Once they had determined the navy skyship would be staying, and its crew still searched for Berg, the three tracked along the route towards where they had last seen Red Back. That meant over the ridge to Berg’s valley, and through the orchard. Maggie had devoured a paw paw, and had gazed in wonder at a banana.

‘I’ve never had one before,’ Maggie said holding it. Peter felt sure she had no idea how to peel it open.

‘You’re kidding? Right? I mean. B is for banana.’

‘B is for boy.’ Maggie sighed. ‘There’s a war on. Of course we didn’t have them. They don’t grow in New Zealand.’

‘They do… up north. And with global warming… I’ve seen them grow in Otautahi…’ he saw she had just about lost patience. ‘But sure. Most come from Fiji or South America.’

They rejoined Berg with a pile of fruit stuffed in their shirt fronts.

‘So like humans to be eating all the time…’ Berg grumbled, but his words held acceptance too.

He led them on until he crept — slow, so very slow, until they knew he had found their quarry. Red Back had made camp one valley over from the navy’s landing place. A cold camp, with no fire.

‘The pirates, they’re hiding… from the navy?’ Maggie scarfed down what must have been her third banana and spoke between bites.

’The navy and pirates are not friends. And that’s the point of our plan I think,’ said Berg. Ahead of them Peter saw nothing. Berg swung up into a tree as easy as a monkey to get a better view.

‘Okay. That’s freaky,’ said Peter.

‘Obvious now why they don’t wear shoes…’

‘And why two thumbs is better than one.’ Peter gazed at his hand considering what it might be like to have two opposable thumbs.

He and Maggie crept forward with one eye on Berg, who scanned back and forth between watching the two humans, and the view towards the pirates.

’Stop,’ Peter whispered to Maggie. He had read Berg’s aura. They froze. Hid close to the ground. And listened.

‘Nothing,’ said Maggie.

‘No. Look.’ Peter watched Berg’s tail feathers flash white from above. Unseen by his quarry the feathers seemed to be a signal the two could not quite grasp.

‘It’s like morse code… or something…’ said Maggie.

‘Let’s get closer.’ Peter caught sight of Berg who flashed a facial aura that confirmed his guess. ‘He wants us to make our move now.’

‘Do you know morse code Peter?’

Then in a flash of movement that caught Peter’s eye, a small dog-sized animal, running on four legs, broke through the forest from behind the two teens. The animal ignored them and entered the pirate’s encampment. A sudden squawking erupted from the pirate’s manisaur crew and their beasts. Peter could understood little amongst the noise, but he guessed the sounds meant ‘chase’. Then came a sound like the baying of hounds. The pirate’s beasts had been loosed after the small animal.

All good, Peter thought.

Except they had planned for Berg to make the beasts to chase him. The baying of the pursuing pirate beasts veered away from the humans, and then along the beach to their right, back towards the navy skyship. A crashing erupted ahead of Peter, he dived to the side pulling Maggie after him. Red Back barreled through where they had crouched just moments before. Peter and Maggie pressed their faces to the ground willing the vegetation to hide them. At the last second a shout came from the pirate.

‘There. Get him…’

Peter lifted his head and looked along the trail. Berg had hit the ground and now ran away from them, off to the right, with the pirate manisaurs close behind. Berg had saved them from discovery, and the chase had begun. Berg ran fast, had a head start, and the pirates had lost their helper beasts. They just needed to keep ahead of the other manisaurs.

‘What animal started the chase?’ Maggie said.

‘Maybe one of the Pirate’s pets. But it did not run quite like those beasts. Different color too. But it’s Berg I’m worried about. How old is he anyway if that old man had been his jailor?’ Peter hoped that Berg would be faster, more nimble, and smarter than the chasing pirates.

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‘Come on.’ Maggie gestured to Peter but did not check to see if he followed as she ran along the trail over the ridge. They avoided the beach and headed to the same hidden location overlooking the shore Peter knew well. He and Maggie almost stumbled in amongst the squawking pirate beasts.

The teens drew back and hid just in time. The beasts had cornered their quarry. The smaller animal had smooth feather-fur… fur-feathers… colored a deep almost black blue-green, with a lighter soft-grey chest. The front paws were soft with no claws, but instead it had stubby toes that ended in thick pads, but Peter saw short fingers and a thumb curled behind them — as if it ran on its callused knuckles. The rear feet had an opposing thumb and three large toes, but with sharp claws held away from the ground on horny pads. Sized about that of a large dog, bigger than a Labrador, it had a narrow waist and a broad flat chest. But it’s face was…

‘Cute,’ said Maggie.

Then the animal made use of those claws and slashed out a rear leg at the pirate beasts surrounding it.

’Not so cute. Dangerous. But there must be six of them against one.’ Peter’s anger underlay his words. ‘And they’re bigger. That’s not fair.’ He grabbed a rock and threw it at the pirate beasts, it struck one which yelped a high pitched scream.

‘Peter… was that a good idea?’

The other animals turned to stare at them and a shock ran though Peter as the beasts held him with the eyes of ravening wolves.

‘Had an idea to help him…’ He picked a long stick from the ground. ‘I never said it was a good one.’

‘You didn’t say anything at all.’ Maggie picked up a rock too.

The attention of the pirate beasts had been divided now. Maggie threw the rock at the closest. It missed, bounced, and rolled to the smaller animal. It picked the rock up with a…’

‘Its got hands…’ said Maggie.

The animal threw the rock and knocked a pirate beast sideways and senseless.

‘Its got good aim.’ Peter waded into the beasts now and swung the stick about. Something landed on his hip, almost knocked him over, then swung up onto his shoulder.

‘Getitoffme,’ Peter shouted as he twisted and swung at the beasts closing upon him.

‘No. It’s okay.’ Maggie swung her own stick and knocked a beast to the side. They were big, but did not appear to weight very much. ‘It’s the cute one.’

‘Oh, that’s alright then,’ said Peter. He lashed out at the beasts with the stick and a kick. The beasts seemed more frightened of them than he had expected. Peter gave a huge roar, and the beasts fell back and circled them. He reached up to the animal on his shoulder and was bemused to feel a paw — no — a hand grab his, give his a gentle press. The animal seemed to do a little dance, then with a warbling cry of…

Dumb dumb… Beasts… Get me…

The words were so unexpected Peter doubted his ears. Peter swung his stick and hit an attacking beast on its side, the animal on Peter’s shoulders took a flying leap and ran off again racing towards the beach. The beasts took a split second to decide not to stay longer, as Peter swung his stick back and forth, then they — as if in one mind — tore off after the smaller animal once more.

‘Come on… I need to see this,’ said Peter.

They got there just in time. The animal, flushed from the forest by the beasts, raced through the navy skyship’s camp with the pirate beasts in hot pursuit. The small animal then surprised Peter — it leapt up into the rigging of the navy skyship, laughed, and called names down at the animals below.

‘Not only hands,’ said Peter. ‘I think it can talk.’

And with hands it could grasp — and so of course climb.

The manisaur crew from the navy skyship set about hitting out at the pirate’s beasts that tore back and forth around them. It would have been funny if it had not been in deadly earnest. Then the pirate manisaurs themselves rushed headlong onto the beach where the navy crew surrounded them. The two groups fought as the pirates tried to avoid capture.

No sign of Red Back. Perhaps he could not keep up with the pirate manisaurs. And Berg.

The plan had been for Berg to get away from the chase after leading the pirate manisaurs into a fight with the navy. Berg knew the land better than his pursuers so Peter guessed he had swung up into the trees once more. There were good hiding places amongst the nooks and crannies of the forest — or even atop a coconut tree — if you knew where to find them.

Peter’s heart raced and he tried to calm himself. He and Maggie had meant to provide just the first distraction for the navy crew, to give Berg a head start. It had all worked out but now the small animal had disappeared and Berg’s friend remained a captive. Peter wondered at the lucky timing of the animal’s arrival.

But he soon lost that thought as, while the pirates fought on the beach, the human had come into view on the deck of the skyship. No one had taken notice. Yet.

‘Come on… Next step.’ Peter eased forward and took stock of the situation.

‘And you’re sure?…’ Maggie joined him.

‘That manisaurs don’t swim? Yes… Berg confirmed it.’

‘I thought he said they can swim, but they panic like crazy just as we would if on the spire of a tall building…’

‘It’s the best way.’ Peter readied himself in a sprinter's position.

‘Okay.’ Maggie leaned close to him.

‘Let’s do this.’ Peter sprung from hiding with Maggie close beside him.

The two teens ran across the beach away from the navy skyship and yelled and screamed for all their worth. The effect resulted in a shift of attention. The sudden arrival of two humans stunned both the naval manisaurs and the pirates. With something new to chase the pirate’s beasts forgot the small animal they could not get at and took off after Peter and Maggie.

‘Peter. Do those things… the beasts… swim?’

‘No idea. Let’s just get… in the water… and fast.’

In the confusion of the new chase, and the continued fighting, and flight of the pirate manisaurs, Peter saw the human had made it to the top of the companionway. Curiously the small animal now sat at his side. Peter lost sight as he dived into the water and he and Maggie stroked hard into the warm salty lagoon. He flipped on his back, backstroked long enough to see the man slip down the stairs to the beach. The old human ran across the sand into the forest edge followed by his animal shadow.

Except all had been lost. Red Back the pirate captured the old human amongst the trees. Peter and Maggie saw no more as they turned and swam for their lives, the pack of floundering beasts after them. That answered the question. The pirate beasts could swim, and what the creatures lacked in speed, they made up in determination…

Peter just hoped he and Maggie had more endurance.