won’t find talking dodgem cars anywhere else in the world.’
‘That’s right,’ Coco chimed in. She too was now nervously watching the skeleton. ‘You’re coming with us, Newt, because this is going to be . . . um . . . extremely interesting. And educational. And fun.’
‘And Prot can stay here,’ Marcus added. He began to spell out his orders, very slowly and clearly. ‘Stay here, Prot. Hold the lift door open until we come back. Understand?’
‘I understand,’ the robot confirmed. ‘I will hold the lift door open until you come back.’
‘But how are we going to get out?’ Holly asked. ‘I mean – which way should we go? It’s all so dark and dangerous . . .’
‘In a good way,’ Marcus corrected hastily. ‘Dangerous in a good way. Because this is a ghost train and ghost trains are meant to be scary.’
‘Oh, yes. In a good way, of course.’ When Holly flicked another anxious look at the skeleton, Marcus had a sudden brainwave.
He cleared his throat.
‘Uh – Mr Skeleton?’ he quavered. ‘Where do we go to see the rest of this magnificent and enjoyable park of yours?’
In the sudden shocked silence that followed, Holly’s acrylic talons closed tightly around her son’s arm. Newt stared at him in absolute disbelief. Coco winced and Sterling raised his eyebrows.
Then the skeleton turned its naked, gleaming skull towards Marcus.
‘There’ll be a car along any moment,’ it announced, its jaw flapping. And as everyone gasped, the skeleton suddenly disappeared, yanked up into the shadows overhead.
A few seconds later, the promised car arrived. Boom-CRASH went the double doors. Eeeeeek went the wheels. ‘Haah-ha-ha-hoo-hoo-hoo,’ laughed the invisible maniac. Once again, the skeleton dropped from its hidey-hole in the ceiling.
This time, however, the buggy screeched to a standstill, planting itself directly beneath the rattling bundle of bones.
‘Hop in,’ said the buggy. It had a tired voice and a jack-o’-lantern face. ‘I’m already behind schedule.’
25
ALL ABOARD
S TERLING DIDN ’ T HESITATE . H E JUMPED STRAIGHT INTO THE buggy’s front seat.
‘Come on!’ he cried. ‘There’s plenty of room if we all squeeze up!’
Coco and Holly exchanged an apprehensive look. Holly said, ‘Are you sure it’s safe in that thing?’
‘It’ll be safer than getting knocked down by another one,’ Sterling retorted. ‘Which is what will happen if we try walking along the rails.’
‘He’s right,’ Coco had to admit. Meanwhile, Marcus was already climbing into the buggy, which had begun to make impatient hydraulic noises.
‘All aboard,’ it droned. ‘All aboard who’s coming aboard.’
‘Quick!’ Marcus beckoned to his mother. ‘Before it leaves!’
Holly made up her mind then. She slid into the back seat beside Marcus, leaving a small wedge of space for Newt. But Newt wouldn’t budge. She hung back, stubbornly resisting all Coco’s efforts to coax her out of the lift.
‘I’m not going,’ Newt insisted. When the buggy released its brakes, signalling its imminent departure with a mighty hiss, Coco gave up. She joined Sterling in the front seat. ‘Just stay there!’ she told her stepdaughter, as the buggy started to move. ‘Don’t for God’s sake do anything you’ll—’
Crash! Before she could even finish, the buggy slammed through the next set of doors, which opened onto a kind of fake tomb lined with Egyptian hieroglyphs. A couple of bandaged mummies jerked to life; one sat up in its sarcophagus, while another stiffly raised its arms.
Though Marcus wasn’t impressed by this creaky display, he didn’t dare say so. Not while the mummies were listening in.
‘I hope Newton’s going to be all right,’ Coco fretted.
‘She can’t go back home,’ Holly pointed out. ‘Nothing happened last time she pushed those buttons.’
‘Yeah, but she could always tell Prot to push them,’ Marcus weighed in. He was about to suggest that they send
‘That’s right,’ Coco chimed in. She too was now nervously watching the skeleton. ‘You’re coming with us, Newt, because this is going to be . . . um . . . extremely interesting. And educational. And fun.’
‘And Prot can stay here,’ Marcus added. He began to spell out his orders, very slowly and clearly. ‘Stay here, Prot. Hold the lift door open until we come back. Understand?’
‘I understand,’ the robot confirmed. ‘I will hold the lift door open until you come back.’
‘But how are we going to get out?’ Holly asked. ‘I mean – which way should we go? It’s all so dark and dangerous . . .’
‘In a good way,’ Marcus corrected hastily. ‘Dangerous in a good way. Because this is a ghost train and ghost trains are meant to be scary.’
‘Oh, yes. In a good way, of course.’ When Holly flicked another anxious look at the skeleton, Marcus had a sudden brainwave.
He cleared his throat.
‘Uh – Mr Skeleton?’ he quavered. ‘Where do we go to see the rest of this magnificent and enjoyable park of yours?’
In the sudden shocked silence that followed, Holly’s acrylic talons closed tightly around her son’s arm. Newt stared at him in absolute disbelief. Coco winced and Sterling raised his eyebrows.
Then the skeleton turned its naked, gleaming skull towards Marcus.
‘There’ll be a car along any moment,’ it announced, its jaw flapping. And as everyone gasped, the skeleton suddenly disappeared, yanked up into the shadows overhead.
A few seconds later, the promised car arrived. Boom-CRASH went the double doors. Eeeeeek went the wheels. ‘Haah-ha-ha-hoo-hoo-hoo,’ laughed the invisible maniac. Once again, the skeleton dropped from its hidey-hole in the ceiling.
This time, however, the buggy screeched to a standstill, planting itself directly beneath the rattling bundle of bones.
‘Hop in,’ said the buggy. It had a tired voice and a jack-o’-lantern face. ‘I’m already behind schedule.’
25
ALL ABOARD
S TERLING DIDN ’ T HESITATE . H E JUMPED STRAIGHT INTO THE buggy’s front seat.
‘Come on!’ he cried. ‘There’s plenty of room if we all squeeze up!’
Coco and Holly exchanged an apprehensive look. Holly said, ‘Are you sure it’s safe in that thing?’
‘It’ll be safer than getting knocked down by another one,’ Sterling retorted. ‘Which is what will happen if we try walking along the rails.’
‘He’s right,’ Coco had to admit. Meanwhile, Marcus was already climbing into the buggy, which had begun to make impatient hydraulic noises.
‘All aboard,’ it droned. ‘All aboard who’s coming aboard.’
‘Quick!’ Marcus beckoned to his mother. ‘Before it leaves!’
Holly made up her mind then. She slid into the back seat beside Marcus, leaving a small wedge of space for Newt. But Newt wouldn’t budge. She hung back, stubbornly resisting all Coco’s efforts to coax her out of the lift.
‘I’m not going,’ Newt insisted. When the buggy released its brakes, signalling its imminent departure with a mighty hiss, Coco gave up. She joined Sterling in the front seat. ‘Just stay there!’ she told her stepdaughter, as the buggy started to move. ‘Don’t for God’s sake do anything you’ll—’
Crash! Before she could even finish, the buggy slammed through the next set of doors, which opened onto a kind of fake tomb lined with Egyptian hieroglyphs. A couple of bandaged mummies jerked to life; one sat up in its sarcophagus, while another stiffly raised its arms.
Though Marcus wasn’t impressed by this creaky display, he didn’t dare say so. Not while the mummies were listening in.
‘I hope Newton’s going to be all right,’ Coco fretted.
‘She can’t go back home,’ Holly pointed out. ‘Nothing happened last time she pushed those buttons.’
‘Yeah, but she could always tell Prot to push them,’ Marcus weighed in. He was about to suggest that they send
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