The Final Curtain by Deborah Abela

even harder against her ropes as Blue and Kronch carried Linden to the edge of the cliff.
    â€˜Did you know,’ Blue said, ‘the river below moves at such a quick pace and over so many boulders that if an object were to fall into it, it would all but completely disintegrate by the time it reached the sea? If the piranhas don’t get you first.’
    â€˜Let him go!’ Max fought against her ropes. She lost her balance and toppled over, slamming her head into the rocky ground. She looked up groggily and saw feet dragging someone away. She saw the edge of the cliff and heard one final cry of

    â€˜Max!’
    Max’s body felt heavy.
    â€˜Max?’
    She moved her head a little. And groaned.
    â€˜She’s okay,’ a voice said. ‘Max, what happened?’
    She tried to open her eyes but they felt weighted down.
    â€˜Max, you’re in the forest. We were on a training exercise.’
    â€˜That looks like it went a bit wrong,’ another voice added.
    Max opened her eyes to see two boys dressed in camouflage suits leaning over her.
    â€˜Can you hear me, Max? It’s Linden.’
    â€˜Linden?’
    â€˜Your spy partner. Remember?’
    â€˜And I’m Toby, your other, good-looking spy partner.’
    â€˜Linden,’ she mumbled. ‘The cliff. The river. They didn’t get you?’
    â€˜Who didn’t get me?’ Linden threw Toby a worried look. ‘We were training, only Toby and I finished a while ago, and we were sent to find you. There are loads of agents looking for you, actually.’
    Max saw a flag sticking out of Linden’s top pocket.
    â€˜You won.’ She smiled.
    â€˜He was lucky,’ Toby added. ‘I was only seconds behind him.’
    Linden took out his palm computer.Steinberger immediately appeared on his screen. ‘We’ve found her.’
    â€˜Oh, thank goodness.’ Steinberger’s shoulders rolled forward in relief. ‘Is she okay?’
    â€˜I think so. She was lying on the ground in the forest. She has a gash on her forehead.’
    â€˜Is it bad?’
    â€˜No. The bleeding has stopped.’
    â€˜Good. I’ve got you on our radars now,’ Steinberger said. ‘I’ll send the coordinates to all the agents and get the chopper there with Dr Finch so he can examine her as soon as possible. They’ll lower a stretcher for Max, and I’ll send a jeep to collect you two. Keep her awake until they get there.’
    Steinberger signed off.
    Linden took a hanky from his pocket and scrambled down the bank to the stream. He plunged it into the water before hurrying back and dabbing Max’s bloodied forehead.
    Max groaned again. She tried to get up but slumped back, covering her head with her hands.
    â€˜Maybe you should stay where you are,’ Linden said. ‘You might have broken something.’
    Max closed her eyes.
    â€˜Do you remember what happened?’ Linden asked.
    â€˜We were being chased. In the Aqua Buggy and …’ 9
    â€˜Chased?’ Linden asked.
    Max winced. ‘No, wait. I must have been having a nightmare.’ She rubbed her head. ‘I was in the forest. Following the map with my compass and … I stepped across the stream. On some stones. I thought there was an enemy agent. In the bushes.’ She paused. ‘But it was a rabbit.’
    â€˜Rabbits can be very dangerous when they get going,’ Toby said.
    â€˜I don’t remember anything after that.’ Max tried to move again. ‘Ow! My head’s killing me. And I’m cold.’
    Linden took off his shirt and laid it over her. Toby watched him reach out and hold her hand. ‘Steinberger’s sending a chopper to get you out of here. Don’t worry,’ Linden said.
    â€˜You’re in good hands now that we’ve found you.’ Toby puffed up his chest.
    â€˜My hero. Ouch. Don’t make me smile. It hurts.’
    From the distance they could