Danny And The Seagull Who Came Back... From The Dead!

Foreword

I would like you to meet Danny. Danny lives with an aunt and uncle who would much prefer that he did not. He goes to a school where all the pupils pick on him, along with a little help from the teachers.

Now, Danny is a nice kid really but sadly, no one ever gives him a chance. His aunt and uncle never wash him, or his clothes, and so he goes to school very grubby looking and becomes an obvious target for ridicule.

Danny’s life is not a very good one but he braves up to as many of the eventualities as he can though, if he knew about Caterpillar Kingdom, he would probably give up hope altogether.

Danny does not know it but Caterpillar Kingdom is up in arms, and legs, at him. However, Danny’s life is about to change. There is a great, grand adventure about to be thrust upon the heart of this young boy. An adventure that was to be so bizarre that Danny, and you, could have no conception of it.

I am going to tell you of his triumphs, his sadness, his losses, his gains, the wonderful friends that he is to meet, and of the best friend that a boy could ever have. All of this in the greatest adventure a boy could ever have.

Now we begin...

~~~~

Chapter 1 - Ridicule At School

Danny was about to open the front door and set off for school, when a voice called out to him.

Come here, boy, his auntie shouted as she came racing toward him. The usual rank smelling cigar hung between turgid lips.

Danny sighed as she grabbed his head and began to swing it from side to side, so violently that Danny’s tongue whipped back and forth across his face.

Have you cleaned your ears? she rasped at him. Ears, ears, dirt, dirt, she muttered, as she began poking his ears with stabbing motions that only served to push any existing dirt further inwards. Although, for the most time, his aunt and uncle were not concerned about his cleanliness, sometimes his auntie got a fixation about his ears. He could never understand why.

Dirt, dirt, dirt, she continued to mumble. Then, obviously finished with her inspection, she shoved him harshly toward the door. Go on. Get to school, boy!

Crashing into the door as a result of the push that he had just received, Danny was still amazed at his auntie’s incessant ‘ear-checking’ and her total disregard for his general un-cleanliness.

Stop hanging around and get to school, she shouted, almost threateningly.

Danny leapt upon the door handle, turned it, pulled it toward him, and leapt for the safety of the ‘outside,’ as his auntie’s hand came sweeping through the air, only just missing the back of Danny’s head. Yes, it was another typical day for Danny.

The door slammed loudly behind him as sunlight and tranquillity pounced upon him. The peacefulness of being outside, away from his aunt and uncle, was pure heaven to Danny and so he ‘sighed’ a peaceful sigh and basked upon the calmness around him.

Schoooool! screamed a voice from somewhere behind him. Danny jumped in fright and fled down the cracked and broken path to the cracked and broken gate. Quickly, yet delicately, he opened the gate, forever fearing that it should fall flat altogether upon the ground. If it did, he knew that his aunt and uncle would blame him. ‘Everything wrong and everything broken is always my fault,’ he thought.

Tranquillity was left behind, at a very fast pace, for the moment.

***

Now I should point out how bad things are for Danny and I should also point out that though things are bad now, they are going to get a lot worse before they even have a chance of getting any better.

***

Pausing just beyond the front gate and, taking a breath of fresh air, Danny contemplated the walk to school. Providing he did not bump into any of the other school kids, the walk to school was one of the two best parts of the day for him. The other ‘best part’ being the walk home from school. This was of course, assuming that none of the school kids saw him, caught him, or taunted him.

For some obscure reason Danny felt in a very good mood. He began to sing as he set off away from the gate. Too late to stop it, the gate crashed behind him. The silence was shattered by a raging, almost primal, final, ear-shattering scream. Geeeettt Toooo Schooooollll!

Danny began sprinting off down the road and soon he was out of sight of the horrible little house and only now could forget the damp walls, the cracked ceiling, the loneliness, and the despair. Only now could he begin to enjoy the walk to school.

School did hold one main attraction for Danny, though. It was not the lessons, it was not the bullies, it was not the teachers, it was a beautiful girl. Her name was Aphelia, Aphelia Foreverlove.

She was the one person that could help Danny forget about all of his troubles. However, he was not even sure if Aphelia knew that Danny even existed. She had stolen Danny’s heart and, although she never knew, Danny liked to pretend that they were both secret friends.

It was not only because she was pretty that he liked her, but also because she had never said a bad word about him. Whenever the other children had made fun of him, she had never joined in with their cruel laughter and their cruel taunts. Whenever she had looked at Danny it looked to Danny that she wished as though she could make all of his troubles go away. Danny liked to believe that this was true and that somehow, in someway, Aphelia would wrap all his troubles up in a piece of old chewing gum and stick them under some old desk, out of sight, so that he would never find them again.

As he was thinking of her now, he came upon a rose, which stole itself through a gap in a fence. The rose, so pretty, reminded him of Aphelia’s beauty. Stretching up, he gently took hold of the rose and pulled it slowly toward his face. He wanted to breathe in its scent as he was sure that the rose would smell as pretty as Aphelia and one day, if he ever got close enough to her, he would see if she really smelt like a rose.

A glassy, dreamy look spread across Danny’s face as, in his mind, he moved that little bit closer to heaven. The day seemed to have the beginnings of being a wonderful day.

Unbeknown to Danny, however, beneath a leaf on the stem of the rose, a lone Caterpillar was shaking in terror. It wailed in fear, Oh no, not me. Don’t let the Danny get me!

Danny could not hear the Caterpillar, but he could feel a thorn as it slid into the flesh of one of his fingers. With a sudden yelp of pain, he released his hold upon the flower. Immediately, the rose stem swished through the air and the Caterpillar was catapulted high up into the sky, way across a well-kept lawn to land, with a wallop, against the side of a bright yellow wheelbarrow. The Caterpillar slid, unceremoniously, down to the ground.

Another Caterpillar came running up to the scene of the crash-landing of the first caterpillar. Are you alright? asked the concerned Caterpillar?

The flying Caterpillar could only manage a nod as he strove to clear his groggy head.

What happened? enquired the concerned Caterpillar.

The Danny, replied the still dazed Caterpillar.

The D-Danny, repeated the concerned Caterpillar, and then THE DANNN- EEEEE!

The new arrival was off like a bullet, heading for camouflage and shouting, The Danny! The Danny! Watch Out, Watch Out, the Danny is about! The caterpillar raced across the lawn looking for any ‘hidey-hole’ that it could seek sanctuary within.

The ‘flying’ caterpillar gave a last shake of his head and raced for the lawn, across it, and into the gooseberry bushes, thus effecting himself a little protection in case ‘The Danny’ should follow. The caterpillar then grabbed a small plant stem and hid behind it and, because he was shaking so much, all of the petals of the plant were shaken free and they fell to the ground, burying the caterpillar. In the darkness, the caterpillar chose not to move. He would hide here until he felt safe enough to venture outside again.

***

Danny looked at the small blob of blood that was building up on his finger. He squeezed the finger, releasing more blood, then promptly stuck the finger into his mouth, sucked it, and then quickly rammed his hands into his pockets and once more set off towards school.

In the sky, Danny saw a lone seagull flying gracefully. Danny had always dreamed of flying. Danny had always wished that he could be a seagull, just so that he could also fly away from all of his life. He wanted to fly away from being Danny.

Thoughtfully, he once more sucked his finger, quite unaware of the panic he was creating down upon the pavement.

***

A lone Caterpillar, suddenly confronted by the sight of Danny, stood still in absolute terror. Then, in a blur, it raced across the pavement and then down the kerb, and then into a grid. In the darkness, it hung there, upside down, fearfully eyeing ‘The Danny.’ It shivered as the drip, drip, dripping of the previous night’s rain slowly fell down into the darkness, splashing into some dark, dank pool below.

Quietly, for fear of being heard, the Caterpillar tried to get its breath back.

Danny looked up from his finger as an approaching car disrupted the silence. Realising a danger he leapt, too late, as a shower of water covered him as the car sped by, racing through a great puddle carefully made by the nastiness of the road and the previous fall of rain. Danny was sure that he had recognised one of his teachers driving the car, Mr Pringly Flower-Popper. However, he did not recognise the car. ‘Perhaps Mr Pringly Flower-Popper has bought a new one,’ he thought.

***

The water, which had been thrown up into the air, splashed down upon the grid, knocking the Caterpillar from his secret, not so safe, hiding place.

The Danny! It’s all the Danny’s fault! shouted the Caterpillar, as it plunged down into the inky blackness that lay below.

***

Danny groaned as he looked down at his wet shorts, socks, and even half of his jumper. No doubt the kids at school would find this event to be a source of wild amusement. A timid anger swelled inside Danny and then, quickly, his anger was gone and he simply shrugged his shoulders and began to carry on walking to school.

***

Across the road another Caterpillar, wearing a green helmet, was frantically radioing a message upon his walkie-talkie.

Sentry Chibble here, you had better send another rescue party. Danny has struck again. I repeat, Danny has struck again. There came a cry of dismay from the walkie-talkie as the news reached the other end. Slowly, and with grim determination, sentry Chibble moved higher up the branches and, through his binoculars, he continued watching the wretched, evil Danny.

***

Danny carried on walking upon his way, towards his school, towards another miserable day and, as Danny made his way to school, he became aware of a strange phenomenon. Butterflies were dancing in the air around him; not too close and not too far, always close enough to see and yet too far away to grasp. Danny saw many butterflies flying just ahead of him as he continued walking on his way to school, or ‘ridi-school,’ as he preferred to call it. The butterflies remained in the air, flying just ahead of him, always fluttering frantically back and forth. He thought that they looked really pretty.

***

If he could had of seen them clearly he would have seen that each was carrying a loud hailer... and, if he could had of heard them, he would had of heard things such as...

Clear away from the path. The Danny approaches...

Run to your homes.

Await the all clear...

However, Danny could not hear or understand them, and so he carried on upon his way, always admiring the many pretty butterflies that danced in his path.

***

There were not many children around the school gates as Danny arrived and so he had only a limited amount of name-calling thrown at him. Ignoring the taunts, he made his way to his classroom. Danny was in school again and he could feel it. Registration was very typical. As per usual, he had the concurrent bombardment of pellets flicked with rulers and, as per usual, Mr. Pringly Flower-Popper (his teacher), saw him in the act of trying to return fire, and then promptly removed Danny’s ruler.

‘It’s funny,’ thought Danny to himself, ‘Mr. Pringly Flower-Popper never catches the other kids.’

‘It’s funny,’ thought Mr. Pringly Flower-Popper, ‘I never catch the other kids.’ Whereupon a huge grin spread across his face as he noted that Billy Melted-Chocolatebox had just landed a direct hit on Danny’s nose.

Yeow! shouted Danny.

Then the class, as if by command, fell silent. Mr. Pringly Flower-Popper turned to stare directly at young Danny. You, boy, he said, Come here.

But, sir... uttered Danny, pleadingly.

Come here, repeated Mr. Pringly Flower-Popper, and then, Making a disturbance in my class, eh? Indeed! Come to the front. There is a little matter that my hand would like to discuss with that wretched thing you have for a backside.

But, sir, began Danny again.

Come! commanded Mr Pringly Flower-Popper.

Yes, sir, groaned Danny.

A chair creaked, almost mockingly, as Danny made his way to the front of the class. A boy was rocking a chair on its rear legs, a crime for which Danny would have earned detention for himself. The boy had a very self-satisfied look upon his face. The boy was Billy Melted-Chocolatebox and Danny could see ‘now you’re for it’ written all the way across Billy’s face.

Danny knew what to expect, it would be the same ridicule and the same jokes.

Come on, boy, I haven’t got all day you know, shouted Mr Pringly Flower-Popper.

Danny did not wait to be told a second time. In the past, he had done so, and had always earned himself another wallop for his troubles.

As Danny stood there, the classroom door opened and Mr Chronus Brain-Dead, the history teacher, looked in. Quickly, he summarised the situation and merely said, Danny, again?

Mr. Pringly Flower-Popper nodded and Mr Chronus Brain-Dead continued, Could I have a word with you about the new P.E equipment?

Certainly, said Mr. Pringly Flower-Popper and then, glancing at Danny, he said, You wait there till I return.

Miserably, Danny looked around the classroom and, in doing so, he noticed a few things. He noticed that Leroy Smell-Pockets grinned, almost inhumanly, back at him. He noticed Andrew Splodge-Deck playing with his teeth - he was always doing that. Tony Soft-Marbles looked away as Danny’s gaze came to rest upon him. Mathew Benda-Beak gave a chuckle that he then tried to cover up with an over-dramatised cough. Then he leant forward, resting his chin on his knuckles and smirked right back at Danny. Danny looked away.

He looked away, and looked straight into the eyes of Aphelia Forever-Love. He felt his cheeks burn with the redness of embarrassment.

The class chuckled for, in that strange way that all members of a class know something without it ever having been mentioned aloud, they all knew that Danny had a crush on Aphelia. His cheeks burnt more, and he wished that she did not have quite so dramatic an effect on him.

Aphelia looked away, shyly. Danny blushed more and, in trying to forget what was happening to him, he began to daydream. Daydreaming was good for Danny. His daydreams were places he could go, be whoever he wanted to be and be with whoever he wanted to be with. Danny dived right into his daydream so that he could forget where he really was right now.

There was a river. Danny and Aphelia lay on the riverbank with their feet dangling in the cool, clear, blue water, which reflected the sun, bright, overhead.

Aphelia held Danny with a tightness that told Danny she was scared to be without him. Danny felt happy and contented.

There came upon them a grunting noise that came from further up the riverbank. Danny looked up, confident, for he knew exactly what it was that made those comical, grunting sounds. The 'sounds' were being made by all the kids from Danny’s class, because Danny had dealt out his revenge upon them. He had buried them up to their necks in the soil of the riverbank and then, in each of their ears, he had jammed a still live, wriggling fish.

Yahh, shouted Danny. Fish-brains.

None of the heads dared answer him. They knew what would happen if they did. You won’t call me names again? called Danny to Mathew Benda-Beak.

Mathew Benda-Beak not only had the fish in his ears but also, unlike the other kids, he had a wriggling fish up each of his nostrils. This was his further punishment for having called Danny names.

Danny made to stand up to approach the kids but Aphelia’s hand suddenly grabbed his tight and her voice fearfully called out. Dearest, where art thou going?

To talk to yon villain, the one with the fish up his nose, my dear. Fear not, said the gallant Danny.

Take care, my sweetest, said Aphelia. Anguish, and worry, were apparent in her voice.

I will, replied the mighty ‘Sir Danny.’

Quickly approaching the villain called Mathew Benda-Beak, Danny stopped just before him and then, standing with hands on hips whilst looking down at the pathetic figure, he said, So, ‘Fish-face,’ you have something to say?

The head nodded frantically, looking even more ridiculous as the fish in the ears and nose wobbled more than usual.

Speak, Danny commanded.

Po-wheeze fordid me. I bwont edder corl dyou names aden, said Mathew Benda-Beak.

Promise? said Danny.

Pwomiss, pleaded Mathew Benda-Beak.

Okay, said Danny as, in a flash, he pulled the fish from Mathew Benda-Beak’s nose and threw them away toward the river.

***

As Danny watched the fish, he noticed that one was going to fall short of the river, and was in fact going to collide with a lone Caterpillar, which he noticed was making its way along the riverbank.

Watch out! shouted Danny.

The Caterpillar looked up and was promptly walloped in the face by the flying fish as it bounced on the riverbank before shooting off and into the river. The stunned Caterpillar was thrown through the air, to land, high, up in a tree.

A lone Caterpillar on the ground caught Danny’s attention as it ran around frantically shouting, Meltrin, Meltrin? Where are you?

***

Danny turned and ran back to the calling voice of Aphelia. She clasped him tightly and said, My hero.

Danny held her tight and said, softly, This is heaven.

***

What? said a loud voice.

This is heaven, repeated Danny, dreamily.

You’re going to need more than heaven to save you from this, exclaimed Mr Pringly Flower-Popper.

Yeow! wailed Danny, as a mighty hand crashed down upon his unprepared backside.

***

The afternoon continued in much the same vein for Danny and, as usual, he spent most of the day wanting to go home.

There are those amongst us who draw love from all that they meet. They are very lucky people. Danny could only draw ridicule. Danny was no different from the other kids. The kids, themselves, gave Danny his own distinction. Children, those who can contain the most love and, yet, give out so much cruelty.

Danny once heard two teachers talking about him, and he remembered that one had said that Danny’s problem was in his genes. Danny could never understand that because he had only ever worn shorts.

Danny never hurried home from school when school was done for the day because he had as much of a good time at home as he did at school.

On his way home this day, Danny went to the local field and was content to spend a little time there throwing stones at cans that he had set up on a large piece of wood. It was a simple game for him to play and, as long as none of the kids from school turned up, he was quite happy playing on his own for a little while.

He was standing further back from the cans, making his targets that little bit harder to hit. There were the odd stones amidst the scrub grass of the field and he had to search to find them.

He was running along, until he spotted anything that looked big enough to throw, then reaching down, grabbing the object and then standing up quickly, he would hurl the missile at the cans.

Today, the cans seemed to be laughing at him.

He ran a little more, grabbed an object, stood up, turned, and hurled. Another miss! He ran again, searching for something else to throw, grabbed an object, stood up, turned, and hurled again. Yet another miss.

His arm was getting tired and he ran a little more. There! Another object. He grabbed the object, raised it, pulled back his arm and was suddenly aware of a slimy, stickiness on the object. It felt disgusting. He threw the object at the cans, trying to get rid of it as fast as possible.

There was something sticky on his hand. He knelt down and wiped his hand on the grass, sliding his hand backwards and forwards trying to get rid of the slime. After a while, he stood up and looked at the cans. They were all still standing. Danny shrugged his shoulders and guessed that it was time that he hurried off home. ‘It is an important day, after all,’ he told himself

Whenever he arrived home, his auntie, Ankle-Scent, would always complain about the state of his shirt. She would moan that she had only washed it some three weeks ago, saying, Now look at the state of it!

Moot-Saga, his uncle, always had something of his own to moan about.

It would not, however, be fair to say that Ankle-Scent and Moot-Saga never showed Danny any affection. For, always, when Danny came into the house, Moot-Saga would give him a pat on the head. The fact that the force would send Danny crashing, chin first, onto the bottom stair did not deter Danny from the belief that his aunt and uncle really did love him, even if they were a bit heavy handed at times.

***

Unknown to Danny, the bottom of the stairs was a no go area for Caterpillars. It was taboo, it was forbidden. In Caterpillar language, it was known as ‘The land of Danny the Chin.’

Chapter 2 - Can I Attack

Come along. Lift those feet, shouted Cloudy Pump-Packer. There were a number of groans and mumbles from directly behind him but he simply ignored them and said, Come on, my lovelies.

Marching briskly forward, he ascended the length of a twig that was lying on the ground and began to survey the grass terrain around him.

Cloudy Pump-Packer was a Sergeant Major, a typical Sergeant Major, and he liked the sound of his own voice and his own ideas. He was a big, burly caterpillar, and he held a baton under his arm and a pair on binoculars hung around his neck.

Turning around to look at the three caterpillars who were on patrol with him, he saw that they were a motley, unfit crew. ‘I’ll soon have them sorted out, I’ll make real caterpillars of them, yet!’ he promised himself.

Take five, you caterpillars, he called to them, adding, I’ll just check around the area. Pushing his helmet a little backwards, he raised his binoculars to his eyes. Slowly, his head turned as he surveyed the area around him. Cautiously, he moved to a higher position on the twig.

What’s he doing, now? said Bugsy Carpet-Song.

I don’t know, looking for our next challenge, I’ll bet, said Swoonin Neck-Voltage.

Ooohh, me feet. My poor, aching feet, said Frent Ink-Spill. I don’t think they’ll ever be the same again. With that, he undone fourteen pairs of laces and kicked fourteen pairs of boots off. Ooohh, that feels better, he said as he wiggled his feet.

I think that this is a waste of time. Who would want to be out in this field? There’s no flowers, no bushes... what’s he expect to find? complained Bugsy Carpet-Song.

You know the Sarge, said Swoonin Neck-Voltage. He wants to find an enemy, have a great and glorious battle and then go home and brag about it.

Oohh, that feels better, said Frent Ink-Spill as he kicked off another fourteen pairs of boots.

Quiet, that man, shouted Cloudy Pump-Packer, in a large whisper. Never know how close the enemy is. His head moved from side to side as his eyes sought purchase on anything out of the ordinary.

The three private caterpillars lay there enjoying the small break from their trudging boredom.

Ooohh, that’s better, said Frent Ink-Spill as he kicked off another fourteen pairs of boots, his feet wiggling in delight.

That ‘Caterpillar!’ You! Get your boots on or I’ll have you on a charge, shouted Cloudy Pump-Packer.

Yes, sir. Right away, Sir, replied Frent Ink-Spill as he made a mad grab for over seventy pairs of boots that had been stacked in a large pile. The pile was sent toppling over with a huge clatter due to his clumsy attempt to grab as many boots as he could.

Less noise there, caterpillar. I do not want the enemy to… hold on... I see something... Get ready to move out, caterpillars. Cloudy had raised the front portion of his body and was stretching as high as he could, to better see whatever it was that he was trying to look at. There are some new structures out there. They are not ‘caterpillar’ made. Too regular. Tall, shiny metal objects. They appear to be almost in a line. They cannot be natural. Maybe it’s an enemy city?

Oh, no, said Bugsy Carpet-Song, Not another trek.

Frent Ink-Spill was frantically grabbing boots and pulling them on to his ‘complaining’ feet.

Move out, Caterpillars, said Cloudy Pump-Packer, as he began moving back down from the high point on the twig and onto the ground. He immediately began marching into the grass, leading his caterpillar squad forward.

Swoonin Neck-Voltage fell in behind him, followed by Bugsy Carpet-Song, and then by Frent Ink-Spill, as he hopped and tottered trying to march and, at the same time, trying to pull on numerous pairs of boots. OOOhhh, me feet, he complained.

There had not marched very far when there was a curious whistling in the air. All four caterpillars froze and listened intently.

Take coverrrrrrr, shouted Cloudy Pump-Packer. Get under cover, and keep your blasted heads down!

He had barely finished speaking when a huge explosion of dirt erupted slightly behind them. The caterpillars were sent tumbling through the air. Frent lost about five boots in the blast as the force of the concussion wave sent them flying, high over the surrounding grass.

Quiet returned and then, cautiously, Cloudy Pump-Packer pushed his helmet back a little as he raised his head to try and see what was happening.

Incoming, shouted Bugsy Carpet-Song, immediately curling up into a ball. The others did the same.

The explosion was further away this time and the caterpillars breathed a sigh of relief. Another missile came hurtling toward them. This one landed very close. The dirt erupted in the air where the missile hit, along with grass stems and pebbles, and landed on the caterpillars, almost burying them.

It’s an artillery barrage! shouted Cloudy Pump-Packer to his men.

The four of them hid there, not daring to move in case they gave away their position as more explosions rained down around them and, thankfully, most of them landed quite some distance away.

You, caterpillar, whispered Cloudy Pump-Packer to Frent Ink-Spill, take these… and see if you can see where the enemy is. He threw the binoculars toward Frent Ink-Spill.

Frent grabbed the binoculars and just looked at them. ‘What’s he want me to do?’ he thought to himself.

Climb that nettle plant and see if you can see what is going on, shouted Cloudy, in reply to Frent's unspoken thought.

Yes, Sir, shouted Frent, climbing to his feet and, keeping his head as low as possible, he tottered toward the nettle plant. Oohh, me ruddy, aching feet, he said to himself.

Another explosion rent the air, showering dirt all over them.

Get a move on, that caterpillar, shouted Cloudy to Frent.

Frent Ink-Spill had just reached the nettle plant and was now, slowly and delicately, trying to climb the plant stem. Ooh, me feet, he said.

Quiet! Get climbing, shouted Cloudy Pump-Packer.

Yes, Sarge, replied Frent.

Another explosion erupted, showering the area with dirt and pebbles. A scream rang out.

Swoonin Neck-Voltage looked around to see who had been hit. The Sarge was okay. Bugsy was okay. He glanced toward the nettle stem and was shocked and sickened to see the sight that greeted him. ‘Poor Frent,’ he thought to himself.

Frent had been caught by the blast and was now hanging, precariously, from beneath a single nettle-leaf. His legs wiggled in the air trying to get a hold on the plant but he had lost even more pairs of boots in the explosion and every time he tried to put a foot on the plant, he received a nettle sting for his troubles.

That’s gotta hurt, said Bugsy Carpet-Song to himself.

Ooh! Ouch! Ouch! said Frent Ink-Spill as he tried, once again, to get a foothold.

Stop hanging around, Private Frent, shouted Cloudy. Get a move on or I’ll have you on a charge.

Yes, Sir. Ooh! Ow! Ouch! Yikes, said Frent Ink-Spill sincerely, whilst wishing that he had all of his boots on.

Private Swoonin? called Cloudy.

Yes, Sir? replied Swoonin Neck-Voltage.

Bring me that radio, said Cloudy.

Yes, Sir, replied Swoonin Neck-Voltage, listening to see if it was quiet enough to attempt to make it toward the Sarge. It was eerily quiet. Swoonin stood up, shaking the dirt from himself and then began crawling toward Cloudy.

Keep your head down, caterpillar, whispered Cloudy Pump-Packer, loudly.

Yes, Sir, shouted Swoonin.

Ooch! Ouch! shouted Frent Ink-Spill.

Swoonin landed in the dirt beside Cloudy, pulling out the walkie-talkie and handing it to the Sarge.

Cloudy grabbed the radio and, after he had extended the aerial, he pushed a button and began to speak.

Rainbow Base? Rainbow Base? This is Blue Patrol, do you read me? There was a crackling sound from the walkie-talkie.

Cloudy looked at it in disgust for a moment, and then pressed the button once more. Rainbow Base? Rainbow Base? This is Blue Patrol, do you read me? Come in. Over.

Crackle, said the walkie-talkie.

He pushed his helmet a little back and looked at Swoonin Neck-Voltage. Cloudy gave a little sigh and Swoonin punched the dirt.

In-Coming, shouted Bugsy Carpet-Song.

The ground shook violently and dirt shot high into the air just a little ahead of the position occupied by Cloudy and Swoonin.

That was close, shouted Swoonin.

Cloudy turned to see what was happening with Frent. What are you up to, caterpillar? he shouted.

Frent had managed to get a hold on the leaf and had pulled himself up. He was nearly at the top of the nettle plant now. Nearly there, Sarge, he shouted back down.

Well, get a move on.

Yes, Sir, replied Frent, as he leaned forward and pulled the binoculars to his eyes. His worried and nervous eyes began to look around. He quickly found the tall silver structures that Cloudy had spoken about. He continued looking slowly around the area.

Crackle. Pssss, crackle, went the walkie-talkie.

Cloudy punched the button on the walkie-talkie and said, Rainbow Base? Rainbow Base? This is Blue Patrol. Do you read me?

Blue Patrol. We ‘crackle’ you. What is your ‘crackle?’ said the walkie-talkie.

We are pinned down. Repeat, we are pinned down by artillery, shouted Cloudy. We need immediate E-Vac. Do you copy?

Frent was surveying the area when he spotted a movement quite a way off. He focused in with the binoculars and saw a most grotesque and horrible sight. In addition, as he stared at this sight, something red appeared in his line of vision and it was quickly growing larger. He looked at it, mesmerised for a moment.

In-Coming, shouted Bugsy, urgently.

Oh, noooo, shouted Frent Ink-Spill as he realised what was happening, frantically trying to back up along the leaf.

A huge explosion split the air between Cloudy, Swoonin, and Bugsy, and the nettle plant that Frent was upon. When the dust had settled, Cloudy, Swoonin and Bugsy cautiously stood up, shaking the dirt from their selves.

They all began looking around, when Swoonin suddenly shouted, Look!

The others looked to where he pointed. Half of a nettle plant remained standing. They stood in shocked silence. Cloudy took off his helmet and placed it across his chest. Swoonin and Bugsy bowed their heads. A miserable silence crushed the air.

Ouch, said a voice.

The three looked around.

Oooh, me ruddy feet, came the voice again.

The three began running toward the remains of the nettle plant.

When they got to the plant, they looked around, but they could see nothing of Frent Ink-Spill.

Oooohhh, my ruddy feet, came a pitiful voice, from beneath a leaf that was lying quite close to where they stood.

Swoonin lifted the leaf and was rewarded with the sight of Frent Ink-Spill sitting there, painfully pulling nettle stings out of delicate pieces of flesh.

Ouch, he said, as he pulled out another.

That man, shouted Cloudy Pump-Packer. Stand, and make your report.

Yes, sir, shouted Frent in reply whilst struggling to his feet, obviously in great pain from the nettle stings.

Did you see the enemy? demanded Cloudy, admiring the courage of Frent as he did his best to stand proudly and to attention.

Yes, sir, I seen the enemy, sir. I saw the enemy just before they launched that last missile attack, Sir, reported Frent Ink-Spill.

Who attacked us, private? demanded Cloudy Pump-Packer.

Sir… began Frent, it was ‘The Danny!’

A stunned, horror-filled silence followed Frent’s despatch of information.

Good grief, said Cloudy Pump-Packer. He’s got long range weapons, now! He gulped, rather loudly.

There was fear in all of the caterpillars’ eyes.

Crackle, went the walkie-talkie.

Rainbow Base? said Cloudy Pump-Packer.

Rainbow Base here. What is your current status? said the walkie-talkie.

Very nervous, said Cloudy, worriedly, to the walkie-talkie.

Repeat your message, demanded the walkie-talkie.

I require immediate E-Vac for me and my troops. We have some vital information which we must get back to Caterpillar Kingdom as soon as possible. I repeat, I require immediate E-Vac for four.

Hang on a moment, crackled the walkie-talkie.

The four at them looked at each other. The thought of ‘The Danny’ with long-range weapons was too dreadful to contemplate and they all knew it.

Blue Patrol? Blue Patrol? Come in please, crackled the radio, once again.

Blue Patrol here, answered Cloudy.

We can airlift you from grid reference ‘Alpha Tango 12’ in one hour. Do you copy? crackled the walkie-talkie.

We copy, replied Cloudy.

Do you have any casualties? questioned the walkie-talkie.

One casualty, confirmed Cloudy.

What is the status of the casualty? questioned the walkie-talkie.

Caterpillar slid down the length of a nettle plant without many boots on. Over, informed Cloudy to the voice from the walkie-talkie.

Ouch! said the walkie-talkie.

Ouch! said Frent Ink-Spill, as he pulled another nettle sting from his person.

Blue Patrol, the airlift will have one Med E-Vac Butterfly with it, to extract the injured party, crackled the walkie-talkie. Can you get to ‘Alpha Tango 12’ for extraction in one hour?

We’ll get there, said Cloudy Pump-Packer, proudly and determinedly. You just make sure that the Butterfly Air Wing is there when we get there.

Roger. Will do, said the walkie-talkie.

Ouch, said Frent Ink-Spill, as they turned and began to march toward ‘Alpha Tango 12.’

Chapter 3 - Happy Birthday To Sadness

This day, as Danny arrived home, his aunt and uncle were trying to be a little nicer to him and he had a little more tea than usual. It was Danny’s birthday today. Oh, there would be no presents, it would just be a little bit nicer, that was all. His aunt and uncle would never mention that they knew it was his birthday.

Danny never knew his real parents, but he knew his Aunt and Uncle were not his real Aunt and Uncle. When he had been born, his mother had not wanted him. She had given him away to Moot-Saga and Ankle-Scent in exchange for a packet of cigarettes. That was all that he knew; it was all that Ankle-Scent had ever told him. Danny had never heard anything about his father.

***

His bad luck had started at an early age and it had continued this way throughout his young life, but Danny’s luck was soon to change. Not straight away, things were going to get even worse first and then, later on, they would get much better, much better indeed.

***

Today was Danny’s twelfth birthday. After cleaning the dishes, drying the dishes and picking all the rubbish up in the garden, Danny was finally allowed to go to his room. Most kids were sent to their rooms as punishment but, for Danny, his room was a sanctuary from the evils that he endured throughout his miserable day.

Racing up the stairs quietly, he quickly made his way into his bedroom. Once, there had been a pattern on the wallpaper but that had faded away long before Danny had come to live here. There was no carpet. The room contained a mattress, ungraceful and lumpy, lying upon the floor, a couple of old wooden crates and a dilapidated rocking horse.

On the rocking horse’s head there was a tin bucket that Danny had found a long time ago. It was a sand bucket and one day Danny was going to take it to one of the beaches that he had heard so much about.

This room was to be the place where Danny celebrated his birthday. Danny had arranged the crates in his room so that one was a table and the other was a chair. He peeled off his school shirt and then laid it across one of the crates. This was to be his table. The shirt, which was ‘off-grey’ in colour, lay with its custard stain as central as Danny could position it.

He smiled as he stood there in his scruffy shorts; his shorts with the gash down the rear seam that let the inner lining spill through.

His now naked torso was dirt stained, his tattered shoes had no soles, and his off-colour teeth shone through his ever so dirty face.

His hand reached into his trouser pocket and withdrew, carefully, a small package which was wrapped in old newspaper. He laid the package on the table, carefully removing the newspaper, to reveal the contents. The contents of his package were one small candle, a dozen or so matches, a small stone and a piece of cake. The cake he had had for a week now so it was, undoubtedly stale. When he had first attained the cake, he had sworn to keep it for his birthday. The cake was not for himself but for his one friend, Eldgy-Non.

Eldgy-Non was a spider, but not a very big spider. The spider was about the size of Danny’s thumb. Danny kept Eldgy-Non in a matchbox for most of the time, and always managed to find crumbs of food with which to feed the spider.

Danny had come across Eldgy-Non one day as the spider struggled to cross Danny’s bedroom window ledge. Danny saw it struggle as it had a distinct lack of a ‘couple of legs.’

Danny never found out what bitter battle had resulted in the loss of the spider’s legs but, clearly, it was obvious to Danny that the spider would not survive long in its condition. Danny took the spider in and had been its sole food provider even since.

Eldgy-Non was Danny’s only friend and, though they could never communicate, Danny believed that if they could have talked to each other, then Eldgy-Non would had of said that Danny was his best friend.

The crumbs of cake were for his friend to have at Danny’s birthday party. Danny was twelve today. Now, he was going to have his birthday party with his one and only friend.

Carefully placing the candle in the middle of his crudely built table, next to the custard stain, Danny then carefully lit the pitiful candle using one of his stored matches and a small stone. Danny then placed the matchbox, containing Eldgy-Non, next to the cake crumbs which, in turn, were next to the candle.

Danny began to hum ‘Happy Birthday to me’ as he slowly and carefully opened the matchbox a little. He replaced the half-opened matchbox on his little table and awaited, eagerly, Eldgy-Non’s appearance. Eldgy-Non would peak out of the matchbox and, when he was satisfied that he was safe, he would make his way forward to the place where the food was for him to eat, as he always did.

***

Eldgy-Non did not come rushing out as Danny expected. Danny waited and waited some more. Still Eldgy-Non did not appear. Danny peered into the blackness of the opening and called Eldgy-Non’s name. Still Eldgy-Non did not appear. He wondered if, perhaps, Eldgy-Non had gotten out of his little shelter. Then, one of Eldgy-Non’s legs came into view, slowly and painfully. Eldgy-Non managed to pull himself out and then he slumped, his eyes staring up toward Danny.

Danny felt as though Eldgy-Non was trying to tell him something. Agonisingly Eldgy-Non raised his face up toward Danny. Danny stared back in open disbelief as he saw a tear trickle down the spider’s face. Then Eldgy-Non’s body went rigid, his eyes closed, and his body slumped down onto the table.

In the eerie silence of the room, Danny knew that Eldgy-Non was dead. His battle for life had finally ended. Danny’s one true friend was no more.

Nooooo! screamed Danny as he flung the cloth and its contents across the room. Turning, he ran sobbing to his mattress and threw himself down as he cried himself to sleep with the song ‘Happy birthday, Dear Danny,’ ringing in his head.

Chapter 4 - A New Dawn And A New Friend

As Danny stood looking upon the burnt remains of his home, he realised that it was his doing that had caused all this destruction. He recalled the previous night’s events; the birthday party, the candle, the matches, the cake crumbs, the makeshift table, and the death of his friend, the spider.

He recalled his anger and the throwing of his shirt-come-table-cloth, across the room, before crying himself quickly into a deep sleep. The burning candle had caused the fire. Tears welled from his heart and burst through the corners of his eyes.

A few people walked around Danny. Some had dirty faces. This was because they had risked life and limb trying to extinguish the fire. They all ignored him.

Moot-Saga and Ankle-Scent were arguing away to the right of Danny. He could not make out everything that was being said, but he did hear his name mentioned quite a few times. What belongings they had salvaged were behind them in the back of the old car. Suddenly, Danny was aware that Ankle-Scent was climbing into the car and Moot-Saga was walking toward him. It looked as though they were going to have to find a new place to live. Danny wondered, ‘Where are we going to live now?’ Obviously, the approaching Moot-Saga was about to tell him.

We’re getting off, now, said Moot-Saga. I reckon we got more than twenty ciggy’s worth of housework out of you. Look after yourself, kid.

For a second, Moot-Saga looked thoughtful and then he continued, saying, Don’t try and find us. We’ll just deny you. Yeah, take care of yourself. With that, he gave Danny a rub on the head, turned around, climbed into the car, and started the engine.

With a cough and a lurch, the engine choked into life, staggered and coughed a little more, and then went bouncing down the street, looking as though it was going to fall apart at any moment. Danny thought he saw his aunt, Ankle-Scent, wave to him. He was not sure, but he waved back anyway.

With knuckles rubbing red-raw eyes, Danny looked after the car long after it had gone.

His uncle Moot-Saga had rubbed his head and it had not really hurt him this time. To Danny that meant that he must have really loved him.

Goodbye, Uncle Moot, he said softly. Goodbye Aunt Ankle-Scent, I’ll think of you both.

He stood there, his mind and body numb, trying to decide what he should do next. His eyes continued gazing into the distance, his mind trying to make sense of all the things that had happened to him. For a little while, he thought of Aphelia.

After a while, he looked around and became sadly aware that there was no one else around. Everyone had gone. The house continued to smoulder and the air was very quiet.

Quiet, except for the sniffling cries of a little twelve-year old boy. A twelve year old boy who was about to set out on the greatest adventure that any twelve year old boy could ever have, but he did not know that yet.

***

In the quietness of that morning, Danny became aware of the lone cry of a seagull that circled overhead. This seagull, for reasons known only to its self, attempted to land on the burnt remains of Danny’s house. Danny watched as the bird made a descent toward a charred, black beam that was in the remains of the house that had been Danny’s bedroom.

The bird no sooner touched the beam and then there was a loud crack as the beam collapsed to the ground taking the bewildered bird with it. The bird gave out one pathetic scream as it vanished amidst the rubble. Silence descended once more.

Danny’s sniffles slowed and stopped as he gazed at the spot where the seagull had vanished from his sight. Trance-like, he began to walk toward the ruins. Carefully, he began picking his way through the ruins toward his old bedroom. The smell was terrible. He looked toward the remains of his mattress and spotted, not far away, the old sand bucket. There were no painted scenes left upon the bucket at all. The flames had been merciless and had ripped all of the scenes away, stealing, from Danny, the little pictures that had kept him happy through many of his bad times. Gently, he bent down and quickly touched the bucket. It was only warm and not burning hot as he had feared. He started to cry because this upside down bucket was all that he had left in the world.

Secure in his own knowledge that the bucket was sufficiently cool enough for him to touch, he leant down to pick the bucket up.

A piercing scream leapt from Danny’s lips as he began to lift the bucket. A black devil shot from beneath it and hurtled toward him, crashing into him as it sent him flailing and falling backwards to the ground.

Whatever ‘it’ was, ‘it’ was now lying upon his stomach.