Amber Quay
Chapter One: The Dream
Rory stood on the edge the
cliff. Below him, giant waves
crashed against the shore. It
was dark. Rain pelted down. It
was hard to see. Lightning
bolted across the sky.
Rory was gone!
I never knew if he jumped, aliens had abducted him, or if he was hiding on the ground somewhere, sheltering in a cave or behind a rock. Knowing Rory, the last possibility was most likely. But that didn’t stop me waking with a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. And that was strange because Rory was my little brother and we were far from the best of friends.
“Chelsea, have you seen Rory?” My mother’s worried voice pierced my cocoon of sleep.
My dream echoed in my head, the rain, the lightning and Rory.
“Isn’t he here?” I asked still half asleep.
“He wasn’t in his bedroom this morning.”
“Maybe he’s down at the beach?”
“Dad has already looked. It’s not like Rory to go off on himself like this.”
“Maybe he’s growing up at last.”
My mum frowned. It seemed that everything that came out of my mouth these days sounded rude to her. I didn’t mean to sound rude but Rory was so precious to her, it irked me.
“Please, just make sure you get up soon and help us look.” Mum walked out of my room.
I yawned and stretched looking out of my window. Rain, torrents of it. From my window I could barely see the cliff and Amber Quay’s lighthouse. We came here every year. To a lonely cottage on a beach that was as flat as a pancake, and a little lighthouse that Rory and I had always felt was haunted.
I shuddered. Had Rory been up on the cliff last night? A strange, cold feeling filled my body. I’d dreamt that dream for what seemed like years, but this was the first time I had feared it was true.
cliff. Below him, giant waves
crashed against the shore. It
was dark. Rain pelted down. It
was hard to see. Lightning
bolted across the sky.
Rory was gone!
I never knew if he jumped, aliens had abducted him, or if he was hiding on the ground somewhere, sheltering in a cave or behind a rock. Knowing Rory, the last possibility was most likely. But that didn’t stop me waking with a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. And that was strange because Rory was my little brother and we were far from the best of friends.
“Chelsea, have you seen Rory?” My mother’s worried voice pierced my cocoon of sleep.
My dream echoed in my head, the rain, the lightning and Rory.
“Isn’t he here?” I asked still half asleep.
“He wasn’t in his bedroom this morning.”
“Maybe he’s down at the beach?”
“Dad has already looked. It’s not like Rory to go off on himself like this.”
“Maybe he’s growing up at last.”
My mum frowned. It seemed that everything that came out of my mouth these days sounded rude to her. I didn’t mean to sound rude but Rory was so precious to her, it irked me.
“Please, just make sure you get up soon and help us look.” Mum walked out of my room.
I yawned and stretched looking out of my window. Rain, torrents of it. From my window I could barely see the cliff and Amber Quay’s lighthouse. We came here every year. To a lonely cottage on a beach that was as flat as a pancake, and a little lighthouse that Rory and I had always felt was haunted.
I shuddered. Had Rory been up on the cliff last night? A strange, cold feeling filled my body. I’d dreamt that dream for what seemed like years, but this was the first time I had feared it was true.