ford behind him, and could see them closing in up ahead. There was no way to make it to the island before being intercepted.

Then the wolf - their wolf, the friendly wolf - deviated from its usual path-finding and instead targeted one of the advancing creatures. The wolf bore into it, tearing at its limbs in an explosion of what looked like grey sand, some of it dispersing in the air and the rest scattering to the river. The wolf rebounded, attacked another of the creatures. It was clearing a path for them. "Keep going!" Flick was waving them on, darting ahead as the wolf created a safe corridor.

None of that solved the clicking of jaws that followed Rufus' heels. He glanced over his shoulder and shrieked to see one of the creatures almost upon him. Losing his footing, he stumbled and fell awkwardly onto the shifting ground. The creature dived at him but was tackled instead by the wolf, coming from behind and leaping over Rufus' head. The two non-animals went down together, tumbling end-over-end down the side of the piles of rubbish and splashing into the river. Scrambling to his feet, Rufus went as fast as he could to catch the others. Sounds of more fighting came from behind but he ignored them and kept going, watching his feet, focusing on the area just in front, identifying safe footfalls ahead of time and doing his best to avoid falling once more.

The others were waiting for him at the base of the wall, where the rubbish had gathered in a slope that reached halfway up. Beyond that was raggedy vegetation which might be enough to help them climb over. The wall was really quite short compared to the one on the outskirts, though it occurred to Rufus that it must extend deep below the water's surface as well.

"Are you OK?" Eva rushed up and hugged him. He noticed how bad she smelled; assumed that he probably smelled worse.

"I'm OK," he said, catching his breath. "The thing saved me."

Flick was leaning against the wall with Erik. She pointed back at the crossing. "Look."

The wolf was limping its way towards them, one of its legs entirely missing and the rest of it skinny and looking malnourished. It stopped when it near them, looked at each of them in turn, then up at the top of the wall. Then its skin rippled and it deposited another written message, all the while visible reducing in size, until its rear legs and half of its body had entirely withered away.

FIND THE TUNNELS

And then:

LOOPHOLE

The half-wolf, its head deformed and barely recognisable as having once represented an animal, dragged its disintegrating body towards them, coming to a stop near Erik and Flick. It lay down on the ground in front of them, one paw extended. The boy knelt down and took the paw in his hand, stroking it gently.

"It's alright, Mr Wolf," he said, "I'll remember you."

Slowly at first, and then suddenly, what remained of the wolf collapsed in on itself and turned to dust, carried away on the breeze or dropping through the cracks of the piled rubbish.

Rufus sighed. "Now what?"

"Over the wall," Flick said, pointing.

"But we don't know where to go without the wolf."

"It said to find the tunnels," Eva said. "So that's what we do."

Looking up at the wall, Rufus wondered if this would be the final hurdle. Another barrier. Yet deeper into the old, dead world.

Thanks for reading. We're nearly at the end. Please do share the book with anyone who you think might enjoy it! Votes and comments gratefully received.