19 Sketchwood

Chapter 19 Sketchwood Peanut, Rockwell and Little-Bit spent the next few hours following the small band of Resistance agents, which included the Markmakers, at a safe distance, as they, in turn, followed a platoon of RAZERs, Mr White and Alan. Doodle, who had decided to join in with the children's mischief, led the way, following the Markmakers' scent through the familiar charcoal forests and snow-covered plains of the North Draw. After a couple of hours, they passed the pink and blue Czech hedgehogs and the straggly remains of the bright-blue, netted dome that surrounded the entrance to the now abandoned bunker that had been the first Resistance headquarters. Peanut felt a flash of anger. It was here that Mr White had first got his hands on Little Tail.

Eventually, the convoy arrived at the forested area known as Sketchwood, and started to wind its way through the dusty black trees. Suddenly Doodle sat down and cocked his head to one side. 'They've stopped,' said Peanut looking straight ahead. Quick! Over there!' All four of them hid behind a large charcoal tree trunk and peered around the side of it. It was hard to see exactly what was going on, but it looked as if the Markmaker group was hiding in a small copse about a hundred metres ahead of them. Suddenly there was an explosion of activity. One member of the group sprang from the copse and started running at full speed towards Peanut and the gang. It was Agent Odin the Stormbreaker! Three RAZERs were in hot pursuit, gliding at a frightening speed across the snow. They caught up with the fleeing Resistance agent within seconds, and wasted no time in capturing him. Once he was bound, they picked him up and started carrying him, at speed, straight towards

the tree that Peanut, Rockwell, Little-Bit and Doodle were hiding behind. 'Hurry! Get under this!' shouted Peanut, who had quickly painted a huge white inky square on the floor with her new roller. She lifted up a corner, and all four of them dived underneath it and held their breath. Seconds later, they heard the three RAZERs whoosh by. Half a minute after that, they heard some more distant whooshing. Peanut peeped out from under their inky eiderdown. 'It's the rest of the RAZERs! Alan is there too! I'd recognise that chump anywhere! Ssshhh! They're coming!' She pulled her head back under just in time. WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! They sounded like Formula One cars zooming past the chequered flag. A minute later she tentatively peeped out again. 'OK, I think they've gone. Oh! Hang on, here come the Markmakers!' She ducked back underneath. As the Resistance agents hurried past, the children could hear a great deal of consternation within the group and lots of panicked conversation. 'What are we going to do?'

'They'll put him in the Spire for sure!' 'What was he thinking?' 'Poor Agent Odin the Stormbreaker!' 'Maybe we can catch up with them and rescue him!' 'But Malcolm, what about the portal?' 'Some things are more important. 'Did the target go through?' 'Yes, I saw him dive into the hollow.' 'But it's the final one. We should have sent someone through so we know where it leads!' 'We can come back later. 'It could be too late by then.' Peanut and the gang waited until the voices had faded into the distance, and then emerged from under the white-ink blanket. ' Well, that was close,' said Rockwell. 'I spy, with my little eye, something beginning with LUCKY ESCAPE!' 'Lucky is definitely the word,' said Peanut, smiling. As in "How lucky are we that everyone has disappeared and left us here on our own when there's a perfectly good portal to another world just a couple of hundred metres away?"' 'Oh no, you're not thinking 'I certainly am,' said Peanut, nodding. 'You heard the Markmakers. Someone from the Resistance needs to go through. Well, here we are! Let's go and find that portal!'