Read Online Creeping Terror by Justin Richards - Free Book Online Page A

do it. He couldn’t imagine the frail old lady with her walking stick driving a car. If she did, it was likely to be as battered and ancient a wreck as the one Reverend Growl drove. In which case it would be a long, tedious and uncomfortable journey.
    ‘Can she drive ?’ Rupam echoed incredulously when Ben asked. He burst out laughing. ‘I think you have a lot to learn about Madam Sosostram. You see her as an elderly lady, that’s all. But there is a lot more to her than that. There are other ways to see her.’
    ‘What do you mean?’
    ‘Just that you are in for a surprise.’ Rupam
wouldn’t say any more than that.
    Ben’s first surprise came as they waited outsidethe front door of Gibbet Manor, each with a rucksack stuffed with books and papers from Mrs Bailey, plus printouts from Webby. Rupam was holding a long, thin silver sword with an ornate handle and wrist-guard. Ben didn’t know how – or if – the metal had been treated, but he knew from watching Maria use it that the sword could cut through invisible demons and Grotesques …
    A bright red sports car roared round the side of the house and crunched to a halt. It had an open top and a bonnet that dipped so low it almost touched the ground. The engine throbbed and growled, but it was barely audible as rock music was blasting out from the car’s hi-fi system. Two huge black speakers were mounted in the back of the car. They vibrated with the noise pumping through them.
    ‘Put your bags in the front, boys,’ Madam Sosostram said, turning down the music. ‘You can both sit in the back. I’m sure neither of you wants to have to make conversation with an old fossil like me.’
    It was odd to see the old lady driving a sports car. She had her woolly cardigan tightly buttoned and her grey hair had been blown back. She watched Ben and Rupam through horn-rimmed spectaclesas they dumped their rucksacks on the front seat. Rupam leaned the silver sword against the seat, angled away from the gear stick. Then they had to climb over the back of the car to get in, moving Madam Sosostram’s walking stick out of the way before they could sit down.
    With a wizened smile of approval, Madam Sosotram turned up the volume again, put the car into gear and sprayed gravel across the driveway as she floored the accelerator.
    The car roared down the drive, Bon Jovi blasting out.
    It was difficult to speak in the car with all the noise from the music and the powerful engine. Rupam seemed to spend most of the journey grinning at Ben.
    ‘What?’ Ben yelled at last.
    Rupam’s grin broadened.
    ‘What?’
    Ben found himself grinning too. He knew what Rupam found so funny. It wasn’t just his surprise, it was the fact that they were being driven through the countryside in a red convertible sports car by a little old lady who played rock music far too loud and had no worries about breaking the speed limit.
    They shot through a town, the buildingsblurring past. Two young men in hoodies watched them. One gave a thumbs-up and the other waved. Madam Sosostram gave a cheery wave back.
    ‘If only they knew,’ Rupam shouted in Ben’s ear.
    ‘Yeah, right.’ But Ben wasn’t sure what Rupam meant. ‘They probably think she’s our granny,’ he yelled.
    Rupam was grinning again and shaking his head. It wasn’t until they reached the army checkpoint that Ben found out why.
    *
    An olive-green army Land Rover was parked across the road. Two soldiers stood beside it. One of them stepped forward, hand up to signal the car to stop.
    Madam Sosostram cut the music. ‘Duck down, boys. Don’t let them see you.’
    ‘What are we going to do – crash through the roadblock?’ Ben could believe that anything was possible.
    ‘I’ll distract the soldiers. As soon as you get a chance, see if you can get past.’
    ‘What about you?’ Rupam hissed.
    Madam Sosostram opened the door and heaved her ample form awkwardly out of the car. ‘I think I shall probably be stuck here on this side of the