36 The Balloon

Chapter 36 The Balloon When the group got back to the warehouse, Peanut got to work. First, she pulled Little Tail from the bandolier and drew a large basket, big enough for the three children to stand in. She then painted a series of huge sausage-like shapes. 'You guys need to help me with these,' she said, placing her watercolours on the floor. 'Use any colours you like.' Half an hour, and a lot of paint, later, it was ready. The children stood back and admired their work. ' Wow,' said a smiling Rockwell, his face spattered with coloured paint flecks. 'I can't believe we've made this! I feel super-proud!' 'It's going to brighten up the whole sky,' said Little-Bit.

'Yes. That'll show Mr White that he's got a long way to go before he gets rid of all the colour in Chroma. Great work, team,' said Peanut. 'Right, Rockwell, first I need a bit of help with the physics, then let's drag it outside and get on our way. 'Sure thing, boss. You just need to draw a burner, a couple of propane tanks and a parachute valve, and we're all set.' As they drifted over Chroma in their hot-air balloon-animal, Peanut, Rockwell and Little-Bit looked down at the city below. Despite the sun being low in the evening sky, they could easily make out the quirky buildings of Warholia that they'd just seen from ground level, as well as skyscrapers made entirely of scouring pad and cereal boxes, a lipstick power station, and, randomly, a giant shuttlecock in the middle of a field. As they crossed into the skies above Dali Point West, the landscape below them began to change dramatically. The industrial feel of Warholia was replaced by a sandy desert-like landscape. There were several lakes packed with enormous swans and surrounded by tall trees with ladders instead of trunks. Herds of strange-looking elephants wandered between enormous eggs, melting clocks and giant old-fashioned telephones, their legs so long and spindly that it looked like they were walking on stilts.

'Well, that's something you don't see every day,' said Rockwell. ' Look!' said Peanut. 'Can you see all those platoons of RAZERs? None of them are moving. It's like they've all been deactivated.' 'You don't think we did that, do you?' said Little-Bit. 'What do you mean?' 'Well, you know when we were in that room at the top of the Spire, and Rocky pressed all those buttons? They changed from green to red, remember? What if they controlled the RAZERs?' Rockwell turned to look at Little- Bit. He could smell a hero moment. ' Er, yes,' he said. 'She's probably right. I mean, she's always right, isn't she? It must have been me. Basically, I disabled all of the RAZERs and saved us all. Yes. That is definitely what happened. The Jones sisters looked at each other and laughed fondly at Rockwell. Right, we need to start our descent,' said Peanut. ' Rockwell, do the honours. I can see normal trees and grass over there.' He pulled the parachute-valve chord and

the balloon began to sink in the painted sky, resplendent in the kinds of reds, oranges and pinks that accompany the most beautiful sunsets. The deserts of Dali Point West were soon replaced by the rolling hills of the Green Valleys, and a few minutes later they spotted the winding river that led to the hay wain and the new Bunker. ' Peanut,' said Little-Bit, looking up at her big sister as they descended. 'I'm worried about Mum and Leo. Remember what the Markmakers said about our family being in danger now that Mr White knows about Dad probably being Conté's heir?' 'Listen, LB,' said Peanut, putting an arm around the little girl, 'that was before we got Little Tail back. Mr White is nowhere near Mum right now. He and Alan are still trying to get back to Chroma from New York, and then he'll only be thinking about how he's going to get his hands on the pencil again. So if anyone needs to be worried it's probably us. I'm sure he's not thinking about Mum and Leo at the moment. Anyway, we'll be back home soon, and we'll have Little Tail with us, so we can make sure that they're safe.' 'OK,' said Little-Bit, reassured. She snuggled into her big sister's embrace. Don't worry, guys,' said Rockwell as he guided the balloon smoothly downwards towards the red mill building. 'You've got me to protect you too, remember. And, as we have just established, I am a bona fide hero.'