by Alan Skinner
Calamity didn’t say a word. She stared at Crimson and shook her head. Crimson lightly scratched behind Calamity’s ears and spoke very softly to her friend.
‘I will need help, Calamity. Once you’ve told everyone, ask Grunge and Slight to meet me at that other camp we found near Leaf’s Meadow. Then find Eugene and come and meet us there.’
Calamity looked at Crimson. She nudged Crimson’s hand with her head. ‘OK, I’ll do it,’ said the puppy with a low growl. ‘But scratch my other ear first.’
It was a harvest rest day and if you want to find Muddles at rest, there is no better place to look than the Common. So a short time later, Calamity trotted up the road towards the centre of Home.
The Common stretches south from the road running through the town. On the other side of the road runs the Meddle River. Seven small stone bridges span the Meddle, and at the end of those bridges are shops, following the slow curve of the river.
The Common is the heart of Home. It is where the Muddles play, talk and rest. The Quad, a large square paved with cobblestones, is next to the road. On one side of the Quad is the Songpost, a gift from the Myrmidots, where the Muddles can listen to their favourite music. On the other side of the Quad is the kiosk, with its bright roof of yellow, blue and red stripes.
Past the Quad, the green grass of the Common goes on and on until it melts into the woods at the far end. Trees dot the Common, providing cool shade for sleepy Muddles, chestnuts to attach to string and leaves of every sort that can be raked into large piles perfect for diving into. There is a crickle pitch, a bandstand and a small pond full of drifting white water lilies nestling in broad green leaves.
Even before she reached the Common, Calamity could hear the lively laughter and chatter of the Muddles. As she approached, she was puzzled to see them all clustered in a circle round the Common. Then the Muddles fell silent. Calamity moved closer to see what was in the centre of the circle.
Two lines of Muddles faced each other across a green patch of the Common. Grunge was in the middle of one line, flanked by three Muddles either side. Directly opposite him, Japes stared at Grunge from the middle of the other line. In one hand, each of the fourteen Muddles held a pogo stick; in the other hand, each clutched a long wooden mallet.
The Muddles gathered round the Common watched as Reach daintily walked in between the two lines. She laid two balls on the ground, one red and one blue, and walked back to the edge of the Common. She looked at Grunge. She looked at Japes. She put a whistle to her lips and blew.
To give the Muddles their due, it was the first time they had used the new pogo sticks. Soon the Common was a confusion of sprawling Muddles, pogo sticks bouncing aloft with no rider, a few Muddles springing up and down in all directions and two Muddles who somehow ended up on the same stick.
The pogo sticks were a recent gift from the Myrmidots. They had been accompanied by a handbook entitled 93 Ways to Enjoy Your Pogo Stick. The one the Muddles decided to try was the one called ‘Pogolo’, in which two teams with mallets have to hit their ball through a series of hoops. Today was their first game.
Wave, who was on Japes’s team, bounced, swung his mallet in a long arc and hit the red ball. It rolled straight and true through the first hoop. Everyone, on both teams, cheered.
‘Good one, Wave!’ yelled Grunge. He bounced towards the blue ball, drew his arm back and swung the mallet. It missed the ball, flew from Grunge’s hand and slid neatly through the hoop. Everyone cheered.
The Muddles chased the balls across the pitch, bouncing around each other and occasionally hitting a ball through a hoop. No one kept score and there were often more Muddles lying on the pitch than actually on their pogo sticks. Wave was one of those who had bounced the wrong way and lay stretched out on the grass. As he got to his feet, he spotted Calamity.
‘Hi, Calamity!’ he yelled, retrieving his pogo stick. ‘Where’s Crimson?’
‘Hi, Wave,’ barked Calamity. She stepped forward and barked apologetically, ‘I need to talk to Reach.’
In a minute, Reach was sitting on the grass listening to Calamity. The Muddle pup told her everything that had happened the night before. The slender ballerina, not too many months past fourteen, listened intently, horrified, and when Calamity had finished she got to her feet. She hadn’t expected such a big responsibility during her first time as Town Leader but she was determined to meet it head on. She brushed a few blades of grass from her tutu, then walked to the edge of the pitch, put her whistle in her mouth and blew.
The players stopped; the crowd turned to her.
‘Something has happened. I’m calling a Town Meeting,’ she shouted. ‘It’s about Crimson.’
And so Reach told them Crimson’s story and what Crimson had asked them to do. When she’d passed on Crimson’s request to Grunge and Slight, she turned and spoke to Wave.
‘Will you ride with me to Beadleburg to tell them what has happened to Kevin?’
‘Sounds cool, Reach. My bike’s in the Quad,’ he replied.
Reach searched the crowd and called for Patch and Japes. The pirate and the jester stepped forward.
‘Will you go to Forge to talk to Achillia?’ asked Reach. ‘She has to find out what those people meant about helping the Myrmidots.’
‘Of course, Reach,’ said Patch and Japes in unison.
Reach looked at the sun. ‘You won’t get to the border in time for the morning tram. You’ll have to get the afternoon tram to Forge. Shift, will you please drive Patch and Japes to the Myrmidia border?’
‘Yeah, it’s on my way. Well, actually, it is my way,’ said Shift.
‘Thank you,’ said Reach. She hesitated then spoke again. ‘I think that’s it.’ She looked around at the others. ‘We don’t have to stand and say, do we?’ she asked. ‘It seems to me that we have done that. Just Sticks?’
There were nods from the Muddles. ‘Just Sticks, Reach,’ agreed Grunge.
‘Sticks!’ yelled Reach to all the Muddles.
In an instant, every Muddle had one of their sticks in their hand.
‘Show!’ cried Reach. The air was filled with small yellow sticks.
‘We are all agreed,’ Reach announced. All the Muddles murmured and nodded with approval as they collected their sticks.
‘Calamity!’ yelled Grunge. The puppy pushed her way through the Muddles. ‘You need to tell us where we can find this campsite. We’ll set off now – we shouldn’t be too far behind Crimson – and meet you there once you’ve tracked down Eugene.’
When Calamity had finished explaining and scampered into the woods, Grunge went over to Reach.
‘Reach, the Beadles will probably want to send someone back with you to help look for Kevin, just in case we don’t find them. Bring them here to Home. We’ll all meet tonight at Whist’s,’ said Grunge.
Reach bit her bottom lip. ‘OK, Grunge. I’ll try not to let everyone down.’
Grunge laid his hand on her shoulder. ‘I know you won’t, Reach.’
Sky came forward from the crowd of Muddles. ‘What should the rest of us be doing, Reach?’
‘Keep an eye open for the couple and their dogs. But it might be best not to let anyone go near them,’ she answered.
‘Ready, Reach?’ asked Wave.
‘I guess so. One minute. My bike’s at Whist’s.’
Reach raced across road and over one of the little stone bridges. Her bike – bright pink, naturally, with white and pink ribbons dangling from the handle grips – was leaning against a tree in front of the shop. She hopped on, closed her eyes and flew back over the bridge and across the road to where Wave was waiting. She squeezed her brakes. Her back wheel slid 180 degrees and she came to a stop, perfectly positioned alongside Wave. Reach opened her eyes.
‘That’s so cool!’ crowed Wave.
Before her last trip to Beadleburg, Reach had found riding a bike rather impossible. Just sitting on the seat caused uncontrollable dizziness and going round corners made her faint. It has been whil
e they were trying to catch Amelia on Brindle’s Island in Beadleburg that Crimson and Grunge had helped her discover that she could overcome her fear of heights and dizziness by closing her eyes. When her eyes were shut it was as if she just knew what was around her.
‘You first, Wave. I’ll follow. I can’t go all the way to Beadleburg with my eyes closed!’
They were about to set off when there was a commotion at the rear of the gathering of Muddles. The crowd parted and Bright burst into the centre. Her eyes, lively and sparkling, framed a wide smile.
‘It’s Leaf!’ she announced. ‘She’s awake!’
≈
‘I was trying to get away from the dogs. They were so big. I didn’t understand why they were chasing me. I ran and ran but they got closer and closer. The cliff was right next to me and the only thing I could do was to climb it to get away from them. I climbed as high as I could. The dogs stayed at the bottom for ages, trying to get to me. After a while they left. I waited until I couldn’t hear them and I tried to climb down. And then I fell.’
Leaf stopped and tears started to fall down her face.
‘The next thing I saw was Miniver’s face.’
The room was crowded with as many Muddles as it could hold – yet more stood in the corridor and foyer. Those in the front repeated Leaf’s words to those behind them, who, in turn, relayed the words to those behind, and so on until all the Muddles knew what had happened.
Reach took Leaf’s hand and held it. From what Calamity had told her of the hounds, it must have been terrifying for the scout. Reach looked at Miniver and smiled.
‘Miniver has been with you every minute since we found you,’ she said. ‘Did you see anyone with the dogs?’
Leaf shook her head. ‘No. Where do suppose they came from? Why did they want to hurt me?’
Reach decided it was better not to say anything to Leaf just at the moment about what had happened to Crimson.
‘We’re not sure, Leaf, but we intend to find out,’ she replied.
Bright clapped her hands. ‘Right, everyone out now. Leaf needs to rest. Come and see her this afternoon.’
The Muddles managed to turn round and shuffle out, until only Miniver, Reach and Bright were left.
Reach squeezed her friend’s hand. ‘I have to go to Beadleburg. I’ll come and see you later when I get back.’
‘Beadleburg? Is something wrong? What’s happening?’ asked Leaf.
It didn’t feel right to lie to her friend. Reach decided telling half the truth wasn’t really lying. ‘Kevin is missing. Crimson’s out looking for him now. I’m going to talk to Bligh and Brian. We’ll talk about it later, OK?’
Leaf nodded. Her body hurt and she felt too tired to talk any more. She just wanted to go back to sleep. ‘OK, Reach,’ she said, and yawned. ‘I think I’ll sleep for a while.’ Her eyes closed. ‘I hope Crimson comes later,’ she murmured, and then she was fast asleep.
‘Reach.’ Miniver’s growl stopped Reach at the doorway. ‘You didn’t tell Leaf everything. What’s going on with Crimson? Why do you have to go to Beadleburg?’
Outside in the corridor, Reach told Miniver what she knew about Kevin and the attack on Crimson. She could see the angry glint in Miniver’s eyes.
‘I should go to help Crimson,’ the bear said, glancing back at Leaf. ‘Leaf will understand.’
‘Yes, she would, Miniver, but you should stay with her. She’s still very frightened. You should be here if she wakes. Flyte will look after Crimson.’
Miniver’s voice was a low rumble. ‘Of course she will, but . . .’
Reach put her arms round the bear’s neck. ‘I know you wish you could, Miniver, but you can’t look after everyone. Crimson will be fine. You’ll see.’
Miniver watched Reach walk away. She shook her head and ambled back to Leaf’s side.
≈
Crimson and Flyte headed north-east to Leaf’s Meadow. They skirted Home and the coffee plantation until they came to the rise that overlooked the north end of the meadow. From where they stood, they could see past the trees to the lake beyond, glinting in the sun. If they were quiet, that fringe of trees would provide enough cover to get close enough to the campsite without being seen.
Flyte scanned the valley. Her body was straight, her muscles tense; her ears were small, straight triangles and her nose was raised to catch the breeze. She sniffed. She caught a faint smell of burning wood but there were no other sounds or smells that shouldn’t be there. Flyte glanced at Crimson and growled softly. Crimson nodded her head once, then ran down the slope towards the trees, Flyte loping effortlessly by her side.
≈
Beadleburg is neat, orderly, very clean – and very, very dull. All the houses are the same shape and colour and they sit side by side like rows of sentry boxes. Beadles themselves, while being as polite, intelligent and hard-working as anyone else, can also verge on being rather boring.
For a colourful, easy-going Muddle surfer, like Wave, it was quite a shock. If Muddlemarsh’s astronaut Sky, had taken Wave into outer space to a planet light years away it wouldn’t have felt more alien.
Wave felt better that Reach was with him. Together, they made their way to the Council Offices. They dismounted under the large sign that read, ‘Park Bikes Here (Neatly)’ and slid the front wheels of their bikes into the parking rack. They were about to enter the building when a cheery voice cried, ‘Reach! Wave! What are you doing here?’
The Muddles turned to see Megan hurrying towards them. Her smiling face reminded Wave that not all Beadles were serious and restrained. He had met the bus driver when she had accompanied Brian to Home to ask the Muddles for help.
Reach and Wave told Megan all that had happened and why they were in Beadleburg. Megan was stunned at the news. ‘We’ve been worried but we didn’t imagine anything like this,’ she said. ‘Mint sent word that Kevin was missing. They’ve been out looking for him.’
Megan often saw Kevin during her daily stops at Mint. She thought of how happy he was. He was grateful to the Beadles of the Land for taking him in after Amelia’s death and treating him as if he had always lived with them. He’d never spoken of his life back in The Place; he seemed content to enjoy the happiness of the life before him, rather than regret the life he’d left behind.
Now someone was trying to return him to that life against his will. Megan knew the Beadles would never let that happen.
‘Why would they want to hurt Crimson?’ she wondered aloud. ‘I wish she hadn’t gone after Kevin! She should have waited!’
‘I think she was worried about someone else getting hurt,’ said Reach. ‘You know Crimson, Megan. She’s like Miniver in a way. Both of them think they have to look after everyone else. She isn’t alone, though. Flyte is with her and the others will catch up.’
‘Well, the sooner you talk to Bligh and Brian, the sooner we can help. I’m coming with you. C’mon!’
Megan, Reach and Wave walked into Beadleburg’s Council Offices.
‘Let me deal with Samuel,’ Megan suggested. ‘He can be very particular – even for a Beadle.’
A rather serious-looking attendant at the reception desk looked up as they entered. ‘Good afternoon. And whom do you wish to see?’
‘Samuel, we have to see Bligh and Brian right away,’ said Megan.
‘Do you have an appointment?’
‘No, but this is important.’
Samuel looked at them over the top of his glasses.
‘People think that important things are more –’ was as far as he got before Megan interrupted.
‘Don’t start that, Samuel. We don’t have time,’ she scolded. ‘We have to see Bligh and Brian right now!’
‘This is very irregular, Megan. But I suppose . . .’ said Samuel, feeling a little bit nervous. Megan was usually very polite. He picked up his pen. ‘Name?’
Megan glared at Samuel, then walked straight past. Reach and Wave took off after her, giving Samuel an apologetic smile.
&nbs
p; ‘Well, I’ll just put Megan and Muddles, shall I?’ Samuel muttered, writing in his book.
Megan marched straight to Bligh’s office, knocked once, then opened the door.
‘Come i—’ Bligh called, only to find his visitors were already in. ‘Megan! This is very irregular!’
‘Yes, I know. Samuel told me. But this is important. It’s about Kevin.’
A few minutes later – after Megan had fetched Brian, and Bligh had ordered coffee and biscuits for his visitors – they took their seats round Bligh’s desk.
‘Reach, it is such a pleasure to see you again. I do believe the last few months have made you even prettier,’ Bligh beamed. ‘Brian, you remember Reach, don’t you?’
Now, Brian had come a long way since the first time he had met Reach, but he still found it a bit disconcerting to be having a serious meeting with a ballerina in her pink tutu, especially one who was so young. Nonetheless, he gave Reach a warm smile.
‘Of course,’ he said. ‘It’s a pleasure to see you again, Reach. And you, Wave.’
‘You were Town Leader when Brian first went to Home, I believe, Wave,’ Bligh said. ‘Is it your turn again?’
‘Not me.’ Wave grinned. ‘It’s Reach’s turn.’
‘Oh!’ said Brian.
‘Oh!’ said Bligh. ‘Ah, well, I’m sure she’s very . . . um . . . capable for one so . . . so . . . young.’
‘More capable than me, I’m sure of that!’ Wave laughed.
‘That’s probably very true,’ Brian thought, a bit unkindly.
‘Now, Megan tells us that you have news of Kevin,’ said Bligh, becoming serious and official.
Reach and Wave told the Beadles everything that had happened. Both turned pale at the mention of the strange man and woman on horseback, but they listened in silence until the Muddles had finished.
Bligh rubbed his forehead. ‘First that woman, Amelia, and now these two. It’s obvious they come from the same place. What do they want with us?’
