We Built a Raft (Ulrick Hammerpaw)

[Substitute Author]

One Step Closer


Ulrick sat bolt upright as he heard the ethereal wail echo around the cavern. Obviously the others had heard it too because several of the wounded slaves gave cries of their own. Some even clung together, terrified by this new, unseen occupant of the tunnels.

The badger stood up cautiously. Whatever had made that noise was certainly nothing he had encountered before. There was a long pause, and Ulrick realised that he was holding his breath. Still silence. Gently, Ulrick breathed a sigh of relief. Whatever it was had been a long way away, and judging by the silence, it hadn?t come closer. The badger could see some of the others were still looking wary, although the stronger ones were trying to put brave faces on to keep the group?s morale up.

It was several minutes before the silence was broken again. The big eared mouse rushed into the cavern, his face lit up with excitement.

?Miss Tassle, everyone, listen!? he squeaked loudly. The sudden outburst raised another chorus of startled cries from the more jumpy slaves. ?I?ve found it, I?ve found it!?

Tassle hurried across to the mouse. ?What is it?? she asked, breathlessly. ?What have you found??
The mouse puffed up his chest, proud to be the centre of attention for the first time in years. ?Well Miss, I was exploring some of the other tunnels like you asked, the long ones leading down and away. Well, you?ll never guess what I?ve discovered!?

There was a pause.
?Well?? Ulrick asked, sounding irritated.

?There is a tunnel to the beach!? the mouse beamed widely. The other slaves burst into a hubbub of noise.

?A tunnel to the beach??
?We can escape!?
?There?s still a chance!?
?Please, please!? Tassle clapped her paws together, appealing for silence but failing to be heard over the din. Ulrick rolled his eyes.

?SILENCE!? he roared. All eyes turned to look up at him. Ulrick stared back at them for a moment.

?Now, it seems to me that this tunnel is our best hope of escape,? he rumbled, his deep voice echoing off the cold rock walls. ?When the ship was wrecked, a great amount of driftwood would have washed up against the shore. I suggest that we should start gathering as much as we can and use what we find to construct a raft of some kind.?

A low murmur ran round the group. ?You want to go back out to sea? On a driftwood raft?? asked Shelby incredulously. ?Has a large rock fallen on your head while we weren?t looking, Ulrick??

?Given the choice of that, or staying on an island inhabited entirely by our former captors and a gang of crazy, half starved rats? I?ll take my chances at sea.? Ulrick growled back at the stoat. ?Now, we should all make for the beach as quickly as possible so we can gather as much wood as we can before more is washed away.?

?Bo hurr. One o? us won?t be a-goin?,? came Brooga?s sad voice from behind the group. The slaves turned to see the mole kneeling by the lifeless body of the badly wounded squirrel. ?Oi?m afeared ee?s gone t?the Dark Forest.?
Tassle walked across to her friend and placed a comforting paw on Brooga?s shoulder. ?I?m sorry Brooga,? she said softly. ?There was nothing that could be done for him. But at least he died a free beast.?
The mole nodded. ?Hurr, ee did. ?N Oi dun suppose ee?d ?ave ?ad it any other way.?
Several of the slaves bowed their heads respectfully. A hush fell across the cavern once again. Once again Ulrick?s voice cut across it.

?We don?t have time for this,? he growled. ?We need to get the beach now, before the sea washes away the driftwood and we are left stranded!?
Tassle turned to look up at the hulking badger. ?We can?t just leave him,? she said, with an edge to her voice that sounded like she was only just managing to hold back tears. ?He?s one of us, and we need to give him a proper burial.?

?A burial?? Now it was Ulrick?s turn to sound incredulous. ?Our very hope of survival is washing away on the beach and you want to waste time burying him??
?Bo hurr, Zurr badger!? Brooga stood up forcefully. ?It ent a waste o? toime, an? ee deserves nowt less. Oi won? be ?ave?n it said tha? Oi didn? give a poor departed friend a prop?r send off.?

Ulrick growled with annoyance. ?Fine, bury the squirrel then!? he snapped. ?I?m going to the beach to start work on my raft. Anybeast that wants to come with me can come and help get away from this place. Anybeast that wants to stay and rot in these tunnels is more than welcome to!?
The badger stormed away from the stunned group, vanishing down the tunnel that the mouse had emerged from. For a brief moment, some of the slaves looked like they might follow, but the expressions of grief on Tassle and Brooga?s faces stopped them.

~

Ulrick?s face was set in a deep scowl as he stamped down the dark tunnel. The badger muttered dark threats to himself, planning what he?d do to that ridiculous shrew if there wasn?t enough material left.

Turning round a bend in the passage, Ulrick was suddenly dazzled. Bright light flooded into the tunnel! He must be near the shore! Picking up his pace, he raced towards the light, emerging panting onto the sand. It was only a small bay, steep cliffs rising up on either side of a curved bar of sand. There was no sound apart from the roaring of the breakers as they ran up the beach. The shore was still covered with piles of wreckage from the slave ship, some pieces of wood in obviously better condition than others.
Most heartening of all, a quick rummage through some of the larger piles revealed several of the ship?s ropes had washed up. Perfect! With a look of grim determination, Ulrick lifted the first heavy piece of wood from the pile and place it alongside a broken mast. It was going to be hard work, but at the end lay his goal. He would get off this island, at any cost!
Ulrick hauled timber up the beach, piling it away from the water. He lost all track of the passage of time, so focused was he on gathering as much as he could before the sea claimed it again. The sun climbed across the sky, and was starting to dip behind the cliffs when he finally stopped to take stock.
All in all, a magnificent woodpile, but it still looked nothing like a raft. For the first time, Ulrick began to have doubts.

I?ve never built anything like this before! Where do I start? The badger sat down heavily in the sand, pondering the situation. Maybe if I start to lash some of the planking around a mast?

Several false starts later, Ulrick roared in frustration and hurled a piece of waterlogged plank out to sea. He had finally managed to lash some of the planking together, when suddenly the middle section had proved to be weaker than he had thought. The whole piece had snapped, sending his rickety attempt crumbling back into a heap of broken wood.

?Having trouble?? asked a voice behind him.

Ulrick turned swiftly, raising a paw without realising. Behind him stood Tassle, Brooga and the other escaped slaves. Even Cricket was among them, her expression making it plain that she didn?t want to be there.

Ulrick lowered his paw and picked up another soggy piece of driftwood. ?Your kind are always messing about with boats, Tassle. You start it off.?
?No.? Tassle stood as tall as she could next to Brooga, the group presenting a united front against the badger.

Ulrick paused. ?What do you mean??

?What I said,? said Tassle sharply. ?We?ve decided that we won?t help you until you see fit to apologise for your appalling behaviour in the cave.?
Ulrick was so astonished he could barely form a retort. Tassle didn?t let him get more than a splutter in.

?We feel that if we are all going to get out of here we need to work together, and respect the decisions of the group. So if you won?t apologise to us then we shan?t help you.?

?You want me to what??? Ulrick?s surprise finally faded. I have never apologised! Certainly not for such a trivial thing as this. And I did nothing wrong!
The badger opened his mouth to blast Tassle with the full force of his temper. But on the other paw, I cannot get off this island alone? Perhaps an apology is not such a great sacrifice to make for now, if it gets my raft built.
Ulrick?s shoulders sagged slightly. ?Very well.? he said, his tone resigned as one who has accepted their fate. ?I?m sorry, Tassle.? The shrew hummed and nodded at the mole beside her. ?And Brooga.? Ulrick added. Happy now?

Tassle hummed and nodded again. Fates preserve us, more? ?I apologise to all of you for my outburst earlier.? he said, grudgingly. ?I was wrong and I admit that.?

?That?s better.? Tassle finally smiled. ?And thank you for making the right decision. And now, about this raft??