“Get us OUT of here!” shrieked Mr Mouse in his scaredyest voice.
“I’m trying, I’m TRYING!” said Dot, pushing the green button to start the cyber bike again.
Nothing. Nada. Rien. Nichts. ZIP!
You couldn’t blame Mr M for being frightened, really – down below them, the sky was full of cyber bikes, heading straight up towards the cachou tree!
They might have been grotty old cyber rats, but they knew how to fly in groups, or wings, all right.
Leading the way was Sewer Wing with Mr Fruity out in front. (You could tell it was Sewer Wing because a little battle flag had popped up from the handle bar of each bike - with a picture of a loo brush on! No, really!)
The cyber rats were crouched so low over their handle bars all you could see were their helmets and their glinting black eyes. They were just moments away.
As they got closer, Rotten Meat wing (flags with a picture of a steak with lots of flies buzzing round, yuk!) and Chip Fat Wing (a mouldy chip sticking out of a blob of fat, DOUBLE yuk!) peeled away, one to each side.
“It’s a pincer movement” said Wiz fiercely. “They want to attack us from in front and both sides at once. Bark bark BARKBARKBARK!!!”
Finally Trash Eater wing (whose flags had a picture of an overflowing dustbin, pheearggh!) also peeled away and flew downwards.
“AND from underneath” said Drindel Zildith. “Oh DEAR!”
Dot gave the green starter button on the cyber bike the biggest bang she could. Ow! That really hurt!
But it STILL didn’t start the engine. “Phutt… phutt… phssssss… ” it went, and then fell silent again.
“FOODLES!” shouted Dot. WHY didn’t anything EVER work when you really needed it to!!
The cyber rats were REALLY close now – so close Dot could see details on their helmets, like dents and scratches and even one with a message on it like a tattoo.
It was a heart with an arrow through it, and ‘Mum’ and ‘Dad’ on either side. “Your loving ratlet always” it said.
Awwwwww…
Mr Mouse scampered away under the shoulder of Dot’s T-shirt. She shut her eyes. And then -
“YeeeeOWWWWWWWWWWWW!”
Dot opened her eyes. It was an AMAZING sight!
Two of the Trash Eater Wing cyber rats suddenly flew up past the top of cachou tree where Dot and her friends were, their bikes upside down, totally out of control, screaming in panic.
As they flew they smashed through the front riders of Sewer Wing, turning them upside down too so they spiralled away out of the net sky, also out of control, helmets flying off, their engines racing and wheels spinning, shouting out in rage and fear.
WHAT was going on!
Then up shot three more of the Trash Eater wing, smashing into cyber rats from Rotten Meat wing so they went all over the place too.
WHAT…??
“Dot look!” said Wizzie excitedly. “LOOK! Just there!”
A kind of curly green tentacle – like an octopus’ arm, only much fatter and longer, had suddenly appeared - right opposite where they were sitting. Almost lazily, it grabbed Mr Fruity’s bike, and with a flick like someone throwing a cricket ball to a wicket keeper, flung him far away into cyber space. Then it disappeared, falling out of sight.
The King of the cyber rats didn’t like it. No way! “AAARRRGHHH! YEEURGGGH!” he went, his panicky yells getting quieter and quieter as he shot away into cyber space, till he was just a tiny dark speck in the Net sky.
“Yaaay!” said Wizzie, laughing out loud, “Bark bark BARK!”
Now here came another tentacle. It curled itself round five of the Chip Fat wing… paused for a moment as they struggled, whimpering and screaming, to get out of its grasp... then flick - off they went too! Game over!
“There they go!” said Drindel. “How splendid. Good old Hornbeam! He did do a good job with those seeds!”
“But – what’s happening?” spluttered Dot.
Drindel beamed at her as another three cyber bikes from Sewer Wing shot over their heads, yowling, so close they brushed across the leaf wings at the top of the cachou tree.
“Look down!” he said. “Just look down!”
So Dot looked – and couldn’t believe her eyes!
