The Swiss Family RobinZOM (Book 3) by Perrin Briar

feel surprise,” Bill said, “but I’m certainly looking forward to seeing what he does to them.”
    They pulled some fresh leaves from the foliage and covered the hole.
    “What shall we get working on today, Dad?” Fritz said.
    “Fritz,” Bill said, “you show Francis how to set snares, and set them up around the Falcon and Robin’s Nest. They’ll be our last line of defence. And keep an ear out for the bells. When they start ringing, you come running.”
    Fritz took Francis by the hand and led him away.
    “Ernest,” Bill said, “you use the machete and hack up the rest of the pig. Give the pieces to Jack to attach to the vines. After you’ve finished, make more of these coconut contraptions.”
    “Will do,” Ernest said. “Come on, Jack.”
    “And what are we going to do?” Liz said.
    Bill’s eyes shone.
    “You’re going to help me make the most devastating trap of all,” he said.
    “You big romantic.”

 
     
    Nineteen
     
    Bill and Liz chopped down a narrow tree and stripped away all the branches. Bill used the axe to make an indentation along the log lengthways. Then they tied a vine around each end of the trunk. Bill attached the vines to an arrow and then shot it over a tree branch. He retrieved the vines and tied them to Lightfoot. Bill eased the donkey forward. The trunk rose five and a half feet in the air. Then they reattached the vines to the trunk. A gentle push on it made it rock side to side like a pendulum.
    “Nice of you to make us a swing,” Liz said. “What’s it for?”
    “It’s a beheader,” Bill said. “My own design.”
    He picked up a bag that clattered like it was full of glass. He reached in and brought out a black shiny rock. It had been shaped into a long, flat ruler with a razor sharp edge.
    “It’s obsidian,” Bill said. “I was shaping them into knives to give you as an anniversary present. But needs must.”
    Bill jammed the knife blade lengthwise into the indentation, forming a blade.
    “The Lurchers come,” he said, “we release the log, it severs their necks, crushes their heads, or knocks them into a pit. And after it swings, we can pull the vine back so the log can swing again.”
    “Wonderful,” Liz said. “Fun for all the family.”
    “Come on,” Bill said. “Give me a hand making another one.”
    “I need to go make lunch,” Liz said. “I’ll get Fritz to help you.”
    “Don’t make anything too heavy,” Bill said. “We’re going to see a lot of horrible things today. Best if it doesn’t all come back up.”

 
     
    Twenty
     
    “Good work, Francis,” Fritz said, checking his snare.
    Fritz set it down on the ground and got to his feet. The courtyard between the two treehouses was thick with snares and traps.
    “No one’s getting through this lot in one piece,” Fritz said.
    “Are the bad men really bad?” Francis said with all the curiosity of an eight year old.
    “Yes,” Fritz said. “And no. You see, they’re not deliberately bad, they’re just bad by nature. I’m sure if they could choose, most of them would be good.”
    “But people aren’t always good. Miss Anliker, the school principal, she wasn’t good.”
    “True. Maybe she was a bad man in disguise.”
    Francis frowned with thought.
    “She was a vegetarian,” he said. “She must have been pretending. She was a bad man!”
    “Fritz,” Liz said, stepping onto the courtyard, “your father needs your help.”
    “All right,” Fritz said.
    He turned to Francis and held up his hand.
    “Good work,” he said. “High five!”
    Francis jumped and high fived Fritz’s hand. Fritz left.
    “What do you think of our snares, Mum?” Francis said.
    “They’re great,” Liz said. “I feel safer already. Come on, let’s go inside. You can help me make lunch.”
    Tring-a-ling!
    Liz’s head jerked up at the first bell. It came to a stop. Liz listened for more, but there was nothing but silence. Liz took a deep breath and took a step toward Falcon’s