Unexpected Heroes

By Angela Hoare

A seemingly useless gift from a nosey neighbour begins to have a strange effect on Kate as she and her Mother Stephanie settle into their new home. An intriguing mystery needs to be solved surrounding the objects origins and the peculiar ability of next doors cat

• Language: English
• Publisher: Angela Hoare
• Release date: May 10, 2024
• ISBN: 9781805413905

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Unexpected Heroes

Unexpected Heroes

Angela Hoare

Copyright © 2023 by Angela Hoare

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review.

FIRST EDITION

978-1-80541-389-9 (paperback)

978-1-80541-390-5 (eBook)

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 1

It was that time of year again when schools re-opened and pupils reluctantly returned, but for Kate it was going to be a fresh start at a new school hundreds of miles away and she couldn’t wait to get started. Despite being kind and friendly, she’d struggled to make friends at her old school. In fact, she’d struggled with everything—maths was baffling, spelling a nightmare and reading impossible. She’d seen all kinds of experts who’d promised to help. They were all very nice and all very kind, but at the end of the day she was still just Kate. No better, no worse, but just the same.

Kate was at the start of her teenage years and becoming increasingly aware of the widening gap between her abilities and that of other kids her age, which was gradually eroding her confidence. She was pretty with mousey brown hair which dangled loosely just above her shoulders framing a pale ­flawless complexion. Although slim, she preferred to hide herself away under oversized tops and baggy jogging bottoms and rarely ventured out apart from attending school.

Steph, Kate’s mum, was aware of Kate’s unhappiness and had spent months desperately searching for a more suitable school—somewhere with less emphasis on academic achievement and more on practical skills. She’d finally settled on St. Mathews, a small rural school surrounded by lush countryside, but only a ten-minute drive from a thriving market town. She’d found a little terraced house to rent in the town and arranged for a local removal company to deliver all their belongings prior to their arrival.

Chapter 2

Kate was beginning to feel nervous as they approached their new home. It was the end of what had become an epic journey. They’d experienced long delays on the M5 due to road works, been bombarded by enormous hail stones during a frightening thunderstorm, and swerved just in time to miss a van being driven at high speed towards them on the wrong side of the road. But there was more to come.

As they slowed down to park in the narrow dimly lit side street, a cat suddenly launched itself from the garden wall and landed spread-eagle on the windscreen. Its collar became entangled in one of the wiper blades causing the poor creature to be dragged backwards and forwards with its head pressed tightly against the glass.

Steph slammed on the brake, which resulted in the cat being propelled backwards. The collar snapped and the cat found itself being launched into the air where it somersaulted over the bonnet before landing in a motionless heap only millimetres away from the front tyre.

Have we killed it? asked Kate nervously.

I hope not, but if we have, it wasn’t our fault. That stupid creature did it deliberately, said Steph as she walked round to the front of the vehicle.

Kate joined her mother and they gently pulled the cat out from beneath the car.

It’s still breathing, said Steph sounding relieved.

What have you done to my cat? boomed an angry-sounding voice.

They both turned round to be confronted by a short elderly lady dressed entirely in purple, even down to the tiny wisps of hair poking out from beneath her woolly hat.

That stupid animal flung itself at my car.

Don’t be ridiculous. She wouldn’t do that, replied the woman.

Well, she did, snapped Steph.

I’m sure she’s going to be fine, added Kate.

She’d better be or I’ll hold you two responsible.

I don’t think there’s any need to be so unpleasant, said Steph.

I’m just very protective of her. She’s worth her weight in gold, replied the woman sounding slightly more reasonable.

I can understand that. They’re just like a member of the family. My mother would be absolutely devastated if anything happened to her cat, said Steph.

She’s trying to get up now. I think she’s all right, shouted Kate.

Thank goodness for that, said the woman as she breathed a sigh of relief.

Why on earth did it fling itself at the car? said Steph.

If that’s what happened, I’ve no idea. Perhaps she’s gone a bit loopy with old age, replied the woman.

I might be old, but I’m definitely not loopy, thought Tibbles the cat who had understood every word they’d said. She quickly regained her composure and disappeared inside the house.

My name’s Glenda, the cat’s Tibbles and I assume you’re the new neighbours.

Yes, we are. I’m Steph and this is my daughter Kate, replied Steph, as she attempted to shake hands.

What’s this? asked Kate, as she reached down to pick up a gold-coloured object.

It’s Tibbles’ collar, replied Glenda.

It looks more like a bracelet to me, said Kate.

It is really, but I thought it suited the cat.

Shame it’s broken, added Steph.

Not to worry, replied Glenda.

You could probably get it repaired, said Kate.

I shan’t bother. You can keep it if you want. It’s just some worthless tat I acquired a few years ago

Thanks… I think, said Kate as she dropped it in her pocket.

Tibbles could hear the faint murmur of voices drifting in from outside as she made herself comfortable in front of the fire. Her contented purring soon eased her aching body into a deep sleep.

Tibbles had originally lived next door with her owner Phyllis, until the old lady had sadly passed away, leaving the cat to Glenda in her will. This had happened over twelve months earlier and coincided with Glenda moving in to her house. The place was littered with boxes waiting to be unpacked and it was from one of those boxes that Glenda had pulled out a rectangular container similar to a glasses case. Lying inside was the gold-coloured bracelet together with an assortment of different length chains. The bracelet looked like a large letter C and was inlaid with three tiny glass panels. The ends were hollow and full of grooves to enable the chains to be screwed in securely.

Glenda had decided the cat needed a new collar and thought the bracelet would be ideal. Fortunately, the metal turned out to be very pliable enabling the bracelet to be easily adjusted. She had pulled the ends further apart, then placed it round the cat’s neck. Next, she threaded Tibbles’ name tag through one of the chains and screwed the ends of the chain in place. It wasn’t long after this that the cat’s troubles began.

Without warning, the bracelet would suddenly heat up causing her considerable pain. This was followed by uncontrollable spinning which pulled the cat upwards, forcing her to balance precariously on her hind legs whilst at the same time pushing her fur out to resemble the spikes of a porcupine.

Not surprisingly, this was accompanied by a sudden urge to vomit and the disgusting lumps would head in all directions. Glenda remained completely oblivious to what was going on. All she ever saw was the mess left behind.

The frightening sequence of events would continue with Tibbles becoming light-headed and totally disorientated. Then bizarre things would happen. On one occasion, Tibbles had fleeting glimpses of a beautiful blue sky and could feel the intense heat of the sun on her cheeks. She heard people talking and children laughing despite the fact she hadn’t left the house and it was the middle of the night. The most frightening vision left her whole body trembling in fear as she saw a pack of lions running towards her, but for some strange reason they suddenly stopped a couple of metres away, then looked directly at her before backing off and running away.

But there was one positive thing that came out of Tibbles’ suffering. Once she’d calmed down, she had the strange ability to understand everything that was being said and this had enabled her to acquire a lot of information about her new owner, especially since Glenda had the habit of reading out loud when she received correspondence. The cat’s ability usually only lasted a few minutes at a time, but on the odd occasion it would continue for days or even a whole week, which had resulted in Tibbles finally being able to enjoy one of Glenda’s favourite pastimes, which was watching the television.

But for the majority of the time, Tibbles’ ability merely meant listening to Glenda’s constant moans about the neighbours parking outside the house, blocking her view of what was going on in the street. However, one particular day there were interesting facts to be heard as Glenda read aloud from a magazine.

It has always been said that cats have nine lives.

Tibbles’ ears had immediately pricked up and she began to listen intently to every word.

It’s long been thought that this came about because people saw them survive situations that other animals couldn’t. This was mainly due to their natural dexterity and agility, coupled with their inbuilt balancing system called the ‘righting reflex’ that allows them to orient themselves and land on their feet after a fall. In some cases, this depends on the height of the fall.

But, of course, cats don’t really have nine lives. It’s just a myth, but Tibbles took it literally and decided she could take risks. Risks that might use up some of those lives. So, that’s when she came up with her cunning plan to finally rid herself of the collar. She would leap from the garden wall at a moving vehicle whilst it was raining in the hope the bracelet would catch in one of the wiper blades and be yanked from her neck.

Tibbles tried it out a couple of times when the conditions were right and she could see a car slowing down and indicating its intention to park outside their house, but all she’d got for her efforts so far were bruises and a lot of angry words she wished she didn’t understand as drivers complained about the scratch marks on their bonnets. But another opportunity was about to present itself as Tibbles had overheard Glenda tell her friend that new neighbours were arriving within the hour. Once again, the conditions were perfect, so Tibbles had positioned herself on the wall and waited patiently.

Chapter 3

Steph was finally pulling out the last bag from the boot. It had been a lengthy process despite having an extra pair of hands, since Glenda was proving to be more of a hindrance than a help with her incessant talking. Every time she spoke, she stopped, even if it meant blocking the entire width of the garden path making it impossible for Steph and Kate to manoeuvre round her.

The two were trapped once more as Glenda started her next round of questioning.

Have you got a partner, Steph? she asked.

I think I’ve already answered that one, snapped Steph angrily.

Not since Mum and Dad divorced, said Kate quickly as she tried to calm things down.

Oh, it’s such a shame when marriages break down and it’s always the children that suffer. I assume you’ve moved halfway across the country to get away from him. Messy divorce, was it? enquired Glenda gleefully.

It’s none of your business, came the abrupt reply.

No need to speak like that. I was only making conversation.

Might be best if we talk about something else, suggested Kate.

"Fair enough.