Chapter 5

Chapter FIVE As soon as the bell rang for the end of the day, Nova and I ran out of school to find both Mum and Dad waiting for us in the playground, which was unusual. They both looked worried. 'I'm afraid we haven't found Pluto yet...' began Mum. We know where he is!' I cried,

interrupting. 'He's in the forest!' 'The forest?' said Mum. 'Well then, we must go there right now! We'll drop by the house and pack some things on the way!' 'Pack some things?' asked Dad as he hurried us all into the car. Why?' 'We might need camping gear,' said

Mum. 'We don't know how long we'll be in the forest for, do we? It might take a while to find Pluto and it will get dark early. I'll pack the tent just in case.' 'The tent?!' said Dad, horrified. 'But we can just drive back home to bed. It's not THAT far to the forest. You know I hate camping!' 'Well this is an emergency and I think we should pack the tent,' said Mum. An hour later we arrived at the edge of the forest. Mum parked the car in a layby. 'Everyone must wear a rucksack!' she said, opening the boot and handing them

out. 'There's a survival kit inside each one and a whistle in case you get lost. There are snacks in there too!' We all walked towards an opening in the trees. The path looked thin and winding. 'It's quite dark in there, remarked Mum, peering in. 'Good!' said Dad who was wearing

his daytime sunglasses. 'I like the gloom! Better for my sensitive vampire eyes. Nova and I held hands as we stepped onto the path. 'It's an awfully big forest, said Nova in a small voice. I squeezed her hand. 'We'll find Pluto!' I said. 'We have to!' We started to search, walking in and out of the trees and looking in every nook, cranny and bush that we could find but there was no sign of a little moon kitten anywhere. 'I can't remember if I've looked here

yet or not,' said Dad peering into a hollow log. 'Everything looks the same. There are so many trees!' 'We're never going to find Pluto!' wailed Nova. 'Do you think he might have gone home already?' I asked. 'No,' said Nova. 'He wouldn't know the way.' 'We mustn't give up!' said Mum. By now the sky was beginning to darken and Nova was lighting the way with her glowing skin. 'I don't think we've been down this path yet,' said Mum, pointing to a winding route that led through some brambles. She