There's a Yeti in the Playground!

by Pamela Butchart

  And before Jodi could zip her bag back up I saw that she had LOADS of stuff in there like a TORCH and the RATIONS BAG and I’m sure I saw a pair of HANDCUFFS.

  So Zach took the Sellotape and then he put a foot on each badminton racket and wrapped the Sellotape round and round his foot until he could walk with the badminton rackets stuck to his feet.

  Then he looked at us and said, “Your turn. Hurry!”

  So we ran into the store cupboard and grabbed more badminton rackets and did the same. And I took three pairs of swimming goggles, too, to help us see in the BLIZZARD.

  But it was really hard to walk because the long handles at the back kept hitting each other and I nearly fell over. But Zach said that it would be better once we got outside in the snow and then he said, “Let’s GO!” and he tried to run like we usually do when we do our missions and need to get places FAST. But it didn’t work this time because he tripped and fell and we had to help get him up.

  Jodi stopped and put her hand on her stomach and I knew that she still wasn’t feeling very well even though she wasn’t saying anything and to be honest I was feeling a bit sick MYSELF because we were basically going on a

  in the playground!

  So we all just walked REALLY CAREFULLY towards the Big Doors and Zach said that he thought we needed to JUMP into the snow for the EXPLORER BADMINTON SHOES to work and to not get stuck because the snow was really thick on the ground now.

  And then just as we got to the doors we heard FOOTSTEPS.

  And we just KNEW that it was MRS SEITH,

  because of the click-clicking sound her shoes make.

  And that meant she was trying to TRACK US DOWN.

  So Jodi pushed open the doors.

  And we jumped out into the snow!

  As soon as we got outside Zach yelled, “LOOK! IT’S WORKING!”

  But I didn’t really think it WAS working because we were having to walk more slowly than we did when we just had our boots on. And I knew that there was NO WAY we were going to be able to RUN if we saw the YETI.

  The snow was still really thick so we kept on having to wipe our swimming goggles so we could see.

  Jodi pointed ahead and said, “The bike shed’s this way. Follow me! Stay as low to the ground as you can. And DON’T make any loud noises!”

  And she looked right at Zach when she said it and I knew that she did that because of how LOUD he’d been when we’d first got outside and he’d got excited about his racket shoes.

  So me and Zach followed and we crouched down as much as we could without falling over and followed Jodi all the way to the old bike shed. But when we got there Maisie was GONE. And that’s when I spotted one of Maisie’s mittens on the ground and I gasped and went completely still.

  Because there was something next to it.

  A big clump of

  And that’s when we knew that we were too late.

  The YETI had Maisie!

  We all RAN outside again and looked around because we were PANICKING.

  And then all of a sudden I smelled a REALLY BAD SMELL. And I GASPED because it was REALLY bad and also because I knew it must be the

  I turned around and looked at Zach because he was behind me and he said, “What?” But I didn’t say anything because I was worried that the YETI was CLOSE and that it would HEAR US if we made too much noise.

  But then Zach’s face CHANGED and I knew that he had

  too! And when he put his hand up to his mouth and started making a choking sound I knew for SURE that he’d smelled it because it was HORRENDOUS and it was probably the worst smell I have ever smelled in my life.

  And that’s when I panicked a bit and I shouted, “RUN!”

  Zach sprinted ahead of me and I started to run after him, amazed at how fast he could run with the badminton shoes on.

  But Jodi wouldn’t budge. She was standing still, STARING at something.

  And then she pointed and said, “Look!”

  And I was panicking so I said, “Jodi! Can you not smell that?!

  But Jodi gave me a weird look and said that she couldn’t smell anything.

  And then she said, “Izzy, look!”

  Jodi was pointing at the

  Nola Burke had started making before Mr Graves had made us all go back into the school. Then Jodi said, “I think that’s it. I think that’s the YETI!”

  So I wiped Jodi’s goggles and told her it was just the giant snowman head.

  But Jodi looked at me with WIDE EYES and said, “Are you SURE?”

  So I said, “I’M SURE!”

  Then I started to pull her after Zach and THAT’S when I saw it.

  And Jodi said, “Did you see that?!”

  And I was in SHOCK so I couldn’t even ANSWER.

  But I DID see it.

  The snowman head was MOVING!!

  And that’s when I realised that it WASN’T a snowman at ALL.

  It was the

  And it was COMING STRAIGHT FOR US!

  I pulled off the badminton rackets and started screaming, and even though Jodi was waving her hands at me to stop, I couldn’t.

  So Jodi jumped on me and I fell to the ground and she put both hands over my mouth and said, “GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF! DO YOU WANT TO GET EATEN?!”

  And that worked because I

  didn’t want to get eaten.

  And that’s when I heard it AGAIN. The WEIRD WAILING SOUND.

  But it was MUCH louder this time.

  Jodi was facing me and her eyes were WIDE and she said, “Whatever you do DON’T look behind you. Just

  And I wished she hadn’t said that because AS SOON as someone says that you just HAVE to look.

  So I looked.

  And that’s the last thing I remember.

  To this day I have NO IDEA how Jodi managed to carry me all the way back to the Big Doors and into the school. But she did.

  As soon as Jodi laid me down on the corridor floor I woke up and Jodi said, “You’re safe. Don’t. Scream. You fainted. When you saw. The YETI.”

  And it took her ages to say it because she was SERIOUSLY out of breath.

  And that’s when I remembered seeing the YETI coming at us in the playground and it had been TERRIFYING.

  We both just lay there while Jodi caught her breath and that’s when my brain came on again properly and I said, “ZACH!” because I’d just realised that we’d lost Zach now too!

  And I was just thinking that of ALL the totally terrifying things we have had to deal with at this school we had NEVER lost THREE people at the same time before and that this was SERIOUS.

  Then all of a sudden I heard someone calling my name. And I looked at Jodi. And then we heard someone calling HER name, too.

  So we sat up and we saw a small figure at the far end of the corridor and that’s when Jodi said, “Uh oh. It’s Mrs Seith. She’s found us!”

  And I knew that we’d probably get a detention in her office for not going to class because that is SERIOUSLY against the school rules. And I also knew that if we were in a detention we wouldn’t be able to go back outside and save Maisie and Zach from the YETI.

  So I said, “Run!”

  But Jodi just STARED at me and it was obvious that she wasn’t expecting me to say that we should run away from the deputy head teacher because her mouth was WIDE OPEN.

  And then Mrs Seith must have heard me because she shouted, “Don’t even THINK about it! You’re in enough trouble as is it! I’ll be calling your parents!”

  And that’s when we knew that there was NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE and that Mrs Seith was going to call our parents anyway and that this was probably the most trouble we’d ever been in at school before and that we were definitely going to get

  this time.

  So I started to run all the way up to the third floor and Jodi ran after me and once we got to the top she said, “You do realise that we’re going to get expelled for life, don’t you?”

  And I said that I did and then we did a quick pinky promise that
we would make our mums send us to the same new school so that we wouldn’t be on our own.

  Then Jodi said, “We’re lucky she wears those high heels. She’ll never catch us.”

  But I knew that we still had to be quick because there might be other teachers looking for us too.

  So we dropped to the ground and COMMANDO-CRAWLED along the corridor so the teachers wouldn’t see us through the glass windows in the classroom doors and then we jumped up and looked out of the window at the playground.

  That’s when Jodi gasped and pointed and said, “THERE!”

  And that’s when I saw it.

  And even though I tried not to, I SQUEALED a bit.

  Because there was a

  out there!

  I stood with my mouth WIDE OPEN and watched as the YETI moved REALLY SLOWLY through the snow.

  The YETI was covered in brown and white hair and it looked like it was carrying something.

  Jodi said, “I can’t believe what I’m looking at. I can’t believe this is REAL LIFE!”

  And I couldn’t believe it either because sometimes we are wrong about things but it was obvious that this time we were ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. Because there was a great big

  in the playground!

  Then Jodi said, “Why is it moving so slowly?” And she pressed her face against the glass so she could see better and then she said, “Is that a BABY YETI?!”

  And I looked carefully and noticed that whatever the YETI was carrying was white and FLUFFY.

  And that’s when Jodi said, “This is bad.”

  And I thought she meant that it was bad that there were TWO YETIS instead of just one. But then she said, “I’m pretty sure a MOTHER YETI is even MORE DANGEROUS than a normal YETI!”

  Then Jodi explained that IN THE WILD mummy bears and gorillas and llamas will do ANYTHING to PROTECT THEIR YOUNG and make sure they get FED.

  But then all of a sudden Jodi gasped and said,

  And I looked and saw that the YETI was even

  to the school now.

  And also that the baby YETI definitely WASN’T a baby YETI.

  Because baby YETIS don’t wear red scarves.

  But Maisie does!

  Jodi started PANICKING and that is NOT NORMAL for Jodi so I knew that I had to BE STRONG and TAKE CHARGE.

  So I grabbed Jodi by the face and said, “We’re going to get her back. Do you hear me?”

  But Jodi shook her head and said, “No. We’re not. Did you see the way the YETI was holding her? It was holding her like a baby! It thinks Maisie IS its baby! She’ll never give her up.”

  And I realised that the YETI must have thought Maisie was a BABY YETI because she was wearing the FUR BOOTS and FLUFFY WHITE COAT and that BABY YETIS must have hairy feet and fluffy white fur like Maisie’s coat.

  Jodi leaned against the wall and sort of slumped down until she was sitting on the floor with her head in her hands.

  But I wasn’t ready to give up. And there was NO WAY I was going to let the YETI take Maisie.

  So I grabbed Jodi and pulled her to her feet but then all of a sudden the swing doors BURST OPEN and we saw MRS SEITH standing there in her BARE FEET.

  I froze on the spot and STARED AT HER because she was SWEATY and OUT OF BREATH and her hair had gone a bit WILD.

  And I knew that she must have lost her shoes on the way up the stairs because it is quite a long way and that the heels on her shoes had maybe even BROKEN because of how many stairs there were.

  I had NO IDEA what we were going to do because we were in

  for breaking the SCHOOL RULES and Mrs Seith was obviously RAGING about her shoes and she didn’t even know that MAISIE HAD BEEN CAPTURED BY THE YETI!!

  But then all of a sudden Mrs Akbar came RUNNING out of her classroom and gave Mrs Seith a great big hug and said, “We’ve been SAVED!!”

  And I whispered, “RUN!” and we ran down the stairs faster than we have EVER run before and we both KNEW that we were obviously OFFICIALLY EXPELLED.

  But Jodi said that we had BIGGER THINGS to worry about because Zach and Gary were still LOST OUT THERE and also that she thought Mrs Akbar had said, “We’ve been SAVED!” because the ARMY were on their way with a tank and a helicopter and a huge STEEL CAGE for trapping the YETI before dropping it back on Mount Everest where it belonged.

  So I started putting my badminton racket shoes back on but then Jodi kicked them away and said that we DIDN’T HAVE TIME and that I wasn’t UNDERSTANDING and that we had to get to Maisie before the army did otherwise they would CAPTURE HER TOO. And I GASPED because I realised that the army would think Maisie was the YETI’S BABY and that she would get captured in the STEEL CAGE and dropped on MOUNT EVEREST TOO!

  That’s when Jodi pushed the Big Doors open and LOADS of snow blew in and Jodi had to actually HOLD ON to the door so she didn’t get blown over.

  And then she said, “We need to find Zach first. He’s got the YETI NET. Are you ready for this, Izzy?”

  And I knew that she was asking me if I was ready to TAKE ON A YETI. And I didn’t think anyone was ever really READY to do that. But I knew that we didn’t have a choice.

  So I put my hand out and Jodi put her hand on top of mine and we said,

  And then I took a deep breath and we ran out into the snow.

  I ran the fastest I have EVER run in my life and I fell about TWENTY TIMES but each time I just got up really quickly and kept on running.

  Then all of a sudden Jodi stopped and I saw that we were at the recycling bins.

  And Jodi said, “Gary. Are you in there?”

  But we didn’t hear anything back. So Jodi said it again a bit louder. But we still didn’t hear anything.

  But Jodi was CONVINCED that Gary was in the bins because she said that there wasn’t anywhere else to hide in the playground and also that he was obsessed with them. So she made me lift her up so she could reach the lid and then she opened it and yelled, “ARE YOU IN THE BIN, GARY?!”

  Jodi’s yell ECHOED out of the bin and all around the playground.

  And that’s when I SMELLED THE SMELL.

  And it was even STRONGER than it had been before so I knew that the YETI was CLOSE and that Jodi had LURED him to us with all her yelling into the bins!

  That’s when I said, “The bike shed!” because even though that obviously wasn’t a very good place to hide from a YETI because that’s where the YETI got Maisie, it was the only other place I could think of to look.

  So we ran as fast as we could away from the smell and towards the old bike shed.

  But it was EMPTY.

  I looked down at where Maisie’s mitten and the clump of fur were still lying in the snow and I could feel myself getting MEGA UPSET.

  Then all of a sudden we heard a THUMPING SOUND.

  I froze and stared at Jodi.

  Then we heard it AGAIN.

  That’s when Jodi looked up and whispered, “It’s coming from the roof!”

  I whispered back that we needed to

  because I thought that maybe the YETI had climbed up there and that the sound we were hearing was the sound a building makes before it COLLAPSES!

  But then the thumping sound turned into a KNOCKING SOUND like when you knock at someone’s door and you make a RAPPETY-TAP sound.

  And Jodi looked at me with WIDE EYES and I said, “There’s someone UP THERE!”

  We ran out of the bike shed and looked up. But we couldn’t see anything.

  But then all of a sudden someone jumped down from the roof and landed in the snow and my heart almost LEAPT OUT OF MY BODY. That’s how much of a fright I got!

  I couldn’t see who it was because they hadn’t jumped very well and they’d landed FACE DOWN in the snow. But then the person stood up and wiped the snow off and we saw that it was GARY!!

  That’s when Jodi said, “PLEASE tell me Zach’s up there too??!”

  But Gary just shook his head because he couldn’t speak because his teeth were CHATTERING. And they were chattering so much that I t
hought he might have HYPOTHERMIA (which is when you get really ill because of the cold and Maisie always tells us that it is one of her mum’s WORST FEARS FOR HER and that’s why she makes Maisie wear AT LEAST three pairs of socks, even in July).

  Gary was rubbing his hands together to keep warm and that’s when I noticed that he didn’t have any gloves on and also that his nose was BRIGHT RED. So I took my gloves off and gave them to Gary because even though he always has

  I didn’t want them to FALL OFF because of FROSTBITE.

  But Gary’s hands were SO COLD that he couldn’t even move them properly so I had to put the gloves on for him.

  Then when Gary was eventually able to speak a bit he said, “Heard something behind cabin library. Went to look. Got lost in snow. So cold. So cold.”

  And then his teeth started chattering again so Jodi took off her scarf and wrapped it round his neck and said, “We have to get him back.”

  And then she lowered her voice a bit and said, “He might not have long.”

  And Gary must have heard because his eyes went WIDE and he tried to speak but Jodi just said, “SSSSHHHHHH!” and wrapped the scarf around his face and said, “Save your energy for keeping WARM. Don’t try to talk.”

  And then she gave me a bit of a LOOK and THAT’S when I realised that this was SERIOUS and that Gary Petrie definitely had HYPOTHERMIA.