Several Fusas indicate that they would be willing. Jo not put off, by them blowing her first argument out of the water, so to speak, continues, “How are you going to make them disappear?”
Desag, large beaming smile, replies, “Twine! In twine wrap bate, then when Den-Drilla, fall into pit, to attack bate, pull out bate, we with twine. Normal for dig ,do Den-Drilla, Once in ground, have to continue. Not wide enough beach, to come up again, so Den-Drilla, continue over to island.”
“Ok, ok, what about Ella and the others? If we put that thing over on the island, it will have the day of its life and eat everyone.” Jo protests.
“When emerge Den-Drilla, busy on beach those, Grobs. Follow down tunnel, do we, then go rescue Ella, simple is plan.”
“Simple yes, but so many things that could go wrong.” Says Jo.
Barse says, “Simple and most do-able, your plan. Like it do I. Well done Desag.”
“You are not really going to do this are you? It will be death to whoever volunteers to be the bate. There must be another way.” Jo appeals to Barse.
“Another way, have you, consider we, but seems much best of all, this.” Barse replies.
~~o~~o~~o~~
Chapter 11 – Many Brave Fusas And One Girl
The journey back to the coast does not seem quite so long this time, the sheer size of the company, the chatter and banter taking place, seems to make the time pass so much quicker.
Jo had not slept well that night, images of some poor Fusa being swallowed up by the Den-Drilla, kept playing over and over in Jo's head. Still not totally in agreement with the plan, Jo has decided that as the Fusas are so convinced that it will work, she must have at least, a little belief in their faith. After all, if the plan works, it will be a fantastic achievement, certainly unlike anything Jo has experienced before.
The group pass by the spot where the Den-Drilla had emerged when Desag and Jo were here last. A few of the Fusas venture over to peer down the tunnel and there is much joviality as they pretend that the Den-Drilla has returned. Barse encourages them to keep their voices down, as he does not know how far the sound of their voices will carry and the last thing they want to do is alert those on the island, to the fact that they are here.
Soon the group reaches what Desag and Barse consider as the perfect spot. The digging of the pit commences, whilst another group set about finding the perfect place for the “pulling Fusas” to be.
There has been a slight change in plan, it was suggested, as the group were traveling down. It was decided, that there would actually be two bate Fusas. It was felt that it would be too much for one Fusa, to do all the jumping, to attract the Den-Drilla's attention, then run like heck to get to the pit, then do a further run to get out of the pit, before the Den-Drilla arrives. Jo feels a bit happier at this change in plan. Although it now means that there are two Fusas at risk, but at least this way, there is a greater chance of success. Jo had suggested that they could use another creature as bate, but this did not go down well, it seemed almost as if Jo were suggesting that the Fusas were not worthy enough to be the bate.
The pit now dug, spots chosen for the pullers and the twine laid out ready for the task, the group settle down to have a rest and a meal. The excitement and tension are so strong, you could cut the air with it. Although tired and hungry, everyone wants to just get on with the task in hand.
~~o~~o~~o~~
Picture this, a Fusa jumping up and down, twine tied around its waist, another Fusa patiently waiting in the pit, but getting more bored every second.
After the jumping Fusa has suffered enough, Barse orders a swap over, luckily the Fusas have prepared for such an event and there is already another Fusa tied up, just waiting for her turn. The Fusa's swap over, the one that had been jumping looks absolutely exhausted. Jo is just glad that the Den-Drilla had not come along towards the end of the Fusa's jumping efforts, as he may not have been able to get away in time.
Jumping resumed, the rest of the group settle down and wait patiently.
Suddenly the ground rumbles and the group look at each other expectantly. The jumping Fusa stops and looks nervously around. Barse signals the Fusa to resume her jumping. The Fusa does as told, but immediately stops when the ground starts to erupt behind her. She prepares to run.
The familiar dark red and claws appear and immediately the Den-Drilla heads in the direction of the awaiting Fusa. She waits just long enough to be sure the Den-Drilla is definitely following. The twine is now quite taut, ready to whisk the Fusa away, should it appear that she is loosing ground.
Jo is wishing that the Fusa would start running, the tension is just too much. Jo is much relieved when the Fusa does start running.
The Den-Drilla gives chase and it looks like it is gaining on the poor Fusa. What are the twine pulling Fusas doing, they should be pulling like mad now. The Den-Drilla is just tens of centimetres away, one big push and it will snap the Fusa up. About five metres to go until the pit is reached. One slip and all will be lost. Watching this is sheer torture.
A sudden burst of speed and the Fusa is at the edge of the pit. The twine pullers, at last are doing their bit as the Fusa is whisked away. Leaving the other Fusa in the pit, looking quite afraid now that the Den-Drilla's attention is aimed at him. The Den-Drilla not deterred from its mission continues to head for the pit, it lunges in.
The awaiting Fusa disappears, as if he were the assistant in a magic trick, being performed on stage. The twine pullers did their work, so fast, that the eye could not spot the Fusa's movement.
Thankfully, as predicted, the Den-Drilla digs its way down into the pit. Its angle of approach being perfect and provided it does not emerge until it reaches the island everything is now according to plan.
The Fusas wait anxiously as they see the large creature diving deeper into the ground. Eventually the tail flips into the hole. There's another nervous wait as they await report back from the Fusas looking out over the beach, if the Den-Drilla is going to emerge this side of the sea, it will appear around now, or so the Fusas have estimated the situation.
Jo is both worried and relieved, when the news comes back, that the Den-Drilla has not emerged. Worried, because if this all goes wrong, it will be awful on that island. Jo's state of mind, is not aided, by the fact that Barse orders the Fusas to descend into the tunnel. The twines are dropped down the hole and Fusas start descending, rapidly disappearing, as if the hole were a Fusa eating monster, swallowing them as fast as they are presented to it. Jo feels that this is too early, if they get too close to the Den-Drilla's tail, they will be smashed to pieces.
It is Jo's turn, the twine is rough on her hands and the shaft seems quite dark at the bottom. The damp musky smell, does little to reassure Jo. It reminds her of the sort of smell that you get in the reptile house at the zoo. Only in this case the reptile concerned, is a heck of a lot bigger than Jo. What is to say, that the Den-Drilla hasn't stopped in its tracks and that large tail could come crashing down on them when they reach the bottom of the shaft? Having encountered, close up, one of these Den-Drillas, if not the same one, Jo is not very keen to drop herself down into this shaft, without having a quick escape route. The Fusas insist though, that there is minimal risk to this part of the operation.
As Jo drops the last few centimetres, to the ground, she can feel the ground shaking, as ahead of them, the Den-Drilla pushes forward; boring its way, hopefully towards the island. The thought strikes Jo, like a bolt of lightning, what if the Den-Drilla emerges too early? The Den-Drilla, the Fusas and Jo will all be drowned. Everyone seemed so confident that the Den-Drilla will just keep going, until it reaches the island, that the thought hadn't even crossed Jo's mind until now. She dares not say anything to the others for fear of looking and sounding like a coward. Yet she feels like grabbing the twine and climbing for safety again. Instead Jo plods along, following those before her.
~~o~~o~~o~~
/> The light can be see long before they get to the vertical shaft. It is reassuring, that there must be dry land the other side of the opening, what is more, the Den-Drilla has moved on! The Fusas have caught up with each other, as those in the lead are slowed up by having to climb the almost vertical shaft.
The wait, the hanging around with nothing to do, is quite annoying. Jo can feel the tension, it is almost as if every Fusa is willing those ahead, on up that vertical shaft; almost as if the awaiting Fusas were climbing the shaft for them.
Finally the queue of Fusas starts to move again.
Jo is afraid that the Den-Drilla is just waiting on the surface, waiting to pick them off one by one, like plates of food heading on a conveyor belt straight for the Den-Drilla's mouth. Jo just can not shake the thought out of her head. Although she will be glad to get out of this tunnel and leave that damp musty smell.
Nearly to the top of the shaft and the Fusas ahead of Jo leave he shaft easily and willingly, so it must be safe, otherwise they would be trying to get back down again.
At the surface again, a sea of Fusas backs before Jo, but at least the smell of sweet fresh air again. Then the noise hits Jo's ears, the noise of struggle, of agony. The Grobs must be battling it out with the Den-Drilla. Unless what she can hear is the battle between Grobs and Fusas. If only Jo could see what is going on.
The throng of Fusas moves forward. The joint relief that they can get away from that shaft, but also the agony of not knowing what they are moving onto. The line in front of Jo thins out and starts heading off to the right now. As the line thins even further, Jo sees to the left of her, the back of the Den-Drilla, it is being attacked by a mass of fuzzy shapes, unmistakably the Grobs. Given the apparent numbers on the beach, this hopefully means that the numbers left guarding Ella are much fewer in number. This is the one time that Jo hopes that someone is not getting the better of a Den-Drilla. For the longer the Grobs are kept busy fighting the Den-Drilla off, the easier it will be for Jo and the Fusas'.
The trek up the hill is not easy and every so often the Fusas come to a halt as those in the lead battle it out with some waiting Grob guards. Then at one point the Fusas split off into two groups each taking their own path to the top. Jo's group now much thinned out, she can at last see ahead of her and when the encounter fresh Grobs, Jo can at least see what is going on, as those in the front row battle it out. The Grobs are not giving up easily, these skirmishes last a while and for every Grob that they leave injured or dead, there are one or sometimes two Fusas. So the battle is not being won easily.
As the group approach the top of the hill, Jo takes a firmer grip of her spiky stick, preparing to face battle herself now.
Jo's group thins out as they emerge onto the hill top, which means that Jo now finds herself on the front row. There before them is open ground then clumps of bushes and in the distance a further stretch of hill, but this one not very tall, probably about the height of two Grobs. Speaking of which, there are none to be seen. It would be too much to hope that they were all down below on the beach, they must be in hiding behind the bushes.
The line of Fusas advances on the bushes, the tension can be felt, as they nervously scan the bushes before them, awaiting the first sign of a Grob. They get closer and closer to the awaiting bushes, but no sign of the Grobs.
Jo finds herself willing the Grobs to come out and fight, to end this tension, this suspense.
Four metres and still no sign, not a sound apart from the footsteps and the heavy breathing as Jo and the Fusas get their breath back after their climb.
It cannot be …. surely not the case that there are no Grobs up here guarding this area?
Jo stops, turns completely around and looks down at the beach, it is still really busy down there, scores of Grobs trying to defeat the Den-Drilla.
Suddenly there is one heck of a noise behind Jo, she swings back only to find that her group is being attacked by Grobs and there are more of them pouring out of the bushes.
Jo is now torn between continuing her search for signs of a boat and coming to the aid of the Fusas. Seeing the fierce fighting taking place, Jo realises that her assistance is greatly need, so she launches into the back of the nearest Grob and is delighted that it seems to be caught totally by surprise and is soon doubled up on the ground in a submissive pose. Seizing the opportunity to break away, the Grob rolls down the hill. Jo and the Fusa that she was helping, turn their attention to the next nearest Grobs.
The battle rages on.
~~o~~o~~o~~
Chapter 12 – Disappointment is Normal
Having searched the whole hill top it is now evident that whilst there are signs that the Grobs were camped up here, there is no sign that Ella was ever here.
Barse suggests, “At first sign of trouble, Grob-Lusiers, off hill take Ella. Probably had ready a Boat.”
Jo says, “If only I had looked round for a boat when I looked back at the beach.”
Barse reassures her, “Much earlier could have taken Ella, so my have still seen nothing you. Tricky are these Grobs. Would hide boat as soon touch other side would they.”
The Fusas soon reach the beach and are back at the vertical shaft. At least they know that the Den-Drilla will not be troubling them, as they had found it dead on the beach, being rocked backwards and forwards by the sea. There are no signs of any live Grobs. Either they have all been killed by the combined efforts of the Fusas and the Den-Drilla, or they have fled down the shaft. Are they in the tunnel, waiting for the Fusas to return?
The Fusas descend, no fear showing in their faces.
Jo sees Desag and says, “I have a bad feeling about going back down that shaft.”
Desag still obviously in pain, it shows on his face and now there's a look of surprise, he nods in the direction of the now dead Den-Drilla and says , “But no harm can do it now, as dead.”
“It's not the Den-Drilla.” Jo pauses then continues, “Its the Grobs.”
“What mean you, the Grobs?” his face now shows the same degree of concern as Jo's.
“Well, they could be waiting down there, waiting in ambush.”
“What be this am-bush? Some sort of weapon, that know of you?” asks Desag.
“Er, no not a weapon, it just means they, er, they might be waiting to attack us.”
Desag laughs and replies, “Jo-Menzies, worry about something like that, you, when all that been through you and I? Defeat them Grobs up here, do same down there we do.”
“I suppose so.”
Desag still seeing the worried look on Jo's face says, “Come on Jo-Menzies, you are Wies-An-Fusa fighter, have very much the fighter in you. Worry not you, will win together. Now smile you.”
Jo much heartened by Desag's confidence in her and the Fusa's, she stands by the shaft awaiting her turn to descend.
Desag, grabs the twine and starts his descent, pauses a moment and smiles up at Jo, she smiles back.
Apart from the usual occasional bits of banter passing between the Fusas, there are no other noises emerging from the shaft.
Deep down, Jo still has a bad feeling about this, but Desag's confidence in the Fusa's and come to that Jo's abilities, makes her push the feelings out of the way and instead Jo concentrates on climbing down the shaft with its now, familiar, damp and musty smells.
Jo's eyes soon become adjusted to the dim lights, that the Fusas are carrying, in the form of small glass like tubes. When Desag had explained these sticks earlier, they sounded very much like the glowing necklaces that Jo had frequently worn at fairs and on bonfire night, except that the ones the Fusas are using do not need to be snapped, they just glow whenever it gets dark.
The line of Fusas, moves steadily up the tunnel, as if they are on one of those moving walkways that you get in very long buildings. The journey back to the mainland seems a lot longer than when they came out to the island. Maybe, it is because, they are tired and in desperate need of a rest.
/> Suddenly the Fusas in front of Jo stop without any warning, there is no sound apart from the sound of footsteps behind Jo and Desag; the footsteps of those following. Jo doesn't like this, it brings back thoughts of an ambush, but if that were the case, there would be noises; the noises of a struggle, of a battle; going on somewhere up ahead. Instead nothing; just the gentle sound of lots of Fusas breathing; waiting for the line to resume moving; or maybe, just waiting for some more battle action.
Have those in the lead discovered the ambush and rather than walk straight in, are they taking the cautious line of waiting and assessing the threat, before charging forward and using the element of surprise to their favour?
The wait is painful. The Fusas seem quite at ease, Jo can detect no signs of distress in those around her; yet her own sense of something serious having, or about to go wrong, is rising.
Suddenly, a little movement again, as the Fusas in front, shuffle down the dark tunnel, only by about metre, but never-the-less, a clear sign that movement had started again.
Then another wait.
This process continues again and again, until eventually Jo and Desag can see the bottom of the shaft, with the twines hanging down and Fusas climbing at a painfully slow rate. So this was the problem? The Fusas are just too tired and it is taking them a while to climb back up to the beach.
There are no sounds, apart from the odd grunt, as the Fusas above, reach down and help lift those climbing up; Jo is much more relaxed now. All her fears of Grobs waiting down here, were just merely that, fears. They must have been too tired themselves, to wait around and set an ambush. They, probably, just wanted to get somewhere safe, where they could rest and recover before the next battle. Inevitably, there will be one.
When everyone is out of the shaft, the tired group set about finding a safe place to camp for the night. After a fair bit of marching around, Barse declares a particular site as being most suitable. It is reasonably high up and has a good view all around, so no chance of the Grobs sneaking up on them. When it has been decided who will keep watch, the others settle down for the night. Jo is amongst those.