Unseen People

A strange girl appears in the dead of night. She can’t speak or remember where she has been, what could her secret be?

Jack gets a new job, a costume, a hat and a new friend

Thanks to Robin, Chris and Jess for all their help and to everyone who reads and reviews! A special thanks to Brooke Erickson who's comment on an early chapter has led to a big plot point in this chapter.

Chapter 6

Jack adjusted the fake plastic ears before placing the silly hat on her head. Sighing, she looked herself up and down in the staff changing room mirror. She took in the red dress, with its short skirt trimmed with a white fluffy hem. She thought she had done a good job picking the yellow tights, it made her feel less of a corporate drone, even if the gesture at individuality was largely illusory. As she put the finishing touches to her makeup, she thought of Isaac and Ben. For them, she was going to be the perfect little Santa’s helper.

Leaving the changing room, she found herself slipping on the floor. The pointed shoes she had been given had very little grip. It took her a while to get used to them but eventually she joined her fellow elves in standing around aimlessly. There were five of them in total, two girls who looked like they had just graduated school, both more concerned with their phones, a woman in her twenties who smiled sheepishly at Jack and another woman, probably in her early thirties, who had her arms crossed in resigned detachment.

“OK everyone,” a male voice with a southern accent called out. Jack turned to see a man with a smooth, almost sponge-like face walking towards them. The suit he wore looked expensive, but it had become frayed at the edges with age.

“So I see a few new faces this year, and one regular,” he looked towards the thirty something woman, “nice to have you back again Sandra,” he turned to the two youngest, “And you too Shelly and Lisa.”

Sandra nodded but said nothing. Shelly and Lisa barely looked up from their phones.

“If you don’t know me, I’m David, most people call me Dave. If you do know me then you’ll know to watch out,” he surveyed the watching women seeming to expect a reaction but nobody moved.

“The Job Centre tells me there’s one girl here who can’t speak?” He looked around the others. Jack gingerly held up her hand. She already felt out of place being a good couple of inches taller then all the other women.

“OK, well look at you. Tall and gangly, like a sexy spider,” he smirked at his own joke. Without any one saying anything the mood changed in the room. All the women were united. This guy was a dick.

“It’s Jacqueline isn’t it?”

Jack nodded, unconsciously she folded her arms.

“I’m going to put you with Claire,” Jack looked around to see the other twenty something give her a little wave, “You’ll both be handing out leaflets with Mr Bubbles near the Greggs. That means the rest of you will be with Santa in the grotto.”

The remaining women gave audible groans at the prospect.

“Have you checked he’s not stored any booze around the grotto this year?” Sandra spoke firmly.

Deep lines appeared on the manager’s forehead, “We’ll do a quick check before we open.”

The Middleton Arndale Shopping Centre wasn’t large. Most of the shops were the standard chains, W H Smiths, Greggs, and an empty space where HMV used to be. Claire and Jack were stationed near the stairs that led up to a coffee shop, handing out leaflets for Mr Bubbles.

Mr Bubbles was the hired children’s entertainer. He could do truly wonderful things with bubbles, but found it difficult dealing with actual kids. He was thin apart from a little belly covered by a colourful waistcoat. He had white hair and beard that were cut short but somehow still looked unkempt. He smiled and his eyes twinkled except that, when he didn’t think anyone was looking, his expression became tired and resentful.

“He’s not so bad,” Claire whispered in her ear, “He just gets a little tired and frustrated when the kids are being loud and running around.”

She could sympathise but thought that having noisy kids running around you was a big part of Mr Bubbles’ job description.

At first she was worried that not being able to speak would be a major problem, but she soon discovered that the kids weren’t really bothered. Some of the parents looked a little puzzled at first until Jack showed them his note explaining. A few of the dads would express sympathy while staring at her legs.

After a while, they slipped into an easy groove. Claire greeted and directed the kids to Mr Bubbles, who seemed happy totally focused on his work. Jack dished out sweets to the kids while handing their parents promotional material.

She was glad the mall was so busy as it kept her from thinking. She barely had time to look up at the clock before Shelly and Lisa came over to give them their break. Claire took them to the open plan coffee shop on the top floor where they shared a stale Danish.

“So, this is your first time as well?” Claire asked over the din of the shoppers.

Jack nodded as she watched two boys being led by their mother towards the toilets, their hands sticky from eating the lollies Jack had given them less than half an hour before.

The coffee shop was situated on an open balcony above the lower section. The noise from all the shoppers below rose up into the roof creating a kind of noise soup. It reminded Jack of the swimming baths.

A memory flashed through her head. She was shivering, standing in a row with the other girls as they waited for the boys to take their turns diving in. The water had made her swimming costume stick up her bum uncomfortably. It had probably been too short due to a growth spurt. Jack shook her head. This wasn’t her memory…

“What made you sign up to be an elf?” said Claire. As if to emphasise the point, she gave the bobble on top of Jack’s hat a little punt, making it swing about.

Jack took out her notebook from the little shoulder bag they let her have.

‘Xmas,’ she wrote.

“Presents to buy, huh?”

Jack nodded and took a sip of her coffee.

“We are saving up. We want to travel to Thailand and Vietnam.” Claire chatted excitedly about her and her boyfriend’s plans to see the world while Jack sat with her legs crossed, sipping sweet coffee. It felt good to be included as one of the girls. While she was with Isaac or amongst friends, she was fine but being alone in public, she half expected people to start pointing at her and shouting.

Another memory popped into her head. This time she was sitting at the back of a class room in primary school watching Angela Jennings talk to Sandra Coburn. She was upset because Angela was supposed to be her friend but had abandoned her for Sandra. She could feel the pain acutely, but again this wasn’t her memory.

The noise of the coffee shop came back and Jack shook her head. What was happening to her? Was she a real girl or was she just wishing it so?

About a week before, she had gone to use the toilet while shopping in ASDA. It had felt like she was having a heart attack. She’d rushed into a little stall and sat there for what felt like hours unable to go. Every time the door opened, she had half expected it to be a security guard sent to fetch the impostor.

Claire didn’t seem to care though, she just saw Jack as a fellow twenty something trying to make it through the day. It felt like bliss to Jack. If only she could have made it last forever.

As the end of their break came closer a man strutted up to their table.

“What are you two doing this far south?” he leered at them. Jack could smell stale booze on his breath.

“Bringing Christmas cheer,” Claire words were warm but the look she gave Jack was uneasy.

“Hey, don’t be like that,” The man spread his arms open, as if she was being unreasonable, “I’m just being festive.”

“Look mate, we’ve got to get back to work. We don’t need any hassle,” Claire’s voice was showing her tiredness.

“What hassle?” he spoke as if Claire had impugned his reputation. “Anyway, Blondie here doesn’t mind, do you love?”

With a sinking heart Jack realised he’d turned his attention to her. All she could do was roll his eyes at him.

Clearly feeling he’d made some headway the man continued, “She’s a quiet one, isn’t she.” His smile showed a tooth missing.

Claire jumped to her defence, “She can’t speak. She was in an accident.”

“Oh love,” the man took advantage of the moment to touch Jack on the arm, “I’m sorry to hear that. What was it, a car accident.”

Jack took out her note pad and wrote something down. She hated having the man’s face so close to her own as he leaned down to read what she had written. ‘No, I kicked some pervert so hard in his balls it caused my vocal cords to snap.’

The man stood back suddenly, looking like he wasn’t sure how to handle the situation anymore.

“Funny one, your friend,” his voice was uncertain.

Jack held up another note, ‘I like kicking dickheads in the balls.’

The man backed away uncertainly muttering, “There’s no need to be like that, I was only trying to be friendly.”

Claire and Jack walked back to their spot linked arm in arm.

The rush had died down a little when they reached their post. Mr Bubbles sent Claire off to the office to get more bubble mix. This left Jack standing awkwardly next to the old man.

“I know what you are thinking,” Mr Bubbles said, a twinkle in his eye. For a moment Jack didn’t know what was coming next. “How does he do it?” Mr Bubbles touched Jack’s arm making her feel uncomfortable. “I guess I just love making people smile,” he sighed returning to arranging his things on the table. Jack was glad she wasn’t expected to contribute anything. “He’s a strange little man,” she thought.

The afternoon was quieter for them, even though the mall was even more packed. With just a week until Christmas, people were focusing on the shopping. During the morning, the atmosphere had been mostly hectic but friendly. As the day dragged on, Jack picked up on a more desperate feeling. Shoppers wanted to get in and out with the minimum of fuss.

“Hey, how are we doing?” Jack turned to see David. She had been bending down to pick up a toy dropped by one of the children and was embarrassed to think she had been giving David a good view of her bum as he walked over. She nodded and smiled to indicate everything was OK.

She looked around but both Claire and Mr Bubbles were busy. A shiver ran down her spine as David crept closer. He put his right arm around her back, not quite touching but pulling himself uncomfortably close.

“You seem to be doing well,” his voice too close to her ear. “Everyone seems to like you.” He moved back a little letting her breathe. She played with her hair nervously. Until that day, she hadn’t really had to deal with unwanted attention. She was beginning to see why women hated it so much.

“Are you interested in getting more experience?” David smiled. Inwardly she shuddered at was implied, but outwardly she just shrugged. All she was in it for was the extra money over Christmas. She wanted to get Isaac something to show how much he meant to her. She also wanted Ben and Jenny to know how much she cared.

“Perhaps on Monday I can use you in the back, stock taking with me?” Luckily a young family came over, the two children pulling their parents towards Mr Bubbles. Jack used the diversion to sneak away, leaving David looking a little disappointed.

---

Plaid shirt, jeans and braces; Jack was glad to return to her normal clothes. She looked in the mirror thinking of the Lumberjack song from Monty Python. Every part of her body ached a little, but especially her legs and feet. In a way it felt good, she had earned her money.

“Shit, fuck. Really?” Jack tried not to listen in to the conversation going on behind her.

“Uh huh,” there was a pause, “Uh huh,” there was a longer pause, “Well OK I suppose. I guess I’ll see you when you get back.” Claire closed her phone, Jack could see how disappointed she was in the mirror. Claire had a pretty face she thought, although it looked tired and disappointed now. She looked for a little too long and got caught by Claire.

“My boyfriend,” she explained, “he’s at a science conference in York.” She let out a deep sigh. “He was supposed to be back tonight, but they’ve asked him to stay on for another day.”

She looked down at her phone as if it was it that had disappointed her, “He’s the tech support and the project leader wants him to do some sort of projection for her presentation.”

Jack shrugged, she wanted to say something but of course couldn’t. She watched as Claire pulled on her jumper, wishing she could wear simple clothes so elegantly.

“I know it sounds stupid and wet, but the flat feels empty without him,” she shook her head as if amazed at her own soppiness.

Jack pulled out her notebook and began to write, Claire watching her as she did.

‘Why don’t you come back to mine for tea and booze?’

For a moment, Claire looked uncertain. Immediately Jack felt stupid, of course she wouldn’t want to. They had only met earlier that day.

“You know what? That would be fucking lovely! Is that OK? I won’t be causing you any problems with your boyfriend?”

“Shit,” thought Jack, “would Isaac mind?” After all, it was his flat not her place.

‘It’s fine, Isaac won’t mind,’ she wrote, she paused for a moment then added, ‘We’ll pick up some extra booze on the way.’

The off-licence was crowded with people heading to Christmas parties, or just back home after a hard day’s shopping. The two women shuffled along the little aisles, often having to press themselves close to the shelves to allow other customers past. Jack admired the different drink on offer, thinking how much more options there were nowadays. She held two bottles of cheap red wine in her hands and Claire was laden down with a crate of Polish lager and a bottle of vodka.

“Do we have enough do you think? Will Isaac like the Polish beer?” Claire looked at Jack uncertainly. Jack smiled back and nodded. She felt a little giddy, like a little girl who had made a new best friend on the first day of school. She wished she could talk, so she could fill Claire in on Isaac. She so wanted to get Claire’s opinion on everything from clothes to relationships. How long had Claire been with her boyfriend, did they live together?

It was tough getting everything back to Isaac’s flat on the bus. Claire had to wrap her arms around the crate of beer and nearly toppled over when the bus came to a sharp stop.

The streets were dark and grey, punctuated by the bright lights of different Christmas decorations. They ended up going one stop too far because they were unable to get to the front in time and the driver ignored the bell. It only added an extra five minutes to their journey but in that weather it seemed a lot.

The stairs in Isaac’s building were grey and concrete. Their footsteps echoed as they made their way up. They must have been making lots of noise because Isaac was waiting for them in the open door.

“Hello slugger, what have you got for me?” Jack was relieved to see the white teeth of Isaac’s smile. Jack made an exaggerated ‘presenting’ motion towards Claire.

“Hi,” Claire said a little sheepishly, “My name’s Claire. I hope it’s alright, but Jack invited me back for tea?”

“No problem, the more the merrier,” Isaac said genuinely, as he took the beer and bags from Claire. Claire smiled back and Jack felt proud of her boyfriend’s ability to put others at their ease. She wished she could tell Claire how Isaac had read to her while she was in the hospital, his deep tones making her feel comfortable as she lay there.

The room quickly filled with noise as Claire told Isaac about their day. Jack noted that Claire skirted diplomatically around the subject of David and the creepy guy in the coffee shop.

“Mr Bubbles is mad, I honestly don’t know his name, everyone just calls him ‘Mr Bubbles’” Claire told Isaac.

“Do you think his wife knows or does she call him that too?” Isaac pondered.

“Is there even a Mrs Bubbles? Who knows? That’s insane!” Claire chuckled. Jack wondered what it’d be like to be held by Mr Bubbles. Surely he must have been young once.

Jack noticed Ben skulking in the corner, she wondered if Isaac had warned him to keep a low profile. She took out her notepad and wrote; ‘This is Ben, my cousin. He’s staying with us’ and then passed it to Claire.

If Claire had recognised Ben from his ‘Missing’ pictures around town she didn’t let it show. She smiled and said ‘hi’ to the young man.

Ben smiled shyly then offered his hand to shake. The formality of the gesture made everyone laugh. Ben looked like he was blushing, but he laughed as well. He kept his hands behind his back after that, like he was an elderly royal visiting a distant land.

They ordered pizza and settled down with a beer each. It may have been room temperature, but it went down well after a day working in the mall. Claire and Isaac sat on the sofa telling stories of the people they had seen. Jack sat on the floor watching them talk, happy to be off her feet. Ben sat a little way apart from the main group, his cat curled up on his lap.

As the drink flowed, Isaac put on some music. He owned a beaten-up laptop through which he accessed Spotify. Jack had already seen his neatly labelled playlist, one for each month going back at least three years. Jack had looked them over once, wondering why each song had been chosen, and what had been going on in his life at the time. When she had come across a love song she had felt a pang of jealousy.

“Oh, I love this one,” Claire jumped up and held out her hand to Jack who looked at it like it contained an electric shock. “Come on, dance with me. Please!” begged Claire putting her hands together like she was praying.

Jack was unsure at first, but eventually let her self be pulled up by the arms. They danced close together, Jack turning her head to make sure Isaac was watching. When she was sure he was, she danced a little closer still. One song followed another, and they continued to dance until the doorbell announced the arrival of pizza.

They sat on the floor to eat it. The boys sat crossed legged, Jack copied the way Claire folded her legs underneath her. They laughed and joked. Jack liked observing them like this. She was pleased to see them all getting along and, in her head, daydreamed of them hanging out again in the future. She wondered, and hoped, she would get on with Claire’s boyfriend.

She was something of a free spirit and never seemed to be intimidated by anything. Jack could imagine her with one of those super smart guys from Uni. Or perhaps she had gone the other way and was shacked up with a real bad boy.

A moment later, she realised Ben was watching her watching them. She smiled at him and punched him playfully on the arm. Ben pretended to be hurt but laughed. Isaac asked Ben about where he wanted to travel to when he had the time starting the three ‘talkers’ off on another conversation. Looking out of the window, Jack noticed the tree lights going on in the flat over the road, a distant constellation in another galaxy. She wondered what life was like there.

“Come on,” Jack was brought out of her doze by Claire jumping up and again offering her hand to Jack. “If this is going to be a party then we’re going to have to get changed. The boys can handle the clearing up.” Jack looked at Isaac who just nodded, seconds later Claire was pulling her out of the room.

Through the walls of the bedroom Jack could hear ‘Intergalactic’ by the Beastie Boys playing.

“You don’t have many clothes do you?” Claire noted.

Jack wrote down that she had only just moved, which was true.

“Still, I’m loving the 90s retro!” Claire dived in pulling stuff out. “You should wear this,” she thrust a stripy, colourful mini dress into Jack’s arms. At first Jack hesitated at the idea of getting undressed in Claire presence. Although she had been feeling more and more comfortable as a girl, she was unsure if she ready to go that far. Her body was still alien to her. A few moments later, Claire was pulling off her top to try on a few of Jack’s and she realised she’d just have to go with the flow.

“It must be nice living in a flat with two guys who have the hots for you?”

Two guys? Jack wondered what she could have meant.

“Don’t play coy, you must have seen how your cousin watches you,” Claire grinned knowingly. Jack shook her head, was there something she was missing?

Eventually she decided on a white sheath dress that Claire said made her look like a sexy ghost. Jack wasn’t sure about the ‘sexy’ part, but she did like the way it fitted her. Looking in the mirror she tried to pull the fabric straight experimenting with the way it fitted her.

“Don’t be daft,” Claire said shrewdly, “There’s not an ounce of fat on you.” Then she giggled, “You sexy spider you.”

Jack rolled her eyes. What an idiot David was!

Back in the living room, the only cleaning the boys had done was to pile the pizza boxes and plates up in kitchen. Jack knew Isaac was sensitive about being asked to do anything that could loosely be described as ‘women’s work’.

They both got up as they came in, Jack felt shy under their gaze.

“Wow, looking hot!” Isaac said, “What do you think Ben?”

Ben nodded appreciatively, “Aye, nice one.”

They danced together to some old Northern Soul, Jack in Isaac’s arms as Claire and Ben danced a little awkwardly. It took a while, but soon they were laughing together, clearly enjoying themselves. During a slow number, Isaac leaned in as if to whisper, but instead kissed and then gently bit Jack’s ear. It made Jack feel hot and flustered, wishing they were alone.

As their little party continued, Jack paid more attention to how Ben reacted to her. It was true he did seem to keep looking back at her, although Jack got the impression he desperately needed to be held more than anything.

Isaac changed the playlist and, as the music got faster, they danced together as a group, shaking their bodies and laughing. Isaac passed around a joint and Jack kept their drinks filled.

It was gone three when Claire finally called a taxi. She hugged all of them as she left, making them promise they’d do it all again when her boyfriend got back. She was still wearing the stripy mini-dress she had borrowed from Jack’s wardrobe, promising to give it back at work. It ended up being nearly four when they made it to bed, leaving Ben snoring lightly on the sofa, Jess curled up on his stomach. Jack was half sure she heard Jess mumbling something about noisy humans.

Isaac closed and locked the bedroom door behind them. Jack turned, a little surprised. At first she was unsure if she wanted sex. All their little touches through the evening had made her hot and bothered, but the booze and drugs had created a fog she wasn’t sure she could break through.

“Take your clothes off,” Isaac’s grin showing wicked intent.

It took her a while to find the zip, and she wobbled as she pulled it down. She looked up, half expecting to see Isaac laughing, but the look on his face was one of serious desire.

Jack stood there a little awkwardly, feeling uncertainty as well as arousal.

“Underwear as well,”

Jack tried to do this as sexily as she could, desire overcoming the effects of the booze. She felt, perhaps for the first time, like a true woman.

“Get on the bed.”

---

Jack didn’t know how much time had passed when she woke up needing the toilet. They had both collapsed asleep after sex. For the first few seconds of consciousness she thought she could hear a faint voice calling to her. There was a crack in curtains through which she could see the black, star-filled night. She moved her head around, feeling groggy. It took her a moment to realise her hands were still tied to the bedstead. She tried pulling on the silk scarf that held them there but had no luck. Had she been fully sober, it would have been an easy job.

The pressure on her bladder was building so she tried to nudge Isaac awake. First she tried gently, then harder and eventually she tried kicking him to get him awake. None of it worked and she thought remorsefully about how deeply Isaac slept when he had been smoking weed.

It was no use, she couldn’t wake him and the need to pee wasn’t going away. She returned her attention to her wrists. It was a silk scarf, surely she could escape it? It took her a good five minutes but eventually, to her relief, she broke free.

She was desperate now, but she still took the time to pull on a T-shirt and her silk pyjama bottoms. In the back of her mind she was still thinking of what Claire had told her about Ben.

She felt her way along the hallway, accidentally knocking the cheap plastic clock off its nail. In frustration, she noticed that it had stopped. She shook it, which did nothing, then examined the nail. It seemed like too small a target for her current state. She placed the clock down on the floor as carefully as she could and moved on.

She sat down on the toilet and let out a silent sigh of relief. A jet of pee hit the porcelain, the sound easing her head. She still felt tender down there. This had been the first time she had felt someone, or someone’s something, inside her. It had been, she paused to think of the right words, well frightening and a little uncomfortable at first. Thankfully only at first, after that it had been, good, very good. Had she been permanently changed? Was there now no way back? Did she even want there to be?

There was some scratching at the door and then Jess came in. She was a little unsure at the idea of letting the talking cat see her on the toilet. Who knew what she would tell and to whom? Still, Jess’s purring was calming, as was the feel of her soft fur against her legs.

She made her way slowly back to bed being careful not to make a sound. She wasn’t helped by Jess circling her legs.

“I’ll feed you in the morning,” she thought.

“It is the morning,” Jess said grumpily.

You can read my thoughts?

“Just the ones at the top of your mind,” Jess looked at her. She realised Jess’s mouth didn’t move when she spoke.

“Well let’s get you some food then,” she thought.

After putting food down for Jess, she went and sat in the armchair, watching Ben sleep. There was the little pad of paper and pen Isaac had used to write down their pizza order. Absentmindedly, she picked it up.

‘Who am I?’ She jotted down, ‘Am I a boy or am I a girl?’

Wait a minute, she had just written that! Whenever she had tried to tell either Isaac or Wren about her past something had stopped her, but now here, with no one to read it she could write freely. She sat up, her hangover disappeared in a moment. She could write her story down now and show Isaac later. But what if it stopped her showing him? Well she could write it now and leave it for him to find.

Looking up into the kitchen area she saw the clock on the microwave had reset to 00:00. Had there been a power cut?

She sat there writing for nearly an hour. Outside the window the moon was large and round. When she was finished she worried about Ben, not Isaac, finding it. She searched around and found a brown envelope from an old gas bill. She slipped her small essay inside and wrote; ‘For Isaac’ on the back, leaving it next to the kettle in the kitchen waiting for Isaac to make his coffee.

She stood looking at it for a moment, wondering if she was doing the right thing. After all she didn’t want to ruin what they had. Eventually she took a deep breath, even if he thought she was mad, she wanted to be honest with him. He had been honest with her.

Afterwards, she made her way back into the bedroom. Isaac lay there still asleep. She watched him silently for a moment or two before noticing how the room smelled of stale beer and weed.

She tiptoed over to the window meaning to open it and let some fresh air in, but as she got closer to the window, she felt a strange feeling of dread. Like when she had been a little boy and had been too frightened to look under the bed. It seemed colder near the window. There must be a draught she reasoned.

Her hands felt the fabric of the curtains but at first she couldn’t bring herself to pull it back. She remembered that film with the child vampire at the kid’s bedroom window. As she pulled on them, a part of her expected to see its face staring back, but of course there was nothing there. She let out her breath, only then realising she had been holding it in.

Something moved outside that made her jump. Standing in the car park was a man all dressed in black. At first he was facing away but slowly he turned until he was looking directly at her. It was Mr Bubbles from the mall. His face looked demonic in the yellow street lighting.

Jack felt strange, like something was boiling inside her. Her ears were ringing and she felt a powerful need to go down and find out what he wanted. She walked slowly as if half asleep. In the hallway she realised she had put on her trainers but not noticed doing so.

She opened the door and left. Moments later, she was unable to remember if she had left it open or not. Had she brought her keys with her? For some reason she was unable to focus her mind on the questions. All that mattered was the stairwell, the back door and the man waiting for her beyond that.

As she reached the back door something caught her attention. Jess was brushing up against her legs.

“Wake up! Wake up!” the cat cried.

I am awake

“No, be really awake. You’re in danger,” the cat said. What a strange thing to say thought Jack, as she turned the handle that released the lock on the door.

Mr Bubbles was standing only a few metres away. He held out his hand gesturing for her to come closer. Something was making a din near her feet and seemed to be trying to trip her. Whatever it was it couldn’t be as fascinating as Mr Bubbles. She gave the cat a sharp kick and felt it fall back. There was some shouting somewhere, but it didn’t interest her. How could it when Mr Bubble was about to show her a trick?

He took out one of his large bubble rings, which reminded Jack of a hula hoop, and began waving it about. It seemed to be making a bubble of such amazing colours it seemed to glow against the night air. She reached out wanting to touch it. Glancing to one side, she saw him smiling and she giggled, or would have if she could. He nodded, letting her know she could touch.

The bubble didn’t burst when she touched it; in fact it felt quite tough. It kept expanding and expanding until it began to surround her. It went down underneath her and seemed to be close to closing together at the top.

She felt a light, swirling sensation in her stomach. It reminded of the feeling she had when she went on a fair ground ride as a kid, half fear, half excitement.

“Wake up!” something jolted inside her, maybe her survival instinct, “Wake up!”

She could hear Jess now and started to panic. She was trapped! Her limbs flailed around uselessly. Some small part of her brain called to her - heads up!

She pushed and kicked her way up to the closing hole at the top. She could feel the cold night air coming through on the top of her head. She pushed and pulled with all her strength. First her eyes popped out seeing the manic face of her captor then her nose and her chin. But that was all as the bubble fastened itself around her neck. It wasn’t too tight, but claw as she might at it, it wasn’t coming undone.

She felt a jolt in her stomach before realising in horror that she was floating upwards. Was she going to disappear into the night sky? She could see Jess running around on the ground desperately trying to leap up and catch her. Even when the cat did reach the bubble her claws just bounced off it.

Thankfully the bubble came to a stop a few metres up. Something tugged on the bottom. Jack looked down and realised that Mr Bubbles had tied a line of something like string to the bottom.

“Well, well, well,” he laughed to himself, “That hasn’t happened before. Normally I get all of them in.” He scratched his scraggly beard, “Well it’s not like you can call out, and I should be able to work out how to get you all in back at base.”

Jack felt something tug at the bubble and realised she was being pulled along like a balloon. She looked at the closed curtains as she passed. She could see the wildness in her eyes in her reflection. She desperately wanted to call out for help but couldn’t. In frustration, she punched at the insides of the bubble. It did no good, from outside there was no change to the surface and now her hands hurt.

Underneath her she could hear Jess hissing and spitting. All that did was earn a hard kick from Mr Bubbles.

“Stupid cat!,” he hissed, all the pretence of his nice children’s entertainer act gone, “Why don’t you go catch a robin?”

Mr Bubbles brought her to an unmarked white van underneath a flickering yellow street lamp. He tied the string attached to her bubble to the lamp post as he opened the back of the van. Once the doors were open he pulled her down. Through tear stained eyes, she saw his horrible face growing nearer. They were tears of anger and she tried kicking the sides of the bubble to make it bump hard against him. It didn’t work.

When they were about level, Mr Bubbles shoved her hard into the back of the van. Once she was in, she rose up, banging her head on the roof. She looked around frantically. There were other bubbles in there with her. Inside each one was a shadow of a human moving slowly around. She turned just in time to see the doors being shut. Her world was plunged into darkness.