Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7 It was a beautiful Saturday morning. The sun was shining, just the odd small white cloud scudding high across the sky. It was not the sort of day that Charlie felt like facing pretty certain death. But we don't always get what we want in life. And Charlie was finding that out the hard way. 'This really, really, REALLY does not feel safe at all, guys.' The four were at the top of Bandit's Hill. Bandit's Hill was the hill in their local park. It was high and steep, and commanded beautiful views of the surrounding countryside. But Charlie didn't really care that the hill commanded beautiful views of the surrounding countryside right now, thank you very much, because right now Charlie was at the very top of the hill, sitting in a dilapidated old go-kart.

Wogan's dad had made the go-kart a few years ago, and Wogan's dad was not a good go-kart maker. In fact, it would be fair to say that Wogan's dad was the worst go-kart maker ever to actually make a go-kart.fn1 He had essentially attached a pair of wheels to each end of a box. There wasn't even a steering wheel. There was, however, a brake, which was just a stick that, when pushed, merely dragged along the ground. Or, more accurately, there had been a brake, but Flora had spent the last twenty minutes carefully unscrewing it. When the go-kart

was finally brake-less, Flora announced that the experiment was ready. Staring down at the very steep, very long and very bumpy descent in front of him gave Charlie a weird feeling in his stomach and his bum. Ahead of him he saw, at best, severe injury, and, at worst, a tragic end to his brief life. And one child in hospital was enough for his parents, Charlie thought. 'You want me to go down the hill in this… this box-on-wheels WITHOUT any brakes? That is deadly dangerous, Flora.' 'Don't be daft, Charlie!' said Flora. 'It is not deadly dangerous!' It was deadly dangerous. 'But this thing,' said Charlie, pointing around him at the go-kart, 'is an absolute deathtrap.' 'Oh, Charlie!' said Flora. 'It is not an absolute deathtrap!' It was an absolute deathtrap. 'Look,' continued Flora. 'It's the only way to find out for certain whether my theory is correct. We need you to be scared. If it had brakes, you wouldn't be scared.' 'But I don't want to die,' said Charlie in a small voice.

'Pull yourself together, Charlie,' said Flora, sounding increasingly exasperated. 'Do you really think I would put you in any real danger just to prove a theory?' 'I guess not…' She absolutely would. 'Exactly. Do you think Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were scared when they went to the moon? Probably, but they did it anyway, because it was for the good of mankind. And if we can prove my theory and actually observe you change into an animal, it will be like landing on the moon, Charlie.' Mohsen and Wogan just stood there in noticeable silence. Their faces, though, betrayed a mixture of guilt, fear and panic. 'OK… OK. Let's do it,' said Charlie, deeply uncertain. It was impossible to say no to Flora. 'Awesome! You're super-brave, Charlie! I knew you'd do it! You're a hero.' Against his better judgement, Charlie felt a glow in his chest and started blushing at Flora's words. 'Pass me the helmet!' said Charlie. 'Passing you the helmet, sir!' said Flora.

Charlie tied the helmet on, and gripped the side of the deathtrap go-kart. He let go for a short moment to give a proud salute to his friends. Mohsen and Wogan gave solemn, mournful salutes back. Flora bent behind the go-kart and gripped it, ready to start pushing. Charlie swallowed, a ball of terror rolling in his stomach. There was a moment of perfect silence. The world held its breath.

Just the wind softly ruffling Charlie's hair. Parp! That was Charlie, accidentally letting out a little terror-fart. Flora, who was bent down directly behind Charlie's bum, grimaced. 'Ugh, Charlie!' But then, with as much strength as he could muster, Charlie shouted through his fear. 'Go!' At Charlie's word, Flora began running as fast as she could, pushing the go-kart and Charlie down the hill. Almost immediately Charlie was going so fast that Flora couldn't keep up and had to let go. She