It seemed all too soon the ba-ba was empty. Mama took it away and Brian saw that the others had disappeared. He spotted Rachel across the parachute, now sat in a big baby walker like at Meggy’s house. This one was a bit more basic, just a white walker with mesh seat and a tray.

Rachel wasn’t happy about being in the contraption. She hadn’t even tried to walk since the day before. She was happy to stay on the ground, where she was at least free to roam. This thing kept her all cooped up, unable to reach anything beyond the tray. Her bowed legs felt funny dangling like that and it was strange pushing the thing about with toes just brushing the carpet. Rachel had been a bit jealous of Brian when he’d been placed in one the night before, but now she knew that was stupid.

She was getting right into a good sulk when an idea popped into her head. She looked over at Sara, standing near Brian, fitting his empty bottle back into her overfilled bag. The bag that was sitting precariously on the edge of a chair. With all her strength Rachel dug her toes into the carpet and pushed off in Sara’s direction. Her floppy legs did the best they could and she picked up speed, aiming right for the mother’s butt.

Brian wasn’t sure what his friend was doing. She had a look of insane determination as she flailed her legs within the saucer and scooted faster and faster towards him and Mama. As she got closer he realised she wasn’t going to stop. “What the hell?” he thought. But there was no time to warn Mama, for Rachel had given one last thrust and then careened into her.

“Yow!” Sara cried out as the walker slammed into her heel and hip.

“Oopsie!” Rachel called out innocently, a wicked smile on her face as Sara collapsed in a heap and the bag toppled onto the floor, spilling its contents everywhere.

The bottles, clean diapers, make-up, wipes, all of it was spilled across the carpet. And right in the middle of the pile, the book. The only problem was Rachel couldn’t reach it. Once again she was trapped in a baby’s toy her salvation just out of grasp. Sara was already recovering, so Rachel knew there was only one solution. She gave Brian a desperate look then pushed aside her pride and cried out.

“Waah! Ahh…ahhh!” she wailed, forcing snot out of her nose, shaking her head and making like she was crying her eyes out.

Sara’s attention went from the spilled bag to the distraught baby and she immediately was at the girl’s side, trying to comfort her.

While Rachel was being cuddled and assured it was okay by Mama, Brian crept over to the pile and found the book, snatching it up and crawling away as quickly as he could. The sound of Rachel wailing got more distant as he made a bee-line for one of the tunnels. He didn’t dare look back as he crawled in behind a slightly older man in bright red overalls. Keeping his hands just behind the man’s wiggling bare feet Brian silently willed him to hurry it up. Finally they reached the other side of the tunnel and with no one behind him, Brian was alone and hidden.

Brian held the book in his hand and thought carefully about what to do. He decided there was no point trying to make it turn him grown-up again. He would just try to get a bit older, then he could fix things more easily. So he spoke softly to the book, saying “Bein’ a gwown up was bad. I wike bein’ more widdle. But not a baby! Wanna be a widdle boy, go ta school and pway. Pwease, make me widdle boy.”

Nothing happened, so Brian tried a new tack. “Okay, I stay baby, but not my fwends. Make ‘em big ‘gain. You gots me. Jus’ let ‘em go,” he offered, hoping that once they were older his friends could find a way to save him too. If the book demanded a victim maybe it would be satisfied with just him.

There were no wavy lines of energy, no eerie glow emanating from the book. It didn’t do a damned thing. Brian felt a lost, he’d given it his all and had nothing to show for it. He felt his rage at the stupid book grow by the second.

“C’mon stupid book, do somethin’!” he roared.

Still nothing.

“I hate you! You maked evewything bad!” he yelled, slamming the book onto the floor and hitting it.

What happened next wasn’t at all what he’d been expecting. The book didn’t start to glow, there was no slow change. Instead there was a blinding flash of light and a wave of searing heat from the cursed book.