The Poison Factory Read online

  ‘He means our pee can explode,’ Gaz translated, as a nasty plan started to form in his mind.

  ‘You could go off at any second,’ Byle whimpered. ‘Don’t … don’t make any sudden moves.’

  I don’t know,’ Gaz smiled slightly, his fear making him angry again.

  ‘If we don’t get that antidote, I might lose the rag a bit – and I can go a bit mental when I’m really angry. I might start jumpin’ around … and I’m burstin’ to go. I might go right here on your chair!’

  ‘NO!’ Byle cried.

  Hayley and Damo stared at Gaz. Was he serious?

  ‘Really, I’d do it – I’d do it right now,’ Gaz nodded, his jaw jutting out.

  ‘Me too,’ Damo added suddenly. ‘And I might just do some hip-hop dancing on your desk! I can spin around on my hands!’

  ‘I can do gymnastics,’ Hayley piped up. ‘Want to see my back-flip?’

  They all climbed up onto the desk.

  ‘Right,’ Gaz called out. ‘On the count of three, we let rip! One … Two …’

  ‘Please, please don’t!’ Byle sobbed. ‘I’ll give you the antidote. Just don’t do anything stupid!’

  He pulled a little bottle from his coat pocket and handed it to Gaz.

  ‘Oh, and we want my little brother back too,’ Gaz demanded.

  ‘I never took him!’ Byle whined. ‘He’s still out in the yard. He was hiding there the whole time.’

  He pointed to a monitor, and sure enough, there was Joey, peeping out from behind a stack of barrels.

  ‘That little weed,’ Gaz growled, turning to the other two. ‘I told you he was good at screaming.’

  ***

  After knocking back the antidote to the poison, Gaz, Hayley and Damo made their way extremely cautiously down to the yard. It was all very well being able scare Cornelius Byle into giving them the antidote, but there was still no telling whether or not they might explode. They walked down the last flight of stairs very slowly and gently. Taking small, timid steps, they shuffled out into the yard.

  ‘Where were you?’ Joey exclaimed, coming out of his hiding place, holding their football. ‘I saw you go inside, and then you were gone for ages. I was going to go home and tell Mam!’

  Gaz leaned over him, his hands clenched into fists.

  ‘I’ve a good mind to kick your–’

  ‘Ah, leave him alone,’ Damo said. ‘He caught us out – we should respect the little dude. You don’t want to go starting a fight, Gaz. Not with what’s in your bladder. Come on – let’s go home.’

  But Gaz was determined to get revenge. Grabbing his brother’s shoulder, he swung back his leg and delivered a sound kick to Joey’s backside. Just as he did, there was a deafening crack, and a deep rumble. At first, the others covered their heads, sure that Gaz was exploding right in front of them. But he was still standing there when they opened their eyes, and the rumbling noise was getting louder. He was looking up. They looked up too.

  A tall chimney was toppling over towards them, its shadow falling over them, the huge tower of concrete plummeting straight down at them. There was no time to do anything but close their eyes and wait to be crushed. It crashed to the ground just short of them, smashing at their feet, sending shards of concrete and dust flying in all directions. Hayley gave Gaz and Damo a disgusted look.

  ‘Was that the chimney we …?’ Damo began.

  ‘Yeah,’ Gaz nodded. ‘We’d better go. Quick.’

  ‘Do you think the antidote will fix the whole exploding pee thing?’ Hayley wondered aloud as the Root Street Gang walked towards the hole under the back wall.

  ‘Hope so,’ Gaz grunted. He put his arm around Joey’s shoulders, glad that his little brother was all right after all. ‘If it doesn’t, we’ll be going to the toilet very, very carefully for the rest of our lives.’

  Creepy Code Competition

  Answer these questions, take the first letter of each answer and put all five letters together to make a hidden word!

  1) How old is Joey?

  2) Mr Byle has an unusual first name; what is it?

  3) What flavour jelly does Gaz take?

  4) What is the name of the children’s street?

  5) What part of the zombie lands on the ground near Hayley?

  To enter a horrible competition for a disgusting prize just add the hidden word to the end of this web address

  www.obrien.ie/forbiddenfiles/

  Log on to this creepy website & you could win a fantastically revolting prize … Hurry! – The competition ends 30th November 2006

  See www.obrien.ie/forbiddenfiles for more details, including competition rules

  OISÍN McGANN has also written The Evil Hairdo and Wired Teeth, two more books in the ‘Forbidden Files’ series. He is the author of four Flyers: Mad Grandad’s Flying Saucer; Mad Grandad’s Robot Garden; Mad Grandad and the Mutant River; Mad Grandad and the Kleptoes and a number of acclaimed novels for older readers: The Gods and Their Machines; The Harvest Tide Project; Under Fragile Stone and Small-Minded Giants.

  About the Author

  Have You Seen This Man?

  OISÍN McGANN grew up in the suburban backstreets of Dublin and Drogheda. He has never had a proper job, but he has written and illustrated numerous children’s books of questionable quality. McGann is known as a loner with few friends. If you should see this man, do not approach him, as he may be rude

  Copyright

  This eBook edition first published 2012 by The O’Brien Press Ltd,

  12 Terenure Road East, Rathgar, Dublin 6, Ireland

  Tel: +353 1 4923333; Fax: +353 1 4922777

  E-mail: [email protected]

  Website: www.obrien.ie

  First published 2006

  eBook ISBN: 978–1–84717–493–2

  Text & illustrations © copyright Oisín McGann 2006

  Copyright for typesetting, layout, editing, design

  © The O’Brien Press Ltd

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  For permission to copy any part of this publication contact

  The O’Brien Press Ltd at [email protected].

  British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data McGann, Oisin

  The poison factory. - (Forbidden Files)

  1. Horror tales 2. Children’s Stories

  I. Title

  823.9’2[J]

  The O’Brien Press receives assistance from

  Layout and design: The O’Brien Press