Chapter 6

We huddled in anticipation as we turned the page, the paper creaked as the page slowly flopped over. We sat in silence as our eyes took in the page.

March 12th - Dillon finds a five pound note in a basket outside Morrison’s. Nothing much else happens.

“Sweet” Dillon giggled. “A little anti-climactic though”

“Wait a moment let’s look at another”

I turned the page over once more to look at the day after.

March 13th - In the evening the aquarium is broken into. Fish are stolen. Dillon finds a tenner in the wreckage. Glen and Dillon find out about the birds

“What is this shit about birds?” Dillon asked

“I have no idea. This crazy guy was ranting about birds or something then he threw a book at me. Or did he throw the book first...”

“What exactly did he say?”

“I dunno I was drunk something like beware the squawk in the night..?”

“And you kept the book? Wow why are we even entertaining this shit”

“I didn’t exactly keep the book, I left it behind and it just showed up here”

“Right.....”

“I mean things have been happening in town, strange things.”

“Some drunk uni kids steal a bunch of fish, so what?”

“It’s not just that, there was the boat that washed up and....” I paused a second trying to think of how to say things without coming of like a crazy person “I heard it...”

“Heard what?”

“A squawk in the dark....” Dillon just looked at me in silence. I could feel his gaze, looking me up and down. Trying to figure out if I had well in truly lost it. Before the awkward quiet became too overwhelming I continued “Look I heard a squawk, I went out to check what it was and the next thing I wake up on the deck with a lump on my head and a bottle of bourbon in my hand”

“So you got wasted, we’ve all been there.”

“Dillon, I haven’t touched bourbon since your 25th birthday party.”

“Yeah... you puke in your own shoe” He giggled

“Yeah... that’s a memory I’d rather not be reminded of. Haven’t touched the stuff since.”

“So you changed your mind, everyone makes weird decisions when their on the sauce.”

“I’m just saying, maybe we should check it out.”

“Check what out?” Dillon said, frustration rising in his voice.

“The aquarium”

“You want me to drive us out to the aquarium outside of time in the middle of the night to watch a bunch of birds steal some fish.”

“I mean it’s worth a try”

“You know what....I’m gonna head home. I’ve got to be up early to teach a lecture tomorrow. Have fun with your magic book”

“Dill!” I started... but he was already out the hatch. Maybe he was right maybe I was reading into this all too much. It was probably all bullshit. A crazy old man gives me a book and I start thinking penguins are attacking a small welsh town in the middle of nowhere.

I raided the fridge for a beer, cracked it open and took a sip. Yeah, Dillon was probably right. I closed the book and slid it away out of sight. Out of sight out of mind. Opened up my laptop put a show on and tried to put it out of my mind.

The next day I woke up and got back to work on the Jones's boat. It was nearing the end of the planking phase. Scully apparently got to work on it on my day off. Looking at the woodwork I was both amazed and sad. The sixty year old did good work. The panel work was smooth and flawless and he had managed almost double the amount of work I could manage in a day. After just a couple more days the whole thing would be ready for a good sand, sealing and painting.

I tired away the day cutting, forming and attaching the planks to the hull and was sat down for a late afternoon cup of tea, gazing out at the water, when my phone started to buzz. I looked down at my phone. I had a message from Dillon with just two words.

'I'm in'

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"For the aquarium?" I replied

"Yeah, let's do it"

"Why'd you change your mind"

"Found some gas money" he said, attached was a picture of a stack of supermarket shopping baskets. Dillon’s hand had raised one above the stack and in the basket beneath jammed in the gaps in the plastic was a five pound note.

The next evening as the sun was setting we met outside the harbor. Dillon picked me up in his rusting black KA and we drove out to the aquarium. The little old car grunted and wheezed as it struggle up the mountainous welsh roads, crawling to a near stall two separate times on the way. We shuddered to a halt outside the aquarium car park, steam hissing out of the cars hood.

"Right what time did he say it was going to happen?" Dill said stepping out the car to give first aid to the poor overworked KA.

"It didn't" I replied.

"Great so what are supposed to do now" Dillon said through a puff of steam as he propped up the bonnet.

"Got a pack of gum, a bottle of Dr pepper and some playing cards" I said reaching into my bag.

"Toss me a stick of gum" he said stretching out a hand as he poured water over the radiator.

I tossed a stick over, Dill nimbly caught it unwrapping the gum before sitting back in the car beside me. He chewed the gum

"Is this liquorice flavour"

"Yeah, what you don’t like it"

"Of course not" he said spitting the black gum out of the window "Are you a bleeding psychopath" Before snatching a can of Dr pepper out of my bag to wash it down.

"OK more for me" I said tossing a stick into my mouth.

That had always been a tactic of mine for road trips, for parties, for anything really. Find some strange flavour combination that no one else could stomach and get that one. That way you wouldn’t have to share. Anchovy and pineapple pizza was not everyone’s cup of tea but it had it's own salty sweet merit.

We whiled away the time playing cheat. The game made considerably more difficult as the deck had 62 cards and some of them were still missing. The last of the days sun had all but passed when we heard a sound.

A metal mechanical clanking and whirring came from the woods to the side of the building. We turned to look ducking down with our eyes peering over the dashboard. As the whirring edged further we could see some kind of machine drive out from the trees. It was like some kind of mutant home made bulldozer. As it drove closer its towering crane arm swung forward, the rusted bolted together framework groaned under the strain as it sent a huge anchor shaped wrecking ball through the reception area.

I ducked out of instinct, my body moving itself in reaction to the sheer sickening thud of the crash as metal hit brick and the front wall of the building came tumbling down. I willed my body up from under the dash and peered over the top, only to see Dillon bolt upright phone in hand recording it.

"Are those.....what I think they are....?" he said hesitantly as he stared out at the carnage ahead.

"I think they are...." I replied dumbstruck as we watched as a.... what I could only describe as a 'squadron' of penguins, was raiding the aquarium.

"Is that one...." Dillon said pointing a hand out at a penguin that was driving a pump truck ladened with a power tools.

"Mhmmm..."

"Did it just...." he asked again pointing at a penguin that had some how managed to crack open the locked front door with it's flippery appendages.

"Yup" I replied stunned as I saw a pair of penguins waddle off into the woods carrying between them a set of diving tanks.

"Shouldn't we ..... I dunno....do something" Dillon asked as we watched a small team wheel out a still thrashing octopus, tank and all.

"Do what? call the police?..."

"I mean.... yeah..."

"And what are we gonna tell them a bunch of penguins are breaking into the aquarium and stealing the fish?!"

"So just tell them there's a robbery in progress"

"They've got a bloody bulldozer! whats a couple of small town welsh coppers gonna do?"

"Alright! Well excuse me. I ain't ever had to deal with this kind of shit before." Dillon shouted back. "Wait a second..... Is that one looking at us?" He said, eyes fixed ahead as we watched in terror as a penguin stopped dragging a tank of Plecos and began to point it's jet black flipper in our direction.

"Drive" I said to Dill as it let loose a deafening primal squawk. "Drive! Drive!"

"What about my tenner?"

"Sod the tenner drive!" I screamed as the penguins turned to face the car.

Dillon turned the key, the headlights revealing the true horror of what lay ahead as a swarm of penguins started from a waddle into a seemingly implausible sprint.

"Floor it!" I shouted as Dillon threw the car into reverse, tires squealing against the asphalt as we span around out the parking spot and bounced over the concrete dividers. I looked through the rear window as the horde of black and white bastards started to slowly recede into the distance as we made our way to the car parks exit. As much as they tried their stubby little legs couldn't keep up with the sheer horsepower of a KA.

We pulled out the car park and out into the country road beyond. I breathed a sigh of relief as I looked out the rear window seeing no sign of the beaky blighters.

"I think we made i......" A thump crashed into the roof of the KA.

"Jesus Christ!" Dill shouted as a knife pierced the ceiling just behind the windscreen. "It's on the roof! It's on the roof!" I yelled panickedly.

"Do something!"

"Do what?!"

"Anything!" He yelled as he swerved frantically left and right. I unbuckled myself slid back on the chair and started kicking the ceiling, hoping to boot the little fuck right of the roof. On the third kick a second blade pierced the ceiling inches away from my foot.

"Fuck that!" I said, sliding back into my seat.

"Buckle up" Dillon said as I turned back towards the front. I barely had time to think, I just grasped for the seat belt as fast as I could. My fingers fumbling trying to jam the blasted thing into the socket as the car struck the side of a bridge and before I knew it the rubber tires of the KA were touching nothing but air.

I opened my eyes, swollen and sore, I peeled myself off of the airbag. I strained to lift my head up as my neck and skull shook with pain. I looked around and assessed my surroundings. Dill was out, bloody but breathing, he would be fine. The KA on the other hand would not. Through the shattered remnants of the windscreen I could see the bonnet crumpled up like an accordion, sputtering weak billows of steam and smoke.

"Dill. Dill!" I said patting him on the shoulder.

"Yes mate" he said weakly, his voice somewhat muffled by the airbag.

"Ah good. Glad your alright"

"Where are we?" he said pushing himself up into an upright position.

"We crashed" I replied trying to shoulder the door open. "You drove us of the bridge" I huffed still mashing against the door.

Dill pulled gently on his handle, opened the door and without struggle stepped out the door. I cursed silently under my breath before following his lead and clambering across the car and out his door.

By the time I had wriggled and squeezed my way through the wreckage and plopped hard and uncomfortably onto the gravel floor outside, Dillon had already wandered off. I looked around the empty car park the sunrise lifted over the treeline to illuminate a grand old wooden sign above the building in which the KA was now firmly embedded in. It was a train station. Looking closer at the spot in the wall where the car had crashed i noticed that there was something between the brick and the car that softened the blow. As I walked closer, through the smoke I saw the crumpled remains of a vending machine. Coins, crisps and cola cans were.sprawled across the bonnet and the floor and as I slowly strode forward, out of the corner of my I something jumped up.

"Jesus, Dill. You scared the shit out of me!"

"Sorry man, but hey look" He said with a wide blood stained grin "I found a tenner!"