by Jon Ireland
Rocket & Liftoff - The Bedlam Bugs
Copyright 2016 Jon Ireland
Published by Jon Ireland and Island Cartoons
Contents
Chapter 1 – The chase
Chapter 2 – Escape from Devil’s Canyon
Chapter 3 – Under attack
Chapter 4 – Holding on for dear life
Chapter 5 – The rescue
Chapter 6 – The watcher in the shadows
Chapter 7 – The peculiar incident at the lake
Chapter 8 – We’ve got problems
Chapter 9 – An appointment with the Doctor
Chapter 10 – Beware the bugs
Chapter 11 – Night time visitors
Chapter 12 – Crazy Klump
Chapter 13 – The Arm-E Attack
Chapter 14 – Back to the backdoor
Chapter 15 – Underground and undercover
Chapter 16 – The computer virus
Chapter 17 – The Specimen Chambers
Chapter 18 – The Code Maker
Chapter 19 – The escape key
Chapter 20 – The insider
Chapter 21 – The final countdown
Chapter 22 – The return of the Bedlam Bugs
Chapter 23 – The Beginning of the End
Chapter 24 – Double the trouble
Chapter 25 – The missing key
Chapter 26 – Into the final minute
Chapter 27 – Only thirty seconds left
Chapter 28 – The Shadow’s warning
Thanks
About Jon Ireland
Chapter 1 – The chase
His clothes were normal for a young boy – a red sports shirt, black knee-length shorts and a leather belt. What wasn’t normal was his furry face, perky ears, black shiny nose, swishy tail and enormous padded feet.
In those ways, he was much more like a cat.
A unique cat certainly, a cat who talked and walked on two big feet – and a cat with a world-class talent for running.
Fast running. Blazingly fast running.
He was so quick that everyone called him ‘Rocket’.
If you had seen Rocket on this particular day, on the secret island where he lived, you would have been lucky enough to witness the fastest chase in the whole wide world.
And not only was it the fastest chase in the world, it was also the most dangerous. So dangerous that one of the racers would die.
On that fateful morning, it began with Rocket wandering round the woods in search of dry sticks for a camp fire.
It was a gloomy and drizzly day, the trees swayed with a cold breeze and a mist blanket fell deep into the forest.
Amongst the pitter patter of raindrops, Rocket began to hear an unusual whistling sound.
His ears pricked up.
Strange, he thought.
The whistling grew louder.
The hairs on the back of Rocket’s neck began to tingle. His eyes darted along the forest path where he could see something peculiar happening in the fog. It was unravelling and swirling like a whirlpool.
Very strange.
Rocket squinted at the whirling fog when suddenly –
SWISH!
Out of the grey mist came a blast of sparks and flames. A glistening, shimmering red missile flew out at terrific speed – and straight for Rocket.
The missile was going too fast for anyone to move of out of its way.
But Rocket, of course, wasn’t anyone.
Faster than the blink of an eye, he hopped aside.
WHOOSH!
A red blur zoomed past Rocket’s face and the fur on his cheeks ruffled in the missile’s wake.
‘Hey!’ shouted Rocket. He coughed and spluttered as a cloud of exhaust fumes engulfed him. ‘Watch where you’re going! You could kill someone!’
Rocket stared in disbelief as the speeding red comet rose majestically into the sky, turned around and headed back towards him.
‘Uh oh,’ said Rocket, dropping his collection of sticks to the ground. ‘It is trying to kill someone... ME!’
* * *
Liftoff looked like a normal bear – brown fur, large extruding nuzzle, wide black nose, and a tuft of fluffy hair between two round furry ears. But unlike a normal bear, Liftoff wore an extra-extra-large blue t-shirt, denim shorts and an over-the-shoulder brown school satchel with a white toy bunny.
Liftoff was a special bear for another very important reason. Without doubt he was the strongest animal in the world.
That morning, Liftoff was excited because he’d seen some pink tulips in bloom and had decided they would make a rather nice addition to his log-cabin window. Liftoff (and his bunny) had found them on the southern tip of the island, just before the cliffs where a patch of wide open grassland stretched out before the sea.
Liftoff bent over, plucked a handful of the tulips and placed them into his satchel next to his bunny.
That was when he heard the thunderous boom.
He rubbed his tummy gently. ‘It can’t be my stomach. I’ve only just had breakfast.’
He looked up at the grey clouds drifting in from the east.
‘Must be a storm coming. We better get inside, little bunny. Don’t want you catching a cold!’
Another boom reverberated from the trees, and this time the earth trembled under Liftoff’s feet. There was a loud, crunching sound like snapping wood from the forest. Then, quite unexpectedly, bursting through the trees, appeared an extraordinary, gigantic bouncing ball.
BOING! BOING! BOING!
The ball was bigger than Liftoff’s log-cabin!
‘What in the fruit trees is going on?’ said Liftoff, staring in disbelief at the mega ball bouncing towards them.
The ball was shining like it was made of stainless steel, and it was powered by jets of blue flames, spinning it around after every bounce.
Casting an ominous shadow, Liftoff watched in amazement as it bounded ever nearer.
‘Watch out!’ shouted Liftoff. He covered his small furry ears with two big paws and ducked down. ‘It’s going to squash us!’
BOING! BOING! BOING!
There came an almighty –
SPLAT!
– as the huge shiny ball dropped from the sky and pummelled Liftoff flat into the mud.
* * *
Rocket was feeling extremely worried.
The returning missile throttled its way along the forest path, leaving a wake of dust, scattered leaves, branches and exhaust fumes. Like a furious rampaging bull, it was locked in deadly pursuit, fixated on its target.
And there was no doubt about it now.
Rocket was the target.
Without a moment to spare, Rocket reached into his belt utility pocket and pulled out several blueberries. He popped them into his mouth and downed them in a single swallow.
Gulp!
Already he could feel the tingling magic in his tummy. His belly glowed a warm yellow. Next his thighs were radiating, then his knees and ankles and then his big padded feet. From yellow to orange to fiery red, his toes, at last, burning like hot iron pokers pulled from a roaring inferno.
He could feel the powerful energy pulsating through his legs.
‘Nothing is faster than a speeding Rocket,’ he whispered to himself. ‘Nothing!’
But as the missile roared closer he wasn’t quite sure whether a missile was faster than a rocket.
One thing was for sure, he was about to find out.
Chapter 2 – Escape from Devil’s Canyon
SWOOSH!
Speeding cat against speeding missile.
Rocket’s feet became a blur of circular motion, arms pumpi
ng and chest pushed out front.
The roaring red missile was hot on his furry tail.
It was a strange experience because running at fifty miles per hour was, for Rocket, a casual affair, a light jog, simply a fast-paced stroll. But this was much faster – much, much faster. Two hundred? Three hundred miles per hour even? The thought occurred to Rocket that this could be the fastest he’d ever run in his whole life.
And perhaps his last.
Zooming through the Forever Forest, it was all a blur of greens, reds and browns, with a cloud of dust and debris in his wake.
Wild rabbits didn’t have time to hide away in their burrows - they didn’t even have time for a nose twitch.
Rocket and the red missile had come and gone in a flash.
At incredible speed, Rocket led the missile on a winding trail to the far edge of the forest.
The missile had kept pace with him round every corner, every turn, and every tree – and it wasn’t slowing down.
I can’t get it off my tail, thought Rocket, gasping for breath. It’s too fast!
* * *
Now for any other creature, animal or normal person, being bashed on the head by a giant bouncing steel ball would most certainly have been a fateful ending. Squashed and splatted like an unwelcome fly at a summertime picnic.
But Liftoff was far from normal.
Using his super-powerful strength, Liftoff pushed up the shiny ball and threw it away like an olympic shot putter.
Liftoff rubbed his soar head and stepped out of the newly formed crater.
He checked his satchel and was dismayed to see his new flowers were squashed and bent.
‘You broke my tulips!’ cried Liftoff, feeling more upset by the flowers than the bang on his head. ‘What a mean thing to do!’
All of a sudden, the huge shiny ball erupted into blue and orange flames, engulfing itself in a blazing fire.
Liftoff stared at the fire-ball wondering if he’d broken it.
But the massive fire-ball rolled forwards, slowly at first, and then picking up speed, faster and faster, until it was bouncing once again.
BOING! BOING! BOING!
Burning furiously, it bounded menacingly towards Liftoff, ready for a second deadly strike.
* * *
Glancing back at the venomous red missile, Rocket decided to change tactics.
Suddenly, he hit the brakes. Pushing his feet into the dirt, carving the ground and sliding like a desperate baseball player reaching first base.
The missile flew within a fraction above his ears and whizzed onwards.
Rocket didn’t have time to rest. Like a shark returning for the kill, the missile had already begun a one hundred and eighty degree turn and was back on the hunt – ready to attack.
Gathering his bearings, Rocket looked for an escape route.
Devil’s Canyon! thought Rocket, spying an entrance to the infamous rocky ravine. He took a deep breath.
‘Only a fool would go in there...’
Without a second to lose, his oversized feet were a circular blur of action. Once again, the villainous red missile was hot on his trail.
Rocket scrambled his way down a rocky pass and entered into Devil’s Canyon. He shot out into the steep-sided ravine where he hopped from boulder to boulder and rock to rock, speeding his way over white-water rapids.
Light on his feet Rocket barely made a splash.
The chasing red missile, on the other hand, churned up the water-rapids with a roar, leaving behind a trail of steam and splattered mud.
Turning this way, then that, Rocket followed the canyon northwards where it became nail-bitingly narrow. With all the noise from the missile, the rocks round him trembled. Suddenly there was a huge land-slide –
CRASH.
Skidding and sliding, Rocket dived into a pile of the fallen boulders and somehow managed to squeeze through the land-slide and onto the other side.
The missile scraped the side of the canyon as it tried to follow Rocket’s tail.
SCREECH!
Battered on both wings, the missile tried to squeeze into a tiny gap between the boulders – but it was no match for Rocket’s agility.
BOOM!
The missile impacted into the land-slide and blew itself to pieces. An explosion, and then a mushrooming ball of smoke climbed into the sky followed by a shower of broken metal pieces.
Rocket breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the red missile’s debris splatter and pop against the rocky ravine.
‘Where on earth did that missile come from?’ said Rocket wiping his sweaty brow. He looked around at the scorched rocks and frowned.
‘I’ve got a bad feeling I’m not the only one who’s in danger...’
* * *
Ruffled by the knock on the head and, more annoyingly, his squashed tulips, Liftoff felt rather miffed off. Marching over to a nearby pine tree, a fairly sturdy one, and with a good bit of tugging and twisting he lifted the trunk from the dirt.
SCRUNCH!
With the long roots behind him and the tip of the tree in front, he held the pine tree as though it were a regular baseball bat.
The shiny fire-ball bounced menacingly closer ...
BOING! BOING! BOING!
Liftoff readied himself for a mighty swing and –
THWAK!
With a well-timed lash of the tree, Liftoff thumped the bouncing fire-ball way up into the air and out towards the sea.
PEAOW!
The fire-ball hurtled and whistled into the sky, beyond the coastal cliffs and then down, down, down, splashing into the ocean below.
The shiny ball sank slowly, its flames extinguished with a hiss of steam. Then covered with lapping waves it gave a final gurgle of bubbles and disappeared below the water’s surface.
Rocket suddenly appeared by Liftoff’s side, screeching to a halt.
‘What are you doing playing with fire?’
‘It’s not my fault,’ said Liftoff, shaking his head. ‘It was a giant bouncing ball! It came out of nowhere, set itself on fire, and tried to splat me!’
‘Well I’ve just been chased by a deadly missile,’ Rocket explained, motioning with his hands. ‘It almost killed me!’
‘A deadly missile?’ Liftoff stared blankly. ‘Did you escape?’
Rocket gave a puzzled look and then decided to ignore the obvious question.
‘I think someone or something is trying to finish us off!’
‘But why? Does someone not want me picking flowers?’
Rocket shook his head.
‘I don’t think it’s anything to do with your flowers, Liftoff. I think our island is under attack!’
Chapter 3 – Under attack
Being something like a cat was, at this moment, to Hoppy’s great advantage. Her long pink swishing tail provided balance, her back could arch and twist to the oddest of shapes and her hands and feet were nimble and strong. Her tight fitting pink costume was designed to stretch and twist, and her white utility belt and pink slip-on shoes were perfect for this kind of climbing.
Over on the east coast of the island, Hoppy was clambering over a jagged rock face – hundreds of metres above a rushing river – and doing it all upside down.
With great skill, Hoppy carefully navigated her way down the steep ravine. Her expression was hardened with concentration.
A metre or so below her was a satellite dish, somewhat rusted and dented, and extruding from the rocks. Hoppy gingerly lowered herself nearer and leaned in. She stretched her left hand to the base of the dish and flipped open a concealed maintenance hatch. Inside the hatch lay a bundle of spaghetti wires, cables, a radio and a keypad.
A small green dinosaur was yapping and barking from the ledge above.
‘Quiet, Tinysaur,’ said Hoppy sternly. She focussed her attention back on the satellite dish and the maintenance hatch.
Tinysaur was perched at the top of the cliff, peering down. Best described as a small, harmless Tyrannosaurus R
ex, she was a little green dinosaur without sharp claws or vicious teeth.
Tinysaur whined pitifully, shuffling anxiously side to side, clearly in some sort of distress.
‘Shhhh,’ hushed Hoppy, who now had one hand inside the satellite’s maintenance box while the other hand gripped tightly to a piece of rock. ‘I think the radio’s still working.’
‘Yap, yap, yap!’ Tinysaur barked. ‘yappety, bark, grrrr, yap, yap, yap!’
Tinysaur’s extraordinarily heightened sense of smell and hearing were picking up all kinds of warning signals.
‘Well it will just have to wait,’ said Hoppy keeping her attention on the satellite dish. ‘Can’t you see I’m busy.’
She pulled at one of the spiralling cables which was attached to a radio transmitter and receiver.
‘Time to make an emergency call.’
She swung herself around into an upright position, clinging on tightly and began to tap onto the radio transmitter.
‘Hello? Is anyone there?’
The speaker crackled.
‘This is a restricted communication channel,’ said a male voice. ‘Who is this?’
‘Please help,’ said Hoppy urgently, ‘I’m on an island – somewhere – I don’t know where. And I need rescuing! You must help!’
‘What is your name?’ replied the male voice.
‘My name is Hoppy. I’m being held in captivity. You need to get me off this island!’
‘Hoppy....’ said the voice. There was an uncomfortable pause. ‘I remember that name...’
‘Hello? Are you still there? Do you know who I am?’
‘You don’t need to worry about a rescue,’ said the mysterious voice, and then in a sinister tone: ‘Your time on the island is coming to an end.’
There was a click and a long beep sounded as the line disconnected.
‘Hey! Where’d he go?’ said Hoppy. She tried tapping the keypad again but there was no answer. She punched it in frustration.
‘Why do I never get a break!’ said Hoppy angrily.
Tinysaur began howling. She was jumping up and down frantically.
She could see something terrible coming. Scurrying over towards her was a frightening sight –
Giant spiders!
Hundreds of them!
With long spindly legs and big hairy backs, a mass of giant spiders crept closer to the cliff.
In a panic, Tinysaur scrambled over the cliff edge, scrappily clutching onto anything her little paws could reach. Her big two feet dangled and slid down the side of the rocks, knocking stones and loose soil into the river far below.
Before Hoppy could say or do anything, Tinysaur lost her grip and tumbled. With lightning reactions, Hoppy reached out a hand and grabbed one of Tinysaur’s paws, saving her from a perilous fall.
