Gasp of the Ghoulish Guinea Pig Read Online Free PDF

breathe!”
    You don’t need to!
thought Joe.
You’re already dead!
    “Look!” Toby nudged Joe. “It’s Spiker!”
    Joe glanced up. It
was
Spiker.
    “All right, Joe!” Spiker said.
    “What are you doing here?” Joe asked.
    “Same as you!” Spiker grinned.
    “I’ll just tell them we’re here,” Mrs Piker said. “Hello again, Joe. We seem to be seeing rather a lot of you!” She smiled and headed to the reception desk.
    Toby had spotted the toothbrushes again. “Mum! Can I have the troll one?”
    “Any sign of Thor?” Joe whispered to Spiker.
    Spiker glanced over at Toby. “Nah,” he muttered.
    “There’s still time,” Joe said hopefully.
    Spiker nodded. “He’ll be starving by now!”
    “What?” Flash poked his head out of Joe’s pocket. “Did you hear that?” he squeaked. “The snake’s starving and I know what he’ll want for dinner – fresh guinea pig, that’s what!”
    “I’m going to a party today,” said Toby, coming over to Joe and Spiker.
    “Great!” said Spiker.
    “There’s going to be loads of awesome food. Pizza, sausages, hot dogs… I love hot dogs!”
    Joe was just about to tell Toby to put a sock in it when a horrible thought wriggled into his brain. What if Thor was attracted to the party food instead of his snake grub? Did snakes eat sausages?
    “It’s at George’s house,” went on Toby. “Next door to you! And there’s going to be loads of kids and games and prizes. And Doctor Franken-Bubble!”

    “What?” Spiker was listening now. “George is having a party? A big one?”
    Toby nodded. “Do you want to go?”
    “No, thanks!” Spiker said. Then he turned to Joe and dropped his voice to a whisper, so only Joe could hear. “If Thor is in the Crawfords’ house, he’ll be terrified of the noise. Snakes get stressed!”
    “What?” Joe looked at Spiker.
    “Snakes are sensitive creatures!” Spiker hissed.
    “Ha!” snorted Flash. “Sensitive creatures – as if! More like guinea-pig gobbling slithery slime balls!”
    “And we’re gonna play pass-the-parcel and have a treasure hunt,” Toby added.
    Spiker’s eyes narrowed. “Little kids are terrible round snakes.” He scowled at Toby. “They’re too rough and noisy!”
    Joe hadn’t really thought about the snake’sfeelings in all this. After all, it was a pet, too. “We’ve got to find Thor!” he said quietly.
    “How?” Spiker demanded.
    “I’ll go to the party,” said Joe.

    “Oh, what a dreadful thing to have happened…”
    Mum was on the phone to Mrs Crawford. She was asking if it would be all right for Joe to go to the party. When he’d told her he’d changed his mind, she’d nearly crashed the car on to the pavement! He’d said that he would actually like to see the bubble man.
    “Oh, yes,” Mum was saying to Mrs Crawford. “I can imagine Erin and George must have been devastated.”
    “What is it?” Toby looked at Joe across the lunch table.
    Joe shrugged.
    “Yes,” Mum went on. “He was so cute.That lovely squeaking noise he made… Such a shame you’ve lost him.”
    Joe gulped. It sounded like another guinea pig had died!
    “Oh dear,” Mum added, nodding. She was quiet for a while, then after a few moments, she said, “Thanks so much, the boys can’t wait!”
    Mum ended the phone call and looked at Joe and Toby with a glum expression on her face. “I’m really sorry, boys, but I’m afraid I’ve got some sad news.”
    “What?” Toby looked terrified. “The party’s not cancelled, is it?”
    “No, Carol’s looking forward to seeing you both this afternoon. But I’m afraid one of Erin and George’s guinea pigs has died.”
    “NO!” squealed Flash, who was snuffling about under the table next to Joe’s feet. “The snake’s got them!”
    Joe felt his throat go tight. He’d failed inhis mission. One of the guinea pigs had been gobbled up!
    “Which one?” asked Toby, his voice a bit quivery.
    “Flash!” said Mum. “I’m really