Legs get physical
Bob sat on the ground in the main room. Syra had been alone in the bathroom for some time now, and Bob was getting worried. He was about to slide over and knock on the door when it burst open and Syra Tanooth hopped out … with only one leg.
‘Look at me, Bob,’ he said. ‘Oh, Pete McGee is so special because he can do things with one arm. Well, let’s see him stand up against a one-legged villain.’
‘Pure evil genius, Syra,’ Bob gushed. ‘He will not be able to defeat you. I truly think you are onto something here. In fact, I would like to contribute as well. I believe that you will be even more evil and successful with no legs.’
And with that Bob reached out a blobby bit, grabbed an axe, and chopped off Syra Tanooth’s other leg. Syra fell to the ground, screaming in pain.
‘You idiot! What are you doing? I didn’t really chop off my leg, I was pretending. Look. It’s here! Now I really do only have one leg. Oh the pain, the pain of it all. Why did you do that?’
Bob smiled.
‘It’s starting to happen, Syra,’ he said. ‘I think I am starting to become as evil as Mumsy wanted me to be. I knew you were only pretending, and yet all I wanted to do, by gum, was chop off your leg. So I did. Jolly good show, wasn’t it?’
‘No. No it wasn’t. Not one jolly bit! You chopped off my leg! I needed that leg to truly be evil and defeat Pete McGee. You don’t give up an advantage! How can I run? What if I need to run?’
Bob thought this over and realised Syra was right.
‘It’s okay,’ Bob said. ‘I can fix this. I am an expert at sewing. Mumsy thought it would be a useful skill to have.’
And with that he dragged Syra Tanooth off to the sewing room (yes, even in an evil villain’s lair there is often a sewing room. It’s just in case they need to make some evil outfits).
Marloynne and Mrs McGee watched the sharks swimming below them and listened helplessly to the screams coming from the other room. They assumed their evil captors had captured someone else and were torturing them. They hoped they wouldn’t be next.
Pete McGee sat underneath a tree, the Green Book in his lap. He sat alone and watched the others, trying to work out what to do next. The sun was getting lower in the sky, and soon they would set up camp for the night. According to the Green Book they were still half a day’s march from the cave where the evil blob had been banished. Even when they got there, Pete didn’t know what they would find. He severely doubted his mum and Marloynne were being held there. This Syra Tanooth guy seemed pretty dumb, but he wouldn’t be that dumb. Surely not. Still, you could only hope.
Pete tried to get his head around Syra, but he couldn’t. He wondered what Syra Tanooth’s goal was. It seemed that he simply wanted to take Pete down, and Pete had no idea why. They’d never even met before. Syra had talked about wanting to face Pete in battle, but then set a test that he thought would kill Pete. It was the worst test ever in terms of killing someone, but that’s not the point. It’s the thought that counts. It was all too weird.
Pete sighed. He thought about knight training, how rigid it was, and how he wanted to get out. Sometimes though, on journeys like this, being told what to do would come in handy. It would be so much easier than having to come up with the solution himself. Right now, it would just be really good if someone could tell him what to do.
Pete sighed again and rubbed his eyes. So much had happened in his life. He had been forced to grow up so quickly. It would be nice to be able to just be. But that wasn’t going to happen yet, and besides, in the back of his mind, Pete McGee knew that all he wanted to do was save his mum and Marloynne. After that he could think about all the other stuff. After that he could do whatever he wanted. Right now, in this moment, he needed to be Sir Pete McGee, the brave and noble knight. He needed to be a great man, a righter of wrongs, and a rescuer of fair maidens. Pete smiled. There were none fairer than his mum.
He closed the Green Book and put it on the ground. He would pick it up and pack it away later. Then he stood up and strode over to where Smithers and Molloy were training. It had started out as sparring but was starting to get serious. Pete didn’t want to be left out of that, so he leapt in with a battle cry, knocking Molloy to the ground and then facing Smithers, a huge grin on his face. It was time to get physical!
‘You idiot!’ Syra screamed. ‘It’s on back to front!’
Bob chuckled his posh English chuckle.
‘I know, by Jove! Oh, this is fantastic. I am so evil! You know, Syra, I am actually enjoying putting you through pain. Soon I will be ready to face Pete McGee.’
‘This is fantastic news,’ Syra said through gritted teeth. ‘For now, sew my leg back on properly please, you overstuffed beanbag!’
‘It would be my pleasure,’ Bob said with an evil grin, unpicking the stitches and singing a song. ‘My absolute pleasure.’
The sun had almost set, and darkness was taking over. Come morning, Syra Tanooth would have two legs once more.
The gang finished breakfast and started walking again. The new day had dawned bright and clear, with barely a cloud in the sky. This was good. The less darkness around the less influence there was from the Darkness Master.
Everyone was in good spirits. Smithers and Molloy were taking turns pulling faces, trying to get the better of each other. Ashlyn walked alone, deep in thoughts of Marloynne.
Pete walked with Tahnee. Neither of them spoke, but both enjoyed being near the other. Every now and again Pete would sneak a glance at Tahnee, and would marvel at how strong she looked as she walked, so proud. Her long hair was tied back in a braid, and she wore clothes with the insignia of Bandragon woven into them.
Tahnee looked at Pete and smiled. Embarrassed at being caught out, Pete glanced away, blushing.
‘So,’ he said, his heart pounding. ‘Nice day.’
He mentally slapped himself on the forehead. Nice day? He could only have got more boring if he had invited Tahnee to wash some dishes with him. She didn’t seem to mind though.
‘Sure is, Pete. What’s going on with those two?’
She nodded towards Molloy and Smithers, who were still having a go at each other. Pete shrugged.
‘No idea. They don’t seem to like each other though.’
Tahnee laughed.
‘Ha ha, you don’t get it, do you?’
‘Get what?’
‘They both want to be your best friend. They are trying to top each other. They want you to choose between them.’
‘Well it’s a pretty stupid way to go about it.’
‘They’re boys, Pete, they’re stupid … well, you know, you aren’t, but most boys are.’
Pete blushed again and looked away. Why did his heart have to start pounding every time Tahnee said something like that?
‘Well, I hope they sort themselves out soon. We need to be a team to take on Syra Tanooth and his blobby blob. We can’t be fighting each other if we want to save Mum and Marloynne.’
‘Well,’ Tahnee said, flashing one of her killer smiles, ‘I think it’s going to be up to you to make them see sense, Sir Pete McGee.’
With that she bowed low, laughing, before running off to walk with Ashlyn, leaving Pete watching her go with a dazed look on his face. A picture flashed into his mind of Marloynne and Ashlyn’s wedding, only it was him and Tahnee taking their place. Pete shook his head clear. Wedding fantasies? They were not the thoughts of a knight! He needed to focus, and he needed to focus now.
He shook his head again and laughed. He was pretty sure not many fifteen-year-old trainee knights had wedding fantasies!
Syra Tanooth woke from a deep sleep. He was pretty groggy. He stumbled to the breakfast table. His newly sewed-on leg felt a little strange, but seemed to work okay. He sat down. It felt like someone was kicking him in the butt. He quickly stood up again and looked down.
The leg was on alright, but it was upside down!
‘BOB!’ Syra screamed, hearing a little giggle from Bob’s room in response. Syra sighed. Oh well, he thought, at least he was going to have a truly evil sidekick. Now he just needed to focus that evil on Pete McGee. He would give Bob the chance to set the next test. That would do it. He put a sock on his foot, which was sticking out of his butt, and sat down to breakfast. The re-sewing of his leg could wait. It was time to see what Pete McGee was really made of.
Okay then. Welcome back to me, folks. The story is kicking along, and Pete and his friends are about to face another test. Who knows what it could be, especially after that last test was very possibly the worst test ever set in the history of tests. There have been spelling tests more evil than that. But Bob is getting his evil mojo back, so the next one could be anything. Evil creatures? A trap of some sort? A toilet that won’t flush? Now that would be evil, especially if certain people I know went to that toilet after eating a curry.
But I’m getting off track. Here’s where things stand, as I see them.
Pete McGee and his friends are on their way to save Marloynne and Mrs McGee.
Syra Tanooth wants to battle and defeat Pete, but at the same time he is setting tests for Pete to pass along the way. He is also kicking his own butt with his upside-down leg.
Molloy and Smithers are jealous of each other, and are fighting constantly.
Ashlyn is consumed with thoughts of Marloynne, and also thoughts of her wedding and what happened … at least that’s what I’m guessing. Getting words out of her is like getting blood out of a stone. Speak up girl!
Pete has a monster crush on Tahnee.
Tahnee, although she also has feelings for Pete, is focused on the battle ahead.
I’m hungry and I’m going to go and get a sandwich.
See you soon for the next chapter.