Disclaimer: I do not own the characters and story line of James and The Giant Peach. I just own this silly story.
This is what happens when I listen to "Come Little Children" on repeat.
Mr Earthworm did not wake with a start, like one would expect in these types of situations. He woke up slowly, sluggishly, and mostly annoyed. If his internal clock was anything to go by, it was just past midnight, just a few hours before he went to bed. And someone was singing. He moaned, coiling around his pillow, hoping to drown out the noise. As if to spite him, the voice grew bolder, stronger. Louder.
Mr Earthworm let out a muffled yell, kicked his pillows off of his bed, and crawled clumsily out of his bed.
"Honestly," he muttered. "What's the point of living in the only quiet part of New York City if lunatics insist on caterwauling when sensible creatures should be sleeping?"
Mr. Earthworm loved his life, his new home, and especially his family, but the noise of the city could be agony to his hearing. That was one of the reasons they chose to live in Central Park , away from car horns, sirens and other noise pollution. Mr. Centipede joked that was the reason he was always so down in the dumps.
Not that it mattered now. He slithered across the hall to the kitchen. He was certain there was a set of earmuffs on the kitchen counter. Maybe that could muffle that dreadful song. The singing itself was not bad, the voice clear, soft, not at all pitchy, but the song... Mr Earthworm tried to block out the returning chorus. The song was horrifying. The words and message sinister and predatory, but performed with the soothing comfort of a lullaby. He grew to accept that some people in the city were a bit off, but this was ridiculous.
"Stuff of nightmares," he moaned. "Stuff of children's nightmares-ah! Here we go,"
The earmuffs were right where he left them, and he smiled as he reached for them.
"Now I can finally-"
The porch door slammed open, the wind howling on its wake. Mr Earthworm yelped, scrambling backwards to hide behind the counter. He lay there, panting, heart threatening to run to safety without him if he didn't move. When his heart finally settled, he slowly turned the corner, to the door. The door was still open wide, occasionally clacking against the wall when the winter wind blew stronger. The voice echoed hauntingly outside, drawing out the warmth in the Earthworm shivered. He took a deep breath. And bolted for the door. Before he had time to think, he had the door slammed shut, locked, and was behind it, as he swallowed his panic. He was worrying over nothing. He had to be. Try looking at it another way, he thought to himself in a voice that sounded suspiciously like James. The thought of the boy made him let out a wobbly smile.
"C-centipede must have left the d-d-door open," he told himself. "Yeah, that's right. H-he always forgets to l-lock it, s-so-" he took a long breath, "it's makes sense he'd forget to close it one of these days."
He didn't trust his own words, but he felt a bit better, at least, not so upset that he'd work himself into a panic and wake the whole house. Even the song was now muffled, though he could still hear it.
"No more coffee at dinner, Earthworm," he chided himself, as he glided back to his room. "It makes you more jumpy than usual."
His room was the second to last room on the left side of the hallway, and even in the dark, he could find his way back by the sounds of everyone slumbering. He passed by Centipede's braying snores, and Ms. Spiders soft sighs. The next set of doors he passed, he could hear Mrs Ladybug tittering in her sleep, and Grasshopper humming into his pillow. Finally he reached his door, right across from Glowworms soft mumbling and next to James's light snores. He reached the door just in time to hear Glow worm mutter something about purple frogs. Before he could get to bed he stopped. Something was off. He couldn't place it for a moment until he listened again. The ladybug, the grasshopper, glowworm, centipede and spider, all were deep asleep, yet still making their evening sounds. He couldn't hear James. He perked his head to James door, listening intently. Nothing. No soft snores, no thoughtless sighs, no light breathing. Mr Earthworm swallowed down his swelling panic, moving towards the door. He was probably just imagining things, he thought to himself, with how wound up he was already. James's bedroom door, littered with his drawings, was already open, so he just had to enter the room.
"James?" He asked tentatively. nothing. He called out louder "James are you alright lad?"
Still nothing. "James can you answer me please, I know it's late but..." Earthworm froze, finally seeing the bed. It was covered in soft pillows, a handmade quilt, a few toys scattered across the mattress. But no James.
"Oh no.." He whimpered. "No,no...this isn't-" he let out a panicked breath "the bathroom. He must be in the bathroom," he was out the room rushing to the bathroom, only to see the door open and the room unoccupied. Mr Earthworm couldn't breath.
"The kitchen! Maybe he wanted water, and I didn't notice him!" The words sounded as desperate as he felt, now racing to the room he had only just tried to escape. It was empty. Earthworm let out a whimper of fear. "No this can't be happening. He must be in here... some...where..." He eyed the porch door, the wind and song threatening to blow the door open.
He finally found enough breath to scream.
"Help!" He cried. "Oh god help! James!"
The stumble of feet rushed to him, voices varying in shades of concern and irritation.
"For Petes sake worm!" Centipede grumbled, "it's too early for this, what-"
"It's James," Earthworm interrupted, eyes wide, and starting to brim with tears. The whole household, centipede included, jolted, suddenly awake, either from the mention of the little boy or the expression of pure panic on his face.
"James is gone,"
It was as if the house itself held its breath. The rest of the household stared at Earthworm, saw the tears starting to pour from behind his glasses. A few of them slowly looked around, hoping to spot James hiding behind someone's leg, or come shuffling into the kitchen half asleep to ask why everyone was up so late. When no such thing happened, Centipede broke the frozen silence.
"Whatdya mean he's gone?" centipede let out an uneasy chuckle. "Kids don't just up and vanish."
"I couldn't hear him" Earthworm cried. " I couldn't hear him, so I went to check on him, but he wasn't in his bed. When I was in the kitchen the door was wide open! I-I think someone took him!"
"Earthworm," Ladybug, asked in a soothing voice she reserved for her patients, "are you sure that-"
"Of course I'm bloody sure!" Earthworm roared in a voice loud enough to send Centipede jumping. "For pity's sake this is James, I wouldn't do this if it weren't serious! We have to-to...DO SOMETHING!"
Miss Spider rushed forward, panic in her eyes. "I checked his room. He's gone."
"That's what I've been saying!" Yelped earthworm.
Grasshopper clenched his jaw, eyes growing steely.
"Centipede." He barked. "Wake glowworm. Tell her what happened and start searching the house. Mrs. Ladybug, phone the police. The rest of us are going out to find him."
To be continued
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DUN DUN DUUUUUNN!