The Paradise Trap

  ‘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 asked. ‘Where’s Edison?’

  Holly flashed her a look of warning. Coco glanced warily at the ticket collector. Marcus opened his mouth to make yet another soothing remark about how Edison must be having the time of his life in such a wonderful place.

  Before he could speak, however, Newt’s buggy said, ‘Edison is on the Giant Slide. It’s near the Flume. He’s been wishing you were here to play with him.’

  Then both buggies moved off, steering back into the murky depths of the haunted tunnel from which they’d so recently emerged.

  26

  IN SEARCH OF EDISON

  ‘WHAT A WONDERFUL PLACE,’ SAID COCO. THEY WERE strolling through the amusement park, between clusters of rides and stalls. To Marcus everything looked picture perfect: the twinkling mirrors, the gleaming toffee apples, the candy-striped awnings, the snow-white picket fences. The sky was a heavenly blue; the grass a lush emerald green. ‘It’s just perfect,’ Coco went on, as if she were reading his thoughts. ‘Eddie would have taken one look at this and the first thing out of his mouth would have been: “I wish Dad were here.”’

  ‘Maybe,’ her husband conceded.

  ‘He’ll be wanting to show you everything,’ Coco insisted. ‘And he’ll be wanting Newt to try out all the rides with him.’

  ‘Yeah, sure,’ Newt scoffed. ‘Like that’s going to happen.’

  ‘Shh!’ Holly glanced over her shoulder. ‘For God’s sake, Newt, will you keep your voice down? We’re supposed to love it here, remember? If you keep talking like that, you’re going to be heard! And then we’ll really be in trouble!’

  ‘I don’t see why.’ Newt’s tone was dismissive. ‘It’s not like any of this is actually real. I bet the mummies can’t even see where they’re going. And the skeletons are a joke. And I could outrun the cars in that ghost train any old time.’ She flapped a disdainful hand at the scenery. ‘I mean, what can possibly happen to us in la-la land?’

  ‘You don’t know what you’re talking about.’ Marcus tried to keep his voice low, despite the fact that he felt like snapping at Newt. ‘This place is really dangerous. The first time I came, I was nearly smothered by stuffed toys. And then a runaway ferris wheel tried to flatten me.’

  Newt gave a snort of laughter. ‘Stuffed toys?’ she cackled. ‘You were attacked by stuffed toys?’

  ‘Now stop it,’ said Holly. ‘We have to calm down and concentrate. We have to make sure we don’t miss Edison.’

  Coco seemed far more interested in the fairground’s general hygiene. She kept shaking her head in amazement. ‘I’ve never seen such a clean fun park,’ she marvelled. ‘Not even Disneyland is this clean. And the food smells delicious! And the lawn is so well kept!’

  ‘The prizes are good too,’ Newt had to admit, however grudgingly. ‘I wouldn’t mind having a pair of those headphones myself.’

  ‘Yep, it’s a real achievement,’ Sterling agreed. ‘If only I could work out how it’s all put together . . .’

  Marcus took a deep breath. He was about to point out, for the umpteenth time, that it was all put together with magic when something caught his eye.

  ‘Hey,’ he said, stopping suddenly. ‘Look over there. Isn’t that the Flume?’

  Everyone looked. It was the Flume. Behind a towering stockade rose a series of chutes that carried fake wooden logs (with seats in them) up to the top of a man-made waterfall. As Newt observed these logs riding the rapids back to the ground, her grumpy expression became almost wistful.

  ‘I’d really like to go on that,’ she muttered.

  Marcus could see the attraction. But he could also see the Giant Slide.

  ‘There it is,’ he announced. ‘There’s the Giant Slide. Right next to the Flume.’

  ‘And there’s Edison!’ Coco began to wave her arms. ‘Yoo-hoo! Edison!’

  ‘Shh! Keep it down!’ Holly begged.

  Marcus could see Edison quite clearly. There were three giant slides, all stuck together in a row, and Edison was at the top of the middle one. He was sitting on a blue mat, wearing what appeared to be a novelty pith helmet.

  He must have spied his stepmot
her waving, because he waved right back. Then he pushed off and swooped down the massive, inflatable slide, landing in a pit of multi-coloured foam balls positioned at its base.

  WHOOMPH! The balls swallowed him up. Only his pith helmet remained, sitting on the surface of the ball pit.

  Everyone – including Newt – laughed out loud.

  ‘Woo-hoo!’ Sterling cried, pumping the air with his fists. ‘Go Eddie!’

  Surging forward, he didn’t seem to hear the thin patter of applause coming from the tent to their right. Marcus did, though. And when he peered in that direction, he saw a small gathering of clowns and plush toys clapping appreciatively.

  ‘Well done, Ed!’ Sterling exclaimed. He was standing over the ball pit. ‘Boy, that’s a lot of balls, eh? I can’t even see you!’

  ‘Edison!’ said Coco. ‘You can come up now!’ Stooping, she retrieved the helmet – which had a miner’s lamp built into its rim. To her evident surprise, however, she didn’t uncover the top of her stepson’s head. ‘Nobody’s mad, okay?’ she continued, softening her voice. ‘We’re just happy we found you at last.’

  ‘In these fun and beautiful surroundings,’ added Marcus, just in case.

  Holly had joined Coco and Sterling beside the ball pit. They all looked for a sign that Edison might be somewhere underneath the balls. But there wasn’t the slightest hint of movement.

  ‘Edison?’ Now Coco was starting to sound worried. ‘Where are you?’

  ‘Edison?’ Holly squatted down and began to dig, snapping off one fake fingernail in the process. Coco immediately followed her example, scooping out handfuls of squashy foam spheres.

  Soon everyone was kneeling as they frantically searched for Edison. Even Newt pitched in. But the pit seemed to be bottomless.

  ‘Oh my God!’ Coco wailed. ‘He’ll suffocate in there!’

  ‘He won’t suffocate,’ Marcus assured her. ‘They won’t let him. They love him too much.’ After a moment’s reflection, he whispered, ‘They might try to keep him away from us, though.’

  ‘Edison!’ yelled Newt. ‘This isn’t funny!’

  ‘What are we going to do?’ Coco clutched at her husband. ‘Sterling! There must be something we can do!’

  Sterling hesitated. ‘I-I guess you could lower me down on the end of a rope,’ he said at last. It was the first time Marcus had ever seen him looking anxious.

  ‘Ed’s probably hiding,’ was Newt’s theory. ‘I bet if we bought a hamburger and waved it over the top of those balls, he’d pop up pretty quick.’

  ‘No, I wouldn’t,’ a grufflittle voice objected. ‘It’s like quicksand in there. You can’t climb back up – you have to keep going the long way round.’

  27

  ESCAPE!

  EDISON WAS STANDING DIRECTLY BEHIND HIS STEPMOTHER. No one had noticed his arrival because all eyes had been on the ball pit. He seemed unchanged, though he was no longer wearing his backpack or his infrared goggles.

  Everybody gasped. Then Coco cried, ‘Eddie! Where have you been?’

  ‘Right here,’ he said. ‘I’m glad you came. Can I have my helmet?’

  A shocked and speechless Coco handed it over. Edison immediately donned it again, as if nothing remarkable had happened. Marcus frowned.

  ‘How did you get out from under those balls?’ he wanted to know. In response, Edison pointed at the nearby ticket booth, which was the size of a one-car garage and painted to look like a gingerbread house.

  ‘I went through a tunnel,’ he replied. ‘It leads to a trapdoor that comes out just over there. I’ve done it about a hundred times. Do you want to see?’

  ‘No,’ Coco rejoined, with a bluntness that worried Marcus. He glanced nervously at all the clowns and plush toys.

  They seemed to be closing in.

  ‘Maybe later,’ he suggested.

  ‘After we’ve explored a few other rides,’ Holly agreed quickly. ‘Your father wants to see the dodgem cars, Edison, and we haven’t had a proper look at the ghost train either. Have we, Coco?’

  ‘Huh?’ It was a second or two before Coco caught on. Then she gave a start and said, ‘Oh! No, we haven’t. That’s a good idea, Holly.’

  Marcus thought so too. He flashed his mother an approving look. Meanwhile, Sterling was asking Edison where the dodgem cars were.

  ‘They’re over that way.’ Edison caught at his father’s sleeve. ‘I’ll show you.’

  ‘Can I go on the Flume instead?’ Newt suddenly piped up. Marcus stared at her in astonishment. Didn’t she understand what was happening? Evidently her stepmother thought not, because all at once Coco took charge of the arrangements.

  ‘Not yet, Newt,’ she instructed, apparently oblivious to the clowns and cuddly animals that were edging towards her. ‘First we’ll have a proper ride on the ghost train. Then we’ll look at the dodgem cars. Then you and Marcus can go on the Flume.’

  ‘And then you should try the roller-coaster,’ Edison recommended. ‘It’s great because the cars do whatever you tell them to.’

  He chattered away calmly as he followed his parents back to the ghost train, describing his encounters with singing carousel horses, crabby dodgem cars, and a hectic hoopla stall. ‘The prizes kept running around,’ he explained to his father, ‘so it was really hard to throw hoops over them . . .’

  He seemed unaware of the rapidly growing crowd that had begun to trail after him. Marcus, however, was all too conscious of it. Every clown was in pursuit, as were most of the plush toys, two fretwork figures, a flock of plastic ducks, half a dozen inflatable aliens, and a miniature trackless train. Some of these creatures were carrying weapons (darts, paddles, popguns) and although they weren’t yet angry, they were certainly anxious. Marcus could tell.

  Luckily, Sterling said all the right things, ooohing and aaahing over his son’s revelations. Coco was very subdued. Newt didn’t shoot her mouth off either, though at one point she did yell ‘Boo!’ at a fluffy little ladybird that was hopping along in her immediate vicinity. When it squeaked and scurried away, she shot a triumphant look at Marcus, as if to say, ‘See? There’s nothing to be scared of.’

  Marcus could only hope that she was right. Could they possibly coax Edison all the way back to the lift without arousing suspicion? As they approached a familiar pair of iron gates, Marcus began to think that they might have a chance. He was particularly pleased when he heard Edison offer to whistle for a buggy. ‘They come when I whistle,’ Edison informed his parents. ‘It’s really neat.’

  But then one of the clowns behind him said, ‘I don’t think the cars will come, just now,’ as if it didn’t want Edison going anywhere near the ghost train exit. And Marcus realised that the game was up.

  He shrank against his mother, wondering if he had the strength to disarm the nearest plush giraffe.

  ‘Really? That’s too bad.’ Edison’s face fell, before promptly brightening again. ‘Oh, well. Never mind,’ he chirped. ‘I guess we can always come back after we check out the roller-coaster.’

  ‘No.’ Suddenly Coco put her foot down. ‘Now that we’re here, we’re finishing what we started. Tell the buggies that they can have a late lunch.’ Ignoring Holly’s frantic hand signals, she went on to say in a brisk, imperious tone, ‘If those buggies don’t come immediately, we’ll walk into that tunnel.’

  Edison frowned. ‘But—’

  ‘I refuse to be ordered around by the contents of a two-dollar shop. It’s demeaning.’ She turned her back on the milling carnival creatures as if they were of no consequence; something about her flaking green herbal mask made her look quite scary. ‘Well?’ she urged her stepson. ‘Are you going to call a buggy for us or not?’

  Obediently, Edison whistled. Then one of the clowns stepped forward. ‘Can we come too?’ it asked.

  ‘No,’ snapped Coco. Marcus hastily added, ‘There won’t be enough room.’

  ‘Yes, there will,’ the clown replied, in a flat, tinny little voice. ‘You’ll need two cars for six people. So there??
?ll be plenty of space left over.’

  Edison looked inquiringly at Coco, who shook her head. ‘Sorry,’ she retorted. ‘No can do.’

  ‘Why not?’ the clown said softly, taking another step forward. ‘Don’t you like us?’

  Luckily Coco didn’t have to answer, because at that moment the first buggy arrived. As she moved towards the platform, however, the head clown grabbed Edison’s arm.

  ‘You don’t need to go, Edison,’ it pointed out. ‘You’ve already been on this ghost train six times.’

  Uh-oh, thought Marcus.

  Edison shrugged. ‘That’s okay,’ he said. ‘I don’t mind doing it again.’

  ‘You should wait here with us,’ the clown insisted. ‘We have something very special to show you.’

  ‘Yes . . . stay here . . . very special . . .’ the other creatures sighed. Edison seemed torn. He hesitated, glancing at his father.

  But Coco wasn’t about to let anyone else take command.

  ‘We’re leaving,’ she snapped, seizing Edison’s other arm. ‘Come on.’

  ‘Huh?’ Edison stared at her, dumbfounded – as did Holly. Marcus couldn’t believe his ears.

  ‘You’ve had enough fun for today,’ Coco went on. ‘We can always come back tomorrow. You need dinner and a shower before you go to bed.’ She tugged Edison towards the buggy, which immediately began to back away. ‘Stay right there!’ she barked, levelling a manicured finger at it. As the carnival creatures began to growl and mutter, she turned to address her stepson. ‘We’ll stop for pizza on our way home,’ she promised, clearly under the impression that a pizza would make all the difference.

  Much to Marcus’s amazement, it did.

  ‘Okay.’ Edison agreed with a sigh. ‘But can I have my own pizza? I don’t have to share with Newt, do I?’

  ‘You can have your own pizza,’ said Coco. Raising her voice over a sudden wail of protest from the crowd, she said to Holly, ‘I always promise pizza when I need to get him out of an amusement park. It usually does the trick. And if that doesn’t work, I threaten him with a computer-game embargo.’