FROM THE WORLD OF DARKLY STEWART - THE RINKLY PINKS

THE RINKLY PINKS

A STORY FOR THE CHILDREN OF THE PANDEMIC. (Illustrated print version of the story in the works.)

Written by DG Wood (Story inspired by Audrey Wood)

CHAPTER 1 - THE RAIN

The rain dripped.  Or did it drop?  It dropped a lot.  Much like the value of Daddy’s stocks.  It didn’t make much sense to Audrey Hart.  If there was the need for something yesterday and the need for it tomorrow, why was the worth affected so much today?  Audrey sighed, causing her glasses to fog up.  It was the mask.  In particular, a mask made from an old print dress worn by Audrey’s mother when she was Audrey’s age.  To be specific, that age is 11.  The print was of violets and had been kept by Audrey’s gran for just such a possibility.

“You never know when something will come back in fashion or prove useful.  Besides, cotton is an incredibly versatile fabric,” lectured Audrey’s gran.  “In my own grandmother’s hands, it would have already been made into a bag, then a scarf, and God knows what else by now.  Fabric is only laid to rest when it becomes a square in a quilt.”

Audrey’s mask was supposed to keep the microscopic virus bugs away that were haunting the planet, as her father, Phillip, liked to say.  Unseen tormentors.  When Audrey asked how many hovered beyond her mask at any given moment, she was told to guess how many angels she could fit on the end of a pencil.  How small did her father think angels were?  They certainly weren’t small in the movies.  Taking into account their wingspan, angels were at least the size of two regular people.

The rain trickled down the windows of the train carriage, as it glided west down the District Line track.  Why aren’t viruses washed away by the rain?  Everyone on the train sat several seats apart, observing the social distancing everyone was ordered to endure until the bad cold had passed.  Audrey’s mum, Mel, had told her that would be two to three weeks more, which is what she had said three weeks ago too.  Now the schools had closed down, and Audrey was heading home, with no prospects for finishing year seven before the summer break.  None of this mattered on the train in the rain.  It was where she felt most at ease; surrounded by people but left alone with thoughts no one would dream to pry into.  The London Underground was magical.  It was constant.  The platforms and station names remained the same, so that Audrey came to know them like the walls of her bedroom.  She traveled under the only city she had ever lived in but could never really expect to decipher in the course of a lifetime.  The streets of London were a glorious mess that one could lose oneself on by merely turning a corner.  Not so below the city’s streets.

The trains that traversed West London emerged into shafts of light first, then troughs of brick and hedgerows.  But, before that, they wound their way under museums and posh high streets.  It was just before pulling into Hammersmith, that the train stopped, and the driver’s monotone voice broke through the silence in the carriage.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, we are just waiting for the train ahead of us to leave the station.  We’ll be moving again shortly.”

Audrey rubbed the fog off her glasses with the top of her mask.  She watched a drop of water run down the glass of the window in front of her.  She glanced down the carriage.  An elderly man read The Evening Standard early edition.  Audrey recognized him.  He lived in her neighbourhood.  Or maybe it was his grandchildren he visited.  On the front of the paper there was a blurry photo of two large dogs chasing a person.  The caption read in big bold letters, “Wolves on The Strand!”  Wolves?  Had they escaped London Zoo?  Audrey remembered seeing a television program about wolves in Scotland, but could they walk all that way?  The man lowered his paper to smile at Audrey.

Audrey avoided the meeting of eyes and turned her attention back to the water droplet carving a trail on the pane of glass in front of her.  As it approached the seal at the bottom of the window, an astonishing sight made Audrey grab the armrest next to her.  A small pale hand with round, flat fingertips slapped the window.  It was the size of a doll’s hand.  A wisp of white hair, the glint of a piercing blue eye, then a tiny pink tongue darted out and licked up the water droplet. 

The train jerked forward, and whatever it was Audrey had just seen was now gone… except for four greasy little fingerprints.

Audrey pulled her hood over her head as she alighted the train at Turnham Green Station.  She walked quickly past the elderly man, who had also gotten off.

“You can’t unsee what you’ve seen,” he called after her.  There was an ever so light Afro-Caribbean singsong quality to his voice.  It was gentle and cast a little sunshine on the drab day.  Audrey kept walking.  “The Rinkly Pink that is,” the man continued.  Audrey stopped and turned.

“What?”

The elderly man turned his attention to a candy bar machine against the brick wall of the platform.  He pushed into its slot a two-pound coin.  It spat out a Fruit and Nut bar and change.

“I don’t accept food from strangers,” admonished Audrey.

“I tell my grandson to say the same thing.  But this is not for you, young lady,” said the man, as he unwrapped a corner of the candy bar and laid it gently at the edge of the platform, well within the forbidden yellow safety stripe.  “I figure the fruit and nut bits add a little balance to their diet.”

“I didn’t see anything on the train.”  After setting the record straight, Audrey turned for the way out.

“Just as well,” he replied.  “Don’t want anyone thinking you’re crazy.  You own a pet dog, don’t you?  Best keep him on a short lead.  They like dogs.  They snatched away my grandson’s pug, Marshmallow.”

Marshmallow.  Was that the pug that no longer peed on the lavender bush by the gate to Audrey’s miniscule front garden?  She hurried down the platform stairs, touched her smartphone to the yellow card reader on the turnstile and made her way out into the rain.

CHAPTER 2 - Simon

“Don’t slam the door!” Audrey’s mother yelled from the kitchen.  Audrey gently pushed against the front door until the lock clicked.

In the kitchen, Mel frosted chocolate cupcakes.  Audrey dropped her satchel on the table and grabbed some blackcurrant squash from the refrigerator.  She poured a splash of the squash into a glass and topped it up with water.  “What’s all this, then?” she asked her mum.

“Do we need a special occasion for chocolate?” replied Mel.

“Usually, yes.”  Audrey grew suspicious and eyed her mother.  Mel was wearing pink surgical pants and top.  “You’re supposed to be off for the next three days.”

Mel delivered a cupcake to Audrey.  “I know.”

“I’m not hungry.”  Audrey turned to leave.

“Sit,” Mel commanded her daughter. 

Audrey reluctantly returned.  “What?”

“I’ve eaten pomegranates in Akraba,” proclaimed Audrey’s mother, putting on the airs of majesty.

Audrey sat down.  “And I will again,” she answered.  The tale of a little girl, Fatimah, who fled from her home during wartime and returned to find her pomegranate bush intact, became a code for difficult times between Audrey and Mel.

Mel sat opposite Audrey and licked the icing off the cupcake.  “No sprinkles, I’m afraid.”

“Truly desperate times,” Audrey remarked sarcastically.

“Your father lost his job, like many others.  The school was willing to make an exception for you, of course, but…” Mel was cut off.

“Because of you?” Audrey interjected.

“Yes, because of me,” confirmed Mel.

“Then why didn’t you let them?” Audrey asked resentfully.

“Truth is, I want you here.  Your father will be home now too.  You can occupy each other.”

A silence descended between mother and daughter, and Audrey finally grabbed a cupcake.  Mel broached the distance between them.  “It would have been easier, all this, if you were younger.  Understanding what’s going on adds worry to the boredom.  I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” whispered Audrey.

“One of the other nurses has become ill,” continued Mel.  “And we’re understaffed as it is.”  Mel got up and kissed her daughter on the head.  “I have to run.  I’ll see you in the morning.  Don’t forget to take Simon out.”

“So, I’m allowed outside?” Audrey prodded her mum.

“Don’t get smart.  Yes.  For exercise and the dog’s exercise.”  Mel shook her finger at Audrey.  “Wear your mask and stay two metres away from others.  Your father’s watching some old Beatles documentary.  Why don’t you join him?” 

Audrey grimaced.  Mel grabbed her keys out of a bowl in the centre of the table and left.  The door shut, and Audrey wondered if cupcakes were all there was for tea.

Audrey attached Simon’s lead to his collar and grabbed poo bags from the basket next to the door.  She slipped on her mask and headed out the door with her part-dachshund, part mystery breed pet.  She walked to the house where she was pretty sure Marshmallow lived.  Audrey thought about knocking on the door, but then continued on after Simon had marked the front gate. 

Before she left, Audrey did take note of a doggy door built into the front door.  It was damaged, like a larger animal had forced its way through, bending the frame.  That can’t be good.

Back home, Audrey rushed past the lounge and up to her bedroom.  She caught a glimpse of her dad napping in front a dvd menu screen.  He was going to take to the home life just fine.

Audrey’s room was filled with unicorn paraphernalia, posters of boy bands and drawings from her own hand of family, friends and places taped to the walls.  She lifted Simon onto the bed and turned on the tv.  Top of the Pops was just beginning. Audrey squeezed her stretched and worn teddy and quickly drifted off to sleep to the haunting voice of a young American singer new to the British charts.

When she woke, it was almost dark.  She should take Simon out again, she thought to herself.  Audrey got off the bed and picked up a sleeping Simon.  She hugged him tightly as she looked out the window over her back garden.  At the end of the garden was a wooden fence.  Just beyond it a pale-yellow brick wall, that when you followed it up, a small stretch of tube track was visible to the open sky between two sections of tunnel.

The sun had set, but the sky was a dark blue.  Much of the surroundings were in shadow, yet the train track was still clearly visible.  Audrey noticed something sitting on the track by the edge of the tunnel.  It looked like a figure.  It must be a discarded doll.  Suddenly, the figure stood up and turned to look at Audrey.  It was about a third of Audrey’s height and a light pink in colour, except for the blue t-shirt it wore like a dress.  Short spindly legs led up to a pot belly, with rings of skin that hung down over its legs.  This led further up to a thin neck and face that resembled a cross between an Egyptian hairless cat and Cornish pisky. 

“A Rinkly Pink,” Audrey gasped.

The creature smiled a grin that spread across its entire face.  Its mouth opened, revealing a hodge-podge of erratic teeth stained brown.  In one of its hands, it coveted a shiny foil candy bar wrapper.  The Rinkly Pink continued to smile at Audrey.  No, thought, Audrey.  Not at her.  At Simon.  Simon whimpered and jumped out of Audrey’s arms.

As quickly as the creature had stood up, it turned to look down the track, and moments later, a District Line train chased the Rinkly Pink out of sight.

CHAPTER 3 - The Climb 

Simon ran around in circles holding in his pee, while also jumping down the stairs and looking up to make sure Audrey was following closely behind.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," she answered his look.

Audrey walked through the kitchen, opened the backdoor, and raised a leg, which Simon leapt over like an equine showjumper.  It was the ritual the two of them shared every day.

Audrey watched Simon head straight for his favourite spot in the centre of the garden; a circle bleached white and visible like a shining beacon on an invisible sea. Simon’s black coat would disappear and then suddenly reappear when standing in the circle.

Audrey left Simon to his business and grabbed a loaf of sandwich bread, then popped a couple slices into the toaster.  She peeked into the living room.  No dad.  He clearly decided to sleep in his bed for a change.

Audrey reached into the pantry for a jar of marmite and the butter dish.  Then she heard it.  A short but pronounced yelp.  At the same time, the toast popped up.  Audrey jumped and dropped the jar of marmite, which rolled out the back door.

Audrey followed it. "Simon?" she called out.

He wasn't on his special spot in the garden.  Audrey set the butter dish down on the kitchen counter and grabbed a torch from one of the drawers. She turned it on, slapped it a few times, and the beam came to life.

Audrey stepped out into the garden and scanned the grass as far back as the wooden wall. No Simon.

She called again, louder. "Simon!"  No bark or scurry back to the house.

Audrey looked back at the comfort of the lights inside, grabbed the pink mask hanging on a hook next to the door, and then set off for the back of the garden.  She first pulled back vines covering the wooden fence.  Maybe he wandered down a fox hole?  Then in the corner of the garden, she found it... a small rope hanging off the wall.  Audrey followed the rope with her light. It climbed up over the garden fence, then the taller, brick London Transport wall and up onto the train platform above.  

Audrey scanned the ground and leant down for a closer look.  The ground was dry. No prints, fox or otherwise. She pulled on the rope.  It felt like it could support an adult's weight.  So, she put the torch in her mouth and climbed.  She would bring Simon home.

The wooden fence was easy. The slats made a fine ladder, and Audrey was on the top rung looking back at the open kitchen door within seconds. Oh well, best keep it open in case she needed to make a dash for it later on.

The brick wall proved a little trickier. The cement filler between the bricks was worn away in spots, but not enough to create a perfect staircase up to the train platform. There were times Audrey thought she would drop as she swung, like a pendulum, attempting to find the next foothold. But, eventually, she could feel the top of the wall, and lifted one leg over until she was lying on the top foot and a half summit.

After catching her breath (no small task while wearing a mask), Audrey got up on shaky knees and crawled on all fours towards the tunnel opening over her next-door neighbour’s garden. She dropped down onto the two-foot wide ledge that ran along the edge of the tunnel and made her way into the mouth of the dark abyss. Audrey took note of the third electric rail humming below her, its shiny metallic surface glinting in the moonlight, as she grabbed hold of the cast-iron railing that separated the walkway from the gravel slope. It was this same walkway she had seen railway workers emerge from in their bright orange vests and white helmets.

Ahead of her, was a disc of pitch-black with a hole of light punched in the centre like a vinyl record. That was the station up ahead. Oh, no! Below her feet, she felt the vibration of a train approaching. She stepped backwards into the blackness to press her body into an alcove of cables and panels in the tunnel wall and await the passing of the train. She looked down at the tracks again.

She was taken aback to see, looking back up at her, four sets of eyes. One set an iridescent blue, another a glowing green. The other two pairs of eyes paled in comparison.

As the train approached, more of the scene came into view. The shadows evolved into two gangly Rinkly Pinks, sat atop a dog each… one of which was Simon, who lowered his head and looked longingly at Audrey. Each individual Rinkly Pink held onto their mount’s collar with one hand and raised the other arm up into the air. The train drew closer, and the two creatures looked back at the train’s headlamps.

Seconds before the train was to run them down, Audrey screamed out, “Simon!” At that very moment, the Rinkly Pinks dropped their arms, kicked the dogs with their feet, and both were off… daring the train to catch up, as they raced away from Audrey’s sight. Simon was gone in a flash. It was the fastest she’d ever seen him run.

CHAPTER 4 - Wendell

Audrey found her way back to her home the way she left it.  Simon was gone.  For all eternity?  Audrey was both devastated and amazed by the night’s events. How would she explain the Rinkly Pinks to her parents?  They would only tell her she mistook a large fox for something it could never be.

Audrey hoped the Rinkly Pinks would not feed Simon the chocolate they were so fond of.  Dogs are, after all, allergic to chocolate.  What were these cat-like piskies?  Victorian tunnel diggers mutated to survive underground?  Aliens?  Was outer space short on dogs?  Why had she only noticed the creatures now?  Her bedroom window was right next to the tracks… the doggy racecourse.

The next morning, Audrey sat at the dining room table trying her best to pay attention to online lessons.  Her father walked the perimeter of the house, speaking into the phone, as was his way.  Neither he nor her mother had asked about Simon.  The pandemic had everyone distracted.  

Audrey looked outside the large bay window at the front of the house and saw the old man from the tube station walk past.  She leapt up from her studies, ran to the front door and raced outside.  She was in such a hurry, that she forgot her mask.

Audrey yelled to the man, "Sir, they took my dog."  She then raised her shirt over her nose as a makeshift mask.

The elderly man stopped and slowly turned.

"They?" he asked.

Audrey looked around her before answering in conspiratorial tones, "The Rinkly Pinks."

"Ahh.  I see."  The old man sighed and turned to go, shaking his head.

Audrey took another step forward and prodded him, "What are they?  Where did they take my Simon?  How do I get him back?"

The man looked up at the heavens and then took a seat on the short garden wall he was standing next to, while also indulging in a muffled cough.  Audrey took a couple steps backwards.

"I'm okay."  He held up the palm of his hand.  "Just old age.  I'm Wendell, by the way.  I believe my grandson told me your name is Audrey?"

Audrey nodded.

"He, my grandson, is too shy to say hello to you, but he wants to. So... what are the Rinkly Pinks?  Well, I'd say they've always been here.  Wherever there's a cave, a tunnel, a mine... look deeper, and you will find evidence of their existence.  Your great great-grandparents would have called them the little people.  Thieving little so-and-so’s, they've always been.  Not evil, mind you.  They don't engage in the petty hatreds of our kind."  

"How do I rescue Simon?" Audrey implored Wendell.

Wendell frowned.  "Young lady, your dog is lost.  They will not release him.  The Rinkly Pinks are extremely possessive.  Simon is never coming home.  There is nothing you can do.  The ends of things...," Wendell made a clicking sound with his mouth, "are as necessary as the beginnings.  You will understand that better one day.  Loss reminds us we love."  Wendell finished his thought with a cough.

Audrey teared up.  As the reality of her situation sunk in, she finally clocked Wendell was not wearing a mask.  "Why are you visiting your grandson? You're supposed to isolate yourself.  You're old and vulnerable," Audrey pointed out.

Wendell got up.  "I have my reasons.  And thank you for reminding me of my decrepitude. Sometimes I dream I'm still your age.  Waking up has been a disappointment of late."  Wendell leaned in a little closer to Audrey and spoke in hushed tones.  "I'm going now.  But before I do, you should know something else about the Rinkly Pinks."

Audrey took a trepidatious half-step forward.

"They are ruled by one of us.  A human.  A king or queen.  Undisciplined creatures, the Rinkly Pinks.  Leave them to their own devices, and chaos will overrun their society.  They have a tenuous grasp on their own safety.  Curiosity would lead each one of them to their death.  The ruler's command is their only law and their protector.  The king directs the Rinkly Pinks' mischievous nature to his own ambitions.  Without such instruction, the Rinkly Pinks would perish."

Audrey let her shirt drop.  Her mouth was agape.

"One last thing," whispered Wendell.  "As the king or queen begins to pass from this world, and their attention to duty wavers, the Rinkly Pinks instinctively seek out a replacement to rule over them.  It is this time when sightings of the creatures are widespread.  It is such sightings that have been the inspiration for faerie stories."

With that, Wendell turned and walked away.

CHAPTER 5 – A POSY OF MUSHROOMS

The next morning, Audrey got up while her parents were still asleep.  She needed time to think about the night before, get her facts straight, should there be any grilling about Simon.  She stared at the lead hanging by the back door as she poured corn flakes into a bowl.  She opened the fridge and shook an almost empty pint of milk.

Audrey walked to the front door to retrieve the glass pints that would be waiting alongside a container of yoghurt and orange juice.

What waited for her was an incomplete order.  The container of yoghurt had been demolished, and half the orange juice consumed.  Sitting next to the splattered yoghurt was a posy of chestnut mushrooms and scarlet elf cups tied together with a shoelace.

"Those will be payment for your dog," said the voice at the gate.  Audrey looked up to see a young boy.  "I'm Eliot.  Wendell's grandson."

Audrey kicked the empty yoghurt container off the front stoop and examined the mushrooms.  "Are they edible?" she asked.

"My granddad ate them," replied Eliot.  "He got sick.  Not because of the mushrooms, though."  Eliot's voice was muffled behind a science fiction themed mask.  Audrey suddenly realised she wasn't wearing hers and closed the door to a thin crack.  

"They took him last night," Audrey lamented.

"I have a plan to get Marshmallow back.  We could get your dog back too."  Eliot looked at his house to check if he was missed yet.  "What do you say?"

"What sort of plan?" enquired Audrey.

Eliot pulled a folded piece of thick paper from his pocket.  "My grandfather gave me a map to where they live."

Audrey opened the door a little more in order to get a better look at the paper.  "Your grandfather said you were shy."

"I was," Eliot said matter-of-factly.  "But then something happened."

"What happened?"  Audrey thought Eliot to be a rather strange boy.  He was probably a whole year younger than her, and everyone knows boys don't learn social graces until they turn 30 anyway.  She would humour him.

"Granddad died."

The news hit Audrey hard.  She had only just spoken with Wendell yesterday.  It was still a shock to someone so young that a person could be there one minute and gone the next.

"It wasn't the virus," continued Eliot.  "His heart was sick.  He told me it could stop working at any minute."

"I'm sorry, Eliot.  I would invite you in, but I'm not supposed to have friends around until after there's a vaccine."

"Me too," sighed Eliot.  "Still, it is okay outside.  More room."

"Yes, I suppose."  Audrey did not think her mother would agree 100% with that.  "How did your granddad know so much about them?"  Audrey looked at the windows on either side of her home to make sure no one was listening.  "The Rinkly Pinks?"

Eliot's eyes rolled.  "He didn't tell you.”  Eliot took a big breath through the fabric of his mask.  “He was their king."

Audrey's eyes didn't blink.  She just stared at Eliot, speechless.

"Can you meet me at midday?" asked Eliot.  "Now that I'm the new king, I will command the Rinkly Pinks to give us back Marshmallow and Simon."

“Can I be their queen?”  The question that instantly popped into her head… Audrey was sure Wendell put it there.

Eliot thought about it for a few seconds.  “Alright then.”

The topic of Simon did not come up further that morning.  Audrey's preoccupied parents concerned themselves with news of borders closing and businesses collapsing.  Audrey suggested she go out for a walk later to replace the tub of yoghurt ‘some cat’ had gotten into.  As long as she observed the rule of standing 2 metres from other humans, both parents thought it wise she get some fresh air... filtered through her mask, of course.

It was at midday that Audrey met Eliot several blocks away to begin their quest to save their dogs.  Eliot opened his grandfather's map and pointed at a wall at the base of the elevated tube line, another several blocks away.  They set off.

Between two homes, Eliot turned and led Audrey down a short snicket bordered by raspberry bushes.  It dead ended at the wall, with wooden back garden gates on either side of the snicket.  Next to one of the gates, were several wooden fence slats that barred access to the space behind the back garden and the yellow brick wall. 

Eliot silently read some words on the map, placed it back in his pocket, and then lifted one of the boards up out of the ground.  The board came right off without a struggle.  Audrey could see there was a hook on the back side at the top that fit into a groove on the rail behind.  Eliot did the same with another board, and Audrey and he squeezed in behind the boards.  They replaced the fence the way they found it.

The pathway they found themselves on was narrow but immaculate.  The ground was a chamomile lawn that led up to and ended abruptly at a metal hatch in the brickwork.  Someone had taken great care, treating the space as a sacred place.  Audrey suspected it was not the Rinkly Pinks, seeing as they thought nothing of discarding candy bar wrappers where they devoured the contents.  It must have been Wendell.  Would Eliot care to show it the same care now, she wondered?  The thought made her sad.  It is not just people who leave; their mark on the world also fades.

The hatch was big enough to fit a person of medium build crawling on all fours.  But there was one problem.  It was married to the brick with bolts that had been painted over countless times since it had been put in place.

Eliot felt around the perimeter for some sort of mechanism that would allow them entry.  Audrey took hold of the map and immediately noticed the sketch of a small mushroom exactly where the hatch was in real life. 

“A mushroom,” Audrey mused.  She looked around her, and then down at her feet.  “Where do mushrooms grow?” she asked out loud.

“In the ground,” answered Eliot.

“Exactly,” exclaimed Audrey, and both children got on their hands and knees and felt the grass in front of the hatch.  Right away, they felt a hard surface that had four edges and was around two feet across. 

“I have a screwdriver,” suggested Eliot.  He pulled off the backpack he was wearing and dove into the zipper pocket.  He pulled out a screwdriver and torch.  He handed the torch to Audrey and slid the point of the screwdriver along one of the just-discovered edges.  He gently pressed down, and a thin metal plate popped up.  It easily folded back on a hinge.

Audrey felt the patch of lawn on the hatchway.  “The grass here is fake!”  She turned on the torch and shone it into the shaft.  A ladder led down into the darkness.  On the walls of the shaft, grew mushrooms of all sizes and colours.

The ladder into the realm of The Rinkly Pinks descended ten feet and deposited Audrey and Eliot onto a gravel channel that ran in both directions.  Looking back in the direction of their homes, about twenty yards away, was the faint outline of a cart.  As the children approached it, the cart revealed itself to be a vehicle with a seat in the front and a compartment for hauling materials in the back.  Two struts protruded from both sides of the vehicle and ended in metal wheels that fit into grooves in the walls on either side of the channel.

Eliot reached out and pulled on the vehicle.  It didn’t budge.  Audrey shone the torch on a polished stick that jutted up into the space on the right side of the seat.  “The brake,” she said.  She pointed the torch ahead of the vehicle.  “Do you fancy walking?”

Eliot looked down at the map.  A long winding line, much like the board game Snakes and Ladders, wound its way across the paper until ending in what appeared to be a large cavern.  “It looks pretty far.”  He glanced at the vehicle.  There was a seatbelt for the driver, and there were ropes and harnesses in the storage space at the back.  “You should drive,” he told Audrey, “you’re closer to getting your licence.  I can tie myself in with the ropes.  Something tells me this will get bumpy. 

Audrey climbed into the pilot seat, and Eliot climbed into the back.  With thick ropes he tied himself to the contraption.

“Ready?” Audrey asked, her fingers hovering over the handbrake. 

“Ready,” confirmed Eliot.

Audrey released the brake, and the cart crept forward… a smidge.  Then it stopped.  Audrey jiggled the seat to make the cart move again.  Nothing.  She looked back at Eliot, who sighed and began untying himself. 

“I’ll push.”  Eliot leapt out.

Eliot grabbed ahold of the back of the carry-all.  He huffed, strained and pushed.  Metal grinded on metal, but the cart moved a considerable amount.  Slowly at first, then it picked up speed.  The light from the shaft faded from view, and Audrey shone the light, like a train’s headlamp, on the tracks up ahead.

“Hop in,” she screamed.  “Hill!”

Eliot scrambled back into the enclosed bed behind the seat and held on for dear life, as the cart rolled faster and faster.  He wrapped a rope around his wrist and braced himself with his feet.  This was getting bumpy indeed.

“Ahhhhhhhhhh,” yelled both children, as the cart plummeted off a precipice into the darkness.

CHAPTER 6 – THE ROLLERCOASTER

A hot wind slammed into Audrey's face.  She dropped the torch and caught it with her feet. The light now shone up into her face, capturing eyes opened as wide as her mouth. 

"It's going faster!" yelled Eliot.  "Pull the brake!"

Of course.  The brake.  Audrey grabbed the lever with both hands and pulled it back towards her.  The grinding metal screamed, and the cart jerked as it tried to fight slowing down.  Moments later, the cart did drift to a stop.  It was that moment, Audrey felt herself breathe for the first time since setting off down the hill.  It was the deepest breath she'd ever taken.

"Where are we?" asked Eliot.

Audrey picked up the torch and waved it around.  Below them, the light caught movement.  Audrey immediately turned off the light.

"What was that, do you think?" whispered Audrey.

"Shhh," replied Eliot.  

The children sat there in silence, listening.  Their ears became attuned to their surroundings.  First, they heard drips, then a trickle, then the gentle lapping of water.  Audrey turned to face Eliot and turned on the light again under her face.

"Ahh."  Eliot fell back.  "Don't do that."

"It's water."  And with that, Audrey used the torch to search for a wall.  It was then they discovered the track they sat on hung in mid-air.  A steel cable next to Eliot climbed upwards in the space above the cart and attached itself to another set of tracks that hung about five feet above the children's heads. 

Below the cart, Audrey's torch found a river of perfectly still water.  The movement she had seen was the reflection of the light in the water.  Eliot and Audrey stared in awe.  Soon little ripples appeared.  Miniscule pebbles were beginning to rain down on the water, creating circles on the surface.  Then the cart itself began to shake.

"What's that?" asked Eliot.  He pointed his finger past Audrey.  A glow was growing in the distance.  Now the track began to sway side to side.  "It's a train.  Duck!"  

Audrey followed Eliot's advice and assumed the crash position.  The glow in front of them quickly illuminated the entire tunnel, turning their surroundings a brilliant white, as a London Underground train barreled down on them. The approaching train appeared on a collision course with Audrey and Eliot, then suddenly swooped up and roared over their heads on the tracks above.

Audrey tried to flatten her body out and pushed the brake lever forward in the process.  The cart was on the move again, disappearing into more hollow darkness.

A couple minutes later, the cart began to slow again, but this time by itself.  "I'm not touching the brake," said Audrey, anticipating Eliot's question.

"It's getting cooler," observed Eliot.  

"I see something," said Audrey.

The cart now glid gracefully.  No scream, whine or moan.  Little pinpricks of light began to appear and flicker above their heads.

"Stars?" wondered Audrey aloud.

"They're twinkling," observed Eliot.  "And moving."

The cart came to a stop.  The lights moved closer together and converged, creating a circular orb, like the moon; a moon that was setting.  For the orb was descending on Audrey and Eliot.  As it did, it grew brighter, illuminating the space around them.  The children found themselves in the middle of a humongous cavern.  Around them were hundreds of the largest toadstools they had ever seen.

"Wowwww," exhaled Eliot.

Within the orb, Audrey began to distinguish arms and legs that scurried down the wall of the cavern until a part of the moon began to break apart.  A figure scrambled up to the cart, using the tops of the toadstools like a gymnast's springboard along the way.  A stretched hand with fingertips like suction cups tapped the side of the cart.  Two large Rinkly Pink luminescent eyes looked up at Audrey and Eliot.

Suddenly, there was a howl.  Then a chorus of howls joined in.  Audrey tore herself away from the mesmerising eyes of the Rinkly Pink, and it was that exact moment she saw her dog poke his head around the stem of a toadstool the size of a bean bag chair. She had found Simon.

CHAPTER 7 - THE THRONE

The Rinkly Pink climbed up into the cart and placed one hand on top of Audrey's head and then its other.  It perched there like a bird. Audrey felt its long toes twirl her hair.  She sank into the driver’s seat, as the creature's raggedy yellow top brushed across her face.  The fabric smelled like wet dog.  The Rinkly Pink narrowed its eyes and stretched its neck out to get a better look at Eliot, who was also making himself as small as possible.

Suddenly, the little being leapt into the air and scampered through a crowd of gathering onlookers made up of its own kind. Scores of eyes blinked at Audrey and Eliot, who were caught speechless in their gaze.  In seconds, the brave little Rinkly Pink was back grasping a picture frame.  It approached Eliot reverently, holding the frame before itself, and presented the boy with the silver keepsake.  Eliot accepted the gift and looked down at a photograph of himself and Wendell.

"It's Granddad and me," he informed Audrey. With those words, Eliot lost himself in memories until a strange noise snapped him out of the reminiscence.

The lone Rinkly Pink rounded its lips and made a popping sound.  The pop echoed throughout the cavern, bouncing off the walls.  Other Rinkly Pinks chimed in with their own pops, which built into a crescendo that resembled the noise of a waterfall.  Then all went silent, and the crowd parted to create a path that led from the cart to the far cavern wall.  

"I think they want us to look at something," guessed Eliot.

"Is it safe?" asked Audrey.

With that, Eliot got out of the cart and held his hand out to Audrey.  She unbuckled her seatbelt and accepted his hand.  The two children walked forward.  The luminescent eyes of the creatures acted like landing strip lights on a runway.  There were shadows all around them that appeared to hover over Audrey and Eliot, threatening to engulf them in darkness.  But soon the faint outline of a chair took shape up ahead.  A chair?  More like a throne.  It was carved out of a giant toadstool and would suit a man four times Eliot's size.  Next to it, a lantern sat on a stool also crafted out of fungi.  A box of matches lay next to a candlestick within the lantern.  Eliot struck a match.  The blinking eyes all around the children shot open and remained unblinking.  The moment the boy lit the candle, the chorus of pops erupted even louder than the last time, and the Rinkly Pinks filled in the gap left open for the children, jostling for position, as they formed a queue in front of the throne.

Audrey picked up the lantern and held it next to the throne.  On either side of the chair, the wall of the cave contained holes or compartments carved into the rock.  In them, were everyday first aid items from the up top world.  There were bottles of rubbing alcohol and bandages, scissors and tweezers, tongue depressors and cotton swabs.  Above the holes was a field of mushrooms growing out of the wall.  There were thousands of them.  In the field, several tiny Rinkly Pinks hovered over the ground below, their fingertips suctioned to the wall, as they plucked chestnut mushrooms and swallowed them whole.  They took no notice of the commotion below.

"Those must be the children," Audrey said to herself.  She looked back out over the expectant little queued-up faces.  "I think we're supposed to sit."

"Marshmallow!" Eliot suddenly yelled out, and a blonde pug raced up to the boy.  Close behind the small dog was a barking Simon.  The animals leapt onto the throne and began furiously licking the children.  Eliot and Audrey took a seat, which still had room to spare, and basked in the reunion until a first Rinkly Pink approached.  It bowed its head and then lifted a tattered and filthy shirt to reveal a knobby knee scraped and stained with fresh blood.

"Right," said Audrey.  "I think I know what the duties of their king are."  With that, she hopped off the chair and gathered items from the holes into her arms. The cut knee was treated with alcohol and a bandage.  Then it was on to removing a splinter from the finger of another Rinkly Pink, setting a sprained wrist, and removing far too much wax from more than several ears.  

The day was wearing thin, when Audrey thought to check her watch.  "Oh no!  We've been gone three hours.  We have to go."

As Audrey placed the first aid supplies back where they came from, The Rinkly Pinks understood what was to come next and created another pathway for the children.  Eliot picked up the lantern, which lit their way back to the cart.  Simon and Marshmallow followed on the heels of the children.

"I guess we walk back up?" Eliot assumed, studying the steady incline of the tracks that led back the way they came.  But before they set off, a Rinkly Pink in a green cotton dress came and took Audrey's hand and attempted to drag her away.

"I'm sorry," she replied to the unspoken request.  "We will come back another day, but we must go for now."

The Rinkly Pink continued to tug and now pointed at another side of the cavern.  Eliot raised the lantern. "I think I see water over there.  And there's a boat," he said hopefully.  "We should follow."

The Rinkly Pink led them to a small underground river that exited the cavern through a tunnel a short distance ahead. Looking back briefly, Audrey noticed a herd of Rinkly Pinks struggling to push the cart she so expertly manned slowly back up the tracks. The creature got into the boat, and Audrey and Eliot did as well, without questioning the Rinkly Pink's motives further.  But Simon and Marshmallow refused to get in when called.  Both children repeatedly pleaded with their pets.  When they tried to lift them into the boat, the dogs backed up into the embrace of the creatures who had stolen them away.

"They want to stay."  Audrey sighed.  There was nothing for her to do now but accept Simon's decision and leave.

The children sat down in dejected silence, and the Rinkly Pink in the boat picked up a pole and pushed away from the shore.  From the realm of the Rinkly Pinks, a united series of dirgeful pops called out to Audrey and Eliot, while the current carried them into a tunnel that led to who-knows-where.

CHAPTER 8 - A NEW KINGDOM

The boat traveled silently through the tunnel.  The lantern illuminated milky pale stalactites that hung over the boat like swords of Damocles.  Should one fall on them, the boat would surely sink, thought Audrey.  They had been there for thousands of years, so there was little worry of that happening.  Unexpectedly, a gust of cold wind blew across their faces, and the lantern was extinguished.  Audrey reached for her torch only to realise she had left it behind on the cart.  The wind carried with it a stench.  Was this part of an ancient Roman sewer system, Audrey wondered?  She brought her mask up over her mouth and nose again.  It had fallen around her neck on the crazed flight down into the cavern.

In the pitch black, Audrey and Eliot's Rinkly Pink guide made the popping noise with its mouth in regular intervals.  The sound bounced off the walls, and Audrey was able to tell the tunnel was narrowing.  What a clever and useful trick. Meanwhile, Eliot fumbled around in the dark for the matchbox and re-lit the candlestick.  The light revealed a dead end, as the Rinkly Pink brought the boat up alongside a stone platform.  Beyond the platform, a narrow, circular stone staircase beckoned them. The Rinkly Pink just sat there blinking at the children.

"I guess this is the way out?" Eliot asked rhetorically.  He climbed out of the boat and helped Audrey out too.  He held the lantern up, searching for an end to the staircase.  It was, in fact, unending as far as the children could tell.  With Audrey and Eliot on dry land, the Rinkly Pink unceremoniously pushed off from the platform and quickly disappeared from sight.  

The climb was arduous.  The way was tight, and the children had to walk single file.  The slick slime-covered walls provided no support, and there was more than one stumble that threatened to send the children tumbling down into the watery subterranean lair.  The staircase was, indeed, never-ending.  At least it felt so.  Three quarters of a mile into the climb, Audrey felt her ears pop, and the comforting noise and vibrations of a London tube train greeted her, as Eliot raised his foot to climb another step but, instead, found himself on level ground once again.

Eliot examined their surroundings and easily found the beginnings of the tracks that once held the cart.  They had returned to the point at which they began their journey into the kingdom of the Rinkly Pinks.  As Audrey and Eliot climbed the ladder to the surface, thoughts turned to angry parents and hunger.

Anger was indeed the theme of the day, though was overshadowed by relief.  Audrey's parents sent her to her room with the instructions she may only come out for the toilet... and there would be no access to the internet.  She was grounded for twenty-four hours.  Food would be delivered on a tray to the prisoner's cell.  What a fate.  Did her parents not understand she was a queen?  Of course, they could never know the truth.

The sun set, and Audrey rested her face in her hands on the windowsill.  Below her in the back garden, Audrey’s father called out for Simon. She stared longingly at the elevated tracks behind her house and dozed off. It had been an exhausting and emotional day.

Audrey was awoken late in the night to the sound of popping.  She raised her head to see the last train of the night barreling down the elevated tracks.  Staying one step ahead of the rolling behemoth, was Simon and a Rinkly Pink atop his back, holding Audrey's lit torch up into the air like a royal standard.

Audrey's world had changed.  There was a new normal.  And that was perfectly fine.

THE END.