Outside the Tower of Power it was absolute chaos. Most people were just trying to get away, but everyone was running in different directions and people were tripping and falling everywhere. There was a lot of laughter. Some people weren’t running or laughing, they were smashing things up, starting fires and throwing rocks at buildings.

“You stop that,” scolded Rosemary grabbing a thug in a leather jacket by the ear. She was astounded when he turned his head to look at her and his flabby green ear stretched to three times its previous length.

“Err… oh, it’s you!” he said, dropping the paving slab he had been trying to lift off the ground. “You rescued us! Thank you.”

“That doesn’t matter. But I need your help.”

“Of course, I owe you big time.”

“Great. I need a computer, and somewhere to play Lapine Death Corps. Can you help?”

“Is that it? Easy!” he cried. He knelt down again, lifted the slab onto his shoulder and wandered back towards the Tower of Power. He launched it through a window, burst out laughing, and then ran in through the door. Three minutes later he was out, a small computer in one hand and a fold-up computer screen in the other.

“Let’s go!”

Rosemary had thought it’d be a bit more difficult than that. She wondered whether she should send him back in after her friends, but decided that unfortunately, she had more important things to do.

Rosemary hurried after her fellow escapee for around ten minutes, before he looked around and ducked under a cloth canopy into a small room next to a restaurant. She followed him through the dark and dingey corridors before she could see a glimmer of light coming from around the corner. It grew gradually brighter, before it opened out into a slightly less dingey room.

“Leroy!” chorused what can only be described as a tangle of Crawklings.

“I told you I’d be back soon!” he beamed.

“What happened?” asked a clear female voice.

“Breakout. This alien lady did it!”

“Brilliant! That must be a record, it only took you two weeks to escape this time,” said another to a burst of laughter.

“Ermm…Leroy,” said Rosemary. “Can you give me a hand? It’s really important that I get in touch with my son.”

“Of course,” he smiled. “Let’s get you set up.”

“And I will get you some refreshment, for helping my Mom,” said an elderly alien from across the room.

“Thank you,” said Rosemary.

“We had some fresh slugs in this morning. Jove! Come and help your old Mom juice them.” Despite her age, she was out of the kitchen like lightning, there was no time for Rosemary to reconsider. Instead, she put her eye to the little computer screen that Leroy had set up for her.

“Here we go – you can log in now.”

Rosemary paused. “There could be a problem here. He’s blocked me.”

“What? Your son has blocked you?! Oh. I’m sorry. Well, no worries, we can set you up a…”

“We don’t have time!” she snapped. “His life is in danger. Can I log in as you?”

She looked Leroy, and a combination of her obvious sadness and his gratitude meant that he barely hesitated before he logged in.

“Yeah, that’s fine. But don’t play, I don’t want to get shot. Just the chat.”

“Ok, thanks,” she said. Leroy went to chat to his many brothers and sisters whom he hadn’t seen for a while, leaving Rosemary to it. Jake45 wasn’t online, but she left him a message.

JAKE45. CRAWK HAVE A SECRET ROOM SOMEWHERE IN THE TOWER OF POWER THAT POWERS EVERYTHING IN CRAWK, INCLUDING ALL OF THEIR SHIPS. IF WE CAN FIND AND DESTROY IT, THIS WILL WIN US THE WAR. ERIC SMYTHE TOLD ME. LOVE MOM. XXX

She also posted the same message in the main forum of Lapine Death Corps. Instantly, the computer started beeping manically.

“What’s going on?” asked Leroy. He came over and looked at the screen. “Fifty comments on a thread? Shared a hundred times already? What on earth have you said?”

“Nothing… don’t you worry,” said Rosemary, trying to fold up the screen.

“No. Show me,” said Leroy, sternly. “This is my profile you are wrecking.” He wrenched the computer out of Rosemary’s grasp and looked at it.

“Jake 45?” he said, looking at her in amazement. “Your son is Jake 45?”

“Yes,” said Rosemary defiantly. “And he is not a war criminal.”

“Whatever you say!” said one of Leroy’s sisters, and they all rolled around on the floor in laughter.