The Contest

Hugh was fired up with pure adrenaline. There will be plenty of time to relax and sleep after I have dealt with Scott, he thought.

As planned, after he had wished Eemay goodnight, he went straight to his room to change. He put on a black track suit, and waited. He needed to allow enough time for Eemay to settle down for the night before venturing out again. He paced his room, lay down on his bed, paced the room some more, then attempted to play a game on his cyPhone, but it was hopeless, he couldn’t concentrate. So, in his mind, he again went through his plan of action.

I will take Scott out using the narrow staircase leading down to the old, disused servant’s quarters, and then lock him in the boot of my car. I will then drive out to the Blue Lake, drown him, and then return to remove his belongings.

He had every confidence in his plan. He had thought it through with military precision, and had carried out a trial run, timed to the last second.

He again glanced at his watch. Time seemed to stand still, he desperately wanted to get the job over and done with. Just another ten minutes and Scott will be history!

At last he slowly opened his door, stepped out into the pitch black corridor, and crept silently along the now familiar route. He approached the Corridor of Fear, but this time, was fearless and passed quietly and confidently through.

When he reached the door to Scott’s room, he took a muzzle from his pocket to slip over his nose, before opening the door. But to his dismay, there was no evidence to suggest that the spell had worked. He began to ransack the room looking frantically for ‘the dog’, kicking and throwing things around in a violent rage. All of Scott’s personal belongings were still there, but there was no sign of a dog.

Had the spell worked? If it had, surely the clothes he had been wearing at the time would be lying on the floor, and there’s no way he could have escaped.

What to do, what to do, he repeated, frantically pulling out his cyPhone. By now it was three thirty in the morning, but his urgent need to speak to Vilelet overpowered the fact that she would be sound asleep. He needed, and was determined to get, immediate answers.

“Vilelet, it’s Hugh, did the spell go through?”

With her mind still fuzzy with sleep, it took her a few seconds to focus.

“Do you realise what time it is, couldn’t you have waited until the morning?”

“I need to know now, things haven’t gone as planned.”

“I suppose I’ll have to check the computer for you, but this is really out of order, just wait a moment.”

He waited, biting hard on his thumb nail, pacing the room in agitation.

“As agreed, it was sent at nine thirty and opened at ten o’clock, at which time the spell was activated.”

“Well he’s not here!”

“Prince Hughchube, I have carried out my part of the contract and cannot be held responsible for what has happened since.” she said, before ending the call abruptly.

Hugh quickly decided to clear Scott’s room of all his personal belongings, pulling a large plastic bag from his pocket and stuffing everything into it. He crept slowly back along the corridor, like a burglar with a stash of stolen goods on his back, all the time glancing back and forth to make sure no one was watching. No one that is, except for the little dog with a button nose and soft floppy ears, hiding behind an old cabinet in the corridor. He had not only seen Hugh go into his room, but with his super sharp hearing, had also overheard him talking to someone called Vilelet on his phone.

He then bounded down the staircase and into the warm kitchen where Nettie lay fast asleep in her basket. He lay down beside her on the stone floor and, in true dog style, fell promptly to sleep.