Free The Paradise Trap by Catherine Jinks Page A

‘Maybe this is a code number.’ And he held up his Crystal Hibiscus pamphlet, tapping at something that Marcus couldn’t see. ‘It’s in very small print, but it’s a number. Eight-zero-three-four-four-seven-one-one.’
    Marcus hesitated. The recorded voice was still chanting in his ear.
    ‘Maybe we should be careful,’ Holly warned faintly. But Sterling said, ‘Go on. Don’t stop now – we’re really getting somewhere!’ There was an expectant gleam in his eye.
    Squaring his shoulders, Marcus punched Sterling’s mystery number into the phone. Eight. Zero. Three. Four. Four. Seven. One. One. As the final digit was keyed in, there was a noisy clank from the back of the room.
    The lift door was sliding open.
    ‘Lovely.’ Sterling tucked the Crystal Hibiscus brochure into his hip pocket. Then he marched into the lift, with Holly at his heels.
    After a moment’s hesitation, Marcus followed them both.
    ‘Wait!’ cried Holly. ‘What about Prot?’
    ‘Come along, Prot.’ By wedging his foot against the door, Sterling stopped it from shutting. ‘Hurry, please.’
    ‘There are buttons in here,’ said Marcus. ‘Should we push one?’
    ‘Not if it’s red,’ Sterling joked. He released the door once Prot had chugged past him. ‘Let’s wait and see what happens,’ he advised.
    The door closed gently, but the lift didn’t stir. It just sat. It was a very ordinary lift, with worn carpet and wall-mounted buttons.
    Marcus had never seen anything less magical in his life.
    ‘Maybe we should key that code number in again,’ Sterling suggested. ‘What was it? Eight-zero-three-four-four-seven-one-one?’
    Marcus nodded. ‘Prot had better do it,’ he said. ‘Just in case.’
    So Prot keyed the code into the control panel, using one of his retractable fingers. There was an immediate response. With a shudder, a bounce and a painful grinding of gears, the metal box in which they stood began to move – up, not down.
    ‘Oh dear,’ said Holly. ‘This doesn’t seem right.’
    ‘Don’t tell me we’re going back upstairs!’ Marcus protested. He had a horrible feeling that the lift was about to deposit them in the caravan again.
    As their journey stretched on and on, however, he changed his mind.
    ‘This can’t be one floor up,’ he decided at last. ‘It’s taking too long.’
    ‘Is there an emergency stop button?’ Holly queried, her voice shaking.
    ‘Yes. But who’s going to help us?’ Marcus couldn’t even tell where they were, because the numbered buttons on the control panel weren’t illuminated. ‘What if it’s not going anywhere?’ he asked. ‘ What if we can’t get out? ’
    ‘It’s all right.’ His mother took his hand. ‘Don’t worry. We’ll get out.’
    ‘It’s clever, isn’t it?’ Sterling remarked cheerfully. ‘You’d swear we were in a twelve-storey building.’ The words had barely left his mouth when the lift lurched to an abrupt halt. ‘Ah!’ he said. ‘Here we are. I’ll be interested to see this.’
    Ping! The door chimed and trundled open, admitting a great rush of warm, perfumed air. Marcus could hear the splash of water and the tinkle of harp strings. He could see gleaming marble and glossy foliage.
    It was all reassuringly familiar.
    ‘Oh, wow!’ he exulted. ‘We’re here! We actually did it!’
    Once again, they were on the threshold of the Crystal Hibiscus Health Spa.

20
    THE CRYSTAL HIBISCUS REVISITED
    ‘W ELL , I’ LL BE DAMNED .’ S TERLING SHOOK HIS HEAD , awestruck. ‘This is unbelievable. I’ve never seen virtual reality like this before.’
    ‘We should have brought cat food. Or maybe a stick.’ Holly was peering suspiciously at the bright, balmy, unpopulated scene in front of them. But there were no giant cats around – just enormous blossoms, towering palm trees, and multi-coloured birds of paradise. ‘What are we supposed to do if we get chased again?’
    Marcus figured that this was probably a rhetorical question, since the