The Shobble Secret (The Shocking Trouble on the Planet of Shobble)

  Suddenly there was a frantic chirping sound.

  Quicksilver!

  He was flying down as low as he could alongside her, his wings splashing the water, his three eyes bright with concern. Nicola reached out and grabbed his feathery side.

  With a grunt of pain, she somehow managed to haul herself out of the water and back into the saddle. She fell forward against his neck, exhausted by the effort, her arm aching, as Quicksilver flew back into the air.

  There were shouts of encouragement from the Space Brigade standing on the shore near the bridge. Nicola lifted her chin wearily and saw that Quicksilver had rescued her from the very middle of the river.

  'Can you fly this far?' she wondered aloud.

  She saw that Quicksilver's wings were already flapping slowly.

  'No, no, don't fall asleep!' she said.

  Quicksilver's eyelids drooped.

  Nicola looked down and saw they were losing height. What could she do? She did not want to end up in that river again.

  She put her mouth close to Quicksilver's ear and made a sound like an alarm clock. 'Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr!'

  Quicksilver's head jerked and they rose back up into the air.

  Desperate to keep him awake, Nicola began to sing the words to an annoying cat food commercial. (She was not a great singer.) Quicksilver's ears twitched irritably. He gave her a rather reproachful look, took a deep breath and flew her straight to the shore, landing clumsily with a flurry of snow. His legs folded beneath him, his head fell to one side and seconds later he was snoring: a loud, rumbling, very human sort of snore.

  Weak with relief, Nicola slid off Quicksilver's saddle on to the snow and leaned back against his warm, feathery flank. She looked down at her arm and saw blood seeping through a tear in her jacket and jumper.

  Sean got to Nicola first.

  'That's a massive bite,' he said admiringly.

  'Press this against it.' Greta pulled a crisp white hanky from her pocket. 'Just make sure you wash it before I get it back. Actually you might have to buy me a new one.'

  'Is that an ambulance I hear?' asked Shimlara. 'That's good luck!'

  'It's not an ambulance,' said Tyler. 'It's a person!' He pointed towards a figure jogging purposefully out of the woods. She was wearing a pair of blue overalls with the words BITER WOUND BRIGADE embroidered on the front and a large satchel slung over her shoulder. A flashing blue light was attached to her forehead by a headband. As she got closer, everyone clapped their hands over their ears. The woman switched the siren off.

  'Hello there. Sorry about the noise. I'm so used to it I forget it's rather loud. I'm Barbie. What have we got here?'

  Barbie knelt down beside Nicola and lifted her arm. 'You poor thing.'

  Nicola stared up at her. There was something about Barbie. It had to do with the little 'v' shape between her eyes when she frowned.

  Something important.

  The pain from her arm whirled around her head.

  'Horseradish,' said Nicola.

  No, that wasn't the word she'd meant to say.

  'I beg your pardon?' said Barbie.

  Nicola felt as though someone was rolling her up in a big blanket of nothingness.

  Everything went black.

  23

  Nicola was deliciously warm. She was lying somewhere soft and comfortable. There was something toasty hot near her feet. A hot-water bottle? Was she back home in her own bed on Earth?

  Nicola's eyes fluttered open and the first thing she saw was an open window revealing a bright splash of overlapping rainbows. She was still on Shobble.

  She was wearing her pyjamas and lying in bed in a small room with wooden floorboards. The walls were blank except for one picture of an imposing mountain. Underneath the picture was the caption: Summer's morning, the Cloud-Capped Mountain, Shobble.

  That's where Topaz was. Would they ever reach her? It already felt like weeks since they'd left Enrico's mansion, when in fact it was only . . . this morning? Nicola looked out the window confusedly. Or was it a new day?

  The door to her room burst open and in came Shimlara carrying a tray laden with food.

  As Nicola pushed herself up to a sitting position Shimlara placed the tray on the bed in front of her and said, 'How are you feeling?'

  Nicola pushed back her pyjama sleeve and saw that there was a white gauze bandage wrapped neatly around her upper arm. Apart from a dull ache, it didn't hurt much at all.

  'Barbie had to give you ten stitches,' said Shimlara. 'Luckily you were already unconscious.'

  'Where are we?' Nicola picked up the spoon and began to eat something that looked like porridge and tasted of cinnamon and apple.

  'We're at the Why Not Drop Inn,' said Shimlara.

  'And we got here last night?' asked Nicola. It was such a strange feeling knowing that all these things had happened around her. It was like falling asleep halfway through a movie.

  There was a knock on the door.

  'Come in,' said Nicola.

  It was Barbie, in a freshly ironed pair of blue overalls with her siren strapped around her head. 'I thought I'd check in on my patient.'

  'I'm feeling good,' said Nicola. 'Thank you very much for everything that you did.'

  'Let's take a quick look at that bite.' Barbie sat down on the bed. As she unwound the bandage from Nicola's arm, she frowned.

  'Horatio!' cried Nicola excitedly. 'That's what I was trying to say on the river bank!'

  'Pardon?' said Barbie.

  'You just frowned exactly like a man we met in the Valley of High Hopes,' explained Nicola. 'His name was Horatio Banks. Could you be related to him?'

  'My surname is Banks,' said Barbie slowly. 'And my grandpa's name was Horatio. He's been missing for years.'

  'There was a fight,' said Nicola. 'About chocolate.'

  'That's right,' said Barbie. 'My mother says it was so stupid. My grandpa slammed the front door and never came back. They looked for him for years.'

  'He thinks nobody has forgiven him yet,' said Shimlara. 'He's just waiting in the valley for someone to go and find him.'

  'Oh! This is incredible. My grandmother will be so excited! I'll have to go right now and tell her,' said Barbie. She refastened Nicola's bandage and stood up. 'Thank you! The Banks family is greatly in your debt!'

  She ran from the room, almost colliding with Sean, Tyler and Greta who had been waiting outside the door.

  'You all right, Nic?' asked Sean. 'Your arm didn't drop off in the night?'

  That was probably about the most brotherly, affectionate thing Sean had ever said to her. It almost brought tears to Nicola's eyes.

  'I'm fine,' said Nicola. 'What's that you've got there?'

  Sean was holding a long rectangular parcel under his arm. 'We saw the parcel waiting at reception for you downstairs,' said Tyler.

  'It's from Enrico,' said Greta, pointing at the back of the parcel, where Nicola could see a big red wax crest and Enrico's name.

  Nicola felt her heart begin to thump.

  Sean laid the parcel on the bed and they all looked at it with foreboding.

  'I don't think it's going to be anything nice,' said Shimlara.

  'But I guess I'd better open it anyway,' said Nicola, and she began to tear at the paper.

  24

  Nicola didn't mean to scream when she recognised what was in the box. It was just that it gave her such a horrible feeling.

  At first she had thought it was an animal. An animal with soft, shiny brown hair. Maybe a dead animal.

  'What is it?' asked Sean confusedly.

  And then Nicola had recognised the distinctive golden brown colour. It was the colour of Katie's hair.

  Enrico had cut off Katie's beautiful long brown hair and sent it to Nicola!

  That's when she screamed.

  'But what is it?' cried Shimlara. 'I don't know what it is!'

  'It's Katie's hair,' said Greta quietly. She reached into the box and pulled out the long strands of hair. 'He cut off he
r hair so she's not a hairity any longer. He's made her ordinary.'

  'But he hasn't hurt her, right?' said Tyler. Panic made his voice skid in all directions. 'It's just her hair. That doesn't matter, does it?'

  'Didn't she say she was going to cut off her hair when she got back to Earth?' said Shimlara.

  'Yes,' said Nicola, trying to calm herself down. 'She did say that. So hopefully she won't be too upset.'

  'There's a letter for you,' said Sean, reaching into the box and pulling out a silver envelope.

  Breathing quickly, Nicola took the letter and opened it. She read out loud:

  Dear Nicola,

  It gives me great pleasure to enclose your friend's hair as a little something to remind you of your stupidity and selfishness. She has paid the ultimate sacrifice for your mistakes. I am sure that even temporarily giving up her revered hairity status will be the tragedy of her life - it will take her ages to grow it back! She has indicated to me that she will never, ever forgive you for it. I do not blame her.

  'Yeah right,' interrupted Sean sarcastically. 'Because Katie is such an unforgiving person.'

  Nicola continued reading:

  In case you are even more stupid than I have realised, let me be quite clear on the nature of your mistakes.

  Your first was to spread scandalous lies about me in the newspaper. I will not tolerate any form of bad publicity. The people of Shobble love their Commander-in-Chief. They are simple, not especially bright people and they do not need to read this sort of drivel about their great leader. It only confuses and upsets them.

  'Drivel!' exploded Shimlara. 'But it's all true!'

  Your second mistake was revealing to one of my undercover Thugs that you have no intention of fulfilling your mission. Your exact words, I believe, were, 'Don't worry, we would never hurt Topaz.'

  'Who was the undercover Thug?' asked Sean. 'Was it Horatio? I knew we shouldn't have shared so much food with that guy! He didn't look that hungry.'

  'It wasn't Horatio. That's what you said to the man who sold us the Shock-Sticks,' said Greta.

  'But he had the little "t" on his forehead,' protested Nicola. 'I thought he was a Topaz supporter.'

  'Enrico must know about the secret "t" sign,' said Shimlara.

  Nicola felt sick. It wasn't like making a mistake on a maths test. It was a mistake that could cost her friend's life.

  She continued reading:

  Let me be clear, Nicola. I require the Space Brigade to eliminate Topaz Silverbell. If I do not receive evidence that this task has been completed within the next forty-eight hours, I shall cut off your friend's food supply, followed by her water supply, followed by her air supply. I am extremely softhearted and it will pain me to do this, but I am prepared to make these sorts of sacrifices for my planet.

  I look forward to seeing this matter reach a satisfactory conclusion ASAP. I'm sure you don't want word getting out around the galaxy that the Space Brigade is incapable of completing the simplest mission.

  My wife and children send their fondest regards.

  Yours,

  Enrico,

  COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF,

  PLANET OF SHOBBLE

  Nicola threw back the covers and climbed out of bed. Her legs felt wobbly and strange.

  'We have to get out of here right now,' she said. 'We have to get to Topaz fast and get her help.' Nicola imagined Katie starving, thirsty and gasping for air.

  'Barbie said you should be resting,' said Shimlara. 'Maybe you should stay here while the rest of us go on and find Topaz.'

  Nicola just looked at her until Shimlara held up her palms and said, 'Just a suggestion. It's up to you.'

  'Where are the ShobGobbles?' snapped Nicola.

  'They're in the stables,' answered Tyler.

  'Right,' said Nicola. 'We'll meet at the stables in five minutes.'

  'Um, what should we do with Katie's hair?' asked Greta nervously, holding up the hair in one hand so it looked like someone's fancy-dress wig.

  For a moment Nicola felt like she might burst into tears.

  'Why don't I braid it?' asked Greta. 'That way it will be easier to carry without getting tangled and then Katie can keep it if she wants to keep it.'

  Nicola nodded, unable to speak.

  With deft fingers Greta turned the hair into a single, neat, chunky plait and presented it to Nicola. Nicola's eyes blurred. That was the way Katie wore it for gym.

  Nicola took a shaky breath and carefully packed the plait into her backpack along with Enrico's venomous letter.

  She looked up at the others and saw they were all watching her, their faces tense with worry. If she fell apart, the whole Space Brigade might fall apart, and that wouldn't help Katie at all.

  'I bet Katie looks great with short hair!' she said. 'Anyway, what are you all just standing there for? I'll see you at the stables.'

  They all smiled with relief. Shimlara's voice came silently into her head: You're the best, Nic.

  Thanks, Shimlara, replied Nicola without speaking. Now please get out of my head!

  Everyone left and Nicola quickly began to dress. Her arm ached and she looked longingly back at the bed before lifting her backpack and leaving the room.

  Downstairs a plump, smiling woman sat at reception. She put down a magazine she'd been reading called the Shobble Woman's Daily, the pages of which appeared to be filled with pictures of beautiful women, all caressing their long, brown hair. 'How are you? You look much better than when they brought you in last night.'

  'I am much better, thank you,' said Nicola.

  'Well, I guess our great Commander-in-Chief must have had a very good reason for taking down all the protective glass on the Safe Hands Bridge,' sighed the woman. 'But it's terrible to see people like you with such awful wounds from the Biters.'

  Mmmmm. Nicola was pretty sure that Enrico didn't have a good reason at all.

  'It's a pity you have to rush off so soon,' said the woman. 'We were excited to have guests from other planets staying with us. Where are you off to now?'

  The woman's face was so friendly, it was impossible to imagine her being a spy for Enrico, but this time Nicola wasn't taking any chances.

  'We're on an important mission for the Commander-in-Chief,' she said. 'And we - um - we're definitely going to do it! Absolutely! We sure are!'

  'Oh, well that's good, dear,' said the woman absent-mindedly, before returning to her magazine.

  Just then, the front door of the inn swung open and Tyler appeared from outside.

  'We've got a problem.'

  25

  The ShobGobbles were lying on their sides snoring gently.

  'They won't wake up,' said Shimlara despairingly. She was standing over her own ShobGobble with her hands on her hips. 'No matter what we try.'

  Nicola knelt beside Quicksilver and yelled in his ear, 'WAKE UP!'

  Quicksilver didn't even twitch.

  'They're going to be asleep for at least a week,' said Greta.

  'What?' Nicola turned to look at her. 'How do you know that?'

  Greta handed her a single sheet of paper. 'It was pinned to the stable wall.'

  ATTENTION: SPACE BRIGADE

  WE KNOW THE MISSION THAT ENRICO HAS SET FOR YOU. WE WILL DEFEND TOPAZ SILVERBELL WITH OUR LIVES! WE KINDLY SUGGEST YOU IGNORE HIS DASTARDLY REQUEST AND RETURN TO YOUR OWN PLANET. ALTERNATIVELY, FEEL FREE TO ENJOY A RELAXING CHOCOLATE-TASTING HOLIDAY - WE WELCOME TOURISTS. HOWEVER, IF YOU COME ANYWHERE NEAR TOPAZ SILVERBELL THE CONSEQUENCES WILL BE SERIOUS.

  YOURS,

  THE TOPAZ SUPPORTERS COMMITTEE

  PS YOUR SHOBGOBBLES HAVE NOT BEEN HARMED IN ANY WAY. THEY WILL SIMPLY ENJOY A REFRESHING COMA FOR THE NEXT SEVEN DAYS. WE DO APOLOGISE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE BUT WE MUST DEFEND OUR LEADER. IN SPITE OF THE LIES ENRICO MIGHT HAVE TOLD YOU, TOPAZ IS TRYING TO DO THE BEST THING FOR THE PEOPLE OF SHOBBLE.

  'Well, this is just great,' said Sean. 'Don't these stupid Topaz supporters know we're on their side? What are we meant to do? The ba
d guys hate us and the good guys hate us too!'

  He turned away from them, his face red, his fists clenched. Suddenly, to Nicola's shock, he punched the stable wall. Nicola had never seen him so angry.

  'Ow!' said Sean miserably, cradling his grazed knuckle in the other hand.

  For some reason, Sean's anger made Nicola feel calm and mature. Punching walls wasn't going to help the situation.

  'We're just going to have to find Topaz and explain what's happened,' said Nicola.

  'But how?' said Tyler. 'It will take us forever to get to the Cloud-Capped Mountain on foot.'

  'I don't know,' admitted Nicola.

  They sat on the stable floor next to their snoring ShobGobbles. Sean sucked his knuckle and looked embarrassed.

  Shimlara, meanwhile, had wandered over to a noticeboard plastered with brochures that were obviously meant to appeal to visitors to the inn. They were advertising things like 'Biter-sighting' trips on the Raging River and tours of a marshmallow mine.

  'Hey!' said Shimlara. She snatched a leaflet off the board and held it out for them.

  It said, HOT-AIR BALLOON TRIPS TO THE CLOUD-CAPPED MOUNTAIN.

  'Perfect!' said Nicola excitedly.

  'No, it's not,' said Greta. 'Look what it says at the bottom.'

  'Picnic lunch provided,' read out Sean. 'What's the problem with that?'

  'Further down.'

  'Oh,' said everybody at the same time.

  At the bottom of the brochure it said: BOOKINGS ACCEPTED FROM HAIRITIES ONLY.

  'We'd be fine if we had Katie,' said Shimlara.

  'Katie isn't a hairity anymore,' said Greta. 'No more special treatment for her.' She sounded far too pleased about it. Nicola wanted to slap her.

  Shimlara dropped the brochure and joined the others on the ground.

  Nobody said anything for a while.

  Finally Tyler lifted his head. 'I might have an idea,' he said slowly. 'I don't know if it's stupid or not. It involves Shimlara.'

  'Go on,' said Nicola.

  Tyler's eyes were fixed on Shimlara. 'Well, if Shimlara's hair was straight, wouldn't that make her a hairity?'

  Everyone looked at Shimlara's long, dark brown, curly hair.

  'So what?' said Sean. 'If my hair was long, I'd be a hairity too.'

  'Well, what if we made Shimlara's hair straight?'

  'How would we do that?'

  Tyler didn't answer. He took off his glasses and polished them with the edge of his jumper. He put them back on and raised his eyebrows at them.