The Chocolate Factory Ghost

by David O'Connell

  Billy had just reached the top of the last flight when he tripped and went flying headlong. Archie scarcely managed to grab Billy’s outflung arm before the boy plunged down the staircase. He clung to Archie in fright.

  ‘That was close!’ said Fliss. ‘Be more careful, Billy! You could have damaged something important. Like the carpet.’

  ‘I was tripped up!’ said Billy angrily. ‘And not by a poltergeist.’ He pointed to his ankle. In the dim light they could just make out that it was caught by a length of thread stretched across the stair.

  ‘The Piglets!’ said Archie. ‘Another one of their death traps.’

  ‘It almost worked too,’ said Fliss. ‘That’s really creepy.’

  ‘So creepy I’m ready to give them a rating on the Macabre Creepy Scale,’ said Billy, his face burning. ‘And maybe a Macabre Punch-On-Their-Noses for good measure.’ Two faces appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

  ‘Have a nice trip?’ said Georgie, smiling wickedly. Portia giggled.

  ‘I’ll send you on a trip!’ yelled Billy, charging down the stairs. ‘With a one-way ticket to Kickinthepantsville!’ Archie and Fliss stared at each other. They had never seen Billy like this before. Neither had the twins, who hurriedly retreated into the library in the face of the enraged boy, slamming the doors behind them. Billy pounded his fists against the heavy wooden entrance.

  ‘We need to get in there,’ said Archie. ‘The last clue!’ He and Fliss joined Billy at the library doors. They leaned against them and pushed with all their might. It was too much for the Piglets, who staggered back from the doorway as the others forced their way in.

  ‘Keep away from us,’ said Portia, running to the desk. ‘Or … or we’ll eat all your chocolates.’ She frantically grabbed at an open box that was sitting on the desk. It was chocolate – a box of McBudge Chokidigits, chocolate shaped into numbers. Archie glanced at Fliss and Billy. The magic letter was sitting next to the box, unnoticed by the twins. The Chokidigits must be the final clue!

  Archie made a dash for the desk but Georgie and Portia’s gluttonous faces meant business. He just got a sight of the chocolates before they tumbled into the twins’ greedy mouths. The clue was gone forever.

  ‘You snout-nosed, oily trough hogs!’ Archie yelled. ‘They weren’t for you!’

  ‘Who cares?’ sneered Portia, her mouth all sticky. ‘You’ve got loads of chocolate anyway.’

  ‘Yeah,’ said Georgie darkly. ‘For now.’

  Archie was seething. But not as much as Billy. Letting out a huge roar, he ran towards the twins, chasing them around the table and out of the library. They fled squealing, terrified by the strange boy’s rage. Fliss quickly shut the library doors behind them, then Billy and Archie pushed a heavy armchair against the doors to stop them coming back in.

  ‘You were very impressive,’ Fliss said to Billy as he slumped in the chair. ‘You were like a possessed wrath-monster. Fliss rating – ten out of ten.’ Billy chuckled.

  ‘I enjoyed that,’ he said. ‘And at least it’s got rid of them for a while.’

  ‘It doesn’t matter,’ sighed Archie. ‘It’s too late! Those horrors have eaten the clue.’

  ‘We can’t give up now!’ said Fliss. ‘Not after everything else we’ve been through.’

  ‘Think, man!’ said Billy. ‘You were closest to the chocolates. What did you see?’

  Archie racked his brains.

  ‘There were only three chocolates,’ he said. ‘They were lined up in a row.’

  ‘What numbers were they?’ said Fliss. ‘Try and remember, Archie!’

  Archie concentrated. He could see in his mind Portia grabbing the box and tipping the chocolates out.

  ‘A four, a two …’ He could see Portia trying to get the last chocolate before her brother, her fat little hand desperately reaching for … a three? ‘No, wait – an eight!’ he said. ‘A four, a two and an eight! I remember!’

  ‘Well done, Archie!’ said Fliss. She frowned. ‘But what does that mean?’

  ‘It could be part of a spell or incantation,’ said Billy, scratching his chin. ‘They often invoke the arcane science of Numerology. Or it could be the phone number of McGreasy’s Pizza Delivery.’

  ‘Or the combination of a safe,’ said Fliss. ‘Or maybe coordinates on a map – they’re made up of numbers.’

  ‘There are several books of maps in here,’ said Archie. ‘I saw them when we were playing hide-and-seek the other day.’ He walked alongside the wall of bookshelves. ‘Let’s see – there was one on the fifth bookcase, third shelf up, about the sixth book along …’ He stopped.

  ‘What?’ said Fliss. ‘What’s the matter?’

  ‘That’s it!’ said Archie, grinning. ‘It’s not a map coordinate, it’s a book location. That’s why the chocolates were left in the library. Four, two, eight – fourth bookcase, second shelf up, eighth book along!’

  They ran over to the fourth of the many bookshelves, counting two rows up and then along the shelf to the eighth book. Archie pulled the book from the shelf and read the cover.

  ‘The Insect Life of Loch Flicmaibogie,’ he said. ‘By Fraser Dripping-Tingle.

  ‘That doesn’t sound promising,’ said Billy. Archie flicked through the pages.

  ‘It’s just a book about gnats,’ he said, disappointed. ‘Lots of them. Could this be the object we’re meant to find?’ They crowded around the book, hoping for inspiration.

  ‘Hang on,’ said Fliss suddenly. ‘Maybe it’s second shelf down, not up.’ She clambered up a stepladder to the second shelf down and picked out the eighth book.

  ‘Dreadful Desserts, Sweets for the Creatures of the Otherworld, by F. Bixington,’ she said, carefully carrying the thick book back down the ladder. ‘That’s more like it! Hmmm … it’s much lighter than it looks.’

  Archie opened the book on the desk. His eyes lit up.

  ‘Brilliant, Fliss!’ he said. ‘It’s not a book – it’s a box disguised as a book! The pages aren’t real.’ The others peered into the fake book to see three more Chokidigit numbers hidden inside.

  ‘Seven, four, two,’ said Fliss. ‘Another book location?’ Billy got to the seventh bookcase first and found the corresponding volume.

  ‘Scrumtastic Feasts and Where to Find Them,’ he read. It was another fake book with another set of chocolate numbers.

  ‘This is a great way to hide chocolates from you, greedy-guts,’ said Fliss as Billy munched on the discarded numbers. ‘Honestly – you’re not so much Billy Macabre as Billy Macarbohydrate.’ Meanwhile, Archie had found the next book.

  ‘Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves,’ he read, looking at the gold letters printed on its spine. ‘Odd. It’s not sweet-related.’ He pulled at the book on its shelf but it stuck. ‘It won’t come out,’ he said. Just then, there was a quiet click from behind the bookcase and it slowly swung away from the wall. Billy whistled.

  ‘Open Sesame!’ he said. ‘A real-life secret passage! This place really does have it all.’

  Behind the bookcase there was a doorway, with stone steps leading down into the gloom below. There were scratching noises and the smell of damp air wafted upwards. It didn’t look very inviting.

  ‘That looks really eerie,’ said Fliss. ‘Like Tunnel of the Slime Zombies-eerie.’

  ‘Slime zombies live in sewers and drains,’ Billy corrected her. ‘This is much more were-slug territory.’

  Sherbet barked a warning – there were scuffling noises from the other side of the doors. It was the twins!

  ‘Let us in!’ called Georgie. ‘Or we’ll tell Mummy you’ve been horrible to us!’ The doors pushed against the chair as the Puddingham-Pyes tried to batter their way through.

  ‘Were-slugs or the Piglets?’ said Archie, grabbing the letter and stuffing it in his pocket. ‘It’s not much of a choice – come on!’

  He scrambled through the doorway, Fliss, Billy and Sherbet following after. They just got the bookcase shut behind them before they heard the sound of the twi
ns bursting into the library. They would have a surprise! But now there was only one way out. Archie stepped into the darkness.

  They carefully made their way down the tunnel. It was very difficult to see.

  ‘We’re right underground,’ whispered Fliss, shivering in the cold. ‘I wonder where it leads.’

  They didn’t have long to find out. The tunnel brightened suddenly, illuminated by many candles stuck into alcoves in the stone walls, pale stalagmites shaped by years of melted, dripping wax. They could hear the sound of lapping water ahead. Eventually the tunnel opened out into a small cave, rippling shadows playing across its arched roof. By the flicker of a single lantern hanging from a hook on the wall they could see the ground formed a pebble shore that fell away into water: the loch, an expanse of inky black under the night sky.

  ‘The passage is a secret way to get to the loch from Honeystone Hall!’ said Archie.

  ‘I’ve been out on the loch before and I’ve never seen this cave,’ said Billy. ‘It must be well hidden from the rest of Dundoodle.’

  They trudged over to the shoreline. Outside the cave, snowflakes began to fall gently.

  ‘There’s no other exit,’ Fliss observed, kicking a pebble into the water. ‘We’re stuck until the twins decide to go home. Unless a boat passes by.’

  Archie looked around.

  ‘I was expecting to find something here,’ he said. ‘All the other clues have led to an object of some kind.’ They began to search amongst the rocks, looking for boxes, treasure chests or scrolls or anything out of place. Even Sherbet joined in, sniffing in every nook and crevice.

  ‘If only I’d brought my torch,’ said Fliss. ‘It’s difficult to see by the light of that stupid lamp.’

  Archie glanced at the small lantern. It was odd that it was the only light in the cave when the tunnel had been filled with candles. Its flame seemed unnatural too. He walked over to the wall where it hung to get a better look. The lamp was made of a silvery metal, decorated with leaves and flowers in swirling patterns. Inside wasn’t a candle, but a gemstone, a golden crystal that appeared to float inside the lamp. The light came from an unearthly, wispy flame that was trapped behind the crystal’s faceted surface.

  ‘It’s the lantern!’ he said. ‘This is what we’re supposed to find.’ The others hurried to his side.

  ‘I’ve read about these,’ said Billy, his big eyes looking owlish in the lamp’s strange glow. ‘Wyrdie-lights.’

  ‘It’s beautiful,’ gasped Fliss. ‘Please tell me this isn’t some undead corpse-y thing.’

  ‘It’s a living fire that has no fuel but burns forever,’ Billy replied, gazing in fascination. ‘The crystal stops it from escaping.’

  ‘We probably ought to leave it here,’ said Archie. ‘I’m not sure anywhere in the Hall is secure enough after today. In fact, I think I’ll bring the box with the other finds down here for safe keeping.’

  As they left the cave, Archie noticed another empty alcove in its rocky wall. A silver hook embedded into the stone caught his eye. Something was obviously meant to hang from the hook in that alcove. Another lantern? Suspended from a chain underneath the niche was a tiny hammer, much smaller than the one he had found in Clootie’s kitchen. Archie’s mind began to race as they plodded back up through the tunnel. Ideas were forming. Pieces were falling into possible places …

  His thoughts were interrupted by their arrival at the doorway into the library. All was quiet.

  ‘The twins must have got bored and left,’ whispered Fliss. Archie pushed the back of the bookcase and it slowly opened. They stepped back into the warmth and light of the library.

  ‘So that’s where you were hiding,’ came a sneer from an armchair. It was Mrs Puddingham-Pye.

  Archie gasped. Mrs Puddingham-Pye was the last person he wanted to see. She leaped from her chair with the speed of a cat. Luckily, Fliss had the good sense to slam the bookcase back into place before Mrs Puddingham-Pye could glimpse what was behind it.

  ‘What’s in there?’ the woman spat, her claw-like fingers gripping the bookcase and shaking it frantically. ‘How do you open it? Tell me, Urchin!’

  ‘Try “Open Sesame”,’ said Archie slyly. ‘And it’s none of your business anyway. This is my house.’ Mrs Puddingham-Pye growled.

  ‘You impudent little brat …’ she began, but just then Mum walked in carrying a tray with a teapot and teacups. ‘… who’s so full of fun and games! Delightful

  child.’ She patted Archie on the head and sat back in the armchair like a hunched spider, her handbag planted by her side on the floor.

  ‘There you are, Archie!’ said Mum, putting down the tray and pouring the tea. ‘Cousin Jacqui has come to pick up the twins. They’ve been looking all over for you. Tablet has had to entertain them.’

  ‘Poor Tablet!’ said Archie. ‘Do we need to call an ambulance?’

  Mrs Puddingham-Pye ignored him and sipped her tea daintily.

  ‘A little bird tells me that all is not well at the factory,’ she said, raising her painted eyebrows inquisitively. ‘There’s talk in the town that a certain secret ingredient is proving so secretive that nobody can find it.’ She gave a short little laugh. ‘Naughty little ingredient!’

  ‘Really?’ said Mum, flustered. She and Archie exchanged glances.

  ‘A terrible tragedy if it were true!’ said Mrs Puddingham-Pye. ‘It would be a catastrophe for McBudge Fudge and Dundoodle. Maybe the factory would have to close!’ She widened her eyes dramatically at the thought. ‘Of course, if the worst did happen, Tosh and I would be helpful in any way we could.’ Helpful like the big, bad wolf was helpful to Little Red Riding Hood, thought Archie.

  ‘We know exactly where the naughty little ingredient is,’ he said. ‘You shouldn’t listen to rumour.’ Why did he say that? He hadn’t a clue where it was! Mrs Puddingham-Pye stared at him as if she were trying to prise open his brain with her eyes.

  ‘How simply wonderful!’ she said. ‘Gossip is a terrible thing. I’m always as quiet as the grave, myself.’

  ‘Actually, graves aren’t very quiet,’ put in Billy. ‘What with all the munching from twelve different types of maggots and the tormented wails of the undead, but we know what you mean.’ Mrs Puddingham-Pye looked at Billy like he was an insect she had found swimming in her teacup.

  ‘Peculiar boy,’ she said. ‘What strange company you keep, young Urchin!’ She quickly finished her tea. ‘Now, this has been lovely but I must be on my way.’

  With a barked ‘CHILDREN!’ she summoned Georgie and Portia from the hallway, where they had been drawing all over a dozing Tablet’s face. She picked up her handbag from the floor – wait, had it moved? Archie was sure it had been closer to her chair – and strode out of the Hall, her odd raspberry perfume lingering long after the front door had shut behind them.

  ‘What made you say that?’ said Mum, clearing up the tea things. ‘We still don’t know where this dod ingredient thing is.’

  ‘I can’t stand seeing her so smug,’ said Archie. ‘She might be family, but she’s no friend, Mum.’ Mum sighed and shook her head.

  ‘It’s getting late,’ she said, carrying the tea tray out of the library. ‘Time you kids were getting back to your own homes.’

  ‘We’ll see you back here after school tomorrow,’ whispered Fliss, as she and Billy plodded out into the dark, snowy night. Archie nodded. It had been a busy day and there was lots to talk about.

  That night Archie slept fitfully, even though Sherbet had crept on to his bed to make it extra warm and toasty. His mind kept running through the list of things they had found, trying to find some kind of pattern. But none materialised. It was just a clutter of random objects, like Fliss’s tool kit. Like Fliss’s tool kit …

  There was a THUD. Was Mum up? Was Tablet sleepwalking like last night? They had found him in the bath wearing only a woolly hat and muttering ‘Parsnips!’

  Archie jumped out of bed and tiptoed downstairs. Sherbet accompanied him, staying clo
se to his heels. The dog sniffed the air and growled.

  ‘Quiet,’ Archie hissed. ‘We don’t want to wake anyone.’ The doors to the library were open. He could hear scuffling sounds coming from inside. Archie peered around the doorway, his heart beating fast. There amongst the shadows, another darker shadow moved stealthily. Someone was in there and they didn’t want to be seen!

  Sherbet dived into the room, barking furiously at the intruder.

  ‘No, Sherbet!’ cried Archie. ‘Come back!’

  The shadow froze for a moment then sprang towards the window. It was attempting to make its escape! Sherbet chased after it but Archie made a grab for his collar, not wanting the brave little dog to get hurt. He flicked the switch of a nearby table lamp just as the intruder lunged at the long, heavy curtain that hung over the library window. The bat-like shape was unmistakable: it was Garstigan!

  The monster snarled down at him as its bony claws gripped and shredded the thick material, just out of Archie’s reach.

  ‘Can’t catch Garstigan, stinky bratling!’ it gurgled merrily. ‘No sticky sweeties this time!’ Traces of Fliss’s Slurpopop were still stuck to the mobgoblin’s body, the sickly, fruity smell of the lollipop overpowering the library’s usual smell of leather, wood and dust. Where had Archie smelled that before? Books lay on the floor in heaps, thrown from the bookcase that hid the secret passage. That must have been the thud Archie had heard. The creature had been trying to find the hidden door! Luckily the Ali Baba book was still in its place.

  Sherbet wriggled free from Archie’s grasp and jumped at Garstigan, who leaped from the curtain with a squawk and flapped out of the open window. Archie ran over to it, snowflakes blowing into his face, to see the mobgoblin fly to the side of a figure silhouetted against the white blanket that now formed the garden. He could only just make out who the person was in the darkness, but the large handbag would have given them away in any case: it was Mrs Puddingham-Pye! She was Garstigan’s keeper!