Free The Swiss Family RobinZOM by Perrin Briar Page A

They
stopped every hundred yards beating their weapons on the trees and
shouting at the top of their voices, stopping when they heard
groans and snapping twigs. The incline increased and they began the
ascent. The jungle died away, leaving open space on all sides. The
sky was dark, not a star in sight. There was only the briefest of
flashes of light when the moon looked out from behind its cloudy
veil. A flash of lightning revealed the climb before them, and a
few seconds later, a deep rumble of thunder followed that echoed
the family’s morose mood. Halfway up Sharpie they turned to look
back and found the Lurchers emerging from the jungle.
    “ These things never give
up, do they?” Ernest said.
    “ They don’t know how to
give up,” Bill said.
    “ Do we?” Liz
said.
    Bodies aching and panting
for air, the family scaled the final
ascent to the top of the mountain. Shaking, and weak with fatigue,
Ernest put his hand on a boulder. It leaned forward, and a small
crack marched across its surface. Ernest held his breath, and then
breathed a sigh of relief when it didn’t fall. There was a grinding
noise, and the boulder teetered forward and rolled down the hill,
reverberating like a herd of horses. It crashed down the
mountainside and flattened a train of Lurchers.
    “ What was all that
noise?” Liz said, reappearing from the summit.
    Fritz and Ernest shared a
look, eyes wide . A smile appeared on
their faces.
    “ It’s Ernest,” Fritz
said. “He had an accident and it might be the best idea he’s ever
had!”
    “ Even inadvertently I’m a
genius!” Ernest said.
    “ Yes,” Fritz said, “but
saying you’re a genius isn’t genius.”
    Fritz moved up to another
boulder, blown and shaped into a large round ball by the wind.
    “ He put his hand on a
boulder like this,” he said.
    T he boulder leaned forward and toppled down the
mountainside, squashing more Lurchers in its path. Bill clapped
Ernest on the shoulder.
    “ And look!” he said.
“They’re all coming out to investigate the noise! We still might
win this thing!”

Twenty- Five

    He heard a voice shouting
somewhere in the distance … Far in the
distance… It was fuzzy and unclear. When he opened his eyes he
found his vision just as muddy.
    “… ack! Are you all right?
Shall I…? Jack? Shall I come down?”
    Jack recognised the
voice, and it snapped him out of his daze.
    “ No,” Jack said in a
groggy voice. “Stay there, Francis. I’ll be all right.”
    Jack was upside down,
hanging by one foot. Nip sat on the
ground before him, looking at him with concern. Jack reached for
the knife in his back pocket. But as he reached in, it slipped past
his hand and hit the ground. Jack turned and peered out the corner
of his eye, but couldn’t see his knife. Jack turned to
Nip.
    “ Nip,” he said. “Knife.
Get my knife.”
    Nip cocked his head to one
side.
    “ Knife,” Jack said. “Get
it. Go on.”
    Nip blinked, unmoving.
    “ Why didn’t I teach you
the word for knife?” Jack said. “Idiot!”
    Jack tilted his weight
forward, then back, forward, and back again, building up momentum. As he swung back, he saw his
knife. He reached for it, but missed. As he swung in again for
another try, his fingertips grazed it, and then on the third
attempt, he grabbed it.
    “ Yes!” he
said.
    S omething tightened around his wrist. His arm was drawn up
alongside his foot.
    “ This is great,” Jack
said. “Really great.”
    He still had the knife in
one hand. He tried to cut the vine with it, but the angle was too
awkward. He tried to bring his free hand up to take the knife, but
could only reach up to his forearm. Jack froze. There was a groan, long and drawn out like a dying man’s
last breath. It came from the foliage behind him. Eyes wide with
fear, Jack looked at Nip.
    “ I know you’re in pain,
Nip,” Jack said, voice low, “but please, help me.”
    T he little capuchin monkey must have picked up on something,
as he got up onto his tiny