Night on Terror Island by Philip Caveney Read Free Book Online

number one. His gang is real, his bullets are real. Get hit by one of those bullets and you could be killed.’
    Kip actually pulled the brick-shaped gadget away from his ear and stared at it for a moment. Then he lifted it back.
    ‘But that doesn’t make sense. Russell Raven makes other films, so—’
    ‘Yes, but he’s not
physically
there. How can I explain it to you? He’s left a kind of … ghost of himself trapped in the celluloid, his real self is off somewhere making new movies. But it’s different for you, Kip. You’re actually in this copy of the film, and you must be very careful. Listen to me. If it gets to the closing credits and you’re still there, the film will claim you as its own. You’ll be trapped there for ever.’
    Kip allowed himself a brief smile.
    ‘You’re kidding, right?’
    ‘I’m deadly serious. I would never joke about a thing like that.’
    ‘Then you’ve got to get me out of here!’ protested Kip. ‘Right now. I’ve … got things to do in the real world. I … I have a homework assignment I’m supposed to complete over the holidays!’
    Mr Lazarus laughed. ‘Relax, Kip,’ he said. ‘Of course I’m going to get you out of there. But first, there’s something I want you to do for me.’
    ‘But—’
    ‘Just do as I say. Firstly, I want you to turn round and start walking along the street. Keep the line of parked cars to your right. You have an appointment with Mr Dillinger in a very short time and I don’t want you to miss it. Now hurry up, there isn’t time to waste.’
    Kip turned and began to walk along the street. His mind was racing and he kept the Communicator clamped to his ear.
    ‘How … how does it work?’ he asked. ‘The Enigma, I mean.’
    ‘I don’t know.’
    ‘What do you mean, you don’t …?’ Kip was interrupted by the roar of an engine and the shrieking of tyres. Looking over his shoulder in alarm, he could see that a group of black cars had just skidded to a halt a few yards behind him. Men were spilling out of them, tough-looking men, all of them carrying Tommy guns. They were advancing towards him, staring along the street as they came. Now Kip turned to follow their gaze, just in time to see a line of police cars pulling to a halt several hundred yards further up the road.
    With a sinking feeling, he recalled the scene into which he had just wandered – a furious shoot-out between Dillinger’s gang and the cops. Kip remembered that the police had set up blocks on all the roads south of the town – behind the gang. The only possibility of escape lay to the north, from where another group of armed cops were advancing. Kip was now trapped between Dillinger’s gang and the police.
    ‘Oh great,’ he said.
    ‘Kip?’ buzzed Mr Lazarus’s voice. ‘Is something wrong?’
    ‘Why did you send me into this scene? It’s not—’
    The sudden thunder of machine-gun fire made Kip wince. Several bullets whined past his head with a sound like angry wasps. It occurred to him that he was standing in a very dangerous place.
    He spotted a gap between two parked cars and threw himself towards it, just as a series of shots rattled out on either side of him. He dropped gratefully down between the cars as bullets smashed windscreens and punched ragged holes in black bodywork all around him. The stink of cordite filled the air. He threw his hands over his head and lay where he was for a moment, trying to catch his breath.
    He heard a kind of whining sound and realised that Mr Lazarus was speaking to him. He lifted the Communicator to his ear.
    ‘You’ve got to tell me how to get out of here,’ he gasped. ‘They’re shooting at me. I could be killed!’
    ‘Don’t be so melodramatic. You’re under cover, aren’t you? I saw you dive behind those cars.’
    ‘How?’
    ‘I’m watching on the screen, of course. Now. First things, first. Pull out the earpiece from the Communicator and press the H ANDS FREE button. Then put the handset back in its