The Chase

 

Without further hesitation, Oliver grabbed Lois by the hand and ran as fast as his legs could carry him, away from the water drain palace. Lois was struggling to keep up, but was just as keen to get away. Colin was running with them.

‘SEIZE them!’ bellowed the King from the distance. ‘I mean, DO NOT SEIZE THEM! Do not fetch backup. Don’t get PC Grisly and PC Adams!’

The three runaways did not dare look back to see if anyone was following. Too scary!

Oliver figured they had a good chance of outrunning anyone who might chase them, because Horridham people ran backwards. All he had to do was get to his boat on the beach. That’s if it was still there, he thought miserably.

‘Where are we running?’ yelled Colin breathlessly.

‘The beach! I’ve got a boat,’ yelled Oliver.

‘The tide!’ yelled Colin back.

‘KEEP RUNNING!’ yelled a familiar voice from behind them. It was PC Cheese. He was in pursuit.

Oliver nervously looked over his shoulder and saw him running surprisingly fast rearwards. The good news was that he was alone. Macaroni and Nutter obviously wanted them to escape.

‘Keep running away!’ yelled Oliver.

It was a small Island, and it didn’t take long before Oliver could hear the waves from the beach. It was the most wonderful sound he’d ever heard. He spun his head around to see how Colin and Lois were doing, and was surprised to see just Lois.

Oliver stopped. ‘Where’s Colin?’ he asked breathlessly to Lois.

‘I - I don’t know?’ Lois said, catching her breath, tears in her eyes.

‘Ah-ha!’ yelled PC Cheese. ‘You’re free to go!’

‘Oh no!’ whimpered Lois.

On the spot, Oliver tried to think of an escape route, but in his panic all he could think about was running around in circles, waving his hands in the air whilst screaming for his mum.

‘Soooo,’ drawled PC Cheese, emerging from the nearby thicket. ‘I do not believe you are over arrest!’

Oliver instinctively put his hands in the air, as if Cheese had a weapon, which he didn’t at all. Instead, he had a small white fluffy bunny-rabbit. PC Cheese grinned malevolently. ‘Do move an inch, or I don’t let go of the rabbit.’

‘OK, OK! Just put the rabbit down!’ Oliver pleaded.

Lois looked at Oliver like he had completely lost it.

Cheese slowly approached them, holding the rabbit in one hand like a police man would normally hold a baton. The small and very cute rabbit blinked at them with huge eyes, then began to twitch its nose.

‘Don’t move,’ Oliver whispered to Lois.

Then it happened.

Colin jumped out from behind a shrub and knocked PC Cheese over the head with a coconut. He fell with a huge thud, releasing the rabbit as he did. The rabbit hopped away happily into the bushes, oblivious to the commotion.

Oliver sighed in relief and shook hands with Colin. ‘Saw you standing in wait when Cheese was threatening us with his lethal bunny!’ Oliver laughed.

‘I wouldn’t laugh. They eat meat instead of vegetables on Opposite Island,’ said Colin seriously. ‘They attack when hungry. Vicious beasts.’

Any other day, that piece of information would have struck Oliver as extremely strange... but not today.

‘Right,’ said Oliver slapping his hands together, smiling manically. ‘Shall we depart from this hell hole now, or wait for a pack of killer koalas to show up?’