But then Zach gulped and said, “But that means that whoever takes off Maisie’s cast when her leg’s better is going to get CURSED.”
But the Jodi said, “No. They won’t. I have a PLAN.”
And then all of a sudden a voice said, “I can hear what you’re saying in there.”
And we all GASPED.
I was NOT expecting to see Gary Petrie when I pulled back the curtain. But I did.
Gary was standing there smiling and holding a big bunch of flowers and a HUGE teddy bear.
That’s when Jodi said, “What are YOU doing here?!”
And I was just as surprised as Jodi because Gary Petrie is probably the MOST annoying person in our class (and probably even the whole SCHOOL) and he was the LAST person I thought would come to visit Jodi in the hospital because they are ALWAYS arguing.
That’s when Gary said, “Where’s Maisie?”
And then he looked at Jodi and said, “Why are you sitting in bed?”
So we explained that Maisie was with the doctor and that Jodi was in hospital now too.
And that’s when Gary said, “Oh. Um. I didn’t know.”
And then he pulled ONE flower out of the big bunch that he’d obviously got for Maisie and handed it to Jodi and said, “Get well soon.”
So Jodi said thanks and gave him a FAKE SMILE because the flower was OBVIOUSLY the smallest one in the bunch and it had even started to go BROWN.
Gary sat down on one of the chairs even though we didn’t say that he could and then MUMMY you were he said, “So. Where’s this all talking about?”
And Jodi gasped and said, “SSSSSSHHHH!”
So that’s when I knew I had to fix this FAST because Gary Petrie is a
and he’d probably end up ruining the
So that’s when I said that we were just talking about Jodi’s MUM and how she missed her and then I gave Jodi WIDE EYES and she said, “Yes. YES! I miss my MUMMY because I’m in hospital.”
Gary STARED at Jodi for ages. And then he stared at Zach. And then at me.
And then he did a REALLY ANNOYING smile and said, “I don’t think so. You’re all UP to something as USUAL.”
But then before he could say anything else, Maisie appeared with a nurse and she was walking with CRUTCHES.
Gary Petrie JUMPED up when he saw her and gave her the flowers and the huge teddy and almost knocked her over.
The nurse started laughing a bit and I wasn’t sure if it was because Gary Petrie was wearing a SUIT with a tie and everything but I thought it might be and I had no idea why he was so dressed up to come to the hospital.
The nurse helped Maisie to sit down and then she said that she’d find a place for the flowers. And then she looked at the
and SIGHED and I knew that she was annoyed because it meant that Maisie had even MORE stuff now.
Maisie looked a bit shocked to see Gary but she looked happy about it too. And that’s when I remembered that they were sort of friends now after the school camping trip and the missing sausages and the WEREWOLF.
Maisie thanked Gary for the flowers and said that she LOVED the teddy and then she started to get tears in her eyes and Gary looked really
because he obviously thought that Maisie was crying because she loved the teddy so much. But I knew that it was probably because she missed FRANCISCO.
Then all of a sudden Seb appeared and I almost jumped out of my SKIN.
I looked at Jodi and she did WIDE EYES at me.
And that’s when I saw that Seb had a STRANGE LOOK on his face.
And then he looked at Maisie and then looked at Gary and then said, “Oh. Hello.”
And Gary looked up and said, “Hey. Nice watch.”
And I saw that Seb was wearing a huge fancy GOLD WATCH on his wrist.
And Seb said, “Thanks. It’s an antique. It’s worth
And Gary laughed a bit because he obviously thought Seb was JOKING. But I wasn’t so sure after what we’d just found out about all the TREASURES that you get inside a MUMMY’S TOMB.
Then Gary asked Maisie if she would be coming back to school soon and if she would be bringing her CRUTCHES with her and I knew that he specifically asked about the crutches because he wanted to TRY them.
And that’s when Seb got a REALLY WEIRD look on his face and he said, “Just because you get crutches doesn’t mean you get to go home. Maisie might have to stay here for AGES.”
And then Maisie’s eyes started to get all WATERY and she said, “I won’t be going anywhere without Francisco.”
And that’s when the nurse came over and she said, “OK. There’s too many people crowding around one bed here.”
So that’s when Gary said that he needed to go anyway because his mum was waiting outside the ward for him.
And then he leaned over and took Maisie’s hand and gave it a KISS and Zach laughed and Jodi made a BEING SICK sound. But Maisie just smiled and did a bit of a giggle.
And then Gary looked at me and said, “Izzy. Walk me out?”
And I had no idea why he needed me to walk him out because the door was right there and it wasn’t like it was HIS leg that was broken or anything.
But I just went anyway because of what the nurse had said.
And then when we got to the door, Gary turned to me and said, “Who’s the weird dude?”
And for a second I didn’t know what he was talking about and then I realised that he must mean Seb.
But then he said, “I don’t like him. And I don’t trust him
The minute we got to the basement I knew that this was a BAD IDEA.
We all stood in SILENCE for a few seconds after the doors to the lift shut behind us.
And then Jodi said, “There’s no one here. Let’s go!”
So me and Zach followed Jodi into the dark basement because the plan was to find the MUMMY’S TOMB. Zach’s face looked funny because he’s so scared of MUMMIES. But Jodi said he had to be strong for Maisie and she was right.
Jodi said that if there was going to be a tomb anywhere it was going to be DEEP in the basement and that if we could find it that would be STAGE ONE of the plan COMPLETE.
And when I’d asked Jodi about STAGE TWO of the plan, she said that that was going to be a bit more difficult because STAGE TWO was to CAPTURE the mummy and put it back in the tomb where it belonged. And that if we did that the CURSE might leave Maisie’s leg because the mummy and the tomb were its HOME.
I had no idea how we were going to CAPTURE the mummy but I was trying not to think about that and to just focus on STAGE ONE so that I didn’t
because everything was starting to get a bit OUT OF CONTROL.
The basement was HUGE so Jodi said we should SPLIT UP to COVER MORE GROUND and that we had to be QUICK before the nurses noticed she wasn’t just in the toilet like she’d said she was because they were already SUSPICIOUS about her FAKE appendicitis after she’d said that one of her symptoms was needing to eat more toast and biscuits.
So that’s when I said there was NO WAY I was searching a creepy hospital basement for a MUMMY’S TOMB by myself and that I was staying with Zach and she nodded and SECRET SIGNAL if we needed her and then she ran off.
So me and Zach started searching for the TOMB but all we could see were rows of boxes and old medical equipment. But then we spotted an OLD DOOR covered in COBWEBS that said MEDICAL LIBRARY. So Zach turned the handle to see if it would open because it looked like it might have been locked for YEARS. And it did.
I was a bit scared to be the one to look inside first because the door looked ANCIENT and it had made a horrible CREAKING SOUND when it opened. And I had a horrible feeling that if there was going to be an ANCIENT MUMMY TOMB hidden anywhere in the hospital that THIS was where it was going to be.
So I said that Zach should be the one to look inside first to make sure it WAS a library and not a room full of ANCIENT MUMMIES.
So he did. And that’s when he said, “WOW!” and disappeared inside.
So I followed him and that’s when I saw t
hat he was RIGHT to say WOW because it looked like we’d gone back in TIME or something.
There were bookcases filled with old, dusty books EVERYWHERE and little tables with old-fashioned LAMPS on them. And it looked like no one had set foot in there for ONE HUNDRED YEARS.
I took one of the books off the shelf and opened it and it was filled with DIAGRAMS of the HUMAN BODY and it was obviously from OLDEN TIMES and some of the pictures even looked HAND-DRAWN.
Then Zach said, “Come over here, Izzy. There’s even MORE.”
That’s when I went over to the back of the CRATES filled with even MORE books.
Zach said that he didn’t think anyone used the library any more because loads of the books were probably OUT OF DATE because they didn’t have all the new stuff about using MACHINES and COMPUTERS to help people get well.
I thought that Zach was probably right because there was dust EVERYWHERE and it didn’t look like anyone had been in here for a really, really long time.
But then all of a sudden Zach GASPED and I looked to see what he was gasping at and that’s when I gasped TOO because there was a huge CAGE in the corner.
That’s when I started FREAKING OUT a bit and saying that maybe we should just GO because I didn’t know why there would be a CAGE in an old library unless there was something that NEEDED to be kept in a cage so that it didn’t get OUT.
But I knew that we needed to look and that we couldn’t just run away (even though that’s definitely what I wanted to do).
So I took a deep breath and said, “I’ll go first.”
And Zach nodded and I knew that I HAD to be the one to go first because I’d made him be the first one to go inside the library in case it wasn’t a library.
And that’s when I realised that when we split up, I should have gone with JODI because she’s the
out of all of us and I knew that if she was here that she would probably be INSIDE the cage looking around by now.
So anyway, I took a deep breath and walked towards the cage. But all I could see inside the cage were shelves with MORE BOOKS.
That’s when Zach came over and he said that the books inside the cage looked DIFFERENT from the other books and that they looked like they were from even older ANCIENT TIMES.
And then he turned to me and his eyes were WIDE and his mouth was open even WIDER and he said, “What if the CAGE is the mummy’s tomb? And the books are part of its
That’s when Zach said he thought that Jodi had been right and the mummy had been brought here YEARS AGO from ANCIENT EGYPT by medical researchers.
But then I said wasn’t sure because I couldn’t see any JEWELS or bars of GOLD or BANDAGES or anything like that.
And that’s when Zach pointed to the padlock that was on the cage door and I saw that it was OPEN.
And then he said, “Maybe there’s more hidden inside. Only one way to find out!”
And before I could stop him, Zach opened the cage door and went inside and started looking around and TOUCHING THE ANCIENT BOOKS.
So that’s when I said,
Because Zach was the one who’d said that he knew LOADS about MUMMIES and MUMMY TOMBS so I couldn’t believe he was going about
because he was going to get
But Zach said that the TOMB was already DISTURBED and that the mummy AND the curse were gone so it was fine to touch stuff.
And then Zach said, “Come and see this.”
And that’s when we both GASPED because we spotted something BIG covered with a WHITE SHEET.
It looked like a big box or something but we couldn’t be sure.
So that’s when Zach stepped forward and SLOWLY pulled the white sheet off.
And that’s when we saw that it was an old, fancy CHEST and I GASPED because I just KNEW that that must be where the MUMMY had been kept all these years.
Zach turned to me with his mouth WIDE OPEN and said, “If there’s TREASURE, then I’m telling you THAT’S where it’ll be.”
And I nodded because I knew that if we found even ONE jewel in the box then that meant we’d DEFINITELY found the MUMMY’S TOMB.
And when we managed to get the lid off, we both
Because there WAS something inside.
But it wasn’t jewels or gold or even coins.
It was FRANCISCO.
Francisco was COVERED in dust and he had a bit of a rip in his tail. But other than that, he was OK.
I couldn’t BELIEVE that we’d found him and I knew that Maisie was going to be OVER THE MOON when she saw him!
Zach said that finding Francisco in here was PROOF that this was DEFINITELY the MUMMY’S TOMB and that we needed to go and find Jodi to let her know.
But then all of a sudden we heard an OWL HOOTING and we looked at each other and started to run because there was NO WAY an owl could have been down here in the basement and also because we knew that the sound of an owl hooting is our
which meant that JODI NEEDED US.
We came BURSTING out of the library and ran towards the LIFT and when we got there Jodi was standing inside WAITING for us with her finger on the HOLD button.
And that’s when Jodi said,
and then she pulled us inside and let go of the hold button and the doors closed.
Then as soon as we were moving Jodi said, “I think I saw it. The mummy. It was down there!”
When we got back to the ward I passed FRANCISCO to Jodi because I wanted her to be the one to give him back to Maisie.
And Jodi smiled and said thanks.
But then Zach said, “Um. I think you’re in trouble, Jodi.”
And that’s when we saw that one of the nurses was standing by Jodi’s bed and that she had her ARMS CROSSED.
That’s when Jodi turned to us and said, “Just go with it, OK?”
So we nodded and that’s when Jodi rushed over and said, “LOOK, MAISIE! WE FOUND HIM!”
And Maisie was SO EXCITED that she almost FELL because she was practising using her crutches.
Then Jodi turned to the nurse and said, “I was in the bathroom and when I came out Izzy here said that she thought she’d seen Francisco at the café.”
And that’s when the nurse looked at me and Jodi gave me a NUDGE and I said, “Oh. Yes. At the café.”
And then Jodi said, “So, I was going to come back here and ask if I could go and help Izzy carry it but then Zach said that it might be GONE by that time and that we should just go RIGHT AWAY.”
And then she nudged Zach and he said, “Yes.”
And then Jodi said, “So we just all went right there and then and we all carried Francisco back because he’s quite large!”
The nurse looked at Jodi and then at me and then at Zach and I just KNEW that she was thinking that that was probably the
she’d ever heard in her life.
But then Jodi said, “Look! Now Maisie doesn’t have to be upset or SCREAM any more.”
And she looked RIGHT at the nurse when she said it. And that’s when the nurse RELAXED a bit and unfolded her arms and said, “Well, less screaming would be good. I mean, it’s good that you found him. And that’s Maisie’s happy.”
And then she said that Jodi needed to come and tell her if she was taking any more
and Jodi smiled and promised that she would.
Maisie hugged Francisco for AGES and she kept saying, “THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!” over and over again to Jodi which made Jodi smile loads.
But then all of a sudden Seb walked into the bay and I saw that he was wearing a fancy jacket and that it had JEWELS on it!
Seb started to come over towards us but then he suddenly STOPPED and looked a bit like he’d seen a GHOST. And I knew that it was because he’d spotted FRANCISCO.
And that’s when Jodi crossed her arms and said, “SEBASTIAN GOSS-CARLOS,” and I GASPED because I had no IDEA Seb had such a fancy name and that Jodi actually knew it all.
And Seb gulped and looked down at the ground.
And then Jodi said, “Secret meeting. NOW
. And YOU’D better come too.”
And that’s when Seb looked up with a confused look on his face because he obviously hadn’t expected to be invited to the meeting.
Then Jodi pointed to her bed and we all went over and she closed the curtain behind us with a loud SWISH.
Then she told Seb to take a seat on one of the plastic chairs and she got up on to the bed and pulled the little booklight down and pointed it RIGHT at Seb so that the light was shining in his eyes.
And then she said, “We’re going to ask some questions and we’d like you to tell us the TRUTH. Do you understand?”
And Seb nodded.
And then Jodi said, “Sebastian Goss-Carlos. Did you kidnap Francisco?”
And Seb said, “Yes. I’m so sorry, Maisie. I had to!”
And then Jodi said, “Was the reason that you HAD TO because you are DESPERATE to keep Maisie here and that you thought if you hid Francisco that Maisie would stay here in the hospital until she found him?”
And Seb nodded.
And then Jodi said, “And it was YOU who wrote the messages on Maisie’s cast using the SAME green pen that you used to write on our squash cups, wasn’t it?”
And I GASPED because I hadn’t noticed that but Jodi was RIGHT.
And Seb nodded.
And Jodi said, “I suspected that it was you doing the messages when you called Francisco a DOLPHIN because that’s what was written on the ransom note too.”
The Broken Leg of Doom Page 6
