Chapter 10
7 Hours 15 Minutes until Dawn
"Yeah, they definitely got loose."
"Thanks for pointing that out, Tom." Shannon muttered, looking at the carnage of the den. It was immediately obvious to her what had happened. Dan had put a metal cover over the cellar's coal hatch. It had done its job at keeping them in, but it had also driven them berserk. They'd sought a way out, with one of them even charging the bars to the main door with enough force to buckle them. Eventually, one of them had found the quick repair job Dan had done over the hole in the wall and smashed it down. They'd then run into the mineshaft and somehow found a way out into Stoneybridge.
"Well, I'm out of ideas!" Tom smashed his fist into the metal bars of the door and then recoiled in pain.
"Yeah, but I'm not." Shannon countered, turning to him. "Kyle had loads of those bait canisters on his truck. Assuming the truck is still there, we can take Maddy's school bag from the coat rack, empty her books out, take Dan and Emma's bikes and grab as many as we can. All we have to do then is rig them up in the den to go off simultaneously, except for one. One of us then takes a ball of string, and goes through the mineshaft, unwinding it as we go. We find the hole they got out from, set that grenade off there, use the string to find our way back and get back to the den. They'll probably get there too late for the one at the entrance to put them under, but they'll still follow our scent back into the den. If we do our jobs right, they should all detonate and release a cloud of gas large enough to put them all under for three hours. That will give us plenty of time to seal that hole in a way that would make it impossible for them to escape through. Either that, or we do it in a way that tricks them into thinking they can't get out."
"Shan, you're on about gassing our friends here!" Tom reminded her.
"The label on the back of the one I stole said they were perfectly harmless." Shannon reminded him. "It's been engineered to put them under for exactly three hours, remember?"
"Even so, what do we do about Rhydian and Jana?" Tom asked.
"We'll worry about them in a bit." Shannon shrugged. "I'd rather focus on the three Wolfbloods who are likely to stay together and greatly reduce the threat than worry about Rhydian and Jana first when they could each be on opposite ends of the town."
"Okay, that makes sense." Tom muttered. "I just hope they forgive us. Right: we lure Maddy and her family back, knock them out with the fart grenades and then seal the hole before going after Rhydian and Jana."
"That's basically it." Shannon nodded.
"Okay, but how are we going to keep them contained if we can't patch the hole enough to make them think they can't get out?" Tom asked. Just then, the answer hit the pair of them. They remembered Rhydian telling them about Maddy and the Wolfsbane pill Shannon had given her, and how he'd stopped her from hurting anyone then.
"Okay then. One of us needs to go back and get the gas canisters, and one of us needs to go and pick thistles." Shannon said.
"I'll Rock, Paper, Scissors you for it." Tom replied. There were no prizes for guessing who won.
"Okay, so I'll see you after I get the canisters and get back here." Shannon said as she made her way up into the main house with Tom trudging behind her, literally hating his life. "Remember, we need ten thistle roots. That's two per Wolfblood in case of a problem."
"Just don't let Kyle kill you." Tom muttered as they made it into the main house and he grabbed a Tesco carrier bag from by the door.
"Don't end up as wolf food." Shannon replied. She tried to offer a reassuring grin, but failed. Shannon's job meant that she only had Kyle to worry about. Tom was going to have to dodge at least three Wolfbloods. If Rhydian and Jana were to show up too, it could mean big trouble. Still, it wasn't her problem. He lost the game. "You have your torch to wave in their faces if they show up. Don't use the strobe function unless their fangs are literally inches from your throat and you don't have any other choice." Shannon reminded him. "I know I haven't been there as much since Harry and I started dating, but I really don't want you dead. We've known each other all our lives."
"Thanks, Shan." Tom nodded.
"I know. If you got killed by Maddy and her family, it would ruin my friendship with them." Shannon said before bursting out laughing. In spite of his frustration at the suicide run he was about to make, Tom found himself laughing too.
"Thanks a bunch, Shan." Tom rolled his eyes. "You know; you could have saved the dead friend jokes until after they face the mortal peril."
"Thanks, I'll bare that in mind." On impulse, Shannon reached forward and hugged Tom. Tom returned the gesture and she stepped back before grabbing Maddy's schoolbag. She quickly ran upstairs and emptied Maddy's books onto her bed before running back down and following Tom outside. Emma and Dan had two really decrepit old bikes from years ago in the shed. The frames were rusty and the tyres needed pumping up a bit, but it would have to do with the circumstances.
"Shan, these things are falling apart!" Tom said, looking the bikes over.
"It'll be alright." Shannon shrugged. "I have further to ride than you anyway."
"That's if I can ride this thing at all." Tom looked at the chain on Dan's bike. It looked like the slightest touch would cause it to disintegrate.
"Maddy's got an old scooter in the back if you can't." Shannon reminded him. Tom walked over and pulled the dust cover off the folded scooter.
"No, she hasn't!" he called over. "Dan's stripped it for parts!"
"That sucks." Shannon muttered. "Well, we have to use something! This stuff could be our only hope if Kyle or a Wolfblood shows up! What about Maddy's old bike?"
"It's too small for me." Tom replied.
"I was thinking of me." Shannon told him. "If I can take Maddy's old bike and you take Emma's then we'll both have something to ride."
"Shan, that thing doesn't look like it was maintained any better than these two." Tom looked over at where Maddy's old bike sat neglected.
"Well then, I guess we'll just have to run for it." Shannon shrugged.
"We can't go doing that without some protection." Tom replied. "Remember, I nearly died last time Kyle found us, and he forced you to watch."
"You don't have to remind me." Shannon shuddered at the memory. "Okay, we definitely need to protect ourselves." She walked to the back and grabbed a shovel and a bent piece of metal that looked to be part of the old swing that Maddy used to have in the back garden. "Do you want the shovel or the bar?" She asked.
"I'll take the first one." Tom shrugged. "I'm going to be digging up thistles anyway, so it'll come in handy."
"Okay then." Shannon threw him the shovel and slung the metal bar through the strap of Maddy's bag. "Remember: if they come for you up on the Moors, use the flat end of the shovel. I'm sure they'll forgive you for saving yourself at the expense of them getting concussion."
"I have the torch as well." Tom nodded. "Do you want to walk part of the way down the lane together? We can meet up at the same point and head back together too." Shannon mulled the idea over and nodded.
"That's a good idea. That way, we can minimise the time we're alone."
"Okay, then let's get moving." Tom gestured for her to follow. Together, they made their way down the Smiths' driveway and out into the narrow lane that led to their house. About halfway down, Shannon turned to him.
"Stay safe, Tom." She hugged him briefly and then continued on.
"You be careful too." Tom muttered as he headed for the Moors.