The Beast

The Beast
Barry Hutchison

The fifth thrilling book in this darkly funny, horror series Darren Shan called 'deliciously nightmarish'. The first book, Mr Mumbles, is shortlisted for the Royal Mail Awards for Scottish Children's BooksThere is a beast on the loose and it has killed Kyle's head teacher. Now Kyle has to stop it – but it would help if he knew where to look.Can Kyle stop this monster from the Darkest Corners before anyone else dies? Certainly not, if the police have anything to do with it. Because they think they know who the beast is.They think it's Kyle…

Dedication

For me old mucker, Tommy Donbavand, aka Wobblebottom.

Sorry for nailing you to that ceiling in the last book.

Contents

Cover (#uf53896d3-ea14-5474-a4ee-5ab4094a5720)

Title Page (#ua252a46e-32af-5431-950b-e9a43be80843)

Dedication

PROLOGUE

THREE DAYS EARLIER...

Chapter One - The Night Bus

Chapter Two - This Old House

Chapter Three - The Stakeout

Chapter Four - Cop Out

Chapter Five - Toes in the Sugar

Chapter Six - Cop Killers?

Chapter Seven - The Screechers

Chapter Eight - Trapped in the Maze

Chapter Nine - Blame it on Baby

Chapter Ten - The Not-So-Supermarket

Chapter Eleven - Damsel in Distress

Chapter Twelve - Rosie’s Story

Chapter Thirteen - Taking Stock

Chapter Fourteen - Lily the Pink

Chapter Fifteen - A Moment Like This

Chapter Sixteen - Surrounded

Chapter Seventeen - Facing the Beast

Chapter Eighteen - Alone Together

Chapter Nineteen - Battle of the Beasts

Chapter Twenty - The Final Straw

Also available in the Invisible Fiends series:

Copyright

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

hat 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.

The distant thunder of gunfire ricocheted from somewhere near the village centre. A scream followed – short and sharp, then suddenly silenced. There were no more gunshots after that, just the triumphant roar of something sickening and grotesque.

I heard Ameena take a step closer behind me. I didn’t need to look at her reflection in the window to know how terrified she was. The crack in her voice said it all.

‘It’s the same everywhere,’ she whispered.

I nodded, slowly. ‘The town as well?’

She hesitated long enough for me to realise what she meant. I turned away from the devastation outside. ‘Wait... You really mean everywhere, don’t you?’

Her only reply was a single nod of her head.

‘Liar!’ I snapped. It couldn’t be true. This couldn’t be happening.

She stooped and picked up the TV remote from the day-room coffee table. It shook in her hand as she held it out to me.

‘See for yourself.’

Hesitantly, I took the remote. ‘What channel?’

She glanced at the ceiling, steadying her voice. ‘Any of them.’

The old television set gave a faint clunk as I switched it on. In a few seconds, an all-too-familiar scene appeared.