Chapter Nine STRANGE NOISES

The rest of the week at school went by uneventfully as Ava and her new friends tried to make their final decisions about what to enter at the village show. In fact, it had been the hot topic of conversation for their whole class all week. Today was Saturday, and even though it was a school-free day, Tom had woken her up bright and early. Ava knew he lived for the weekends when he could spend time outside on the farm rather than in the classroom. Tom’s enthusiasm was infectious, and Ava couldn’t help but get swept up with it.

Tom and Ava had already worked through their weekend jobs – cleaning out and feeding the chickens, checking the water for the sheep in the fields and giving Jet his breakfast. Last time Ava had stayed on the farm, they had been busy with lambing, but the lambs were now nearly six months old. This time of year was quieter on Whistledown Farm – the hay had been made over the summer and was safely stacked and stored in the shed, and there was still some grass for the sheep to eat in the fields too, before the weather turned. September was more of a time to get prepared and ready for winter and make any repairs on the farm before the bad weather hit. Uncle John was rebuilding part of a stone wall in one of the hill fields, and Aunt Kitty was cleaning out the sheep race.

Ava was in the kitchen, coat and wellies on, checking her camera so she could go outside now her work was done. Unfortunately for Tom, he had homework to finish, which Aunt Kitty insisted he had to do before he was free to join Ava. He was sat at the kitchen table with a face like thunder.

‘Are you really going outside without me?’ he asked.

‘You’ve got maths to do. I might as well go and take some photos, get practising for the competition.’

‘You could help me with my maths?’ said Tom hopefully.

‘You know what your mum said – you’ve got to do it yourself.’

‘Fine. I guess it’s not a bad thing you’re perfecting your photos.’

‘I’m not that bad, Tom!’ said Ava, staring in disbelief at her cousin.

‘I don’t mean that. I just want you to beat Rav,’ said Tom with a mischievous grin. ‘He wins stuff all the time, so it’d be nice to see someone else with a first-place rosette.’

Ava laughed with her cousin. She secretly loved a challenge, and Tom had just given her a great one.

Ava grabbed her bike and helmet and cycled towards the woods. She squeezed her brakes and smiled as she came to a stop in front of the gate. She was getting really good on her bike now. As she made her way into the woodland, she was surprised to feel a newfound excitement sweep through her. She had to admit, she was quite looking forward to wandering through the trees.

Ava followed the path she and Tom had taken the weekend before until she reached the den. She stopped to look around her, breathing in the heavy woodland air. The late-morning light made everything seem warm and almost luminous; she would get some really good photos now. Ava snaked her way through the tree trunks, running her hands around the rough bark as she went. She stopped to inspect some sort of fungus that was growing on a tree beside her. It was a creamy colour and several of them were growing one above the other on the trunk, like little steps up the bark. In the grass at the base of the tree were some tiny mushrooms clumped together, the pale bell-shaped tops reminding her of a lamp they had at home in their lounge.

‘Dad would love these,’ Ava whispered to herself. She wished he was here to see them; he’d probably know what they were too. Her dad loved mushrooms and fungi and was always telling Ava about how incredible they were from a scientific point of view. He may work with bacteria and viruses in his day job, but he definitely had a soft spot for fungi in his spare time. She knew she shouldn’t touch them, as her dad warned her often enough that some mushrooms can be poisonous. He always said you should leave well alone unless you knew exactly what they were.

She began taking photos of them, trying out different angles and distances away. As she checked the pictures on the viewing screen of the camera, she was quietly happy with what she saw. She tried to remember the tips and tricks her uncle had given her to take the best photos she could. There was so much to remember about composition, light and focus.

Ava headed deeper into the trees, further away from the den. It was strange – she was really beginning to like the woods. She felt like she was seeing them how Tom did – full of wonder and secrets waiting to be found. The wind picked up, rustling the leaves in the trees. Some were definitely beginning to turn brown, red and gold. The full glory of autumn was well on its way. A gust of wind whipped up a scattering of the previous year’s leaves that had fallen to the woodland floor, spinning them around like a mini leaf tornado. Ava snapped away with her camera, catching them in flight. It was a lot more fun than she’d thought it would be, and she was surprised to find that she didn’t mind her own company at all. Normally, Ava didn’t like being alone, but today she was finding she quite liked it.

She looked down at her feet. Her wellies were in a line of damp earth, a well-trodden pathway through the long grass in this part of the woods. It was a section of the animal trail that ran in front of the den, and the image of the startled young deer running along it was still clear in her mind. Ava decided to follow the trail, wondering what other animals might use it. She traipsed deeper into the farm’s woodland, stopping every so often to take a photo of the interesting things she came across. The woods opened up a little again, creating a patch of sunlight on the woodland floor. Something glistened ahead of her. She quickened her pace, stopping at the edge of a circle of water.

‘A pond,’ breathed Ava.

Tom hadn’t mentioned a pond in the woods. It was quite large, full to the brim with water. Ava crouched to take a few photos of the sun sparkling on the surface and some sort of insect skating across the top.

All of a sudden, Ava’s senses heightened. She thought she’d heard a noise coming from somewhere behind her that sounded out of place. Ava’s heart beat loudly in her head as she strained to hear it again. And there it was – an odd, muffled screeching sound. She stood and scanned the woodland around her. Even though her heart had begun to race, it wasn’t through fright. The sound was like an animal in some sort of trouble rather than anything sinister. Another muffled screech carried across to her on the wind. Ava strode towards where she thought the sound had come from. She remembered feeling like this when she’d found Hope on the hill. She knew she had to help whatever it was; she just had to. Ava waited, listening for the sound again to give her another clue to its source. The wind rustled the leaves in the trees and somewhere overhead she heard a crow cawing. She stood still, concentrating on the noises around her, but the sound seemed to have vanished.

Ava knew she had to do something; she couldn’t shake the feeling there was an animal in the woods that needed her. Whatever it was, it needed help. She ran back the way she’d come, leaping over logs and branches until she reached the gate to the woods. She let herself through and grabbed her bike, propped up against the fence. She leaped onto the seat and pedalled as fast as she could towards the farmhouse to get help.

Moments later, Ava burst through the kitchen door, out of breath and legs burning from the effort of cycling at speed. She startled Aunt Kitty, who was stirring something on the range hob that smelled delicious.

‘Ava! You frightened the life out of me! What on earth’s the matter?’

Ava was breathing heavily, the cycle up from the woods had been fast and uphill almost all the way. ‘Something needs help. Something in the woods,’ she managed to blurt out.

Aunt Kitty raised her eyebrows and looked at Ava for a moment. She stopped stirring and took the pan off the heat, wiping her hands on her apron as she headed towards Ava.

‘Come on then. You can tell me about it on the way.’

Aunt Kitty grabbed her coat and strode out of the front door, shouting for Tom and Uncle John as she got outside.

Minutes later, the four of them were in the farm truck, heading down towards the woodland, Ava filling them in as they went. Uncle John frowned as she recounted what had happened.

‘I just know something needs help, Uncle John. I just know it.’ Ava’s cheeks flushed a little.

‘I don’t doubt it,’ said her uncle with half a smile. ‘You certainly seem to have a knack for finding things that need help.’

They made it into the woodland, Ava leading the way in the direction of the pond. She stood in the clearing with her family, crossing her fingers behind her back, hoping that whatever it was would make a noise again.

‘I was here,’ said Ava. ‘I was looking at the pond when I heard the sound coming from behind me.’

Everyone’s eyes tracked across to where Ava was now pointing. They stood in silence, listening intently for the sound Ava had described. The minutes ticked by, with Ava willing whatever had made the noise to make it again. As Ava listened, she realized the woods were never completely silent. You could always hear the wind rustling through the trees, no matter how gentle the breeze was, and the odd crack of something here and there and birds calling from somewhere above. Tom shifted his feet on the spot.

‘I did hear something,’ whispered Ava.

‘I know you did,’ replied Tom with a reassuring smile.

Just then, a soft screech floated towards them in the clearing. Tom’s eyes widened as he stared at Ava. She put her finger to her lips and strained her ears again. Another muffled screech was audible from somewhere in the trees behind them.

‘Over there,’ whispered Tom, pointing to where he thought the sound had come from.

As quietly as they could, the four of them crept towards the trees. Their feet crunched on the twigs that littered the woodland floor below their wellies, but they trod as softly as they could so they wouldn’t frighten whatever it was. Tom and Ava stepped round the wide and gnarly trunk of an ancient oak tree. Behind it was a pile of logs and branches that someone had obviously stacked in a higgledy-piggledy fashion from the surrounding woodland. Several trees with bright red berries rose up from the woodland floor. Ava hadn’t seen them from behind the enormous trunk of the oak they’d rounded and was taken aback by their vibrant colour. Tom and Ava stopped in their tracks as the muffled noise sounded again.

‘There,’ whispered Tom, pointing to one of the red-berried trees.

They tiptoed towards it. Ava could feel the anticipation firing through her as her senses heightened again. She rested her hand on the trunk of the tree, ducking under the berried branches so she could see round the back. Ava gasped. There, almost completely camouflaged on the woodland floor, was an owl. Tom peered round the other side of the tree.

‘A tawny owl,’ he breathed excitedly. ‘It doesn’t look like a young one, it’s definitely an adult. I wonder what it’s doing on the ground. It shouldn’t really be there.’

Ava hadn’t known exactly what type of owl it was, but was pleased with herself that she’d actually recognized it as an owl.

Uncle John and Aunt Kitty appeared next to them.

‘Oh,’ said Aunt Kitty, her eyes wide.

‘They’re not usually out at this time,’ said Uncle John softly. ‘Owls are nocturnal. They only really come out at night. Poor thing must be injured, I reckon, to be on the ground in the daytime.’

‘We can’t leave it here if it’s injured,’ said Aunt Kitty, looking worried. ‘Who knows what might happen to it. Maybe Cassie would know what to do?’

‘Good idea. We’ll take it back to the house and call the vet’s, see if Cassie’s there today,’ agreed Uncle John.

‘Doesn’t she volunteer at that rescue centre in the next valley,’ said Tom. ‘Maybe she could pick it up and take it there?’

Uncle John nodded as he slipped off his jacket. He eased himself around the tree before bending down towards the owl, his jacket outstretched in his hands. Ava watched as he gently wrapped the owl up so it was safe and secure in his coat.

‘It’ll be much less frightened like this,’ said Uncle John softly.

‘Mmm, and much less likely to give you a nasty scratch with its talons too if it’s frightened,’ added Aunt Kitty.

They all walked back to the truck, Ava’s uncle cradling the owl in his arms. He paused by the driver’s door before turning to Ava.

‘Hop in the back and I’ll pop it on your lap so I can drive back up to the house.’

Ava’s eyes widened with excitement.

‘Really?’

‘Don’t see why not,’ said her uncle with a smile. ‘Just keep it wrapped up and hold it firmly but gently.’

Ava wrenched the truck door open and leaped in the back seat before he changed his mind. Her uncle placed the owl bundle on her lap, and Ava stared down at it.

‘Don’t worry, we’ll look after you,’ she whispered into the jacket.

The tawny owl hooted softly on her lap.