49 The Diversion

49 The Diversion We look RIDICULOUS!' moaned Rockwell. 'That's kind of the point,' said Peanut, desperately trying to keep the smile from her face. 'Well, I LOVE it!' shouted Little-Bit. 'I've always wanted to have a go at this.' Right, there's no time to lose,' said Peanut. 'Jonathan Higginbottom, are you ready?' As I'll ever be,' he replied. 'OK. Positions, everyone,' said Peanut, as she clambered up on to the alligator's back and sat in the spray-painted saddle. And... GO!' Little-Bit ran out from behind the startled archers and headed left. Rockwell and Doodle followed closely behind.

When they reached the end of the line, all three turned around, lifted their pompoms and faced the Big X. The two children took a deep breath and started to chant at the tops of their voices: Two... four... six... eight... Who don't we appreciate? RA-ZERs! Mr White! You are gonna lose tonight! For a split second, everybody on the battlefield stopped what they were doing and looked over at the bizarre little troupe, their mouths agape. Even the RAZERs driving the Big X turned to view the dancing trio, stopping the vehicle while they took in the extraordinarily out-of-place scene. Rockwell and Little-Bit continued:

One... two... three... four... We're Resistance, hear us roar! Big X, RAZERs too, You know what you gotta do... 'GO! GO! GO!' 'They're all looking the other way! This is our chance!' shouted Peanut. 'GO, JONATHAN HIGGINBOTTOM, GO!' The alligator pushed off on all four skates with surprising agility and started to glide elegantly across the concrete. 'Just like riding a bike,' he said, as he flew past the archers and skated around the Big X.

Peanut clung on to the painted reins as she and Jonathan Higginbottom sped towards the newly lowered drawbridge. She couldn't resist letting out a loud 'WHOO-HOO!' After a couple of seconds, several of the RAZERs stopped staring at the cheerleaders and noticed the roller-skating alligator. They immediately set off in pursuit, but to no avail. With a flick of his tail, Jonathan Higginbottom skittled the few that got close, sending them sprawling across the concrete. The rest were left behind in his wake. He really was a fabulous skater! As they reached the drawbridge, Peanut heard a distant chant of 'Higginbottom, he's our man! If he can't do it, no one can!' The alligator lowered his head as they thundered along, pointing the huge horns on his helmet directly towards the crayon fence at the far end of the bridge. 'Hold tight, young Peanut. Impact in approximately ten seconds...' Peanut leaned forward so that her chest was flat against Jonathan Higginbottom's back and she too lowered her head. 'Five, four, three, two, one...' CRASH!