We Were Only Strawberry Picking

by Henrietta Defreitas

  * * *

  After walking for another ten minutes, they suddenly came to a dead end, but how could this be? Jack then let go of Henratty’s hand and started to feel the wall, and as he tapped on it, he knew that this was a false wall; it sounded hollow. He continued to feel around when his hand got caught on something sticking out of the wall. He switched the torch on for a few seconds and noticed a lever which he pulled on. Immediately the wall began to open up in a sliding motion and there before them was the mineshaft lift. Very clever – it had been hidden to appear as if it was part of the tunnel. He quickly pulled the lever once more to close the lift, and then grabbed Henratty’s hand as they began to make their way back to their dormitory.

  By the time they got back to the tunnel junction, Nancy had just entered base camp where Jasper greeted her.

  ‘Any problems, Nancy?’

  ‘None at all! In fact, it gets easier every time I do this. So, Jasper, tell me what I’ve missed,’ as she handed him the wheelbarrow and they made their way to the dormitory marked “Stock Room” on the left.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  The Great Escape – Part Two

  Jack and Henratty were back at the main entrance of the dormitories. The door was not as ajar as it had been before, which meant visibility into the hallway leading to their dormitory was massively reduced, but they had to risk it before the next possible spot check.

  As they entered the hallway, they could hear voices coming from the end dormitory along with the sound of bottles, tins and bags being moved around. Jack decided to sprint to their dormitory, quickly followed by Henratty. He slowly opened the dormitory door, leaving the key in the door without locking it as they slipped inside where they found Oscar and Lyndi Lou asleep. Henratty quickly whispered to them to get up, as they were now ready for the second phase of their plan and that was to get out of this mine, having found the mineshaft lift. They quickly assembled all four pillows to make it look like they were asleep, and one by one Jack signalled for them to tiptoe out of the dormitory. He then quickly left a teasing note under the covers which he knew would infuriate Alfonso even more, but he felt he deserved it.

  Jack was just about to leave the dormitory when luckily he heard Jasper coming down the hallway, but, miraculously, Nancy shouted at Jasper, to come back quickly, as Jasper sprinted to the stock room.

  Jack was perspiring heavily, his hands were clammy and he was shaking a little. He opened the door swiftly and with nerves of steel, he quickly locked the door and sprinted for the main entrance. He did not care if he made a sound as Nancy and Jasper were making more of a racket in the stock room. Nancy had accidentally dropped a big jar of pickles that had gone everywhere and the whole room was splattered with vinegar so she needed help wiping up the mess before it ruined all the groceries.

  ‘Oh, Nancy, how many times have I told you to leave this to me?’

  ‘I know Jasper, but you know I always try and do things for myself.’

  ‘Well, try to remember that your brother does not mind helping you, so next time ask!’ ordered Jasper.

  ‘You’re the boss and yes you’re right, I’ll ask next time. It will certainly save me or rather us all this grief,’ as they began to laugh at Nancy’s stupidity. Before they knew it, most of the other inhabitants were now standing in the stock room with them. As they looked around, Nora had just walked in followed by Cooper.

  ‘Are you two all right? We thought that maybe you had got into a spot of bother with our little guests?’

  ‘Oh, sorry, Nora! I spilt a big jar of pickles and it has made a bit of a mess but we’ll clear it up – nothing to do with our guests at all, they’re locked up safely and are certainly not going anywhere.’ On that note Alfonso thought as he was up, he might as well check on the meerkats, only because he wanted to tease Jack a little more.

  As Alfonso opened the meerkats’ dormitory door, with more visibility as the main dormitory lights were fully on, he instantly noticed there was something strange about the two beds. He moved in quickly and pulled back the covers of Henratty’s and Lyndi Lou’s bed only to find the two pillows. With even more haste, he flicked back Jack’s and Oscar’s covers but this time there were not just two pillows but Jack’s note, which read:

  Goodbye, Alfonso! You little hissy sissy. Let’s see how you are going to explain this one to Nora. This time it will be you that’s “rattling” with fear when she takes your head off … The next time you threaten me or my friends, I will not only hit you right between the eyes but I will ensure you can never rattle again, Mr Snake! Well, let’s say Nora will make sure of that!

  Alfonso’s eyes widened in fury and his whole body was now raging with so much anger.

  He quickly glided back to the stock room.

  ‘Nora, everyone, OUR PRISONERS HAVE ESCAPED!’ wailed Alfonso. He was shaking a little in fear of what Nora would do to him.

  ‘What do you mean, they’ve escaped? Did you not check the dormitory when I told you to?’

  ‘Of course I did,’ rebuffed Alfonso. However, from the look on everyone else’s faces, it left much speculation, especially as Escargot had mentioned earlier how Alfonso would just sleep on lookouts!

  ‘I swear to you, Nora, I checked that dormitory and they were all there and I locked up afterwards. Besides, the key was still locked in the door, so maybe someone can explain how they got out, or just maybe someone let them out?’ This accusation caused even more outrage with the other inhabitants who all gasped in horror.

  ‘How could you say that?’ refuted Enoch.

  ‘Maybe it was you, Enoch,’ suggested Alfonso.

  ‘I have to disagree,’ retorted Poppy, ‘Enoch has been with me the whole time, and I think everyone can account for their whereabouts except for you, Alfonso.’ Nora then interrupted the somewhat heated debate.

  ‘Look, this is not the time for in-house squabbling, we need to find those meerkats and find them fast! If they get out of here we are doomed … do you hear me DOOMED… Alfonso and Jasper, please check the dormitory once more to see if they escaped directly from there. Could they have dug their way out, so check under the beds, but I doubt that very much. Now, Enoch and Nancy I suggest you start searching the tunnel in the direction we trapped them in the first place, whilst Cooper and I will go and get the tram and head towards the mineshaft lift just in case they have worked out where it was. Nancy, could they have heard you and Jasper discussing the lift at any stage?’ asked Nora anxiously.

  ‘Absolutely not, this is one thing we can guarantee; we have never mentioned the mineshaft lift at any time. It’s the one code of conduct we have obeyed … one hundred percent!’

  ‘Right that settles it, we all know what we have to do. My echolocation should be able to pick them up in no time, as one thing in our favour is that they still don’t know where the mineshaft lift is located, but little did Nora know that was not the case. She then clapped her hands continuously …

  ‘Now let’s get going – time is of the essence – WE MUST NOT FAIL!’ grumbled Nora.

  Whilst Jasper double checked the meerkats’ dormitory, Alfonso had automatically made a head start for the mineshaft.

  * * *

  The meerkats had now reached that familiar junction where they stopped for a moment.

  ‘Listen, what’s that? Oh, no it’s the tram – they’ve obviously realised we’ve escaped. Now I don’t care if they can see us,’ as Jack got his torch out and shone it down the tunnel.

  ‘Run! Run! RUN!’ he bellowed, and indeed they started running, but what they did not realise was that Jack was no longer behind them. He knew that if they were to stand a chance of escaping, he would have to create some kind of diversion. He turned around and was now shining the torch in the opposite direction – yes towards the tram.

  Further up the tunnel, Alfonso could see the blinding torch as he was not that far away from Jack. He began to hiss, ready for the kill, but Jack was waiting for him and was by this time crouched on the ground st
ill aiming the torch down the tunnel. He quickly got out his binoculars, which he had set to infra-red mode. At last, there’s Mr Snake! He then set his catapult with the biggest stone he could find. He had one chance and one chance only to knock Alfonso out. He was going to hit him straight between his eyes, just as his note had conveyed. Alfonso was only five yards away from Jack – as he got nearer to the junction, his hissing was louder than ever – he knew he was about to make his kill. Four yards, three yards and now two yards away, and so their eyes met. Why was Jack skulking so low? he wondered. Too late … one yard away as Jack raised his head and released the catapult as the stone caught Alfonso right between the eyes. He did not know what had hit him, as his head jolted backwards then forwards, as he slumped to the ground with a loud thud and then slid forward only inches away from Jack.

  Alfonso lay unconscious as Jack nudged him with his foot to make sure he was, in fact, out cold. He knew that snakes were very good at laying still and a prod like that would certainly have woken him up. Feeling sure Alfonso was unconscious, he began the fastest sprint for his life towards the mineshaft lift.

  The other meerkats had now reached the mineshaft lift. Henratty desperately felt around the false wall looking for the lever to open the lift door, as Jack had done.

  ‘Jack, help me,’ she begged, but when her plea was not returned, they all realised he was not there.

  ‘Where’s, Jack?’ yelled Oscar.

  ‘I don’t know,’ as Henratty found the lever and pulled it down, ‘But I do know we are not leaving without him.’ The rusted mineshaft lift door flew open as she ushered Lyndi Lou and Oscar into the lift. Her hand was poised over the button to close the lift door, as they waited nervously.

  Jasper had now found Alfonso, who was still out for the count. He began to shake Alfonso quite forcibly as he came to.

  ‘Okay, Jasper, I’m awake now,’ Alfonso groaned. He was still a little groggy and had a thumping headache. He was seeing stars but at least he was alive. ‘That little Jack stoned me and he is going to pay – mark my words,’ he seethed.

  The tram had now pulled up as the brakes squeaked loudly.

  ‘Get in! GET IN!’ Nora barked. She was Mad … Mad … MAD! She cranked up the tram again and off they sped in top gear.

  Back in the lift, Henratty could hear Jack shouting – his words were a little distorted, however, she could just about make out what he had communicated, ‘Get everyone in the lift …’ At the same time, she could also hear the tram closing in fast.

  Sparks were flying from the wheels of the tram as it was approaching Jack. He could feel that his legs were wobbling like jelly, but he would not give in when he was so close to getting out of this mine. With his last bit of energy, he increased his speed, not knowing where he had got his inner strength from, but he was praying to the MightyKats as he was running – perhaps it was working – they were somehow giving him the inner strength to reach that lift which he could now vaguely see between the misty hot air. He wiped the sweat from his brow and continued in his stride. The light in the lift was now visible, only thirty more yards and he was “home”.

  Meanwhile, the wheels of the tram were red hot and burning due to the intense speed and friction. The wooden tram had now started to glow with flames, as Jasper made an attempt to combat the fire with Cooper’s blanket.

  ‘There’s the little whippersnapper! We’re nearly there,’ snarled Nora. The tram was only yards away from Jack and closing.

  Only ten yards to go, as Jack looked behind him just to see how close the tram was – it was gaining speed with every second.

  ‘HENRATTY! ARE YOU READY, I’M HERE?’ he shouted.

  Through the mist, she was able to assess the situation pretty well. She told Oscar and Lyndi Lou to move out of the way and stay back in the corner of the lift. Suddenly she saw Jack do an enormous vault towards the lift, as she pressed the button. The doors were closing quickly when, by a split second, he slammed into the back of the lift as he slid to the ground and the doors shut solid behind him. The lift shook a bit but began to ascend slowly as it made its way out of the mineshaft as they all hugged Jack, who was sprawled out on the lift floor trying to catch his breath.

  ‘Hey, take it easy everyone …’ Oscar and Lyndi Lou had now stopped hugging Jack, as Henratty peered over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He froze in total shock as he touched the side of his cheek that she had just kissed.

  ‘This is one day in my life that I won’t forget … I don’t suppose you could do that again,’ quipped Jack. Henratty had now composed herself. What on earth was she thinking, as she came to her senses! This time she looked down at Jack, her eyes flickered as if she was seriously going to kiss him on the cheek again, but instead she poked him in the stomach.

  ‘You have got to be kidding, that is the first and last kiss you will ever get from me, so don’t be having any more ideas! I simply got carried away with myself and that was me thanking you for saving our lives, especially when it was mostly my fault that we were down here in the first place.’

  ‘MOSTLY?’ proclaimed Jack.

  ‘Okay, Jack, I shall rephrase that to COMPLETELY MY FAULT,’ as everyone laughed and cheered, so relieved they were on their way out of the mineshaft and more importantly in one piece.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  The MightyKats

  Down in the mineshaft, Nora, Cooper, Alfonso and Jasper could only look on in disbelief as the lift continued to rattle its way to the top, as bits of dust began to fall on them. There was nothing more they could do as they turned and walked back towards the tram.

  ‘So what now, Nora?’ said Cooper.

  ‘Nothing,’ she responded calmly.

  ‘But aren’t you worried that those meerkats will come back for us?’ asked Cooper.

  ‘No, not at all, firstly because I think our little pep talk with Jack made him realise it would prove disastrous, not only for Meerville but Arkvale too, if the media knew about this place. He might be a risk taker but one could tell he was very astute and a calculated risk taker and somewhere inside that brain of his saw “reason”. He loved his hometown and would do anything to ensure that it was protected. I’m sure he will think of a reasonable excuse as to why they went missing. Secondly, none of them ultimately want to get in trouble for entering the forbidden strawberry field.’

  ‘But how can you be so sure?’ asked Cooper.

  ‘I’m sure, just trust me as you have always done.’ Nora seemed pretty confident about this, as unlike the other inhabitants, Nora was able to detect the presence of a MightyKat who had entered the mineshaft immediately before the lift made its ascent. She knew then that everything would be taken care of and the mine would be safe once more. From the description that Nora had been given through various sightings by her ancestors and others, she knew the MightyKat she had just glimpsed was Cairo, and his special gift was the ability to not only read minds, but erase memories too. She knew the meerkats would not remember a thing in relation to recent events and there would be no mention of this mine, just an innocent day out strawberry picking with no recollection of what occurred on their second day out.

  * * *

  The mineshaft lift at last came to a halt, as the meerkats took a deep breath. They were so glad to embrace the cool fresh air; it had never felt or smelt so good. They dusted themselves off yet again, taking care to retrace their steps back out of the dangerous strawberry fields. Luckily it was still light enough to see, but darkness was fast approaching.

  Once out of that field they climbed over the locked gates and walked briskly back to the Brians’ house. They started talking about how many strawberries they had collected until they realised they had forgotten their baskets, but they were completely baffled as they could not understand how or why this had happened. They were now gawping at each other hoping one of them had the answer, but all that followed was complete silence, and then came the gust of wind. They continued the walk back home. They were now speechless, in a tran
sient state fully absorbed in their own thoughts about their day out strawberry picking. The only problem was that none of them could recollect anything and more importantly, how were they going to explain the “inexplicable” to their parents!

  * * *

  An hour later, they had reached the Brian’s house, as Mama Katie breathed a big sigh of relief and quickly rang Mama Mortimer to let her know that Henratty and Lyndi Lou had returned safely together with Jack and Oscar.

  ‘And what time do you call this, Jack, and I’m talking to you as well, Henratty?’ demanded Mama Katie sternly.

  ‘What’s the time mama … we’re not that late surely … I honestly don’t think we have been gone that long,’ proclaimed Jack.

  ‘I wouldn’t say eight o’clock was early – would you?’ Mama Katie could tell that they were all in genuine shock and could see that they just lost track of time, but even Henratty and Jack could not work out how they could have been playing for so long. Jack was even more puzzled by the time on the hallway clock, as his watch clearly said ten o’clock, but Mama Katie continued speaking before he could even say anything – he had so many unanswered questions.

  ‘This time, Jack, don’t even bother with your excuses, I don’t want to hear any. All I can say is that you’re both grounded for two weeks and I am sure the same will apply to Henratty and Lyndi Lou. I can see you’ve obviously all eaten the strawberries, so no more strawberry picking as that was clearly a waste of time,’ noted Mama Katie.

  They all stared at each other so surprised as they had not even realised they had been out that long, and well, yes, they did get locked in and had to climb the fence, but surely they had not been strawberry picking for most of the day. They just couldn’t remember anything from the moment they entered that field.