Sky Lights

For our grandchildren,

Zachary, Dillon, Angus, Eilidh, Rory, Mac and ‘Paddles’

Sheila Barclay was born in Montrose and has lived and worked in the Angus area all her life. She recognises the importance of reading and her great passion, as a teacher, was to pass on a love of literature to her pupils. Sheila lives with husband Alan, in Monifieth.

Marilyn Baker was born in Dundee and began her teaching career in Scotland. After her children were born, she spent over twenty five years teaching abroad before finally settling, with husband Richard, in Braemar, Aberdeenshire in 2004.

Sheila and Marilyn met in 1973 when teaching in next door classrooms at Barnhill Primary School, Dundee. Their common interests and shared philosophy lead to them working together on many classroom projects. Now almost forty years later they are still collaborating, resulting in this latest project -Sky Lights, their first published novel.

We would like to thank our husbands, Alan and Richard, for their support, encouragement and practical help with computers, software and other technical matters.

We thank our children, Debbie, Nick, Ben, and Claire for their interest in the project and taking the time to read our story. We are grateful for their feedback and advice on all matters from plotline to cover, from characterisation to style, from publishing to marketing.

A big thank you goes to the Primary 5-7 children of Braemar Primary School in Aberdeenshire, for being the first guinea pigs and listening so intently to the whole book. The fact that they wanted to cancel playtime to keep listening was a good sign and gave us the positive encouragement we needed. Also thanks to the Primary 6 children in the Cairo English School for taking the time to respond to a questionnaire and send us their very positive feedback all the way from Egypt.

We are grateful to Chris Sawyer, for her thorough, professional appraisal of our original manuscript. Her commentary and advice helped us craft this much improved product. We owe thanks to Sheila Taylor for kindly giving us free use of her photograph for the front cover. Finally we want to thank Grosvenor House Publishers for their part in bringing our story into print and making our dream come true.

The crocodile lay on the bank, basking in the morning sun. Around it, the insects buzzed and hummed and skimmed the water. A fish rose from the depths, opened its mouth and swallowed a dragonfly, then disappeared, all in the blink of the reptile’s cold eye.

As the sun rose higher in the sky, the creature stirred and slipped into the cool water of the inlet, its seven metre body hardly disturbing the surface. Above the water, its eyes, nostrils, and ears gave the impression of a log floating harmlessly along. Nothing could be farther from the truth, for this was a fearsome predator with a taste for human flesh. The sound of twigs snapping on the pebbly shoreline caught the monster’s attention and it surfaced, its nostrils opening and its eyelids flicking back.

Three young back-packers, Scottish lads on a gap year, emerged from between the trees and approached the water. ‘God, it’s hot!’ said Ian, peeling off his damp shirt and wiping the hair and sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.

‘That was some hike over these rocks. I need a drink,’ said Jake. ‘Would you guys like something?’

‘Yeah, in a bit,’ said Ian hopping as he yanked off his boots. ‘I’ll just cool off in here first.’

‘That might not be such a good idea,’ said Will. ‘Anything might be in that water. What if sea snakes are lurking in there?’

Ian took a couple of steps towards the water’s edge. ‘I really need to cool off, man,’ he answered, raising his eyebrows at his cautious friend.

‘Hey, listen guys. Can you hear something ticking?’ asked Jake.

‘Probably death watch beetles,’ said Ian looking up at the surrounding trees as he waded through the lukewarm water. ‘This is paradise. And not a sea snake in sight!’

The giant crocodile rose without warning. The surface erupted like a fountain as it thrust its body upwards through the tumbling, foaming water. It opened its immense jaws, twisted in mid lunge, and grasped Ian round the middle.

‘Hey, what the…..let me go!’ Ian shrieked. His words were lost. His arms and legs thrashed in panic as the crocodile disappeared from sight. The water frothed and swirled as the monster rolled over and over with Ian clamped in its vicelike jaws.

The two boys on the bank looked up.

‘Hey, Ian,’ shouted Jake, seeing nothing but churning water. ‘Stop fooling around. Where are you?’

A look of horror came over Will’s face. ‘Oh, my godfathers, I don’t think he’s fooling, Jake. That looks like blood in the water. Something’s got him and it isn’t a sea snake.’

‘Oh God, Oh my God!’ cried Jake. ‘What can we do? What is it?’

Ian’s friends watched helplessly from the bank. ‘Something’s surfacing now,’ said an ashen faced Will. ‘Look! It’s a crocodile.’

‘A crocodile? That big? No way, man. That beast is prehistoric; more like some kind of dinosaur.’

‘And what’s that floating there?’ Will pointed a trembling finger. ‘Is that Ian’s hand? Where’s the rest of him?’

‘Oh God, let’s get out of here. Quick!’ said Jake. ‘We have to get help.’

An ominous silence descended on the inlet; the scarlet stain slowly drifted towards the sea and disappeared. A few bubbles reached the surface and then …..nothing.

Doug Paton put down his pen in exasperation. ‘Quit it, both of you. I’m fed up listening to you squabbling over that computer.’ He glared at the children over his glasses. ‘Any more and I’ll turn it off altogether. I’m trying to get some peace to mark these exam papers.’

Jack smirked and continued tapping the keyboard. Amy scowled at him. Doug turned back to his work. The front door slammed and a weary Beth Paton came into the room, arms weighed down by several shopping bags. ‘Sorry I’m a bit late tonight. The traffic was horrendous. I got us some pizzas for tea though. Still hot,’ she said. Doug rose to take the bags from his wife.

‘Let me give you a hand, love. How’d you get on?’

‘Oh, fine. Apart from the traffic. I shouldn’t go to Register House at this time. Driving home at rush hour is never a good idea, especially not at Christmas.’

‘Been doing more family tree stuff?’ Doug asked, following her into the kitchen. ‘I thought you were just Christmas shopping.’

‘Both,’ she said. She opened up the pizza boxes and turned to the children who were following behind. ‘Well, what have you two been up to today?’

‘Fighting over the computer as usual,’ said Doug, before Jack or Amy could say a word.

‘It was all Jack’s fault. He wouldn’t get off when it was my turn,’ said Amy.

‘Not true. You’d had the computer all afternoon,’ said Jack.

‘Enough now,’ said Doug. ‘Let’s have some peace.’

‘So Mum, what did you find out today? Any famous relatives?’ asked Jack.

‘Afraid not Jack,’ said Beth, ‘but I did find a spelling mistake in Gran’s middle name. You know, she always spelt it D- A- R- L- I- N.’

‘Yeah, I knew it. I always knew it. It should’ve been D- A- R-
W
- I- N. Tell me it should have been Darwin, Mum.’ Jack, a natural history enthusiast, was excited to think he might be related to Charles Darwin.

‘Sorry Jack, the correct spelling is not D-A-R-
W
-I-N but D-A-R-L-I-N-
G
,’ said Beth.

‘Darling? Where have I heard that name? Who do we know called Darling?’ asked Amy.

‘Huh, nobody I know,’ said Jack. ‘Darwin would’ve been much cooler. I can’t go telling my friends we’re all Darlings. They’d laugh.’

‘The only Darling that I can think of is Wendy Darling. You know, from the story of Peter Pan,’ said Beth.

‘I remember Wendy Darling. She had two brothers, John and Michael. They all went to Never Land with Peter Pan,’ said Amy. ‘D’you think we might be related to them?’

‘Don’t be such a dork, Amy,’ said Jack. ‘They’re characters in a story. They weren’t real people.’

‘You think you’re so clever Jack, but you don’t know everything. Maybe the story was based on fact. Maybe there was a real Darling family. Just because you haven’t read about them in your animal books doesn’t mean they weren’t real.’

‘My animal books are non-fiction. That means they’re true … factual, real information. Peter Pan’s a work of fiction, which means it’s untrue … imaginary … unreal. A fairy story. Made-up. Haven’t you learned anything in school?’

‘I don’t care what you say,’ said Amy. ‘I still think the family might’ve been real.’ She stuck her tongue out at him.

‘What a load of codswallop. Mum, can I take my pizza through to watch the telly? There’s a new wildlife programme starting after the news.’

‘I suppose so,’ said his mum, glad of a break from the endless bickering. ‘Don’t get greasy marks on the chairs.’

‘I’ll sit on the floor,’ he said as he headed for the living room. He aimed the remote at the TV as the final news item was beginning. It grabbed his attention. Two minutes later he burst back into the kitchen. ‘Guess what! Guess what! Remember that story on the news last week about the crocodile…. the one that ate the backpacker….the one that was enormous… I mean the crocodile was enormous, not the backpacker.’

‘Hold on. Slow down, Jack. Start again and take your time,’ said his dad, patting the bench next to him. Jack sat down and took a deep breath.

‘Remember last week we heard a story on the news about three back-packers from Scotland? And one of them was eaten by a giant crocodile?’

His parents nodded. Amy slid closer to her mother.

‘Well, it’s been spotted again. And they’re going out to catch it and here’s the exciting bit…they’re bringing it to Scotland.’

‘Where’d they see it?’ asked Doug.

‘Some place in the Caribbean Sea. A family on a yacht reported it.’

‘Was anybody eaten this time?’ Amy slid even closer to her mum.

‘No. Nobody. Never mind that. Did you hear what I said, guys? They’re bringing it to
Scotland
.
Alive
! To Dundee University.’

‘What on earth for?’ Doug frowned. ‘That doesn’t make any sense. Why don’t they just kill it? And why Dundee?’

‘They want to investigate it….find out what makes it tick,’ said Jack.

‘You mean to find out why it is so big? To see if it’s some new super breed?’ asked Amy.

‘No, I mean exactly what I said. That family? The one on the yacht? They said they heard it
ticking.
The scientists can’t figure out what’s making it tick.’

‘Well now, there’s a bit of a coincidence,’ said Beth. ‘Wasn’t there a ticking crocodile in Peter Pan? Wasn’t that the beast that swallowed the nasty Captain Hook?’

‘Hey, you’re right Mum. There was a ticking crocodile in Peter Pan. Maybe it’s the same one, Jack.’

‘Don’t be so dumb Amy. Fact and fiction, remember?’ said Jack.

‘A croc that ticks! Too bad it isn’t one that tocks!’ Amy giggled. ‘Get it? Talks? Tick, tock, tick, talk?’

Jack ignored his little sister’s childish humour and went on. ‘And seemingly there is a first class marine research department at Dundee University so that’s why it’s coming to Scotland. Hey…I’ve just thought of something else. After they do all the tests and stuff, they’re bound to put the beast on show. People’ll be queuing up to see it. Can we go and see it Dad, please? Can we?’

‘Maybe. We’ll see,’ said Doug. ‘
If
it’s caught and
if
it’s brought to Dundee, and
if
it’s put on show….well, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.’

‘Don’t you mean bridges Dad?’ said Amy. ‘I thought there were two bridges to Dundee?’

‘Ha ha. Very funny Amy. Can’t you be serious for once?’ said Jack. ‘This is an amazing story.’

‘What if it escapes from Dundee? Could it come here?’ Amy looked worried.

‘Oh yeah,’ said Jack. ‘It’s a monster and it can travel hundreds of miles in just one day. Better watch out Amy, if it escapes from Dundee, it’ll swim out into the North Sea and by next summer it’ll be eating people right here in the River Forth.’

‘It couldn’t do that. Could it Dad?’