What's that coming over the hill?

So in the first lesson we were tasked with writing ‘about a song’.  That meant anything.  We could literally write about a song, write about the meaning of the song or just take inspiration from either the title, theme or lyrics.  I think the tutor just wanted to get a feel for how we write.  I took inspiration from the title and submitted the following:

What's that coming over the hill?

Oliver shook Sophie awake. They'd been asleep for hours and the world about them was asleep too, but without having to say a word Sophie knew why she'd been roused from her slumber. 

It had been the same the night before. It had been the same the night before that also. In fact the past week had seen the same nightly routine. 

It had been like that since they'd come to this place. 

She too heard what had originally woken Oliver.  His eyes widened with fear. A reflection of her own, they had the same eyes she knew. She too was scared of the noise.  He climbed up onto the bed with her and they hugged each other tight.   

The sound was from the unseen monster. They could hear it getting closer, a deep grumbling growl, like the angry dog Sophie had once tried to pet when walking through the park.  Only this dog was ten times as angry and by the sounds of it ten times as big.  Sophie knew all about monsters.  Her father would tell her stories about them coming in the night and stealing naughty little children away. 

During the day that was ok because during the day Sophie was a big girl.  She was four years old and knew that no monsters would come for her.  She was too big and brave for such things and could ward them off with her fairy wand.  She knew all the spells.  But delighted in telling her brother, who was half her age, all about how the monsters would come and get him.  He could barely talk but believed every word his big sister said.

But now, for the fourth night in a row Sophie too was scared of the unseen creature making sounds as it approached looking for children to steal away in the night.  She reached for her fairy wand, which she kept safely hidden under her pillow, but she couldn’t feel it.  It wasn’t there.  Maybe it had fallen out of bed.  She wanted to search the floor for it.  But Oliver clung to her for dear life.  She tried to reassure him.  To peel free so that she could feel across the floor but it was no use he wouldn’t budge.  All the while the monster was getting louder, closer.  She knew she needed to find her wand to wish the monster away.  It had worked the previous nights.  She knew it would work tonight, if only she could find it.     

“Oliver let go, I need to get my wand.”

“Ugh, ugh” he clung tighter.

She hugged him to reassure him and spoke gently into his ear “I need to find my fairy wand.  The spell won’t work without it. You’re safe here in my bed.  The monster won’t know to look for you here.  Let me look for it.”

She crept down on to the floor and started to feel around.  The floor was a mess of toys.  She found lego and toy soldiers.  A Barbie doll and even a hair clip she thought she’d lost but there was no sign of the wand.  She thought about turning on the light for a better look but knew that that would only attract the monster so she had to stumble across the floor in darkness.

Oliver started to whimper again.  She had to stop him.  Had to quieten him down before he started to cry.  Before he woke their parents.  He’d woke them the first night and her mum had told her father off for telling them about monsters and told him to wait until they were older.  But Sophie was old.  She was 4! She was a big girl and needed to know all about them. She promised she wouldn’t get scared.  She was scared.

She went back to comfort her brother and after a few minutes he calmed down.  It also sounded as though the monster was going away again.  Maybe he’d found a child to steal away.  She’d thought that before.  On previous nights but he seemed to come back.  To patrol.  Sometimes he’d get close and then disappear from hearing only to come back again.   She had to find her wand. 

Oliver had fallen back over to sleep so she left him to it and rummaged around the room once more.  She’d had it the previous nights.  It had done its job and kept them safe but she couldn’t find it now. Now that it mattered.  She could hear the beast approaching again.

She saw a light through a gap in the curtain.  She froze.  Had it found them? She knew it had a light.  She’d seen it before, like a torch beam that would turn and come back again as he searched for naughty children.  But this light was different this was dull, but starting to brighten.  After a while she realised it was morning.  The sun was coming up.  This was the light she saw.  This meant they’d be safe.  Everyone knew that monsters only came when it was dark.

She got up into her bed and snuggled next to Oliver and went back to sleep. 

When she awoke Oliver had already gone.  She found him out watching television whilst mum was making breakfast.  She also found her wand.  It was sitting on the kitchen table.  She’d forgotten to bring it into the bedroom after all.  It was lucky she hadn’t needed it!

After breakfast they were going to go to the beach.  When they were ready she took her dad’s hand whilst Oliver ran in front of mum.  They left the road and took a shortcut up the hill and across the field.  The farmer was there in his tractor ploughing the earth.  He’d been working the ground the whole time they’d been on holiday.  He was friendly and would sometimes stop to talk with their dad.  He’d drive up and turn the tractor off because it made such a roar when he was using it.  It was a familiar roar, but she just couldn’t place it.  Today he just tooted his horn and waved.