A spark of blue light flashed past her, snapping her out of her trance. Coral shook her head. ‘Fabulous?’
‘Get out of here, Coral! They won’t want to let you go! Swim to the door! GO!’
Coral made for the door, but the urchin army was on the rise, piling on top of each other to block her path. She reached through them and grasped the doorknob. Hanging onto it, she pulled as hard as she could, but the urchins were building their towers around her, making the door impossible to open.
Fabulous sheltered under her arm. ‘You can do it, Coral, pull!’
She could feel their spikes now, grazing her arms, her legs. She glanced back and saw the venomous stingray poised to attack. The look in his eyes was enough to make her muster all her strength and give the door one final wrench.
She heard the crunch of spikes and saw piles of urchins crumble. As the stingray launched towards her, the door opened just enough for her to push through. She pulled it tight behind her, hearing a furious roar from the other side as it closed.
Coral swam breathlessly into the hallway, into safety.
‘Oh, Fabulous, I don’t know what to say. You saved me.’
She glanced down to where her little friend had been sheltering under her arm. But Fabulous was not there.
‘Fabulous?’ Coral looked around frantically. ‘Fabulous, where are you?!’
