by Lillian Forbes
I thrash through the bushes. Rain feels heavy on my scarlet scales. My heart is pounding. Will I make it? Behind me, the earthly surroundings rumble. A distant roar is calling my name from behind me in such an irate tone that I keep on pumping. I turn from crimson to navy to a swamp colour. A hollow tree is up ahead, looming above me, like shadows in a storm. I weigh my options. Wait the storm out in a dead but well-covered tree or get chomped by an angry tiger.
I conclude my debate in my head and take an almighty leap into the hole. Wind whistles past me, a ghost of nature. I pant and collapse on a well-stocked pile of autumn leaves.
Two ruby eyes prowl the Amazon, sticking to the shadows. I cower in my shelter. Russia is a lot stronger than estimated. My tail twitches, nervously, pointing north. I have taken a risk. Tigress will be making her way to the target. Tomorrow, I will have to beat time …
*
“Chiko. You are our best agent. Can you handle the quest alone? This is the most important plan,” Master Bat enquired, her thick, sleek Italian accent wallowing in the air.
“But Miss! The Russian animal force will be chasing her day and night. A bird of prey should go. Like Agent Eagle,” Remy Rat erupted from his seat, but soon quietened down when the master flexed her fangs.
“I-I-I’ll go, Master. I w-won’t l-let you d-d-down,” I stammered, sounding and feeling less confident than I ought to have felt.
With a nod, the bat thrust a bottle in my claws. A chameleon always needs backup. The sticker on it was of a wing. Not to make me fly, but for the enemy. We always have a laugh at a four-legged creature flying.
I gulped. I had never been to America before. Now I was going to the Amazon, racing a tiger to the source of success—the wishing well.
*
Before I could journey deep into the rainforest, I had to find the sapphire. It would unlock the power and allow the magic to wash over me. It was in a busy market square with thousands of people. There was yelling and fighting from every direction and stomping feet prowling the ground. The directions I had been precisely given were to go left at the opal shop and into the back storage. There I had to camouflage a lot, as there were black opals.
I flashed shade after shade until I reached the black house. This is where the sapphire was kept. According to our sketch, there was maximum security. I practically wore an invisibility cloak past the cameras, and then I limboed past the lasers.
Finally, I found myself standing in the presence of the gem. I launched into action and lassoed the target. Just as I was handling the prize, a deep rumbling tone that was seldom happy roared at me with such anger I froze in my tracks.
“Give me that right now, Australian.” Tigress’s voice curled around me like smoke. A lump formed in my throat. Now I was in a pickle.
I tried blending in with my surroundings, but the radiant sapphire was giving me away. I looked at the back-up bottle in my hands. I had one chance to use it. Without a backwards glance I thrust the quivering black liquid in the open mouth of my predator. Suddenly, the gem lit up with blue sunbeams and the whole world was an ocean of light.
Just as soon as it had started, it stopped. Except this time, I was shaded by trees and vines. I was in the Amazon.
Drops drowned out any noise of life. It was pouring and I was pushing on steadily when crimson eyes popped into the open. I knew I was being watched, so I scurried on. The well was only one hundred kilometres away and, bleary-eyed, I could just make out the blurry structure of the mossy piled rocks. I had recovered in the worst part of this tropical storm, but the soft padding of footsteps was warning me that the enemy was dangerously close.
*
ONE DAY LATER
I had nested near the cavern in which I had to place my sapphire. After the rain had ceased, it was a lot easier journey. Now I was in the presence of greatness. I was reaching out to fit the gem in the wall when Tigress leapt out, scraping her claws into my well-polished scales.
I let out a yelp and dropped the sapphire. The tiger leapt hungrily on it and my tail twitched just in time to flick it only centimetres away. The Russian-trained tiger smashed into the wall, making the whole cave shake. That is when rocks and boulders started closing around us.
I gasped. If I waited to make my wish I would be trapped and killed. If I didn’t wait, I would have failed my mission.
A lump formed in my throat. I knew what was best for me. I threw the gem at the jagged wall, watching it smash. I then sprinted as fast as I could out of my adventure and quest, into the real world again.
I had failed but I was safe and so was the world.
