Chapter 15: Fish And Drift Get Help

The first time she asked, Drift shook his head. “Uh-uh,” he said. The second times she asked, he answered “Nope.” By the third time, Drift realised Fish was clearly not taking no for an answer. With her tummy a bit fuller she was keen to get going. So she asked again.

“No way.” Drift said, shaking his head inside the igloo he’d made from his own body. “It’s too dark. And too dangerous.”

“Who made you Mr Responsible all of a sudden?” Fish asked. But Drift wouldn’t open a door or go back to his normal shape and so eventually Fish gave up and went to sleep.

She slept soundly and safely, only waking after Drift yawned and sunlight poured through his open mouth. It was a beautiful day. Cold, of course – even in summer it was cold, but the snow was fresh and the air was clear. “Perfect,” Drift announced, sticking out his tongue and looking up at the mountain. “We should go far. What’s at the top again?”

Fish refused to explain her plan to him. “I can’t risk it,” she said. “I don’t want you running off.”

“Well, that’s not very encouraging,” Drift replied, packing himself back into his body and dropping the last of the fish at Fish’s feet.

After she had eaten, Fish and Drift set off for the mountain. Drift kept one eye looking back in case Block and Blast tracked them down. That wasn’t easy though, and after falling over a few times he put both eyes in their usual place and plodded through the snow ahead of Fish. His footsteps made it a little easier for the girl to keep up but by the time they had reached the mountain, she was out of breath.

“Hop on,” Drift said, and lifted her onto his shoulder. It was a lot more comfortable than being stuffed under one arm and kidnapped, that’s for sure.

However, the snowman was more of a runner than a climber, and he had to stop every so often to catch his breath.

“Can’t you go a bit faster,” Fish asked after the fifth stop.

“Have you ever tried rolling a snowball up a mountain?” he said. “It’s not easy. It’s like…” He scratched his head until there were deep grooves in it, making him look like he had just climbed out of bed. “…like rolling a snowball up a mountain,” he finished. But he set off once again and didn’t stop until Fish needed a wee.

“Turn around,” she told him. He did so and gave a whistle. “Well will you look at the view from here?” he said. “I can see for miles. Miles and miles. It’s everywhere I’ve ever been. Look, that dot over there is a town. I ruined six homes and was chased away. Oh, and that dot over there is another town. I ruined eighteen homes and was chased away. Busy time, that was. Oh. Oh. Look. That dot over there is…”

“I get it,” Fish said, finishing her business and joining him. “It’s a town and you ruined it.”

“How did you guess?” Drift said.

Fish shrugged. “Just lucky.”

“You’re very clever. Full of plans and thoughts and… oh. Oh no.” Drift looked about and ran from one part of the mountain to another, jumping and straining for a clearer view. “Oh no no no.”

“What’s wrong? What happened?” Fish began to panic. She couldn’t see anything other than snow and the thin sliver of sea in the distance. “Is it Block? Is it Blast? I can’t see anything,” she said. When her dad had gone missing she had sat calmly, expecting him to return. She’d sat without worrying until her mum came to fetch her. This time she tended to panic much sooner.

“Yes, but it’s ok,” Drift said. Fish sat down in relief. “I just realised, they aren’t coming towards us.”

“Phew.” Fish was relieved. “Well that’s good news. We have time to get to where we’re going.” She could already see the outcrop they were headed for. It jutted out from the mountain like a chin. One more push and they’d be there.

“No,” Drift continued. “They seem to be heading for that larger dot by the coast.”

Fish jumped up and down, trying to get a better view “What?” She climbed up on top of Drift. “By the coast? That’s where the council meets. Where all the decisions are made. Viktor must be taking mum there. She’ll be forced to sign the land over to him. I bet he’s told her he will hurt me if she doesn’t.”

Drift plucked Fish from his shoulder and set her down on the ground and patted her on the head. Then he sat down and rubbed his feet. “Well, at least he isn’t going to kill her.”

Fish took the snowman by the hand and pulled until he stood up. “Come on. We have to move. We can’t let them reach the town.”

Drift rose to his feet once again. “I’ve only just sat down,” he said. Seeing her face, he picked her up. “But if you think that’s best, then we’ll go.”

They didn’t look back. Fish daren’t and each time Drift tried to, she gave him a nudge with her foot. “Keep moving,” she urged. “Faster, faster.” It was hard to go any faster. The mountain became steeper the closer they came to the outcrop. “Watch your step,” Fish told her friend. “Just keep going. And go faster.”

“I’m not sure you should be bossing me about,” Drift grumbled. He stopped, beginning to feel quite irate. “I can help, you know,” he said. “I have skills. In fact…” Drift’s voice became louder the more he thought how unfairly Fish was treating him. “It was me who discovered what Viktor was up to. AND ESCAPED. AND BEAT BLOCK AND BLAST!”

And as those words echoed in the thin air of the mountain, Fish and Drift felt the ground shake. Drift widened his feet and held onto Fish as snow began to peel down from the rocks. Above them, the outcrop rocked and seemed to almost lean down towards them.

Then everything went silent.

“Well, that was unexpected,” Drift said, relaxing again.

“WHO’S THAT, YOU SAY?” A voice roared out from the mountain, sending more snow hurtling towards Fish and Drift. “I AM NOT BLIMMIN’ ‘APPY. NOT BLIMMIN’ ‘APPY AT ALL.”

“Excuse me?” said Drift. It was as though the mountain was talking, which of course was impossible – even in these parts.

“Shhh,” said Fish. “Let me do the talking.”

“WHO BLIMMIN’ WOKE ME UP? IT BETTER NOT BE WHO I FINK IT IS.”

Drift, never one to make wise decisions, spoke up again. “I don’t know who you think it is but I think I don’t know who you think you are. I think.”

Fish put her head in her hands. This wasn’t starting well at all.

“WHO I FINK I AM?” bellowed the voice. “WHO I BLIMMIN’ FINK I AM? I’LL TELL YOU WHO I AM. I’M AVA. AND I’M COMING DOWN THERE.”

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Illustration © Carl Pugh