ISOF

by Pete Townsend

  Who are you?’ he asked hoarsely.

  ‘It’s me, Alpak,’ she answered with a slight sigh. ‘I really made an impression didn’t I?’

  Three relieved sighs and a slightly pleased whimper greeted the answer.

  ‘Well come on then,’ urged Alpak. ‘You may have all night be I’ve still got jobs to do, which will be the least of my worries if I get caught helping you escape.’ She peered into the darkness of the caravan. ‘Coming? and, without waiting for an answer withdrew from sight.

  Mak quickly edged his way towards the gap in the floor.

  ‘The injured first, ‘he said firmly. ‘Besides, I’m a lot smaller than any of you and I’ve no wish to be trapped in here if one of you has difficulty forcing their stomach through the hole.’

  Without waiting for any objections or comments, Mak slithered feet first through the hole and disappeared.

  ‘Quickly then,’ said Noj, taking control of the situation. ‘Trep, you’re next, then Ben and I’ll follow last.’

  Ben felt along the floor of the caravan for the hole to freedom. After scrabbling about for a few seconds his hands came into contact with what felt suspiciously like a pair of feet pointing towards the caravan roof.

  ‘Oi! Give me a push, I’m stuck,’ whispered Trep urgently waving his feet in the air.

  Ben made several desperate attempts to grab hold of Trep’s feet but failed each time to catch the continuously moving objects. With a sudden spark of inspiration Ben jabbed a finger into Trep’s thigh, which was wedged firmly in the wooden opening.

  ‘Ouch!’ exclaimed a muffled Trep whose feet had momentarily stopped dancing in the air. Seizing the moment, and Trep’s feet, Ben arched his body over the obstruction and leaned heavily downwards. For a couple of seconds nothing happened then, without warning, Ben’s chin made contact with the wooden floor as a dull ‘thump’ and a ‘gasp’ sounded from below.

  ‘Get on with it,’ ordered Noj as Ben lay over the hole nursing a bruised chin. Bracing himself with his elbows, Ben lowered his feet swung into the hole until they made contact with something reassuringly soft. Shifting his elbows carefully, Ben allowed himself to drop through the gap and land on the soft mound below.

  Trep had hardly formed a word of complaint about being used as a cushion before Noj landed heavily on him too. Groaning loudly and, with his arms embracing his stomach, Trep rolled sideways towards the relative safety of the caravan’s wheels.

  ‘Thanks Alpak,’ whispered Noj, as he clambered from under the caravan. ‘That was very thoughtful of you putting a cushion down for us to drop onto.’

  ‘Nrrgggh,’ grunted Trep from the shadows.

  Noj squinted, trying to adjust his eyes to the lesser gloom of the night. ‘Come out, come out wherever you are!’ he chuckled quietly.

  Trep, crawling out from under the caravan, sat against a wheel and rubbed gently at his stomach.

  ‘Thanks a bunch folks,’ he groaned. ‘Anytime you need someone to cushion your fall, don’t give me a shout.’

  The group tried desperately to stifle their laughter. Noj was the first to bring his mouth under control. He turned to Alpak.

  ‘Why have you put yourself at risk to help us?’ he whispered. ‘What do you know of us and where we’re going?’

  ‘I’ve no wish to see anyone become slaves to the whims of the Cutters, or anyone else for that matter.’

  Mak prodded Alpak’s shoulder and nodded at the caravan.

  ‘This is all a little bit too convenient for my liking,’ he said. ‘How do we know you’re not working for the Cutters eh?’ he asked tetchily. ‘Perhaps you just want to find out what we’re up to so that you can inform your masters?’

  Alpak roughly brushed Mak’s finger away.

  ‘How dare you insult a Shun,’ she replied angrily. ‘We are an upright race.’

  ‘Oh yeah,’ said Mak. ‘Are you sure you can stand on your own two feet … oof!’ Mak’s breath exploded from his mouth as he felt the full force of Alpak’s head as it buried itself into his stomach. In an instant Trep had taken hold of Alpak’s waist and pulled her away from Mak. At the same time, Noj had gripped Mak’s arms to prevent any retaliation.

  ‘That’s enough, both of you,’ hissed Noj. ‘Alpak, I’m sorry if we appear ungrateful. It’s just that we are supposed to be on a journey that’s important, but we don’t fully understand why it’s important or, more to the point, who we can trust.’

  Alpak shrugged.

  ‘Suit yourself,’ she snarled, tugging at the small cloak that almost covered her upper body. ‘And to think, I could have been wrapped up in a warm bed rather than wasting my time on a cold night.’

  Noj released his grip on Mak but kept a warning hand on his shoulder.

  ‘I’m sure we’re all very grateful,’ he said giving Mak’s shoulder a hard squeeze. ‘But you can appreciate we’re a little suspicious of everyone and everything at the moment.’

  Alpak smiled in the darkness, her teeth reflecting the moon’s hue.

  ‘I understand, almost,’ she replied. ‘It would be good if you started to make your move now, while everywhere is still in darkness.’

  Cautiously the group began to edge away from the caravan, each of them staring hard at the shadows and glancing anxiously over their shoulders. Barely had they moved beyond the circle of caravans when a dull beeping stopped them instantly in their tracks. In a panic, the group spun around searching for the source of the disturbing noise. Within seconds it became obvious that the incessant beeping emanated from Ben. Wrestling him to the ground, Noj, Mak and Trep desperately tried to smother every part of Ben.

  ‘Mmmph. Ow! Gerrof,’ burbled Ben through a fence of fingers. Arching his body and kicking out desperately with his feet, Ben struggled to free himself. A voice whispered urgently in his ear.

  ‘Keep still for goodness sake,’ urged Alpak.

  Ben allowed his feet to rest as he thought about sinking his teeth into any fingers within biting distance. With a grunt from Noj, the trio slowly released their grip of Ben’s head.

  ‘What do you think you’re doing?’ spat Ben wiping away the taste of captivity.

  Mak, who was sitting on Ben’s chest, put a voice to everyone’s thoughts.

  ‘Why were you making that noise, were you trying to raise the alarm?’ he hissed.

  ‘I wasn’t warning to anyone,’ snapped Ben too loudly. He wriggled an arm free and began rummaging inside his cloak. Unfortunately, his actions provoked an instant response.

  Grabbing Ben’s wrist, Mak tried to wrestle free the beeping object.

  ‘Help me then,’ he hissed at the others.

  A few seconds later and Noj was staring at a small round object that sat in the palm of his hand. The beeping was now becoming a dull, monotonous noise that hardly troubled the hearing of the assembled group. Ben, now free of Mak’s weight on his chest, sat miserably watching the others peer at the object.

  With the object firmly in his grip, Noj thrust it at Ben.

  ‘What is it then, if it’s not an alarm?’ he asked coldly.

  ‘Well, it is an alarm of sorts,’ began Ben.

  ‘So,’ growled Trep, ‘you admit it is an alarm and you were trying to warn somebody.’

  Ben breathed noisily through his teeth.

  ‘It was an accident,’ he seethed. ‘It’s what’s left of my digital watch after I broke the strap ages ago. I forgot it was in my shirt pocket.’

  ‘A digi what?’ asked Trep.

  ‘Watch,’ replied Ben. ‘It’s a digital watch. Tells the time and has an alarm function that beeps.’

  ‘And we’re supposed to believe that,’ questioned Mak. ‘You’re trouble and make no mistake.’

  Ben was just about to put voice to his anger when Alpak raised a warning finger to his lips.

  ‘Cutters,’ she warned.

  Once more Ben found himself crushed beneath the weight of his fellow travellers, the dark mound of bodies that could easily mistaken for a wildly dis
figured bush in the dark. A moment later two large Cutters appeared next to the caravan, which had until very recently, been their prison. One of the Cutters rattled the large lock on the door.

  ‘Seems OK,’ grunted one of the Cutters.

  ‘Well, I definitely heard things,’ replied the other Cutter gruffly. ‘And it ain’t because I’ve been drinking too much juice either,’ he complained. ‘More’s the pity.’

  Satisfied that the caravan lock was still performing its function, the first Cutter nodded towards the main camp.

  ‘Let’s be getting back,’ he suggested. ‘Must be those damnable dragons again. Nothing but trouble them things.’

  The two Cutters melted back into the darkness leaving the mound of bodies to breath a sigh of relief. Alpak bent down to the prostrate form of Ben and stroked his forehead.

  ‘I don’t think any of us understand what it is you refer to. But I trust you.’ She looked sternly at the others. ‘And that should be good enough for all of you.’

  Ben slowly got to his knees and began to rearrange his clothing.

  ‘See,’ hissed Mak. ‘I told you it was a signal.’

  Ignoring Mak’s accusation, Ben nodded at Noj.

  ‘Can I have my watch back now?’ he asked.

  Noj looked at the object in his hand, which had now stopped its incessant noise and lay silent. He held out his hand.

  ‘Whatever it was doing it’s stopped now,’ he said, as Ben took the watch.

  Looking first at Noj and then at the watch, Ben inclined his head in thanks.

  ‘Is it broken?’ enquired Alpak, her eyes searching Ben’s face.

  Ben shrugged.

  It’s OK,’ he replied. ‘The strap had broken ages ago, so I just kept the watch in my pocket.’ He looked angrily at the others. ‘Out of sight!’ growled Ben.

  ‘But not out of hearing!’ snorted Mak.

  Ben felt Alpak’s hand upon his arm.

  ‘Let me see,’ she said, attempting to distract Ben from Mak’s jibe. ‘I may be able to repair your bracelet.’

  Swiftly removing one of the metal bands that decorated her arm, she examined the remains of the watch and strap. Her nimble fingers danced merrily until she returned the whole thing back to Ben. His eyes glowed in appreciation as he wrapped the bracelet and watch around his wrist.

  Noj clicked his tongue impatiently.

  ‘Come on,’ he urged. ‘Let’s get out of here before it’s too late.’

  The group moved slowly towards the density of the forest, making sure that they kept to the deepest shadows to avoid discovery. A little way into the forest Alpak signalled the group to stop. Kneeling down, she quickly brushed some leaves from under a bush to reveal three walking sticks and the ornamental book that Pinchkin had entrusted to them.

  ‘Thought you might like these,’ said Alpak with a look of satisfaction.

  The three members of the group eagerly took possession of their staves while Ben quickly buried the book beneath his cloak. He gave Alpak another look of gratitude.

  ‘Thanks,’ he mouthed. He turned to the other members of the group.

  ‘We’re not going to leave right now are we?’ he asked.

  Noj looked at Ben in bemusement.

  ‘What?’ he hissed.

  Ben nodded towards the dragon cages.

  ‘We can’t go and just leave those poor creatures all locked up in cages. It just isn’t right.’

  A chorus of dissent challenged Ben.

  ‘We haven’t got time. Don’t be so soft. They’re the least of our worries.’

  ‘Perhaps next time,’ suggested Alpak, eager to put time and space between the boys and the Cutters.

  Ben stood his ground.

  ‘It’s not right to keep animals caged.’

  This time it was Trep’s turn to snort.

  ‘This goody-two-shoes act is nothing more than a delaying tactic. You’re trying to get us caught again.’

  ‘That’s a load of rubbish and you know it,’ hissed an exasperated Ben. ‘We’re escaping, why can’t we let these beasts experience a bit of freedom too?’

  ‘Because they wouldn’t know what to do with it,’ replied an increasingly angry Mak. ‘They get everything they need given to them in return for the occasional pyrotechnic display.’

  Ben opened his mouth to speak just as Alpak touched his arm softly.

  ‘He’s right you know,’ she said. ‘They really don’t know any other way of life now and could easily starve.’

  It was Ben’s turn to snort in disgust.

  ‘Well, he replied firmly. ‘It’s about time they learnt what it is to be wild.’

  ‘There’s more to it than that,’ said Noj, placing an arm around Ben’s shoulders. ‘As things stand, they’re secure, fed and watered. Letting them run free would cause them a lot of stress.’ He gave Ben a slap on the back. ‘Besides, these dragons are well known for getting easily upset, which tends to cause them a few digestive problems.’

  ‘Like what?’ asked Ben, shrugging Noj’s arm from his shoulders.

  Mak and Trep both screwed their eyes up in disgust.

  ‘You really don’t want to know,’ replied Mak. ‘There are some experiences best left unexplored.’

  ‘Yeah, yeah,’ replied Ben, and without waiting for any other comments, he disappeared in the direction of the cages.

  ‘Leave him be,’ said Alpak as Trep made to run after Ben. ‘Come, we’ll wait for him along the track.’ With Alpak leading the way, the remaining three members of the group followed her into the forest.

  Arriving back at the cages, Ben ran along pulling the bolts out of their restraining clasps. The barred doors slowly eased themselves away from their cages. For a few moments the dragons remained still, partly relishing their slumber and partly unsure what to do. Eventually, the open door became too much of a temptation for one dragon. Edging towards the edge of the cage, the dragon rolled its eyes from one side to the other, expecting any moment to hear a harsh command from one of the Cutters or feel the bite of a chain thrown around its body. Jumping from its cage the dragon stood blinking in its freedom. Gradually other dragons followed suit until all the cages stood empty. Ben, with his hands on his knees from the exertion, smiled. The first part of his plan had worked, now he needed to get the dragons moving away from the camp. Taking a deep breath he ran towards the dragons, waving his arms about.

  ‘Shoo, shoo. Go away, run for it,’ he yelled.

  The dragons, unused to any form of movement during the dark hours, stumbled around aimlessly trying to avoid the mad figure running towards them.

  As Ben got closer, and his yells became louder, the dragons lurched out of his way, bumping in to each other in their panic. Suddenly, one young dragon, afraid of the commotion and in need of a touch of maternal comfort, hiccupped, belched loudly, and promptly spat a tongue of fire that singed the soft underbelly of a sleepy older dragon. Incensed by the unprovoked and painful awakening, the older dragon reared up in fury, tearing loose its chains and, bellowing loudly, immediately scorched the rear of the nearest dragon in retaliation. In a matter of moments, all of the older dragons were stomping around venting their anger at anything within reach of their fiery breath.

  Ben stood amazed at the blazing carnage before him. Acrid smoke burnt his eyes as wooden cages turned into fierce bonfires. The dragons, having crisped everything in the immediate vicinity blundered and belched their way towards the rousing Cutters tents.

  Faced with arm waving Cutters in front of them and roaring flames behind, the nervous disposition of the dragons added to the mayhem as their digestive systems began to implode. The earlier belches were now joined by emissions of intestinal gas as jets of flame issued from both ends of the dragons.

  Now, in a total panic, the dragons lumbered into each other and, as a blazing herd, charged towards the main festival camp. Shouts erupted from everywhere as Cutters ran around with pails of water, desperately trying to quench the dragons and drench the tents before th
ey went up in flames too.

  Along the track, the rest of the group stood watching the plumes of smoke and showers of sparks heading skywards. The noise of burning havoc and cries of panic sounded in their ears as a smoke damaged and panting Ben joined them.

  ‘You and your stupid animal welfare.’ muttered Noj. ‘We warned you of the consequences, and now see what your misguided actions have done.’

  Before Ben had time to catch his breath and make a comment a loud explosion rent the sky. Heat prickled their faces as fingers of orange licked the sky. Daylight had arrived early in the Cutters camp.

  Chapter 21

  With the sound of flames in their ears, the group raced along the track, deeper into the depths of the forest. Behind them the Cutters camp was a confusion of running bodies, dragons nervously experiencing freedom and caravans behaving like hot coals.

  In between gasps, Trep snarled at Ben.

  ‘I hope you’re pleased with yourself.’

  Ben was too exhausted to reply. His shoulders heaved in an attempt to re-inflate his lungs. “Better a moments freedom for the dragons than a lifetimes captivity,” he thought.

  Noj brought the group to a halt beside a large oak.

  ‘Rest a moment,’ he gasped.

  The group didn’t need any further encouragement. The forest echoed to the sound of rasping breath and lungs struggling to find a regular rhythm. Noj looked along the track.

  ‘They’re far too busy to chase after us. They’ve got their hands full at the moment.’

  The group gave a laugh of relief, while Ben couldn’t stop himself grinning.

  ‘That’s bought us some time and given them something else to think about,’ he said, allowing the grin to broaden.

  ‘It’s certainly done that all right,’ Trep nodded in agreement. ‘The dragons have torched the place, just as we said they would. We told you they’d go wild,’ he added with a shake of his head.

  ‘That’s just the point,’ argued Ben. ‘They’re meant to be wild so let them be wild.’

  ‘That’s all very well,’ growled Trep. ‘But the trouble is, once they’ve sorted out that little lot,’ he jerked his head back towards the blazing caravans, ‘they’ll want to know how the dragons got loose in the first place. It won’t take them long to figure it out.’