Cruncher spun round. The tune was still getting louder – tiny bit by tiny bit, as if someone was turning up the volume verrrrry slowly!
“Not up to much, is it, your Arcathon!” he said. “Look!”
And as they looked, Mr Fruity stared to move – verrrry slowly too, like in a slow-motion film, but he certainly was moving, his wobbly tummy bouncing a bit as his limbo dance started again.
“The freeze only lasts for a while” said Carvelia. “I think we’d better go!”
“But how?” said Dot. She was feeling a bit panicky – all around her, she could see signs that the cyber rats were coming back to life. How were they going to get out?
“No problem!” said Cruncher. “I’ll give you a ride! I’m out of here for good, anyway!”
“Great, excellent!” said Mr Mouse. He looked round nervously. “Where’s your bike?”
“Down there” said Cruncher, pointing towards where he’d landed in the huge cave in the middle of the cyber rats’ lair.
Uh-OH!!!
It was right on the other side of all the cyber rats!
And the music was getting louder and louder, and more of the cyber rats were starting to move – very slowly and jerkily, but they were moving all right - DEFINITELY coming back to life.
“We’ll have to go through them to get to it!” said Mr Mouse. “Oh no! OH NO!!”
“We’ll be all right if we don’t touch them” said Thoranon, looking at the strange scene of the sloooowly moving cyber rats with narrowed eyes. “If any of us does… we’ll speed up the waking process… and then… ”
“Then we’d better get going!” said Drindel firmly. “I think I’ve spent QUITE enough time in this horrible place already!”
And with that, he wrapped his Zildith robe tightly round him, and stepped forward.
When she thought about it later, Dot wished someone had been able to video their escape through the huge crowd of cyber rats. It would have looked so funny (though it didn’t feel AT ALL funny then, just totally scary!)
It was like having to go through a kind of maze of frozen figures – without touching the sides of the maze. The seven of them tiptoed, swayed from side to side, crouched down under outstretched ratty arms, even went down on their hands and knees.
What made it even more scary was something Thoranon hadn’t mentioned – which was that though the cyber rats couldn’t move or speak – yet – they could see, so every one they passed glared at them with really angry eyes, trying to say something with their ratty jaws moving slowly as if they were chewing – but with no sound coming out.
Thank goodness!
And all the time the music was getting louder.
“When that song gets to full volume, like it was before” said Carvelia, twisting to one side to avoid a beer can being held upside down (with the beer frozen in the middle of being spilled) “then they’ll wake up!”
“Be worth getting out here before that happens just so we don’t have to hear it again!” grunted Wizzie. “It’s SO pants!”
“I quite like it actually” said Drindel, to everyone’s surprise. “It’s beaty!”
Dot giggled – she couldn’t help it. It sounded like something Nan Com would say about one of her fave tunes. And they were nearly out of the crowd of cyber rats now.
A thought came to her. “How are we all going to get on your bike?” she said to Cruncher. “You can’t get seven of us on one cyber-bike!”
Cruncher turned back to grin at her – it was funny, now he was on their side his grin had become less ratty and much more friendly. “We’ll just have to borrow an extra one, won’t we?” he giggled. “Mr Fruity’s is a top machine, believe me!”
And then it happened. It was Wizzy’s tail that did it – he just can’t help wagging it when he feels happy.
The feathery tip touched one of the last cyber-rats.
And suddenly, they all started waking up – very quickly!
“RUN!” shouted Cruncher. ”RUN FOR IT!”
