Mysterious Mysteries of the Aro Valley by Danyl McLauchlan Page A

there could be dire consequences. Mood swings. Cognitive disturbances. Irrational behaviour. Maybe even brain zaps —sudden shock-like discharges inside your brain.’
    Danyl hadn’t experienced any mood swings or irrational behaviour, although he reminded himself to look out for them in the future. But this was definitely a brain zap. He gritted his teeth and lunged for the envelope one last time, only to snatch his hand back as his brain jolted him a third time. He hissed in frustration.
    Then the roar of the giant’s urination stopped. The toilet flushed. Footsteps shook the floor. Danyl scuttled to the bed and dived under it, rolling out of sight just as the tree-trunk-sized legs of the giant came into view.
    The giant moved back and forth across the bedroom. He stepped into a pair of fluffy brown slippers. He yelled out ‘Joy!’ again.
    There was dust under the bed. There was always dust in these situations: Danyl knew not to breathe through his nose but to open his mouth as wide as possible and inhale and exhale, slow and deep. That way he wouldn’t sneeze. He could see the blue envelope out of the corner of his eye but he also knew not to reach for it, or even turn his head to look at it. Beds were fine places to hide in theory, but they were often cluttered with forgotten bric-a-brac, and the slightest motion could spring open a suitcase or send an empty wine bottle rolling across the hardwood floors.
    He did not move. He waited. He took slow, steady breaths. Things would be OK. The giant would take a shower, eventually, or go outside to look for his girlfriend, and Danyl could make his escape. All he needed to do was keep calm and not make any silly mistakes.
    He closed his eyes, turned his head and rested his cheek against the cool floor.
    Eleanor’s cellphone rang.

10
Surprise Symphony
    Danyl didn’t have a phone of his own and in his terror of the giant he’d forgotten about stealing Eleanor’s, so when Haydn’s Surprise Symphony started playing, he thought he’d nudged an old alarm clock, or something. Then he realised the sound was coming from his jacket pocket. He pulled out the stolen phone. The ringtone grew louder. The caller ID flashed a name on the glowing screen.
    Verity.
    Danyl stared at the phone in perfect comprehension. Of course it was Verity. He’d called her half-a-dozen times from Eleanor’s phone; now she’d seen those missed calls and responded, and this chain of events would lead to Danyl being beaten by a huge, hairy naked man. He pressed the button to terminate the call but it was too late. Far too late. The house shook as the giant approached. ‘Joy?’ He knelt down.
    Danyl shifted backwards, wriggling to the other side of the bed as soundlessly as possible, getting ready to break cover and run. The giant was on his knees trying to see under the mattress, but he was too large. Instead he fumbled beneath the bed with a massive dinner-plate-sized hand. Danyl cowered just out of its reach. Then the hand withdrew.
    â€˜Joy?’ The giant sounded angry. ‘Joy?’
    Danyl needed a plan. He needed tools. He glanced around and saw a power cable connected to a bedside lamp, some empty condom wrappers, a giant woollen sock and a ballpoint pen. And there was something else: a small steel box near the head of the bed. He tried to pull it towards him but it was fixed to the floor. The lid was open. Danyl wriggled closer and looked inside. The box was filled with vials of pills.
    He remembered Joy standing in the alleyway saying, ‘I’m a drug dealer’, and passing Danyl her card. Ask me about my Phenethylamines . This was Joy’s hidden stash. Danyl’s mind raced. Maybe he could combine the drugs with the power cable and the condom wrappers and fashion them into some sort of weapon? He tried to think, to concentrate. But then he twitched as his brain jolted him yet again. His doctor’s voice came back