The Island of Destiny (24 page)

Only metres into the tunnel, Whisker heard a distant grinding sound and a familiar
THUD­­ …
D …
D …

His eyes grew wide. His heart beat increased.

Ruby's in the treasure chamber,
he thought.
She's found a way through.

Overjoyed, he hurried from the tunnel and raced back the way he had come, following the red arrows on the walls. Right, left, centre, down … He moved silently and swiftly.

He passed the final fork in the passage to see warm light streaming from the chamber ahead and increased his pace.
They're waiting for me.

He burst through the stone archway, puffing hard, and continued running until he reached a small candle perched on top of the chest. He stopped and looked around. No one was there.

‘Ruby?' he whispered, suddenly growing anxious. ‘Mr Tribble? Emmie?'

He heard a soft footfall behind him and spun around. Out of the shadows of the archway stepped the foreboding silhouette of Captain Sabre.

‘Sorry to disappoint you,' he purred maliciously, ‘but your friends are rather tied up at present.'

Whisker felt a surge of panic run through his tail.

‘R-Ruby doesn't get tied up,' he stammered in disbelief.

‘Come now,' Sabre said, stepping into the candlelight. ‘Let's not blame the poor girl. It's hardly her fault a large net landed on her head. If we're going to blame anyone it might as well be you, young apprentice.' He chuckled to himself. ‘You left quite a trail for Prowler to follow, not to mention all the secrets you kindly revealed. The wind carries every whisper on this island.' He waved his paw theatrically through the air.

A deep frown ran across Whisker's forehead.

‘Why the sour face?' Sabre asked mockingly. ‘Your worthless rodent buddies are just behind the door. You can join them if you like – just hand me the key.'

‘Y-you're lying,' Whisker said, fighting for confidence. ‘Y-you're stuck in here just like me.'

Sabre glared at him, his patience dwindling. ‘Unlike your snivelling friends, Cat Fish stick together. My crew are just outside, awaiting my next order. Two taps on the door and your little girlfriend gets it. Three taps on the door and
open sesame,
the door swings open and everyone goes free.'

Whisker knew Sabre couldn't be trusted. His instinct told him that as soon as the Cat Fish captain had the key, he'd give the execution order.

But what other choice do I have?
Whisker asked himself.
A frantic dash for the door? Sabre will surely cut me down before I can even knock … I need more options – I need a plan.

‘My key,' Sabre hissed. ‘Hand it over now, or there'll be consequences.'

Whisker didn't respond. He took a deep breath, calming his anxious mind and willed his memories to find him an answer – like they always did. But as hard as he tried, nothing came to him. No clever sword move. No flying pie manoeuvre. No circus stunt.

Sabre stepped forward, his paw outstretched. ‘Make the right choice, apprentice.'

Whisker felt his own paw drawn to the key like it was a magnet. He resisted the compelling urge to give in and pulled his paw away.

This isn't how it ends
, he told himself.
You have to find a way. Clear your head. Think.

Sabre extended his claws, greedily awaiting his prize. Whisker remained motionless, his eyes glazing over as if hypnotised by the soft gurgle of the mountain stream.

‘There's no rescue party for you this time,' Sabre sneered over the sound of the water. ‘I hardly think your pathetic pie ship can sail up an underground river, do you?'

Whisker knew Sabre was right – the
Apple Pie
wasn't coming to save him, but that didn't mean he was alone. Among the gentle sounds of running water, Whisker heard a faint growl. It filled him with terror – and with hope. The monster of the mountain was now Whisker's greatest ally.

Sabre continued staring at him, oblivious to the sounds of the bear. Whisker took a quick step towards the precipice, aware that the Cat Fish captain would hear the growls soon enough.

‘Give me the key!' Sabre snarled, taking an air swing at Whisker.

Whisker jumped back, landing awkwardly on one foot, his left heel balanced precariously on the very edge of the precipice.

Steadying himself, he pulled the key from his bag and slowly raised his arm over the dark expanse. He'd practiced his routine on the cliff top. It was time for him to perfect it in the cavern.

‘Haven't we already been through this?' Sabre hissed.

With a wicked gleam in his eye, Whisker extended his arm further over the edge.

‘New round, new rules!' he shouted, his voice bouncing off the walls of the cave. ‘Now stay back.'

Sabre held his ground. ‘You won't drop it,' he smirked, confidently. ‘You care too much for your friends.'

‘And you care too much for the treasure,' Whisker shot back.

Sabre lurched forward, impulsively grabbing for Whisker's arm. Whisker flinched, pretending to drop the key.

Sabre froze. A look of panic ran across his face.

‘BACK!' Whisker cried. ‘I'm warning you.'

Sabre snarled in rage. ‘Drop it and I'll tap twice. Do you hear?'

Whisker heard the low grunts of the bear approaching and knew his rescue was close at hand.

‘I'M NO FOOL!' he yelled at the top of his lungs, drowning the sounds of the bear. ‘Haven't you heard of the Pie Rat code?
Your brother is a rat, but don't trust a cat
. I follow the rules, Sabre, and the rules say you can't be trusted. You won't release Ruby, you won't release the mice, so there's no way you're getting this key.'

Before Sabre could respond, Whisker swung his arm over his shoulder and hurled the key across the cavern. Sabre watched in horror as the key sped through the air, bounced over the stone floor and skidded to a halt in the centre of the archway. It took Sabre a moment to realise the key hadn't gone over the precipice.

Whisker flashed Sabre an exaggerated look of disappointment – just to be sure. Sabre gave Whisker a vicious smile and leapt after the key.

‘Lucky me,' he purred.

Without a word, Whisker turned and fled in the opposite direction.

He was only halfway to the door when he heard a deafening roar behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see Sabre scooping up the key as the mighty bear burst through the archway.

The bear battered Sabre aside like a rag doll, sending the key flying out of his paws. The key ricocheted off the archway and disappeared over the edge of the precipice. Sabre hissed in anger. The bear roared in fury and charged after Whisker.

Fuelled by fear, Whisker ran like the wind. Driven by rage, the bear ran like the wind on windy, windy island and reached Whisker in seconds.

With the door right in front of him, Whisker skidded to a halt and threw himself to the ground. Unable to stop, the bear bounded over him, and collided with the stone door with a hard
THUD!

Reeling in anger, it staggered back and slammed the door with its paw.

THUD!

‘Two taps,' Whisker gasped.

He leapt to his feet and pushed his way through the matted jungle of brown fur above him. The bear looked down in rage and took a wild swipe at the tiny creature.

Whisker felt the powerful palm of the bear strike his torso, knocking the wind out of his lungs. His body flew backwards and crashed into the centre of the door.

THUD!

Whisker slid down the stone and dropped to the ground in a crumpled heap. He peered up through bleary eyes to see the bear standing over him and hoped Sabre had been telling the truth about one thing –
three knocks and the door opens.

The bear opened its jaws and let out a savage
ROAR!
At the same moment, the door began to move. Bright light streamed through the widening gap, dazzling the startled bear.

Whisker rolled free from the path of the door as four bound bodies tumbled through. He felt a wave of relief pass through him – Ruby and the mice were alive.

The twins, tied back-to-back, struggled to stay upright and crashed to the ground. Mr Tribble, arms tightly bound behind him, tripped over the mice and nose-planted into the belly of the bear. His glasses spun off his nose and landed against the wall.

The bear lumbered forward, regaining its senses, and flung Mr Tribble backwards into Ruby. Ruby, in the process of wriggling one arm free, managed to stay on her feet and staggered out of the bear's path.

The great brute stared through the open doorway at the terrified faces of Prowler and Furious Fur, unsure of who or what to attack next.

The door began to close and the bear stepped forward.

Prowler grabbed Eaton's lantern from a rock and shone it directly into the bear's face. It covered its eyes with its paws and blindly stumbled backwards.

Seizing his opportunity, Whisker darted across the cavern to help the twins. Before he could reach them, an orange and black body barged him out of the way. Whisker raised his arms in defence, but a wayward kick sent him tumbling to the ground. Helplessly, he watched as Captain Sabre hurdled over the mice and leapt through the door.

The light disappeared and with a
THUD­­ …
D …
D …
the door slammed shut, leaving Whisker and his companions trapped with the bear.

The manic beast reached down and scooped up the terrified twins in its arms. The mice squealed in terror. Without a weapon, Whisker did the only thing he could think of and leapt onto the foot of the bear, sinking his front teeth into its toes.

The bear howled in pain, dropping the mice onto the rocky floor of the cavern. With a sharp flick of its foot, it dislodged Whisker from its toes and took a follow-up swing at him with its right paw.

Whisker ducked out of the way, but the bear's claw caught a strand of rope dangling from Ruby's arm. She was flung off her feet and soared towards the precipice.

With one arm free, she managed to grab a rock as she bounced over the edge. Her body swung like a pendulum. Whisker saw her fingers slipping.

Ignoring the bear, he took a running step forward and flung himself towards the edge. His right paw caught Ruby's arm as her fingers released their grip. She was secure, but Whisker's body kept moving.

With a sudden feeling of déjà vu, he whipped his tail behind him, coiling it around a rock. As his tail took the strain, he threw his left paw over his shoulder and gripped the edge of the cliff.

Everything stopped moving. Whisker hung twisted at the top of the precipice, with Ruby clinging to his arm.

‘Hold on,' he gasped. ‘Just hold on.'

He wished desperately it was that simple.

He looked down at Ruby, struggling to maintain her grip on his paw, and felt the bear's breath on the back of his neck.

Ruby stared back at him with a terrified expression on her face and whispered, ‘Let go. Save yourself.'

In that instant, a dozen emotions raced through Whisker's mind: fear, despair, love … regret – He knew he had no choice. There was only one decision he could live – or die – with.

Tightening his grip on Ruby's arm, he waited for the end.

Angels

A bright light appeared from the roof above Whisker, illuminating everything in its path. It wasn't lantern light – it was heavenly light, pure and clear. Whisker stared in wonder as the girl on the end of his arm transformed into a scarlet angel, her face a radiant vision of warmth and beauty.

Am I dead?
he thought.
Is this rat heaven?

His ears suddenly filled with the sound of falling rocks and the startled squeaks of the mice. The next moment, a huge hairy shadow passed over his head, disappearing into the darkness. A splash echoed from far below, followed by the defeated cries of the bear.

The sounds slowly faded. The stream gurgled softly, washing all of Whisker's fears away. Wearily, he pulled himself onto the cliff top, hauling Ruby with him. It was exhausting work. His arms ached. His scarlet angel had no wings.

He crouched on the edge of the precipice, his muscles burning, his lungs gasping for air. He wasn't in heaven, but the dazzling light around him told him heaven was close enough to touch.

As Whisker's eyes adjusted to the heavenly aura, Ruby freed her second arm from the rope and gave him a look that was anything but angelic.

‘You're as foolish as you are reckless, Whisker,' she snapped, unable to hide her trembling voice. ‘You had one chance of survival. Why didn't you take it?'

Whisker interpreted Ruby's gruff address as her way of saying
thanks for saving me.

‘I guess there's more to life than survival,' he said sheepishly. ‘It's something the Hermit taught me.' He paused and added, ‘And some rats are really hard to let go.'