Chapter 4 :

The plane has stopped half in and half out of the mangled arcade

Everyone on the plane claps and cheers the pilot - so they don’t notice you open the door at the back of the plane   

And jump down.

You run into the shattered arcade 

It is empty   

there are no slot machines or whack a moles 

no penny pushers

no flashing lights or loud music

You look up 

You cannot believe your eyes

Above your head are thousands of giant bird cages, swinging from golden chains

The cages are crawling with half-raven children – mid transformation – slowly mutating into human birds

You stand and stare in horror

The Raven is so angry with the children.  

Because they put him in prison  

That he has taken over their minds and turned them into his raven slaves 

You feel a sharp stab in your toe 

You look down 

At your feet a half-baby stands up on its clawed feet and its giant wings unfurl 

You look at your watch 

And you turn the face once to the left

And once to the right 

This is the Ravens secret lair – it is time to call in the International Spy Network for the Protection of Truth

You step back out into the light 

You are watching the shaken passengers getting out of the plane when the bird cloud descends 

They swoop from the sky and start to attack 

The passengers panic - screaming and running in circles 

There is no time to lose 

You take your ring and you press it 

(counts) …..One   Two   Three 

A strange pink mist starts to shoot out from the ring like a firework 

You swing your hand around in all directions as the gas billows out  – smelling of mince

In seconds it has spread across the pier and up into the sky 

Then the ring hisses and stops

The birds start to flail around and fly into each other 

They seem confused and alarmed 

They drop by one from the sky into the sea - like conkers 

Then lay bobbing on the surface unable to move

You know there is not much time before the gas wears off

You can’t get down the pier because the plane is blocking it   There are too many passengers 

You kick off your shoes 

You hold your nose  

you take a deep breath 

and you jump - feet first - off of the pier 

You 

Fall

Fall 

Fall 

waving your arms to stay upright

and then

splash 

You are under the water

Down 

down 

down 

you go

You look up and see the sun reflecting on the waves above

Then you kick your legs and begin to swim upwards 

pushing down hard with your arms 

And the sun gets brighter and brighter through the water 

Until you 

Break through into the air 

and gasp for breath

All around you birds flap and bob in the water 

And you start to swim 

as fast as you can 

– letting the waves help push you towards the beach 

The sun is beginning to set and the sea is ice cold 

You look up to see the pier smoking

At one end the crumpled plane with its nose poked into the arcade - like a twisted ferret eating an egg

You are weary but you swim   

and swim    

The water starts to get shallower

And you reach the shore  

You pull yourself up from the waves, your limbs heavy 

You feel the sand under your bare feet 

Then you notice something coming towards you in the distance - down the beach

It is The Worst Thing You Have Ever Seen 

You put your hands over your mouth 

The crowds that have gathered to watch the plane crash gasp with horror 

It is the raven 

without his mask. 

He is no ordinary man

He has no face. 

He is 10 feet tall

He stands high on a gold chariot that hurtles down the beach.

The chariot is pulled by 1,000 tiny chihuahuas

Dressed in uniforms with little bows on their heads

Their long shadows stretch down the Beach behind them 

Huge knives thrust out of the wheels of the chariot that flicker in the setting sunlight 

You stand bolt still as he races towards you

You can feel the vibration of 1000 tiny feet pounding on the sand.

You can feel your heart beating slow and calm 

The raven gets closer and closer 

He is heading straight at you.

He starts to emit a terrifying noise like a predator that can smell its prey 

The dogs are getting near

you can almost feel their panting breath on your face as their tiny bodies take the strain of the chariot speeding towards you

You look at the ring on your finger and at the watch 

And your life flashes before you

The favourite things you like to do 

The faces of the people you love

You shout out your agent number 

I am Agent ….

The Raven laughs a terrible laugh 

The dogs are foaming at the mouth 

Then you pick up a piece of driftwood at your feet and you hurl the stick into the sky. 

It flies like a javelin - whistling through the air and straight into the wheels of the chariot.

The wheels stop dead with a mighty crack and everything else keeps going – sending the Raven spinning through the air and the chariot following him, turning over and over.    

The dogs scatter, panicking, out of the way, as the raven lands in a crumpled pile in the sand    

The dogs turn on him immediatey - ripping at his armour as he tries to fight them off

This just makes the dogs more angry and you stand and watch as his clothes are torn to pieces by the writhing mess of tiny dogs  

You put your two fingers under your tongue – you take a deep breath and you blow as hard as you can- sending a high pitched whistle down the beach

the dogs stop stock still   

they are suddenly silent   

In the moment of peace the whistle buys you, you run fast as a rocket to the hot dog van and you grab all of the sausages you can hold and you hurl them at the tiny frenzied dogs 

The dogs begin to fight over the sausages 

You walk slowly up to the Raven and you hold out your hand  

The Raven laughs 

At that moment a giant flare gun lights up the sky in the distance and ,silhoutted against the golden light, are hundreds of helicopters  

From the helicopters special agents are being winched down on ropes onto the beach, carrying machine guns and giant tasers

They run towards you 

You laugh

The beach is beginning to fill with parents 

Calling out the names of their missing children

Overhead the last helicopter lowers its cargo 

It is Babbington.

She walks towards you and nods 

You smile back at her 

Hello 606

You’ve had a busy day

Do you want to do the honours ?

And she holds out a pair of handcuffs 

You take them - they are heavier than you expected 

The Raven scrambles to his feet and stands towering over both of you 

The special agents all point their guns at him 

I am not going back to prison    he says 

And in a flash he grabs your watch and your ring and before anyone can stop him he claps them together 

A huge pulse echoes out across the beach and you drop to the ground – unconscious.