The Legend of Brandice May
By Kevin P Pearson
Text copyright 2013 Kevin P Pearson
All Rights Reserved
For dreamers young and old who yearn for wild adventure!
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to Katarzyna for her lifelike cover picture of the evil Brandice May.
To get in touch with Katarzyna regarding possible art projects, please contact her directly at the email address below.
Katarzyna Waszewska-Adamowska
LABARTE
Email:
[email protected] Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 1
Lawrence perched atop the museum, peering over the deserted street far below. All was calm and quiet over Somerset tonight- Just how he liked it. This made things much, much easier. Only an owl hooting cautiously in spooky trees beyond disturbed the haunting silence. The dull moon sitting above woods in the distance was still only half full again. It had been this way for weeks, but tonight Lawrence had other more important things on his mind.
A small polished mirror dangling on a fishing line, positioned at exactly the right angle told him the security guard was right on time. He’d let him pass once more before making his move. The man had never been late so far and his routine hadn’t changed, but Lawrence had learnt it paid to make sure.
Lawrence had studied the museum’s layout many times during the day, guessing his best chance would lie at night when there were few witnesses. Intelligence contacts told him the target would be sitting patiently at the new Egyptian exhibit on the third floor at nine thirty precisely.
Lawrence was so intent on his work he didn’t care about tiny raindrops sliding down his balaclava and clinging to his neck, nor sweat pooling in his climbing boots. This should be a simple, short trip with very little chance of being seen. The back of the guard’s shiny uniform reflected in the glass again. Now, he had four minutes! Getting in proved far too easy. The creaky window was very old, so the broken catch slid down at the first heave.
Hiding in the shadows of the crumbling building opposite, two piercing red eyes watched him slip inside. They blinked once, disappearing in a puff of green smoke.
Only safe access to the floor below was via antique heating ducts - perfect for someone his size. Knees pads made sure his approach remained silent. Very soon Lawrence dropped into staff toilets, which were as dark and quiet as outside, and climbed straight back into the next system that led him safely to the far end of the third floor. So far he’d taken less than two minutes.
Below the vent sat a beautiful tabby cat whose sparkling green eyes were fixed intently on the scratching behind a towering sarcophagus. Carefully prising the dusty vent cover open and allowing it to hang downwards, Lawrence saw his target perfectly. Excellent!
Dangling from long rope only a few feet from the marble floor, Lawrence scooped her up in one flowing movement, placing her neatly in his knapsack. The surprised animal barely had time to murmur before they were both back in the vent and sliding along one upstairs.
Back at the entry point the patrolling guard noticed something strange. Lawrence slipped silently down a totem pole nearby as the man looked curiously at suspicious spots of water dotted on the dusty floor. This wouldn’t do! Lawrence melted into shadows behind a giant bear whose enormous teeth glinted horribly in the eerie light of the pale moon. Drat, this wasn’t part of the plan. If the man lingered longer a younger guard would join him, one who always came on duty at ten. Lawrence couldn’t afford to get caught or it would all be over, everything - his dreams shattered, all hope lost.
Now the old man noticed the broken window catch and moved forward to fix it. Just then his phone rang and he strolled off down the room. Lawrence heard him moving downstairs, chattering loudly. Bolting for the window, he squeezed through, hoisting himself up the long drainpipe onto the roof. It was raining harder now, and he’d barely stood up when the place began to flood. A rusty old pipe had burst somewhere - another variable he hadn’t counted on.
One minute later Lawrence crossed the roof by sliding over water cresting the top of a thick pipe and flew down the wet fire escape. Near the bottom he almost lost his footing. Grabbing his bike hidden deep in the bushes he set off home, purposely taking back routes which lay as strangely silent as before.
Lawrence closed the back door carefully, pleased with his nights work so far. Mum smiled from the TV room. “Remember its school tomorrow, so don’t stay up too late!”
“See you soon mum,” he said, rushing downstairs to his lab in the cellar. On the examination table he opened the soft bag, allowing the puzzled cat to stroll out. All the same she seemed very happy to be there. Her contented purrs quickly filled the room and she lay on her side, nuzzling the soft material. Lawrence felt that terrible sinking feeling again. It wasn’t her! Smell was different for one. But he couldn’t be totally sure, so performed the tests as normal.
What some people didn’t realise was cats could change appearance quite a lot as they grew older, even colour in some cases. There were many reasons why. Unknown to her, this friendly young girl may still answer some questions. Besides, he felt glad to meet her as she did look a little underfed. Although most cats Lawrence borrowed were healthy, some folk simply didn’t have the knowledge. Lack of responsibility dad used to call it.
Tonight had been Lawrence’s twelfth heist, quite an impressive record for one so young. He felt particularly proud of the night when he managed to capture two at the same time. But success had come at a price. Many cuts, scrapes and rope burns lay behind him, not to mention the nagging fact that he still hadn’t found young Lucy.
For nearly a year Lawrence had trained hard. He could hang for twenty minutes from monkey bars at school - very useful while waiting for an unexpected guest to leave a room. Now an expert at rope climbing and sliding down gutters, he could also sneak on his tip toes, handy for sliding along little ledges only a few inches wide. And unlike some criminals who preferred fast, noisy cars, his mountain bike made an excellent getaway vehicle that slipped by authorities unnoticed.
Lawrence’s father had been an extremely good vet whom he’d learnt much from. After performing usual tests for health and disease, Lawrence made sure to check the cat under ultra violet light. Aha! There it was again - the tenth so far! A small luminous speck nestled at the very tip of her tail. It was the seed of a rare glowing plant growing in wet, marshy places, far away from choking dust and urban grime of sprawling cities. Its natural stickiness made it very difficult to remove safely. Mr Davis had confirmed its species, though not knowing where the nearest source lay only added to the mystery. Something very strange was going on here. Sadly, exactly what neither could say just yet.
Lawrence fed the girl a healthy mix of meat and vegetables, which she wolfed down. He let her out the small window onto the back garden, where she meowed a time, looking in forlornly. A lot of them were like that, and didn’t want to leave, but as muc
h as he cared for cats, he couldn’t allow it. For when Lucy returned, how could he be sure she wouldn’t feel jealous that he’d replaced her so easily?
Lawrence quickly tided the room, thinking through the small scraps of evidence found so far. He went through everything from beginning to end once more. It had been late, very late that Halloween, almost midnight. Lawrence was just about to go to bed, having been out at a party, when he noticed Lucy’s basket lay empty. He knew she always came in at nights before it got too dark, so he gazed out the window into the woods, expecting to see her happily padding up the garden path.
Instead he saw a strange green light glowing through the trees and felt an invisible buzzing flowing through the night air that made his hair stand on end and his bedroom light explode. The television switched on downstairs and fizzed loudly. Soon the room became uncomfortably hot. Farther out in the forest, lights turned blue, flashing hypnotically. Almost immediately his nose curled at the sickening smell of burning manure.
For a second those weird lights burned the brightness of the sun. Somewhere in the bushes he heard Lucy let out a surprised yowl. Even though at ten he still felt afraid of the dark, Lawrence bravely ran out to help his friend. At the bottom of the garden where wild grass met towering trees he tripped over a log, falling face first into a patch of nettles. All went dark. When he came to his senses the lights had gone, air had cleared, the moon hung high in the sky and Lucy was nowhere to be seen. His watch now read 1:30 am.
That awful night Lawrence never slept. Instead he lay awake anxiously wondering what may have happened to poor Lucy. As soon as dawn broke he rushed down there to survey the scene, finding flattened grass swirled in strange circles, broken trees branches singed high up and a tiny speck of bright yellow slime sheltered beneath a suspicious pile of sticks.
Mum said Lucy probably wandered off on an adventure and got lost, and lots of animals did that, not just cats. But she hadn’t been there. Lawrence had seen it all, so knew better.
Next day he’d told Mr Davis, the biology teacher all about it. A kind, friendly man, doubling as the school councillor, he was always impressed by kids’ vivid imaginations. Mr Davis had been one of dad’s best friends. Lawrence remembered dad had always been very careful whom he called a friend, so that’s why he trusted him.
Mr Davis knew a very clever professor currently travelling in remote regions abroad, who proved very difficult to get in touch with. As soon as he could contact him, he promised to ask him exactly where this weird fungus could be found. That seemed to be the only clue so far. Until then they both kept hoping Lucy might turn up.
That was nearly twelve months ago. Ever since Lawrence had tried his best to find out more. More about the lights, more about the burning, and more about the strange glowing fungus.
Mum told him an awful lot of cats had been reported missing recently. When she mentioned where they’d disappeared from, Lawrence realised many were ones he’d examined himself, before allowing them to return to their homes. Trying to find out why, how and who would take these cats occupied most of his time nowadays. Unfortunately neither he nor Mr Davis had any firm ideas just yet.
Sometimes, late at night when the moon threw strange shadows across the lawn and a weird wind whistled through trees farther out, Lawrence swore he could hear Lucy mewing for him. Once he awoke all a flutter, thinking she’d playfully jumped on his chest like old times. And once, throwing open the back door he caught a glimpse of a tiny black shadow flying across the grass. But it dissolved with the light, never to be seen again.