Peter And The Helpers — Darren Pillsbury

It started with Peter and Dill discovering a magical room in Grandfather's house.

A place that seems to go on forever. A room where time stops.

But something from the room has now escaped into our world…

…and it doesn't want to go back.

Story #14 in the PETER AND THE MONSTERS saga! 30,000 words.

Sequel to the following books:
PETER AND THE FRANKENSTEIN (Volume Three)
PETER AND THE WEREWOLVES (Volume Two)
PETER AND THE VAMPIRES (Volume One)


Excerpt from Peter And The Helpers:

Peter peered out into the darkness.

The room had to be at least 300 feet long. At least.

He wasn't exactly sure how long the entire house was, but he knew that 300 feet was the length of a football field.

The house was NOT as long as a football field.

That meant the room was longer than the house.

Which was impossible.

It was not only impossible, it was very, very wrong, in an unsettling, spooky sort of way.

“Dill,” Peter whispered, “I think we better �" ”

That was when they heard the first sounds.

SkrrrrSkrrrrSkrrrr

Peter held his breath.

The noises sounded like scratching, like a mouse creeping in the darkness.

Then the noises stopped.

They seemed to be coming from far up ahead.

“Hey, did you hear that?” Dill asked quietly.

Peter nodded �" and then realized that Dill couldn't see him in the pitch black shadows.

“Yes,” he whispered.

It wouldn't be that weird for a mouse to be in here with them. After all, it was a giant room, and it was dark. It would be strange for there not to be a mouse.

Then the sounds came again.

But this time there were more of them.

And they were closer.

SkrrrrSkrrrrSkrrrrSkrrrrSkrrrrSkrrrrSkrrrrSkrrrrSkrrrrSkrrrr

Then they stopped.

Peter shivered. One mouse was okay.

But this sounded like three or four.

And it might not be mice.

It could be rats.

Big rats.

Plump and hairy, with long, ugly, naked pink tails trailing along behind them.

And sharp teeth.

Peter could imagine something fat and loathsome crawling over his foot, then sinking sharp little fangs into his ankle.

Suddenly, there were way more sounds.

DOZENS.

It sounded like a stampede of rats scrabbling towards them in the darkness.

SKRRR SKRRR SKRRR SKRRR SKRRR SKRRR SKRRR SKRRR SKRRR

“DILL, RUN!” Peter screamed as he turned heel and raced for the light in the distance.

He could hear his footsteps cracking across the wooden floor, and he knew Dill was running, too, because the sound of footsteps was doubled. But they were not enough to drown out the chittering, clattering, scraping sounds of the tiny claws behind them.

SKRRR SKRRR SKRRR SKRRR SKRRR SKRRR SKRRR SKRRR SKRRR