Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14 It was the eagles that started it. Two great birds they were, with huge talons and vicious beaks that looked like they could devour a small child in minutes flat. And there was something in their cold, hard eyes which suggested that was exactly what was on their minds. They swooped out from behind the stage and circled the gawping crowd of children, who seemed to think that this might be part of the entertainment. A second later they realized it most certainly wasn't. The eagles swooped down to attack. Fortunately, the teachers' heads were closest to the eagles' clutching talons. Miss Fyre let out a great scream as one of them became tangled in her hair. Mr Wind came running towards her, flapping his arms.

'Get back, you feathery fiends!' he screeched. 'Leave her alone, you demonic dive-bombers!' The children began to panic, screaming and running blindly in every direction. Next came two dozen cats and dogs of all shapes and sizes. The dogs barked and yapped, racing round the hall like mad things, while the cats scrambled up the curtains, yowling and looking every bit as panicked as the children. The goat kept bleating furiously from the stage, seemingly enjoying the chaos below. Next to the goat stood Dylan, staring in horror at what was unfolding. As Charlie watched, Dylan jumped down from the stage and began sneaking his way towards the exit. The missing chinchillas had now joined the party and were running between the screaming children's feet. Meanwhile, the goat had followed Dylan off the stage and was now merrily butting the bums of anyone who came near it, knocking some of the Year 2s clear into the air. Between the yapping dogs and the dive-bombing eagles, the butting goat, the screeching cats and the squeaking chinchillas, there seemed to be no escape. The dogs were chasing the cats and now the cats began chasing the chinchillas, which caused even more chaos. The hall was a whirling, barking, screaming tornado of terrified children, panicking teachers and animals going bananas.

'See if you can calm things down,' Charlie yelled to his friends. 'I've got a job to do.' Charlie forced his way through the crowd after Dylan. It was hard to make any progress, though. Everyone in the hall was just running round in circles. Why isn't anybody leaving? thought Charlie. A moment later, he found out. He and Dylan were approaching the main doors, which should have been the obvious way out for the panicking children. There, blocking the doorway, wonky yellow teeth bared, was the missing llama. It looked distinctly unhappy at having been locked in a basement, and seemed to be scanning the crowd for the boy who had done it. As soon as its gaze fell on Dylan, the llama's dark eyes narrowed. Dylan screeched to a halt. The llama pawed the ground for a moment, like an angry bull– then charged.

With a high-pitched scream of terror, Dylan fled. The llama gave chase, scattering children hither and thither. MissFyre– hair a tangled mess– and Mr Wind– eyes on stalks– were running round like their bums were on fire, trying to shepherd the children to safety, but the animals were everywhere and still more kept appearing– ones which Charlie had no idea had been missing. Parrots and cockatoos flew overhead, flashes of colour flitting between the lasers, pooping on people below. A huge monitor lizard was skittering and sliding along the floor. Two capybaras were chewing on the black-out curtains. A herd of majestic stick insects was sweeping across the dance floor but nobody noticed them because they looked like sticks. How did Dylan manage to steal all these animals? thought Charlie as he stalked him through the crowd. Well, there was only one way of finding out. Now the llama had left its post at the exit, Dylan had managed to sneak back round, out through the doors and down the corridor. He legged it past the staff room with Charlie in hot pursuit. 'Dylan!' called Charlie. 'Stop!' Dylan swung around wildly. When he saw Charlie, he grimaced. But then a wide smile broke across his face. 'Aww,' said Dylan. 'So cute!' Charlie was somewhat surprised by Dylan's unexpected compliment.

'Well, uh, thanks, Dylan, that's really nice of you but –' 'Not you, imbecile! Behind you!' Dylan sneered, pointing. Charlie turned to find a pair of penguins a few metres away. His first thought was they were indeed very cute. But then he remembered what the penguins at the zoo had been like. There was something odd about the way these birds were waddling towards them. There was a determination in that waddle, a cold, blood-thirsty look in their eyes. These penguins were looking for revenge. And hell hath no fury like a penguin scorned. 'Dylan!' Charlie shouted. 'Run!' 'Run?' replied Dylan incredulously. 'From these adorable penguins?' 'They are not adorable! They're vicious! Just trust me and run!' The boys both began running and, with a blood- chilling squawk, the penguins gave chase, waddling after them with unnatural speed. Charlie and Dylan raced into the school kitchen and slammed the door behind them. They bolted to the end of the long stainless-steel counter and hid under it, panting heavily. After a moment, they lifted their heads and looked back at the door. A beak suddenly appeared at a window, followed by an emotionless, malevolent eye, scanning the kitchen for the boys. The boys ducked back into their hiding-place.

'We're safe in here, aren't we?' Dylan asked, terrified. 'Yes,' replied Charlie. 'Unless they've figured out how to open doors.' Suddenly the door handle rattled. And slowly the door creaked open. 'Clever girl…' Charlie whispered to himself, with a grimace of admiration. And then came the sound of scaly feet slowly slapping against the floor. The penguins were in the kitchen. The slapping came closer. Slap. And closer. Slap. Charlie pointed, indicating to Dylan that they should split up. Dylan nodded and they both skittered across the floor, trying to keep their heads down.