BOOOM! Read Online Free PDF

jet of steam hissed up through a crack in the ground. And all the time the air grew warmer and heavier as they drew closer to the volcano’s rim.
    Iggy halted and wiped the sweat from his brow as he waited for the Chief to catch up. Hammerhead’s face was pink as a lobster and bits of ash were caught in his hair and beard. If he was ever going to reach the top Iggy thought he might need carrying.
    â€˜Got to . . . rest,’ he panted, flopping down on a rock.
    â€˜Not far now,’ coaxed Iggy.
    â€˜I’ve gone all dizzy,’ Hammerhead moaned. ‘Maybe you should go on without me.’
    â€˜I think it’s safer if we stick together,’ said Iggy. There was no way he was facing the Spirits of the Ancestors on his own. Old Grumbly rumbled loudly as if growing impatient. Hammerhead got to his feet.
    â€˜Scared?’ he asked.
    â€˜No,’ said Iggy. ‘Well, maybe a bit.’
    Hammerhead grinned. ‘Me too. Still, what’s the worst that can happen, eh?’
    We could die a horrible death , thought Iggy, but it was probably bad luck to say it.
    They started the final climb towards the top. This high up there were no trees or boulders, only a desert of grey dunes and valleys. The ground grew hotter as they climbed so that it burned the soles of Iggy’s feet. Hammerhead went on tiptoe, making little ‘Ohh ahh eee!’ sounds with every step. Above them the ground seemed to rise to a peak where the smoke was billowing out. It was strangely beautiful, in a terrifying sort of way. Iggy didn’t think the heat would allow them much closer, but there was no sign of the Ancestors.
    â€˜You got the offerings?’ he asked.

    Hammerhead felt in his furs and produced a purple mess of berries.
    â€˜That’s it?’ said Iggy.
    â€˜I were hungry!’
    â€˜Go on then – you better speak to them.’
    â€˜Right.’ Hammerhead hung back. ‘What shall I say?’
    â€˜I don’t know! It wasn’t my idea.’
    Hammerhead blew out his cheeks. ‘You do it,’ he said, offering the berries.
    â€˜What? You’re the Chief!’
    â€˜But you’re younger. You can run faster. Please.’
    Iggy sighed heavily. He might have known this would happen. He took the squashed berries from Hammerhead and crept up the slope towards the smoking crater.
    â€˜Hello? Anyone there?’
    No answer.
    Iggy glanced back at Hammerhead, who looked ready to leg it at any moment.
    He took a deep breath and called out: ‘I seek an audience with the Spirits of the Ancestors – if they’ve got a minute.’
    BLOOB! BLOB! BLUB!
    Iggy peered through the smoke to see where the strange noise was coming from. The volcano had a mouth – wider than the mouth of a cave – and from this the smoke was belching into the sky. But that wasn’t what made Iggy’s stomach flip over. Inside the mouth he glimpsed something red that bubbled and heaved like boiling stew.
    BOOOOOOOM!
    Iggy dropped the squashed berries and fled. Hammerhead was ahead of him, moving surprisingly fast for someone with bad knees. They tore down the mountain – over the scorching ash, past the hissing blowholes, jumping over boulders and sending pebbles racing down the slope. They didn’t stop until they reached the lower slopes where the stumpy trees grew. It took a full minute before either of them could speak.
    â€˜Well?’ panted Hammerhead. ‘You saw ’em?’
    â€˜Who?’
    â€˜The Ancestors, you fool! Did they answer?’
    Iggy shook his head. ‘No. There was no one there – just a hole like a giant mouth. But I saw inside . . .’
    â€˜And?’ said Hammerhead. ‘It were full of spiders?’
    â€˜No,’ said Iggy. ‘It’s like a fire – a sea of fire, burning and bubbling.’
    Hammerhead looked disappointed. He’d been hoping for spiders at least.
    â€˜That were