by Jon Ireland
‘Don’t lie Mischief. I saw your computer goons corner Shelly up a tree. You can’t deny that.’
‘Now that I don’t deny,’ retorted the Doctor. ‘But I only gave orders to bring Shelly here so I could have a little chat with him. Stored in that bonkers brain of his is a password I need.’
‘You’re talking elephant poop!’ said Rocket, pointing his finger accusingly at the doctor. ‘All you want to do is cage us up like pets.’
‘I may have a predisposition for putting things in order, but in this case, I am entirely blameless. All I’m after is a password from Shelly. I promise him no harm.’
‘I don’t believe you for a second,’ said Hoppy. ‘Wasn’t it you who attacked us with the Tummy Tickler only two months ago?’
‘No joke,’ added Rocket. ‘Shelly almost died laughing.’
Hoppy continued: ‘And wasn’t it you who lured us into a hole of Quicksand Custard?’
‘Thank goodness Liftoff hadn’t had his pudding that day and was able to eat his way through it,’ said Rocket. He gave Liftoff a reassuring nod.
Hoppy still wasn’t finished.
‘And what about when you tried to trap us with Giant Jam Jars!’ she added.
‘I felt sticky for days,’ said Liftoff, wiping imaginary goo off his fur.
‘No, no, no,’ replied Doctor Mischief dismissively. ‘That was all Klump’s doing. I had nothing to do with all that nonsense.’
Klump looked shocked.
‘But it was you who gave us the Jam Jars,’ he said defensively.
‘They were meant for spreading jam on toast.’
‘They were ten feet tall!’
‘I like a lot of toast. It was a misunderstanding.’
‘But you gave us the Quicksand Custard,’ said Klump. ‘And you gave us the Tummy Tickler!’
‘They were meant for a surprise party,’ said the Doctor, going red in the face.
‘You told us you wanted all the animals on the island captured. You told me if I didn’t imprison them all I’d be recycled into cans of soup.’
‘Be quiet, you brainless box of wires!’ And with that she gave Klump a big slap on the side of his head.
‘You’re not fooling anyone, Mischief,’ said Rocket. ‘Stay away from us and stop picking on Shelly. And more importantly, we want our fishing lake back.’
‘Lake? What lake?’ asked the Doctor, scrunching up her green face.
‘You know what I’m talking about. Don’t play dumb with us,’ Rocket said, feeling pretty angry about the whole missing water business. ‘You took all the water from our fishing lake and we want it back.’
Doctor Mischief’s face turned a pale shade of green, as though it had just dawned on her that something terrible was happening.
‘Oh dear. That’s not good. That’s absolutely awful!’
‘Yes it is, it is awful,’ said Rocket, taken aback by the Doctor’s empathy. ‘I’m glad you understand how important that lake is to us.’
‘Huh?’ replied the Doctor, ‘I don’t give two owl hoots about your stupid fishing lake. You haven’t a clue what’s going on do you? The water in that lake is connected to my computer warehouse and its emergency cooling. If the water in the lake has been drained then it means my computer servers are overheating. And that is what is awful.’
Rocket and Liftoff stared at each other blankly.
‘So does that mean you can give us our lake back?’ asked Liftoff.
‘Did you not hear what I just said?’ reprimanded the Doctor. ‘The water from the lake is part of an underground emergency cooling system inside this mountain. The water was automatically taken from the lake to cool down the central computer servers because of extreme overheating.’
‘Computers – blah – emergency – blah – cooling – blah,’ said Rocket, miming a talking mouth with his hand. ‘We don’t care why it’s gone. Just give us back our lake!’
‘I can’t do anything while the computers are overheating. And I can’t fix the computers until I have Shelly’s password. Tell Shelly I need his password. He’ll know what one I mean. If you want your lake back get me the password!’
‘Why would Shelly know a password for your computers?’ asked Hoppy.
‘If you want a history lesson – ask Shelly,’ replied the Doctor curtly. ‘I don’t have time for this.’ She clicked her fingers. ‘Klump, Basher, Hover, Zoom. We’re done here.’ And with that she spun around and marched back into the mountain tunnel.
‘You heard her, everyone,’ said Klump in an authoritative voice. ‘All robots back inside.’ He turned around to see the other robots had already left him.
Tinysaur growled at Klump.
‘Hey! Wait for me!’ Klump called out, his four little wheels scooting through the main entrance. ‘Someone close the door – and fast!’
‘Oy!’ shouted Rocket. ‘We’re not finished with you yet!’
But before Rocket could say another word the tunnel entrance slammed shut with a clang, the big heavy steel doors squeezed tight and the entrance to the mountain lair was sealed once again.
Chapter 10 – Beware the bugs
Rocket was still feeling pretty fed up about the missing water in the fishing lake as he and Liftoff, Hoppy and Tinysaur made their way back home.
‘I still think she could have put our water back,’ moaned Rocket.
‘I wouldn’t trust that green lizard as far as I could throw her,’ said Hoppy. ‘But why would she make-up a story about Shelly and a password?’
‘Why would Shelly have a password for her computers?’ asked Rocket. ‘It’s some kind of trick I’m sure of it.’
‘Why don’t we just ask Shelly,’ said Liftoff. ‘He’ll know if she’s telling the truth.’
‘Good point,’ said Rocket. ‘If by some small chance she is telling the truth, then Shelly can give her the password and we’ll get our lake back.’
‘And if she’s lying?’ asked Hoppy.
But before anyone could answer, they all stopped and gasped at what stood before them. This was not the same Tree House they’d left just a couple of hours ago. Spider webs hung down from every part of the tree, covering it from head to toe. It was a strange and ugly sight.
‘Yuk!’ said Liftoff. ‘Looks like you’ve got a mega spider infestation.’
Tinysaur was yapping frantically. She came from the behind the tree and excitedly motioned for Hoppy to come over.
‘What is it, Tinysaur?’
Hoppy gasped.
‘If it’s a spider,’ said Rocket cooly, ‘then I’d suggest using a glass cup and a piece of paper.’
‘No, it’s not that. Come and see this. I think something awful has happened to Shelly.’
Rocket and Liftoff walked round the foot of the tree to see what the fuss was about. There, scratched onto the Tree House trunk were three words:
BEWARE THE BUGS
‘It’s Shelly’s writing,’ said Hoppy worriedly.
‘Ha, is that it?’ said Rocket laughing. ‘That’s nothing to be scared of. It must have been Shelly just warning us about these spider webs. No big deal.’
‘Shelly!’ Hoppy shouted up to the tree house.
There was no reply.
‘The sun’s almost setting and he should be here by now. He’s never this late. I’m worried something’s happened to him.’
‘I’m sure Shelly’s fine,’ replied Rocket calmly. ‘He probably couldn’t stand the sight of all these spider webs and has gone to sleep somewhere else tonight. You know him, he never gets cold in that shell of his.’
Hoppy shook her head.
‘I don’t like this one bit. I think we should spread out and search for him.’
‘Come on, Hoppy, it’s almost dark so why don’t we look for him in the morning. He’ll probably find us before we find him.’
‘The sun’s nearly set,’ said Liftoff, noticing the sky changing from orange to dark blue. ‘Let’s get home and put some marshmallows on the fire. I’m hungry.’
‘You’re leaving me here with all these spider webs covering my house?’ said Hoppy. ‘No way. Me and Tinysaur are staying at your place tonight.’
Rocket sighed.
‘I guess if you’re really scared then maybe you can stay with us.’
‘I’m not scared,’ replied Hoppy crossly. ‘I’m thinking of Tinysaur that’s all. You don’t want to stay here do you girl?’
Tinysaur shook her head vigorously, shuddering at the sight of all those cob webs.
‘It’ll be fun,’ added Liftoff cheerily. ‘I love a good sleep over.’
‘Just one night though,’ said Rocket. ‘ When Shelly turns up tomorrow you can clear those cobwebs away in no time.’
‘Fine by me.’
* * *
Rocket and Liftoff’s two cabins lay on the outskirts of the Forever Forest with a terrific view of the ocean.
‘I’ll get the fire going,’ said Rocket, who suddenly dashed off to collect some firewood, returning just a few seconds later with a bundle of sticks which he dumped on the old fire’s dying embers. ‘Liftoff, if you wouldn’t mind.’
Liftoff sucked up a huge gulp of air and blew onto the glowing embers. The fire flickered to life.
Gathered around the camp fire, Rocket, Liftoff, Hoppy and Tinysaur watched the sun dip behind the ocean horizon and fall beneath the waves.
‘I do hope Shelly has found somewhere safe for the night,’ said Hoppy. She dragged a large log over to the fire and dropped it down.
‘What you need is a hot mango milk and a couple of toasted marshmallows,’ said Liftoff kindly. ‘We have a whole stash of them.’
‘Where did you get marshmallows?’ asked Hoppy, frowning. ‘Rocket said you ran out of them months ago.’
‘Ha ha! A simple misunderstanding,’ said Rocket, with a forced laugh. ‘I think Liftoff meant to say toasted vegetable marrows?’
‘What are you talking about? We never toast vegetable marrows,’ replied Liftoff. ‘No, I meant those marshmallows you stole from the Doctor’s food store last month. You don’t remember? They’re your favourite treat!’
Hoppy gave Rocket a stern look.
‘Oh those marshmallows,’ said Rocket, sighing deeply. ‘Sure, bring them out. Let’s all share them. That way everyone can enjoy them.’ Rocket then added in a hushed voice. ‘Thanks a lot, you big dope ...’
A few minutes later, everyone was toasting marshmallows on sticks round the roaring fire. Rocket and Liftoff sat together on half a tree that had been turned into a seat. Tinysaur was covered in a blanket curled up asleep by Hoppy’s feet.
‘Thanks for the this,’ said Hoppy, taking another toasted marshmallow out from the fire and putting it into her mouth.
‘Our pleasure,’ said Rocket, attempting a smile.
Liftoff took a final slurp of warmed mango milk from a half coconut shell and yawned and stretched. He looked down at his bunny that was sitting on his lap.
‘Time for nap nap, little bunny. We’ve had a busy day.’
‘I am pooped,’ sighed Rocket. ‘I’m gonna hit the hay too.’
‘But shouldn’t we take it in turns to keep watch?’ said Hoppy. ‘After what’s happened today who knows if we’ll be safe tonight.’
‘Just stay close to the fire and you’ll be fine,’ said Rocket, unable to hold back a big yawn. ‘See you in the morning.’
And with that Rocket, rubbed his eyes and stumbled into his cabin. Within seconds there were loud snores coming from both Rocket and Liftoff’s beds.
Hoppy sighed. ‘So it’s just you and me, Tinysaur,’ she said, stroking Tinysaur’s head.
Tinysaur snuffled and dug her head into Hoppy’s lap. The little dinosaur couldn’t keep her eyes open.
‘They’re probably right. We’ll be safe here by the fire. Goodnight, Tinysaur.’
Hoppy lay down on the spare camp bed and pulled her blanket up to her chin. Mesmerised by the fire that flickered before her, it wasn’t long before Hoppy’s eyes shut and she drifted to sleep.
Behind the fire and cabins lay the dark silhouette of the forest beneath the stars. A gentle wind rustled the leaves and bushes.
Two glowing red eyes, hidden in the dark undergrowth, watched and waited.
Chapter 11 – Night time visitors
Hoppy awoke with a fright.
‘Tinysaur, wake up!’
Hoppy nudged the little green dinosaur resting by her feet.
‘Did you hear that? Something’s moving in the forest.’
Tinysaur gave a yawn, opened one eye, tried to open the other but instead shut both of them and went back to sleep.
‘Oh Tinysaur, so much for your help,’ sighed Hoppy.
Rocket and Liftoff were deep in sleep snoring in their cabins.
‘Just me to look out for everyone then.’
There was that buzzing sound again. A low, humming, pulsating noise coming from somewhere in the forest. Something strange, mechanical, out of this world.
Hoppy squinted and stared into the woods. Her heart was pounding. The noise was getting louder.
‘Tinysaur, get up,’ said Hoppy sternly. She nudged the sleepy dinosaur with her feet and hopped out of bed. ‘There’s something out there.’
Tinysaur rolled over and went back to sleep.
Hoppy knelt down by the fire and pulled out one of the half burning sticks. She held the burning wood in front of her as a torch and edged closer to the forest.
She looked into the darkness intently.
And suddenly there it was – flashing lights – dashing through the trees.
On and off, the lights flickered green, yellow, orange. They moved quickly, about six foot from the floor, zooming left and then right. The humming noise grew louder and a wind whipped up over Hoppy’s face.
‘Guys! Wake up!’ shouted Hoppy. ‘We’ve got company!’
Then suddenly, a flying machine with dazzling spinning bright lights whooshed out from the trees and flew towards her. She ducked, feeling the wind from the flying machine pass overhead.
The flying machine and the flashing lights whizzed round the fire and cabins and then no sooner had it arrived than it was gone.
WHOOSH.
Like a shooting star, the flying machine sped into the sky and out of sight.
Hoppy breathed a sigh of relief, her heart still beating fast from the excitement.
Whatever it was was gone. She threw the flaming torch back on to the fire and sat back down on the camp bed beside Tinysaur.
The only sounds were the gentle crackle of the fire and the ocean waves breaking against the shore.
Hoppy pulled up her blanket and covered herself tightly.
‘Did I just imagine that?’
There were no more strange humming nosies or mysterious lights, just the warm crackle of the fire.
‘Well seeing as everyone else is fast asleep ...’ She closed her eyes and within seconds was dreaming of sailing away on the ocean.
* * *
The two small glowing-red eyes hiding in the undergrowth became four. Then six, then twelve. Ten minutes later there were red eyes everywhere, thousands of glowing dots sprinkled in the darkness of night.
It was the red-eyed black beetles that had been following Rocket and Liftoff.
A few of the beetles crawled out from the undergrowth and crept over to the sleeping Hoppy and Tinysaur, while the other beetles spread round the camp.
Tinysaur twitched her nose and rolled her head to one side.
Hoppy shuffled in her sleep.
‘Tinysaur, move over,’ said Hoppy drowsily, her eyes firmly shut.
Without knowing it she wiped away a beetle from her shoulder. Two more of the black insects crawled up on to Hoppy’s head. But this time it woke her up with a start.
‘Argh!’ she screeched. ‘Bugs!’
She flicked the beetles away. Fully awake now, she glanced around and saw how many insects there were. Not just ten or twenty but hundreds and thousands. Red-glo
wing eyes surrounded them – on the cabins, in the grass and all over the camp.
Liftoff suddenly ran out of his cabin and shouted, ‘Help! I’ve got bed bugs!’ He was hopping up and down on either foot, scared he might touch one. ‘Get them away from me!’
‘What’s all the fuss?’ said a bleary eyed Rocket stepping outside his door. ‘Are you having nightmares again? I told you not to have that third mango milk.’
‘Rocket! We’re surrounded by thousands of beetles!’ cried Hoppy.
‘We’re always surrounded by beetles,’ replied Rocket, barely keeping his eyes open. ‘Have you not noticed we live in the great outdoors?’
‘Open your eyes, Rocket! They’re swarming all over us! And look at their red eyes – that’s not normal.’
Tinysaur woke up in shock – all over her little green-skinned body were scuttling black beetles.
‘Yap, yap, yap!’ shrieked the little dinosaur, desperately trying to shake off the insect infestation.
‘I don’t like them,’ said Liftoff, quivering at the sight of the crawling insects milling about the camp. ‘How can we get rid of them?’
‘Relax everyone, so we’ve got a little bit of friendly wildlife for company,’ said Rocket, motioning with both hands to calm down. ‘We’ll just sweep them back into the forest and then everyone can return to snooze-ville.’
‘Er – I don’t think it’s going to be that easy,’ said Hoppy, her eyes widening. She lifted her finger and pointed up to the roof of the cabins.
Covering both of Rocket and Liftoff’s cabin roofs were thousands upon thousands of the black insects swarming all over like black treacle.
‘There’s more of them over there,’ pointed Liftoff. ‘And there! There! And over there!’
In a circle around the camp, the black beetles had created what looked like a wall of slithering darkness.
‘There are millions of them,’ Hoppy cried out. ‘They’re trapping us. They’re everywhere!’
Tinysaur flicked away several beetles near her feet.
‘Everyone move closer to the fire,’ said Rocket. ‘And stick together.’
Liftoff, Hoppy and Tinysaur watched helplessly as the insects grew in numbers, edging closer and closer.
‘I wonder if a little wind might clear them off,’ said Rocket, eyeing up the approaching pests.
‘I’ll try my best,’ said Liftoff, scrunching his face and turning red in the cheeks. ‘But I didn’t have baked beans for dinner so it may take me a little while.’
