Knowing that their parents will be worried, after they have finished their meal, Nero tries to ring Candy from the cave. He is anxious about this, as he had encouraged the young Mousecateers to go on this adventure. Not that they needed his encouragement. As soon as she had seen the pamphlet about this tour, Lucinda had told her mother that nothing would prevent her from going to the mountains. Of course, Candy could have forbidden her to go, but she had trusted Nero to look after them. And now they are all trapped.
After several attempts, Candy answers her mobile.
‘Who is that? I can’t hear you. Say that again,’ says Candy. ‘Who is it? Nero? Are you having a good time? I hope Lucinda is not causing any trouble. She pestered me so much that I had to give her permission. I am sure she is safe with you, Nero, and the rest of the Mousecateers.’
Nero raises his voice, but Candy cannot hear him clearly.
‘What was that you said, a cave?’ asks Candy. ‘Are you looking for artifacts? Lucinda said there might be carvings. She is so keen. Well, I can hardly hear your voice, Nero, but I hope you all enjoy the campout. I hope the tents the guide provided are comfortable. He told me he had packed everything so you would all have a comfortable expedition. I have to go now. Bruno expects me for his gambling session. What a nuisance! I look forward to seeing you tomorrow. Bye for now and hugs to all of you!’
Nero hears a click and then silence.
Well, at least there was no panic. If the cats couldn’t work out a way to get back to the resort tomorrow, they could start worrying then. The guide said he was unsure what to do because the route we had taken was now inaccessible, so he would have to come up with an alternative.
The image was generated by AI from the author’s text prompts and modified by the author.
