"Hurry back, Papa. Please," murmured Seapaws, the striped Wocky, as she gazed
out of the window. Her breath had made a misty patch on the pane, and she wiped
it away with a stubby paw.
It was almost two weeks since her adopted father Wimborne had left for the
Lost City of Sakhmet. The Wocky had her uncles and her pet swirly to entertain
her, as well as lots of books and toys, but she missed the kind, smart skunk
Lupe who had rescued her when she was just born and brought her up as his own
daughter.
"I'm not too little to help out at Sakhmet! I beat the Pant Devil, didn't I?"
Seapaws said crossly, out loud. "Papa's just overprotective." (She liked using
long words.) "And he could be getting gin all kinds of trouble without me to
look after him!" Suddenly making her mind up, she hopped down from the windowsill
and found a notebook and pencil.
Dear Uncle Gashermerasher and Uncle Olyeller_2000,
I have gone to the Lost City to help Papa. Please don't worry.
Love,
Seapaws.
|
This letter written, the Wocky slipped quietly out of her bedroom
window and streaked off towards the Haunted Woods as fast as her short legs
could carry her.
Seapaws was feeling much less brave three hours later as she padded through
the thick undergrowth of the Haunted Woods. It was dark all the time here, so
that she constantly bumped into tree trunks and got tangled in thorny bramble
bushes. Overhead wild Whoots gave their spooky cry, while on the ground strange
rustlings could be heard and occasionally Seapaws caught a glimpse of yellow
eyes glittering.
Then it happened. She put her paw on what she thought was solid ground, only
to have it rear up in front of her with an eerie groan. Ghostly in the half-light,
a figure wrapped in bandages stretched its arms out, groping blindly
for the little Wocky.
A mummy! Seapaws thought, remembering a picture in one of the books on the
Lost Desert she had been reading avidly since Wimborne went away. She fluffed
up her fur, making her appear twice as big, and gave a ferocious Wocky Growl.
The mummy turned its bandaged head towards her, releasing a cloud of dry dust
with every movement. Seapaws leaped back with a scream, but the creature moved
more quickly than she could have imagined and struck the side of her head with
a heavy fist. The last thing the Wocky saw before she blacked out was an ancient
ring on the mummy's hand, its green stone glowing with a sickly light...
***
Wimborne, a tough little skunk Lupe, padded through the thickest part of the
forest, taking the shortest route home. His frozen collar jingled and in his
paw he held the silver sceptre of a Sakhmet Commander. Over his shoulder was
a pack containing Lost Desert delicacies for his ever-hungry brothers Gashermerasher
and Olyeller_2000, and a special present for his adopted Wocky daughter Seapaws:
a Wadjet!
After fighting Dr Sloth's forces, he was feeling very brave and wasn't scared
of any ghostly beings that might appear in the Haunted Woods.
Not, at least, until he heard the fearsome roar close by.
Wimborne turned to run. Whatever was going on wasn't his affair; he just wanted
to get home safely. But then he heard something that stopped him in his tracks:
"Help!"
That was Seapaws' voice! The Lupe dropped his bag and leaped towards the source
of the sound and was just in time to see the mummy hit his daughter. With a
throaty snarl Wimborne hurled himself at the creature, ripping and tearing at
the bandages that covered it. As his claws and teeth went in, the mummy crumbled
to dust.
All that was left was a heap of musty bandages, quickly disintegrating. But
as the mummy collapsed, Wimborne heard a faint voice murmur, "You fool. Haven't
you ever heard of The Mummy's Curse??"
It was a sad Wimborne who prowled home, cradling the still body of the Wocky
in his paws. Gashermerasher the cloud Gelert and Olyeller_2000 the split Lupe
gave him a joyful welcome, then stopped dead when they saw their niece.
"We should have looked after her better?" whispered Yeller, gulping. Wimborne
shook his head. "She's a very determined kid; you'd never have stopped her going,"
he said sadly, padding into Seapaws' room and tucking her tenderly into her
nest of pink pillows. "Gash, get me some warm water and some bandages." He shuddered
at the last word.
Wimborne had been by Seapaws' bed for hours. His eyelids drooped with tiredness
and he was still covered in desert dust, but he was determined not to leave
his daughter's side. Pausing occasionally for a sip of coffee, he read aloud
from her favourite book Robin
Lupe.
A flash of light made him look up. The Wocky hadn't moved, but her eyes were
open. And they were glowing green.
"Sweetheart?" Wimborne said softly. Seapaws blinked, and when she opened her
eyes again they were their usual soft brown with a twinkle of mischief. "Papa,
I feel funny." She felt the bandage around her head and jaw. "What happened?"
"It was a mummy--an evil creature from the Haunted Woods." Wimborne told her.
"But Papa took care of it and you'll never see it again, OK?"
Seapaws nodded, reassured. "I'm glad you're back?" she murmured, drifting back
to sleep. Her father curled up on the rug, thinking deeply and absent-mindedly
chewing Seapaws' blue Lupe plushie.
To be continued... |