The Quest of the Warrior Sheep (12 page)

‘Ohmygrass . . .' sobbed Jaycey. ‘Where are you, Oxo!'

Oxo didn't hear. He had stumbled and was struggling chest-deep through a drift.

‘We must stick close together!' called Wills, but his voice was lost, ripped away in the storm. He could see no one in front of him now, and when he managed to turn, he could see no one behind him, either.

The snow was up to his chest. Then his neck. He stretched upwards, desperately straining to keep his nose free. To breathe. But the snow did not relent. It covered his eyes; it covered his head. Wills disappeared beneath the whiteness.

B
y dawn, the blizzard had blown itself out. A smooth white blanket of snow covered every inch of the foothills and was drawn up snugly around the base of the mountains. The icy peaks glistened in the early sun. It was a beautiful scene. But deadly. For the snow was deep as well as smooth, and every Warrior was buried beneath it. Only the warmth of their faint breathing kept them alive, melting enough snow around their muzzles to create tiny pockets of air. Soon though, their bodies and lungs would be frozen solid and the breathing would stop.

Jaycey was the first to be aware of movement above her: a jabbing sound, as if someone or something was digging in the snow. Then something glanced against her left horn. Something hard and sharp. A beak! It clattered against her horns again, left then right.

‘Ohmygrass!' Jaycey's head was suddenly free. Freezing air tore into her rapidly expanding lungs. She gulped in more air. ‘Ohmy . . .' Sharp claws dug roughly into her fleece.

‘Kraa! Kraa! Kraa!'

More claws pricked her flesh and she felt herself being hauled upwards, dragged from the heavy grip of the snow. She could see the frozen ground beneath her dangling hooves and, looking up, she could see black, shiny wings, dozens of them, all beating hard.

‘Ohmygrassohmygrass . . . Crowscrowscrows . . .' she whimpered.

Suddenly, the claws released their grip and she fell back with a thud on to the soft snowy blanket. A mob of birds circled above her. Hooded crows? Carrion crows? They looked the same to her. And they all carried away lambs or pecked their eyes out. They hadn't carried her away so they must be settling for the eyes. She shut hers tight, too terrified even to faint.

Then a harsh voice croaked, close above her:

‘Don't panic, love. Mountain Rescue.'

The muffled voices of the birds stirred Wills in his prison of snow. He strained upwards. He heard
a scratching noise, then something scrabbled at his woolly head, and he too could breathe. He saw Jaycey staggering to her feet. The Rescue Team crowded around him.

‘How many more, mate?' asked their leader, whose name was Kraw. He spoke good ovine.

‘Three,' gasped Wills.

He tried to remember where everyone had been when the blizzard had struck. Who'd been in front of whom. Links had been behind him. Wills nodded at the claw-patterned snow a few steps away.

‘There,' he said. ‘Try there.'

The crows dug in with their beaks and scraped with their claws. A head appeared with lumps of ice dangling from its curls.

‘High in the North, man,

We is buried in the snow,

But the Warrior Sheeps

Is still go, go, go . . .'

‘Actually, mate,' advised Kraw, ‘I'd pipe down for a while.' He glanced at the snow-covered peaks of the towering mountains. ‘No offence, voice-wise, but you don't want to start an avalanche.'

‘Respect,' said Links, and shut up.

‘You can still get out, though.'

‘Oh,' said Links. ‘Cool.' And he heaved the rest of himself out of the hole. ‘Where's the Batterin' Ram?' he asked.

He soon saw. Oxo too had heard voices. A mini-eruption like an ice volcano showed the rescuers where to dig next.

‘Survival rations?' he enquired hopefully as they dug him out.

‘Sorry,' said Kraw. ‘Nearest grub is back down in Glooming. Which is where you guys should be. It's strictly Soays only in the survival scenario up here.'

‘Kraa! Kraa! Kraa!'

The calls of the rest of his team distracted him. Wills had led them to where he thought Sal might be, and they had made a breathing hole. Sal was deep down and sounded delirious.

‘Aries . . .' she called. ‘Is that you, Aries?'

‘Uh, no, ma'm,' replied Kraw. ‘I'm strictly Mountain Rescue.'

He nodded at his team and they resumed digging. Wills wriggled down and managed to
burrow underneath Sal and push from below as she struggled out.

‘Thank you, thank you,' she puffed. ‘I've always said that crows are completely misunderstood.'

‘Thank you, ma'm,' said Kraw. ‘Maybe sheep aren't all brainless accidents waiting to happen, either.'

‘Exactly,' agreed Sal. ‘And one in particular is certainly not. The Soay that we seek. A wise and ancient ram with down-turned golden horns. Can you help us?'

Kraw thought for a moment.

‘I don't know about the horns,' he said, ‘but I saw an old one, right at the top, yesterday. He looked in pretty bad shape to me.'

‘Where?' demanded Sal. ‘Guide our hoofsteps.'

She lurched forward and the crows instinctively scuttled backwards, ready for emergency take-off.

‘No way are you going up there,' said Kraw. ‘You wouldn't last five minutes.'

‘We must. We can't stop now!' cried Sal passionately. ‘We are the Warrior Sheep, come to save Lord Aries. Show us the way. Please!'

Her yellow eyes were on fire. Kraw tried to hold her look but he wasn't used to stand-offs. The rescued
usually said thank you, then went quietly back home.

For a few seconds, the only sound was the creaking plop of snow in the rescue holes. Then Kraw sighed.

‘Go left over the rocks to avoid this deep snow. Then, when you reach the next flat bit, walk straight ahead. You'll pass a big barn. The path starts just behind it. Once you're on the path, don't deviate. It winds all the way up to Bony Peak. That's the summit. That's where I saw the sick old Soay yesterday.'

‘Thank you,' breathed Sal. ‘Thank you . . .'

Kraw took another step backwards. He was afraid she was going to kiss him.

‘One thing you should know, if you're set on this,' he said. ‘Humans use the Peak. They have a building at the very top. Some very strange and dangerous birds come out of there. It's a bad place.'

The wind was rising again. It tugged at the sheep's ice-stubbled fleeces.

‘Good luck,' said Kraw shortly, breaking the silence. He nodded at his team, and with a flutter of wings, they were gone.

The Warriors stood quite still for a few more moments, then began scrambling across the
slippery rocks in the direction Kraw had said. Towards Bony Peak.

‘How about a rap, Links dear?' suggested Sal.

‘Eh? The crow dude said no singin', innit.'

‘I'm sure it'll be safe enough now,' said Sal. ‘And we need a marching song. Aries may even hear us coming.'

Links shrugged then started nodding. And singing.

‘We's the Eppingham Posse

An' we's goin' to the Peak

To find the lonesome Soay

And help him cos he's weak.

We ain't frightened of no shadows,

We ain't runnin' from no beak,

We is here to bring the Baaton,

Not to play no hide 'n' seek . . .'

‘Yeah, man,' exclaimed Sal. ‘Wicked jamming.'

The others took up the song too and marched on proudly towards their goal. So loud and brave were their voices that they didn't hear the helicopter.

*

Neil and Luke did. They were standing shivering in front of the WELCOME TO THE NORTH sign when they became aware of it high above them. Neil was shivering less than Luke because he'd forcibly swapped coats with him. Luke's parka was a bit warmer than his own jacket and it didn't stink of llama spit either. They'd spent an uncomfortable night in the wrecked car before fighting their way out and tramping up the snow-covered logging track. The forest had provided some shelter but here, in the open, the wind cut through Luke like a knife.

‘We'll d-d-die up here,' he moaned.

‘No, we won't,' snapped Neil. ‘Not if we keep moving.' He peered into the distance, ignoring the helicopter. ‘This white-out's gonna help us. The woolbags'll show up like chip grease on a tablecloth.' He stalked away.

Luke had heard of being snow-blind. Neil seemed to be going snow-mad. But it was slightly less cold walking behind him than standing by the WELCOME sign, so he followed.

‘Are you coming?' he said to Saffron and felt happier when she wagged her tail and trotted along
beside him. He glanced up at the helicopter hovering overhead and considered signalling to it. If only it
were
an unmarked police chopper. Prison would be so much warmer than this.

‘Look!' Neil's excited voice cut through Luke's thoughts like the wind through his thin jacket. ‘There!'

Luke squinted after the pointing finger, and saw the sheep. Neil had been right about one thing. They did show up like spots of chip grease against the pure white snow. They were in the foothills, heading for the highest crag.

‘Come on!' urged Neil and he started to run.

In the helicopter overhead, there was also much excitement.

‘There – look, Tod, there!' yelled Gran into her radio mike.

Tod punched the air and nodded vigorously. ‘Yes!' he cried.

Lady Babcott's voice came through to them.

‘Is it definitely them, dears?' she asked.

‘I'd know them anywhere!' yelled back Gran.

Lady Babcott winced. She had given up asking Ida
not to shout into the mike. Then Tod's voice boomed in her ears. He was speaking to his grandmother.

‘Look, Gran. Those two men running across the snow. They're the ones we saw in our paddock. The ones looking for their mobile phone.'

Gran looked and agreed. ‘So it
was
their yellow car back there in the forest.'

‘Weird, isn't it?' said Tod.

‘No, I'm not sure it
is
weird,' yelled Gran after a moment. ‘D'you know what I think? I think they're involved in the bank scam.'

Tod was startled. ‘Why?' he asked.

‘Because Jaycey's still got that plastic bag hanging round her neck. And I think the phone they're so desperate to find must be in it. That's why they're chasing her.'

‘But what's that got to do with the bank?'

‘Think about it, Tod,' yelled Gran. ‘When did we first see those two oddballs? The night our money went missing. The same night they lost their phone.'

‘So you reckon they somehow used the phone to steal the money from the bank?' said Tod.

Gran nodded vigorously. ‘Yes. Then lost the phone.'

Tod was catching up now. ‘And if it's still got some sort of evidence on it,' he said excitedly, ‘data or stuff, they'd be mad keen to get it back.'

‘What I can't figure out though,' said Gran, ‘is how it got into our paddock. Or around Jaycey's neck.'

‘No,' said Tod. ‘And the other thing is that those two aren't exactly bright, are they? If you're right, I bet there's someone else involved in all this. A criminal mastermind.'

The helicopter tilted sharply sideways.

‘Stand by for landing. Going down now.' Lady Babcott's voice suddenly sounded rather terse.

The Warriors had scrambled over the rocks and trotted past the big barn that Kraw had told them about. Now they were on the mountain path and struggling upwards. They were no longer rapping. They needed all their concentration and energy for the steep, slippery, stony climb.

‘Ohmygrass! What's that?' Jaycey didn't dare look up. A dark shadow passed over them and slid silently away. Were the crows back? Huge ones this time? Crows big enough to eat Oxo in one go?

‘Not a crow,' said Wills, a bit puzzled.

‘That enormous mosquito, then?' whimpered Jaycey. ‘The one we heard in the forest.'

‘Too quiet for that,' said Wills.

‘Was it the Lambad dude?' asked Links.

Sal didn't know. All her stomachs churned with fear. She racked her brains for some words of comfort from the Songs of the Fleece, but could find none.

‘It was just a cloud,' said Wills. ‘A long thin cloud.' But he didn't believe it himself.

The shaken Warriors shuffled closer together and continued climbing. They all had the feeling that they were being watched.

Luke forgot about the helicopter and warm prison cells as he hurried after Neil into the foothills. Neil's pace didn't slacken despite the awful conditions. He ploughed through the snowdrifts, sometimes knee deep, sometimes chest deep, his eyes blazing. He fell into holes and clambered quickly out again.

‘This one smells of woolbags!' he shouted wildly, struggling out of a large hollow. ‘We can't be far behind them. Go ahead, you stupid mutt,'
he shouted at Saffron. ‘Round 'em up.'

Saffron gave him a look and stuck close to Luke's side. They all scrambled, slipping and sliding over the icy rocks, and finally hoisted themselves on to the small flat area near the barn. Luke dropped to his knees in the snow, panting heavily.

‘I can't go on!' he gasped. He was sweating from the exertion but the sweat was freezing on his face. ‘I'm done for . . .'

Neil was looking briskly around. The grease spots had disappeared but their hoof prints were clearly visible, heading towards the barn.

‘Ah ha!' he cried, hauling Luke to his feet. ‘We've got them
trapped
!'

Again? Luke wondered how many times he'd heard that one but he didn't have the energy to argue.

Neil ran on, then stopped in front of the barn. The hoofprints didn't go in as he'd expected. They went round the side. He put a finger to his lips.