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hair, and a tattoo on his forehead of the skull and crossbones. But as the other pirates flooded
towards her, her confidence waned. Charlie began to panic, she didn’t know if she could do this
alone. Suddenly, the familiar shaggy mop of black hair appeared beside her. Riley smiled
reassuringly at her, as they fought off the sea criminals together. Out of the corner of her eye,
Charlie saw a ball of fluff leap onto the ship, claws out. She felt immense relief at having the
koala on their side.
Riley yelled her name, but she didn’t hear him. She had problems of her own. The pirate captain
- a giant with moldy skin and rotting yellow teeth was approaching behind her. Suddenly Riley’s
words became clear to her.
“CHARLIE, RUN!” Riley’s scream interrupted her fear.
And like a swift intake of breath, the rain came.
Charlie’s world moved in slow motion. Her running instinct kicked in, but a vision of her
mother’s face scrunched up in disappointment appeared before her. A choice had to be made,
and made quickly. Shaking her head, she focused on the approaching threat. She made a
decision...the decision to run. Charlie’s legs moved fluidly, with the need for speed. She dashed
along the hull of the boat and
zigzagged
through the fighting pirates. She could see Kami at the
helm of their own ship, trying madly to direct the cannon’s towards the enemy. The pirates tried
chasing her, but they were not match for Charlie’s years of running training. Suddenly, an idea
sprung into her head. Unsure of herself, she looked to Riley for guidance. Almost as though he
had heard everything in her head, he looked back and smiled. That smile was all the reassurance
she needed, and she took off, feeling the rain drizzling down her face. Grabbing the pile of rope
in the corner of the pirate’s boat, she told herself…
This is it
.
Running circles around the pirates chasing her, she gradually let the rope out. Charlie pushed her
legs to the maximum, as she sprinted faster and faster around them. Eventually, the pirates
chasing her were tied up in a heap on the deck of the ship.
Charlie smirked at the pirates, pleased with her work. Turning back to the fight, she squinted
through the sheets of rain, to see Riley and Kami struggling - outnumbered by the enemy.
Rushing over to help, Charlie began to feel that they had no hope. The pirates were trained to
fight - and they were not.
“I don’t know how we’ll ever win!” Charlie shouted over the wind.
“We will. You just have to believe in us. I promise we will.” Riley yelled back.
Charlie nodded.
This had better work.