โGeorge!โ
โGEORGE!โ Intense shaking followed.
โUh… what…? Where? Mabel, what are you doing? Itโs three oโclock in the morning. Iโve only just got to sleep.โ
โGeorge, someoneโs broken into the shed.โ
George sat upright in bed, still feeling sleepy. โThe shed? What shed?โ
โYour shed. Our shed. The garden shed. And itโs ten past one.โ Mabel walked over to the bedroom window, wrapping herself in her dressing gown. โI heard a clattering and got up to look out, and I saw the hole. Theyโve got in through the roof.โ
โThrough the roof? The doorโs hanging off, Mabel. Why would they bother to climb up to the roof?โ
โOh, I donโt know. Come and โave a look!โ
George moaned as he climbed out of bed and walked across the bedroom to stand beside his wife. Through the light of next doorโs faulty security light he could see the splintered hole in the roof of the shed.
โWeโre in the middle of a street. Why would someone break into a garden shed in the middle of a street?โ George was puzzled. โAnd Iโm not too happy that theyโve chosen my shed.โ
โItโs not as though thereโs anything in it for starters!โ Mabel scoffed. โYour bench is riddled with woodworm.โ
โIโm going to see if theyโve taken anything.โ George put on his dressing gown. โTheyโd best not have taken me watering can.โ
โWhy would they want your watering can?โ Mabel laughed, and then stopped herself as she saw George putting on his slippers. โYou canโt go down there, George Green. They may still be down there.โ
โIโm going, Mabel. And Iโm going to give โim what for.โ
โBut George. Iโm going to phone our Sheila.โ
โMabel, what would phoning your Sheila do? By the time she gets here, heโll be long gone.โ
Mabel sighed as George left the bedroom and walked down the stairs. She stepped into her slippers and followed him.
George obtained a small torch from the drawer beside the fridge in the kitchen, and walked through the sliding door into the conservatory. Mabel linked his left arm as he unlocked and opened the door out into the back garden. โGo back inside, Mabel. I can deal with this.โ
โNonsense, George. Iโm coming with you, and thatโs that.โ
Outside, the night air was cool. The sky was partly cloudy, but several bright stars could be seen shining above. The crescent of the moon shone brightly too, giving both George and Mabel a clear view of the hole in the shedโs roof. The security light from next door switched off as they stepped outside.
โMabel. Theyโve smashed their way through that. It must have taken them ages. It wouldโve been quicker for them to peel back the planks.โ George shone his torch over to the shed. โWhy didnโt you wake me earlier? We couldโve scared them off before this.โ
โGeorge Green, I woke you as soon as I โeard the noise. I went to the window, saw the hole and woke you. There and then. Donโt go saying I was lying there all night without doing anything.โ
They walked across the garden to the shed.
โIโm not saying anything like that, Mabel. Iโm just saying it wouldโve taken them ages to make a hole that size by knockinโ it through.โ
โWell it didnโt. It was like a quick whoosh, is what it was. A whooshing clatter. They probably just fell through the rotting wood.โ
โRight then. Now shush. We donโt want to let them know weโre here.โ Mabel glared at George as he shone his torch onto the padlock on the shed door and turned the key. โI mean, if theyโd have just tried the door at least, theyโd have seen the key was in the lock. They neednโt โave gone to the bother of climbing up to the roof and force themselves in that way.โ
George pulled the rotting door outwards, and he and his wife were greeted by the familiar and comforting musty aroma from within. A small crockery plant pot fell out of the door and George bent to pick it up, rubbing his back as he did so. โThis cold is doinโ nothing for me backโ he moaned.
They both peered inside the shed as George shone the torch around. Garden tools and plant pots were strewn all over the place, but nothing else seemed out of the ordinary. Debris covered the floor and large splinters of wood lay scattered across the top of the workbench.
โThere!โ Mabel shouted. โBehind the bench. Theyโre asleep!โ
George shone his torch over the figure who lay stunned between the bench and the shelves. A rake and a hoe lay across them. โThey were after my watering can. Look!โ George directed the torchlight to the rusted can under the intruderโs left arm.
โGeorge!โ Mabel rolled her eyes.
They both stepped into the shed, taking care not to trip over the contents that were scattered everywhere. George shone his torch at the figureโs face. They could both see her eyes slowly opening and closing. They could also hear a faint groaning.
โGeorge! Itโs a girl!โ Mabel realised. โShe mustโve been freezing, looking at how sheโs dressed, and wanted to get some warmth in our shed. Poor thing.โ
โMabel, thereโs a bus stop outside, with a shelter. It isnโt as though she could see our shed from the street. She was after my waterinโ can. Thatโs all there is to it.โ
โGeorge! Even if she did want your watering can, it looks like sheโs hurt. We canโt leave her there like that. Letโs see if we can get her inside and give her a cup of tea.โ Mabel took the torch off George, and moved the light away from the girlโs face, stopping mid-sweep. โAre they feathers?โ
โMabel, theyโre wings. Look.โ
โGeorge? Is she an Angel? She must be an Angel. Look at her face.โ
โMabel, why would an Angel want my watering can?โ
โOh, George. Letโs get her inside. She needs help.โ
—————–
Iโm trying to get my mind back into writing again, but thought, just for once, I would have a go a creating a piece of fan-fiction. Being a long time comic book and superhero fan, I thought Iโd have a go at writing something featuring a character who isnโt as well known as others, and opted for DC Comicsโ Dawnstar. Dawnstar was created in the mid to late 1970s by Paul Levitz and Mike Grell, and she is set in the far distant future. Credit where creditโs due!
I thought about what would happen if Dawnstar crashed into our time period, into the back garden of a normal everyday couple, and tried to write it like the first scene from a movie or TV show about the character.
I feel uneasy about writing using other peoplesโ characters, but as my characters have a tendency to speak to me and tell me what to write, lately, Dawnstar was doing the same. It goes without saying that I hold no rights to the character, and Dawnstar is the only character that doesnโt come from the depths of my mind. The Greens, the garden shed and the watering can are all figments of my imagination.
The question now isโฆ will the characters speak to me further?
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