The Broken Leg of Doom

by Pamela Butchart

  And for a second I thought she’d overheard us but then she said, “Izzy, can you carry Francisco for me, please?”

  And she handed me her humpback whale.

  Then just as we were all leaving the ward Seb whispered, “And by the way. I think I know where the mummy’s curse came from. And I can SHOW YOU. Would lunchtime tomorrow work for you?”

  And Zach GASPED.

  And Jodi’s eyes went WIDE.

  And Seb smiled and said, “Is that professional enough for you?”

  The next day was Saturday so we didn’t have to go to school and my dad took us to see Maisie in the hospital instead.

  Jodi made us leave the house ages before the hospital visiting hours started and she even made my dad go a different way in the car than he wanted to because she was sitting in the front seat and she kept saying that her mum knew how to get there quicker, over and over again, until he eventually gave in and let Jodi tell him which way to go.

  When we got there, we went straight to the ward and pressed the buzzer but no one answered. So Jodi pressed it again and she kept her finger on it for ages.

  That’s when Zach said that we were TWENTY SIX AND A HALF MINUTES early because he got a new watch for his birthday and it’s a DIGITAL ONE that HANDS and it tells you the exact time to the MILLISECOND.

  So my dad said that we should go and get a cup of tea and come back later and also that Jodi should take her finger off the buzzer now.

  But then all of a sudden the door clicked open and a nurse appeared and she looked STRESSED and she said, “Is one of you Izzy?!”

  And I got a bit of a SHOCK because I wasn’t expecting her to say that and I said, “I am. I’m Izzy.”

  And that’s when the nurse let out a big sigh and closed her eyes and put her hand up to her chest and said, “Oh, thank goodness! Come in! Come in!” and then she RUSHED me inside and up to Maisie’s bed.

  And that’s when I saw that Maisie had the HEADPHONES on again and that her eyes were shut TIGHT and also that she was breathing into a PAPER BAG.

  I turned and looked at Jodi and Zach because I thought that Maisie must have found out about the CURSE.

  But then the nurse yelled, “Look Maisie! It’s Izzy!”

  And Maisie’s eyes shot open and she pulled the paper bag away from her mouth and said, “Izzy! Where is he?! Please tell me that you know where he is, Izzy!”

  I had NO IDEA what Maisie was talking about or who “he” was. And I was so confused that I turned and looked at Zach for a second just to double check he was definitely there in case she was talking about him.

  Then Zach said, “Who? Seb?”

  And that’s when I looked around at the other beds but I couldn’t see Seb anywhere.

  Then suddenly Maisie yelled, “I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT HIM!”

  And that’s when Jodi rushed forward and put the paper bag back up to Maisie’s mouth and told her to take DEEP BREATHS.

  And then she said, “Seb’s probably just better and he’s gone home. And you definitely CAN live without him. We’ve only known him for two days!”

  And I could just TELL by the way Jodi said what she said that she didn’t really like Seb and I knew that it was probably because she liked to be the one who knew the most about what was going on and to be in charge.

  But then Maisie started VIOLENTLY shaking her head and she was doing it so BLURRY and her pigtails were hitting Jodi in the FACE.

  And then all of a sudden I

  because I realised what was going on.

  And who “he” was.

  And I got that weird SINKING feeling that you get sometimes when something goes wrong and you know that it’s BAD.

  Because something was missing.

  And not just ANYTHING.

  I could tell that Jodi was getting

  at the nurses. And I knew that it was because she thought they weren’t taking it SERIOUSLY enough about FRANCISCO being STOLEN and the MISSING PERSONS’ REPORT.

  Because Jodi kept asking over and over again if the reason they wouldn’t let her fill in a MISSING PERSONS’ FORM was because it hadn’t been twenty-four hours yet. And the nurses just kept SIGHING and saying that it wasn’t ANYTHING to do with that and that it was to do with the missing person being a TOY WHALE.

  And I actually thought Jodi’s head might EXPLODE when one of the nurses suggested that we just go down to the gift shop and get Maisie ANOTHER ONE because the hospital gift shop OBVIOUSLY wouldn’t be able to help us because how many hospital gift shops have GIANT HUMPBACK WHALE TEDDIES called FRANCISCO who have had their tummy signed by someone FAMOUS?!

  So I just told the nurse thank you very much and pulled Jodi away and into the WAITING AREA bit and made her take a seat.

  And that’s when Jodi said, “Izzy. I NEED to find that whale and get it back to Maisie. I NEED to.”

  And I nodded because I knew that Jodi felt like if she found Francisco then she wouldn’t need to feel as guilty about Maisie and her broken leg.

  So that’s when I said that I needed to find him TOO because I’d actually been the last one to SEE HIM when I carried him down to Maisie’s new ward the night before. And I knew that that was the reason Maisie was asking to see ME in case I’d put him somewhere she couldn’t see or taken him home with me or something (which would be pretty hard because Francisco is HUGE and he’s about half the size of Maisie).

  That’s when Jodi said, “OK. We’re going to need to do this ourselves. Where’s the last place you remember seeing him?”

  Then she told me to wait while she went to get her notebook out of her bag.

  So I sat down and shut my eyes and tried to remember EXACTLY where I’d put Francisco. And I was SURE that I’d sat him on the chair right next to Maisie’s new bed so I couldn’t see how he’d have gone missing unless someone moved him.

  Then all of a sudden Jodi appeared and her eyes were MASSIVE.

  And she said, “You need to come back over here. There’s a message. It’s about Francisco.”

  And then she didn’t say anything else so I got up and followed her back over to the bay where Maisie was.

  Maisie was SHAKING and Zach was trying to get her to drink RIBENA from a straw to calm her down but he couldn’t get the straw in her mouth because of all the SHAKING.

  So I asked to see the message and that’s when Zach said, “It’s not a message. It’s a RANSOM NOTE.”

  And I looked at Jodi and she nodded.

  So I asked to see it and I thought Jodi was going to pass it to me.

  But she didn’t.

  She pointed at Maisie’s leg cast.

  I couldn’t believe it. I had to read the message about FIFTY TIMES before I eventually said,

  And Jodi said that it was DEFINITELY HAPPENING and that it was SERIOUS.

  And she was RIGHT because the message on Maisie’s cast said:

  That’s when I said I needed to sit down because I DID and also because everything felt like it was getting really

  with Maisie’s broken LEG and the CURSE and now CREEPY MESSAGES appearing on Maisie’s cast!

  Jodi grabbed the curtain and pulled it all the way round Maisie’s bed so no one could see in and then she said, “We need to have a secret meeting. NOW.”

  So we all pulled our chairs as close to Maisie’s bed as we could and waited for Jodi to say something. And it took AGES because Jodi kept opening her mouth like she was about to say something and then closing it again. And she must have done that about five times before Zach said, “Jodi, are you OK?”

  And that’s when Jodi eventually said, “Yes. I mean, no. It’s just…This doesn’t make any sense. A CURSE wouldn’t write a message on someone’s leg! I don’t even think curses CAN write.”

  Jodi got up and peeked round the curtain to make sure no one was listening to us and then she said, “I don’t think it was the curse that wrote the message. I think it was someone else. A PERSON.”

  But then Zach shook his head and said that he didn’t a
gree. And that he thought the message on Maisie’s leg was the curse’s way of COMMUNICATING with us.

  Then Zach’s EYES went WIDE and he said, “It makes perfect sense! The curse is trapped INSIDE the cast so that’s why the message appeared on it. It’s communicating with us from the inside. It’s trying to tell us what it wants!”

  Then Zach touched the message with his finger and said, “The words probably appeared REALLY SLOWLY in the night while Maisie was sleeping. You probably wouldn’t have been able to read it until the message SEEPED all the way through the cast.”

  So that’s when I gave Zach a LOOK because he was OBVIOUSLY forgetting that Maisie was RIGHT THERE.

  And then Zach said, “Sorry, Maisie. I know all the curse stuff is scary. Are you OK?”

  But Maisie didn’t answer because her EYES had gone all SWIRLY and she was moving her head in the weird way she always does right before she faints.

  So we put loads of pillows around her head so she could have a little fainting nap as she does sometimes when things are too scary for her.

  So anyway, that’s when Jodi said, “Izzy, what do you think? Do you think it was the curse that wrote the note?”

  And I didn’t know if it was the CURSE communicating with us or if it was someone ELSE. But what I DID know was that the message was pretty clear. They wanted Maisie to stay in the hospital

  And Jodi must have been thinking the same thing because that’s when she said, “Why would the curse want Maisie to stay here forever? That doesn’t make sense.”

  That’s when Zach said that maybe the curse just LIKED living inside Maisie leg. And I was really happy that Maisie was asleep when he said that because I don’t think Maisie would be happy with a CURSE living in her leg for the rest of her life!

  Jodi stood up and put her hands on her hips (which is what she does when she’s about to say something BIG). But before she could open her mouth, Seb peeked his head round the curtain and said, “You ready to find out how the curse got here?”

  Zach wouldn’t stop FIDGETING so Jodi made him sit on his hands.

  Then she looked at Seb and said, “Tell us what’s about to happen.”

  And Seb did a big sigh and said, “OK. But you’d better sit down, Jodi.

  And I looked at Jodi and her face was all SQUASHED UP and I knew that it was because Seb was getting on her NERVES again because Jodi doesn’t like not being the one in charge.

  That’s when Seb took an actual POCKET WATCH out of his jacket pocket and said, “We’ve got about three minutes. So listen up.”

  And that’s when Zach started

  and yelling, “What’s going to happen in three minutes? Does this have something to do with a MUMMY?! Because a MUMMY is how the curse got here, isn’t it? ISN’T IT?! I need to go!” And he grabbed Maisie’s paper bag and started breathing in and out really fast.

  So Jodi reached across Maisie and put her hands on Zach’s shoulders and said, “We’re staying. We need to do this for Maisie, OK?”

  And Zach sat back down and said OK. Then he started using the paper bag again.

  Then Seb looked at his pocket watch and said, “Now it’s two and a HALF minutes.”

  And Zach started breathing so DEEPLY that I was worried he might accidentally SWALLOW the paper bag.

  That’s when Jodi told Seb to hurry up and tell us what he needed to tell us.

  And then Seb said, “So. I pretty much know everyone here. You know that, right? And I know everything that there is to know about Ward 13. And maybe even the whole hospital.”

  I looked at Jodi and she had her eyes closed and was taking DEEP BREATHS through her nose which is a MEDITATION TECHNIQUE she learned after the time she screamed at Gary Petrie for breaking her ruler and got sent to the head teacher to learn about

  So that’s when I reminded Seb that we only had TWO MINUTES.

  And Seb said, “Well, there’s a SANDWICH LADY who comes to visit Ward 13 every day at lunchtime.”

  And that’s when Zach whispered, “She’s not a MUMMY, is she?!”

  And Seb shook his head and said that it wasn’t the SANDWICH LADY that we needed to worry about and that it was her ANCIENT TROLLEY. And that the trolley was so OLD that he thought it might be the ACTUAL TROLLEY that they used to bring the MUMMIES into the hospital for RESEARCH hundreds of years ago.

  Then Seb raised his EYEBROWS and gave me a LONG LOOK and he didn’t blink for ages. And then he did the same to Zach. And then to Jodi.

  And then he said, “I think THAT’S how the curse got here to Ward 13. I think it hitched a ride on the ANCIENT TROLLEY looking for fresh bandages to jump on because it LOVES living in bandages. And there’s always LOADS of bandaged ARMS and LEGS and stuff in this ward because of people falling off their trampolines and stuff.

  “But the people keep having their bandages taken off and the curse has nowhere to live again. So it has to go back to the trolley until a new victim comes in. Like Maisie.

  “And there’s MORE. I think it CURSES the SANDWICHES, too! Because there’s only ever ONE cheese sandwich and LOADS of tuna.”

  And then Seb gasped and said, “I bet it actually CONTROLS the sandwich lady through the trolley and makes her go the way it wants to go when it sees some FRESH BANDAGES. Then it MAKES her give the victim a tuna sandwich as a SIGN. I think it’s been jumping about this ward, going from arm to leg for YEARS. And that’s why all the bad stuff keeps happening in Ward 13, like the sprinklers going off and people’s stuff going missing. Like Maisie’s dolphin.”

  And that’s when Jodi narrowed her eyes and said, “How did you know about Francisco??”

  And I knew that it was because Seb had obviously sneaked up on us again and overheard our secret meeting through the curtain.

  But then all of a sudden Seb said, “SSSSSSSHHHHHH! Do you hear that?”

  So I held my breath and listened and that’s when I heard a SQUEAKY sound in the distance and my heart started beating MEGA FAST.

  And I GASPED and Seb said, “That’s the trolley. She’s coming.”

  That’s when Zach said that he thought we should keep the curtain CLOSED FOREVER. So I got Maisie’s PAPER BAG again and held it up to his mouth and told him to BREATHE because he looked a bit PALE and also because he couldn’t hold it up himself because he was sitting on his hands.

  And then Seb leaned forward and took a DEEP BREATH and said, “WHATEVER you do, don’t let her give you a TUNA SANDWICH. Or you’ll be

  Then all of a sudden the squeaking got LOUDER and Seb whispered, “Shhh! She’s coming this way!”

  We all listened as the squeaking got CLOSER and CLOSER until it was coming from RIGHT BEHIND THE CURTAIN.

  And then all of a sudden the noise stopped and we saw a SHADOW behind the curtain.

  And we all held our BREATH.

  Because it was the ANCIENT TROLLEY. And it had LOADS of sandwiches on it!

  My heart was beating so hard in my chest that I could actually hear it. And I’m pretty sure I could hear Zach’s too!

  Then all of a sudden a voice said, “Can I come in, dears?”

  And Seb looked at Jodi and Jodi nodded so Seb said, “Yes.”

  And that’s when the curtain SWISHED open and the sandwich lady stood there, smiling creepily and holding out a sandwich, and we all GASPED and Zach SCREAMED into the paper bag and it BURST and the bang woke Maisie up.

  And then MAISIE started screaming because ZACH was screaming and the sandwich lady looked SHOCKED.

  So that’s when Seb jumped up and said that we didn’t want any of her sandwiches of DOOM and the sandwich lady got a REALLY WEIRD look on her face and just sort of stood there STARING at Maisie while she was screaming and that’s when we KNEW that Seb was right about the curse CONTROLLING her.

  Then Seb pulled the curtain closed and Zach stopped screaming and I put Maisie’s headphones on her and she stopped screaming too.

  We all STARED at the gap between the curtain and the floor because we could see

 
And then eventually it moved and the squeaking started again. We all sat frozen to the SPOT and nobody said a WORD until the squeaking got quieter and quieter until we couldn’t hear it any more.

  Then Seb said, “She’s gone.”

  And I let out a HUGE sigh of RELIEF. I looked at Jodi and her eyes were WIDE and I knew that it was because she was thinking about Seb and how he knew so much about the ancient trolley and the tuna sandwiches of DOOM.

  And that’s when I realised that if I didn’t ask Seb RIGHT NOW why he was in hospital all the time I probably never would so even though it probably wasn’t the right time because of all of us nearly being cursed by a SANDWICH and everything, I said, “Seb. What’s wrong with you?”

  And Seb got a REALLY weird look on his face and said, “WHAT? Nothing! Why?”

  And I said, “Sorry. I mean, why are you in hospital?”

  And that’s when his face went a bit red and he said, “Um.”

  But then he didn’t say anything else after that.

  That’s when Jodi gave me a LOOK as if to say that I shouldn’t have ASKED and that it was RUDE.

  But then a little voice said, “Seb’s got eczema and it gets really bad sometimes and he has to stay in hospital for a while so the doctor can treat it and make it better.”

  Maisie had taken off her headphones and was listening to us.

  And then Zach said, “Is that why you wear all the hats?”

  And Seb nodded again and Zach said, “Cool. I like the one with the feather. Where did you get it?”