Chapter 1

Joshua Moon

'Because you're weird !' Joshua said. 'Because you're odd ! Because you're not normal, because . . . because . . . red jelly ?'   Tears of anger stung his eyes. 'It'll be all round school tomorrow. Thanks, Dad.   Thanks for nothing!'

His father's walrus moustache drooped at the ends.

            'But I thought you liked red jelly, Josh. I thought it was your favourite.'

            'Duh! When I was two!' Joshua said.   'I'm twelve. Twelve year olds do not eat red jelly for birthdays, and passing a parcel around -- what was t hat about. My friends couldn't wait to get out of here.'

            Joshua stormed off to his room. He slammed the door; its echo spiralled up the steps of the lighthouse.

            'That's another thing,' he shouted.   'Why do we live in this stupid lighthouse? Why can't we live in a normal house?' He threw himself onto the bed and thumped the pillow.

            There was a tap at the door.

'Joshua, I'm sorry about the jelly thing.   But I have to talk to you about something --something extremely important.'

'Do you know what, Dad?' Joshua said. 'They call you Professor Moon to your face, but behind your back everyone calls you the nutty professor.'

Joshua heard a chuckle.

'That's cool,' his father said.

'And don't say cool!'

'Why not?'

'Because Dads saying cool is not cool.'

Joshua lay on his bed and ignored his father's pleas. At last he heard unhappy footsteps fade down the hall.  

            It's bad enough having a weirdo for a Dad, Joshua thought. But I've got a weirdo Dad who doesn't care he's a weirdo.

            From outside his window the sound of seagulls and the lazy slap-slop of the sea drifted in.

            Somewhere, deep in the mess of his room, his mobile trilled.   Joshua rummaged wildly through piles of clothes and magazines and pulled his phone out of a trainer.

'Hello?'

'Joshua? I'm in the Lantern Room. I'm waiting for you,' a strange voice said.

Click! The phone went dead.

Joshua stood open-mouthed.  

            The Lantern Room?   No one had been in the lantern room at the top of the lighthouse for years. It was kept locked -- ever since his father was laughed out of the

Astronomical Society for ranting on about some ridiculous disaster theory he'd dreamt up.   The phone rang again making Joshua jump.

'Joshua! Come on! '  

'Who   . . .?' he began.

Click.

            Joshua's heart began to thud. Friends told him his home was haunted. They said strange lights flashed from the tower at night.   He didn't believe it . . . until now.   Shakily, he opened his bedroom door.

            From his father's study Joshua heard the familiar clicking of the computer keyboard.   He would have called him but a dish of bright red jelly wobbled into his memory.

'I'll check it out myself,' he said angrily.  

            The spiral staircase stretched up into darkness. Joshua put his head back and stared into its gloomy heights.   Light struggled through dirty windows and patterned the walls.   Cobwebs draped like dead seaweed from the handrails and dripped from step to step. The air had the dusty smell of empty spaces.

            As Joshua climbed, his steps made footprints in the dust. Something ran over his hand with speedy, itchy, legs. Joshua yelled and beat at his hair and body.

'That's enough,' he said. ' No one's up there.'

As he turned around, there was a loud noise from the top of the tower, too big a noise for rats, much too big a noise for spiders.   Joshua swallowed hard and forced his trembling legs to go on climbing.

He reached the top landing. A short ladder led to a trapdoor and the trapdoor led up into the Lantern Room. He climbed the steps of the ladder and listened -- nothing but the nervous pulse of his heartbeat.   The dust caught in his throat and he coughed.

            Joshua took a big breath and counted, one, two, and three . He touched the trap door but before he could push . . . it slammed back on its hinges. A hard slice of brilliant light cut through the darkness and a face thrust itself at Joshua. It was a wild face, a face with furious marmalade hair and angry orange eyebrows.

'You're late!' it shrieked.

' The Midnight Sleep Lab'

Chapter 1

'Zachary Flynn'

'In the shower, up a tree, in the broom cupboard - lots of times and once in my neighbour's dog's kennel,' I said.

         A small boy perched like a goblin on the end of my bed. He folded his skinny arms over his chest and said, 'were you scared when you woke up?'

'Nope,' I lied.

         I took a good look around my room, at the bright walls and cartoons.   The Midnight Sleep Lab was trying to be friendly but it still felt like a clinic. There was that disinfectant smell too, like the smell of hospitals - a smell that makes your stomach go tight   - a smell like needle-sting.

But they've promised me no needles. Not under any circumstances, no injections - ever. Just thinking about injections makes me panic. I wiggled the ears on my feet to make me feel braver. The boy smiled.

'Why are you here? I asked him.

'Problems.'

'What sort of problems, sleepwalking like me?'

'No,' the boy said.

A face pushed itself around my door. 'A new neighbour,' she said, walking in uninvited.

           She looked about the same age as me but taller with white-blonde hair pulled up in a scrunchie.   She was pretty, clean and shiny pretty, shiny hair, shiny skin, and shiny clothes.

  'He'll find out what your problem is tonight won't he, Squeak sweetie?' The girl said, 'raises the dead, our little Squeak does. You are so not going to sleep tonight .'

  The boy blushed.

'Squeak?' I said.

He nodded.

'What's your real name?'

He shrugged a bony shoulder, 'Squeak's okay,' he said.

'Squeak more than squeaks, don't you, Squeak?' the girl interrupted. 'It's soooo gross.

I'm Arabella.'   She screamed suddenly, stepping back from the end of my bed and wiggling her hands in the air.

          'Eeeow! What have you got on your feet? Bunny slippers? How uncool is that.' She did a phoney shiver.'

'Totally defrosted I guess,' I said.

Squeak laughed without making a sound.

Arabella eyed me suspiciously.   'You must be Zach, our new somnambulist,' she said. She yawned a long shuddering yawn. I gazed blankly back at her. 'Well, I'm Zach anyway,'

'And, you're a somnambulist - a sleepwalker? Oh duh! You don't even know what you are .' She rolled her eyes dramatically. ' Mega moron or what !'

I decided I really didn't like Arabella.

          'I'm off to the juice bar,' she yawned again, 'they do a half descent watermelon smoothie here. Anyone coming?'  

But she didn't go to the juice bar. She didn't go anywhere.   She just dropped; like a stone down a well. Plop!

         Arabella lay flat out on the floor. Her head to one side and an arm flung out crookedly.   I leapt off the bed and stared down at her. Her blonde hair fanned out like light rays against the blue carpet.

         Squeak went to the door and called softly, 'Nurse! It's Arabella again.'

In seconds a nurse ran into my room. She knelt down and gently rearranged Arabella's arms and legs until she looked comfortable.   We watched silently

'What happened?' I whispered to Squeak. He crouched down and studied the girl with his big calm eyes.

'Sleep,' Squeak shrugged. 'She falls asleep sometimes.'

'What just like that?'

'Yeah, just like that.' Squeak looked bored and began picking at something under his fingernail.

I realised I'd been holding my breath and let it out with a long juddering sigh.

Arabella moved. The nurse helped her to sit up and then stand. As Arabella dusted at her pink jeans she mumbled something about somebody called Donna Karan.

'Okay boys, show's over, she'll be fine,' the nurse said. 'Are you all right, Zach? You've gone a bit pale.' I nodded and hid my shaking hands behind my back.

'Oh Zachary,' the nurse added. 'Dr. Withers will see you soon. Just wait in her surgery - down the corridor, second door on the left.'

            The room darkened and I turned to see rain splash a pattern against the window.   When I turned back, Squeak was watching me with an odd frightened look on his face.   He twisted his small brown fingers into a knot.

'You haven't seen the doctor yet have you?'  

He hurriedly looked around to make sure we were alone and whispered, 'Don't let her get you too.'

Then he bounded out of my room like some terrified, small animal.