Rugby Flyer Read Free Page A

enough for today,’ he announced, tucking the ball under his arm.
    As they walked back to town they bumped into Mrs Madden, who had a kitbag in her hand.
    ‘I just dropped down to your mum, Dylan, and shesaid its fine for you to stay over for the next few days. Here’s your pyjamas and a change of clothes for tomorrow.’
    ‘Ah, thanks a lot, Mrs Madden, this will be like going on holidays!’
    The three devoured their dinner and started making plans for the next few days. Rugby training couldn’t be slackened off, but they had to make time for Alan too. The young Dubliner insisted he was just happy to be in the same town as his buddies.
    As Alan lounged on the spare bed in Eoin’s room – with Dylan on the blow-up mattress on the floor – he spotted the ornament that Dixie had presented to his grandson.
    ‘What’s that thing?’ he asked.
    ‘It’s some sort of broken rugby ball,’ said Eoin. ‘An old Russian lad gave it to Dixie years ago and he just gave it to me. I think he was making a joke about it being blue and me playing for Leinster. I think it’s more green than blue.’
    Eoin told Alan about the old house beside where his grandfather lived and the rumours that it was haunted.
    ‘A real haunted house? We have to go there – NOW!’ said Alan, who was a great fan of scary stories and horror movies.
    Eoin looked at Dylan and nodded. ‘Well… I suppose it would do no harm. It won’t be dark for ages so we’ll be safe enough,’ he said.
    The trio scurried out of the house and trotted up towards Dixie’s house. The old man’s car wasn’t in the drive so they kept going, stopping when they reached the gates of the nearest big house.
    Eoin had no fear of ghosts. He knew that visitors from the spirit world didn’t wear white sheets and go ‘woooo-wooooo’ like those in films. He had encountered four ghosts around Castlerock since he started in the school and all had been just ordinary men, although some had done extraordinary things.
    But even though he didn’t feel scared of what might be inside, the way the old house appeared made Eoin and his pals slow down. Although it was a bright, warm, summer’s evening, as soon as they stepped through the broken-down iron gates it seemed to grow a little darker, and a little colder.

C HAPTER 5
    T he Lubov house was built with dark stone and the windows were covered with shutters that had once been white. The front door had been broken off its hinges and hung at an angle, so that the whole structure looked like a face that was slightly twisted and screaming in agony.
    Dylan and Eoin exchanged glances, and Eoin could see that his friend was nervous.
    ‘Are you sure you want to go in, Dyl?’ he asked.
    ‘Yeah, sure what’s the worst thing that could happen?’ said Dylan.
    ‘Well, I suppose we could caught in the crossfire between Frankenstein and the Mummy,’ laughed Alan, ‘And get eaten alive by zombies as we try to escape.’
    Dylan went another shade whiter, regretting all the scary films he had watched with his sister.
    Eoin led the trio up the driveway, which was overgrownby brambles, and past a dusty red sports car whose four tyres were flat and had begun to rot.
    ‘What a waste,’ said Dylan, ‘That was a serious car in its day.’
    They stopped at the front door and peered into the hallway.
    ‘The floorboards might be unsafe…’ said Eoin.
    He pressed his foot to the floor and found it sturdy. He clambered through the gap where the door hung and called back to his pals.
    ‘It’s grand,’ he said, ‘The floorboards are all in place and they seem fine. We’ll need to open the shutters to get some light in, though.’
    Eoin crossed the hallway into the main room and threw back the shutters in a cloud of dust and scrambling spiders.
    Alan and Dylan followed him slowly, peering over their shoulders into every dark corner.
    The house had obviously been cleaned out of anything valuable, but some rickety pieces of furniture remained.