The pumpkin rolled across the deck.
Bump.
Bump.
Bump.
It stopped against Boxy’s boot.
Everyone stared at it.
The pumpkin stared back.
Well.
It didn’t actually have eyes.
But somehow, it still felt like it was staring.
Gluebert slowly reached for the ladle tucked into his belt.
“Don’t worry,” he whispered. “I am extremely experienced with vegetables.”
Captain Bobbins raised an eyebrow.
“You once screamed at a courgette.”
“It approached me unexpectedly.”
“It was in a basket.”
“A very sneaky basket.”
Pete crouched beside the pumpkin and gently poked it.
Nothing happened.
Then...
BUMP.
A second pumpkin rolled out from beneath a barrel.
Then a third.
Then five more.
Soon, pumpkins were rolling across the deck from every direction.
Bump-bump-bump-bump-bump.
Gluebert scrambled onto a crate.
“THE VEGETABLES HAVE ORGANISED!”
“They’re fruit,” said Captain Bobbins.
Gluebert stared at him.
“This is not the time.”
Then came the sound.
Creeeeeeak.
Everyone froze.
Boxy turned towards the sea.
The sparkling blue water of the Sea of Maybe had become dark and glassy.
A huge silver moon shimmered across its surface.
And ahead of the ship stood an island.
Boxy was almost certain it had not been there a moment ago.
Crooked trees curled towards the sky.
Pumpkin lanterns flickered weakly between their roots.
A rickety wooden jetty reached towards them.
Beyond it stood an enormous archway.
Across the top, glowing orange letters read:
WELCOME TO GLOAM HOLLOW
One of the letters flickered.
WELCOME TO GLOAM HOLLO
Another went out.
WELCOME TO GLOAM HOLL
Then half the sign vanished into darkness.
Captain Bobbins took out his compass.
The needle swung immediately towards the island.
Boxy opened the map.
A new path was slowly appearing across the page.
Thin silver lines twisted together like spiderwebs.
Right in the middle was a tiny symbol.
A circle.
With teeth around its edge.
A gear.
Boxy frowned.
They had seen marks like that before.
The Wibbly Way had always been strange.
Sometimes it appeared ahead of them.
Sometimes behind.
Sometimes only after they had already taken the first step.
But lately there had been other things too.
Gears.
Spirals.
Little signs that seemed to belong to something much bigger.
Something they could not yet see.
Creeeeeeak.
This time the sound came from beneath the island.
Gluebert climbed down from the crate.
“Excellent.”
Nobody moved.
He cleared his throat.
“I said... excellent.”
Still nobody moved.
Gluebert sighed.
“Fine. I’ll go second.”
The moment Boxy stepped onto the jetty...
BOING!
Something shot past his face.
“WHOA!”
BOING!
Another shape sprang over Captain Bobbins.
Then another bounced straight towards Gluebert.
He dropped flat onto the jetty.
“AMBUSH!”
The strange creatures landed in a heap.
Boxy blinked.
They were tiny.
Colourful.
And very, very silly-looking.
One had three wonky eyes.
One had little bat wings.
Another had two enormous pointy teeth.
Underneath each creature was a spring.
One squashed itself down.
The spring squeezed tight.
Then...
BOING!
Up it flew.
Boxy laughed.
“They’re not attacking us.”
Another springer bounced sideways and landed neatly inside Captain Bobbins’ hat.
Captain Bobbins looked up.
The creature grinned.
“Debatable,” he said.
Pete crouched beside another one.
He pressed it carefully down.
The spring squashed beneath it.
Pete released his hand.
BOING!
The creature shot forwards, bounced from a pumpkin and disappeared through a hedge.
Pete’s eyebrows lifted.
He pointed.
Behind the hedge, something orange flickered.
Boxy pushed the branches apart.
A path disappeared into the darkness.
Or at least, it looked like it had once been a path.
Orange strips of card lay scattered everywhere.
Some were crossed over one another.
Others were tangled around tree roots.
A few had little green pieces beside them.
Boxy picked one up.
“There’s something missing here.”
Pete collected several more.
He laid them across one another.
One strip.
Then another.
Then another.
Until they formed a star.
Captain Bobbins found a small pin amongst the leaves.
Boxy smiled.
“I think these used to be pumpkins.”
Everyone got to work.
Pete held the strips steady while Boxy fastened the middle.
Captain Bobbins gathered the tops together.
Gluebert attempted to carry twelve strips at once.
He took three steps.
Tripped over a root.
And disappeared underneath them.
A strip slowly slid from the pile and landed across his nose.
“I have improved it.”
Nobody agreed.
They shaped the flat strips upwards until the first pumpkin became round and full.
Pete twisted a green stem at the top.
For one second, nothing happened.
Then...
FWUMP.
Warm orange light filled the pumpkin.
A second pumpkin lit.
Then another.
One by one, glowing pumpkins appeared along the path.
The darkness retreated.
Boxy looked ahead.
The pumpkins had not simply needed fixing.
They were showing them where to go.
And somewhere further along the trail...
Creeeeeeak.
The strange sound came again.
The glowing path wound deeper into Gloam Hollow.
It passed crooked trees.
Mushrooms shaped like tiny umbrellas.
A gravestone which read:
HERE LIES SOMETHING VERY BORING
And a wooden sign:
ABSOLUTELY NO SCREAMING
Underneath, someone had added:
unless necessary
And underneath that:
or funny
Gluebert nodded approvingly.
“A sensible local government.”
Boxy took another step.
Something soft and sticky landed across his face.
“PFFFFT!”
He staggered backwards, waving his arms.
Gluebert screamed.
“SPIDER!”
A huge shadow dropped from above.
Eight long legs appeared.
Two enormous eyes gleamed in the darkness.
Everyone froze.
The creature lowered itself slowly from the branches until it hung directly in front of Boxy.
Then it sneezed.
“ACHOO!”
The spider spun around three times.
Two legs wrapped around another.
One ended up over her own head.
“Oh crumbs,” she muttered.
Boxy peeled the web from his face.
The spider had a round black body covered in bright red splodges.
Eight bendy legs stuck out in every direction.
Two enormous eyes wobbled as she struggled.
“Could someone possibly help?” she asked. “Leg six has become involved with leg three.”
Pete stepped forwards.
He carefully bent one leg free.
Then another.
Then adjusted two more until all eight reached the ground.
The spider stood up.
“Oh!”
She took a few experimental steps.
“That is considerably better.”
She looked down at Pete.
“Eight legs. Wonderful for walking. Terrible for administration.”
Gluebert cautiously emerged from behind Captain Bobbins.
“I knew it was friendly.”
“You shouted ‘save yourselves’,” said Boxy.
“That was encouragement.”
The spider bowed.
“Inky. Official Web Artist of Gloam Hollow.”
She swept four legs towards the trees.
Only then did Boxy notice the webs.
Hundreds stretched between the branches.
Some were round.
Some were zigzagged.
Some looked like stars.
One appeared to be a surprisingly accurate picture of a sandwich.
Gluebert stared at it.
“Visionary.”
But many of the webs had collapsed.
Loose strands dangled between the branches.
“What happened?” asked Boxy.
Inky’s enormous eyes drooped.
“Gloam Hollow stopped working.”
She pointed back towards the pumpkins.
“First the lantern path fell apart.”
Another leg pointed deeper into the woods.
“Then my webs went slack.”
Another pointed towards a distant hill.
“Then the Flutter Gate stopped fluttering.”
She lowered her voice.
“And after that, something underneath the Hollow started making that dreadful noise.”
Creeeeeeak.
The ground trembled.
Inky shuddered.
Boxy glanced at the map.
The little gear symbol gave a faint silver glow.
“Do you know where the noise is coming from?”
“I might know someone who does,” said Inky.
She looked up at the broken webs.
“But I can’t find them.”
Pete tilted his head.
Inky pointed to three long strands stretching into the darkness.
“The Fluffy Fright Friends normally leave little tufts behind wherever they float. My webs catch them.”
She sighed.
“But with the webs all sagging, there’s no trail.”
Boxy looked at Pete.
Pete looked at the webs.
Then at Inky’s eight bendy legs.
He began pointing.
One strand.
Another.
Higher.
Tighter.
Inky’s eyes widened.
“Oh!”
Everyone helped.
Captain Bobbins pulled one web taut.
Boxy secured another.
Pete showed Inky where to bend her legs so she could reach the higher branches.
Gluebert somehow became completely wrapped in webbing.
“I am helping structurally.”
When the final strand was tightened, moonlight caught the web.
Silver lines shimmered between the trees.
And along one of them...
tiny pieces of white fluff had been caught.
Boxy grinned.
“A trail.”
Inky clapped.
It took quite a while.
She had eight hands.
The fluffy trail led them into a clearing.
Three empty strings hung between two trees.
Nothing else moved.
Inky cupped several legs around her mouth.
“Friiiiight Friends!”
Silence.
“Fluffers?”
Nothing.
“Ghosties?”
A tiny voice came from somewhere above them.
“No.”
Everyone looked up.
A little white shape peeked from behind a branch.
Then vanished.
Boxy smiled.
“Hello.”
“No.”
Another fluffy shape appeared from behind a pumpkin.
“No hello.”
A third slowly rose from underneath a bush.
“We are unavailable.”
Gluebert whispered, “Ghosts.”
One of the fluffy shapes gasped.
“How rude.”
It floated into the clearing.
It looked like a tiny ghost, except instead of being wispy and see-through, it was soft, fluffy and slightly lumpy.
Another appeared beside it.
Then the third.
Inky sighed with relief.
“The Fluffy Fright Friends!”
“We have resigned,” said the tallest.
“From frightening,” said the second.
“And floating,” added the third.
The first nodded.
“Mostly floating.”
“Why?” asked Boxy.
The ghosts looked at one another.
Finally, the smallest whispered:
“Something went BOO at us.”
Gluebert frowned.
“Aren’t you supposed to say boo?”
“Yes.”
“That does complicate things.”
The tallest ghost pointed towards a dark opening beneath the hill.
“We were practising our routine.”
The second ghost floated upwards.
“Float...”
The third wiggled.
“Woooooo...”
The first jumped forwards.
“BOO!”
Gluebert yelped.
The ghosts looked delighted.
“Still got it.”
Then their smiles disappeared.
“But something inside the hill answered.”
All three huddled together.
“BOOOOOOOOOOO.”
The opening beneath the hill was completely dark.
Boxy stepped towards it.
Captain Bobbins followed.
Gluebert did not.
“No.”
Boxy turned around.
“I haven’t said anything.”
“You were about to suggest going inside.”
“I was.”
“No.”
Pete stood beside Boxy.
For the first time since they had arrived, he did not move forwards.
His fingers tightened around the strap of his bag.
He stared into the tunnel.
Boxy noticed.
Pete looked at him.
Boxy didn’t tell him there was nothing to be scared of.
There very clearly was.
A dark tunnel beneath a haunted hill that shouted BOO at ghosts was, Boxy thought, an entirely reasonable thing to be scared of.
So he simply held out his hand.
“One step?”
Pete looked at the tunnel again.
Then at Boxy.
He nodded.
One step.
They took it together.
Then another.
Behind them came Captain Bobbins.
Then Inky.
The three ghosts followed.
Finally, there was a long sigh.
Gluebert hurried after them.
“I am only coming because someone responsible needs to supervise.”
The tunnel twisted beneath the hill.
With every step, the creaking grew louder.
Creak.
Creak.
CREEEEAK.
Then something rushed through the darkness.
FLAP-FLAP-FLAP-FLAP!
Gluebert screamed and hugged a rock.
Bats swooped above their heads.
Dozens of them.
But these were not ordinary bats.
They were wooden.
Their wings flapped up.
Their little feet kicked down.
Strings connected them to a huge gate blocking the tunnel.
Or they should have.
Several strings had snapped loose.
One wing hung crookedly.
A pair of wooden feet dangled uselessly.
Pete stepped closer.
His fear seemed to disappear.
This was something he could understand.
He gently pulled one string.
A bat wing twitched.
Then he pointed at another cord.
Boxy tugged it.
Two little feet kicked.
Pete looked at Boxy.
His eyes lit up.
“Pull one...”
Captain Bobbins watched the cords move.
“And the others move too.”
Pete nodded.
They began reconnecting the mechanism.
Boxy held the wings steady.
Captain Bobbins tied the cords.
Inky used four legs at once to keep the strings apart.
Gluebert held one end very importantly.
Nobody was entirely sure whether it needed holding.
Eventually, one long cord hung from the centre of the gate.
Pete reached for it.
Then paused.
He looked at Boxy.
Boxy smiled.
“Your turn.”
Pete pulled.
The great wooden wings lifted.
The feet kicked.
CLICK.
Something moved inside the wall.
CLACK.
The gate shuddered.
Then slowly...
it rose.
Behind it was an enormous room.
And every wall was covered in gears.
Huge gears.
Tiny gears.
Silver gears.
Copper gears.
They turned in long twisting chains that disappeared into the ceiling and floor.
Except...
most of them were barely moving.
Click.
Creak.
Click.
Creeeeeeak.
In the centre of the chamber stood a large machine.
And right at the top of it was a small round button.
It glowed orange.
Then faded.
Glowed.
Then faded.
Captain Bobbins studied it.
“That looks important.”
Boxy looked at the machine.
Then at the button.
It was far too high to reach.
Inky stretched all eight legs upwards.
Not even close.
The ghosts floated towards it.
The moment they approached the machine, a sudden gust blasted from a pipe.
WHOOOOOSH!
The three ghosts shot backwards.
“Nope!”
“Still resigned!”
“Extremely unavailable!”
Gluebert looked around.
“Perhaps we could throw something at it?”
Everyone slowly turned towards him.
Gluebert blinked.
“That was a genuine suggestion.”
Then...
BOING!
A little creature bounced through the open gate.
It landed beside Boxy.
One of the springers.
Pete looked at it.
Then at the button.
Then at the springer again.
His eyes widened.
Boxy followed his gaze.
“Oh.”
Captain Bobbins smiled.
“Oh.”
Gluebert frowned.
“What? What are we oh-ing about?”
Pete picked up the springer.
He placed it on the floor.
Pressed it down.
Then turned it slightly.
Boxy looked at the glowing button high above them.
“You think we can land it on there?”
Pete nodded.
Gluebert stared at the tiny springer.
Then at the tiny button.
Then at Pete.
“That is ridiculous.”
Pete raised one eyebrow.
Gluebert folded his arms.
“I like it.”
They cleared the floor.
Pete positioned the springer.
Boxy crouched beside him.
“Ready?”
Pete nodded.
They pushed it down.
Released.
BOING!
The springer flew upwards.
Past the button.
BONK.
It hit a pipe.
Then landed upside down on Gluebert’s head.
Silence.
Gluebert looked upwards.
“Was that part of the calculation?”
Pete shook his head.
They tried again.
Pete moved the springer further back.
Changed the angle.
BOING!
Closer.
It clipped the edge of the machine and bounced away.
Again.
Pete moved it slightly to the left.
Boxy pressed it down.
BOING!
The springer sailed through the air.
Everyone watched.
Even the ghosts.
Even Inky.
Even Gluebert.
It missed by the width of a whisker.
“Ooooooh!”
Pete stared at the floor.
Boxy could see him thinking.
Starting point.
Direction.
Angle.
Pete moved the springer forwards.
Turned it just a little.
Then he hesitated.
Boxy remembered the tunnel.
Pete had been frightened then too.
But he had taken one step.
Then another.
Boxy smiled.
“One more?”
Pete looked up.
Then nodded.
One more.
He pressed the springer down.
The spring squeezed tight.
Pete carefully lifted his hand.
BOING!
The creature shot upwards.
It spun once.
Twice.
Then...
CLICK.
It landed directly on the glowing button.
For half a second...
nothing happened.
Gluebert opened his mouth.
Then the entire hill woke up.
WHUUUUUUM!
Gears spun.
Chains rattled.
Pipes puffed.
Strings tightened.
The wooden bats began flapping.
Outside, pumpkin lanterns burst into light.
Inky’s webs shimmered silver across the trees.
The Fluffy Fright Friends were swept into the air.
“WHEEEEEEEE!”
All around Gloam Hollow...
BOING!
BOING!
BOING!
Springers launched into the night.
Then the great machine took a deep mechanical breath.
WHOOOOOOOOOO...
Everyone froze.
The ghosts hid behind Boxy.
The machine gave one enormous...
BOOOOOOOOOOO!
Gluebert leapt straight into Captain Bobbins’ arms.
Silence.
Captain Bobbins looked at him.
Gluebert slowly climbed down.
“I slipped.”
When they finally emerged from beneath the hill, Gloam Hollow had transformed.
Every pumpkin glowed.
Silver webs glittered between the trees.
Wooden bats flapped above the pathways.
The Fluffy Fright Friends floated proudly through the air.
“BOO!”
A springer bounced past.
“BOO!”
Another went the wrong way and landed in a hedge.
“...boo.”
Inky laughed.
“The Hollow is working again!”
The three ghosts floated around Pete.
“You fixed the BOO!”
Pete smiled.
The smallest ghost leaned closer.
“You were scared of the tunnel.”
Pete’s smile disappeared.
He looked down.
Boxy stepped beside him.
“So were they.”
The ghosts nodded.
“Very.”
“Extremely.”
“We resigned.”
Boxy smiled.
“And you went in anyway.”
Pete looked back towards the dark tunnel.
Then at the machine humming somewhere beneath them.
He gave the smallest shrug.
Boxy understood.
Sometimes being brave wasn’t about feeling fearless.
Sometimes it was just taking the next step while you were still scared.
Pete had taken that step.
And then another.
And eventually...
BOING!
A springer bounced into his arms.
Pete laughed silently.
Gluebert pointed.
“I believe that one wishes to join the crew.”
Captain Bobbins shook his head.
“We already have you.”
“Exactly. It clearly has excellent taste.”
Later, as they walked back towards the ship, Boxy opened the map.
The silver path through Gloam Hollow was complete.
But the gear symbol remained.
In fact...
there were now two.
Pete stopped.
He gently took the map.
One gear sat beneath Gloam Hollow.
The other was further back along the Wibbly Way.
Pete traced his finger between them.
Boxy frowned.
“They’re connected.”
Captain Bobbins leaned over his shoulder.
“It certainly looks that way.”
“In that case,” said Gluebert, “I vote we investigate somewhere with significantly fewer ghosts.”
“Boo,” whispered one of the Fluffy Fright Friends behind him.
Gluebert jumped.
The ghosts collapsed into giggles.
Inky hurried after them.
“Boxy!”
She held something out.
A tiny silver strand.
At first Boxy thought it was part of her web.
Then he touched it.
Cold.
Smooth.
Metal.
At one end was a tiny hook.
“I found it tangled in my web this morning,” said Inky. “It doesn’t belong to me.”
Boxy turned it over in his hand.
Pete stared at it.
His face changed.
Boxy noticed immediately.
“You know what this is?”
Pete did not answer.
Of course he didn’t.
But slowly...
he nodded.
The laughter around them faded.
“Where have you seen it?” asked Captain Bobbins.
Pete looked at the silver strand.
Then at the map.
His finger moved along the Wibbly Way.
Not forwards.
Backwards.
Towards somewhere they had already been.
Boxy felt a little shiver that had nothing to do with Halloween.
He slipped the strange metal piece safely into his bag.
“We’ll work it out.”
Pete nodded.
Together, they walked towards the ship.
Behind them, Gloam Hollow glowed beneath the enormous silver moon.
Pumpkins flickered.
Webs sparkled.
Ghosts floated.
Bats flapped.
And every few seconds...
BOING!
...something launched itself into the night.
Boxy was halfway across the jetty when Pete suddenly stopped.
The map twitched in his hands.
A new silver line began to appear.
But this one did not travel towards whatever waited ahead.
It crept backwards.
Along the route they had already taken.
Past Gloam Hollow.
Past the Woodland of Little Wonders.
Further.
Further.
Until it disappeared off the edge of the map.
Then came a sound.
Very faint.
Very far away.
Click.
Pete’s eyes widened.
Click.
Captain Bobbins lowered his compass.
Click. Click.
Boxy looked at Pete.
Hundreds of tiny clicks began to echo somewhere beyond the Wibbly Way.
Click. Click. Click. Click. Click.
Gluebert swallowed.
“What is that?”
Pete didn’t point.
He didn’t shrug.
He didn’t look confused.
For the first time...
Pete looked as though he knew exactly what they were hearing.
And whatever it was...
it was getting closer.