face and neck, but no one moved to help him. The other soldiers just danced on the spot yelling at each other. They were obviously terrified, even though they were armed.
Lucy was struck by the smiling soldier’s reaction. He was very still. Then he turned and scanned every corner of the clearing, smiling the whole time. For a few seconds he studied the patch of scrub where Lucy, Ricardo and T-Tongue hid. His hand crept to his face and for the first time Lucy saw the livid scar that snaked down his left cheek to his mouth, lifting his lip in a permanent leer. It was the scar that made him appear to smile all the time.
Then he burst into action, spinning around and firing into the trees where the tiger had disappeared. He shouted at the other soldiers in another language, gesturing wildly. The soldiers fanned out and padded nervously towards the scrub, away from Lucy and Ricardo. At another command they began firing into the jungle.
That was enough for Lucy and Ricardo. They slid backwards as stealthily as they could, staying hidden in the thick bushes. They got around the bend in the track, stumbled to their feet and charged back up the forest track. The crackling of gunfire seemed to go on forever behind them.
They didn’t stop until Ricardo tripped over a body on the path. The body was a little boy. He looked dead. So did Ricardo. He just lay there. T-Tongue began licking the little boy, who opened his eyes and screamed. Like a shadow, a dark-haired girl appeared out of the bush and clapped her hand over the little guy’s mouth. All four humans just stared at each other. Lucy saw terror, surprise and recognition flicker over the girl’s face like a rapid-fire PowerPoint display. Lucy knew her own face must be doing the same, because she was staring at the girl from her nightmare, the one the Tiger-cat had beamed into her mind a little while ago. Ricardo stood staring at the little kid on the ground, who sat up and stared back in disbelief.
‘You got away,’ said Lucy and then she thought, How stupid was that? If the soldiers talk another language, she probably does too .
‘Yes,’ said the girl in English.
A fresh volley of gunfire blasted close by and the four kids jumped.
‘Quick! Let’s get out of here! Can he walk?’ hissed Lucy. The other girl didn’t answer. Skinny as she was, she hoisted the little guy up onto her back.
‘I’ll carry him,’ said Lucy, but the girl just stumbled off up the track.
‘Where are you going?’ Lucy asked, running to catch up.
If she knew, she was panting too hard to tell. Lucy and Ricardo looked at each other. They both knew what the other was thinking.
‘We know a hiding place,’ they blurted out together.
The girl half-dropped the boy and turned to face them, her eyes filled with tears. Lucy grabbed the little boy under his arms and picked him up like a baby. He was much lighter than Ricardo and she could still piggyback him around Kurrawong if she had to. There was another volley of gunfire, closer this time, and Lucy took off up the path, Ricardo and the girl following. The path had almost disappeared and if Lucy hadn’t noticed the red scrunchie she would have missed the faint track leading to the tunnel.
‘Grab the scrunchie,’ she hissed to Ricardo.
‘Forget it,’ he said, but the girl must have known what Lucy was worried about because she grabbed the scrunchie and dived after her through the undergrowth and into the mouth of the tunnel. Lucy had never been so relieved to see a black hole.
Pounding boots getting closer made them freeze just inside the entrance. But the boots charged past and on, and when the kids opened their eyes again, the creepers blocking the entrance to the tunnel were thick and unbroken, as though no one had passed that way for forty years. Lucy didn’t quite know how it had happened, but she wasn’t arguing. Darkness was just fine with her.
8
The Cubby
‘What do we do now?’ asked
Lucy was struck by the smiling soldier’s reaction. He was very still. Then he turned and scanned every corner of the clearing, smiling the whole time. For a few seconds he studied the patch of scrub where Lucy, Ricardo and T-Tongue hid. His hand crept to his face and for the first time Lucy saw the livid scar that snaked down his left cheek to his mouth, lifting his lip in a permanent leer. It was the scar that made him appear to smile all the time.
Then he burst into action, spinning around and firing into the trees where the tiger had disappeared. He shouted at the other soldiers in another language, gesturing wildly. The soldiers fanned out and padded nervously towards the scrub, away from Lucy and Ricardo. At another command they began firing into the jungle.
That was enough for Lucy and Ricardo. They slid backwards as stealthily as they could, staying hidden in the thick bushes. They got around the bend in the track, stumbled to their feet and charged back up the forest track. The crackling of gunfire seemed to go on forever behind them.
They didn’t stop until Ricardo tripped over a body on the path. The body was a little boy. He looked dead. So did Ricardo. He just lay there. T-Tongue began licking the little boy, who opened his eyes and screamed. Like a shadow, a dark-haired girl appeared out of the bush and clapped her hand over the little guy’s mouth. All four humans just stared at each other. Lucy saw terror, surprise and recognition flicker over the girl’s face like a rapid-fire PowerPoint display. Lucy knew her own face must be doing the same, because she was staring at the girl from her nightmare, the one the Tiger-cat had beamed into her mind a little while ago. Ricardo stood staring at the little kid on the ground, who sat up and stared back in disbelief.
‘You got away,’ said Lucy and then she thought, How stupid was that? If the soldiers talk another language, she probably does too .
‘Yes,’ said the girl in English.
A fresh volley of gunfire blasted close by and the four kids jumped.
‘Quick! Let’s get out of here! Can he walk?’ hissed Lucy. The other girl didn’t answer. Skinny as she was, she hoisted the little guy up onto her back.
‘I’ll carry him,’ said Lucy, but the girl just stumbled off up the track.
‘Where are you going?’ Lucy asked, running to catch up.
If she knew, she was panting too hard to tell. Lucy and Ricardo looked at each other. They both knew what the other was thinking.
‘We know a hiding place,’ they blurted out together.
The girl half-dropped the boy and turned to face them, her eyes filled with tears. Lucy grabbed the little boy under his arms and picked him up like a baby. He was much lighter than Ricardo and she could still piggyback him around Kurrawong if she had to. There was another volley of gunfire, closer this time, and Lucy took off up the path, Ricardo and the girl following. The path had almost disappeared and if Lucy hadn’t noticed the red scrunchie she would have missed the faint track leading to the tunnel.
‘Grab the scrunchie,’ she hissed to Ricardo.
‘Forget it,’ he said, but the girl must have known what Lucy was worried about because she grabbed the scrunchie and dived after her through the undergrowth and into the mouth of the tunnel. Lucy had never been so relieved to see a black hole.
Pounding boots getting closer made them freeze just inside the entrance. But the boots charged past and on, and when the kids opened their eyes again, the creepers blocking the entrance to the tunnel were thick and unbroken, as though no one had passed that way for forty years. Lucy didn’t quite know how it had happened, but she wasn’t arguing. Darkness was just fine with her.
8
The Cubby
‘What do we do now?’ asked
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