The Land of Roar. Jenny McLachlan

      As I walk across the garden – my heart still thudding in my chest and my hands trembling – I wonder how I’m going to do this. I can hear Mazen’s voice, shrieking at Rose and bossing her around. If I just say what happened, they’re going to collapse with laughter. Mazen is going to think I’m sad or crazy, or both. I pull myself on to the wheelie bin. It doesn’t matter, I tell myself. What matters is that Grandad is missing. I’ve just got to tell Rose and then she will help me find him.

      I look over the wall. Mazen is standing with her hands on her hips, watching Rose. She senses my presence and her head swivels round like a velociraptor. She gives me a long, hard look, then turns back to Rose. ‘It’s your brother,’ she says.

      Rose lands on her bum, then bounces back to her feet. ‘What do you want, Arthur?’

      I cling to the top of the wall. ‘I need to speak to you.’

      ‘Go on then.’

      ‘Not here.’ My eyes flick to Mazen. ‘On our own.’

      Rose rolls her eyes. ‘Just tell me, Arthur.’

      ‘Grandad’s disappeared!’ I say in a rush.

      ‘Grandad’s what ?’

      ‘He’s disappeared. One second he was in the attic, and the next he was gone. Please stop bouncing, Rose. Grandad’s gone and you’ve got to help me find him!’

      With a sigh she comes to a stop.

      Mazen stretches, then says, ‘He’s probably lost in all the mess he keeps up there.’

      ‘All his “mess” is in the garden. There’s nowhere to get lost in the attic now!’

      Mazen shrugs. ‘Just saying. He’s a messy person.’

      ‘He’s not messy. He’s . . . a collector!’

      ‘He’s messy, Arthur,’ snaps Rose, hands on her hips. ‘Now hurry up and tell me what happened.’

      ‘Grandad crawled through the camp bed –’

      ‘What? Why would he do that?’

      ‘It doesn’t matter why he did it; what matters is that he crawled into the middle of the mattress then disappeared!’

      Rose doesn’t look worried or shocked; in fact, she bursts out laughing. ‘Arthur, he’s playing a trick on you!’

      Anger rises up inside me. Every second I stand here talking to Rose is another second that Grandad is missing. ‘He’s not. I was holding his hand. I felt him being pulled into the bed. I saw his hand shoot inside!’

      ‘Then he must still be there.’

      ‘He isn’t. I checked!’

      She rolls her eyes. ‘Well, check again.’

      I reach into my pocket and feel the feathers and straw that I picked up before I ran out of the attic. ‘There’s something else . . .’ I lean over the wall and open my hand. ‘I found this inside the bed seconds after Grandad disappeared.’

      Rose takes a step closer and alarm flashes across her face. ‘Crowky . . .’ she whispers, but then she shakes her head. ‘It’s Grandad. He must have put them there.’

      ‘Really? Because I’ve never told Grandad about Crowky. Have you?’

      ‘What are you two talking about?’ interrupts Mazen.

      ‘It’s nothing,’ says Rose. ‘Just Arthur trying to get me to play with him.’

      I’m so angry I throw the feathers and straw in her face, and Mazen screams, ‘Get that gross stuff off my trampoline!’

      Rose gathers it up and chucks it back at me. ‘Leave me alone, Arthur! Why can’t you accept that I don’t want to hang out with you?’

      My foot slips out from under me. ‘Do you honestly think I’ve made all this up so that you’ll spend time with me?’

      ‘Yes,’ she says, making Mazen laugh.

      ‘Well, guess what, Rose? I don’t even like you much these days, and I’m only talking to you right now because Grandad has vanished and I think Crowky has got him!’

      Now both of them are laughing.

      ‘Fine,’ I say, my cheeks burning. ‘If you won’t help me, I’ll just have to find him on my own.’ I jump off the wheelie bin, slip on a rotten crab apple, scramble to my feet, then stride towards the back door.

      ‘When you get to Roar, say “hi” to Mitch!’ Rose shouts.

      I turn round. Rose is watching me with a sarcastic smile on her face.

      ‘You’ve changed so much Mitch wouldn’t even recognise you,’ I say. Then I walk into the house and let the door slam shut behind me.

      Back in the attic, I stare at the camp bed.

      I’ve looked for Grandad everywhere. Even though I know he couldn’t have got out of the bed, I’ve still checked every room in the house, the cellar, the shed and even the garage, and opening the bed isn’t an option. Some truly weird stuff has happened in the past hour and I’m not about to do anything that might permanently erase my grandad.

      He disappeared inside the mattress so that’s where I’ve got to go too.

      Trying to ignore the feathers and scraps of straw, I get down on my hands and knees, then push my head inside the bed. I want to pull it straight back out, but I keep my eyes squeezed shut and wriggle further in. ‘Hear me roar,’ I blurt, pulling my legs up behind me. The bed wobbles, then becomes still.

      I’m crouched in the middle of the mattress, surrounded by darkness. It feels damp and lumpy and it smells like the PE cupboard at school. The springs from the mattress dig into my skin and I can’t find enough air to breathe. All I want to do is get out, but I force myself to stay where I am while I wait for something to happen.

      When Rose and I played Roar I’m sure this was when the game began. I don’t know how it worked, but when we came out the other side we’d be in Roar. I crouch there, the mattress pressing into my face, until I can’t stand it any longer. I crawl forward, my head bursts out into bright light and I gulp fresh air.

      I see dusty floorboards and straw and feathers. Outside, the sun is shining and I can hear Mazen Bailey laughing. I pull myself all the way out of the bed, feeling relieved and scared and stupid, all at the same time, then I walk back round to the other side of the bed.

      Grandad is still missing and I’m going to keep crawling through this mattress until I find him.

      And for the next ten minutes that’s exactly what I do.

      Soon my eyes are itchy, I’m sweaty and my hair is massive and crackling with static.

      I’m wriggling on to the attic floor for the thirty-second time when I see Rose standing in the doorway, sucking a blue ice pop and watching me.

      ‘I’ve looked for him everywhere,’ I say. ‘This is the only thing left to do.’