The Broken Leg of Doom Read online

  And Seb smiled and said that it used to be his granddad’s and that his granddad was a MUSICIAN and that he used to be famous and in a band and everything.

  And I realised that the suit jacket and pocket watch must have been his granddad’s too.

  And I looked at Jodi to see if she was going to say anything to Seb but she didn’t. But I did notice that she was sort of STARING at him which was a bit weird.

  Then all of a sudden Maisie started

  And then she said, “What’s that?!”

  And I looked and saw that Maisie was pointing at the floor.

  And that something had been slipped under the curtain.

  And my heart almost STOPPED.

  Because it was a SANDWICH.

  And then Zach GULPED and said, “Please tell me it’s cheese. PLEASE TELL ME IT’S CHEESE!”

  But I knew before I even LOOKED that it WASN’T going to be cheese.

  And I was right.

  Because it was TUNA.

  Before I knew what was happening Zach jumped up and KICKED the tuna sandwich and it disappeared under the curtain.

  And then someone shouted, “HEY! Who just kicked a sandwich at me?”

  But we just sat in silence and didn’t say anything.

  Then all of a sudden Maisie JUMPED a bit.

  And then she said, “My leg’s feeling WEIRD and ITCHY again. What if it’s the CURSE trying to tell me more about FRANCISCO? Read it. READ IT!”

  So we all looked at Maisie’s cast and she made us check the bits she couldn’t see over and over again. But there weren’t any new messages.

  That’s when Zach said that it probably took HOURS for the message to SEEP through the cast because the cast was so SOLID and that there would probably be a message later on that night. And Seb said that he thought Zach was RIGHT and that there would probably be a new message from the curse on Maisie’s leg cast in the morning and that we should all make sure we came back tomorrow morning to read it and keep doing the INVESTIGATION and bring him some grapes too.

  But then before we could say anything else someone opened the curtain. And it was a nurse and she was holding a TUNA SANDWICH in her hand and she looked annoyed.

  So that’s when Jodi said that it was time to go and the nurse said that that was a good idea and I knew that she’d said it because of all the GASPING and SCREAMING and KICKING SANDWICHES about the ward.

  Then the nurse said that the doctor was on his way to see Maisie and also that her mum was waiting to see her because you’re only allowed three visitors at a time.

  So we said goodbye to Maisie and told her that we’d see her the next day and she did a BRAVE FACE and told us not to worry and also that Seb would be here all night and he looked at us and did a SALUTE and it made me feel better to know that he was in the bed across from Maisie in case anything else happened with the

  The next day when we arrived at the ward, Seb was sitting at Maisie’s bedside with a NOTEPAD and Maisie was talking and he was nodding LOADS and writing down everything Maisie said.

  And that’s when Jodi put her hands on her HIPS and asked Seb what he was doing with the

  and that’s when I realised that it was JODI’S pad Seb was writing in and that she must have left it there by mistake.

  That’s when Maisie explained that loads of WEIRD THINGS had been happening since we were there yesterday and that Seb had offered to write it all down and get on with the INVESTIGATION until we arrived.

  Then Seb said, “I tried to read all the notes in here to catch up but the writing’s a bit messy.”

  I looked at Jodi and she looked FURIOUS. And I knew that it was because Seb had read our OFFICIAL NOTES without PERMISSION and that she thought he was trying to TAKE OVER THE INVESTIGATION. And also because he’d said Jodi’s writing was MESSY.

  That’s when Jodi said that she NEEDED THE ROOM and she looked directly at SEB when she said it. But Seb just sat where he was and didn’t get up because he obviously didn’t know what that meant. But me and Zach DID know what it meant because it’s what Jodi says when she wants everyone who is not part of the OFFICIAL INVESTIGATION to LEAVE.

  I knew that Jodi was about to

  so that’s when I asked Seb if he would be able to get us all some squash and he jumped up and did another SALUTE and said that he DEFINITELY WOULD and that he knew where the GOOD squash was kept. And then he rushed off.

  As SOON as Seb left, Jodi GRABBED her notebook and sat down on the bed next to Maisie and said, “Tell us everything.”

  So that’s when Maisie told us that she kept waking up in the night because there had been WEIRD NOISES. And that the noises had been horrible SCRAPING and SCRATCHING sounds.

  And then she said, “They sounded really CLOSE. But every time I woke and sat up the noises stopped.”

  Jodi started writing everything down really fast even though it must have already been written down in there by Seb.

  Then Jodi said, “Maisie. Is there anything else you can remember? Did you see anything at all when you woke up?”

  But Maisie just shook her head and said, “The nurses put the big light out at night but you can still see a bit. But I didn’t see anything.”

  And that’s when I noticed that Maisie’s hands were SHAKING so I sat down on the bed next to her and held her hand and told her that we were here now and that she didn’t need to worry any more about the scary noises.

  But then Maisie said, “What about tonight? What if the noises come back? What if it’s the CURSE?!”

  And that’s when Jodi said, “You don’t need to worry about tonight, Maisie. Trust me.”

  I didn’t know what Jodi meant by that and I was just about to ask her when Maisie sat up and STARED at us with her big eyes and said, “There’s something else.”

  And then Zach gasped and said, “There’s another message on your cast, isn’t there?”

  And Maisie nodded.

  And Zach said, “Where? Let us see!” But then Maisie shook her head and said that she didn’t want us to see it and I could see that she was really worried and even looked a bit like she had TEARS in her eyes.

  I thought Maisie was going to say that the message was about FRANCISCO.

  But then she said, “It’s about you guys.”

  And Jodi’s eyes went WIDE and she said, “Show us.”

  And that’s when Maisie pulled the sheet off her leg and pointed to a BIG message scrawled right up the side of her cast in GREEN PEN and it said:

  And that’s when Maisie started CRYING and saying that she would have to keep the cast on FOREVER and probably live in the hospital because her leg was the

  When Seb came back with the squash he took one look at Maisie and said, “What did I miss?”

  And that was because Maisie had FAINTED.

  So that’s when I explained that Maisie had shown us the message about having to keep the cast on or we’d all be DOOMED and Seb nodded loads and said that we needed to be SUPER CAREFUL because the curse was POWERFUL and that it might give us all a RASH or CHICKEN POX or even BEARDS if we weren’t careful.

  And then he said, “We need to make sure Maisie keeps that cast on and she should probably stay in hospital until we can figure all this out.”

  And then Seb gave us all a cup of squash and he’d even written our NAMES on the side of the cups like they do in a COFFEE SHOP and said that it was because he knew how STRONG everyone liked their squash because Maisie had told him. And then he smiled and raised his cup in the air and said, “ENJOY!”

  So we raised our cups too and I said, “Thanks, Seb.”

  And Zach said, “Cheers!”

  But Jodi said, “OUCH!” and then she put her hand on her side.

  That’s when I jumped up and said, “Are you OK?”

  But Jodi shook her head and said that she WASN’T OK and that her side was hurting a bit and that she wanted us to get a nurse.

  So Zach went to get help and I made Jodi sit down and drink some water.

 
Then Zach came back with a nurse and the nurse took Jodi away.

  And that’s when Seb looked at us with WIDE EYES and said,

  The next day after school I couldn’t believe that I was visiting TWO of my best friends in hospital. But I WAS.

  And that was because JODI had been admitted to the same ward as Maisie for SUSPECTED APPENDICITIS because of her sore side.

  When me and Zach got to the ward, Jodi was sitting up in the bed next to Maisie and I could see that she was wearing a HOSPITAL GOWN like Maisie’s and Seb’s, and that she was using a LAPTOP and wearing her GLASSES which she hardly EVER does even though she’s supposed to.

  I got a little bit upset when I saw her because I was worried about her. And about Maisie. AND about the curse. And I was also worried about myself a bit TOO because I didn’t want the CURSE to come after me next and give ME appendicitis or something worse like a BEARD.

  As soon as Jodi saw us she waved us over to her bed and told us to shut the curtain.

  Just then a doctor came and took Maisie away to teach her how to use CRUTCHES.

  So that’s when I said, “Do you think the doctor is going to say she can go home today?”

  And that’s when Jodi said, “I hope not!”

  And I was a bit surprised when she said that because Jodi was the one who WANTED Maisie to go home most. But then I thought that the reason Jodi probably wanted Maisie to stay in hospital now was because she was there too. But I wasn’t sure because Jodi was being a bit WEIRD.

  Then Zach asked where Seb was and Jodi looked up from her laptop and did a bit of a SMIRK and said, “Good question!”

  I didn’t know what Jodi meant by that but I knew that we were about to find out because Jodi had that LOOK in her eye that she gets when she’s

  So that’s when I asked Jodi how she was feeling and how her side was and she said, “What? Oh, yeah. I’m fine.”

  Then Zach asked her if we could get her anything but she didn’t answer. She just kept STARING at the screen.

  So that’s when I said, “Jodi, what’s going on? Did something happen with the CURSE?”

  And Jodi closed the laptop and looked up at us and her eyes looked WEIRD.

  And that’s when she said, “There’s nothing wrong with me. I’m not unwell.”

  So I looked at Zach and he looked at me because obviously Jodi was in DENIAL because she was in HOSPITAL wearing a hospital gown and EVERYTHING so she obviously WAS unwell.

  So that’s when I said, “Jodi. Um. You’ve got appendicitis, remember?”

  But Jodi just shook her head and said, “No. I’ve got SUSPECTED appendicitis and I got kept in overnight for

  Which meant I got to stay here in the bed RIGHT next to Maisie all night to make sure she was SAFE.”

  Then Jodi looked up at me and smiled.

  And that’s when I GASPED because I realised what was going on.

  So I said, “You didn’t!”

  And Jodi nodded and said, “I did. And I know it’s lying but this is SERIOUS.”

  Then Zach said, “What’s going on?”

  So that’s when I whispered, “She faked it! She doesn’t have appendicitis!”

  And Zach gasped and said, “JODI! You can’t do that!”

  And I knew that he said it because his mum is a NURSE.

  But that’s when Jodi said that she didn’t have a CHOICE and that Maisie NEEDED HER and that she couldn’t leave her alone in CREEPY WARD 13 for another night by herself with the

  Jodi said that she’d made an INSTANT PLAN in her head the MINUTE Maisie had told her about the weird noises in the night. And that her plan had been to get admitted to hospital and stay awake ALL NIGHT to see where the noises were coming from and keep a close eye on Maisie’s CAST.

  And that’s when Jodi told us to come closer. So we did.

  And she said, “Something happened last night.”

  And Zach gasped and said, “Did someone give you a tuna sandwich?!?!”

  But Jodi shook her head and said that there hadn’t been any sandwiches, just a bit of toast and some milk.

  And then she said, “But I DID see something.”

  And there was something about the way she said it that made my heart start beating a bit faster.

  Then Jodi said, “It happened about midnight. Right over there.”

  And then she pointed to the curtain and even though we couldn’t see through it I knew that she was pointing to the other side of the bay where Seb’s bed was.

  Jodi took a deep breath and then she said, “At first I didn’t know what I was looking at. But then I realised what it was. And that’s when I knew that the curse was definitely REAL. And a LOT more serious than we realised.”

  Then Jodi looked at me and I

  because I just KNEW that she was about to say something

  and that it was going to change EVERYTHING.

  That’s when Jodi told us that she saw someone wearing a LONG WHITE COAT walk over to Seb’s bed. And that he handed Seb something and that Seb took it, then they did a HIGH FIVE.

  Then Jodi said, “I thought it was just a DOCTOR giving him his medicine or something because I couldn’t see properly in the dark. But then someone else in the bay put their little bed light on and that’s when I saw that the person with Seb had loads of BANDAGES wrapped round his head AND his whole FACE!”

  And that’s when Zach GASPED but Jodi said, “Wait. There’s MORE.”

  And then she said, “Then a nurse walked past and the bandaged man HID behind the curtains until she was gone and then he ran away.”

  I looked at Zach and his mouth was WIDE OPEN and I wasn’t surprised because this was

  I had

  what was going on but then Jodi pulled something out from behind her pillow and said, “And then I found THIS over by the curtain this morning.”

  And I looked and saw that it was a bit of BANDAGE and it looked all OLD and DUSTY.

  And then Jodi looked up at us and said, “Do you understand what I’m saying to you?”

  And me and Zach both nodded because we DID.

  There was a

  loose in the hospital!

  Jodi said that she’d been reading ALL NIGHT about MUMMIES.

  And she thought that maybe there was a MUMMY’S TOMB somewhere in the hospital from when they were doing research on bandages and someone must have found it and set the mummy FREE.

  Then she said that she’d found out that mummies were buried with loads of JEWELS and FANCY STUFF and RICHES and that if anyone stole any of their stuff they’d release a CURSE.

  And I was in

  because I hadn’t actually thought there was a MUMMY loose in the hospital. I’d just thought that there was a CURSE left over from OLDEN TIMES. But this was a FRESH CURSE!

  And then I remembered something and I said, “Wait. You said you saw Seb TALKING to the mummy? And giving it a HIGH FIVE?!”

  And Jodi nodded and said, “I did. And I think HE was the one who opened the tomb.”

  And me and Zach both

  That’s when Jodi said that she’d been SUSPICIOUS of Seb since she first met him. And that’s when I remembered the WEIRD LOOKS Jodi had been getting on her face when he was around and I realised that it probably WASN’T just because he was being annoying and that it was because Jodi thought he was up to NO GOOD.

  Then Jodi said, “HE was the one who told us about the curse. And HE was the one who kept saying that we had to keep the curse trapped in Maisie’s cast. Something just didn’t feel right. He was DESPERATE for Maisie to stay here. Now I know why.”

  Then Jodi said that she thought Seb and the MUMMY were WORKING TOGETHER because of the

  and the HIGH FIVE and that they BOTH wanted the curse to stay inside Maisie’s LEG CAST.

  And she thought Seb had found the tomb and ACCIDENTALLY released the mummy years ago when he first started coming to the hospital. And that he OBVIOUSLY didn’t want to get CURSED so he tried to lock the mummy back in the tomb.

  A
nd then Jodi leaned forward and said, “But I don’t think the mummy WANTED to go back. I think it wanted to be FREE and so they

  together to TRICK the CURSE and get it to go into Maisie’s LEG CAST so Seb wouldn’t be cursed any more and the mummy would still be FREE. And I think the mummy is paying Seb in JEWELS and FANCY STUFF like the POCKET WATCH so that he keeps the mummy’s secret.”

  But then Zach said that that didn’t make any SENSE and Jodi said that it DID ACTUALLY.

  So that’s when Zach said, “But why would the curse go inside Maisie’s leg cast? Why wouldn’t it just stay with Seb if he was the one who disturbed the tomb?”

  And that’s when Jodi crossed her arms and looked a bit ANNOYED and said that she didn’t know the answer to that yet but that she ONE HUNDRED PER CENT planned to find out when Seb got back from wherever he was and she could do an OFFICIAL INTERROGATION.

  And that’s when I remembered the LOOK on Seb’s face when he saw how BIG Maisie’s leg cast was and I gasped and said, “I think I know why the curse went into Maisie’s cast! It thinks her leg is a MUMMY!”

  And Jodi GASPED.

  And Zach said that maybe we were RIGHT because even though the curse was in Maisie’s cast, nothing bad had actually happened to her and the curse was probably just living in her CAST trying to protect her LEG because it needed a new home.

  And Jodi nodded LOADS and said that that was probably why the mummy HIGH FIVED Seb because he was happy the curse had gone to live somewhere else because it was ITCHY like Maisie kept complaining about.