The Warning Colour (Part I) - Glint

True friendship is never serene."
- Mariede Svign1

Wisconsin, 30th January 1994 2

Outside, soft flakes of snow continued to dust the earth with a fine icing-sugar-like coating. Though it was basically the end of winter, people were still greeted by whiteness and unseasonably freezing temperatures. Winter never usually lingered like this, but this year had been fairly colder.3

Inside, in the cosy warmth, the television was tuned to the kids' channel, playing a new episode of Boy Meets World.4

"Kids?" Holly's father called.5

Both Holly and Ian sprang up from the couch and raced to the front hall, skidding to a stop.6

"Ha, I beat you!" Holly proclaimed triumphantly to her best friend Ian's irritated expression.7

The four adults chuckled. The kids looked up to see their parents dressed up and putting on their coats and hats, ready to go out – some dinner party, they had said.8

"Well, sweethearts," said Ian's mother, "You'll both be safe, okay? You've had supper, and all the doors and windows are locked. Make sure you don't answer the door to anyone unless it's Mrs. Miguel. And please go to bed at a decent time – latest is nine, but only for tonight. Ian, got all your things for the sleepover?" She added.9

Ian nodded. Holly's parents and Ian's kissed both their red heads goodnight, and were off down the pathway. Holly waited until the car was out of sight before she closed and locked up the front door, though her mother had told her not to stand out or she'd catch her death.10

Ian yawned, as she turned around. Since she was already ten and Ian was still nine, and also rather small and freckly for his age, and considering it was her house, Holly felt it her duty to look after everything.11

In a motherly tone, she said, "Alright, off to bed then."12

Ian stuck his tongue out, turned on his heel and scampered upstairs. Holly pulled a face and went to turn off the lights and the TV.13

"Oh no…"she murmured, tiptoeing up the stairs. They creaked almost silently, like a subtle, haunting chorus.14

Holly hated the dark, especially when there were no grownups around the house. The tiniest noises could make her jump, sending a wave of goose bumps up her arms. But now it was too quiet and the silence was starting to worry her.15

"Ian?" she called uncertainly. No reply came back so she called more loudly, "Ian?"16

When again there was no answer, she shouted, "Ian, you're not funny! Why'd you turn off all the lights up here?"17

She softly treaded down the hallway to her bedroom. The door was closed. She attempted to push it open but it wouldn't budge.18

"Ian!" Holly yelled, "Open the door! Ian, I swear…"19

Just then the door flew open and Holly tumbled in from the momentum of suppressed pushing. At the same time, there was a loud, what could only be described as a, war cry and someone jumped on top of her.20

"Aaaaaaaaaaagghh!" Holly screamed.21

She rolled over and dug her nails in the other person, still shrieking until her screams were paralleled with another. The other person elbowed her in the stomach and rolled away. Holly kept yelling with pain and fright until the light switched on, which suddenly cut her off. She blinked up at a panting Ian.22

"You idiot," she said, annoyed and still half-stunned, "You scared me half to death."23

Ian grinned, and then came forward to help her up. She brushed him off and picked herself up.24

"Oh, come on. Don't be mad. I was just messing about. You know me," he smiled, "Besides, you should've seen the look on your face – classic."25

She shot him a contemptuous look, "You calling me chicken? Fine, let's play truth or dare – me first."26

"'Kay, truth or dare?"27

"Dare!" declared Holly.28

"Climb out onto the roof, then the apple tree and pick a leaf or blossom to prove it."29

"But the tree's too far away from the roof!" she exclaimed.30

"Here chicky chicky…" he smirked.31

Holly sent him another scathing look and unlocked the window. Hoisting herself up, she carefully climbed out onto the sloping roof. The wind was biting and she hadn't thought to slip on a jacket but, nonetheless, she carried on stepping until she was near the closest branch to the roof.32

She reached out a hesitant leg to test the distance; it was too far. It looked like she'd have to jump. Well, she wasn't going back in without something.33

"Don't look down, don't look down…" she whispered to herself, trying to ignore the numbness stealing over her extremities.34

Gathering her nerves, she stepped back a bit, preparing to make a short run up to the edge. Just then, she felt something slight give way and a few old roof tiles crumbled under her, falling to the garden below. It was too late, she had looked down.35

And that's when she saw the silver glint in the darkness. It was momentary, like something briefly catching the dim light of the half-hidden moon. She thought it might have really quickly been reflected in something that looked very much like eyes.36

She shook her head and blinked, looking again but couldn't discern anything. Everything was submerged in the thickness of cold night. Holly reasoned it was just a trick of the light or her stupid, crazy imagination.37

'Okay, maybe I can just try one more time at the tree -'38

CRASH!39

Holly's self-convincing was abruptly cut off by a loud crash of what she assumed were her mother's plant pots breaking.40

'Must be Mrs. Miguel's stupid cat again,' she thought, rather hopefully. Well that was the only explanation. What else would be down there messing about, knocking over pots?41

'But those pots are too heavy for a cat to knock over...' a voice said in the back of her mind. She crushed that thought and tried to quell her rising fear.42

When her thudding heart had calmed down a bit, she looked around again. It was as if the darkness had expanded. The moon had gone behind the thick, grey clouds. And without the moonlight, Holly imagined that the atmosphere had become frostier.43

Now she was too tense to carry out the dare. Without a second glance at the black night, she hastily crawled back into the room and pulled the window down.44

"Well?" Ian demanded.45

"It was bare. Not a leaf in sight, let alone a blossom. It's winter after all," she lied.46

"Almost spring actually. I saw quite a bit of green up there this morning… You didn't do it, did you?" smirked Ian, who had already climbed into the bottom bunk, tucked warmly under the covers.47

"Oh, shut up," muttered Holly, shivering. She changed her sweater, throwing the wet one at Ian, and clambered up onto the top bunk.48

"So, truth or dare?" she said.49

"Oh, we're still playing? Truth, then."50

"Chicken," she whispered.51

"Oh, look who's talking!"52

"Okay, what're you gonna be then, when you're all grown up?"53

Ian chuckled, "You know I've told you millions of times – King of the Noise Factory, obviously; specializing in life-like animal noises, mocking sounds, music of all ages and genres, knock-'em-dead comebacks, flawless parent or teacher imitations…"54

Holly laughed, with a little involuntary snort, "What're you rattling on about, moron?"55

"And you'd be my Queen…" Ian continued merrily.56

And before she knew it, Holly had giggled herself to sleep, while Ian had chattered himself dry, softly snoring now.57

Once she'd fallen asleep though, her dreams were uneasy… The light, powdery snow had blown itself into a full-scale blizzard and their parents still weren't home. The power had gone off, leaving them freezing their butts off. All the food had disappeared and the torches were burned out. Suddenly, every window started clattering, the doors banging open and shut, the wind howling, the walls shuddering, the room closing in on the two children – and the glint; it was getting sharper, closer, deadlier…