“What are you up to Jorge?” asked Jack.
“Well” replied Jorge excitedly “I’m working on a new fuel for motorcars made from only non recyclable waste products!”
“You mean rubbish?” asked Jack.
“Yes exactly”.
“What kind of rubbish?”
“Well I do not want to say this out load with a lady present Jack, but it’s....” Jorge leaned over to whisper in Jacks ear “It’s a fuel made from nappies!”
“Nappies?!” shouted Jack.
“Nappies?” repeated N.J.
“Yes Nappies, used nappies” said Jorge.
“How do you get them?” questioned both N.J and Jack at exactly the same time.
“Well I wrote a letter to all of the families in Horse Shoe Close with small children, asking if they object to giving me their babies nappies when, you know, they are finished with them.”
“You mean when they are full of poop?” said N.J in a fit of giggles
“Yes”.
“But isn’t it really smelly?” said N.J still giggling.
“Yes, my formula works really well as a fuel, in fact I have successfully managed to power my dad’s car, but I haven’t found a way to remove the smell. I am currently working on a moon buggy which will be powered by this fuel.”
“That’s amazing!” said Jack
“It’s simple really Jack you see, we can save the world if we no longer need petrol, let me explain...”
Whilst Jack, N.J and even Mars stood there clueless as Jorge explained exactly how the nappy fuel formula worked, Jack realised he knew how to get Jorge on board in stopping The Sleep Taker. You see when the trio first arrived at Jorge’s and he began talking about the invention (over half an hour ago) Jorge said three words which Jack could use to his advantage. Those three words were SAVE THE WORLD, and help save the world he would.
When Jorge eventually finished explaining his invention and how it would save the world it was Jack’s turn to talk.
Jack explained everything about The Sleep Taker and his evil plan to control the planet; he even added his latest finding about The Sleep Taker moving from place to place. Jorge just stood there soaking in the words looking at Jack in complete disbelief. After Jack had finished Jorge spoke.
“I do not see how it is even remotely possible that this old man could be doing such a thing to you Jack.”
“I promise you, that is exactly what The Sleep Taker is doing,” replied Jack.
“And you say he took all of your sleep last night?”
“Yes, and he will do the same to you.”
“Did he take your sleep too N.J?”
“No” said N.J under her breath.
“But that is because The Sleep Taker hasn’t come for her yet” said Jack who was getting a little frustrated.
“And you want me to stop with my fuel development, which I might add, will save the world because you could not sleep last night, believing this old man took it from you? Jack are you serious?”
“Yes, he really did take it from me and we really need your help. It will only take a few days.”
“What will happen after a few days?” asked Jorge.
“Well, if we haven’t stopped him after a few days, then it will be too late for us.”
“I’m sorry Jack, but I cannot help.”
At this point, N.J knew she had to say something to help out her best friend who was now looking a little sad, “Jorge, will you at least think about it tonight. Just spend some time looking for The Sleep Taker and if you sleep fine after you have seen him, we will not bother you again”
Jorge thought about it for a while before finally agreeing to do what N.J had asked.
Jack, N.J and Mars left Jorge’s not knowing if he would help. All they could do was hope Jorge would keep to his word and stay awake long enough to see The Sleep Taker, then he would not sleep at all, and then without any doubt he would be on the team.
So Jack had just about completed all he could for Step 2 in Operation Sleep Taker, but something was missing.
Jack was the leader of this team. N.J was the one who was willing to get her hands dirty. Mars provided alertness and a sense of smell, which no human could do better, and Jorge, if he joined them would provide the brains, but they were missing something else, muscle! There was only one kid in the whole of Horse Shoe Close who could help with that. His name was Spike.
When Jack told N.J. he thought they needed Spike she looked at him as if he had gone completely mad.
“You are joking, right?” said N.J.
“No, I’m deadly serious, if we are going to make this work we need some muscle, and no one in this place had more muscle than Spike. Think about it N.J, how much better will our team be with him on it?”
“Yes but, he’s completely crazy, remember when he broke that tree in the woods?”
“N.J, it was just a tree,” said Jack.
“But you struggle to break a pencil in half!”
“That’s exactly why we need him, if he can break a tree in half, just because he feels like it; think about what he can do if he has to. Think about when he can’t sleep!”
“But Jack he doesn’t sleep as it is. I’ve heard that he stays awake all night exercising, I’ve heard he goes to his garage and lifts his mums’ car above his head 100 times!”
“That’s rubbish N.J, no one can stay awake all the time. We need to go see him.”
“Are you sure about this Jack?”
“There is only one way to find out!”
Chapter 4
Desperate times called for desperate measures. Jack was very aware of that when he reached up and pressed the doorbell to Spike’s house. He was shaking when the door was eventually answered by none other than Spike himself. Spike was HUGE and he towered over Jack so much that he cast a shadow over him. Spike had hair that always stood on end and a voice so deep and low that the sound bounced deep inside of Jacks chest. His real name was Sebastian, but no-one dared call him this, besides his mum when he was in trouble.
“What do you want?” boomed Spike at Jack.
“Hi my name is....”
“Jack, I know your name and that doesn’t answer my question, what do you want?”
“Spike, we need your help.”
“We?” said Spike looking around seeing only Jack at his door.
“Yes, me and N.J” Jack looked around and couldn’t see her. “N.J, come out of the bushes.”
N.J crept out from behind a bush, followed by Mars who was still covering his face with his paws.
“Hi...” said N.J sheepishly.
“I don’t care what you want;” said Spike, “so go away, I don’t want to help you.”
Spike then closed his door on the pair. N.J looked at Jack with an ‘I told you so’ look written on her face and she began to walk away. All hope was lost, or so it seemed until Jack realised what he could offer Spike. It was worth a try.
“What if I could make you a hero Spike?” shouted Jack through the closed door.
That got Spike’s attention and slowly the door opened again.
“I’m listening.”
“Well, I need to explain what is going on first.”
Jack stood on Spike’s doorstep a whole 10 minutes explaining what was happening in Horse Shoe Close. He told him about the evil man and about his world conquest. Spike wasn’t at all interested in anything Jack was saying until he began to talk about why he was needed.
“The team needs someone really strong, someone who can lift cars and snap trees, the team needs muscle, and I could not think of anyone who is better for the job than you.”
“How will this make me a hero?” asked Spike.
“You will be part of the team who helps rid t
he world of this bad man and his plan to stop the summer holidays”
Jack had forgotten to say before that The Sleep Taker’s ultimate plan was to stop holidays.
“What do you mean stop the holidays?” asked Spike, getting a little concerned.
“If he controls all of our sleep, then we would do anything to get it back, which means going to school during the holidays. If you do not help us Spike this will be your last summer holiday ever.”
That was enough for Spike; a world without holidays really got him wound up.
“Jack, whatever you need me to do I will, we have got to stop this man. But don’t go thinking I am your friend because I don’t like anyone. OK?”
“Thanks Spike. Try getting some rest and we’ll come and get you tomorrow morning to start Operation Sleep Taker.”
“Yeah, now go away,” said Spike as he slammed the door in Jack and N.J’s face.
“Well he’s not very polite” said N.J.
“It doesn’t matter, we’ve got him on board and now our team is complete.”
“Hopefully” said N.J.
“Yeah, hopefully.”
With that said and done Jack, N.J and Mars left Spike’s house. The first 2 steps of Operation Sleep Taker were complete and there was nothing more Jack or N.J could do until tomorrow. Jack was pretty pleased with himself. They had Spike on their team and in the morning hopefully Jorge too. They have brains, brawn, bravery and of course a natural leader. Nothing would be able to stop them now. So it was time to begin with step 3, to have some dinner and step 4, stop for the day (although without any sleep) and that was exactly what they did.
Chapter 5
It was the middle of the night and Horse Shoe Close was as quiet as it was the night before. Everyone was asleep dreaming of great things. All besides 4 Children. Jack, N.J, Jorge and yes-even Spike, were all wide-awake, sat by their window’s looking out onto the bare dark streets. The only thing that could be faintly heard at this time of night was the wind blowing through the trees in the forest of Horse Shoe Close. Seconds turned into minutes and minutes turned into hours, but the 4 of them did not move from their windows. Jorge had stopped with his invention that could save the world, just as he promised and Spike hadn’t been to the garage to lift the car above his head 100 times. They just sat by their window’s, not moving.
Their eyelids were beginning to get heavy, so much so that each and every blink was taking them much longer. They were all very tired. Jack was not going to see The Sleep Taker tonight, he did not need to. The damage had already been done and he had no choice but to be wide-awake, he sat by his window anyway. I guess for him he needed confirmation that The Sleep Taker was actually real and not just a strange dream he had had the night before, but also because he was loyal to his friends. He knew that all three of them would not be asleep and he had to stay there with them, for tomorrow morning their entire world would be flipped completely upside down.
It was N.J who saw The Sleep Taker first, but before she could see him, she heard him. It was the exact sound Jack had described to her, the slow scraping sound he had heard the night before
‘Scrape, Scrape’
The very sound that had robbed him of his sleep.
Jack’s mum has always said to him that curiosity killed the cat but the way he looked at it he wasn’t a cat, so he had nothing to worry about. In one way he wished he listened to his mother’s wise words now if he did he would not be in this situation and he would be sound asleep. But, on the other hand, he was glad he had ignored his mother’s words for he truly knew the scale of the problem and he knew without him, and his curious nature the world would be doomed!
N.J was just about to grasp exactly how doomed the world would be. As soon as she heard the sound she crouched by her window, instinctively thinking that the bricks and mortar would save her even though deep down she knew it would make no difference. Bricks and mortar are strong and tough but not as strong as the evil within The Sleep Taker. Her eyes and the top of her head were the only things that stuck up above her window, the only part of her that could be seen on the dark streets below. The slow eerie sound became louder ‘scrape, scrape’. N.J’s heart began to pound in her chest, even Mars had woken up because her heart beat became so loud (you see Mars was not affected by The Sleep Taker because he could not affect dogs, only children) and he began to pace around her bedroom.
N.J’s palms were clammy through sweat and her nerves were on edge, just like what had happened to Jack the night before. She could feel her heart beating in her head and all of this was for one reason. The sound outside was getting louder and that could only mean one thing. He was coming for her!
All of a sudden the sound stopped, N.J could barely see onto the street below but was sure he was there, stood outside her house, just as Jack said he would be, waiting to see her so he could steal her sleep. She didn’t move, she didn’t even breathe for what seemed like an hour just waiting for the sound to continue and disappear. Never in the whole of N.J’s life had she been this scared, but N.J was brave, in fact she was one of the bravest, so she took in a deep breath, prepared herself; and stood up.
Even though she was prepared for what she was going to see, the panic shot through her body with such force she almost fell over. He was there with his dog staring up at her. Not moving, just staring.
N.J ran to her bed and just as Jack had done and she pulled the covers over her head to protect herself. All she could think about was poor old Jorge and Spike who had that to come. She also felt so sorry for Jack, and how she at first didn’t believe him, she thought he was just being a scaredy cat. Never again would she doubt her best friend and never again would she sleep, unless they stop him.
When she crept back to her window, he had gone. N.J looked down the road to see him heading to Jorge’s house and all she could do now was say a prayer for her new genius friend.
“It cannot be true,” thought Jorge, “there is no way that it is possible an old man can take my sleep away” and yet he sat by his window watching the street below. If Jorge was going to be completely honest with himself, he knew that there was only one reason why he was sitting at his window and it had nothing to do with him believing The Sleep Taker was real. The reason he was sat at his window was because of N.J.
The moment he had seen her at his front door he had not been able to think of anything else. He loved her cap which covered her red curly hair, he loved the way she dressed and he loved that she was willing to get her hands dirty and make a mess, something which did not come easily to Jorge.
Jorge was so caught up daydreaming of N.J, he completely forgot that he was stood at his window in view of anyone who would happen to walk past at that time of night. When he finally came back to his senses it was too late. Jorge looked down and on the pavement directly outside his house he saw what he could not believe was real, or even possible. It was the old man, The Sleep Taker who was just stood there looking at him. Jorge instantly felt the change, instead of feeling sleepy and relaxed he was now wide awake and tense. He ran from his window and straight to his white board, he needed to invent something to help stop him and he would not sleep until he had worked it all out.
Spike sat by his window until it was light, never once seeing The Sleep Taker but not being able to sleep anyway. The situation with The Sleep Taker had gotten worse that night and very soon Horse Shoe Close would be doomed
Day Two
Chapter 6
The sweet smell of summer was in the air and Horse Shoe Close could not look any more perfect. However, underlying the beauty of the summer morning in a perfect place like Horse Shoe Close The Sleep Taker was lurking. You couldn’t see him but you could sense him.
Step 5 had been completed, Breakfast (yes, there were some Coco Pops) and Jack was the first to leave his house to meet N.J. Today Jack hoped his friend would now believe him
about The Sleep Taker because he was exhausted. Two nights without any sleep had left him a bit woozy on his walk to hers, another day and he might not be able to continue with Operation Sleep Taker. Today was the day. Today he had to know exactly what would need to be done to beat him.
Normally the walk to N.J’s would take around 5 minutes, but so far Jack had been walking for what felt like forever as his knees were so wobbly due to tiredness. Never before had Jack been so tired and never before had Jack been so scared of what that could mean. For now he understood that he was not a normal 9 year old anymore, he had to be a grown up, he had to save the world.
Jack needed to stop and catch his breath. It was only 10 o’clock in the morning, already the sun was shining down, and it felt hot on Jack’s back. He sat by a tree trying to find the energy to continue, but he had none left. Everything felt doomed; the whole world would never be the same because he was too tired to carry on. Giving in to his tired body, he laid down to rest and as he began to close his eyes he thought that this would be the last summer holiday he would ever have. It would take a miracle to save Horse Shoe Close.
Chapter 7
“He needs help.” Said Jorge.
“What do we do?” replied a scared N.J.
“Spike, pick him up he needs to get into the shade.”
“N.J, get some bananas.”
“Bananas?”
“Yes and some spinach.”
“Bananas and spinach?”
“Yes, mum told me they give you energy.”
“Ok, hang in there Jack”
The miracle had arrived, N.J, Mars, Jorge and Spike had found Jack lying on the edge of the forest of Horse Shoe Close, he looked awake but his body was long gone into the world of daydreams, confused and unable to talk they were all deeply worried about him.
The Sleep Taker Page 2
