scratchproductions on DeviantArthttps://www.deviantart.com/scratchproductions/art/Caught-On-Camera-Chapter-Twelve-709322867scratchproductions

Deviation Actions

scratchproductions's avatar

Caught On Camera (Chapter Twelve)

Published:
714 Views

Description

Chapter Twelve

The Next Day 

   After the dramatic events of the day before, Fiona Rumblefish was desperate to read her tea leaves this morning, so she slurped her drink very quickly and returned her teacup to its saucer. She was about to peer inside when something caught her eye. 

   A figure had appeared in the photograph on the wall in front of her. It was Lester Scallop and he was walking purposely along the rocks towards her.

   Mrs Rumblefish stood on her feet and stared at the picture in astonishment.

   Other children were walking behind him, following in his footsteps and stumbling over the rocks. Their clothes were old and tattered, and some of them were clutching dolls and teddy bears against their chests. But there was one face she recognised immediately.

   “Danny?” Mrs Rumblefish cried. “Danny, is that really you?”

   Lester was now scrambling through the picture frame and the other children were following, including Danny, Mrs Rumblefish’s long lost son.

   Fiona Rumblefish fell to her knees and wept with joy.

   In the house next-door, Alistair Cribbins was pouring milk onto his cereal. The morning edition of the Cloudberry Chronicle had been placed on the coffee table in front of him. ‘MYSTERIOS FIRE DESTROYS PHOTOGRAPHER’S HOUSE’, the headline said, and there was a picture underneath of the charred, blackened remains of Diane Honeydew’s house. Mr Cribbins was about to read the article when something distracted him and he immediately looked up.

   Out of nowhere, Veronica Twist had appeared in the framed photograph on the wall in front of him. She was walking along the promenade towards him. Other children were gathering behind her and somewhere in the crowd Mr Cribbins thought he could see Hendrix, his old dog.

   Then Veronica and the other children began to climb through the picture frame and swarm across the room…

   Several hours later, Billy Moon opened his eyes.

   He was lying in his bed and a shaft of afternoon sunlight was angling through a gap in the curtains. He felt tired and weak and could barely move his body, as if heavy weights had been attached to his limbs.

   His parents were standing over him, smiling reassuringly. It occurred to Billy that he’d never seen them look happier and more relaxed before.

   “Try not to move too quickly,” his mother was saying. “The doctor says you need plenty of rest.”

   Very slowly, Billy sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes. “What happened to me?” he asked.

   “You collapsed on the doorstep outside,” Mr Moon replied. “You gave us quite a scare. At first we thought it was because of the fumes from the fire, but the doctor says you were suffering from nervous exhaustion. You’ll be fine. You just need to rest, that’s all.”

   Then Billy remembered the events of the day before and suddenly panicked. “The fire!” he cried. “The children in the photographs! Monty! What’s happened to them?”

   “Everything’s fine,” Mrs Moon said with another reassuring smile. “There’s no need to worry. In fact, we even have a little surprise for you.”

   The bedroom door opened suddenly and Natasha Brown stepped into the room. Billy was overjoyed to see her again, and even more overjoyed to see Monty, his dog, walking to heel next to her. Yapping loudly, Monty leaped onto the bed and wagged his tail in excitement.

   “But how did you escape?” he asked Natasha in astonishment.

   “As soon as the camera was destroyed, the barriers across the picture frames fell down and collapsed,” Natasha explained. “A group of us managed to navigate the void between the photographs and pull the other children to safety. We had to be quick, because their pictures were burning and filling up with poisonous fumes. We dragged the children back into the void and then carefully guided them through the mist. We eventually escaped by climbing through the surviving picture frames.”

   “You mean the photographs hanging on my neighbours’ walls?” Billy asked.

   Natasha nodded her head and Billy grinned as he tried to imagine the shocked expression on Mr Cribbins’ face as an army of ghostlike children invaded his home.

   “We frightened people at first,” Natasha continued. “They thought we were ghosts. But now that they’ve learned the truth, they are beginning to accept us and even welcome us into their homes.” She nodded at Billy’s mum and dad. “Your parents have kindly offered me somewhere to stay.”

   “Natasha can sleep in the spare room,” Mrs Moon said. “Other families are fostering children too. We thought you’d be glad of the company.”

   “I hope you don’t mind, Billy,” Natasha said, bowing her head. “I have nowhere else to go.”

   Billy laughed. “Mind?” he said. “Of course I don’t mind. In fact, it’s the best news I’ve heard in a long, long time!”


   THE END

 

Image size
700x700px 261.98 KB
© 2017 - 2024 scratchproductions
Comments33
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
Nat-ti's avatar
These eyes remind me of "Village of the Damned" (1960).