The Last Scarecrow

14 | Unexpected Friend

Light thinned across the Island of Trees. All became quiet and still.

Two wickermen stood between Erin and the climber's lodge. They looked as if they were sleeping or in some sort of deep meditation, but, as she fiddled with her chains, their heads swivelled to watch her.

Hours slipped by.

Darkness never truly arrived.

The forest moved in eerie shadows, blocking the sky and the glittering stars that Twelve loved so much.

Erin sat on the forest floor, her arms raised above her head.

In the middle distance, wickermen marched across the woods, checking the perimeter of their camp, heading down to the shoreline and back again.

Erin monitored their routines with interest. When she'd convinced herself that she'd memorised their entire schedule, the two wickermen that stood guard strode off into the woods.

Erin shifted up the tree, confused, craning her neck to see where they'd gone. But, no matter how she angled her head, she couldn't see any trace of them.

Not one.

"They've all gone," Erin said.

"I know," Twelve replied. "Why would they leave us unguarded? It seems—"

Something shifted softly through the undergrowth behind the oak tree.

At first Erin thought that is was probably a nosey hedgehog or a hungry fox, but then her chains went slack and dropped to the earth.

Glimmering in the faint moonlight, a silver key appeared in the hands of a caped figure. He unlocked the iron clamps around her wrists, slinging them to the ground.

"Jack?" Twelve whispered. "What are you doing?"

"Isn't it obvious," he replied. "I'm getting you out of here."

Twelve opened her mouth to interrogate the wickerman.

"There's no time for questions," he said hurriedly. "Take Erin and get to your boat as quickly as you can."

Releasing the scarecrow from her bindings, Jack threw the rope and chains into the bushes beyond the tree like a dangerous snake.

"It's okay," said Jack soothingly, crouching in front of Erin. "You're both going to be okay."

Erin rubbed her wrists. Twelve swung a huge arm down and grabbed her hand.

"Thank you, Jack," the scarecrow said, searching the gloomy forest. Stepping forward, she paused, then turned to the wickermen. "What about Five?"

"There's no time for that now," he urged, panic rising in his voice. "There's nothing that can be done for her."

Twelve hesitated. She glanced back at the climber's lodge where her estranged, peculiar sister was no doubt rocking in her blackwood chair.

"They'll be another time," Jack insisted. "Get Erin to safety. Go. Now."

"Yes, Twelve. Let's move," Erin added, her feet already marching across the clearing.

"Oh, and take this," Jack said. "I found it in the lodge."

Twelve looked down and there, in his grassy palm, was the sailor's pistol.

Erin scampered back and took the weapon, slotting it carefully into her belt.

"Thank you, Jack. But...why?"

"There's no time," he urged impatiently. "Just go. Now!"

Setting off, Twelve took enormous strides through the trees. Jack, the clearing, and the climber's lodge vanished swiftly with every giant bound. Erin sprinted to keep up, her hand locked inside Twelve's.

They descended the muddy banks.

The languid ripples of the Endless Blue spread out hundreds of feet below.

Twelve skipped and jumped from rock to rock, clinging to trees with her spare hand for balance.

Below, Lazarus waiting patiently in the shallows.

Erin smiled as the boat came into sight with its dragon figurehead and bedcloth sails.

But the ripples of relief were swiftly washed away.

A cry of anguish erupted through the trees, reverberating and growing as it caught the fleeing pair.

More voices split the night, urgent and shrill.

Twelve pressed her cement-filled boots into the earth, dropping onto her backside and sliding rapidly towards the shoreline with Erin riding her like a toboggan. The scarecrow's knees squeaked and groaned as she struggled to steer them safely down the sharp bank, Erin's fingers clawing Twelve's pirate jacket.

The scarecrow groaned as a heavy projectile fizzed through the trees, striking her spine.

"Oh no," Erin said. "They've found us. They're coming!"

Something else flew past them and buried itself in a nearby tree.

"Axes!" Erin squealed. "Keep going. As fast as you can!"

More axes came. High, low, direct, precise. Looping menacingly through the night. They thudded into trees and disappeared into the grey-green ferns that carpeted the forest floor.

Launching herself into the air, Twelve flew past the last line of trees and sunk her boots into the shallows. Erin skidded to a halt. Poncho and dungarees caked in filth. She dropped into Lazarus as Twelve hauled her boots out of the thick, gloopy silt. Once onboard, the scarecrow stopped and turned to the sky.

"Twelve," Erin yelled urgently. "What are you doing?"

"Raven," she said. "We can't leave him behind."

"He has wings. He'll find us," Erin said collecting the oars and forcing them onto Twelve. "Let's go. Now!"

Twelve pushed Lazarus away from the shore.

Screams and wails rang through the lower banks of the island. Axes splashed violently into the water, left and right, taking nicks out the wooden boat.

Erin reached back and clutched the handle of a small throwing axe embedded in Twelve's spine. It came away easily and, as she dropped it into the boat, Jack emerged at the tree line, waving frantically.

Erin squinted.

What was the wickerman doing?

He looked desperate, anxious.

Axes zoomed past his head.

"Wait!" he yelled, splashing into the water.

Twelve and Erin looked at one another, then back at the half-soaked wickerman.

"Please, wait!"

An axe spun through the trees, taking a chunk of Jack's shoulder.

"Please, Erin. You have to take me with you!"