Mr Mumbles

Mr Mumbles
Barry Hutchison

Kyle’s imaginary friend from childhood is back… with a vengeance.Kyle hasn't seen Mr Mumbles in years. And there's a good reason for that: Mr Mumbles doesn't exist.But now Kyle's imaginary friend is back, and Kyle doesn't have time to worry about why. Only one thing matters: staying alive…A major series from a fresh talent, brought to you by the publisher that put horror on the map.

HarperCollins Children’s Books

Copyright (#ub8195ffd-7c3d-53b2-875b-ffa87097df10)

First published in paperback in Great Britain by

HarperCollins Children’s Books 2010

HarperCollins Children’s Books is a division of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GF

Visit us on the web at www.harpercollins.co.uk

Visit Barry at www.barryhutchison.com

Text copyright © Barry Hutchison 2009

Barry Hutchison reserves the right to be identified as the author of the work.

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Ebook Edition © 2009 ISBN: 9780007358274

Version 2018-06-27

Dedication (#ub8195ffd-7c3d-53b2-875b-ffa87097df10)

To Fiona. My best friend (real, not imagined).

Will you marry me?

Table of Contents

Cover (#ucfc34996-c2b8-584a-8e17-6007f519c4a3)

Title Page (#u22fc65d1-f0e2-5d8f-880e-4ddd6b8703f4)

Copyright (#u29729e2c-1ae1-5246-9378-3f78f23cb967)

Dedication (#u47d1f346-e842-5cd9-aa2e-b75a56b289df)

Prologue (#u99a77d90-45aa-58e8-94f5-06ddf96a27a0)

Thirty-Four Days Earlier… (#ufc06bd68-fbe1-576f-a59f-80dc667feb63)

Chapter One — Jingle Hell (#uf9f488c9-d3a5-53ab-84ad-d7eaa7b1f607)

Chapter Two — A Forgotten Friend (#uf49d1195-c5b9-5df0-a685-7387be3243f2)

Chapter Three — Ghosts of The Past (#u4489e036-1b73-57a3-a16f-c906718e987e)

Chapter Four — The Return (#u31e05ffb-e827-590a-9a46-d09a554a7a67)

Chapter Five — A New Friend (#ud8f6b31d-b38d-5329-8269-36fbedceb1e9)

Chapter Six — Trapped Like Rats (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seven — The Best Form of Defence (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight — Moving The Donkey (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nine — The Darkest Corners (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten — The First Meeting (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven — The Boy in Blue (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve — The Get Away (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirteen — A Note from The Past (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fourteen — Revelations (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fifteen — The Truth (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Sixteen — Where It All Began (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seventeen — Water Water Everywhere (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eighteen — Faith (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nineteen — A Fight to The Death (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty — Not The End (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

PROLOGUE (#ub8195ffd-7c3d-53b2-875b-ffa87097df10)

What had I expected to see? I wasn’t sure. An empty street. One or two late-night wanderers, maybe.

But not this. Never this.

There were hundreds of them. Thousands. They scuttled and scurried through the darkness, swarming over the village like an infection; relentless and unstoppable.

I leaned closer to the window and looked down at the front of the hospital. One of the larger creatures was tearing through the fence, its claws slicing through the wrought-iron bars as if they were cardboard. My breath fogged the glass and the monster vanished behind a cloud of condensation. By the time the pane cleared the thing would be inside the hospital. It would be up the stairs in moments. Everyone in here was as good as dead.