04 Run!

CHAPTER 4 RUN! The tiger bats' bright orange eyes watched from the darkness. "Tiger bats!" yelled Tag. "Grey was right!" "And we've woken them up!" Skyla cried. Tag and Skyla pushed and pulled at the cart. It didn't move. "Hurry!" Tag said. "The egg is too heavy!" Skyla huffed.

Tag gave a big push. The egg wobbled, then—THUNK! It fell off the cart. I hope it's not cracked, thought Tag. The tiger bats' wings scraped the walls. One landed close by with a THUD! The egg started to roll out of the cave and down the hill. "Follow that egg!" Tag yelled. The friends raced behind the egg as the tiger bats flew out of the cave, zooming back and forth. SQUAWK!

"Good thing tiger bats can't see well in daylight!" Skyla puffed. "We should be able to lose them out here!" Tag's heart pounded. Blasts of air from the tiger bats' giant orange-and-black striped wings pushed him on. The egg picked up speed as it rolled downhill. It banged into an old fallen tree and stopped. "We have to hide!" Skyla said. "Before the bats see us!" Tag looked at the fallen tree. "Quick— let's hide in here!" He used a stick to shove the egg into the hollow trunk. Then he and Skyla crawled in behind it. CLACK, CLACK, CLACK. Tag and Skyla held their breath as the tiger bats' beaks snapped above them.

After a while, it was quiet. "That was close," Skyla said. "I know," Tag sighed. Then he grinned. "But we did it—we saved the egg!" The sun was setting. They were too tired to move the egg, so the friends rested in a nearby tree. "I'll keep watch," Tag said with a yawn. But soon, they both fell fast asleep.