“Me?” said Dot, feeling a bit sick.
“Yes, YOU!” said Cruncher. “Get on Fruity’s bike with that dog of yours and Drindel Zildith and do EXACTLY what I tell you!”
There was absolutely NO TIME to argue – they had to get away!!
Dot jumped into the seat of Mr Fruity’s cyber-bike – it felt quite comfy actually. There were just two spaces behind – enough for Drindel and Wizzie, who jumped on behind her. Carvelia and Thoranon were already on the back of Cruncher’s bike – each bike could only carry three people (or two people and a Cavalier King Charles spaniel, of course!) - which was why they needed two.
RRRRRRRRMMMMM! went Cruncher’s bike.
“Hit the green button!” yelled Cruncher above the roaring noise of his cyber-bike’s engine. “Do it NOW!”
And it HAD to be now – one or two of the cyber rats had managed to get away from the bikes that were driving at them, and they were running towards where Dot and Cruncher’s bikes were standing!
(But Mr Fruity was being chased round the cave by a bright blue cyber-bike, squealing in fright! SERVES – HIM - RIGHT!!)
Dot couldn’t miss the green button – it was right in front of her, in the middle of the handlebars of Mr Fruity’s bike.
“Hurry up!” said Mr Mouse from under her T-shirt, in a very wobbly voice. “Oh PLEASE be quick, Dot!”
Dot took a deep breath – shut her eyes – clasped her hands together and banged down as hard as she could on the green button.
A-MAZING! With a tremendous roar – BRRRRRRRRRMMMMMMMMMM!!!!! – the bike rose up in the air. It was like going up in a lift in a big tall building - only you didn’t have the lift compartment around you, and you were sitting down. Coolio!!
Down below, the hundreds of cyber rats let out a roar of rage and spite as they saw their prisoners escaping.
Cruncher laughed. But it wasn’t his old, sneering, unkind laugh – it was a happy sound, full of joy.
“So long, guys!” he shouted, curving his bike around – they were already twenty metres up above the cyber rats’ lair. “See you in cyber-space – but not if I see you first! Don’t wait up!”
And with that, he leant to his left and twisted the handlebar grip in his left hand – and the two bikes shot away, as if they were linked together by an invisible wire.
“Wo!!” said Dot, jumping in her seat. “What’s happening?”
“Ah!” said Drindel, who was sitting in the seat next to Wiz, with his arms
folded peacefully over his Zildith cloak, with the pictures of whales and dolphins swimming peacefully across the deep ocean. “He’s got you in synchronous!”
“Synchronous?” said Wizzie, as they shot along through the net-sky, just behind Cruncher – and Carvelia and Thoranon, whose long hair was flying out behind them. “Sounds like something from ‘Star Wars’!”
“Well it sort of is” laughed Drindel. “What it means is, everything he does with his bike is synchronized by your bike – which means, it happens at the same time. Watch!”
As he spoke, Cruncher leaned over to the right and speeded up – and Dot’s bike did just the same, curving away over the Net plain with its brilliant blue and gold colours, and the sound of its strange, sad music.
“Cool!” said Dot. “So what happens if I take my hands off the handlebars?”
“Oh no – no don’t do that!” said Drindel, in a panicky voice. “He can only be synchronous through you and your hands on the handlebars – take them off and he’s lost you!”
Now… have you ever done something really crazy… something you really shouldn’t have done… something stupid, so STU-PID in fact you never could explain afterwards why you’d done it…
Well – Dot did it then.
She took her hands OFF the handlebars of Mr Fruity’s bike.
And then…
Oh NO!!!!!
