39

Staring at the Stars

The doughnut would take a few minutes to fill. As the wind started to gust and the waves picked up, we lay down in the bottom of the boat.

‘This time tomorrow I’ll be looking up at the stars stuck to the ceiling of my bedroom at home,’ I said.

‘Oh, I have those stars too! I’ll look at them when I miss you,’ said Kitty.

I felt a few raindrops hit my face.

‘This is the start of it.’ said Kitty.

‘The start of what?’

‘When the nice weather breaks, there’s always a –’

She didn’t get to finish her sentence. From just beside us came an enormous crash of water.

‘AAAAGH!’ shrieked Kitty. We jumped up to see the banana/ice-cream/bank van floating on the huge inflatable doughnut.

‘You did it!’ said Kitty.

‘We haven’t done it yet,’ I said.

We tied a rope round the doughnut and to the back of Derm’s currach.

‘Now let’s see if it moves!’ said Kitty.

‘Full steam ahead,’ I replied, and she started the engine. This time we moved forward till the rope became taut and we stopped moving for a second before … yes! We were moving again, and so was the huge trailer we were pulling.

Kitty put the engine to full power and, helped along by the current, we really started to pick up pace. Luckily, there was no one around to see us pass under the bridge.

‘How long do you reckon it’ll take?’ I asked.

‘Captain Catbeard estimates about half an hour. Depends what it’s like when we get out of this channel and into the open ocean. If you’re tired, why not have a sleep in our luxurious cabin?’ She gestured towards the puddle that was forming on the floor of the boat.

I smiled as the rain grew heavier.

For the third time on our late-night adventures, Kitty and I were drenched. But that wasn’t my main concern. As we moved around the coast of the island, we were suddenly exposed to Atlantic waves. Each one lifted us slowly and dropped us fast. And, each time we passed over the top of a wave, the van would disappear and I’d think it was gone, till it came crashing over a moment later. I was starting to feel unwell.

I leaned over the side.

‘Uh-oh,’ said Kitty. ‘Doggy’s first seasick!’

Right on cue, I threw up into the water.

‘Try to stare at something on the land,’ Kitty said. ‘Something that’s not moving.’

I tilted my head up and tried to focus, but it was hard to see anything in the dark. Occasionally, I could make out a beach, or a house with a light on, but it would soon disappear as we moved round the next headland.

‘Hang in there,’ Kitty said. ‘We’re so close! Look!’ She was pointing at the rectangular shape of the Old Coastguard Station. ‘There it is! We’re going to save that!’

The waves were getting even bigger. The currach was either climbing up one or plunging down the other side.

‘Please don’t fall off now, van!’ I said. ‘Please don’t break now, rope!’

As Duncan’s beach came into view on our left, we went over the top of another wave and a flash of light appeared up ahead.

‘Did you see that?’ I said to Kitty.

She nodded. ‘Very weird.’

‘What was it?’

‘I don’t know …’

It was too far out to be a house, or even a person on the rocks with a light. As the rain pelted down, we crested another wave and there it was again.

‘I think it might be another boat,’ said Kitty, ‘and I think it might be coming towards us!’

Over the next wave, I saw it. It was bigger than our boat, painted orange and blue, with a cabin on the front.

‘I know what that is,’ I said.’ It’s the lifeboat!’

‘STAY WHERE YOU ARE!’ said a voice through a loudspeaker. ‘WE ARE COMING TO RESCUE YOU!’

‘But what if we don’t want to be rescued?’ Kitty said to me.

‘What do we do?’ I asked.

‘They’re going to ask questions,’ she said.

‘So many questions.’ I glanced back at the doughnut.

‘We have to.’

‘I know,’ I said. ‘I know we do.’

We both looked back one final time, then at each other. Our hands met and lowered on to the hose that was still connected to the air compressor.

‘Three,’ I said.

‘Two,’ said Kitty.

‘ONE!’ Together we pulled the hose as hard as we could and it disconnected. Immediately, air began to rush out of the doughnut.

‘We were so close,’ I said.

‘So, so close,’ said Kitty.

Twenty seconds later, the van leaned to the side and tumbled back into the Atlantic Ocean.

BLOOOB.