Chapter 16 & 17 - The Peski Kids 4, Near Extinction

The T-Rex has crashed over the top of the school bus, Joe has sprained his ankle and April has to stop Mr Lang from driving off before Fin is decapitated. Meanwhile Mum and Dad are breaking into a maximum security Kolectiv prison.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:36

Hello and welcome to Bedtime Stories with me are a sprt. Okay, so today we are continuing to read the Pesky Kids four Near Extinction and today we're up to chapter 16. But before we jump into it, someone wrote in, uh, the Apple, uh, podcast re review thing. Uh, first of all, they, they wrote asking me a question and I don't think there's any way of me replying to reviews you've written on Apple Podcast, so I can't reply if you writee a review, like you wrote a review. It's just a review. Uh, but they were asking me to tell them to give them instructions on how to buy, uh, one of my Nanny pigs books. Um, but this person was in Brisbane. Now if you are overseas, I can understand it. It's a little bit more challenging to buy my books, but you can still order them online from like book Depository or Amazon or something and they'll deliver them anywhere in the world. So it's not really that hard. Just look it up online and order it. Although I guess if you're a kid it may be harder to order online. But anyway, this kid was in Brisbane, so, uh, in Brisbane, Australia you can go into Annie Bookshop and they will have my books and they may not have all of my books. Maybe they've just got Friday Barns or the shockingly good stories cuz they've come out recently. But if you want the earlier books, you just have to go up to the counter and say, can I please order one of, I don't know, the Nanny pigs books or one of the pesky kids books and they'll, they'll be able to get it in for you. It takes about a week, maybe two weeks at the most and they'll be able to get it in for you and then you can buy it and it's awesome. Books are bookshops are excellent that way, so, uh, they're there to help you. Maybe you just ask, they'll can order it in and it's always good to support your local bookstore. Alright? Okay, let's just get into it and tell stories now. Okay, so we're up to chapter 16 and just say no. The last thing that happened at the end of chapter 15 was the school bus that all the kids were on at the dinosaur park. They were just about to leave to go and get help. The school bus crashed because Tom was trying to hit April with his cane. Tom is vision impaired, so he has a white cane and uh, he accidentally hit Mr. Lang who was driving the bus across the face and he let go of the steering wheel and they went, uh, off the road into a big ditch and the bus sort of, yeah, it cored outta control and crash. Okay, so that's where we're picking up the story. Chapter 16, what now inside the bus there were kids strewn everywhere. April shoved Tom Neil and Matilda off her and bounded down the aisle making little attempt to avoid Kirin and Anish with her feet. Mr. Lang was just opening the concertina doors as April hit the steps and launched herself catlike onto the dirt outside the site that met her eyes was shocking. The T-Rex had been three times the height of the bus, but now had collapsed over the top. The T Rex's feet were a meter off the ground and the massive fiberglass statue, seasaw precariously in the wind at the top end in the jaws of the giant animatronic creature, there was Finn still stuck by his head. Although now that the dinosaur was lined across the roof of the bus, Finn could support some of his own weight by standing on his tippy toes on the rooftop. Are you dead? Called April not yet cried. Finn, his voice muffled inside the dinosaur. I'm actually more comfortable now. I'm getting more airflow from this angle. All Sicily concerned drained out of April and she went back to her natural default mode of pain out on her brother. You know you're a huge idiot rights at April. I'm smaller than you said Finn. He was two inches shorter despite being one year older. That's why your idiocy is so massive said April because relative to your actual size, it's totally out of proportion. Your dumbest to volume ratio is enormous. Loretta and Joe were sprawled in the dirt just meters from the front wheels of the bus. Joe had tackled Loretta knocking her out of the way as the bus hurdled down the embankment towards them. Joe was just sitting on the ground apparently in shock, but Loretta got to her feet and tried to brush some of the dirt off her clothes. She was filthy from landing hard in the dirt, then having Joe crashed down on top of her s sorry Staed Joe. Loretta had a huge smile on her face as she slapped the dust off her school uniform. Don't be, that was thrilling. This is turning out to be the best school excursion ever said Loretta. We never did anything this Excitingness. An Anthony's Joe still hadn't got up. He was gritting his teeth. Are you okay? Asked April. Joe never did say much, but it wasn't normal for him to sit on the ground, clenching his teeth and squinting into the middle distance either, especially not when one of his siblings was dangling precariously out of the mouth of a dinosaur. Joe had more maternal instincts than most mothers. He was like an emu. When the mother leaves the male sits on the eggs and looks after the babies. Fine said Joe. April looked closely at Joe's face then why are your eyes watering? What's wrong? Said Loretta. Nothing mumble Joe. Stop lying. Said April. I sprained my ankle, said Joe. Loretta burst out laughing. Oh the irony. It's delicious. A real sprained ankle settle. Loretta, shall I get Daisy to come and carry you? I'll be fine. Said Joe. He shifted all his weight onto his good foot and using his hands for support slowly stood up. He looked pale and clammy, but he was upright. See? Ah-huh. Settle. Loretta. Now try walking over to the bus to check on thin. Joe took one tentative step. As soon as he moved his weight onto his bad foot, he collapsed on the ground again. It took all his willpower not to scream out in pain. Tears were pushing up at the back of his eyes. He could not cry in front of Loretta Viswanathan. He turned away from her then realized he was facing all the kids on the bus. Their faces pressed up against the glass. Joe pulled his cap down over his eyes. So if he did accidentally let a tear or two spill out, no one could see. April had climbed up on top of the bus to check on fin. He looked ridiculous with his head clamped inside the dinosaur statue. Tiptoeing back and forth on the roof as the dinosaur tilted in the breeze. April took in the side. You know it would be so easy for me to D you right now. She observed. Don't do it. Cried Finn. Don't worry, I won't set April. It wouldn't be sporting. It would be like shooting fish in a tin of sardines. Finn breath the sigh of relief. He was pretty sure he was wearing his Lego undies and he didn't want everyone in school to see that. I could tickle you though, said April. April please pleaded Finn. Alright, said April. I'll leave you alone. I don't really need to do anything. It's like your self tormenting at this stage. I can just stand back and enjoy the spectacle when we get back to school. Yelled Mr. Lang, you are all suspended. Mr. Lang had climbed out of the bus. His face was red with rage. All the kids in the school ask Kirin. Isn't that just a student free day then? Not all the kids in the school. You ridiculous. Boy snapped. Mr. Lang, the pesky kids. I'm suspending a lot of you. You destroyed a local monument and seriously damaged the school bus. You lot are a walking train wreck. Ever since you came to this school, you've wrecked everything. Well, that's a bit harsh At April, I like to think we've added to the local color. Yes, at fin with our big city new roses we've made Ang more cosmopolitan. They did save the cockroach traces, catch a runaway bear and solve a bank robbery. Said Loretta, I think it's very ungrateful for you to be so critical of their few anti-social behaviors. They crashed a bus into a local tourist attraction. Cried Mr. Lang. You were the one who crashed the bus argued April only cause you hit me in the face when I was driving said Mr. Lang. No, I didn't said April. Tom did your blaming. The blind boy cried Mr. Lang not blind vision impaired. April corrected him and Tom is a far more complicated person. You shouldn't just see him as a boy with a disability. He's more than that. He's a boy with a disability, with a violent temper, psychopathic attitude and shameless disregard for others when it comes to man spreading. What's man spreading us? Mr. Lang? Ask Tom said April. He'll show you. I'm reporting you all to the Department of Education, said Mr. Lang as he stomped back to the bus, I shouldn't have to put up with this. Prison. Guards in maximum security have less difficult people to deal with. Hey, called Finn from inside the dinosaur head. Mr. Lang isn't gonna start the bus, is he? He probably just wants to get the bus out from under the T-Rex at April, but if he does that, said Finn, I'm gonna fall three meters to the ground and possibly have my head ripped off by the weight of the dinosaur. You should have thought of that before you climbed up there and stuck your head in to impress. Loretta said April. I was not trying to impress Loretta argued. Finn, I was trying to establish if the statue accurately represented the number of rear teeth in the jaw of a T-Rex because that impresses all the ladies said April. The bus shook as Mr. Lang turned over the engine. It rumbled for a second, then died. Make him stop panicked. Finn, he was only 13. That was much too you young to die. All the things he'd never done started to flash through his eyes, drive a DeLorean, win a Nobel Prize, become an astronaut, cure cancer. Invent a perpetual motion device. Kiss a girl, save me. Fine. Fine. Said April. Mr. Langton the key again and the engine rumbled. Laboriously to life, spotted a few times, then died again. April. Knocked on the doors of the bus and called out to the teacher. Hey, you're not gonna drive away, are you? She called through the doors. Finn's worried he is gonna die. We need to get back to Keong to get help said Mr. Lang trying the engine again. The whole bus shook as the engine turned over but then died again. Yeah, well it's not gonna look good on your teacher's file if he gets decapitated when you back the bus out said April, I'll back the bus out. Slowly said, Mr. Lang, the dinosaur will slide off. A few students can support Finn so he isn't hurt in the process. It'll be fine. Yeah, and if you are wrong, my brother will bear a striking resemblance to Amber Lynn in a few minutes. Said April. I'm the adult. I make the decision. Snap Mr. Lang. He turned the key again and this time the bus didn't rumble. The starter motor just ticked. He tried again and again. There was just a ticking noise. What is that said Mr. Lang batteries flat said Neil, I guess you don't get to make the decisions after all. Set. April the electrons in the lead acid battery have made them for you. Okay, that's the end of chapter 16. So let's push on and read chapter 17. Meanwhile, somewhere in eastern Europe, dad and Ingrid had been hiking through the woods for what felt like miles. They ditched the dirt bikes literally in a ditch backed by the main road. Ingrid had said they couldn't ride it too close to the prison because there would be security sensors buried in the forest floor and the vibrations would trip. Dad was not having a good time. He was not very fit. He did do a lot of gardening, but grafting rose bushes and propagating ceilings was not great. Cardiovascular training. Normally dad would enjoy being in the woods and looking all the plants, but it was nighttime and he couldn't see anything. His lungs ached and his legs were on fire. And as much as he loved plants, he didn't love walking smack into a low hanging tree branch or thorny bush every few paces. All dad could do was follow. Ingrid the moon was a slim crescent. There was barely any light at all. He sensed her as much by her movement as anything else. She certainly made no noise, but he could see the movement of branches partying as she made her way through the dense undergrowth until suddenly she stopped. We are here. She whispered. Where us dad look, Ingrid pushed aside a branch and dad could see they were on a hilltop overlooking a valley. The sun was beginning to rise. It hadn't peeped above the horizon yet, but the sky was growing purple. As light started to drift up into the sky, dad could make out the shape of a dark square building surrounded by high barbed wire fences with four guard towers. One at each corner. It's a prison. Said dad. Ingrid nodded. Your wife is inside. Dad felt cold. He tried not to think about his wife, at least in the daytime. He couldn't stop his brain from having dreams and more often nightmares about her at night. He knew she was in prison, but he hadn't thought about what that meant. She was tough. She could handle anything. He knew that. But this prison looked like a lot to handle. It was worse than anything. His imagination could have conjured up. He hated to think. What sort of things went on inside such a bleak and miserable building hidden away in the woods, away from eyes and oversight. We must get inside. Said Ingrid. What? Said dad? He knew they were trying to break his wife out, but it hadn't occurred to him that they would have to break in. It didn't seem very sensible. They aren't going to let her come out here for a nature walk. Said Ingrid. We have to go in and get her. How Said dad. It looked like an impossible task. We'll never get past the barbed wire. Ingrid glanced at the building. That is not a barbed wire. It's razor wire. Electrified razor wire. Oh dear o, dear o dear said dad. He started to hyperventilate this was all too much. They'll just lock us up too. If they interrogate me, I won't be strong. I won't be able to resist. I haven't got it in me. I want to do the right thing, but I'm not strong enough. I'll tell them everything. You don't know anything Ingrid pointed out. I know. Agree dad. But perhaps I know more than I think I know. You don't said Ingrid. I've known you for two years. You definitely don't know more than you think you know. If anything, you know much less. But will they believe that? Ask Dad. Perhaps I should make something up. Am I gonna have to slap you? Ask Ingrid. Or can you get control of your emotions by yourself? Dad took some steady in breaths. I'm okay. I think good setting Ingrid, but you can't seriously propose us trying to get in there. Said dad. It will take months to dig a tunnel or arrange for a helicopter to land in the exercise yard at the exact time she was out jogging, which is why we will keep things simple. Setting Ingrid. Turning back to look at the layout of the prison. We will go in through the front door. What exclaim That they'll shoot us as soon as we walk up the driveway. No set. Ingrid. I have made arrangements. I had a contact acquire a military vehicle for us. She went over to a nearby bush and pulled it aside. It came away easily. Apparently it wasn't a real bush, just camouflage behind. The scrub was hidden. A 1984 Toyota Corolla. It was a small, underwhelming gray car. Your contact betrayed you exclaimed dad. That's just an old wreck. Ingrid led out a sigh. There was no point getting angry with dad, so she calmly explained espionage operatives always drive cars like this. No one suspects the most lethal government agents would drive a hatchback. She opened the back door and took a package off the backseat. Take off your clothes. Who what? Said dad. In the few weeks he and Ingrid had been living together. He had been very careful to make sure she never got a glimpse of him anything less than fully dressed. In fact, he'd actually been wearing extra clothes when she was around, almost as if they were a protective shield. Ingrid threw the package to him. Put on this uniform. Will you turn around as dad? Ingrid briefly considered knocking dad out and changing him herself. She never turned her back on anyone. She'd been trained not to when she attended Sweden's Elite Spy Academy. But turning her back on Dad was like turning your back on an injured kitten. An acceptable level of risk. She could set aside her years of training just this once 20 minutes later, dad was driving the Corolla down a fire trail into the valley. Ingrid was handcuffed to a rail in the backseat. But how do we get inside us? Dad? I don't speak whatever language it is. They speak here, it'll be est or Russian. Said Ingrid. The staff will be multilingual. The collective is an international organization. Well, they won't expect someone in uniform to address them in English. Said Dad, just don't speak, said Ingrid. In your country, people talk, talk, talk so much more than is necessary here. No talking will be considered normal. As they turn the next bend in the road. They could see the prison up ahead. Dad started to hyperventilate again. I can't do this. I can't. Ingrid couldn't slap him because her hands were cuffed. She headbutted the back of dad's seat. Instead, it did startle some sense into him. He stopped wailing and just breathed ridiculously quickly. You need to focus. Ingrid told him firmly. Dad nodded. He knew he had to get it together. What should I focus on? He asked the fact that I will kill you if you don't get it together. Sit. Ingrid. It had not occurred to dad that the collective were not the only people who should be afraid of. He should be afraid of Ingrid too. He struggled to make his breathing normal. They were approaching the guard booth. What do I do? Ask Dad. Stop and roll down the window. Said Ingrid. Sit him back in the seat and assume in the role of prisoner. Dad pulled up alongside the booth. A guard sat inside. He looked very young, perhaps only 20. He also looked cold despite the massive gray coat and fur hat he was wearing.[inaudible] said the guard. Dad did not know the language the man was speaking, but somewhere inside his brain, he instantly interpreted the words as papers. The guard were God wanted to see his papers. Dad patted his chest. There were papers in the breast pocket of the uniform he was wearing. He hoped it wasn't a receipt for a dry cleaner. Dad pulled them out. They were written in a clic dialect. Dad glanced at them. The language was entirely foreign to him, but he understood every word. Transportation orders for prisoner X T H. 3, 2, 9 0 4. He handed them over to the guard. The guard looked at them and handed them back, said the guard. He pressed a button and the boom gate opened.[inaudible] Said dad as he drove the car away from the guard. I did not know you could speak Russian and said, Ingrid. I can't said dad. You just said thank you and perfectly pronounced Russian. Said Ingrid. You even had an authentic ified accent. I did. Said Dad.[inaudible] said Ingrid. Dad glanced his watch. Oh,[inaudible] Dad suddenly realized what he had done. Oh my gosh. I do speak Russian. You asked the time, didn't you? And I said quarter to three. Ingrid nodded. It makes sense at Ingrid. Your wife must have taught you. She never gave me any lessons, said Dad. Did she ever get you to listen to audio tapes while you were sleeping? Asked Ingrid. No. Said Dad. She never hooked you up to any devices. Asked Ingrid. No. Said dad. Except I did snore. So she found a ventilator for me. I had to wear that at night. You don't snore, said Ingrid. She was brainwashing you. Are there any other languages you can secretly speak? No. Said dad. He was still reeling from the idea of brainwashing. Ingrid[inaudible] said dad. He clapped his hand to his mouth. Oh my. I had no idea. I knew that. What language was that? Arabic. Ingrid. Your wife was a great operative. If dad didn't feel so violated, he might have been impressed too. And that is the end of the chapter. So we'll leave it there. Until next time, goodbye.