Stormy Skies

by Summer Waters

  Cut.

  Her fingers prickled. Antonia pressed harder, willing the magic into the stone. Something tickled her nostrils, making her want to sneeze. Damp sawdust! Antonia sawed harder, forcing the stone to cut further through the branch until she realised Cai was shaking her arm. His eyes were bright with emotion.

  “Let us help,” he urged. “We could probably snap it now.”

  Antonia pulled back and stretched her aching fingers. The warmth had gone, leaving them feeling as cold and limp as a jellyfish. Her eyes widened at the branch half hanging from the tree. Had she done that?

  Cai and Hannah were standing below the dangling end of the branch. Not wanting to be left out, Antonia hurried after them. Cai had cleared a path, snapping off the smaller branches blocking their way. They positioned themselves round the half-hacked branch.

  “On the count of three,” said Cai. “One, two, three!”

  Antonia pushed the branch up. It was stronger than she thought. The sinewy wood refused to snap.

  “Twist!” commanded Cai.

  They twisted the branch clockwise then anticlockwise. They rocked it up and down like a seesaw until finally it began to creak.

  “Keep going!” called Cai encouragingly.

  Antonia tried harder. The seal gave another

  weak cry, spurring her on. With a superhuman effort, they wrenched the branch this way and that until, with a satisfying crack, it broke.

  “Steady,” said Hannah as they guided it to the ground and pulled it clear of the tree. Antonia immediately set about freeing the seal from the smaller branches still penning her in.

  The seal groaned. Her body shuddered then lay very still. Something about the seal’s shudder worried Antonia. Gently she prodded her in the side. Nothing, not even the slightest twitch of a muscle. Even before Cai cleared the twigs from round her head to reveal the seal’s cloudy eyes, Antonia knew there was nothing she could do. They were too late. The seal was dead.

  Trembling with the effort not to cry, Antonia moved away to help the other seals on the beach.

  “What was that?” asked Hannah sharply.

  Antonia paused. She’d heard it too, a weak, kitten-like cry. She raced back to the tree. It was coming from the dead seal. Antonia groped beneath its stiff body until her fingers brushed against something warm and alive. Carefully she drew the seal pup out from under her mother. She was so tiny. Antonia guessed she was only a week or so old. She was trembling with fear, but apart from that she seemed unharmed.

  “That’s amazing!” Hannah exclaimed.

  “Steady,” crooned Antonia. “You’re safe now.”

  Anxiously the seal pushed her nose at Antonia’s hand and made a funny snuffling sound. Her whiskers tickled, making Antonia laugh for the first time since she’d arrived on the beach. Their efforts hadn’t been totally in vain.

  “You poor little thing. I bet you’re hungry.”

  Antonia removed her coat and jumper, wrapped the seal inside her jumper then put her coat back on.

  “Well done,” said Cai. “She’s too young to leave on her own, isn’t she? We’ll have to take her back with us. She’ll be Ocean Watch’s first marine animal.”

  If Kathleen gets here in time. Where is she? Antonia stared up at the broken cliffs as if she might see Kathleen scaling down them on a rope.

  “We have to get on.” Cai set out across the beach. “There isn’t time to stand around.”

  Antonia made a rough pen for the seal pup with broken tree branches. The pup seemed content to doze. Antonia was exhausted too, but there was so much more to do. Slowly she moved around the beach, checking the rest of the seals. As far as she could see, none of them were seriously injured, but a few had cuts and scratches that would need treatment. Antonia hoped Kathleen remembered to bring medical supplies with her. Thankfully a good antiseptic would be enough to heal these seals because her magic was completely worn out.

  Antonia bent over a plump seal with a cut near his flipper. “You’re all right,” she said, stroking his face. “We’ll soon fix you up.”

  ”Hooray!” cried Cai suddenly.

  “What is it?” called Hannah.

  “It’s Kathleen!”

  Antonia had been vaguely aware of a buzzing sound and now she realised why. A motorboat was heading for the beach.

  “Who’s that behind her?” she asked.

  “Pardon?” said Cai. He squinted out to sea. “You’re right. There are two boats. The second one has a man in it. Do you know him, Hannah?”

  Hannah shook her head. “I’ve never seen him before in my life,” she said.

  “Doesn’t matter who he is,” said Antonia cheerfully. “He’s just what we need. More hands. Come on. Let’s wade out and help them.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Well done, everyone,” said kathleen as she waded ashore. “I knew you were sensible enough to leave on your own while I went back for help.” She winked at Antonia, Cai and Hannah. “This is my neighbour, Ben. You met his wife, Jane, and their baby son yesterday.”

  Antonia stared at Ben in astonishment. Wasn’t Jane the one who’d tried to close them down? Why had Kathleen brought him along to help?

  They pulled the boats up on the beach while Kathleen inspected the cliffs to make sure there was no danger from a further landslide.

  “The cliffs looked sturdy when I left the children here to get help,” she told Ben, “but I thought I’d check again.”

  Ashen-faced, Ben unloaded the supplies: shovels, a saw and medical equipment including bandages and antiseptic.

  “I can’t believe this has happened,” he kept repeating. “I was on my way here to fish when Kathleen asked me to help. It’s a very special place. I love watching the seals.”

  Once everything had been unloaded, Antonia showed Kathleen the seal pup.

  “Her mother didn’t survive.” She swallowed then added, “She needs feeding.”

  “That changes things slightly,” said Kathleen. “Someone needs to take you back to Ocean Watch. Ben, would you mind? The seals need treating before we do anything else.”

  “No problem.”

  Kathleen delved into her coat pocket and pulled out a wooden dolphin key ring with several keys dangling from it. “Go in through the utility room. It’s the gold key. There’s powdered milk in the cupboard under the sink. It’s easy to make up. The instructions are on the tin. When the seal’s finished, put her in a cage in the lounge. The shed still smells of paint.”

  Antonia was longing to feed the seal pup, but thought she might be more use if she stayed to help with the injured seals.

  “Wouldn’t it be better if Hannah went instead of me?” she asked. “She knows where everything is.”

  Kathleen stared at Antonia kindly. “You look exhausted, my dear. I suspect you’ve been working much harder than you realise. Go and feed the pup, and if by that time you’re feeling better, Ben can wait for you and bring you back.”

  “Thanks.” Antonia felt grateful and guilty at the same time.

  Ben told Antonia to put the seal in the locker at the front of the boat and leave the door open.

  “The sea is still quite choppy. She’ll be safer in there,” he explained.

  Antonia didn’t mind. It would have been nice to cuddle the seal pup, but wild animals weren’t pets. It was best to handle them as little as possible.

  To her embarrassment, Antonia fell asleep on the boat ride home. One minute she was sitting on the wooden bench with the wind in her hair, and the next she was waking up sprawled along the bench with her face pressed into its wooden slats. Antonia wiped away the dribble trickling from her mouth before she sat up.

  Ben grinned. “Got up early?” he commented. “Kathleen said the coastguard woke her by ringing to tell her about the landslide.”

  “It was very early,” agreed Antonia. “And we didn’t have time for breakfast.” Her stomach grumbled as if backing her up.

  “While you’re feeding the pup, I’ll nip ho
me and make some sandwiches and a Thermos flask of tea to take back with us. How does that sound?”

  “Brilliant,” said Antonia.

  At Kathleen’s, Antonia put the baby seal into a cage while she made up a bottle of milk. It felt funny being in Kathleen’s house alone. Antonia realised she was tiptoeing as she moved around the utility room.

  “Thank goodness Kathleen thought to get this in,” she said as she made up the powdered milk and poured it into a sterilised bottle. She put on a pair of disposable gloves and took it to the lounge. She was just going to get the seal from the cage when the doorbell rang.

  Antonia’s first thought was to ignore it. Her mum had taught her never to answer the door when she was alone in the house. But of course it would only be Ben coming back with the sandwiches and tea. Leaving the bottle of milk on the table, Antonia went to the door. It wasn’t until she opened it that she realised her mistake. Two people stood on the doorstep, a smartly dressed young woman and an older man with glasses. A cold feeling crept over Antonia, freezing her to the spot.

  “Good morning, I’m Susan Birch, and this is my colleague Brian Masters from West Wood Council. We’ve an appointment with your grandmother.”

  Antonia stared at Susan blankly. Why did they want to see her grandmother?

  “It’s about the planning permission,” prompted Susan.

  Antonia swallowed, hoping Susan couldn’t hear her heart thudding against her chest. She meant Kathleen!

  “Mrs Abbot’s not here,” she stammered. “There’s been a landslide. She’s out saving seals.”

  “Oh!” said Susan, startled. “I hope it’s not serious. Erm, we were hoping for a look around. Not that it matters. I only came back with my colleague because he’s interested in what Mrs Abbot’s doing here. I could have rung her with the news, but never mind.”

  She stared at Antonia, suddenly taking in her bedraggled appearance, then took a discreet step back. “Can you pass on a message? Please tell Mrs Abbot that she doesn’t need council permission to run her charity from home. Not unless she’s going to be employing people or she’s going to extend the property in any way.”

  “And can you give her this?” Brian Masters held out a card. “It’s got my mobile number and my email address on it. If Mrs Abbot is looking for volunteers then I’d be interested.”

  “Really? That’s great news. Thank you.” In a daze, Antonia took the card and put it on the table by the front door.

  She waved goodbye then hurried back to the seal pup. On her way, Antonia shouted with joy.

  It was OK! Ocean Watch was allowed to go ahead. And the man from the council wanted to be a volunteer! Antonia couldn’t stop smiling as the baby seal hungrily sucked from the bottle.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Antonia fed the seal pup, wiping milk from her whiskery face before returning her to the cage. Then she rang Hannah’s mum and explained where they were.

  “Sounds like your last day’s going to be a busy one,” said Mrs Davies.

  Antonia stared at the phone in surprise. She’d forgotten it was their last day.

  “Don’t worry. You can stay as late as you like. Ring me when you’ve finished and I’ll come and pick you up,” said Mrs Davies.

  Ben returned, carrying an enormous picnic bag. “Jane helped,” he said. “I believe there was a slight misunderstanding between her and Kathleen yesterday. She tells me she wasn’t very polite. She had this funny idea that Kathleen was starting some kind of zoo. She’s been very protective since Matty was born. Now I’ve explained Ocean Watch to her she’s much happier. She says she owes you all an apology.”

  Antonia’s heart swooped like a bird. She could hardly believe that everything was going right for a change. She couldn’t wait to return to the seals’ beach and tell everyone the good news.

  “Are you sure you’re up for this?” asked Ben kindly. “You looked whacked. Jane says you can go round to ours.”

  “Like this?” Antonia couldn’t help laughing. She knew she was a state. She was covered in scratches, her hair was tangled and she was filthy dirty.

  Ben laughed too. “It might be a good idea to have a wash first,” he suggested.

  “’Thanks,” said Antonia. “But I’m coming back with you. I wouldn’t be able to settle here when there’s so much work to be done.”

  “Me neither,” said Ben.

  By the time they returned to the seals’ beach, Kathleen and Hannah had treated all of the injured seals.

  “There are lots of pups,” said Hannah. “They seem to have recovered the quickest. Kathleen said we’ll need to check up on them over the next week just to make sure though.”

  Ben pulled a blanket from his bag and spread it on the ground. “A late breakfast or is it an early lunch?”

  “Brunch,” said Cai, who had a word for everything that involved food.

  Ben unpacked the bag while Antonia told everyone about the visit from the council, and Brian Masters wanting to become a volunteer. Then Ben apologised for Jane’s behaviour the previous day and asked if Kathleen could forgive her enough to let him become an Ocean Watch volunteer too.

  “I never say no to help,” said Kathleen, beaming at him.

  Antonia’s heart soared. Now Kathleen and Hannah had two volunteers. They’d definitely need them with her and Cai going home tomorrow! Thank goodness they’d got Ocean Watch ready in time. There was lots of room for any injured animals now.

  After that the picnic brunch felt more like a party. The seals, crowded up at one end of the beach, watched them. One or two of the braver ones ventured over. They were slow and cumbersome as they hauled themselves across the sand to sniff inquisitively at the picnic bag. It was tempting to throw them a crust, but everyone knew better than to do that.

  The rest of the morning was spent cutting up the tree.

  “I’ll pick up the larger pieces in the car,” said Kathleen. “It wouldn’t be practical to take them back in the boat.”

  At midday Kathleen called a halt to the work. “Enough,” she said. “You children look exhausted.”

  They pushed the boats out to sea and climbed aboard. Antonia and Cai went with Ben, and Hannah went with Kathleen. As they sailed out to sea, Antonia saw four dark specks racing towards them. She held her breath.

  Was it? Yes, it was! The specks grew larger and turned into dolphins – Vision, Dancer, Lulu and Rolly. Their silver bodies flashed in the weak autumn sunlight as they swam nearer.

  “Look!” cried Ben. “Dolphins!”

  Vision and the other dolphins gave piercing whistles of thanks as they swam by.

  Thank you, Antonia answered in her head. She would miss Vision and his family. But hopefully they’d meet again when she came back to visit Hannah, Kathleen and Ocean Watch!

  “Get that!” Ben was so excited he nearly fell out of the boat. “Did you hear them whistle? I swear they were talking to us.”

  Antonia and Cai shared a smile.

  “You know,” said Cai, “I think they probably were!”

  Copyright

  www.summerwaters.co.uk

  First published in paperback by HarperCollins Children’s Books in 2010

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  Text copyright © Julie Sykes 2010

  Cover illustrations copyright © Andrew Farley 2010

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