part 14

Broken trees under a trail of slime, a squelching sound nearby, growing nearer, nearer, the huge slimey red lips of the giant slug reared up and onto the hedge, twisted with the effort. Inside jagged teeth gnashed together in rows down its squeezing throat. Mary ducked as the dark jelly of an eye on the end of a muscly brown stalk swerved over her head, swerved back, the red lips widened into a grin like a shark and turned towards her, "You need to come with Me, NOW" 

Wong scrabbled round and sat up, hissing, fur sticking out, tail up, his eyes bright green, the black bits thin lines, long white claws of three paws digging into Regn's arm for grip, the other slashing at the slug's eye hovering over Mary. The slug shrieked, pulling its eye right back into its head, and turned aside, then it heaved higher, rising above them drooling stalagtites of slime. For a heartbeat everything darkened, Yordi stepped infront of them "SEE YOU IN A BIT!" he pushed his hand into the ground, and pulled up a ball of fire, throwing it up into the slug's belly as Regn turned and at once they were back in the cave.

Wong kept growling after Regn put him and Mary down. He walked stiffly backwards and forwards infront of the doorway, his tail lashing. Mary pulled the wand from under her jumper, holding it tight as Regn moved her hands over the opening into the cave till it was blocked with thick grey ice. "YOU MUST GO TO THE MADGE NOW, COME WITH ME" Wong's tail brushed Mary's hand, soft, then they were running across the cave to another doorway, into a dark tunnel where the wand was the only light, and their shadows jumped huge and black all round. CRASH from behind, and Regn moved to the side "YOU GO FIRST"  Mary wanted to hug Wong, but there wasn't time, "HURRY" Mary and Wong ran on alone,  round a bend and the wand's light seemed less bright, they were coming out of the caves.

 Wong stopped, so Mary did, too. Her legs felt like they would start squeeking like an old door and her ribs hurt, "What should we do?"

"Have a rest!" gasped Wong, "Am a not a Panther, " he huffed,

"We are Panters" Mary puffed and they both smiled 

The wall beside them began to crumble. Mary looked at Wong, he couldn't run any more. She stood infront of him, held the wand up, ready. But it was Kony who pushed her way out, then dropped a small leaf wrapped parcel "Quick, take this!" then shook her velvetty ears clean 

Mary picked it up, it was wet, from Kony's mouth, she nearly said Yuck, but didn't as that would be rude to Kony who looked scared, too  "What is it?"

"Fly Agaric, poisonous mushroom", Mary dropped it at once and stepped away, but Kony pushed the parcel back towards her with a paw, "It's for if Babosa gets close, put it where the slug will find it and she will stop chasing you till it wears off. But you must never ever eat it yourselves, even if you are really, really hungry!" 

Mary picked the parcel up again, trying to touch the leaf wrapping as little as she could, and pushed it deep in her trouser pocket. "Thankyou, Kony"

Kony nodded, "I hope you get Home, " She climbed head first back into the hole she'd made, then climbed out again, "Um, if... if you see my sisters and brother, tell them I miss them, ok? I wish they were home and so does Mum" then she was gone, leaving a scatter of small stones and mud

Wong stood up, "Better keep going" Mary's legs felt stiff and wobbly at the same time and Wong's sides were going in and out, so they walked out of the tunnel into a place with a roof but no walls. To one side, light gleamed off something long made of silver coloured metal. It made Mary think of  outside the supermarket.

Snow poured trom the floor of the tunnel in a deep, white carpet, and Regn slid smoothly towards them, carrying a much smaller Yordi but as soon as they were out, he jumped down and began to grow, getting bigger and bigger. Babosa's angry voice came echoing from inside "Don't you run away, Mary!" The ground shook under Mary's feet and Wong held onto her leg as Yordi moved rock from the walls to fill the opening. But a sliver of slime oozed out of a tiny crack, the slug was there already, pushing to get out  

Regn was beside the shining metal." TO THE TROLLIES!" That's why it looked like a supermarket! 

"Why do you have trollies?"

"BECAUSE WE ARE TROLLS, OF COURSE!" Before Mary could think about this, the huge grey lady pulled two trollies out from the row, and put one foot in each as if they were rollerskates. Yordi swung Mary up in his great, strong hands and she settledo on Regn's foot. holding the front of the trolley. Mary looked back, everything was cohanging so fast! Would she come back here?

Yordi pulled two more trollies out and Wong ran up his leg, went on up, to settle on his wide shoulder, digging curved claws deep into the green moss, "READY?" Wong nodded, Yordi looked at Mary, and she nodded. The trolley she was in glided foorward as Regn's leg moved, then the other trolley swivved infront, then Mary's again. 

They turned a corner and the way infront was flat. Yordi and Wong skated up beside them. "Woohooooo!" called Wong, his ears and whiskers blown backwards. He jumped up onto Yordi's head, putting his front paws over Yordi's eyes. Mary was about to say "Watch out" but Yordi grew two new eyes lower down. Rocks and trees and bushes swished by as the trollies rattled fast

Babosa would never catch up! Mary felt a wriggle under her jumper - the Wand? She pulled it out, then heard Regn's voice, in her head with a shock like cold water, "MARY, QUICK, LOOK OUT FOR THE WEBS!" Just in time, Mary saw a grey whisp infront and waved the wand pfzzzt! but soon there was another. She stood in the front of the trolley, leaning back on Regn's leg for balance and holding her long shiney dress with one hand, and the other hand zapping web with the Wand.

Yordi's voice rumbled over the rattly trolley wheels, "THE GELLO IS TRYING TO FIND WHICH WAY YOU GO.  WE WILL LEAD THEM  THE WRONG WAY SO YOU CAN  GO ON TO THE MADGE" 

Mary was sure it would be safer with the two huge people to protect them. She looked up and up, to Yordi's pink face and met Wong's eyes, wide and scared as she felt. He brushed a small piece of web from his whiskers and it blew quickly away behind them. Her chest tightened, "Please stay with us!"

The trollies slowed down, stopped. He  made a bridge with his arm to the ground but Wong dug his claws into Yordi's mossy shoulder. "No!" .but the shoulder moved like a wave, carrying him gently down. Mary felt Regn's foot move, she was getting higher, up over the sides of the trolley, then all at once, Regn's toes joined together and went flat and the flatness grew long, right down to the ground, and slippery and before Mary could do anything to stop herself she slid down to land beside Wong. This was like saying goodbye to Dad and Mum at the end of a visit in that place in the town with the broken toys and Babosa watching them all the time, writing in her notebook, smiling, and Mum and Dad being strange, smiling at Mary, telling her she must try to be brave, even though they had tears in their eyes and their words wobbled

She couldn't explain to people in class at school why she couldn't go home, what was wrong, because she didn't know. Though some of them were kind, making pictures for him to give Mum, they couldn't understand. Their Mums or Dads came to pick them up after school, they went home, where they wanted to be. And she went to Jake's home, where she was alone. But she wasn't alone here, Wong sat on her feet and she put her arm round him, he was warm and soft.  She tried not to cry, but if she said anything, she would. 

Yordi took one foot out of a trolley, then the other, and they sunk down into the ground, then his legs, till it came up to his chest, his pink face just higher than Mary.  "IF WE LEAVE, WE CAN TRICK THEM, AND KEEP YOU SAFE. IF WE STAY TOGETHER, THEY WILL FIND US AND YOU"

His huge stone hand reached over his shoulder and came back with two small plants. "LOOK, I HAVE PRESENTS FOR YOU, ONE EACH" 

"But,what will happen to you and Regn?" Mary touched his hand, and one plant wriggled out of his fingers and curled round her arm. At once little buds burst open into bright bell flowers, each a colour of the rainbow, so pretty she smiled even though she was scared, touching the violet one. Her finger tingled, "Oh!" A lovely smell came from its cool, silky petals

"LOOK!" Yordi smiled. A little violet flower, just the same, had grown on his arm! "PLANTS EVERYWHERE TALK TO EACH OTHER. THIS ONE WILL HELP YOU JUST LIKE I WOULD. AND THIS ONE, YOU MUST KEEP SAFE TILL HE NEEDS IT"

"Thankyou!" Wong's present was a tiny plant, just one stalk with a few leaves. It smelled the same as the one he had liked so much in the garden. "Why aren't you deaf any more?" Mary wondered

"AH, THAT ONLY WHEN KONY AND HER MUM GO TO SLEEP IN HIS EARS!" laughed Regn. Mary was about to put Wong's present in the same pocket she had put Kony's parcel,  but that wouldn't be clever, she thought, so put it in her other pocket. Regn reached down and one long grey finger touched Mary's new bracelet, and at once every flower and leaf had its own raindrop. "THERE, IF YOU EVER NEED SOME WATER, MARY, PUT ONE OF THESE ON THE GROUND"

They looked like diamonds. Mary thought they would come off right now, but when she shook her hand a  little bit they slid about but didn't fall, she didn't see how these presents were going to help, but that felt rude, so she tried to smile and said "Thankyou!" but she was still very scared about them leaving

Regn turned to Wong, who was looking small and sad and worried "WOULD YOU GIVE THE MADGE AND YOUR MOTHER A MESSAGE?" he nodded, "TELL THEM YORDI AND REGN FOUND YOU BRAVE AND STRONG AND CLEVER" Wong's eyes opened wide, he sat up straight with his furry white chest sticking out, his ears came forward. He nodded, and Regn smiled, her teeth flashing "GOOD!"

Yordi pushed all four trollies to beside a bush where they wouldn't roll away, making Mary think of how she and Mum and Dad put their shoes and wellies by the front door. He grew even taller, and looked around. He saw something, the way they had come, and his face changed. He knelt down beside Wong and Mary and pointed towards a rocky hill, "THIS IS THE WAY TO THE MADGE." He sunk down into the ground again, now his hand was palm side up like he was waiting for something. Mary put her hands onto one of his rough stone fingers and Wong put two paws on as well, then Regn put her hand over them all and at once the air round them burst into spangles " NOW, YOU MUST GO!" The ground shook, Mary and Wong fell over and when they sat up, Yordi and Regn had gone.

The grass shimmered with dew drops, and in the middle,  no bigger than a molehill, a pile of freshly turned rich brown mud. Mary watched it, hoping it would move and when it didn't, she looked round - there were the trollies. There were trollies left like that on the side of the path to the supermarket at home. Did that mean Yordi and Regn went to the mainland? Or other trolls?  

Mary was so glad when Wong rubbed his warm soft head on her cheek, "Come on! I want my breakfast!"

"Where do you think they are, now?" Mary walked slowly after him

Wong trotted away, "Not here, but we are. And the longer we are, the longer we aren't at the Madge's house."

Mary had stopped to think, "Do you think time ever goes backwards instead of forwards?"

"Why?" Wong looked crossly at a small puddle

Mary didn't know if he meant, why is the puddle here? but explained anyway, "So you can come back to when you are happy"

Wong turned his back on the puddle, sat up straight and looked very clever, "That's a time burp" 

"A what?" Mary skipped up to stand infront of him

 "Food makes me happy, but if food goes backwards it's hiccupy; time going backwards is like that"  Wong put a velvetty white paw in the puddle without looking, and shivered, "Not happy!"

Mary wondered if he was going to explain more about time burps but he didn't, so she walked round the puddle. Wong looked a bit more at the puddle, then walked round it, carefully. "I was going to invent a bridge, but it's ok, this works, too!"

The puddle was in the last bit of stillness as they came out from the rocks into a sudden, cold wind that whisked Wong off his paws and into the air! "Yoooowwwl!"

Mary grabbed one of his back paws, felt herself being tugged up and sideways so only her toes touched the ground, "No!" but she couldn't stop it, the wind sucked her higher. There were leaves whirling round them, too, and she had to shut her eyes