breaking news

Saturday 12 January 2013

#152 day sixty-three and RRAAAGHHHGHH!!


“Winterbottom! Are you there?!” Capt. Cookie said again into the megaphone. By this time, four strange individuals had come out of their tents and were looking up in wonder at the airship, but Winterbottom wasn’t one of them - he was still struggling with the zip of his sleeping-bag.
“I don’t think he’s here, Ron,” the captain said to Ron, his stand-in co-pilot. “We’d better go and...”
Suddenly there was a loud roar from the airship’s cabin. 
RRAAGHHGH!!” What’s going on! Where are we?!” shouted Wildmouth, bursting into the cockpit. 
Ron jumped out of his seat and banged his head on the ceiling and Capt. Cookie dropped the megaphone out of the window.
“What are you doing here?!!” he said to Wildmouth.
“I was just having a nice sleep! You woke me up!” said Wildmouth.
“But... What?... Why?... How did you get here?!”
“The door was unlocked!” said Wildmouth. “I didn’t think you’d be going anywhere tonight! Anyway, where are we? I can’t see a thing.”
“We’re just above the surface of the dark side of the Moon if you must know!” said Cookie.
“Stop pulling my tail!” said Wildmouth. “Come on, let’s get back to the hotel. I’m hungry!”
“We’re not going anywhere without Winterbottom!” said Cookie.
“Winter-who?!” said Wildmouth.
“Bottom,” said the captain. “He got stuck on the Moon and we came to rescue him, so please go back to the cabin and sit down while we look for him! You’ve caused enough trouble already!”
“Captain! Listen!” said Ron. “I can hear something!”
They all listened. They could just hear some muffled cursing coming from below, ampilfied by the megaphone.
“What is it?” said Wildmouth.
“Sshhh!” said Cookie.
Just then there was a zipping sound, some panting, more cursing, another zipping sound, and then a voice came loud and clear through the megaphone: ”Captain! It’s me! Winterbottom! I’m here!”

“Hold on!” shouted Capt. Cookie, leaning out of the window. He shone a torch around the surface. “Too many rocks and craters to land here,” he said to his co-pilot. 
“If you can get close enough, I’ll reach out and grab him!” said Wildmouth.
“O.K!” said the captain and he brought the airship to within two metres of the surface. Wildmouth opened the airship’s door and leaned out.
“I can’t reach!” said Wildmouth. “Ron, come here. I need your help!”
Ron went to the door, and Wildmouth held his ankles and swung him towards the surface. Below, Winterbottom took hold of Ron’s wrists and Wildmouth started to pull them in. But then, one of the other abductees grabbed Winterbottom’s ankles, and then another one grabbed their ankles and soon there was a string of abductees hanging from underneath the rising airship. 
“Erk!” said Ron, who was getting stretched.
“Wait for me!” came a voice from the surface, as Chops, the dinosaur, came running along from its crater. With its small front paws, it grabbed hold of the ankles of the acrobat, the last of the chain of abductees.
“RRAAAGHHHGHH!!” Wildmouth roared, huffing and puffing with the strain. The airship zoomed off with the chain of abductees dangling precariously below.
“RRAAAAAAGHHHGHH!!” 


© David Severn 2013

No comments:

Post a Comment