A Home Away From Home and Other Stories by Lynne Roberts
Brad shook his head in annoyance. 'It's obvious now I think about it. Okay, we'll go first thing in the morning when not many people are around.'
'Great.' Jarek gave a huge smile of relief and gave the trolley an affectionate pat.
It didn't seem such a great idea the next morning. Brad had not slept well. He kept dreaming he was being shut in a cage and woke to find the trolley pressed lovingly against him.
'Come on.'
He shook Jarek awake roughly. 'The sooner we leave the better.'
The boys stumbled out of the house. Brad had liberally sloshed a cup of cooking oil onto the trolley's bent wheel and even though it still squeaked, it was a quieter and more bearable sound.
'Take us to Jarek's home,' Brad commanded.
The trolley set off down the street at a brisk pace. The boys followed behind, with Brad hanging onto the handle. They made their way through several streets, heading steadily west.
'It seems to know where it’s going,' Brad remarked. 'That must be a good sign.'
Jarek nodded and tried not to yawn. He was not a morning person and his sleep had been disturbed by the sound of Brad swearing at the trolley. They walked down a street lined with shops.
'I'm starving,' moaned Jarek, as they walked past a bakery.
'So am I but hopefully it won't be much longer.'
They turned a corner and the trolley put on a burst of speed.
'We're heading for the garden centre,' Brad said in disbelief.
The trolley by this time was fairly rattling along, dragging Brad after it. It trundled through the carpark outside the garden centre until it came to a long metal bay where a row of identical trolleys were parked. With a final jerk, that nearly pulled Brad's arm from its socket, the trolley leapt forward into the line and stopped.
'Ow, my shoulder. So where are we?'
'Why are you asking me?' said Jarek in astonishment.
'I told it to take you home and it brought us here. That must be significant.'
Jarek shrugged. 'I suppose we should look around for a door or something,' he said tentatively. 'But can't we get something to east first?'
Brad searched though his pockets. 'I don't have any money. Oh, let's get this over with.'
The boys made for the front entrance to find it shut.
'Oh great. We're too early. Now what?'
'Maybe there's another entrance,' Jarek suggested.
The boys walked around to the back of the garden centre and spotted a large open roller door with a delivery truck parked outside it. As they approached they heard the whine of a machine and a forklift rolled over to the truck.
'That's Mr Garrett driving the forklift.. He's friend of my Dad's and he owns the garden centre. Quick, let’s get inside while he's busy,' Brad hissed. Leading the way, he ducked in though the open door with Jarek hard on his heels. They found themselves in a huge shed full of pallets of every type of plant imaginable. They ran down past potted pansies and flowering camellias then dodged in behind a large group of hedging trees.
'There must be an entrance to a time island here somewhere,' Brad said. 'The trolley brought us here, after all. Have you any idea what to look for?'
'I told you before, I don't know. But it will look different somehow.'
Brad groaned. 'Well we will simply have to look all though the garden centre for something that looks different. We might as well start with this part.'
The boys wandered around the shed, making sure to keep out of sight of the main door where the forklift was busy moving pallets of rose bushes. They climbed over a heap of sacks full of potting mix and went through a small door out into the plant display area. Dodging the sprinklers which sent a fine mist over a clump of potted hedging trees, the boys crunched down a gravel path. Handpainted signs on posts pointed to 'ornamentals,' 'landscaping specimens' and 'fruit trees.' The boys took paths at random, becoming increasingly frustrated as everything appeared to be perfectly normal.
'This is hopeless,' Brad sighed, as they trudged down yet another path between rows of trees. 'We don't know what we are looking for so how are we going to find it?'
Jarek shrugged gloomily. 'I'm so hungry I don't care about anything anymore. Let's go back to your place.'
'Might as well, I guess. We need to look for a gate. I have no idea how to get out of this place but we'd better not go back the way we came or we'll be seen for sure.'
They walked morosely on and turned a corner by a prickly group of trees.
'Here's one,' Jarek called, leading the way to a tall and narrow wooden gate in the high fence. They boys turned the handle, walked through the gate then stopped in surprise.
'Wow. This is weird. It looks like winter. Hey, does this mean we've somehow got into your time?' Brad asked.' ‘ Maybe that's what we were meant to do, go through a gate.'
Stretching in front of the boys was a tangled forest of grey trees. There were no leaves to be seen and the ground was bare and dark. Even the sky was dark with no sun to be seen although wherever they looked there were shadows. The air was still but cold and it was ominously quiet.
Jarek frowned as he studied the forest. 'This doesn't look like anything I have ever seen before,' he said finally. It looks bleak and horrible. In my time everything is green and fresh. This looks like it's been used up, somehow. I don't like it. I think we should go back and try again.'
Brad was feeling increasingly uneasy. There was a suggestion of movement to one side but when he turned his head there was nothing there. 'It's like there are hidden eyes watching us,' he shuddered. 'But if this is in a different time, maybe you have to go though it to get to your home.'
Jarek shook his head. 'I don't think that it works like that. I don't know where we are but I'm not going to stay here.'
The boys struggled to open the gate. It had pushed easily when they entered but it resisted their attempts to open it until Jarek braced his feet on the ground and hauled on the metal handle. The gate creaked open unwillingly and the boys pushed through it. They walked through the garden centre again and took a long pathway that led them to a display stand overflowing with young plants. A pot full of wooden stakes stood beside it under a picture of impossibly large red tomatoes.
'Look, there's another gate there.' Brad pointed to another narrow gate in the fence. 'Let's hope we have better luck this time.'
They opened the gate cautiously to see a large lake sparkling in the sunlight. Spreading willows cast shade over wooden benches and daisies dotted the grass. 'This looks better,' Brad said in relief. 'Is this where you live, Jarek?'
'Maybe,' Jarek said uncertainly. 'I haven’t seen anywhere like this before though. Maybe we should walk a bit further and see if I can recognise anything.'
They walked slowly around the edge of the lake. The water was clear and showed sand and pebbles with the occasional water plant stretching feathery tendrils towards the surface. It was very calm and quiet. Suddenly there was a splash and a squawk as a group of birds flew up out of the willows and landed on the water.
'Those are the weirdest ducks I have ever seen,' Brad commented. 'Their beaks are all hooked.'
'Quick, run,' Jarek yelled. He grabbed Brad's arm and pulled him back towards the gate.
'What's the hurry?' Brad protested.
'I know what they are,' Jarek hissed. 'They are flesh eaters and they became extinct years ago. It is definitely not my time.'
Brad gulped and ran after Jarek. The birds rose into the air and started to flap after the boys, giving loud piercing shrieks. As they pulled at the gate, the birds came closer. Jarek and Brad fell through the gate together and Brad dragged it shut.
'Watch out,' Jarek howled. Brad looked up to see one of the birds diving towards him. It seemed much larger than it had before and if anything, even more menacing. He yelped and stumbled after Jarek who had crawled under a display stand and was brandishing a wooden stake.
'It must have followed us through the gate,' he moaned. 'Grab one of these. Maybe we can beat it off.
'
The boys crouched under the stand and waved their sticks at the bird as it swooped and flew at them. It appeared to be relentless and repeatedly circled round before launching itself, screaming, at the display rack. A sudden shout distracted it and the boys were thankful to see a large man striding towards them.
'It's Mr Garrett,' said Brad thankfully. 'Mind the bird,' he called out.
Mr Garrett swung around as the bird swooped again. He rapidly pulled a short metal cylinder out of his pocket and pointed it at the bird. There was a loud click and a shower of sparks and the bird disappeared.
'You can come out now,' he said sternly. ‘Now what have you boys been up to? Don't tell me. I can guess. You've been opening gates, haven't you?'
Brad and Jarek climbed out from under the rack and put their stakes back into the pot.
'How did you get rid of that bird?' Brad asked.
Mr Garrett frowned. 'It was in the wrong time and I put it back where it belonged. It won't have come to any harm. Now who is this?'
He looked thoughtfully at Jarek. Both boys started to speak at once telling him about what they had seen through the gates and where Jarek had come from. Mr Garrett listened with increasing frustration then bellowed, 'stop.' The boys were silent and he shook his head. 'This would have to happen today. I have one staff member off with the flu and a big order to get together. Oh well, it can't be helped. Right, come with me.'
As they followed him down one of the gravel paths, Mr Garrett told them to cheer up. 'You came to the right place, with the trolley, but you should have
'Great.' Jarek gave a huge smile of relief and gave the trolley an affectionate pat.
It didn't seem such a great idea the next morning. Brad had not slept well. He kept dreaming he was being shut in a cage and woke to find the trolley pressed lovingly against him.
'Come on.'
He shook Jarek awake roughly. 'The sooner we leave the better.'
The boys stumbled out of the house. Brad had liberally sloshed a cup of cooking oil onto the trolley's bent wheel and even though it still squeaked, it was a quieter and more bearable sound.
'Take us to Jarek's home,' Brad commanded.
The trolley set off down the street at a brisk pace. The boys followed behind, with Brad hanging onto the handle. They made their way through several streets, heading steadily west.
'It seems to know where it’s going,' Brad remarked. 'That must be a good sign.'
Jarek nodded and tried not to yawn. He was not a morning person and his sleep had been disturbed by the sound of Brad swearing at the trolley. They walked down a street lined with shops.
'I'm starving,' moaned Jarek, as they walked past a bakery.
'So am I but hopefully it won't be much longer.'
They turned a corner and the trolley put on a burst of speed.
'We're heading for the garden centre,' Brad said in disbelief.
The trolley by this time was fairly rattling along, dragging Brad after it. It trundled through the carpark outside the garden centre until it came to a long metal bay where a row of identical trolleys were parked. With a final jerk, that nearly pulled Brad's arm from its socket, the trolley leapt forward into the line and stopped.
'Ow, my shoulder. So where are we?'
'Why are you asking me?' said Jarek in astonishment.
'I told it to take you home and it brought us here. That must be significant.'
Jarek shrugged. 'I suppose we should look around for a door or something,' he said tentatively. 'But can't we get something to east first?'
Brad searched though his pockets. 'I don't have any money. Oh, let's get this over with.'
The boys made for the front entrance to find it shut.
'Oh great. We're too early. Now what?'
'Maybe there's another entrance,' Jarek suggested.
The boys walked around to the back of the garden centre and spotted a large open roller door with a delivery truck parked outside it. As they approached they heard the whine of a machine and a forklift rolled over to the truck.
'That's Mr Garrett driving the forklift.. He's friend of my Dad's and he owns the garden centre. Quick, let’s get inside while he's busy,' Brad hissed. Leading the way, he ducked in though the open door with Jarek hard on his heels. They found themselves in a huge shed full of pallets of every type of plant imaginable. They ran down past potted pansies and flowering camellias then dodged in behind a large group of hedging trees.
'There must be an entrance to a time island here somewhere,' Brad said. 'The trolley brought us here, after all. Have you any idea what to look for?'
'I told you before, I don't know. But it will look different somehow.'
Brad groaned. 'Well we will simply have to look all though the garden centre for something that looks different. We might as well start with this part.'
The boys wandered around the shed, making sure to keep out of sight of the main door where the forklift was busy moving pallets of rose bushes. They climbed over a heap of sacks full of potting mix and went through a small door out into the plant display area. Dodging the sprinklers which sent a fine mist over a clump of potted hedging trees, the boys crunched down a gravel path. Handpainted signs on posts pointed to 'ornamentals,' 'landscaping specimens' and 'fruit trees.' The boys took paths at random, becoming increasingly frustrated as everything appeared to be perfectly normal.
'This is hopeless,' Brad sighed, as they trudged down yet another path between rows of trees. 'We don't know what we are looking for so how are we going to find it?'
Jarek shrugged gloomily. 'I'm so hungry I don't care about anything anymore. Let's go back to your place.'
'Might as well, I guess. We need to look for a gate. I have no idea how to get out of this place but we'd better not go back the way we came or we'll be seen for sure.'
They walked morosely on and turned a corner by a prickly group of trees.
'Here's one,' Jarek called, leading the way to a tall and narrow wooden gate in the high fence. They boys turned the handle, walked through the gate then stopped in surprise.
'Wow. This is weird. It looks like winter. Hey, does this mean we've somehow got into your time?' Brad asked.' ‘ Maybe that's what we were meant to do, go through a gate.'
Stretching in front of the boys was a tangled forest of grey trees. There were no leaves to be seen and the ground was bare and dark. Even the sky was dark with no sun to be seen although wherever they looked there were shadows. The air was still but cold and it was ominously quiet.
Jarek frowned as he studied the forest. 'This doesn't look like anything I have ever seen before,' he said finally. It looks bleak and horrible. In my time everything is green and fresh. This looks like it's been used up, somehow. I don't like it. I think we should go back and try again.'
Brad was feeling increasingly uneasy. There was a suggestion of movement to one side but when he turned his head there was nothing there. 'It's like there are hidden eyes watching us,' he shuddered. 'But if this is in a different time, maybe you have to go though it to get to your home.'
Jarek shook his head. 'I don't think that it works like that. I don't know where we are but I'm not going to stay here.'
The boys struggled to open the gate. It had pushed easily when they entered but it resisted their attempts to open it until Jarek braced his feet on the ground and hauled on the metal handle. The gate creaked open unwillingly and the boys pushed through it. They walked through the garden centre again and took a long pathway that led them to a display stand overflowing with young plants. A pot full of wooden stakes stood beside it under a picture of impossibly large red tomatoes.
'Look, there's another gate there.' Brad pointed to another narrow gate in the fence. 'Let's hope we have better luck this time.'
They opened the gate cautiously to see a large lake sparkling in the sunlight. Spreading willows cast shade over wooden benches and daisies dotted the grass. 'This looks better,' Brad said in relief. 'Is this where you live, Jarek?'
'Maybe,' Jarek said uncertainly. 'I haven’t seen anywhere like this before though. Maybe we should walk a bit further and see if I can recognise anything.'
They walked slowly around the edge of the lake. The water was clear and showed sand and pebbles with the occasional water plant stretching feathery tendrils towards the surface. It was very calm and quiet. Suddenly there was a splash and a squawk as a group of birds flew up out of the willows and landed on the water.
'Those are the weirdest ducks I have ever seen,' Brad commented. 'Their beaks are all hooked.'
'Quick, run,' Jarek yelled. He grabbed Brad's arm and pulled him back towards the gate.
'What's the hurry?' Brad protested.
'I know what they are,' Jarek hissed. 'They are flesh eaters and they became extinct years ago. It is definitely not my time.'
Brad gulped and ran after Jarek. The birds rose into the air and started to flap after the boys, giving loud piercing shrieks. As they pulled at the gate, the birds came closer. Jarek and Brad fell through the gate together and Brad dragged it shut.
'Watch out,' Jarek howled. Brad looked up to see one of the birds diving towards him. It seemed much larger than it had before and if anything, even more menacing. He yelped and stumbled after Jarek who had crawled under a display stand and was brandishing a wooden stake.
'It must have followed us through the gate,' he moaned. 'Grab one of these. Maybe we can beat it off.
The boys crouched under the stand and waved their sticks at the bird as it swooped and flew at them. It appeared to be relentless and repeatedly circled round before launching itself, screaming, at the display rack. A sudden shout distracted it and the boys were thankful to see a large man striding towards them.
'It's Mr Garrett,' said Brad thankfully. 'Mind the bird,' he called out.
Mr Garrett swung around as the bird swooped again. He rapidly pulled a short metal cylinder out of his pocket and pointed it at the bird. There was a loud click and a shower of sparks and the bird disappeared.
'You can come out now,' he said sternly. ‘Now what have you boys been up to? Don't tell me. I can guess. You've been opening gates, haven't you?'
Brad and Jarek climbed out from under the rack and put their stakes back into the pot.
'How did you get rid of that bird?' Brad asked.
Mr Garrett frowned. 'It was in the wrong time and I put it back where it belonged. It won't have come to any harm. Now who is this?'
He looked thoughtfully at Jarek. Both boys started to speak at once telling him about what they had seen through the gates and where Jarek had come from. Mr Garrett listened with increasing frustration then bellowed, 'stop.' The boys were silent and he shook his head. 'This would have to happen today. I have one staff member off with the flu and a big order to get together. Oh well, it can't be helped. Right, come with me.'
As they followed him down one of the gravel paths, Mr Garrett told them to cheer up. 'You came to the right place, with the trolley, but you should have