someone back when Sterling suddenly addressed one of the mummies in a booming voice.
‘Hello there! How’s life treating you ?’ Sterling inquired, then laughed and corrected himself. ‘Or perhaps I should say, how’s death treating you?’
Holly cringed.
‘Oh, for heaven’s sake, Sterling!’ Coco scolded. ‘Don’t be so ridiculous!’
Marcus didn’t think that Sterling’s question was ridiculous. On the contrary, he wanted to hear what the mummies had to say. So he craned his neck and listened.
But the mummies didn’t say anything. ‘Mmm-mm-mm,’ was all they could manage.
Their bandages were so thick that normal speech was impossible for them.
‘Fantastic,’ said Sterling. Marcus noticed that the buggy gave a little sigh, though he couldn’t work out whether the sigh came from its hydraulic system or its mouth. Then it banged through the next set of doors into a blaze of sunlight.
‘All out. Prepare to disembark.’ Nothing could have been more listless than the buggy’s tone. ‘All out, please, this is the end of the ride.’
Marcus’s eyes were still adjusting to the glare. He had to shade them with one hand as the buggy reduced its speed, grinding to a standstill under a cave-like archway. The fake rock overhead was hung with cobwebs and toy bats. Halloween pumpkins were scattered everywhere. An upended coffin doubled as a kind of sentry box, inside which sat a skeleton wearing a ticket-collector’s uniform.
‘Oh, now this is really impressive,’ Sterling remarked. He was looking through a pair of wrought-iron gates, beyond which lay the rest of Edison’s amusement park: the striped tents, the snapping flags, the ferris wheel, the roller-coaster. ‘This is definitely the kind of place that Eddie would love.’
‘Where is Eddie?’ Coco demanded – much to Marcus’s dismay. He cut a quick, fearful glance at the nearby skeleton.
‘Yes, we should probably ask Edison what his favourite ride is,’ said Marcus. ‘I bet it’s brilliant . I bet we’ll never want to get off, once we’re on it!’
By this time his mother was pushing him out of the buggy. ‘That’s right!’ she agreed. ‘Imagine how much fun we’re going to have!’ Then she put her lips to his ear and whispered, ‘Where did you last see Edison?’
‘On the dodgem cars,’ Marcus replied under his breath.
Holly gave a surreptitious nod before loudly remarking, ‘Let’s go and have a ride on the dodgem cars!’ From the safety of the platform, she then addressed Sterling – who still lingered in his seat. ‘Sterling?’ she said. ‘What’s the problem?’
‘No problem,’ Sterling replied, a little wistfully. ‘I’d just love to have a poke around inside this thing—’
‘No!’ his wife snapped. She too was now standing on the platform. ‘We have to keep going! We have to find Edison!’
‘So we can ask him which of these rides is the most fun,’ added Marcus, wishing that Coco wouldn’t keep talking about Edison. It was dangerous. It was thoughtless. It was going to cause trouble.
Boom-CRASH! All at once, the double doors they’d left behind slapped open again. Everyone jumped. Coco screamed. But she soon relaxed when she spotted the buggy that was clattering towards her.
It had a goblin’s face, a squeaky wheel, and a passenger sitting hunched in its back seat.
‘Newton!’ Coco exclaimed. ‘You changed your mind! Good girl.’
Newt looked sulky. ‘I wasn’t going to sit there in the dark all alone ,’ she growled, as if someone had forced her to. Holly and Marcus rolled their eyes at each other. But Sterling seemed more interested in Newt’s buggy than he was in Newt. He watched with interest as it decelerated.
When it gently bumped the rear of the buggy in front, Marcus distinctly heard a muffled ‘Ooof!’
‘All out,’ Newt’s buggy wearily announced. ‘Prepare to disembark.’
‘With pleasure.’ Newt stood up and stepped onto the platform. ‘So what now?’ she
‘Hello there! How’s life treating you ?’ Sterling inquired, then laughed and corrected himself. ‘Or perhaps I should say, how’s death treating you?’
Holly cringed.
‘Oh, for heaven’s sake, Sterling!’ Coco scolded. ‘Don’t be so ridiculous!’
Marcus didn’t think that Sterling’s question was ridiculous. On the contrary, he wanted to hear what the mummies had to say. So he craned his neck and listened.
But the mummies didn’t say anything. ‘Mmm-mm-mm,’ was all they could manage.
Their bandages were so thick that normal speech was impossible for them.
‘Fantastic,’ said Sterling. Marcus noticed that the buggy gave a little sigh, though he couldn’t work out whether the sigh came from its hydraulic system or its mouth. Then it banged through the next set of doors into a blaze of sunlight.
‘All out. Prepare to disembark.’ Nothing could have been more listless than the buggy’s tone. ‘All out, please, this is the end of the ride.’
Marcus’s eyes were still adjusting to the glare. He had to shade them with one hand as the buggy reduced its speed, grinding to a standstill under a cave-like archway. The fake rock overhead was hung with cobwebs and toy bats. Halloween pumpkins were scattered everywhere. An upended coffin doubled as a kind of sentry box, inside which sat a skeleton wearing a ticket-collector’s uniform.
‘Oh, now this is really impressive,’ Sterling remarked. He was looking through a pair of wrought-iron gates, beyond which lay the rest of Edison’s amusement park: the striped tents, the snapping flags, the ferris wheel, the roller-coaster. ‘This is definitely the kind of place that Eddie would love.’
‘Where is Eddie?’ Coco demanded – much to Marcus’s dismay. He cut a quick, fearful glance at the nearby skeleton.
‘Yes, we should probably ask Edison what his favourite ride is,’ said Marcus. ‘I bet it’s brilliant . I bet we’ll never want to get off, once we’re on it!’
By this time his mother was pushing him out of the buggy. ‘That’s right!’ she agreed. ‘Imagine how much fun we’re going to have!’ Then she put her lips to his ear and whispered, ‘Where did you last see Edison?’
‘On the dodgem cars,’ Marcus replied under his breath.
Holly gave a surreptitious nod before loudly remarking, ‘Let’s go and have a ride on the dodgem cars!’ From the safety of the platform, she then addressed Sterling – who still lingered in his seat. ‘Sterling?’ she said. ‘What’s the problem?’
‘No problem,’ Sterling replied, a little wistfully. ‘I’d just love to have a poke around inside this thing—’
‘No!’ his wife snapped. She too was now standing on the platform. ‘We have to keep going! We have to find Edison!’
‘So we can ask him which of these rides is the most fun,’ added Marcus, wishing that Coco wouldn’t keep talking about Edison. It was dangerous. It was thoughtless. It was going to cause trouble.
Boom-CRASH! All at once, the double doors they’d left behind slapped open again. Everyone jumped. Coco screamed. But she soon relaxed when she spotted the buggy that was clattering towards her.
It had a goblin’s face, a squeaky wheel, and a passenger sitting hunched in its back seat.
‘Newton!’ Coco exclaimed. ‘You changed your mind! Good girl.’
Newt looked sulky. ‘I wasn’t going to sit there in the dark all alone ,’ she growled, as if someone had forced her to. Holly and Marcus rolled their eyes at each other. But Sterling seemed more interested in Newt’s buggy than he was in Newt. He watched with interest as it decelerated.
When it gently bumped the rear of the buggy in front, Marcus distinctly heard a muffled ‘Ooof!’
‘All out,’ Newt’s buggy wearily announced. ‘Prepare to disembark.’
‘With pleasure.’ Newt stood up and stepped onto the platform. ‘So what now?’ she
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