november 3rd, 1984
DUSTIN HENDERSON WAS a nerd. He loved science and all things physics, yet felt passionate about the idea of fantasy. Fantasy games, fantasy books, fantasy worlds. Everything intrigued him. Until it all became real.
He placed the phone back on the cradle base before turning around, plastering on a smile. He watched his mum perk up at the sight, blissfully unaware of the fact that it was all an act. No one had been on the phone. Nobody had told him anything. And he wasn't happy.
Dustin was beyond stressed. The previous night, when the boy had arrived home from school, he'd been meaning to question his newly-found pet about its existence. Where did it come from? What really was it? His questions were quickly answered when he walked into the room to find Dart's enclosure smashed to pieces, with the monster itself hiding behind the couch as it devoured the family cat.
"They found her?" Claudia Henderson suggested, a spark of hope flickering through her worried eyes. Dustin sighed to himself, feeling guilty for lying, but he knew he had no choice. He couldn't tell his mother that her beloved cat was dead, nor about the existence of the realm hidden beneath their very feet. All he could do was cover his tracks, which he wouldn't be able to accomplish if his mother stayed in the house.
"No," Dustin said gently as he stepped closer, his cap shielding the guilt in his eyes. "But they saw her wandering around Loch Nora."
Claudia let out a trembling breath of relief, fidgeting with the handkerchief in her hands. A thankful tear slid down her already damp cheek. "How did the poor baby get all the way out there?"
Dustin examined the mixture of a frown and a smile playing with his mother's lips in an attempt to try and pick apart her innermost thoughts. "I don't know. Lost, I guess. But they're gonna look for her." Dustin reached out to grab his mother's forearms, trying to stop her stuttering and trembling body. "And I'll stay here, just in case they call again. And you're gonna go help look? Yeah? Yeah?"
Claudia nodded vigorously as a sob escaped her lips. Dustin smiled gratefully as he spoke. "Give me a hug. Give me a hug. Go get her," he said as he wrapped his arms around the woman, smirking out of her sight. HIs plan was quickly falling into place.
"I'll go. I'll go," she nodded quickly as she retracted her arms from around her son. "But not until I find you a babysitter."
Dustin's face dropped, a mixture of alarm and annoyance falling across his face. "What? No, no- I don't need a babysitter! I'll be good, I've got good grades. I'll be fine. Just worry about Mews, alright?" He stuttered, his eyes wide as he tried to stop his mother from reaching the phone. However, it was almost as if the woman had ignored him as she pushed past the boy, picking up the phone as she dialled in a number.
"I know this lovely old lady . . ." she trailed off with a smile, speaking mindlessly. She was just about to ring the woman when Dustin jumped in front of her and slammed the phone back down. Claudia furrowed her brows as she stepped back nervously.
Dustin froze for a few seconds, the room falling silent. "No, mum! Not an old lady. Old ladies are not cool. If someone finds out I'm hangin' with the elderly, I'll never hear the end of it!" He yelled quickly after gathering his thoughts. He compiled all of his ideas together in a desperate attempt to find a solution. Any solution. However, nothing appeared within his mind.
Claudi tilted her head worriedly as she studied her son's abrupt behavioural change. "Well, as much as I want to save Mews, I can't leave you here alone. Unless you find a babysitter, I'm calling-" Dustin's pounding brain cut her off.
"Madmax," Dustin whispered beneath his breath. His mother froze, confusion falling upon her features as she waited for the boy to continue. "This girl from school has an older sister. I can talk to her on my walkie-talkie!"
His mother seemed hesitant, due to the worry of the unknown, yet Dustin sent her a pat on the shoulder before rushing down the corridor of their house. He snatched the walkie-talkie off the bench at the end of the hall, hurriedly pressing down on the receiver.
"Max? Max, you there?" He swiftly shouted into the recorder. He waited impatiently for a moment or two before he heard the muffled sound of a response from the other end.
"What, Dustin? I'm busy," she mumbled, irritation clearly lacing her voice. She gripped onto the device she'd been given the day beforehand tightly, her skateboard being clutched close to her legs with her other hand. She'd been passing by the electronic on her way outside to skate down her road, eager to leave the anger-filled household. Dustin's voice had reluctantly stopped her.
"Is your sister free? I need a baby-sitter and she's the only cool person I know. Other than you, of course, but I mean, you're not old enough, so . . ."
"You don't know my sister," Max said with furrowed brows, confusion covering her features as she moved across the lounge room.
Dustin cleared his throat, his words spluttering out. "Yeah, I- I know, but she looks cool," he shrugged, a grin still present on his face.
He waited, and waited, and waited, and just as he was about to roll his eyes with a sigh and give up, an unfamiliar voice spoke through the speaker. He quickly widened his eyes at the new voice, his smile growing even further.
"Hello?" Aven spoke hesitantly through the device she'd been handed by her step-sister without a word. She watched worriedly as Max stomped out of the house, slamming the front door behind her. She pinched her brows together.
"Hi, is this Max's older sister?" Dustin asked, his cheeks dusting over with excitement.
Aven tilted her head with confusion before pressing the button on the side. "Yeah, it's Aven. How- I'm sorry, who are you?"
Dustin cleared his throat, trying to sound more mature and professional. "This is Dustin Henderson. I'm a friend of your sisters. You waved at us from across the carpark yesterday."
"Which one were you?" She asked as she pushed herself up from the chair in the living room, leaving her book half-read on the coffee table.
"Curly hair . . . goofy smile," he said with a soft laugh, giggling at himself. Aven smiled at the sound.
"Oh, yeah, I remember," she said gently with a nod, even though he couldn't see it. "What were you after, Dustin?"
He started slowly walking back down the hall towards his pacing mother. "Are you a professional babysitter by any chance?"
Aven stopped walking for a moment, looking down at the device with curiosity and furrowed brows. "Uh, no. I can't say I am."
"Oh," Dustin sighed defeatedly. He stopped walking, his posture dropping tiredly as his last plan crumbled entirely. "Don't-
"I can, though," she said, hurriedly cutting him off. "If you're looking for someone, I'm sure it won't be too hard."
Dustin's body froze. Although he hadn't been moving, he felt the blood and regret flowing through his body cease immediately, his frown being replaced with a hopeful grin. "Really?"
Aven smiled brightly as she approached her bedroom. "Of course! When's it for?"
"Tonight," the boy winced worriedly, trying to interpret her tiny moment of silence. "Is that a problem?"
"No, no, not at all! What time do you want me there?"
"Uh, as soon as possible, please. 2886 Cornwallis Road," he recited, sending a bright nod towards his mother. Claudia grinned sweetly before moving out of sight, swiftly packing her belongings into a small bag.
"Cornwallis . . . okay, I think I know where that is. I'll be there soon, Dustin," Aven said with a smile before switching the device off, unknowingly cutting the younger boy off in a remark. Hurriedly, she grabbed her bag and placed a few essentials inside, throwing her red and white bomber jacket on, before quickly walking out of her room and closing her door. On her way out, she slipped her shoes on and grabbed her novel, sliding it into her bag as she walked outside.
She hadn't even made it down the front steps when Billy called out her name.
"Where are you going?" He asked suspiciously as the girl adjusted her oversized jacket. She spared him a glance, her neatly styled auburn hair blowing back in the wind.
Billy was leaning against the hood of his car, a half-used cigarette dangling between his fingers. He blew a puff of smoke out of his mouth.
"Nowhere that concerns you," she said with narrowed eyes before quickly breezing past him, walking contently down the driveway. She passed her step-sister, who kicked her skateboard to a stop in front of her. With a quick glance back at her twin, seeing him distracted by something elsewhere, she turned back to the redhead with a smile.
"I'm going to your friend's house to babysit. Use the radio-thing and tell me if something happens, and I'll be right over. Okay?"
Max nodded, the corners of her lips slowly perking up. "Yeah, okay. Say hi to him for me," she said as she let her skateboard drop back down, the wheels skidding against the road. "See you later!"
Aven watched, shaking her head with a laugh as the redhead quickly skated away.