Billy and the Epic Escape, page 2
They spent the rest of the evening talking about their summer plans.
"I can’t wait to get back to Balthazar to see Basil and the other Sprites," Billy said. "There’s so much exploring still to do!"
"Yep, this summer is going to be epic," Jimmy agreed. "And this birthday has been my best ever, too."
Eventually their chatter quietened down as the four friends fell asleep, dreaming of all the adventures that Waterfall Woods might hold for them over the next few weeks.
Early the next morning, Billy was woken up by a burning feeling on his chest.
"Ow!" he yelped.
"What is it?" Anna said, rubbing her eyes and throwing pillows at Jimmy and Andy to wake them up.
"It’s my flint necklace! It’s glowing and burning – just like it did before when the Boonas were about to attack," Billy said. He looked down at the special necklace he’d been given by Chief Mirren as a way of keeping in touch with the Sprites. It was only supposed to be used in an emergency. What was going on?
Letters started to appear on the necklace:
COME QUICK! WE NEED YOUR HELP! UNDER ATTACK.
Billy looked at his friends in shock and confusion.
"Maybe there’s a problem with the Rhythm again," Anna said worriedly.
"`Under attack' sounds more dramatic," Jimmy said. "It sounds like the Sprites are in real trouble."
"Well, our friends need help, whatever it is, so we’d better go and find out what’s going on," said Billy.
Chapter 2
Where’s Wilfred?
Quick as a flash, the kids got dressed and ran out of the house. Jimmy’s parents weren’t up yet, so he left a note for them to say that they’d decided to head to holiday club early.
"I’d better go and get my backpack," Billy said, thinking of the bag full of essential gadgets for sticky situations that he stashed back in his treehouse. "It might come in handy! I’ll be quick, and I’ll meet you at the woods."
"Roger that, Beefburger One," Jimmy said, using Billy’s walkie-talkie nickname.
"That gives me an idea!" Anna said. "Jimmy, grab your walkie-talkie from inside, and Billy, you get yours when you head home. That way we can keep in touch until we’re back together again."
"Good thinking!" Billy said with a grin. "I’ll be back as soon as I can!" He spun his bike in the dirt and headed off at top speed back through the village towards home, the Green Giant pub.
Billy made the journey in record time. The thought of Basil and the Sprites being in danger had his feet moving like lightning! It was still early, but his dad was already up, getting the pub ready for opening.
"Hey, Dad! Sorry, can’t stop – on my way to that holiday club," Billy said.
"Good on ya, son," his dad replied. "You know what I always say: If you’re early, you’re on time; if you’re on time, you’re late; and if you’re late, that’s unacceptable – you’re toast!"
"I know, Dad," said Billy, who’d heard it a million times before. "Love you!" And he ran to the treehouse.
He quickly clambered up the ladder. There, hanging on a mannequin, was the backpack. It was full to the brim with all kinds of tools and inventions that might help out at any given moment – Billy had been adding to it for the last few weeks, so it was full to bursting now. He snatched the bag and picked up his walkie-talkie from the floor.
"This is Beefburger One. Over!" Billy said. "I have the bag and I’m on my way. Over."
Tsccchhhhh!
"Beefburger One, this is Thunderbug!" Jimmy’s voice echoed in the treehouse. "We have a problem. Repeat, we have a problem. Police and police dogs everywhere! Over."
Tsccchhhhh!
"This is Sassy Cat." Anna’s voice came through the walkie-talkie. "They’re talking about Wilfred being reported missing! The police aren’t letting anyone near the woods. Over."
Billy’s heart sank. This was a disaster.
Tsccchhhhh!
"Pie here!" Andy’s voice piped up. "I’ve got a plan, leave it to me. I just need you to grab me a few things from the pub kitchen, Billy!" There was a short silence and then: "Oops, I mean Beefburger One, and uh … Over!"
"Sure thing, Pie," Billy replied. "Anything you need. Over."
Ten minutes later, Billy was back with his friends just a few metres away from the elm tree that catapulted them over the wall surrounding the woods. There were several police officers and dogs standing by the tree, blocking their only way in.
On his way from the pub, Billy had ridden past Wilfred’s house and seen police cars parked in the drive. There was lots of activity as people in uniform buzzed around looking important. Wilfred Revel had always been a loner, so they’d assumed no one would notice the fact he’d been away for a few weeks, but it seemed someone had, and now the police were clearly trying to work out where the old man was.
Billy thought about the mess they’d left in the house the night they’d taken Wilfred to the woods to meet his brother. Andy had smashed his piggy bank and they’d left behind some of the pie Wilfred had cooked, so that would still be there getting mouldy. Billy was pretty sure they hadn’t even closed the back door. It wasn’t surprising that it looked suspicious!
"Here’s what you asked for, Andy," Billy said, handing his friend a bag of goodies from the pub.
Andy peered inside. "Sausages, bacon, bread, cheese, crisps, mustard, pickles, tinfoil … Perfect!"
"So what’s the plan?" Jimmy asked, intrigued. "You wouldn’t tell us anything until Billy got here."
"Just leave it to me," said Andy. "I know what I’m doing. I’ll give you as long as I can, so you can get into the woods – I’ll meet you there later. Jimmy, give me your walkie-talkie, then I can radio if I need to."
With that, Andy got to work with speed and precision, taking the bacon and sausages and piling them into the rolls, along with the pickles and cheese, all finished with a flourish of mustard. He paid particular attention to one roll, which he added extra toppings to. Then he made one filled with cheese and crushed crisps. Finally, he wrapped them up in tinfoil, stuffing the two 'special' ones in the waistband of his trousers.
"What are those for?" asked Billy.
"Don’t worry about those," Andy said, with a glint in his eye. "You three sneak down as far as you can towards the entrance to the woods and leave me to deal with the dogs. I’ve got a little trick my uncle taught me to keep them off your scent – now, go!"
Billy, Anna and Jimmy made for the edge of Waterfall Woods, watching on in wonder as Andy, Master of Mayhem, conducted the most wonderfully chaotic scene.
With absolute confidence, Andy tied several of the sausage sarnies on to the back of his bike with string, almost like you would with tin cans on a wedding car. He then cycled as fast as he could past the police standing at the edge of the woods, catching everyone’s attention with the weirdness of the scene. The dogs started barking and pulling on their leads to follow him, with the police officers struggling to control them.
Andy swerved round and raced past them again, this time pulling out a roll from his waistband and, riding no-handed, tearing it into bite-size chunks. As he cycled away, he threw little bits of the loaded sausage roll behind him. As professional and well trained as the police dogs were, no one, it seemed, could ever come between a dog and a sausage. Andy kept going, following an erratic path through the village, while the dogs followed the irresistible scent of sausage, and mayhem ensued!
With the police now distracted, and Little Alverton in chaos, Andy activated the second part of his plan. He knew that nothing travelled faster through a village than hot gossip, so, as he raced up towards Wilfred’s house, he stopped and breathlessly told a group of locals that he’d seen Wilfred at the bowls club. And he was right – the news travelled faster than he could cycle – and, by the time he reached the entrance to the alleyway that led to the bowls club, a swarm of police and people were already there.
"HE’S OVER THERE!" he shouted. Everyone started piling through the alleyway, leaving the coast clear for his friends to use the elm tree to spring themselves over the wall and into the woods.
Tsccchhhhh!
"You’re good to go, guys, from Pie," Andy announced proudly on his walkie-talkie.
Tsccchhhhh!
Anna whooped and said, "That was amazing. Over!"
Tsccchhhhh!
"How did you do that? Over!" said Billy in complete awe.
Tsccchhhhh!
"Andy, you’ve gone from liability to legend! There’s only one Andy. Over," said Jimmy.
Tsccchhhhh!
"Ahhh, I’ll take that, thank me later, guys," said Andy.
With no time to wait for Andy to say "Over!", Billy, Anna and Jimmy flew over the wall and raced into the dappled wood, the summer sun breaking through the leaves. Soon they were in front of a familiar old friend, the gnarly oak tree – the gate to the magical world of Waterfall Woods. Billy was always struck with wonder whenever he saw the tree; he couldn’t believe they had accidentally discovered a portal to another world just by randomly hugging it!
He took a running jump and leapt at the tree, wrapping his legs and arms round it in a giant hug. Billy felt the familiar vibration ripple through his body, only for it to disappear a moment later. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever get used to the feeling, no matter how many times they opened the gate.
The others followed, and, just like that, they moved from their world of chaos to the tranquillity and vibrancy of the magical one. Immediately the air felt cleaner and fresher, things were greener and more alive. And, as they hugged the tree to close the gate behind them, there was a beautiful, unique hum of birds, bugs and wildlife in the air. They all took a moment to take in the scene.
"The Rhythm feels fine – you can hear the animals are OK," said Jimmy. The kids nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, everything seems fine here," Billy said, looking around. "Ow!" He looked down at his necklace as the familiar burning pain hit him, and another message appeared:
PLEASE COME QUICKLY! WE’RE AT BALTHAZAR. HIDING FROM THE RED WOMAN.
"The red woman?" Anna said. "Who’s that?"
"There’s only one way to find out. Let’s get going," Billy said.
"Let’s find the buzzpacks and get there as quickly as we can," Jimmy agreed.
They all looked at each other with determined faces and Billy knew nothing was going to stop them from saving their friends. Before they’d all witnessed the power of the magic woods, Billy and the gang would probably have been filled with self-doubt about what lay in store and whether they could handle it.
But now they all knew the importance of the woods and that the balance of the Rhythm was bigger than they were. These woods had taught them so many things already, including the need to protect the ones you love, no matter what. So here they were, bravely running towards danger without excuses or second thoughts. Either that, or they were naively running into a whole load of trouble …
Chapter 3
The Battle for Balthazar
The amazing thing about going through the oak-tree gate into the magical world was how MASSIVE the woods suddenly became. Billy still couldn’t quite believe how different the woods were once they’d left their village behind. Luckily, the buzzpacks they’d found in the cabin near Bilfred’s garden meant they could soar across the woods at speed! They’d even stashed a few extras near this secret entrance just in case any of them stopped working. As Billy always said, you could never be too prepared!
Billy loved using the buzzpacks, but every time they did, deep inside he also worried that their true owner would soon notice they’d gone and wouldn’t be happy about it – he certainly wouldn’t be happy if anyone borrowed his gadgets without asking. What if it was even the reason Balthazar was being attacked? Could it be his fault that his friends were in trouble? It wouldn’t be the first time …
He tried to push down his doubt and worry as he swivelled his backpack around to the front, so he could pull on the buzzpack. There was no time for that now. He had to stay focused! If this was his fault, then it was even more important that he helped to fix it.
The kids rose into the air together and shot as fast as they could towards their Sprite friends. They skimmed the tips of the trees, followed rivers through the valleys and up, up the mountain, before diving down into the incredible, breathtaking area that surrounded Balthazar.
As soon as the Sprite city came into view, with Balthazar Castle standing proudly on the side of the volcano, it was clear that things were not OK. Usually, Balthazar was serene and peaceful, but in front of them was a new kind of chaos. Billy signalled for Anna and Jimmy to follow him and they hovered behind a rock face, staying out of sight so they could scope out what was happening.
They looked on as dozens of silhouettes in buzzpacks just like theirs flew around the castle, firing what seemed to be some kind of weapon. The figures were not much bigger than the kids, and even though they looked human in shape and size, their movements were too jerky and fast to be human – in fact, they looked totally out of place within the natural world around them.
"What are those things?" Jimmy whispered, hovering closer to Billy.
"I don’t know, but I really don’t like the look of them," Billy replied. "I think they might be … robots?"
"And those weapons they have are pretty weird, too," Anna whispered. "Look, it’s like a sound wave or something coming out of them."
Anna was right. As the figures blasted their weapons, they didn’t fire bullets or bombs, but instead ominous blurry ripples that seemed to wipe out anything living or growing in their path, leaving bare earth behind.
Billy thought back to when they’d first discovered Balthazar with Basil all those weeks ago. After years of being abandoned, Balthazar had been run-down and unloved but, in no time at all, the Sprites had transformed it back to its former glory, thanks to their incredible ability to work as a team. Now, it was being destroyed swiftly by whatever these flying creatures were. Every ripply wave had the power to strip a tree of its leaves and send wildlife hurtling for cover.
"What are they doing?" Anna said, fury in her voice. "They are destroying Balthazar!"
"I suppose we know who owns these buzzpacks now," Jimmy said, wide-eyed. "And they’re definitely not friendly."
"Where are Bilfred, Wilfred and the Sprites?" Billy said with worry in his voice.
They all looked at each other with fear. No wonder their friends had needed their help so desperately!
Billy pulled out his necklace. "Where are you, Basil?" he said, clutching the flint.
A moment later a reply etched into the stone:
HIDING UNDERGROUND, IN THE MOUNTAIN, THROUGH THE GREEN WATERFALL! QUICK!
Billy immediately felt a rush of relief.
"Green waterfall?" Anna said, peering at the message. "I don’t remember seeing one of those."
They all scanned the valley, Billy pulling the hood of his modified backpack over his head to use the binoculars.
"Look! Each waterfall does have a slightly different colour!" he said to the others. "They go along in the order of the rainbow." He pointed to a waterfall just behind the ransacked city. "There’s the green one!"
"Good spot, Billy," said Anna. "Right, now we just need to get there without being seen. How are we going to do that?"
"Let’s fly as close as we can under the cover of the woods, then hide our buzzpacks and go on foot. We don’t want these things, whatever they are, spotting us," Billy said.
They started whirling and winding, ducking and diving their way through the trees, making sure they didn’t get thwacked by branches or taken out by rocks. In normal circumstances this would’ve been a lot of fun, but there was no time to waste. As they got deeper into the valley, the undergrowth became thicker and denser, greener and more lush, making it too tight to fly any more. So they glided down to the ground.
"How on earth are we going to get through that?" Anna asked, unable to see a way beyond the greenery.
Billy pulled two drawstrings on his backpack, and revealed a compartment with an array of screwdrivers, pliers, scissors, nail clippers and mini hammers, all in numbered order, with the last being a set of razor-sharp shears. "Who would like to do some pruning?" he said with a smile.
"Nice one, Billy!" Anna said, grabbing the shears and immediately trying to open them – but they seemed to be stuck.
Billy reached out and took them, saying, "Here, let me. There’s a bit of a knack to it –"
Anna snatched them back. "I can do it!" She released a catch, freeing the blades, and started hacking her way through the undergrowth like a hot knife through butter.
Billy looked at Jimmy in confusion. He had started to notice that, recently, every time he offered any kind of help to Anna, she seemed to reject it. He didn’t understand why. Anna was always the first one to help him out, but when he tried to do the same, she just got cross. Billy was baffled – who didn’t like help? It was the best thing in the world.
Jimmy shrugged and Billy switched his thoughts back to the job at hand, noticing Anna had hacked a clear path all the way through to the edge of the forest. The boys followed her along it.
Without looking at Billy, Anna passed him the shears to slip into his backpack. Billy tried to ignore the obvious cold shoulder, but he couldn’t help feeling annoyed that she was getting cross about something so silly.
Suddenly, a buzzing sound filled the air, and all thoughts of their argument were instantly forgotten. The friends hid in the tree roots as a troop of four large flying figures landed just metres in front of them.
