Free The Secret of Zanzibar by Frances Watts Page A

there’s someone following us.’
    â€˜What?’ Solomon stopped. ‘That’s impossible. No one comes here.’
    â€˜I saw something move,’ Alice insisted, pointing.
    â€˜Maybe it was a snake,’ Alex suggested, then shivered.
    Alice shook her head. ‘It wasn’t a snake.’
    Solomon stared in the direction in which Alice had pointed. ‘Show yourself,’ he ordered in a deep, authoritative tone. His voice echoed around the enclosed space.
    At first nothing happened and Solomon had started to turn away when a terrible apparition leapt onto the path.
    Alice screamed in terror.
    Green and slimy, it seemed to be all heads and limbs, thrashing wildly. It was like something out of a nightmare, and, as if she was in a nightmare, Alice’s legs were frozen.Trembling, she could only watch, whimpering, as the monstrous creature drew nearer and nearer.
    Solomon held up his stick and barked, ‘That’s far enough.’ Although he sounded firm, Alice detected a tremor in his voice.
    The creature stopped – and yet it still seemed to be moving, Alice noticed in horror, her hands pressed to her mouth to stifle her cry. It was, she saw now, not a single creature, but a shaggy wild-eyed mouse, draped in moss from head to toe and dripping with slimy weeds, accompanied by two snakes, one on either side. They towered above him, writhing in a hideous dance, swaying their heads as if to some strange music only they could hear.
    â€˜Who are you?’ Solomon demanded, brandishing the stick threateningly.
    â€˜ Sssssnake Moussssse ,’ the wild-eyed mouse hissed in a low rasp.
    Alice heard Alex inhale sharply as the snakes hissed too.
    Snake Mouse took a step forward and his serpent companions moved with him. They seemed to be completely in his thrall.
    â€˜Leave thissss placccce,’ he hissed. The snakes, flicking their tongues, twisted towards the three mice frozen to the spot in front of them, eyes glinting.
    â€˜We –’ Solomon began.
    Snake Mouse moved a step closer. ‘ Leave thissss placccce! ’
    Solomon dropped his stick and Alice let out an involuntary squeak.
    â€˜Uh, I think we should leave this place,’ said Alex.
    â€˜Yes,’ said Solomon. ‘That might be a good idea.’
    The three of them backed away, slowly at first.
    Snake Mouse oozed forward, his moss-covered arms raised, and the snakes reared up. ‘Leeeave!’ he shrieked, and brought his arms down with a snap. As the snakes moved to strike, Solomon yelled, ‘Run!’
    Alice had no problems moving her legs now and fled after Solomon and her brother, her heart pumping.
    â€˜What about quicksand?’ Alice gasped as Alex stumbled in front of her.
    â€˜I’d rather get dragged under by quicksand again than caught by that … that monster ,’ Alex called over his shoulder.
    Alice was surprised to see that as they blundered through the swamp they seemed to startle the very things that had so scared her before. Giant snakes wriggled out of their path; the cries in the trees sounded like cries of alarm rather than menace.
    Her breathing was growing ragged and her legs tired when she heard Solomon’s voice behind her say, ‘It’s okay. I think we’ve done it.’
    â€˜We’ve outrun him?’ Alice gasped, slowing to a stop though her heart still galloped in her chest.
    â€˜Outrun him and crossed the swamp,’ Solomon said.
    Sure enough, when Alice looked ahead she saw that the trees were thinning and there was a glow of light beyond them.
    â€˜Sunlight,’ Solomon confirmed when she gave him a questioning look.
    Alex cast a wary look over his shoulder. ‘Who – or what – is Snake Mouse?’ he asked. ‘That was seriously creepy.’
    â€˜I’d heard rumours of a mad mouse living in the swamp,’ Solomon said. ‘But I thought they were just stories made up to scare kids out of