Amelia Fang and the Naughty Caticorns

by Laura Ellen Anderson

  ‘It’s impossible to follow anything at this speed! ’ said Tangine, holding on to his helmet as the motorcycle suddenly approached the Nocturnian Moon Market: a mishmash of stripy canopies with all sorts of weird and wonderful food and other items for sale.

  Amelia screamed as they headed straight for a stack of jars filled with toe jam. But Wooo weaved his way in and out of the market stalls, soaring over crates of ferocious fruits and vile vegetables.

  ‘THERE THEY ARE!’ Florence suddenly yelled, pointing ahead of them.

  Gerrard, Butler and Mo were on the penny-farthing, pedalling out of the market as fast as their little paws would go.

  ‘What are they up to?!’ Grimaldi shrieked.

  Wooo steered the bike out of the market, skidding and screeching as he handbrake-turned around a sharp corner on to the main dirt path through the Rickety Residences. This was one of the fanciest estates in Nocturnia, home to celebrities like the Howling Wolf band or the famous fashion designer Giorgio Arm an’ Knee.

  ‘GERRARD, BUTLER, MO!’ Amelia shouted at the top of her voice. But the caticorns were too far away to hear her and the motorcycle engine was too loud. Wooo’s wheels splattered thick mud on to the windows of the houses as they sped through the Rickety Residences.

  The caticorns had gone full circle and they were all now headed back towards the Petrified Forest.

  ‘WAAAAAAAIT!’ Amelia called out.

  ‘WE JUST WENT FRU ’ERE!’ bellowed Florence. ‘I FINK THE CATICORNS MIGHT BE A BIT LOST!’

  ‘That’s why we have to catch up with them!’ shrieked Amelia. ‘They’re probably scared to death!’

  ‘Not “to death ” I hope,’ said Grimaldi. ‘I have enough toads to be dealing with!’

  Tangine made a strange noise. ‘FLAAAAARG!’ he cried out before coughing and spluttering. ‘I think I just swallowed a dung beetle! ’

  Wooo followed the frantically pedalling caticorns back towards the looming dark silhouette of the Petrified Forest. Amelia and the gang had almost caught up with them! The caticorns’ little tails were tantalisingly close, and Amelia wondered, if she just leaned forward, she could almost –

  Screeeeeeeeeech!

  BOSH!

  Wooo slammed on the brakes as the motorcycle crashed into the most enormous prickly bush.

  ‘WHAT THE BATS?!’ came Florence’s muffled voice. She was head first in a tall verge of strange wiggly brambles that loomed high above them.

  Amelia was close by, wedged in bum first along with Grimaldi, Tangine and the pumpkins.

  ‘Is everyone okay?’ Wooo asked, floating over to each of the friends in turn.

  ‘Yes, I think so,’ said Amelia, brushing herself down. ‘What just happened?! The caticorns definitely went this way. But surely they would have bumped into the bushes too?’ She carried on searching through the leaves in case they were buried inside somewhere.

  Wooo looked worried.

  ‘Hmmm,’ he pondered, staring up at the hedge. ‘You are right. The caticorns did head this way . . .’ He looked around. ‘And they most likely HAD a clear path.’

  ‘I’M CONFUSED,’ said Florence, easing herself out of the shrubbery. ‘YOU’RE SAYIN’ THE CATICORNS RODE FRU ’ERE FREELY, BUT WE CAN’T . . .’

  ‘I’m confused too,’ agreed Grimaldi.

  Tangine adjusted his crown helmet. ‘Sorry, I didn’t actually see what happened. I was too busy admiring how awesome my reflection looked in the back of Amelia’s helmet.’ He struck a pose. ‘I mean, LOOK AT ME.’ He was still wearing the ballgown and high heels.

  ‘We can admire you later, Tangine,’ said Amelia. ‘Right now we have to find the caticorns!’

  ‘We should probably move away from the bush,’ urged Wooo, still looking concerned.

  Suddenly there was a low rumbling sound. The branches began to wriggle and move around. The bush then started to change shape, creating a barrier around Amelia and her friends. A brand-new wall of wiggly plants formed where there hadn’t been one before. Amelia’s heart sank. They were trapped!

  ‘Whaaaat . . . just happened?’ asked Grimaldi nervously.

  ‘I thought as much,’ said Wooo. ‘But I hoped I was wrong.’

  ‘Wooo? What’s going on?’ said Amelia, moving nearer to him for comfort. ‘How is the bush moving around us?’

  ‘This is no ordinary bush,’ said Wooo. He took a closer look at one of the wiggling branches. ‘I’ve studied a lot of plants in my time, and this looks just like Wiggleroot.’

  ‘What’s Wiggleroot ?!’ asked Amelia, unsure whether she actually wanted to know the answer.

  ‘If my memory serves me correct,’ said Wooo, ‘it’s a pesky plant that grows anywhere it wants, whenever it wants. It’s extremely fast-growing, and develops into a labyrinth that doesn’t stop changing.’

  ‘A MOVIN’ MAZE?’ said Florence. ‘THAT AIN’T GOOD.’

  ‘That’s not all,’ said Wooo. He gulped.

  ‘What’s the matter?’ Amelia asked.

  Wooo adjusted his monocle. ‘Anything or anyone trapped inside its maze, eventually gets . . . eaten.’

  CHAPTER 11

  I HATE WIGGLEROOT!

  ‘WHAT?!’ said Amelia, Florence, Grimaldi and Tangine all at once.

  ‘SO, YOU’RE SAYIN’, WE’RE TRAPPED INSIDE A PLANT THAT WILL EVENTUALLY EAT US?’

  ‘To put it simply . . . yes,’ said Wooo.

  The friends began to clamber up the sides of the tall bush, but it was no use. Tangine tried to fly and Grimaldi tried to float over the wall of wiggling plants; but the higher they rose, the higher the Wiggleroot grew, as if it knew they were trying to escape.

  ‘AARGH! It’s no good!’ shrieked Amelia. ‘What are we going to DO? The caticorns are trapped in here somewhere too. We have to find them! I was meant to be responsible for them, and now they’re about to get EATEN!’

  ‘We’re ALL about to get eaten!’ said Grimaldi, hugging his scythe tightly.

  ‘I’m FAR too beautiful to be consumed!’ cried Tangine.

  ‘I’m the only one who can pass through the walls of Wiggleroot,’ said Wooo. ‘So, I’ll go and find help as quick as I can!’

  ‘Okay. We’ll hunt for the caticorns while you search for help,’ said Amelia firmly.

  ‘Keep moving and try not to stay in one place for too long. That’s how the Wiggleroot gets you!’ said Wooo, and he disappeared through the leaves.

  The Wiggleroot began to stir.

  ‘Collect the pumpkins. We’d better get going,’ said Amelia, picking up Squashy and hugging him to her chest. ‘Quick! This way!’ she said, following a clear path in front of her.

  Tangine tried to pick up Pumpy, but didn’t have much luck. ‘Why must you work out so much, Pumpy?! ’ he said, straining to lift the heavy vegetable. ‘Why can’t you just be small like Squashy?!’

  ‘I’LL TAKE ’IM!’ said Florence, scooping Pumpy up as if he were as light as a feather. ‘LET’S GO!’

  Amelia, Florence, Grimaldi and Tangine hurtled down a clear route between the bushes.

  ‘OOOF !’ Florence, who had been leading the charge, suddenly bounced backwards and landed on her bottom with a thud. ‘IT’S ALWITE, I STILL GOT YOU, PUMPY!’ she declared, looking quite proud.

  The walls of the maze had twisted and transformed around them, blocking their way again. Amelia hadn’t even noticed it happen this time.

  The others skidded to a halt. Amelia and Tangine reached down to help Florence up.

  ‘What shall we do now?’ asked Amelia, feeling slightly desperate.

  ‘This way?’ suggested Grimaldi, pointing down the new and only clear path with his scythe.

  Everyone turned around, running until they approached a crossroads.

  ‘Now what? ’ asked Tangine, looking from side to side.

  ‘I don’t know,’ said Amelia. ‘GERRARD? BUTLER? MO? Where are youuuuu?! ’ she called out as loud as she could.

  ‘Meeeeeeeeew!’

  Ame
lia whipped around. ‘GERRARD?! BUTLER?! MO?!’ she shouted even louder. ‘WE’RE HERE! KEEP MEOWING SO WE CAN FOLLOW THE SOUND!’

  ‘Meeeeeeew! Meeeeeew! Meeeeeew!’

  Amelia ran towards the distressed mews of the caticorns, and soon found herself face first with a tangle of Wiggleroot vines. A new bush quickly formed in front of her.

  ‘I HATE WIGGLEROOT!’ she yelled, thrashing at the wriggling creepers.

  ‘This is impossible!’ said Tangine. ‘The plants won’t stop changing shape!’

  ‘Mew ?!’

  ‘Mew, mew ?!’

  ‘I FINK THE CATICORNS MIGHT BE ON THE UVVA SIDE OF THIS HEDGE,’ said Florence, pressing her ear against the wall of Wiggleroot.

  Suddenly, the vines slithered and twisted around Pumpy, who was still nestled under Florence’s arm.

  ‘OI!’ yelled Florence, trying to yank the gripping plant off the bewildered pumpkin. But the more she tugged, the more the Wiggleroot wrapped around him and tightened its grip. Pumpy let out a distressed squeak.

  Tangine came hurtling towards the hedge as fast as his high heels could carry him. He grabbed Grimaldi’s scythe as he passed and swung it through the air.

  ‘WATCH OUT, FLORENCE!’ he yelled, a look of sheer determination and anger on his face. He lurched forward and screamed as loud as he could: ‘GET AWAY FROM MY PUMPKIN, YOU BRANCH!’

  He swiped at the Wiggleroot with Grimaldi’s scythe, cutting it clean in half.

  Pumpy went tumbling to the ground as the snake-like branches recoiled into the bush. The wall of plants pulsed and groaned, before beginning to twist and snarl and change shape once again.

  ‘We’d better run before they try to eat one of us again!’ said Amelia urgently.

  Florence swept both Pumpy and Tangine up under one arm. The friends ran as fast as they could, away from the wall of branches.

  Amelia’s legs were beginning to ache as she sprinted through the labyrinth of Wiggleroot, turning corner after corner. The friends winged round one path and then another, then turned back on themselves. It felt as if they were running around in circles. Amelia had absolutely NO idea where the bats they – or the caticorns – were.

  ‘GERRARD?! BUTLER?! MO?!’ she called out again.

  ‘Meeeeeeeew !’

  Amelia stopped suddenly and listened.

  ‘Meeeeeeeeeeew !’

  ‘They’re close!’ she panted.

  Amelia did a three-hundred-and-sixty degree turn and ran towards the distraught sounds of the little caticorns. She stumbled around a corner and tripped over something soft and fluffy, before tumbling face first into the mud. Squashy fell out of her arms, rolling across the ground. Grimaldi stumbled over Amelia, and Florence fell over Grimaldi, doing an ungraceful roly-poly across the dirt and landing on top of a very unfortunate Tangine and Pumpy.

  Amelia spat out a mouthful of mud and looked up to see what she had tripped on.

  ‘Gerrard!’ she cried out with relief. ‘Butler! Mo!’

  ‘Meeeeeeeeeeeeeew!’

  The little caticorns ran over to Amelia and, to her surprise, helped her to her feet. They looked scared.

  ‘I’m so relieved you’re all okay,’ said Amelia. ‘I was really worried about you!’ She then sighed. ‘Why the bats did you go running off like that?’

  Something fell out of a small bag dangling from Gerrard’s paw. Just before it dropped on to the muddy ground, Mo leaped forward and caught the object in her paws.

  ‘What’s that?’ asked Amelia.

  Mo stepped forward and opened her paws slowly.

  Amelia gasped.

  There was a little pumpkin ornament exactly like the one that had belonged to Amelia.

  When she picked it up, she saw there was a price tag dangling from it. It was brand-new.

  ‘You weren’t running away, were you?’ she said.

  Gerrard shook his head. Butler pointed at the pumpkin. Mo gave Amelia a small, regretful smile.

  ‘Mew,’ she said.

  ‘Mew,’ said Gerrard apologetically. He put his paws around Amelia’s waist, followed by Butler and Mo.

  Amelia felt tears well up in her eyes. ‘That’s really really nice of you to buy this for me,’ she said sincerely, and wrapped her arms around the three little creatures. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘UM, AMELIA,’ said Florence, tapping her on the shoulder. ‘YOU MIGHT WANNA SAVE THE EMOTIONAL MOMENT FOR LATER COZ, UM, WELL, WE’RE ABOUT TO GET EATEN BY A BUSH . . .’

  CHAPTER 12

  REST IN PEACE, BEAUTIFUL SHOE

  Florence was right.

  One of the Wiggleroot bushes had morphed into something far more than just a bush. Arms and legs made from long, twisted branches burst out from a thick torso of leaves and twigs.

  At the very top of this shrubbery daymare were two gaping holes where its eyes should have been, and a large mouth that roared loudly, spluttering leaves and soil over the friends. The Wiggleroot monster rose up high in the air, before diving to the ground and slithering its way towards the gang.

  ‘RUN!’ Amelia shouted.

  She picked up Squashy. Florence scooped up the three caticorns under one arm with Pumpy under the other. Tangine and Grimaldi followed close behind, with the Wiggleroot monster drawing ever closer. Its long, spindly branches warped and stretched, sliding across the forest floor, interlacing its snake-like roots around one of Tangine’s heels.

  ‘Aaaaaaargh!’ Tangine shouted, almost falling over. At the very last moment, he just managed to slip his foot out of the trapped shoe, before it was swept away into the Wiggleroot monster’s embrace. ‘NOOOOO!’ cried Tangine. ‘Give that back!’

  ‘JUST KEEP RUNNING, TANGINE! FORGET ABOUT THE SHOE!’ bellowed Florence as their friend clambered to his feet.

  ‘But . . . it was such a pretty shoe!’ Tangine cried in anguish, before turning to the monster and yelling, ‘and now my feet don’t MATCH! How DARE you deny me THAT!’

  Tangine began marching lopsidedly towards the Wiggleroot monster in a fury.

  ‘Tangine, STOP!’ yelled Amelia. ‘What are you doing?! You’re going to get yourself eaten next!’ She sprinted back towards an enraged Tangine and grabbed his arm. ‘Come on! This way!’

  The monster spotted Amelia and Tangine and began to slither towards them. Fast.

  ‘Meeeeeew!’ yelled Gerrard.

  ‘NOT NOW, GERRARD,’ said Florence, clinging tightly to the little caticorn.

  But Gerrard managed to squirm his way out of Florence’s grip and began scampering straight towards the Wriggleroot monster looming over Amelia and Tangine.

  In a split second Butler and Mo followed.

  ‘STOOOOOOOOOP!’ Amelia cried.

  But everything seemed to move in slow motion. Gerrard ran in front of her and Tangine, then began to cartwheel and pirouette his way around the approaching Wiggleroot monster, making the huge beast twist round and round, upside down and loop the loop so much that it looked positively dizzy.

  Butler then cleared his throat and took in a deep breath.

  ‘LA LA LA . . . LAAAAAAAAAAR!’

  His voice was so high and so piercing that everyone had to cover their ears.

  ‘There are too many things happening!’ squeaked a confused and terrified Grimaldi.

  It was all too much for the Wiggleroot monster. Finally it collapsed into a big tangle of vines. The surrounding bushes slunk back.

  Mo was quick to act, taking handfuls of the crumpled Wiggleroot and tying it up into the most intricate knots Amelia had ever seen until it couldn’t move any more.

  The three caticorns stood in a row and gave a little bow.

  Florence gawked. ‘THAT. WAS . . .’

  ‘. . . QUITE THE SHOW!’ came a voice from above that Amelia recognised, followed by a strange noise she didn’t.

  BIDIDIDIDIDIDIDIDIDIDIDIDIDIDIDIDIDIDIDIDIDIDDIDIDIDIDIDID . . .

  An aircraft was in the sky above them, sounding worryingly like it might give up at any moment. But someone le
aned over the edge and gave a big wave – and Amelia definitely recognised him.

  ‘WOOO!’

  ‘I found some help,’ said Wooo with a big smile. Amelia was so relieved that she thought she might faint.

  The ‘help’, who also happened to be the pilot, leaned over the edge and lifted his goggles.

  It was a unicorn.

  ‘RICKY!’ cried Florence in delight.

  Another unicorn popped up from the back of the plane.

  ‘Graham!’ said Grimaldi, waving his scythe happily up at the sky.

  Amelia and her friends had met Ricky and Graham many times. The unicorn duo had been guards, detectives, mountain-safety experts and now, apparently, air rescue. They were unicorns of many talents and Amelia was very grateful that they always seemed to be there in times of need.

  ‘Watch yerselves! ’ called Graham as he threw a thick rope out of the aircraft.

  Amelia grabbed the rope. ‘Got it!’ she confirmed. ‘Gerrard, Butler, Mo! You three climb up first!’

  The caticorns obeyed, with Gerrard giving Amelia an affectionate lick on her cheek before the three little creatures scrambled up the rope into the safety of the aircraft. Ricky and Graham looked enchanted by their new fluffy aeroplane guests.

  Tangine followed, with Grimaldi clambering up after him.

  ‘Tangine, do you mind?!’ Grimaldi yelped. ‘Your high heel is IN my eye socket! Can’t you take it off ? You don’t even have the pair any more.’

  Tangine looked down towards Grimaldi and gave an offended gasp. ‘Well, maybe your eye socket shouldn’t be in the WAY of my shoe!’ he snarked. ‘And how dare you suggest I remove it? That’s like telling YOU to remove your head!’

  Florence climbed halfway up the rope and then reached out so that Amelia could throw Squashy up to her. Florence caught the little pumpkin in one hairy paw and expertly launched him into Graham’s waiting hooves. Amelia tried to pick up Pumpy but hadn’t realised quite how heavy he was.