I’m ready to launch myself to the back of the cave but that would get me nowhere. The baby moves around and I notice it’s beauty. Eyes the size of saucers stare at me. I stare in awe but I start to hear a sweet, soothing voice. I look up to see Amy, “Hey it’s okay, we are not here to harm you or your baby.” I think to myself, she is really talking to the Pandamander!

The Pandamander tilts it’s head to one side and automatically sits down like Amethyst is about to tell some amazing adventure story. “We’ll protect you,” Amy says softly. The Pandamander seems to be listening. I slowly come out from behind my rock. I wonder, will it let us free?

“We are going home now. Stay safe.” The Pandamander steps to one side allowing us to go through the tunnel. I warn Amethyst that we can’t run, we will just be chased. The Pandamander bows it’s head as if it was trying to say bye. Safe at last.

Outside I take a long deep breath and a sigh of relief. Inside I can hear the Pandamander scurrying back to it’s nest.

The mist cleared. I could now make out the way home. A bright moon hangs high above us and stars stud the inky sky. Their reflections sparkle in the deep sea. All is still. We can’t allow anyone to find the Pandamander or it’s baby. Amethyst rapidly talks about how to keep the precious Pandamander safe. She is full of ideas. Tell the council that bamboo fell down in the bamboo forest. Get more signs up banning the cliffs, the bamboo forest, or even the abandoned arcade.

By the time we reach the city, nearly everyone was awake. The sun creeps over the sea. It casts shadows along the pier. Maria drove her ice-cream van towards the theatre. She looked over and gently smiled. Zack’s gift shop was opening up. He stood behind the counter and served anyone who came in with a cheerful smile. Miss Mango was setting up deckchairs on the soft sand. By the time we get to the theatre, cars make their way towards the car park to flood the pier.

I fiddle with the keys and swing the door open, it’s cool and noisy. Soon it would become the noise of an elephant stampede. As I open the little cubby-hole door, I wonder, will the Pandamander and her baby be found by anyone else? Is the Pandamander only friends with me and Amy?

Amethyst wanders over to the window. I stand beside her and she points to which look like fragments of the baby Pandamander’s egg shell. We look at each other, both thinking the same thought.

The never-ending day carries on. After every performance, I find Amy looking through books, ancient logs and records. She looks at this old, tattered leather coating, wrapped around a mysterious book. It’s the diary I bought when I was younger. I never read it though. Amy finds an entry. It has pictures of what looks like the Pandamander standing next to the writing. It says that Captain Berry, an old sailor, spotted an egg that was mint green. He grabbed it and sailed off but every night he thought he was being watched. Soon after that, the ship was attacked by the devils panda. Ever since then, sailors and fishermen threaten to find the creature and kill it. 

That evening we read the book over and over again (eyeing the pictures) trying to see if we missed anything. This isn’t the end. The story just begun…

Chapter 3

 Two days later, we are sitting in my tiny room. We sit in silence. We take sips of our apple juice (my favourite drink). Outside I look happy but inside I am still shook on what happened at the abandoned museum. Amy’s face says she has dangerous plans coming my way. “Steph, I really need your help!” I know what’s coming … I think. “ I know where it lives.”

It turns out that Amethyst has spent hours on the beach and the edge of the city, looking for the Pandamander. She claims to have spotted footprints that we saw at the old museum but just slightly in the bamboo forest that no ones allowed to enter.

Amethyst runs to the door and bursts into the mist. I lock up the theatre and make sure the windows are shut and the lights turned off. I grab two thick woolly jackets in case we get cold. The mist smothers the city and we can barely see. Amy dashes past the sign that says do not enter and then yells at the top of her lungs, “ Hurry up slow-poke!” I say we shouldn’t be there but she won’t listen. I can’t leave her so I follow her amongst the bamboo but I can’t see my way back.

Large footprints make their way towards a large hill. There is another set of footprints but they are heading deeper into the bamboo forest. Amy mutters,“ We’re nearly there.” I slowly trail on behind her wondering where she would lead me.

A small dark tunnel cuts right into the hill. Amy mumbles a few words but I can’t hear her over the howling wind. She creeps into the cave. My heart skips a couple beats. I can’t abandon her, she would do something more foolish than this. As soon as we enter, we spot a circle of leaves which looks like a nest ( the leaves are slowly dying) but an old box stands out. We creep over and can’t believe our eyes.

At that moment, a wave of guilt washed over me. A baby Pandamander, fast asleep in a box. Before I tell Amy that we must leave a roar, louder than a lion, echoes through the tunnel. I turn around; I’m now faced to face with the Pandamander. I take a couple steps back; Amy takes steps forward.

The Pandamander is a type of mammal, closely related to the Malamander that lives in Eerie-on-Sea. Unlike the Malamander  the Pandamander has lungs and gills  so that it can live on land and sea.

Many people believe that the Pandamander has water-proof fur so it’s delicate skin would not be touched by the water. It has beady soulless eyes  and razor sharp teeth for spotting it’s prey and for ripping the animals (or humans) flesh off. They are rude, careless creatures which are nocturnal and come out of water at night. Also, they carry venom within their jaws.

These dangerous creatures used to live in abandoned human territory and are now moving into cities and towns to find more food to eat. Luckily a small variety of Pandamanders go to forests and jungles but loads more are still lurking in the shadows in cities. It is thought that they eat the meat of a white shark, human flesh and berries. 

 A main concern is that 1000 humans are killed a year by the Pandamander. It is getting more and more for humans by the second. Humans are in danger if they go out at night. The public’s lives are at risk. David Attenborough said ‘Stay in homes when the sun has fully set because it is way too dangerous at night right now.