Toad Heaven (8 page)

Charm grabbed the pink bag and tried to swing it at Goliath's head.

“Why didn't you talk to me?” she yelled. “Instead of kidnapping me. It wasn't like I was so dopey over Malcolm I wouldn't have listened.”

Goliath looked pleadingly over at Limpy for help.

While Limpy was trying to work out what to do, Charm's shoulders slumped and her face slowly scrunched into a frown. “All right, I was a bit dopey,” she muttered. Then her face lit up again. “Oh, Limpy, I'm so happy you're alive.”

Before Limpy could stop her, she hopped over, stretched up, and kissed him.

“No,” groaned Limpy. “No.”

Charm stared at him, stunned and concerned.

“Limpy,” she said. “What's the matter?”

“It's okay, Limpy,” said Goliath. “She's your sister. It's not yucky when you kiss your sister.”

“It's not that,” said Limpy.

Miserably he showed them his back.

“Sort of a lumpy scab,” said Goliath. “I think it looks quite nice.”

Limpy told them about the scientist and the needle and the virus germs.

There was a long silence.

“Oh no,” breathed Charm.

“I'm sorry,” whispered Limpy.

“Virus germs?” roared Goliath. “I'm not gunna let any virus germs kill my family. I'm gunna pulverize them. I'm gunna rip their little legs off. I'm gunna eat them.”

Charm put her hand on Goliath's arm.

Limpy watched Goliath's shoulders slump. Charm and Goliath exchanged a long worried look.

“I don't feel infected,” said Goliath. “I just feel hungry. Do you think virus germs can make you feel hungry?”

There was another long silence.

Then Charm spoke.

“It's not your fault, Limpy,” she said. “If we are
infected, I reckon we should make the most of the time we've got left. I reckon we should find the national park and do everything we can to get Mum and Dad and the others safely there before we die.”

“I agree,” said Goliath.

Limpy looked at their determined faces and wished cane toads gave each other those round metal things that humans gave each other for being brave.

He'd give Charm and Goliath a hundred each.

“Okay,” he said. “Let's go.”

F
irst they had to get away from the humans.

And the sheep.

Limpy didn't particularly want to run into the rude ants again either.

The three of them hurried along the platform, keeping to the shadows and watching anxiously for boots.

Then Charm let out a terrified croak.

“Look out!”

Limpy turned.

A large gate was swinging open and a truck was backing through it, heading straight toward them. Limpy had never seen a truck drive backward before. It was a chilling sight.

Stack me, thought Limpy. This must be how trucks sneak up on cane toads when they're not expecting it.

“Low mongrels!” yelled Goliath. He looked around for a weapon, saw a big rusty nail poking out of a rotting fence post, dragged it out, and waved it angrily at the truck. “Let's see how you like it when I slash your tires and scratch your paint and stab your fuel tank and drink all your gasoline!”

Limpy and Charm grabbed the loose skin under Goliath's arms and struggled to hold him back.

“Dunno why I'm doing this,” muttered Charm. “A few truck wheels over his head would do him good.”

Limpy looked around desperately for a way to escape.

They were trapped between the truck and the fence and the steep edge of the platform.

Then Limpy saw a weed-covered plastic grate in the concrete near their feet. It was covering a hole.

“Quick, Goliath,” he said. “Help me get this open.”

Limpy grabbed the grate and started pulling at it. Charm helped him. The truck was getting closer. Goliath gave it a last scowl as he hooked his nail under the rim of the grate and prized it up. Together, panting, they rolled the grate away from the hole.

Charm looked nervously down into the darkness.

“Do all wombat holes in towns have lids?” she said.

“It's a drain,” said Limpy. “Like the stormwater one under our highway at home. Jump!”

The truck was almost on top of them. Limpy
decided this wasn't the time to tell Charm about what humans use sewers for.

He pushed Charm into the hole. Goliath squeezed in after her. Limpy followed. As he fell, he closed his eyes and thought of their lovely swamp. He wished he could land with a squish into soft, familiar mud.

Instead, he landed with a painful thud and a splash.

“You okay?” said Goliath's voice in the gloom. “I'm okay, and I think Charm's okay 'cause she's biting my knee.”

Limpy checked to make sure that he could move all his limbs and warts.

“I'm okay,” he said.

Above them, one of the truck wheels rolled over the hole and stopped, blocking out the circle of daylight.

They were in total darkness.

“I don't like towns,” said Charm in a small voice.

Limpy reached out till he felt her arm and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“Don't worry,” he said. “We'll be in the national park soon.”

He heard his voice echo down what sounded like a tunnel. He was surprised to hear how confident it sounded, because he didn't feel very confident at all.

“Which way do we go?” asked Goliath.

Limpy could feel water trickling over his feet.
Fortunately, it didn't seem to have lumps in it.

“This water must be going somewhere,” he said.“Let's follow it.”

They set off, hopping slowly and cautiously.

Limpy reached out in the darkness for Charm's hand.

Poor kid, he thought. She didn't ask to be here.

He gave her hand a squeeze.

“Thanks,” said Goliath. “That feels good.”

“Limpy,” said Charm. “Do you actually know where the national park is?”

Limpy let go of Goliath's hand and hesitated before he answered.

If I was Malcolm, he said to himself, I'd say “Yes, of course. I know exactly where it is. Follow me.” But I'm not, I'm Limpy.

He took a deep breath.

“Yes,” he said. “Of course. I know exactly where it is. Follow me.”

“Where?” said Goliath.

Limpy thought about confessing that he didn't know exactly where it was at all. Then he remembered the adoring way Charm had looked at Malcolm. And how jealous he'd felt.

“To the east,” said Limpy.

They hopped along the tunnel in darkness and silence.

Crunch.

Limpy stiffened.

What was that sound?

Slurp.

He relaxed. It was just Goliath eating something.

“Mmm,” said Goliath. “The flying beetles in here are delicious.”

“Actually,” said an annoyed voice, “we're cockroaches.”

“Sorry,” said Goliath. “My mistake.”

Crunch.

Slurp.

After a while the blackness up ahead started fuzzing into gray. As they moved toward it, the gray got lighter and a white circle slowly came into focus.

“The end of the tunnel,” said Limpy.

He saw that Charm was peering anxiously ahead, her dear little face straining to see what they were moving toward.

Limpy peered as well.

The light was too bright to see anything clearly, and his eyes were still getting used to it when in front of him suddenly loomed three big dark shapes.

“Hmmm,” said a voice. “Here's something a bit more interesting than cockroaches.”

The voice was deep and soft and menacing.

Limpy pulled Charm close to him and froze.

A big round furry whiskered face was blocking their way, with two others behind it.

Cats.

“Hungry?” purred the front cat, a ginger one with a smug smile, to the other two, one white and one gray.

“Starving,” said Goliath. “Cockroaches just don't fill you up. Eat a swarm and two hops later you're still hungry….”

His voice trailed off.

Limpy's throat sac was aching with fright.

The cats yawned. Their teeth looked very sharp. They lazily stretched their claws. Which looked even sharper.

“Just before you start ripping us to pieces,” said Limpy, struggling to stop his voice from wobbling, “I would like to point out we have glands full of poison.”

“And,” said Charm, “they're aimed right at you.”

“And,” said Goliath, “I'm very good at arm wrestling.”

The ginger cat smirked. “Poison, eh? That's a good one.”

Limpy's insides sagged.

“Let's squirt 'em,” muttered Goliath.

Limpy felt the same way, but there was a problem. With Charm's poison sacs being so small, they might not have enough pus between them to deal with three fully grown cats.

Oh well, thought Limpy. We'll soon know.

Then Limpy heard the white cat, who was looking concerned, whisper to the ginger one, “Cane toads.”

The ginger cat's face dropped. It looked at Limpy more closely.

“Ah,” it said.

The cats glanced at one another, then took a step back.

“Here's what we should probably do,” said the ginger cat to Limpy. “We should probably agree that we won't rip you to shreds if you don't squirt poison in our eyes.”

Limpy nodded gratefully.

“It's a deal,” whispered Charm.

“No it's not,” said Goliath.

Limpy stared at him, horrified.

“There's something else we want as well,” said Goliath to the cats. “We want to know where the national park is.”

The ginger cat looked at Goliath, then grinned.

“You want to go to the national park?” it said.

“Yeah,” said Goliath.

“Yes, please,” said Limpy.

The cats grinned at one another. Then the ginger one turned and pointed.

“There it is.”

Limpy was so surprised and excited, he forgot to be
scared of the cats. He hopped past them and out of the tunnel.

At last.

He'd found it.

The national park he'd dreamed about so often.

Limpy's eyes were used to the light now, and he could see exactly what was spread out in front of him.

His face fell.

“This is it?” he croaked. “This is the national park?”

“Yes,” sniggered the cats behind him.

Limpy stared.

In front of him, stretching in a rippling sweep all the way to the horizon, was nothing but water.

L
impy had never seen so much water.

Not even the time it rained nonstop for ages and the water in the swamp rose so quickly that Limpy had to drag the flat rellies to higher ground and Goliath found his lunch (bog weevils and mud leeches) hiding up a tree.

This was a million times more water.

“It's flooded,” said Limpy, dizzy with disappointment. “The national park's flooded.”

He turned to ask the cats how long it had been like this, but they'd vanished.

“It can't all be flooded,” said Charm. “There must be some high ground that's not flooded.”

Limpy thought about this. She was probably right. A national park would have to have high bits. For the rock wallabies and the goats and the kookaburras who wanted to laugh at one another over long distances.

“I can't see any high bits,” said Goliath.

Limpy pointed to where the water met the sky.“They're probably so far away we can't see them from here.”

“Too far to swim,” said Charm.

“And cane toads can't fly,” said Goliath gloomily.“Not unless Mum and Dad have been hiding something.”

Limpy sighed. Just hearing the names Mum and Dad made him feel sad.

“Pity we can't swim as fast as that animal,” said Goliath.

Limpy peered over to where Goliath was pointing. A familiar object was speeding through the water. Limpy had often seen ones like it being towed on trailers behind cars.

“It's not an animal,” said Limpy. “It's a boat.”

“Whatever,” said Goliath gloomily. “Pity we haven't got one of those frothy things hanging off our bottoms to make us whiz through the water.”

Limpy stared at the outboard motor at the back of the boat.

An idea hit him.

“Good thinking, Goliath,” he murmured.

His thoughts were shattered by a scream.

A human scream.

Limpy looked around, heart in his throat sac.

Four nearly naked humans were standing under a palm tree, pointing at him and Charm and Goliath and yelling.