The thunder-bolt

Chapter 2: Are we safe?

Neither Leo’s nor Ruby’s parachutes were working, and they had no hope left. As they were being dragged to the ground by their new enemy (gravity), they saw a grey mist coming in the distance. They noticed it was turning at a lightning speed; a whirlpool of wind.

“Hurricane!” Ruby screamed, gasping for air. It was like they were magnets, as it spun towards them, getting closer and closer. The twins were panicking, and Ruby snatched Buddy, gripping onto him, her knuckles whitening. Leo faced turned to a daisy-petal-white, as the hurricane swallowed the sky ship in one gulp.

“CAPTAIN STORM-BREAKER!” Leo bellowed, his heart pounding as his uncle was swept up by the hurricane, the sound of his scream blocked out by Ruby’s sobbing. Suddenly, Ruby and Buddy were going around in circles, wind blowing their bodies easily, like they were feathers, the hurricane had devoured them. “NO!” Leo yelled, as he felt himself being sucked in as well. Leo, Ruby and Buddy were being spun endlessly, and they watched as the once-majestic Thunder Bolt vanished into oblivion. With a glance, Leo noticed the eye of the storm, filled with gorgeous pearly-pink clouds. Ruby tried to resist the hurricane’s pull, but Leo told her not to, that they would make it to somewhere safe, if they believed. He told her that the hurricane would take them to the centre of the wind, where it would be safe. Surprising Ruby, she discovered that he was right. The storm that had once been mean and cruel, was now full of kindness and peace. Everything turned quiet. The wind was their shell, protecting them from the outside world.

“You did it! We’re safe!” Ruby said, relieved. Only they weren’t, they began to fall once more, realising that just because they were inside a storm, doesn’t mean they wouldn’t still be affected by gravity. “I thought that we were in the eye, that we were going to be okay!” As they plummeted, they saw that beneath them there was an incredible island, and they were about to fall in its jungle. “An island!”

“What? That’s impossible, we’re literally inside a hurricane. Why is there an island in a hurricane?” Leo said with amazement. They realised they would be okay, they were landing in a rainforest, but they didn’t realise they would become unconscious by the time they landed.

Ruby had awoken from her deep slumber. She stared round, like a lighthouse’s searchlight. Her eyes glistened in the sunlight, which tried to sneak through the army of trees. They were in a jungle that Ruby only thought possible in dreams. She saw that Buddy thought so as well, his head was tilted at the sight.

Ordinary trees were pathetic compared to the ones on the island; they were the colour of the rarest emerald. Vines wrapped around the bumpy bark of the trees, almost suffocating the trunk. Plants of all shapes and sizes worked together to make a mesmerising array of nature. Waving in the gentle breeze, thin, lavender-purple flowers hypnotised Ruby, their petals so soft and silky. One plant was like a chandelier, hanging from branches overhead, and Ruby thought it was her guardian angel, looking down at her. What Ruby loved most, though, was the abundance of peculiar animals that hid in the bushes. They were so beautiful, so free. Many of Ruby’s friends would’ve called them ugly or frightening, but to Ruby they were the most amazing living-things known to the human-mind. Small insects fluttered in the air, twirling like ballerinas, and harmless birds sang a melodious tune. This was a land of dreams for Ruby, but for Leo it was the land of nightmares.

Leo saw three things: A jungle filled with dangerous animals that they’d never seen before, an island that they were stuck on, and a place where there was no one to look after his sister, Buddy and himself.

“Oh, Leo! Isn’t it wonderful? I think that this is the happiest I’ve ever been!” Ruby sighed, her face sore with smiles.

“Wonderful? You’re happy? If anything, this is an absolute disaster! There’s no one to look after us, and we’re in grave danger,” Leo panicked, barely breathing. Ruby had never heard her twin say so much in his life, he was always so shy, like he had been muted.

Ruby said, “I can look after us! After all, I am fifteen minutes older than you and I did girl scouts, making me extremely responsible.”

Leo scoffed and replied, “You, responsible? More likely to be me.”

“No, me. I cooked your food for an entire day once, when Uncle Storm-breaker was on ‘urgent business’. I bet that you have never done anything as brave as that.”

“Ruby, who was the one who looked after you for a month, when Mum and Dad went to Costa Rica?” asked Leo.

“You,” Ruby replied reluctantly.

“And who was the one who paid for a hotel, when Uncle left his wallet in the car?”

“You.”

“And who-”

“Okay you’ve made your point!” Ruby interrupted, realising that her brother had one on the side of maturity. Buddy started yapping at a strange bird that hovered over him, and ran off after it.

“Buddy, no! Come back! Great now, we’ll have to find him as well as the way out of here!” Leo moaned.

“Really? Our dog runs away and all that you care about is getting out of here! Let’s go get him,” Ruby replied. As they walked around, they called Buddy’s name, but no reply. Where had he gone? Leo and Ruby began to argue, until Leo couldn’t take it anymore.

“I just want to know where we are!” Leo huffed. Ruby did agree with him though, they were both confused about what had happened.

Out of nowhere, an unfamiliar squeaky voice said, “You’re in The Wilders, of course.”

“Who said that?” Leo asked, terrified. What did the voice mean by The Wilders?