Dave Hop The tunnel was dark and Tiberius swam with all his might, his large body only just fit and he kept scuffing the sides. He was holding his breath as he swam and he suddenly wondered whether that meant he was invisible too, it was hard to tell really. He spotted a light up ahead, growing larger as he swam on. Just as he felt he was running out of breath the tunnel opened out, Tiberius flopped into shallow water and he stood up and burst into fresh air. He was standing in a gleaming, cave the walls lined with gold. Up ahead there was a stone table covered in silk scrolls. Tiberius reached out and grabbed the nearest. He pulled on the rope that held it together. There was a flash and a the walls of the cave began spinning round. Tiberius lost his balance and fell backwards, He expected to collide with the wet cave floor but instead he landed on a soft carpet. He felt a tug on his sleeve and turned to look. It was Normal, crumpled on the carpet next to him.
‘How did you get here?’ hissed Tiberius.
‘I followed you,’ said Normal, ‘where are we?’
They looked around, they were in a large bedroom with a high ceiling and wallpaper covered in pink bows.
‘Radiator,’ said Normal.
‘What?’ said Tiberius.
‘Someone said “radiator”,’ said Normal.
‘Oh not that again. No they did not!’
There was a footstep outside the door.
‘Quick hide!’ hissed Normal.
‘Where?’ Tiberius said, looking around.
When he looked back he was alone.
‘Normal? Normal? Where are you?’
The bedroom door began to open. Tiberius panicked and looked for somewhere to hide. He spotted a large wardrobe nearby, so he grabbed the door handle and flung himself inside. It was full of clothes on hangers and it was quite a squeeze to get himself in there, but somehow he managed and pulled the door behind him. He pushed himself deep inside, wondering if there might be a secret way out of the back of the wardrobe. But there wasn’t, his head thudded against the wooden back and he had to stop himself from yelping in pain. He stood and heard voices in the room. Someone was crying and someone else was trying to cheer them up. Eventually the voices faded away and Tiberius blundered his way out of the wardrobe, his face red and flustered and a hanger sticking down the back of his collar.
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