End of chapter 3
Iris sat on the wet grass and told Fauna everything that had happened.
“We better get a move on then! We’ve got to catch that rascal, I swear I saw him a few minutes ago!” Fauna bounded down the grass hill and they saw a sleek plane with a small silhouette boarding it. Something else was there. Something tied to the wing…

Chapter 4
Iris raced down the hill and down the cobbled pathway. Her father had suddenly appeared at the end of the pathway, slow-motion running towards her. She raced even faster. Her legs were going numb and her heart was thumping in her chest.
“Father!” she screamed trying to hug him but he was no longer there. A vision. A memory. An illusion.

She was startled but too determined to stop running. Her heart thumped as the plane’s engine roared. The air blew her hair into her face and she came to a halt at the plane. Dr. Screwfix cackled from inside the plane and she scampered up the steps and leaped onto him.
“ROBBER! SCOUNDREL! THIEF!” she screeched, taking him by jacket and pushed him out of the door, into a dirty puddle.
“How dare you!” he put a fist into the air, “I will get you someday!”
Iris switched the engine off and placed the keys into her pocket. Dr. Screwfix was already dashing away. She relaxed by the window and put her feet up on the chairs as she closed her eyes.
“Iris!” the voice startled Iris as Liam came into view.
“What do you waaaant?” she moaned as Liam furrowed his eyebrows.
“Excuse me? Fine, I won’t tell you that your father is outside strapped to the plane wing,” he raised his eyebrows. Iris leapt out of the chair and practically flew through the air.
“Iris? Is that you?” a gruff voice echoed through the air as Iris began pulling the straps free off her father. Tears of joy streamed down her cheeks like a waterfall. Her father leapt out of the straps grip and hugged his daughter tightly.
“Oh it is you, my daughter!” he squished her against his body. Everyone was happy. Liam relaxed in the pilot’s seat of the sleek plane and Fauna curled up into a tight little ball onto the wing.
“Wait…why aren’t you at school?” he questioned with a laugh.

End of chapter 1
“Iris! That’s right, he’s right, he’s right! We need to catch a bus back to Old Apple before somebody gets their greasy mitts on that precious coin!”

Chapter 2
The Old Apple was dead. The air was stuffy and the clouds were dark and heavy. Liam and Iris stepped into the raw moonlight. Fauna flapped her wings and made squawking sounds. They all looked up ahead. There stood Iris’ house, an old wooden cabin which stayed silent amongst the trees. Shadows stretched their fingers through the windows and grabbed at the trees. Fauna screeched and hid behind Iris. The ancient hospital was nearly swaying in the strong winds and ambulances lay on their sides, not being used in over four years. The cabin’s glass windows were cracked and scratched, looking like someone had broken in. Inside, the hall was gloomy and the air felt icy.

Iris and Liam leaped up the creaking staircase, feeling like the paintings were watching their every move. Fauna hovered and sniffed the paintings, but one was strangely realistic. Cobwebs in dusty corners were linen brown and dead spiders clinged on to them. Liam kicked the door open to Iris’ room, prepared for danger. The minty desk was still by the window, where Iris’ dust-coated books sat in rainbow spine order. Berry-blue post-it notes were on the window sill and so was glimmering glass. She crept over to her bed, knelt down and reached her hand under. She couldn’t feel anything at first but as she dug further she found a miniature painted box. Iris pulled the box from under her wooden bed and she swept a hand across forehead in relief. The box had paint peeling off to reveal a smooth wooden coating. She clicked open the box and, to her relief, the coin was still there. Just how she remembered it. The swallows were engraved perfectly and it laid motionless. 

Almost twitching with wonder, Liam took the box and smoothed the golden coin with his thumb. Suddenly, the middle of the coin popped open and a note was inside. In Iris’ father’s scribbly handwriting there was a note. It had a rough sketch of a tiny boxy-kind of computer. It was labelled: phone.
“So this is what all the talks are about? This old thing? How ridiculous!” Iris murmured.

“Mhmmmmmmmmm,” someone said out of nowhere. Iris spun on her foot and gasped in horror. It was the man from the painting. Except it wasn’t a painting. It was a real human. He had long bony fingers and scratchy fingernails which were cold to the touch. His hair was scruffy and grey with small white streaks. Iris should have known. Why didn’t she recognise him in the painting? It was her father’s long lost brother. Dr. Screwfix…
“I’ll take that design if you don’t mind,” his voice was frosty and gruff as he snatched the so-called ‘phone’ design and the special coin from Iris. 

Soon enough they were locked in the pantry but unfortunately it was empty. There were no glass windows or any taps. The only fresh air they got was from the high-up bars crafted from diamond.
“The evil old idiot,” Iris twitched her left eye in annoyance.
“We won’t get out of ‘ere,” Liam muttered negatively.
“Just stay positive,” Iris snapped.

Prologue

Fauna peeked out of the shiny plane’s door as the sleek helicopter edged closer. She watched the helicopter’s propeller like spinning knives. She listened to the wispy sound of the propeller like the whipping wind. Fauna smelt the burning oils of the plane coming down to a crash. Twisting to see her master she roared to grab his attention.
“Please Michael…jump! It’s always been you before me…”

Chapter 1

Pushing the fire escape exit open, Iris leapt onto the playground, careless with sound. Luckily, nobody heard her. Iris sprinted like a cheetah up the cobblestone path and kangaroo-jumped over the gate. Catching her breath, she sank down and perched onto a rock.

As always, she pulled a card out of her blue coat pocket and stared like an owl at it. Her father’s first words had meant nothing to her, save it, don’t spend it. Most mornings, she would sit up in her comfy bed, thinking about what it could mean.

Seconds later, fire warmed her. Fauna, her purple dragon mechanimal, had arrived.
“Ah, that took a while!” Fauna spoke, her words meaningful,”That place was absolutely stupid! I’m glad you got out of there Iris. Would you care to wind me up, I’m a bit stiff you know?” Iris smiled and quickly wound up Fauna. Her violet scales were slightly blackened from the plane but apart from that she looked her usual self. 

That evening, Liam was surprised to see Iris in Venge alley in front of Waterstones.
“It’s obvious you know, it’s your father’s unique coin,” he said, beginning to regret it.
“Mhm,” murmured Iris emotionally. The coin was her most prized possession. It sat in a small painted box on a shelf in her room. Most mornings Iris would sit in bed and stare at the coin. It would make her brain tick about where her father was. On the coin it had an engraved swallow and a silver brim. The memory was painful to think about.
“Oops, sorry,” Liam whispered shyly.

“Iris! That’s right, he’s right, he’s right! We need to catch a bus back to Old Apple before somebody gets their greasy mitts on that precious coin!”