Leave the Last Page by Stephen Barnard Page A

he walked forward.
    There it was: the bones of a T-thang. The creature’s skeleton stood on all fours, filling the hall. It was 20 feet tall with long sharp teeth and a tail like a shark. It was 30 feet in length and had spikes like a hedgehog that were thicker than a person’s arm.
    Sure enough, with no one to stop him, Kildark reached up with one of his huge hands and elongated arms, and broke out the dangerous tooth from the snuggerthang’s bony bottom jaw. “This will help me set my trap!” He held it up and stared at it, smiling. “The proper name for this tooth is the demonic nightmare tooth of the T–thang!” He yelled in triumph and left through the entrance, or what was left of the entrance.
    He arrived back at his spider. Only the boots of the other wizard were left. Kildark saw in the distance, to the far left of the museum, George and Helena approaching. “You will never catch me!” he yelled, as he rode his spider along the cobble road.

CHAPTER TEN

    TOM AND GRANDMA PATTY WERE WAITING TO CATCH THE BUS. She felt that the next stop on their adventure would more than likely be in the town centre or thereabouts, considering that it should be a public place if it matched the story. That meant they were a good hour’s walk away.
    â€˜Although we’re feeling sprightly at the minute, there’s every chance the story could wear a little thin in places.’ She tapped her walking stick against his legs. ‘And we know what that might mean.’
    â€˜Not so hard, Grandma.’ Tom said, clutching the top of his thigh.
    â€˜Not so soft, Master Tommy.’ They were sat together in the bus shelter.
    â€˜I’m not being soft, I just don’t want you hitting me with the stick!’
    â€˜You seem a little grumpy; what’s up?’
    He didn’t really want to tell her. Truth was, he was more than a little bit scared. Not necessarily of the way his story creations were coming alive and posing mortal threats. It was more the real danger of the world as it was. He’d been blown away behind a set of patio doors, glass flying past his face. How close to losing an eye? He’d used the electricity from live cables to defeat the monster tramp; had he got that wrong he could have easily electrocuted himself. That was all more frightening than fantastical creatures, somehow.
    â€˜I’m okay. Maybe thinking too much.’ He pointed to another sticker on her walking stick. ‘Mastodon? Isn’t that like, a prehistoric elephant or something? Spooky, seeing as we’re after a dinosaur tooth.’
    â€˜You know what I’m going to tell you, don’t you?’
    â€˜They’re a hard rock band?’
    â€˜One of the hardest.’
    â€˜Like a boulder then!’ Grandma gave him a little smirk. Another thought popped into his head. ‘Hey, didn’t there used to a band called T-Rex?’ He thought he’d seen a
Best of…
CD in his dad’s collection.
    â€˜Hmm…music for little girls in pigtails.’
    â€˜Oh…okay.’ He thought it might be worth moving the conversation on. ‘So, do you think we’ll find a dinosaur tooth?’
    â€˜If we do, it won’t be in a museum. The town doesn’t have one. There are a few peculiar little shops around that sell just about anything you can imagine, even someone with your imagination. We’ll try them.’ She stood up and stuck out an arm, but winced a little as she flexed the elbow. ‘Come on – our chariot’s here.’
    The number five double-decker bus pulled over. They each ascended the high step and paid their fare. The bottom level was pretty full. A young man seated near the front stood up and offered Grandma Patty his seat. She scoffed at him but in a well-meaning way. ‘You’re joking, aren’t you? We’re going upstairs to the back seat! Come along, dearie!’ She and Tom scurried up before