He did manage to tell me where Pelton was and said that he'd tell the child about me whenever he went for a walk down by Copper Marsh South. I knew the route there from my house, past the roundabout near the garden centre and down the alley between two blocks of flats. From there it was a straight road by the river down to the marshlands and the small place where Pelton lived.
Apparently Pelton was eager to meet "someone of about his age, though he's a big lad. A good one but ruddy 'normous, I tells ya girly." as granddad said before aunty Jo asked what new plants he'd put in the hanging baskets by the front door which prompted him to get up and show her.
To think, I actually thought Pelton was real.
When I went to see him for myself I made sure to go during broad daylight during one of the local runs for charity that so often went right down the path to the marshlands. There was a cluster of people ahead of me and a few more stragglers behind - the perfect cover in case something went wrong.
Granddad said Pelton lived near the fork in the road, that there was a huge ditch leading from an underground lake and into the marsh itself and that's right in front of Pelton's house. When I got there I saw exactly what he meant but there was no house, just a large metal flap that presumably lead to the underground lake.
I tried calling out to Pelton, wondering if he was nearby and just lived down the field. I was answered by the metal flap lifting as a large dark green shape slipped through and swam downwards before beginning to surface. At least I managed to snap a quick image before legging it back to the main street, not even thinking about the people running right past there.
The newspaper claimed that three people vanished during the race, the last stragglers who haven't been found since. When granddad saw the photo he looked so happy, saying "that's him, that's my lad down there!".
I don't know what's down there but it sure as hell isn't a young lad.
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