Via TBM guest blogger, John Dougherty…

Tommy had pinpointed the wimpiest monster in the entire set-up, and with the information he gave us, Bernard was able to take us straight to the space under that monster’s bed.

Tommy’s friend Sam, meanwhile, had written a particularly scary bedtime story specially for the occasion, and just as he got to the scariest bit of all…

Cherry and I popped out and shouted, “Boo!”

“Eeeek!” shrieked the monster. “There’s children under my bed!” And it hopped out and scurried away as fast as it could.

“Okay, authors,” I said. “This is it. Freedom beckons. Just follow me back under the bed and we’ll take you home.”

And that was where it all began to go horribly wrong.

“Great!” one of them said. “Only… could we wait till tomorrow? My monster really liked the story I read it this evening, and it’s promised me fish and chips for tea.”

“Fish and chips?” said another. “That’s my favourite! Can I have some?”

“Look,” I began, “you can have fish and chips when you get home…”

But before I could finish, another one butted in: “Actually, could you maybe wait a couple of days? I’m on the final chapter of my greatest book ever, and I just won’t be able to get back in the right frame of mind if I have to finish it somewhere else.”

“Oooh, that’s a point!” said another one, and before I knew it, all eight were jabbering away, giving me their reasons why it would be best to put off the great rescue plan for another few days.

Well, you can guess what happened next. The wimpy monster came rushing back, bringing all his friends with him. As I’ve said before, I’d like to see the monster who could get the better of me; but on the other hand, you don’t get to be the world’s greatest Monster Investigator without knowing when to beat a hasty retreat.

“Come on, if you’re coming!” Cherry yelled, and together we dived under the bed. Quickly, we followed Bernard back to my room, and checked to see how many of the authors had come with us.

And you know how many had?

None. Not one.

We could have tried again, of course; but when I emailed Tommy the next day, he replied to tell me that the monsters had smashed up all the beds – partly to stop any more children coming out from underneath them, but partly because they’d decided they’d be more comfortable that way. So, bang went that plan.

Perhaps we could have come up with a different idea. But then something else happened – something that took all our attention away from any plan to rescue a bunch of grown-ups who, let’s face it, hadn’t exactly helped us to rescue them.

I had to face… The Whisper of Doom. So those authors were just going to have to fend for themselves.

Jack Slater and the Whisper of Doom is out now!

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