by Z. Fraillon
‘You’re already on fourteen penalty points, aren’t you, McPhee?’ Bruno snarled. Jasper didn’t answer. One thing the prefects did know was exactly how many penalty points each student was on. ‘Well, I reckon an extra six for being out of class should do it.’
Jasper shrugged.
‘Which brings you up to, hmmm, let me see ...’ Bruno pretended to be working it out as he wrote something down on a card. ‘Oh no, twenty penalty points. Looks like you’ve got yourself a punishment. Enjoy.’
Bruno slapped Jasper in the face with a red card before strutting down the corridor.
Jasper looked down at the card. There was the school emblem, Bruno’s ugly signature, and the words:
Jasper stifled a groan. Once you reached twenty penalty points, that was it – punishment time. The punishment changed each day, and was written up by Stenka on the punishment board, as if it was a special at a restaurant. This day just keeps getting better, Jasper thought.
He scuffed his way to the board. The words were neatly written in chalk. He let out a sigh of relief. Jasper had run the penalty course before, so at least he knew what to expect. It could have been worse. Much worse. Stenka must be in a good mood today.
PENALTY COURSE
Not that the penalty course was a whole lot of fun. It went straight through the middle of the forest. Running through a cold forest was hard enough during the day. But in the dead of night, when who knew what monsters lurked there – that was definitely creepy.
Kids said that years ago, some of the trained monsters had turned feral and escaped, retreating to the dark depths of the trees. So far Jasper hadn’t seen anything to confirm this, but it was hard not to think about it when you were running through the forest at night.
Of course, the guard dogs usually helped to take his mind off the monsters. Ten minutes after the students started running, a pack of guard dogs was released to chase them. Jasper figured that guard-dog teeth would hurt just as much as monster teeth.
The gong sounded for the end of class, startling Jasper. Between talking to Mr Golag, running into Bruno and checking the board, he had managed to miss his Species Studies class with Stenka.
He could just imagine her smile. Stenka had a smile straight out of a horror film. She flashed it when the students were about to go through something unpleasant. And then there were her cold, beady eyes that shot straight into your soul. Jasper felt the hair on his arms bristle.
He really hoped she hadn’t noticed that he wasn’t in class. But Stenka always noticed.
4
‘Come on – it will be fun!’ Saffy was saying to Felix as they made their way through the study hall towards Jasper.
Felix had been let out of hospital, but he was still looking very pale. Jasper had gone to visit him earlier that afternoon, but the nurses wouldn’t let him in.
Jasper was supposed to be catching up on the Species Studies class he’d missed, but for the last half-hour he’d found himself drawing a picture of Felix being sucked by the Cranklesucker. It was hard to get it out of his mind.
As Felix and Saffy came over, Jasper quickly closed his exercise book.
‘Hey, Felix,’ he said quietly. He noticed Felix had a big bruise on his face from where the Cranklesucker had latched on.
Saffy gave Jasper a particularly vicious glare. ‘Just try something like that fly stunt again,’ she threatened, ‘and your puny little backside will be on the wrong end of my foot.’
Jasper didn’t argue – Saffy was a kickboxing champion.
Felix gave Jasper a small smile. ‘Don’t worry about it. I mean, that monster was …’ he shuddered. ‘But it’s not as though you set it on me. And anyway, now I can brag to my brothers about how I survived a Muncher attack.’
Jasper breathed a sigh of relief.
‘Well, we can’t afford to stay annoyed with you for too long,’ said Saffy, brightening. ‘You’ll never guess why.’
‘Um, because I’m so funny and cool?’ tried Jasper.
‘Yeah, right,’ said Saffy. ‘We’ve got to stick together because we’re all on the same team.’
‘What are you talking about?’ asked Jasper.
Felix frowned. ‘Our first Task.’
Jasper sat up straighter in his chair. ‘Already? A Task?’
‘Yup. Stenka told us in Species Studies,’ said Saffy. You’re in so much trouble for missing her class, by the way. We’ve all been teamed up together. Look out monsters, here we come!’
‘I think I’ve had enough of monsters for one day,’ muttered Felix.
‘Come on, Felix!’ said Saffy. ‘This is our big chance!’ Her eyes shone with excitement.
A Task was the first big step towards going on a real Hunt. It was a practice Hunt, in the school grounds.
Jasper was desperate to go on a Hunt. It would be his first chance to catch wild monsters in the outside world. He imagined himself saving people from the Screechers that were lurking under their beds, the Morphers that were changing them into other things, the Scramblers that were driving them crazy, and the Munchers who wanted to eat them ... or suck their faces off.
‘Listen,’ said Saffy. ‘Once we pass our Task, we’ll be that much closer to going on a real Hunt. And do you know what the best thing about that is?’ She lowered her voice. ‘If we go on a Hunt, we’ll be out of this dump! There’ll be no teachers, no more thug brigade, no more monsters trying to suck us to death. We’ll be free to nick off wherever we want.’
‘Where would we go?’ asked Felix. ‘We don’t even know where we are.’
‘Who cares?’ said Saffy. ‘Anywhere!’
Jasper could see Felix’s point. They really had no idea where they were. But he still wanted to go on a Hunt. Only students went on Hunts – no teachers, no prefects.
Jasper thought about the buzz he got from catching the Quiddlesquawk in his test. If it felt that good catching a trained monster, how great would it be to catch a wild one? That is, if it didn’t catch him first.
‘It’s going to be awesome,’ said Saffy. ‘Don’t you want to get out of here, Felix? This is our ticket out!’
Felix rolled his eyes. Jasper wondered if he was thinking about their first escape attempt.
Saffy had been trying to escape ever since she got to Monstrum House. Her nickname was Houdini. She had escaped from every boarding school her parents had ever dumped her in.
‘OK, whatever, but get this,’ said Saffy, ‘the first team to catch the monster and bring it back gets the reward of not having to run the penalty course through the forest for six nights in a row.’
‘Yeah, meaning if you don’t catch the monster you do have to run the course,’ said Felix.
‘Don’t worry,’ said Jasper. ‘We’ll catch the monster in no time. We’re an awesome team.’
Felix sighed. ‘I don’t even know why I’m at this school. You both seem to kind of enjoy catching monsters, but I would much rather be at home, even with my brothers thumping me. I mean,’ he dropped his voice to a whisper, ‘what if it’s, like, a dangerous monster?’
‘Come on, you’re an expert at karate, remember?’ said Jasper.
‘That’s only for self-defence,’ protested Felix. ‘And anyway, these monsters are brutal. Look!’ he said, pointing to the textbook that lay open in front of Jasper.
Jasper glanced at the book on his desk. The Big Book of Beastly Behaviour: Level One. The book lay open to a picture of a monster stalking a small girl. The monster’s mouth was open wide, and it looked as though it was just seconds away from chomping down on the child.
Jasper had to admit that Felix had a point. And he had a massive bruise on his face to prove it.
‘Are you sure you’re OK?’ asked Jasper.
‘Yeah. It wasn’t that bad in hospital,’ said Felix.‘The nurse gave me chocolate all day to raise my blood-sugar levels. And I get out of doing the monthly test. It was just bad luck,’ he said. ‘It wasn’t really your fault.’
‘Well, it was, actu
ally,’ said Saffy. ‘If you hadn’t sent that fly up my nose ... But we’ve got bigger things to worry about now.’
Jasper was relieved. But he knew Saffy was right.
Somewhere in the school grounds, the teachers were letting a monster loose. He hoped it was trained not to do any real damage.
But at Monstrum House it was best not to assume anything.
5
Jasper and Saffy stood outside in the cold, huddled under a security light. ‘You’re sure this is where Stenka said to wait for instructions?’ Jasper asked again.
Saffy nodded and peered into the dark. ‘The Task starts tomorrow, but the clue for our Task-team is supposed to be delivered at 9.30pm, outside Light Tower 2.’
Jasper checked the time on his watch. It was 9.28pm. ‘Felix better hurry,’ he muttered, stamping his feet. He didn’t think the clue was likely to be late.
As if on cue, Felix stumbled through the door and into the cold. ‘Sorry,’ he puffed, the steam from his breath rising into the icy air. ‘I didn’t miss anything, did I?’
Jasper and Saffy shook their heads.
‘9.29,’ Jasper murmured anxiously.
There was silence as they stood in the dark. Jasper edged closer to the wall, making sure nothing could sneak up on him from behind. He had a feeling that the clue would not be pleasant.
‘Ten, nine, eight ...’ Jasper started counting down in time with his watch.
‘Shhh,’ said Saffy.
‘What?’ Jasper asked. ‘Don’t you want to know how much longer –’
There was a crunch in the snow. They all froze, hardly daring to breathe. Jasper wondered if the clue would hurt – or, more exactly, how much the clue would hurt.
It didn’t take long for him to find out.
A sharp pain hit Jasper’s shoulder as something bounced off it and into the snow. It looked like a rock covered in paper.
Saffy looked relieved. ‘I’m glad they aimed at you rather than – Ow!’ she yelped, as a rock bounced off her leg.
Jasper couldn’t help but smile.
Another rock hit Felix square in the back, despite his attempt to hide behind Saffy.
A snigger of satisfaction was heard from the darkness. Jasper wasn’t surprised to see a prefect through the beam of the security light. The prefect sneered and waved a slingshot at them as he passed by.
‘What’s wrong with handing us a note?’ Jasper asked.
Felix elbowed him in the ribs. ‘Shh, would you?’ he hissed. ‘Don’t provoke the thugs.’
The prefect vanished back into the darkness. Jasper figured he had moved on to deliver more notes. He reached down and picked up his rock.
He read his note out loud: ‘In the darkness underground, I creep and crawl without a sound.’
Saffy read her note: ‘If you hunt me, best beware, I am nastiest at my lair.’
Saffy and Jasper looked at Felix.
‘Oh, right,’ he said, unwrapping his rock and reading. ‘But just a single button pressed will send me to a lengthy rest.’
Jasper re-read the notes carefully. ‘That’s the clue? That’s all the help we get?’
It didn’t make sense. Saffy looked stumped as well. But Felix was staring off into the night, with a look of concentration on his face.
In the darkness
underground,
Icreep and crawl
without a sound
If you hunt me,
best beware –
I am nastiest at lair
But just a single button
pressed
Will send me to a
lengthy rest.
‘Hang on a minute,’ said Felix. ‘I know this.’ He was clicking his fingers. ‘I’ve heard it before.’
Jasper and Saffy looked at him curiously.
‘It’s a Grubbergrind.’
‘A Grubberwhat?’ asked Saffy, looking confused.
‘A Grubbergrind,’ Felix repeated confidently. ‘That’s the answer. I’ve just saved us a night of study.’ He looked particularly pleased with himself.
‘But how do you … What makes you so sure?’ asked Jasper.
‘It’s from this poem I heard ages ago,’ said Felix. ‘When I was about five, my brothers came home from school for the holidays. They were trying to scare me about this thing called a Grubbergrind. They had this poem about it. It was the same as the clues we were just given, but it had an extra line:
In the darkness underground, I creep and crawl without a sound.
If you hunt me best beware, I am nastiest at my lair.
But just a single button pressed will send me to a lengthy rest.
There’s one thing you won’t care to find: the eight legs of the Grubbergrind.
‘My brothers would chase me, pretending to be a Grubbergrind that was going to eat me. I thought it was just something they’d made up. I didn’t think it really existed!’
‘Well, it must,’ said Saffy. ‘And we’re going to catch it. Felix, you are so cool!’
Felix blushed.
‘So, a Grubber ... grind,’ said Jasper. ‘And your brothers said it was going to eat you. It’s a Muncher, isn’t it?’ He gulped. After what had happened in Mental Manipulations, Jasper didn’t want anything to do with another Muncher.
Felix shugged unhappily. ‘I guess so. The grind part does makes it sound like a Muncher.’
Saffy was still shaking her head in disbelief. ‘I can’t believe you can remember something like a weird poem from so long ago.’
‘I remember all kinds of stuff like that,’ said Felix. ‘Especially about monsters.’ He shuddered.
‘Awesome,’ said Saffy. ‘So where do we find this Grubbythingy?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Felix. ‘I only know the poem. I’ve got no idea what it looks like or where to find it, so I reckon we’d all better get ready to run the penalty course for the next week anyway.’
‘That reminds me,’ said Jasper. ‘I’ve got to run the penalty course tonight. I’d better go.’
‘Watch out for the Grubbywhatsy,’ Saffy called after him cheerfully. ‘They might’ve already released it.’
‘That’s not funny,’ said Felix, pulling out his asthma puffer. ‘Um, can we go back now? I mean, I did nearly die today.’
6
Jasper trudged along the icy ground towards the edge of the forest. The further away from the school building he was, the more the darkness grew around him. The clue for the Task kept beating through his head. In the darkness underground, I creep and crawl without a sound
He wondered if the monster for the Task had already been released into the school grounds. Who knew what was creeping and crawling without a sound around him?
Jasper entered the forest, heading towards the lantern that hung from a tree branch, illuminating the starting point for the penalty course.
There were three boys and two girls from other year levels waiting to begin the penalty course. Jasper recognised one of the older boys as Mac, who sat at his table in the food hall. Mac was a hunt captain, and he seemed to love Monstrum House. He was one of the best monster-hunters in the school, and Jasper didn’t want to let on how much the forest gave him the creeps.
‘Hey, Jasp,’ said Mac. ‘What’s your best time on the penalty course? I reckon I’ll beat you hands down. You all right? You’re looking a bit nervous. Don’t worry, you’ll be tucked up in bed before you know it.’
Sometimes Mac could be just a little bit annoying.
Jasper was about to reply when a dog’s harsh bark cracked through the night and a tall, thin, man stepped from the shadows.
Jasper wondered how long he had been standing there. His body seemed to hunch and twist around like a gnarled old tree. It was the perfect camouflage.
‘Good evening,’ the man said calmly.
‘Good evening, Mondrag,’ they replied.
Mondrag was the guard dog trainer and in charge of the penalty course. Behind him, two vicious-looking guard dogs strained on th
eir leads. They looked like German shepherds crossed with wolf hounds or something. They were huge. Jasper took an involuntary step backwards.
‘The hounds will be released in ten minutes,’ said Mondrag. ‘I suggest that you start running now.’
Jasper tried not to think of the dogs’ sharp teeth as he followed the other kids along the path through the trees.
Jasper was a strong runner and the penalty course wasn’t particularly long, but tonight it felt like his feet were on the wrong legs. He was tripping up all over the place. He caught his foot on a tree root as he ran, and went flying headfirst into the undergrowth.
‘Are you OK?’ Mac stopped to help Jasper up.
Jasper nodded. ‘Thanks. I’ve lost my shoe, but it’s no worries, you keep going. Seriously, I’ll overtake you in a minute anyway,’ he added, trying to sound confident.
‘Righto, see you later, speedy,’ said Mac, and ran off into the shadows.
Jasper scrambled around in the dark. My shoe has to be around here somewhere, he thought.
He stooped under a branch and felt a spiderweb cling to his face. He wiped his face frantically and stumbled backwards, tripping over his shoe in his panic.
He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. He knew that being scared of spiders was stupid, but they still got to him. Just the thought of their black eyes, their hairy legs, the way they scuttled … it gave him the creeps.
Jasper jammed his shoe on and took off after the others. All he could hear were his own footsteps cracking over the frozen ground.
The words of the Task clue ran through Jasper’s mind again. I creep and crawl without a sound. He tried to push the thought away, but it was too late. The Grubbergrind could be out here right now. If the poem was right, he would never hear it – not until it was too late.
He couldn’t see Mac or the other kids anywhere. He guessed they would be reaching the school soon and crawling back into bed.
Jasper had run this course before, but he had never been quite so creeped out. He tried to run even faster, but stumbled and tripped again. Then he froze to the spot. He suddenly knew that something was there, watching him.