‘Emily, look,’ Joel said, pointing at the stallion’s food. ‘He hasn’t touched a thing. I wonder if all the sugar is starting to make him sick.’
‘I don’t know.’ Emily stroked the stallion’s neck. She could feel every nerve in his body tensing. ‘But he doesn’t look sick. Look at his eyes, Joel, Pegasus is frightened.’
‘Of what?’
Emily shrugged. ‘Whatever it is, if it’s got him frightened, it’s got to be bad.’
All morning Emily and Joel remained with Pegasus. Instead of calming, the stallion grew more agitated. He pawed the tarmac and succeeded in tearing a hole in the roof. Emily could now see down into her father’s bedroom.
‘How are we going to explain that?’ she cried. ‘Pegs, please – you have to calm down!’
Yet no matter what they tried, there was nothing they could do to calm the stallion.
As the afternoon wore on, they heard loud, warning voices calling from the tall building across the street.
‘Oh no!’ Emily looked desperately over to the people standing before their open windows. They were pointing and shouting at the roof. ‘Joel, they’ve seen Pegasus!’
Joel stared at the groups of people gathering in the various windows. He could see more than curiosity on their faces. He saw fear.
‘They look scared too,’ he said. ‘Emily, look at them. They’re not pointing at Pegasus. They’re pointing at the side of your building.’
As they listened, they heard the voices of the people across the street telling them to get off the roof and run.
‘What do they mean, run?’ Emily asked, as she stepped closer to the edge.
Suddenly Pegasus went mad. He stood on his hind legs and started to scream. As his wings flew open, he hit Emily and knocked her several feet away from the edge. Pegasus reared over her. He was shrieking in rage and kicking out his front legs.
‘Emily, get back!’ Joel cried. ‘He’s gone crazy!’
As Joel tried to drag Emily away, Pegasus lunged forward. Pushing past Joel, he charged the edge of the roof just as a monstrous-looking creature crested the top.
12
‘Joel, look!’ Emily screamed and pointed. Joel turned.
Several four-armed creatures were climbing over the top edge of the roof. They were pale grey, with mottled skin like marble. Pegasus kicked the first one in the head and sent him tumbling down the side of the building. But as he went for a second creature, a third made it to the top. Letting out a ferocious roar, it lunged at the stallion.
‘No!’ Emily howled.
Joel raced to the stairwell where Emily had left the baseball bat. Catching hold of it, he ran back over to the attacking creature.
‘Get off him!’ he howled. ‘Leave him alone!’
Joel swung the bat. Then he swung it again. But every time it made contact with the creature’s back, it had no effect. The only thing that seemed to slow it down was when Pegasus kicked it with a golden hoof.
More murderous marble-skinned creatures crawled over the top edge. All focused on Pegasus. All determined to kill the stallion.
Emily’s instincts took over. She ran to where she had left the contents of the garden shed and picked up a large pitchfork. Raising it in the air, she launched herself at the nearest monster trying to kill Pegasus.
But as they fought, one of them focused on her. Leaving the stallion, it started to stalk Emily.
‘Joel!’ Emily cried. She struck out at the creature. As it drew near, its foul stench was almost overwhelming. Emily could see its eyes were jet black with no whites or colour at all. Its teeth were large sharp points and it was drooling as it made ferocious, guttural sounds.
The horror attacking her was wearing rags tied loosely around its waist. But its upper half was bare. She could see the thick muscles rippling as it flexed its four arms that ended in filthy hands and fingers with long sharp claws.
Emily tried to defend herself. But wherever the three points of the pitchfork hit, nothing happened. They simply slipped off the creature’s bare skin as if it were made of steel.
‘Go for its eyes!’ Joel shouted, running at the creature with Emily. Raising his bat, he used all his strength to hit it on the back of the head.
The blow only stunned it for an instant. But it was enough. Emily lunged forward and jammed the points of the pitchfork into its black eyes. Howling in rage, the creature fell to the ground and raised two hands to its face. Black liquid oozed between its fingers and dripped on to the tarmac. Where it hit the roof, the tar started to melt and smoke.
‘Get down the stairs!’ Joel cried as he raised his bat over the writhing monster.
‘I’m not leaving Pegs!’
Emily ran forward to attack more of the creatures going after Pegasus. The stallion was still rearing on his back legs, kicking out at five attacking monsters. They had learned the damage Pegasus could inflict with his golden hooves and were staying out of his kicking range. Instead, they lunged forward and dipped back, trying to get at the stallion’s exposed underside.