Chapter One

We were in Grandad’s cellar when the storm started – just me, my sister Kirstie and our dog Lizzie. All we heard was the distant rumble of thunder, at first – and that didn’t bother us. Why would it? But we started to get nervous when the lights began to flicker like in those old movies. They gave a sort of flash. Flicker...flash... flicker...flash...over and over.

And then they went out.

We couldn’t see a thing. It was as black as treacle down there.

‘This is so annoying!’ said Kirstie. ‘I’ve probably lost all the work I’ve done today on the laptop. How will I ever finish my novel if things like this keep happening? It’s so not fair!’

‘Calm down, sis. It’s a power cut, not the end of the world. It’ll come back on in a few minutes.’

‘Maybe.’

‘We could go up to the kitchen, if you like.’

‘No, I’m not moving, Alexandra. I’m staying put.’

The truth was that Kirstie, who pretended to be sooooo grown up, knew that if she crossed the cellar she might walk into some of those droopy cobwebs that hung from the ceiling, they might cling to her face and spiders might drop on her. She’d squeal like ten pigs – I just knew it. Creepy-crawlies were not her thing.

‘Right then,’ I said. ‘We’ll wait here.’

We didn’t speak for a while. I was thinking about my amazing new ammonite when Kirstie suddenly yelled, ‘Oh my God! What if the storm brought down the power line to the cottage? What will we do, Ally?’

My sister always thinks the worst. ‘Don’t panic,’ I said. ‘We’ll manage.’

‘If Dad was here, he’d know what to do, wouldn’t he? He’d get the lights fixed.’

‘Well, he isn’t here,’ I said. ‘He’ll be on the mainland by now. Don’t throw a wobbly, Kirstie. The storm will blow over and the lights will come back on any minute. OK?’

I heard her give one of her dramatic sighs and we waited for several minutes. I tried to look at my watch but I couldn’t even see my hand in front of my face.

Eventually, Kirstie burst out, ‘It’s no good. I’ve changed my mind. I can’t stand the dark any longer. Let’s get out of here and go over to the Camerons’. They won’t mind.’

The Camerons lived in the farm over the hill. Dad had arranged that we could go there for tea while he went to see our grandad. Last week (just before we left Edinburgh to spend our holiday with him) Grandad had telephoned from a call box. He had sounded really spooked.

‘I’ve lived on Shairn all ma life,’ he’d said, ‘but I cannae stay a minute longer. There are things going on.’

He wouldn’t say what was going on exactly, but he had left the island and gone to live in an old stone hut on the mainland. Weird or what? We’d asked him to go back but he’d said no. Dad was really worried. He thought Grandad was going crazy or something.

We still packed our things and set off for Grandad’s cottage – even though he had gone AWOL.

‘We’ll go and see him and persuade him to come back,’ Dad said, the day we arrived on the island. ‘He needs looking after. We’ll catch the first ferry in the morning, eh?’

‘We don’t have to go, do we, Dad?’ I’d said. ‘Grandad won’t listen to us. He’s gone completely batty. Can’t we stay and play in the cellar? No messing. Honest! Please, please, please let us. I desperately need to finish cataloguing my fossil collection.’

‘Oh yes,’ Kirstie had said. ‘Dad, please let us. You promised I could use your laptop. I’m at a really, really important chapter in my novel. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease.’

In the end, Dad let us stay. Kirstie was fourteen after all. But part of the deal was that we would go over to the Camerons’ at four o’ clock.

So we had decided not to hang around in the cellar waiting for the power to come on. We would go to the farm.

‘OK,’ I said. ‘But I want to take my catalogue to show the Camerons. They both like fossils. Hang on till I get it.’

In the dark, I felt along the shelf for the book, when a thunderclap sounded overhead and Lizzie began to whine.

‘The storm seems to be getting worse, Ally,’ said Kirstie. ‘We’ll get soaked going over the fields and my hair will be ruined.’

‘Never mind your hair, I thought...’

More thunder interrupted me. It was so loud that Kirstie screamed and Lizzie pushed past my legs and curled up at my feet, shivering.

Quickly, I tried to find my catalogue but, before I could, thunder cracked overhead again. This time it was loud enough to shatter eardrums, break glass, make anybody freak out. I flung myself to the ground and grabbed Lizzie. Kirstie screamed again – and I did, just a bit.

But it was only the start. After that, the thunder came crashing, rolling, rumbling, booming.

There were a few seconds of quiet...no sound... no rumble...nothing. And we held our breath.

Then BAAANNNGGG!

Even with my fingers stuffed in my ears, even with my sweatshirt pulled over my head, I could hear it. The noise went on and on. It was crazy. The walls of the cellar were shaking. Mortar was falling from between the stones and filling the air with dust. We could feel it on our skin and – worse – we were breathing it in. Our lungs were getting clogged with it. Cough, cough, cough. We couldn’t stop. Cough, cough, cough.

Then I felt Kirstie nearby, grabbing my arm. ‘The walls could cave in. We’ve got to get out of here, Ally. NOW.’ And she pulled me towards the steps.

Cough, cough, cough. We were so wracked with coughing that we could only climb slowly, step by step. Cough, cough, cough. Cough, cough, cough.

By the time we reached the top, the thunder had stopped. Had the storm blown over? I hoped so.

The dust was settling and soon we were able to breathe easily again. As I stood on the top step, I reached for the handle to open the door into the kitchen. But the door wouldn’t budge. I tried again. This time I pushed it with my shoulder. The result was the same.

‘What’s the matter?’ Kirstie asked. ‘Hurry up, Ally. Let’s get out of here.’

‘The door won’t open. It’s stuck.’

Together we tried to force it. We pushed, we pulled, we hammered the door with our fists. But it would not open – not even the smallest crack.

As I stood there, feeling helpless, the truth suddenly dawned on me. Of course! If the storm was bad enough to shake the walls of the cellar, then the whole cottage had probably collapsed above us and behind the door there must be a mountain of rubble.

If I was right, how were we going to get out of the cellar?

Chapter Two

We had tried everything to open the door. There seemed to be nothing we could do.

‘There’s no point in messing about any more, Ally,’ said Kirstie. ‘I’ll ring for help. My mobile’s on the bench.’

In the dark, she went slowly down the steps with Lizzie, who was keen to help, as always. But my sister wasn’t in the best of moods.

‘Get out of my way, girl. I’ll trip over you. Ally! Keep hold of the dog, will you?’

I called Lizzie while Kirstie felt her way around the walls of the cellar.

‘Watch out what you’re doing, Kirst.’ My sister could be very clumsy and I was worried about my collection. ‘Don’t mess up. I’ve spent ages getting those fossils in order.’ I listened out for any accidents but there were no crashes or anything. Just as well!

‘I can’t find my mobile...but it should be somewhere...on the desk.’ I could hear her patting the bench, trying to find it. ‘Here’s the laptop,’ she said. ‘I know I put the phone next to it...Ah, got it. Great. GERONIMO!’

What happened next was Kirstie’s fault. She shouldn’t have got so excited and yelled like that. When she freaked out, so did Lizzie, and she went dashing down the steps. I couldn’t stop her, could I?

CRASH!

‘OW! Lizzie! No! YOU CRAZY DOG!’

‘What’s happened?’

‘She knocked the phone onto the floor. Would you believe it?’

Of course I couldn’t see a thing.

‘What are you doing?’

‘I’m on my hands and knees, trying to find it.’

‘Shall I come and help?’

‘No. Stay there. You might stand on it. If I’m careful, I’ll get it. It can’t be far away.’

I could hear her patting her hand on the stone floor, feeling for the phone.

‘Have you got it?’

‘No...but if I stretch out further...I might get it...’

Finally she yelled, ‘I’ve got it, Ally. Phew, thank goodness. Right. Now I’ll ring the Camerons. Get them to come across.’

I heard her flick open her mobile and I waited.

‘It’s not working.’

‘Is it switched on?’

‘Of course it is. I always switch it on as soon as I get up.’ She paused but nothing happened. ‘Oh well, perhaps I didn’t this morning.’

She couldn’t see in the dark, of course, but she pressed what she thought was the ON button and waited – but the screen did not light up as it usually did. It didn’t play the little tune and say ‘hello’ either. She tried a different button, then the one next to that – all with the same result. Not a bleep. Not a light. Nothing.

‘It’s no good. It’s dead!’

‘I bet you forgot to charge it. That’s dumb, Kirstie. We’re in a right mess now – all because you forgot.’

‘Excuse me! I did not forget. I put it on charge every night.’

‘Then you must have smashed it when you dropped it.’

‘I didn’t drop it. Lizzie knocked it out of my hand. So don’t blame me.’

The argument went on for ages but it didn’t make any difference, did it? We still couldn’t ring out.

‘What other bright ideas have you got, O Mighty Teenage Brainbox?’

Kirstie stayed over by the laptop – she was in a right mood. I stayed on the steps, furious that my sister couldn’t do the simplest thing like charging her phone. Lizzie trotted backwards and forwards between the two of us wanting to be let out. We’d been down there for hours.

‘Well actually,’ Kirstie said, ‘I don’t think we need to do anything. We just stay here.’

‘Oh yes? Do we just make a wish and let the good fairy whisk us away?’

‘Don’t be so annoying.’

‘I’m not the one who’s annoying.’

‘Think about it, Ally. When we don’t arrive at four o’ clock, Mr and Mrs Cameron will come over to fetch us. Or they might phone and when there’s no answer, they’ll think something’s wrong. Whichever way, they’ll come.’

‘Maybe.’

‘Just remember, they’re officially keeping an eye on us until Dad gets back.’

Having said all we wanted to say, we sat in silence and it was then that we heard the trickle of water in the far corner and the stench of dog pee filled the cellar.