“What’s ‘The Stagecoach’?” Mary was interested to know.

“Oh, I forgot… you’re one of those yokel inbreds from that weird mountain town called Hoffen… you wouldn’t know what ‘The Stagecoach’ is, would you?” Laughed Alex. “Is it true that you all live in trailer parks up there? Hey, your neck’s looking a bit red.” Mary gave Alex Crennell a playful push.

“Yeah, don’t you like my mullet?” She said.

“It’s lovely… it complements all of those missing teeth of yours.” Alex replied. Mary laughed out loud at this. “So, do you fancy coming for a quick drink then? ‘The Stagecoach’ is a pub, by the way, just up by the park.”

“Well… I should really be getting back home.” Said Mary. “I’ve got work in the morning and… oh, sod it. Okay, I’ll come for a drink with you, Alex. But just a quick one.” She smiled.

“Nice one.” Alex responded. “Come on, let me show you what it’s like living in a civilised town, rather than some back-of-beyond assortment of wooden shacks and trailers.” He joked. And that was how Mary Broderick met Alex Crennell.

Chapter Ten

Alfie Whitehouse had been lying in bed, thinking, or rather pining, for his lost cat, Buttons, when a familiar sound, coming from the kitchen downstairs, cut through the silence of the night. It was the sound of the plastic cat-flap opening, and then shutting. Buttons! It must be Buttons! Thought Alfie, climbing out of bed as fast as he could. Steady on, it might be a stray… that little bugger, ‘Horace’, the flipping grey tom belonging to Mrs Poyner down the road… he’s come waltzing in through the cat-flap before, sneaking into my house and fucking spraying everywhere, the dirty little so and so… but he hasn’t done that in a long time… Buttons scared him off… maybe Horace senses somehow that my cat isn’t around anymore. Alfie put on his slippers that lay by the side of the bed, and left the bedroom. He switched on the landing light; nothing happened, and the stairs in front of Alfie remained in complete darkness.

“Bloody great. Sodding lightbulbs these days… they don’t last five minutes.” Said Alfie to himself, as he carefully made his way down the stairs in the pitch black. He was halfway down them when he heard another familiar sound coming from the kitchen area; the sound of Button’s small metal food bowl scraping slightly across the floor. It’s got to be him! It’s got to be Buttons! He must have come home! I know what Buttons is like when he’s hungry, he goes at that bowl like a bleeding torpedo, and pushes it halfway across the kitchen… except… it’s empty, because I didn’t think that he’d ever be coming back. Thought Alfie. He shrugged his shoulders; Buttons was probably half-starved, Alfie reasoned, and just desperate for something to eat.

“Buttons! It’s okay, old pal. I’m coming, I’m coming!” Shouted Alfie, hurrying to the bottom of the stairs, his heart racing with excitement at being reunited with his best friend.

When Alfie Whitehouse got to the bottom of the stairs, he shuffled through the darkened hallway, towards the kitchen. A little slither of natural light, from the moon outside, shone through one of the glass panels of the kitchen door, slightly illuminating the tiled floor. Alfie could just about make out the metal food bowl, which indeed had been pushed from its usual resting place, close to the oven. It had travelled halfway across the kitchen, and was now near to the back door, and yet there was no sign of Buttons. Alfie made a whistling noise, the one that would usually cause Buttons to come running towards him, but the cat, if indeed it was his cat, was unresponsive. God knows what Buttons might have been through, being away from home for so long… the poor old thing is probably half-scared to death, reasoned Alfie, as he finally reached the kitchen. Alfie felt around for the kitchen light switch, and pushed it down with his finger; the room remained in darkness. Alfie flicked the switch again, then again, but nothing happened. I don’t bloody believe it… this bulb has gone as well… or maybe not. When the other bulb blew upstairs, it probably threw the trip switch… except that isn’t on the same circuit-board as this light down here…

Alfie Whitehouse walked into the kitchen, slowly, cautiously, feeling ahead of himself with his arms outstretched. He didn't want to crash into anything in the dark, and certainly didn’t want to frighten Buttons, or possibly tread on him.

“Psssst…. psssst… Buttons… come on, come here. There’s no need to hide. It’s me. It’s your best friend. Come on, Buttons… psssst.” Said Alfie, in a soft voice. He whistled again. Nothing. “Come on, old soldier, come to me, come on. There’s no need to hide, you’re home now, boy. It’s…” suddenly, there was an almighty crash coming from somewhere beyond the kitchen, which caused Alfie Whitehouse to half jump out of his own skin. For a few seconds, it felt like his heart, which was pounding furiously, had somehow dislodged itself and found its way into Alfie’s throat. He swayed slightly in the dark.

“Steady on, steady on.” He said to himself, taking several deep, long breaths. Alfie’s heartbeat began to normalise. “It’s okay, it’s okay now.” He reassured himself. That crash… it came from the downstairs bathroom… I bet it’s Buttons. He’ll have climbed up onto the window sill at the back of the lavatory, where I keep all of my toiletries. That must have been the crashing sound I heard; he’s gone and jumped up on the bloody window sill and knocked a couple of tins of deodorant over, Alfie speculated. He edged deeper into the kitchen, towards the direction of the bathroom. Alfie took another deep breath; his heartbeat had calmed right down, and was no longer racing. “Psssst, psssst, come on, Buttons. Come on.” He said once more. This time, Alfie’s efforts were rewarded; somewhere close by, he could hear the soft, rhythmic sound of a cat purring.

Alfie Whitehouse crept slowly forwards, in the direction of the purring, which, as he correctly suspected, was coming from the downstairs bathroom that adjoined the kitchen.

“It’s okay, Buttons, there’s nothing to be frightened of. It’s okay. Daddy’s here.” Whispered Alfie. He reached the bathroom, then stopped in his tracks; the door was shut. How could that be? How could Buttons shut the sodding bathroom door behind him? Alfie wondered, completely baffled. Maybe that’s what the crashing sound was… the door slamming shut… except the doors in this house don’t just close themselves like that… and that noise was definitely not a slamming door. Alfie’s heart began to pound again. He clutched at the bathroom door handle, but then let go of it. He took a step backwards, away from the bathroom. Something wasn't right, and fear was beginning to creep over Alfie. Then, he heard the purring again, coming from inside the bathroom, and it reassured the old man. Stop being a silly bugger… that’s Buttons in there alright, thought Alfie, and he reached to the bathroom door handle again. He brought the handle down, and then pushed the door open. The sound of the purring was no longer slightly muffled, but strong, clear. Alfie felt for the light switch that was just inside the bathroom, next to the door. He found it, and flicked at the switch, but, once again, the light bulb failed to come on.

Alfie stood just inside the bathroom, but he couldn’t see a thing; it was pitch-black.

“Buttons, I’m here. You don’t have to hide from me. Come on, come to dad.” Said Alfie. The purring grew stronger. Alfie tried to focus on where, exactly, in the bathroom the purr was coming from. It was to his left; the bathtub. Howard edged towards the tub, with one hand outstretched. “Buttons! Buttons! Come to me. You’re safe now. It’s going to be okay. You’re home. It’s going to…” Alfie’s voice trailed off. In front of him, in the darkness, a single, small, elliptical glowing light appeared, a dirty yellow in colour. For a second, Alfie didn’t know what it was. He squinted at the object; it was an eye. A small, yellow eye. Suddenly, another eye appeared, glaring at him. At the same time, the loud purring ceased, almost as if it were a sound that had been mechanically switched off. “Buttons? Is that you, Bu…” the pair of yellow eyes began to rise upwards in the darkness. Alfie Whitehouse was momentarily mesmerised by them, frozen to the spot. When the eyes were level to Alfie’s, they began to edge forward, closer and closer to the old man. Alfie’s heart thumped and pounded, and his head began to buzz with dizziness. He stepped backwards, away from the dirty yellow eyes, but they continued to move towards him. The sound of deep, heavy breathing, human, filled the air, and Alfie felt the warmth of the intruder’s breath lick at his face. Alfie took another step backwards, and then another. Then, he turned, and ran out of the bathroom as fast as he could.