The Dark World (3 page)

‘My people would like to know if you’d be willing to share some of your planet with us,’ Kip said.

‘That sounds like a very interesting proposal,’ grinned the lead alien. ‘For the right price, of course.’

WorldCorp had been right about the aliens being smart businesspeople, then.
Fair enough,
thought Kip.
There’s no law against it.

Still, the more time Kip spent with the smooth-talking aliens, the more uneasy he felt. He couldn’t put his finger on why, though.

Kip glanced at Finbar.Was his 2iC getting the same bad feeling? Kip guessed he was, because Finbar was nervously smoothing his fur. Clumps of it swept through the air.

A cluster floated past the lead alien’s nose. He paused. There was a strange look on his face, like an idea was coming to him.

Then, out of nowhere, the alien made a horrible sound. It sounded like someone choking on a sock.

The alien’s tiny eyes watered and bulged. His ears twitched wildly. Shallow, rasping breaths escaped from its mouth. The alien dropped to his knees, clutching his throat with spidery hands.

‘Is…is that some kind of local custom?’ Finbar said to Kip uncertainly.

Kip shook his head. ‘Can’t be! Look at how the other aliens are crowding around.’

For a moment, they seemed as confused as Kip and Finbar. Then the lead alien moaned something too low for the SpaceCuff to register. A moment later, all the aliens suddenly fell to the ground, clutching at their throats too.

Finbar looked stricken, but something about it all reminded Kip of the last time he’d faked being sick, so his mum would let him stay home from school.

But it was too risky to just ignore the aliens. They could be dying! Although Kip had a feeling that they weren’t trustworthy, it was just a hunch. And his Space Scout training taught him never to leave an alien in distress. He had to help!

Down on his knees, Kip held a finger under the lead alien’s snout. He didn’t seem to be breathing.

Kip’s heart began to pound. This was obviously serious! He couldn’t believe he’d suspected the aliens of faking only seconds ago.

He could be holding his breath,
niggled the voice in Kip’s head.

But Kip shoved his doubts aside firmly. Right now, he needed to focus on helping the aliens.

Kip rummaged in his backpack for his first aid kit. He needed his LifeBubble urgently.

Kip could simply breathe into the mouthpiece of the LifeBubble. An edible oxygen-filled bubble would pop into the alien’s mouth, filling it with air. It was quick and hygienic. Except…

I’ve left my first aid kit on board MoNa,
Kip realised.
I’ll have to give mouth-to-mouth the old-fashioned way!

Human mouth-to-mouth was gross enough. It would be even worse on Neron’s aliens, with their rubbery lips and long, soft noses.

Kip shuddered. He leant down to plant his mouth on the lead alien’s.

Then the alien suddenly snapped his eyes open. ‘Help us,’ he wheezed. ‘We’re terribly allergic to something…’

He rolled his tiny eyes at Finbar. Then the alien collapsed in a loud coughing fit.

Kip’s mind raced. The air was full of Finbar’s fur. What if
that
was what the aliens were allergic to?

‘What can we do?’ Finbar asked anxiously. He hated to see anyone in pain.

‘Your Earthling first aid won’t help,’ the alien said quickly. For a moment, his voice sounded normal.‘Ancient Neron lore tells of a berry that grows on a thorny water plant. It cures all ills.’ The alien paused, gasping again. ‘It’s our only hope.’

‘Where do we find this plant?’ Kip asked urgently.

‘The lake district,’ the alien croaked, trembling. Then, with a final wheeze, he fainted dramatically.

Finbar gasped. ‘We’ve got to find the lake district. Immediately!’

Finbar turned to Kip, his eyes enormous and sad. He put his paws under his chin in a begging pose.

Kip could tell that Finbar felt guilty. After all, it was his fur that seemed to be making the aliens sick.

Even if he didn’t quite trust the aliens, Kip couldn’t say no to Finbar. Besides, finding the plant would be a good way of exploring the planet. And maybe he’d get to the bottom of the aliens’ suspicious behaviour as well.

‘Let’s find that plant,’ Kip said shortly.

He thought he saw a flicker of a triumphant smile on the passed-out alien’s face. But then it was gone.

Finbar’s ears twitched in relief. ‘We’ll get to the Lake District faster if we use our E-Zee-Flights.’

Nodding, Kip unzipped the front pocket of his backpack. At once, WorldCorp’s newest gadget popped out.

E-Zee-Flights were light but strong carbon-steel chopper blades. The blades were stored inside the front pocket of Kip’s and Finbar’s backpacks. Powerful mini engines and fuel cells were built into the base of the packs.

Putting his backpack on, Kip yanked the ripcord dangling from the bottom. The blades jumped into life. Kip lifted smoothly off his feet and tipped forward. Finbar activated his E-Zee-Flight and lifted off too.

Kip turned to Finbar. He knew that Finbar’s nose was so skilled, it could detect changes in the air’s moisture levels. The air would get wetter the closer they got to the lake district.

‘My nose says it’s this way,’ said Finbar, sniffing the air carefully.

With Finbar’s nose leading the way, they quickly left the gleaming cube city behind.

Under their feet, Kip could just make out small ponds, their banks bare and dusty.
If any water plants ever grew there,
he thought,
they haven’t been there for a long time.

The further they flew, the more nervous Kip became. A strong wind had whipped up, and it was getting harder to stay on course.

‘There!’ Finbar yelled, pointing. A huge black lake spread out beneath them.

Kip tried to steer his E-Zee-Flight down to the bank of the lake, but the winds were practically cyclone-strength by now.

Kip’s chopper blades were no match for the full force of Neron’s winds. They groaned dangerously as they tried to spin against the wind.

I’ve got a bad feeling about –

RIIIIIP!

‘
Aaaargh!’
Kip screamed. With a sickening wrench, his blades tore off and spun away into the darkness. He was plunging towards the black lake, face-first!

Kip hurtled towards the surface, bracing himself for the icy water.

SPROOOOIING!

It should have been the bomb of the twenty-fourth century. But there was no splash at all. Even weirder, Kip didn’t sink beneath the water.

He bounced off the surface!

Instead of water, the alien lake was filled with black, rubbery goo.
It’s like bouncing on a custard trampoline!
Kip thought, relieved and thrilled at the same time.
Not that I’ve ever actually done that…

Kip jumped quickly up and down. ‘This stuff is awesome!’ he yelled.

He waved at Finbar to come in. Finbar had managed to steer his E-Zee-Flight down to the dry ground at the edge of the lake. He walked slowly into the water to meet Kip. Almost immediately, he began to sink beneath the goo.

GLOP GLOP GLOP

It sounded like boiling mud.

‘Keep moving!’ Kip called to Finbar. He’d quickly discovered that when he was running or jumping fast, he could move across the lake’s surface. But if he slowed down for even a second, he sank.

Finbar kicked his legs wildly. Panting, he managed to pull himself back up to the surface. He started bouncing madly.

‘Check out my double backward somersault with a twisting half pike!’ Kip whooped. He sprang into the air and pulled off the trick perfectly.

‘I wish Alien Lake Bouncing was an official sport in the Interplanetary Games,’ Kip called, spinning in mid-air.

But Finbar was busy scanning for anything that looked like the miracle plant. His wolfish eyesight was sharp, even in the gloom.

‘There’s nothing growing here,’ Finbar said after a good look around. He and Kip were jogging across the lake side-by-side.

Kip saw Finbar was right. The lake’s banks were eroded. There were rough holes where it looked like plants had been pulled out, and twigs and squashed berries littered the ground. But any living plants were long gone.

‘Why would they need so much of the miracle cure?’ Kip wondered aloud, his suspicions about the aliens returning.

Finbar shrugged. He was too soft-hearted to be suspicious.

Those aliens can’t have deadly allergies every day,
Kip thought to himself.
So maybe they’re using this ‘miracle cure’ for something else…