33 The Flying Fish

33 The Flying Fish The thick, black droplets continued to fall as the intrepid foursome made their way up the mountain. The ground was slick with mud, so they were wearing hand-drawn crampons on their feet for a bit of extra grip. Peanut was tired. Not only was she carrying the dog but she had also filled the four empty water bottles on her back with inky rainwater. She was starting to doubt her sense of direction, especially since a mist had descended. After a couple of hours, the rain slowed and the tiny cracks of daylight started to get bigger until, eventually, they expanded to reveal a huge sky. At last they had reached the top of the mountain.

They sat on the snowy ground and took off their ponchos. Doodle jumped from Peanut's arms and stretched, while Rockwell opened his rucksack, pulled out the small hamper that Mrs M had given them and handed out sandwiches. 'Just look at that view,' he said between mouthfuls of ham and tomato. They were above the cloudline. Beneath them, a grey, fluffy sea stretched into the distance, occasionally interrupted by other mountain tops that broke the surface like shark fins in the Pacific Ocean. Awesome,' whispered Little-Bit. Peanut took the map from her bandolier and unfolded it. ' So, by my reckoning, we are here.' She pulled out the compass. 'We need to start heading south-east, down towards Inky Lake.' Doodle barked his approval. Then something very strange happened. A small object, no bigger than a tennis ball, shot up through the clouds and hovered in the air ten metres in front of them. 'What is that?' gasped Rockwell 'It looks like... a fish?' spluttered Peanut. A fish?' Little-Bit stood up. 'But how could a fish fly this high?' 'How could a fish fly at all?' said Rockwell. All four were on their feet now, and Doodle was barking loudly.

Its shiny body was round and covered in spikes, with a large, brassy tail fanning out behind it. Its eyes, glowing green, were looking straight at the children. With a click and a whirr, they suddenly widened and changed from green to red. A small door slid open where its mouth should be and a deafening, high-pitched sound filled the air. It then shot back down into the cloud and disappeared. 'Something's telling me that what just happened wasn't a good thing,' said Rockwell. 'I agree,' said Peanut. 'I think we need to get out of here.