13

Claudia Goes Shopping

‘Can I help you?’ A smiling, round, wrinkled face appeared from behind the counter.

Claudia glared at the old woman for daring to interrupt her business.

‘I’m … just browsing, thank you,’ she said awkwardly. She was used to doing reconnaissance missions before a job, pretending to be a tourist or a traffic warden, or something like that. But usually in banks and museums, not toy shops. Hopefully, the old biddy would go away. There was a stifled sniggering from the bottles at her neck.

‘I see you’re admiring our action figure range,’ the shopkeeper said, deliberately ignoring the hint. She sensed wealth in the customer’s clothing and demeanour. There could be a sale here. She pointed to a shelf of figures with plastic wings and armour, and Viking-style helmets with large round eyes stuck to them. ‘The Bug Knights are extremely popular at the moment. They’re characters from a cartoon series, you know. Little insect people. Lots of different ones to collect. Children do so like to collect things, don’t they?’

Claudia forced a smile at the shopkeeper. Why was the old fool still speaking … ?

‘Wait – did you say insect people?’

She turned to the display of Bug Knights. The Smidgens at the burger bar had been dressed as insects. Could they be hiding amongst the toys, trying to blend in? The shopkeeper wasn’t wrong: there were loads of the characters, all lined up in rows on the shelf. Claudia’s gaze swept across them, watching for any movement, a breath, a blink of an eye. She sniffed suspiciously. There was a fly boy in the back row, he looked a bit paler than the others, his costume a little scruffier. Did he just wriggle his nose? Could he—?

She jumped as an explosion of children crashed through the door and swarmed about the shop, talking, laughing and screaming in an untidy river of noise. Before she could act, they shoved their way around Claudia, knocking her sunglasses askew, jostling her from all sides and carrying her far from the action figures on a current of elbows. She tried to wade back through, but it was impossible – the children had numbers on their side. The pack leader, a girl with a mess of brown hair and a mouth as wide as a sinkhole, pushed through the crowd and made straight for the counter, bellowing a greeting to the shopkeeper.

‘Oh my god Miss Clabbity how are you oh my god what a day I thought I’d never get here it’s my birthday next week I’m eleven and I’m having a party so I need balloons loads of them and do you have that game with the thing it’s really funny I’ve seen it on the TV you have to crawl on all fours I bet I’d be good at it but oh my god I bet if Vanessa had to crawl around she’d do a gigantic fart like she did in gym class today –’ there was a pause as everyone burst into laughter at the memory of Vanessa in gym class, except for Vanessa, who blushed – ‘and Mr Trap he’s our gym teacher he was so cross his face screwed up and went bright purple and it looked exactly like a monkey’s bum and oh my god Vanessa did you just let one off again … ?’

Claudia staggered out of the stink and chaos of the shop into the alley, her dignity severely ruffled. She rarely encountered children in her usual line of work and was unfamiliar with their unnerving ability to act like a tornado of clamour, confusion and dirt.

‘Savages!’ she spat. ‘I’m sure I was about to catch one of the Smidgens. I should find a spell in that book to turn all those horrors into worms!’

‘Ooh, yes!’ said Peggy Gums. ‘Worms in a bread roll with beetle chutney. A favourite treat of mine.’

‘Perhaps we can assist, Miss Slymark?’ purred Totherbligh. ‘We can be discreet and almost invisible.’

‘Yes!’ said Hinchsniff, eagerly. ‘Let us out!’

‘Not you,’ said Claudia to Hinchsniff, regaining her composure. ‘You had a chance and failed.’ She smoothed her hair and unstopped the green bottle. A grey mist poured out into the alley. ‘Totherbligh – it’s your turn.’

Gafferty leaped out from behind the cover of the teddy bear and ran towards the display of action figures. She had to reach Gobkin and then get them both out of there! The witch-lady had left the shop but there was still the danger from the children. Their heavy feet were stomping all over the floor as they checked out the latest toys and games, and chatted, laughed and argued with each other. Gafferty dived behind a model of a moon rocket just in time to avoid being crushed by a school bag dumped carelessly on the floor. She’d have to be quick and vigilant if they were to leave the shop in one piece.

She spied Gobkin high up on the Bug Knights display. He must have climbed up there to hide when the woman came in. Thank goodness he was all right! He saw her and waved. He was pointing to something – the train track. What was he trying to tell her? Gafferty had never seen a real train but Gobkin had read about it in the Big Book so she knew that it was another machine the Big Folk used to move themselves about. It must be quite difficult carrying all that flesh and hair around all the time, she supposed.

She followed the track with her eyes. It wound through the shop in a gentle spiral, taking the train not only around and around but up and down as well, supported on specially made bridges and viaducts, passing the shelf where Gobkin was hiding. Gob was going to catch the train to get back to floor level! If he crouched down, he would fit neatly into the open carriage that the engine towed behind it. He was using Rule Four of the Smidgens: if in doubt, make it up! Gafferty signalled a thumbs up, though her heart beat faster at the thought. Her little brother was up there all on his own, taking risks when she should be looking after him. Mum and Dad would be furious with her if they knew!

She watched as the little train slowly made its way up to Gobkin’s shelf, the highest point on its journey. Without anyone noticing, he tumbled into the carriage and the train continued onwards, picking up speed as it began its downward journey.

‘Miss Clabbity!’ a boy shouted above the sounds of his friends. ‘Did you turn the heating off? It’s freezing in here.’

He was right. Gafferty noticed the cold too. A familiar kind of cold. The hairs on the back of her neck rose as she saw a pale shape sliding through the letterbox, just as she and Gobkin had done earlier. It slithered around the toys, keeping out of sight of the children, hiding its creeping, menacing form. Gafferty let out a quiet cry of fear. It was the thing from the tunnel, or something very much like it! She remembered the creature had mentioned a ‘she’ – What does she want with you? What does she want with something so small? it had said. ‘She’ must be that woman! The creatures and the woman were working together to find and catch Smidgens. But why?

There wasn’t time to think any more about it – the monster snaked along the railway, moving with purpose. Gafferty froze, filled with dread. It had spotted Gobkin and was making straight for him!