In The Land of Broken Time: The Incredible Journey

Chapter 1How Christopher and Sophie Became Hijackers

Since early in the morning, this summer's day had turned out to be quite different from the rest. Scarcely had Christopher gone down to breakfast when there was a long beep from outside, followed by another, and then a third...The boy rushed over to the window and saw a line of huge trucks driving past his house. They were brightly painted and glittered in the light of the rising sun.

"The circus!" Christopher exclaimed.

"A traveling circus, with a Big Top," his mother explained.

She was pouring delicious cocoa into cups. The boy ran out into the meadow.

"This evening and all week! An unforgettable show!" a voice said from a loudspeaker.

"Mum! Mum, can we go?!" the boy began to shout.

"Well, not today. And don't forget we have to go to the doctor tomorrow."

For the whole of the previous week, Christopher had been forced to stay at home because he had a cold. He had spent the first two days in bed, and the time had passed incredibly slowly. But then he had started to improve. Time began to speed up.

"But I'm better now!"

"Perhaps," his mother objected, "but only the doctor can say whether you have fully recovered or not."

Christopher watched sadly as the trucks moved away. He really, really wanted to watch the amazing show, even from a distance. He felt like running after it.

As evening approached, Christopher sat by the window and watched whole processions of excited children walking past. They were hurrying to the suburbs in the northern part of the town. A huge dome had been erected on some wasteland there. Christopher could see the top of it from upstairs. The sound of cheerful music came from far away. Apparently the festivities were in full swing, and the main performance was due to begin soon.

The boy so wished he could at least catch a glimpse of it all...We've already had supper, he thought. So no one will miss me before bedtime. I'll run there and then straight back again.

Escaping from the house without being noticed wasn't too difficult; Dad was watching the news on the computer in his study, and Mum was studying new recipes on her tablet in the living room. They were both so absorbed in what they were doing that neither of them noticed the fugitive slipping out. Christopher knew that running away was wrong, but his legs carried him off, all by themselves.

He shot like a bullet along the streets and soon reached his destination.

A huge balloon was being blown up next to the Big Top. The shaped fabric was rapidly filling up with helium. Soon it began to sway from side to side. It was fastened to the ground with a rope.

The third and final bell sounded to indicate that the performance was about to start, and everyone hurried inside. Christopher didn't have a ticket, though.

He tried to hide in the crowd so that, in the general chaos, he might be able to sneak into the kingdom of clowns and acrobats. A steward dressed in uniform was struggling to check all the tickets. The boy had almost managed to squeeze himself through the forbidden doorway when a loud and piercing voice screamed over the general hubbub:

"Look! He hasn't got a ticket!"

Christopher's heart sank. The steward looked at the boy and was about to grab hold of him. But help arrived from a rather unexpected source. A girl, who was standing just behind him, pointed in the opposite direction and shouted loudly:

"Look! What's that?!"

Everyone turned in the direction she was pointing. Making the most of this, the cunning girl lifted up the curtain without a second's delay and slipped inside. Then she grabbed hold of Christopher and dragged him in behind her. He found this boldness rather awkward at first, and he even tried to object, but then he realized why the girl had done it. She had no ticket, either! Everything had happened so quickly that, when the curtain fell back into place, hiding the young conspirators, he stood for a moment peering through to the other side in confusion.