Extracts

Egg

It bobbed on the oily water, fragile and helpless. Reeds stroked it, silence caressed it and mystery surrounded it.
The two children knelt down for a closer look.
It was definitely an egg, but huge, floating about two feet below the edge of the grassy bank, just out of reach.
“Careful,” said Dan.
“Hold my legs,” said Maxy.
Dan knelt down behind his sister and gripped the back of her legs. Maxy, her dark, curly hair falling into inquisitive eyes stretched out, belly down, inching forward, willing the egg into her hands.

Boxer Heathley

Boxer Heathley was a lot bigger than both Maxy and Dan and he just laughed. He shouldn’t have been called Boxer at all because he knew nothing about the noble art; he should have been called ‘Thumper’ or ‘Slugger’ but you’d have to be big or brave to question it, and generally he didn’t bother big or brave people. The same applied to Shado, a scowling boy with cold, green eyes. No one knew his real name or how he came to be called Shado, but as he followed Boxer Heathley and was a dark, shady character, you didn’t have to be Einstein to guess. There was a rumour that he’d been christened Humphrey but you’d be in a fistfight before you could say ‘Humph’ if you called him that to his face. Neither he nor Boxer Heathley cared much about anything and took what they could when they could from anyone they felt wouldn’t fight back.

Growing Up

DB peered out as best he could at the new world, his heart beating with the excitement of what was happening and his sharp mind trying to come to terms with the sense of being utterly alone on this strange world. He could see better than the children in the dark and was tempted to stop and gaze at every house, every lamp post, every car, every movement, but they hurried him on to the bridge across the waterway which separated the estate from the marshes.
On the bridge he simply had to stop and stare at the water, on one side leading into a marina and on the other stretching south as far as the eye could see. The moonlight reflected in the water and so did the trees lining the shore.

Search

Over the next few days Maxy and Dan busied themselves bringing DB the things he needed, books to read, pens and pencils to write with and paper to write on, comfy cushions and homely stuff that made the hut quite cosy. They also brought him food. DB was strictly vegetarian so they brought him salads with lettuce, tomatoes, celery, carrots, spring onions, olives, cucumbers, peppers and the kind of things that would have made any celebrity chef proud. But DB especially loved his orangey biscuits, his face breaking into a great smile when he saw them. Celebrity chefs might not have been so pleased with this, but you were only a young reptile once.

Alone

He thought a lot about Maxy and Dan. They were children on their world and yet they’d proved themselves trustworthy, loyal and kind. He’d been lucky. From what he’d read and learned of their planet, he might have fallen into the hands of some pretty ruthless humans.
With the marshes stretching around him bare, white and cold and the distant city lights both beckoning and threatening, the whole horizon seemed to speak to him and say, ‘You don’t belong here! This is the wrong world for you! Leave or die! Leave or die!’ His heart yearned for company, for a future, for the knowledge that he was not alone. He stared at the stars, willing his people to find him, but the stars did not hear his cry and the winter in this strange, new land grew bitter.

Confrontation

All at once, the great loneliness and fear DB felt welled up inside, and an anger too, that this should happen to him. He was alone and threatened, he was in pain, tired and being challenged and it was all just too much. He couldn’t run, so he roared, a deep and howling roar that made Mick’s blood run cold. DB’s body tensed, his coat fell of his shoulder and his hood from his head. He ripped off his hat and stood there before the petrified Mick Heathley who stared for a moment at the creature, imagining his own imminent destruction, to be eaten alive, then he turned and ran hell for leather, never turning back to see if he was being followed.
Of course, DB didn’t follow. He acted instinctively too and dived into the canal!

Acting Scary

Maxy and Dan knew where Boxer Heathley lived. Everyone did. The place had an aura of fear about it, but only because he lived there. The night after their talk with Mick, Dan put his plan into action. He’d written words out for DB and told him exactly what to do but it wasn’t easy getting DB to play the part of a monster, he was such a gentle and loving reptile.
“Alter your eyes,” said Maxy. “Look nasty!”
“How?” said DB. “I am not nasty.”
“Pretend. Act it. We can. Look,” and she put on a cruel face. DB tried to imitate her but he just looked daft.

Google Book Search

Click below to read more about Dinosaur Boy