The King's Key (13 page)

‘How are we looking?' Whisker asked, climbing down the eleventh tree.

Ruby gave him a sour look. ‘Half empty. We need a decent tree of eyeballs to fill up the bag.'

‘I may have spotted one from the air,' Whisker said, wishfully. ‘It's on the eastern side of a gully not far from here.'

‘Lead the way,' Ruby said, hoisting the bag over her shoulder.

The two rats trekked in the direction of the gully and the ground steadily dropped away. The gully plants grew thick and lush and it was hard for the rats to see where they were headed.

‘Down here,' Whisker said, descending the slope. He pointed through the leaves to a huge bunch of ripe fruit. ‘There it is.'

Ruby dropped the bag and took off her swords.

‘I'll lend you a paw,' she said eagerly. ‘There are plenty of eyeballs for both of us.'

Whisker removed his sword and scaled a nearby vine. Its leaves were long and springy and anything but stable. He cautiously checked his footholds before proceeding upwards. Ruby, eager to reach the fruit, leapt from leaf to leaf like they were small trampolines.

Whisker reached the highest leaf of the vine. Balancing on one foot, he stretched out for the trunk of the tree. Before he could grab it, Ruby bounced onto the leaf. The leaf dipped under their weight and Whisker tumbled backwards into Ruby. The two rats slid over the side of the leaf, crashed through the foliage and plunged headfirst into a pool of sticky liquid.

Rat-eating Plants

Gasping for air, Whisker burst from the surface of the pool and pulled Ruby's head out.

‘Eeeyeew,' she coughed, spitting out a mouthful of the strange liquid. ‘W-what is this stuff?'

Whisker tried to steady himself. His toes barely reached the bottom of the pool. The ground beneath him felt soft and rubbery.

He looked around, puzzled. The pool had high purple walls extending to a round opening above. A large leaf-like shape hung over the pool, concealing it from the air.

‘It's not water, whatever is it,' Whisker said, swishing his tail through the substance.

‘I think it's some kind of acid,' Ruby guessed, trying to scale the slippery wall.

With no pawholds, she lost her grip and splashed back into the pool
.
The liquid shook, the walls vibrated.

‘It's moving!' she gasped.

‘Only if we move,' Whisker said, beginning to understand. ‘Ruby, I think this is the rat-eating plant they warned us about.'

‘Eeeyeeew,' Ruby cried again. ‘We must be in its stomach, which means all of this liquid is …'

‘Digestive juices,' Whisker said grimly. ‘Slowly dissolving our bodies.'

‘We've got to get out,' Ruby gasped. ‘Quick, give me your sword.'

‘I-I don't have it,' Whisker confessed. ‘I left it next to the bag.'

‘Why would you do a thing like that?' Ruby snapped. ‘Don't you know it's dangerous out here?'

Whisker was taken aback. ‘Hey, you can't talk. You removed your swords first.'

‘That's different,' Ruby huffed. ‘Besides, you should know better than to follow my lead. You're supposed to be the sensible one in the relationship.'

‘Relationship?' Whisker gasped. ‘I didn't know …'

‘JUST COME UP WITH A PLAN TO GET US OUT OF HERE!' Ruby bellowed.

‘Okay, okay,' Whisker mumbled. ‘You don't need to shout. Just climb on my shoulders and see if you can reach the top.'

Ruby frowned. ‘That's it? Your brilliant escape plan?'

‘Yes,' Whisker said bluntly. ‘Not all great plans involve fancy props and explosions … but if you'd prefer something more exciting we can wait until our bodies dissolve and escape through the veins of the plant …'

‘Give me a paw up, will you,' Ruby snapped.

Whisker helped Ruby onto his shoulders. The skin on his paws and feet stung in the acidic liquid. He hoped he had time to escape in one solid piece.

‘I can't quite reach the top,' Ruby said in frustration.

‘Try leaping off my shoulders,' Whisker suggested. ‘I'll crouch down and give you a boost.'

‘If you insist,' Ruby said, unconvinced. ‘Squeeze my foot when you're ready.'

Whisker took a deep breath, closed his eyes and submerged under the liquid. He waited for the ripples to settle and, with a quick squeeze of Ruby's foot, launched himself upwards. As his head pierced the surface he felt Ruby leap from his shoulders.

He half expected her body to crash down on top of him, but when he looked up he saw Ruby hauling herself over the rim of the plant.

‘Have fun dissolving,' she laughed, disappearing from sight.

Whisker stood in the middle of the pool, slowly dissolving. There was a noise from above and a strand of vine splashed into the liquid.

‘Climb!' called a voice.

Whisker climbed like he'd never climbed before. In moments, he'd scrambled over the rim of the purple prison, scooted down the vine and was throwing himself into the nearest rainwater puddle.

Ruby splashed down next to him.

‘Digestive juices are wonderful for removing mud,' she remarked, rinsing herself off.

‘And skin,' Whisker added, staring at his red feet.

Ruby shrugged. ‘Oh well. What doesn't kill you makes you cleaner.'

‘I thought we banned the Horace jokes?' Whisker groaned. ‘Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got eyeballs to collect – alone.'

Two extremely clean and rather hungry rats arrived back at the picnic site.

‘No drop bears then?' Horace said from his spot in the sun. ‘We saved you some pie but it was hard to keep the fly away.'

Smudge shook his tiny arms at Horace as if to say,
your piece of pie was seventeen times the size of mine.

‘You were gone a while,' the Captain said, eying them suspiciously. ‘You weren't planning another practical joke, were you?'

‘We had stomach troubles,' Ruby blurted out. ‘Nasty stomach troubles.'

‘That's terrible,' Horace cried, leaping to his feet. ‘I guess you'll pass on the pie then?'

Ruby moved her paw to the handle of her sword.

‘O-on the other hand,' Horace gabbled, ‘pie is very good for stomach troubles …'

Eagerly, Ruby sat down to eat her pie. Whisker sat next to her, fidgeting awkwardly. His tail felt as tender as his toes. Mr Tribble stared at him and held up a page from his notebook.

‘I take it you ran into one of these?' he said, pointing to a sketch of the rat-eating plant.

‘Fell into one,' Whisker clarified. ‘Do you know what it is?'

‘It's called a
Nepenthes rajah,'
Mr Tribble explained. ‘It's an insectivorous pitcher plant. You're lucky you're a mammal and not an insect. Flies digest much quicker …'

Whisker felt relieved. Smudge looked terrified.

‘When did you draw the picture?' Ruby asked.

‘Just now,' Mr Tribble replied. ‘Eaton and I saw several specimens while we were collecting herbs.' He held up a bundle of roots. ‘I'm not one for lying in the sun, so I decided to hunt for Pete's second herb. Digging up roots is far easier than scrambling up trees or escaping from pitcher plants.'

‘I still prefer sun baking …' Horace yawned.

Ruby flashed Horace an unimpressed look and recited, ‘
A lazy Pie Rat is a dead Pie Rat
–
the Pie Rat code
.'

Horace got the hint and clambered to his feet.

The Pie Rats continued on their jungle trek with the usual mumbles, grumbles and rude remarks they had all come to expect. Mr Tribble's prediction was accurate and the companions soon reached the main track. It was extremely overgrown. The only things that distinguished the ancient path from the rest of the undergrowth were the carved steps leading up the mountainside.

Horace, who'd clearly run out of conversation topics, decided to count every step: ‘One, two, three, four …' Time passed slowly. ‘… one thousand two hundred and sixty two, one thousand two hundred and sixty three, one thousand two hundred and … oh. That's the last step.'

‘What a shame,' Ruby said sarcastically. ‘I was so enjoying your soothing voice.'

‘I could count footsteps?' Horace suggested.

‘And I could hurl you over the ravine,' Ruby said, deadpan.

Horace let his feet do the talking.

‘Speaking of the ravine,' Mr Tribble said, holding up his compass, ‘the bridge should be straight through those bushes.'

Hurriedly drawing both swords, Ruby slashed through the undergrowth to reveal a rocky plateau leading to the edge of a deep chasm. On the opposite side of the ravine, a cliff of crumbling rock ran up the side of the green mountain like a deep, fleshy scar. A dilapidated suspension bridge spanned the huge gap.

‘Come and take a look, Horace,' Ruby cried, scampering to the edge of the ravine. ‘If you lean over far enough, you can see the river below. It's such a long way down. One little slip and you're …'

Horace pressed himself against the bushes and squeaked, ‘I'll-I'll be fine on my own over here, away from danger … and dangerous crewmates.'

‘Suit yourself,' Ruby shrugged, moving over to the swing bridge. She gave a weathered plank a firm tap with her foot. ‘It feels solid enough.'

‘I've seen better,' the Captain remarked, joining her on the edge. ‘The ropes are frayed, half the planks are missing, and I doubt anyone's crossed it in years.'

Mr Tribble peered through his dirty glasses.

‘Hmm. The planks are a concern,' he admitted, ‘especially in the centre of the bridge. But the four main ropes appear quite sturdy … It's definitely worth a try.'

‘Look at you,' the Captain laughed. ‘Emmie would be so proud. The timid teacher turned brave adventurer.'

‘I'm not volunteering to go first, if that's what you're implying,' Mr Tribble said firmly.

The Captain looked down at Eaton.

‘You're a light little fellow, Eaton,' he said casually.

Eaton shook his head furiously.

‘I'll go,' Horace whimpered, untangling himself from the bushes. ‘I'm small and expendable and destined to die – loveless and alone.'

‘Oh, stop your moping,' Ruby scolded. ‘No one thinks you're expendable. And I'm sure there's one girl out there who appreciates your unique sense of humour.'

‘You really think so?' Horace said, perking up.

‘… yes,' Ruby muttered through clenched teeth. ‘But she's not me, so don't get any funny ideas.'

‘I wouldn't dream of it,' Horace replied, giving Whisker a subtle wink.

‘Good,' the Captain said gruffly. ‘You've got more important things to do – like getting on that bridge.'

Horace removed his backpack and approached the bridge.

‘It is a long way down,' he said, peering over the ravine.

‘Stick to the sides,' Mr Tribble advised. ‘And keep a paw on the handrail at all times.'