For the most part Ellena is a typical little girl. She loves her mum and dad and the rest of her family. She went off on the big yellow bus for her first day at school without any fuss and came home happy, telling everyone about her new friends and her teacher, who were all wonderful in her eyes.

Ellena will cheerfully play with her toys in her bedroom without being a bother to anyone.
She does cause her mother concern at meal times however… It’s not so odd that this little girl will start collecting everyone’s plate up from the table as soon as they’ve finished eating, but her anxiousness for ensuring they are all washed up and put away immediately is. Especially as it is always followed by serious triple checking the kitchen taps to make sure they are turned off properly! Ellena doesn’t show much fear, but her worries about flooding are somewhat obsessive.

Perhaps her different situation (i.e. separated parents, one very confused grandparent and a great uncle who most people are afraid of) has something to do with her strange habits?… And these most likely weren’t helped by the strange night that followed soon after her birthday…

Since his wife died Lucas had become somewhat withdrawn and kept himself to himself, purely concentrating on only his work. He was waiting for his moment so he could be with her again. And when it came, no one else in the household even noticed initially. Sensing the impending moment whilst napping late one afternoon, Lucas got up and out of bed.

For the first time in many years Lucas found himself looking at the painting his mother had painted for him as a birthday present for his eighteenth birthday. Lucas thought he saw the image of his mother beside said creative piece of art.
He blinked.
Sure enough the image, although hazy, was there, slowly moving towards the ceiling. Lucas followed it with his gaze and as he did so a bright yellow light engulfed him. There and then he saw what he had been waiting for…

Lucas certainly had made more enermies than friends during his lifetime, but there had been a small few who had cared for him regardless. And they were waiting for him in that moment… his mother, his father, his sister and the only person he’d ever loved, his wife Karri.

Only one creature had witnessed this event, which as it turns out is not acceptable. Old Grimmy needs his work to be recognised… or there are consequences. Knowing the location of every soul in Riverview, the collector floated down the corridor to Alice’s bedroom. Alice had just finished practicing her guitar skill and received the shock of her life when she turned to see the black form in front of her.
Initially panic set in!… Had something happened to her father or Imogen, or (heaven forbid!) to Ellena!? This overwhelming feeling of terror strangely subsided. Alice started to feel dizzy and light-headed.

Just at the moment when she thought she would fall over, she felt a pair of ice cold arms wrapped themselves around her. Completely out of her control, her own arms moved to a position around the deathly form!

Nemm: “I can’t stand it! The Grim Reaper has now taken one step too far! Alice snap out of it!!! Better yet… take a big swing and send that unwelcome annoyance back to the abyss it came from!”

Gradually coming to her senses, Alice pushed old Grimy away, madly accusing him of manipulating her unwillingly. He took a step back in what appeared an aghast pose.

Then, as he stood up straight again, the temperature in the room dropped a couple of degrees. Alice shivered. She could tell he was now VERY angry. Before she could say anymore, the Grim Reaper waved his robe over her and then glided toward the door. Alice couldn’t move! She wanted to run desperately when she heard the door to Imogen’s bedroom open and close! But the little robe trick had left her stuck in the wall…!?

Unaware of the events that were going on inside the house, John was in Imogen’s room working on a new painting.


His hobby brought him some contentment in his elderly years, as he waited and hoped for the next stage. So when the Grim Reaper silently entered the room and waved his scythe, John was not afraid. To all those who loved him it appeared the ‘figure of death’ had punished an innocent man for things that had made it angry… but for John it felt like the right time.
Finally Alice escaped from her prison as part of her bedroom wall and she dashed next door. Ellena, who had been coming upstairs at the same time, saw her mother sprint into Aunty Imogen’s room with a worried espression, so she quickly followed.

Ellena: “Mummy what’s wrong? What is going on?!”
Alice: “Grandad has to leave us now sweetheart. Say goodbye.”

Ellena waved innocently at her grandfather, who turned to face her and Alice. He smiled and waved as his transparent form fazed away and John reunited with those who had gone before him.
The young girl stared at the spot where her grandfather had last stood whilst her mother wept uncontrollably. Alice felt vulnerable now her last living parent was gone. The family inside the Newbrook house was down to three. And all of them were in mourning.

Unfortuantely it is a sad fact that life can still kick you when you’re down. And it hadn’t finished with the Newbrook family that evening. For that night, about an hour after everyone had gone to bed, a burgular decided to break into the house.

The good news though, is it wasn’t a very adept burgular… (firstly no one in their right mind would rob the house of Lucas Newbrook! And as the news of his passing was not public yet, she clearly wasn’t a person of logical thinking!) and she was rather clumsy and managed to trip over one of Ellena’s toys; she hit the ground hard, waking everyone in the house.
Now Alice is usually a pretty heavy sleeper and she’s not especially brave, but this time she heard the crashing noise of the burgular and something inside her just flipped! Before anyone else had time to get out of bed Alice was running downstairs ready to explain to the intruder just how much she’d had enough of life’s cruel tricks for one night.
By the time her cousin reached her, Alice had the spindly burgular – who was pleading with her capture to release her – in a painful headlock. Imogen convinced Alice it would be ok to let go and just keep an eye on the traumatised trespasser whilst she called the police station to get someone to take her away.

Nemm: “Way to go Alice! Nice way to stand up to the world! I bet you feel better now you’ve inflicted some of your built up anger on a deserving soul?”
Alice: “Maybe a little…”
Nemm: “And I think a well derserved reward just stepped into the room…”

Imogen’s call to the police station had been received by a colleague called Stacy Ritchie. Stacy was over to the Newbook house in a matter of minutes. Not only was he eager to make sure they were alright, but he was also excited at the opportunity to finally meet Imogen’s cousin who he’d heard so much about.
Once the seized burgular had been put in handcuffs and into the police car, Stacy went back inside the house to talk to Alice. Making sure she really was ok. And after a little small talk Stacy asked her out on a date.

 

Next: Unsettled