Sarah’s voice echoed around the prison. Slade shuffled his feet, but said nothing.
“It was you, wasn’t it?”, Sarah accused.
Chester looked puzzled.
Jaha brandished his axe.
Kazin smiled, knowingly…
…and then I understood.
Before she could say another word, I voiced my thought:
“So, he’s the thief that stole the Jewels!”
Slade turned to me, glanced at our axe-weilding ally, and – whiskers twitching nervously – said,
“You got me…”
Sarah and Kazin struggled to hold the enraged Jaha back.
“…but it’s not what you think”, continued the rat, “the Jewels weren’t for me!”
“What did you do with them?”, growled Jaha, through gritted teeth.
Sarah butted in –
“Haven’t you heard the tales, Jaha? Oh, probably not – we were told them in morning lessons at school, sleepy head! The thief Slade is not just a common thief, he steals from the rich to give to the poor. I guess taking the Jewels was just a mistake, he didn’t mean any harm.”
Slade opened his mouth to reply, but was cut short by another growl from Jaha.
“Do you realise the trouble you’ve caused? The whole world is in danger, and it’s all because of you. It’s your fault”.
Unable to contain his rage any longer, our sturdy friend broke free of Sarah and Kazin’s arms and leapt towards the thief.
Unexpectedly finding himself falling into and Sarah, Kazin blushed as he straightened himself out.
Meanwhile, Jaha found himself in a spot of bother, having thrown himself at ‘the enemy’, only to be pushed away – and straight into the wall – by Slade’s lightning fast reactions.
Rubbing his head, Jaha got up, ready for another tackle – but thought better of it, and sank back into the shadows to sulk.
“That was amazing!”, I exclaimed, “you know some pretty neat moves, my friend!”
“Friend?”, questioned Slade, “I thought you all hated me because of what I’ve done. Well, love me or hate me, I’m coming with you. The great thief Slade never allows a wrong to go un-righted!”. A grin appeared on the thief’s face.
“Follow me…”, he whispered, and then vanished.
