1 Going Underground

Part One ...in which Peanut attempts a daring rescue

1 Going Underground They walked, at pace, down a long, metal-lined corridor. Gary Jones led the way, followed by his daughter Peanut, her younger sister Little-Bit, their older brother Leo, and Peanut's friend, Rockwell Riley. Woodhouse, a talking rat with a strong Glaswegian accent, and 67, a large silver robot who had recently defected from the city's RAZER army, brought up the rear. Rockwell was trying to stay as far away from the rat as possible, but it was proving difficult in the narrow corridor. ' Whoa! So many books,' said Little-Bit, looking to her left at the packed shelves that ran

the entire length of the wall. 'What are they all about, Daddy?' 'Chroma, mainly,' he replied. 'Woodhouse and 67 sourced them for me. I thought I should be productive with my time while hidden away and learn as much as I could about the place and its history. I have spent a lot of time here, after all. The books were also a good distraction. I was missing you all so much.' He pulled Little-Bit in for a quick hug. A few months ago, Dad had escaped from the Spire, a huge tower in the middle of the Illustrated City which, until very recently, had been serving as a prison for enemies of Chroma's evil mayor, Mr White. Although Dad had been imprisoned for many years, time moved at a much faster rate in Chroma. So, as far as his children were concerned, he had only been missing for a little over twelve months. That was more than long enough, however. A few days after he'd disappeared from home, a postcard had arrived at the Jones's house, supposedly from Dad. It said that he had left the family and gone to live in Mexico. But Peanut hadn't believed a word of it. Not for one second. She knew that her dad would never leave them, and she had been very vocal about the fact. However, Peanut's mother, Tracey Jones, had taken the postcard at face value and was furious with her husband for deserting them all.

Now that Peanut had been proved right, she couldn't wait to give her mother the good news: that Dad hadn't left them. Instead, he'd been kidnapped and imprisoned inside a tower at the centre of an illustrated city in another dimension by Mr White, who, incidentally, was the alter ego of Mr Stone, her boss at the accountancy firm. Peanut sighed. She realised how far- fetched it sounded. But it was true and Mum needed to know that truth as soon as possible especially as she was currently with Mr Stone in Milan and, Peanut believed, in serious trouble. ' Let's pick up the

pace,' Dad said gently but with determination in his voice. 'It's important we get to Italy as soon as possible to rescue your mum.' Knowing how dangerous Mr Stone was, Peanut was glad that Dad had come up with a plan so quickly. The group finally reached the door at the end of the corridor and Dad turned the large, metal wheel that was attached to it. It made a strange hissing sound as it rotated. Once he had unlocked it, Dad opened the heavy door and ushered everyone into a small, windowless room. He shut the door behind them with a loud clang, locked it via another large wheel, and told 67 to press the button on the wall. The whole room juddered, and then slowly began to move downwards. ' Ooh, a lift,' said Rockwell. 'Where is it taking us?' 'Ooh, you'll see, pal,' said Woodhouse the rat. 'You'll see.'