by Jan Fields
stopped shaking. He wrinkled his nose. The tree
smelled worse than stinky socks. It smelled worse
than the bean cheese his mom loved so much.
Nick was ready to get away from that smell.
He began working his way toward the shore. He
dug his fingers into the squishy trunk to claw his
way along. As he dug his fingers in, goo oozed
from the trunk. The green ooze smelled even
worse. It stuck to his fingers and his clothes, but
he kept going. Hand by hand, he inched his way
toward the shore.
45
His legs still dragged through the dark water.
Nick tried not to imagine what might be below.
Or how tasty his legs might look. He focused on
moving along, one handhold at a time.
Finally, he reached the banks of the black lake.
Nick scrambled out. He had never imagined he’d
love the feeling of land so much.
Nick was cold and lost. He had no food. He
had no drinkable water. He had no idea how to
get back to the colony. He looked around. In the
distance, he could see the hive, buzzing with
workers. Could his mom have ended up there?
On the other side of the lake, he could see
the beginning of a forest of fluff trees. That
might be the way home. Then he remembered
Bob’s promise to find him. Was the robot really
looking?
He thought about his choices hard. He
suspected that choosing wrong might mean never
seeing another birthday.
46
The Ending Is Up2U!
If you believe Nick should head into the hive
to look for his mother, turn to page 48.
If you believe Nick should head back for the
colony and hope to meet Bob along the way, turn
to page 59.
If you believe Nick should look for a safe place
to wait for Bob to find him, turn to page 70.
47
Ending
1
Into the Hive
Nick stood up. He rubbed at the slime clinging
to his arms and chest. He wished he had a hot
shower and new clothes. But he shook off the
idea. Wishing wouldn’t fix anything. He had to
make a decision right now.
He looked around, wondering where he could
wait for Bob. Then he pictured the time he’d
spent in the air. Bob couldn’t move as fast as the
giant bee.
Nick didn’t think it was a good idea to wait.
He might die of thirst or freeze before the robot
ever found him. He needed to do something.
48
His gaze turned again to the hive. His mom might be inside with the other scientists. His
mom was smart. She might have found a way to
hide from the bees.
If Nick went to the hive, he had a chance
to find his mom. He could help her get home,
maybe. He certainly didn’t see any other good
choices.
He headed in the direction of the giant hive.
The ground under his feet had none of the soft
moss. Instead it was stained black by the water
and strewn with huge rocks.
He could hear fast running water nearby, but
he couldn’t see it. And, he didn’t bother to look.
Instead, he kept his gaze on the hive.
The closer he got, the bigger the hive looked.
Nick was sure all the colony buildings piled
together would still be shorter than the mountain
of beehive in front of him. The buzzing was so
loud it made Nick’s ears and even his bones ache.
49
Still Nick kept walking.
As he reached the hive wall, he worried he
wouldn’t be able to find a way into the hive.
All the bees were buzzing above his head.
He assumed that would be where all the
openings into the hive would be as well.
Nick walked around the outside of the hive.
He wondered if he would need to climb up the
side of the hive to reach the openings overhead.
He pressed his hands to the hive wall. The
walls were smooth and warm against his skin
when he touched them. The buzzing in the hive
made the walls rumble softly. It was creepy but
almost pleasant.
The surface had some bulges. But they didn’t
seem to offer real footholds. Nick wondered if he
should try to find something to stick into the wall
to help him climb. He decided to keep circling
the hive. He could watch for a sharp rock he
could use to help him climb.
50
Nick kept walking, feeling more and more discouraged. He saw plenty of rocks. None were
sharp enough to cut into the thick wall.
Then he gave a shout. Up ahead he saw a wide
crack in the side of the hive. The crack bulged
slightly outward.
Nick peered into the crack. He couldn’t see
how deep it went. It was too narrow for the giant
bees. But it wasn’t too narrow for him. At least he
hoped it wasn’t. He didn’t have any other choice.
Nick crammed himself into the crack. He had
to shuffle along sideways because it was so tight.
Sometimes his chest felt almost squished. He
worried constantly that he would get stuck. Or
that he’d find the crack didn’t go all the way into
the hive.
Nick pushed harder into the crack. Finally, it
squished him so tightly he couldn’t breathe. In a
panic, he gave one last hard push. He popped out
inside the hive.
51
He toppled to the floor of the hive. Like the walls, the floor was smooth and warm. He
scrambled to his feet. He wondered how often
the bees moved through these tunnels. The
thought of running into one of the bees made
him shiver.
I have to find Mom, he reminded himself.
He picked a direction and started off. He
found tunnel after tunnel in the hive. The walls
bulged inward in the middle, making a kind of
crack along the bottom.
Off and on, he heard one of the bees rustling
as it trooped through the tunnels. Nick would
drop to the floor and roll into the bottom crack.
Each time, the bees didn’t seem to notice him as
they passed by. Moving through the dark tunnels
was making Nick tired. He began to hope for a
safe place to stop and rest.
Sometimes he found rooms. He peeked inside,
but each time he saw only bees. Bees filling holes
52
in the walls. Bees carrying giant eggs. Bees moving
around, buzzing at one another.
He was beginning to think he’d made the
wrong choice. His mother wasn’t here. And now
he didn’t know how to get out of the confusing
maze of tunnels. All he could do was keep going.
Then he peeked into a room filled with baby
bees. Some were pale pink. Some were almost
brown. They had stumpy legs and no wings.
5353
Some were only about Nick’s size, while others were bigger.
A few grown bees bustled around the babies.
The adults crammed bits
of food into their mouths.
This must be the bee nursery, Nick thought.
To Nick’s surprise, he spotted a colony scientist
in the corner of the nursery. The scientist had
grown plump since Nick saw him last. As Nick
watched, a bee waddled over. It stuffed a scrap
of food into the scientist’s mouth. The bees must
think he is a baby!
Nick quickly scooted across the room. He
hid behind baby bees whenever an adult came
by. Finally, he reached the scientist. “Doctor,” he
whispered. “Where’s my mom?”
The scientist blinked at him. “What?” He
seemed to be half asleep. And he was drooling.
“Come on,” Nick said. “We have to get you
out of here.” He grabbed the scientist’s arm and
began pulling.
54
Nick had to get the man to his feet. He pulled and tugged. He even tried smacking the
scientist to wake him up. Nothing worked.
Nick felt something sharp poke him in
the back. A bee creature stood behind him,
holding some food. It started to shove it toward
Nick’s mouth. Nick ducked down behind the
scientist. The food went into the man’s drooling
mouth.
The bee wandered off. Nick grabbed the back
of the scientist’s jacket. He slowly dragged him
out of the nursery. Just before he reached the
hallway, one of the adults spotted him.
It buzzed loudly and marched toward
Nick, waving a scrap of food. Nick pulled harder
and got the man into the hall. He could see
the nursery bee following them. He couldn’t
outrun a giant bee!
A tiny bee began squeaking near the nursery
worker. The adult turned and shoved the food
55
into the baby’s mouth. When it wasn’t looking, Nick hauled the scientist away. To his relief, the
bee didn’t follow.
The hallway floor was slicker than the soft
nursery floor. Nick was able to drag the man
faster on the smooth floor. He stumbled along
the dark tunnels, pulling the scientist along with
him. Nick knew he should have found the crack
already. Somehow he’d gotten lost.
Still, he had no choice. He kept going. The
halls grew quiet and dark.
Then, the floor under Nick fell away. Nick
sucked in his breath as he and the scientist fell
through the darkness. They smacked into racing
water. It must be the water that eventually fed the lake, Nick thought.
The shock of the chilly water snapped the
scientist out of his sleepy daze. Unlike Nick,
he could swim. He grabbed Nick and kept him
above the water as they raced along.
56
Soon they were outside in the daylight. The scientist slowly towed them to shore until they
were able to scramble out.
As soon as he could talk, Nick gasped out,
“Where is my mother?”
The scientist shook his head. “I don’t know.
We were swarmed by the giant bee creatures.
I guess they thought we were lost bee larvae. I
didn’t see anyone else grabbed. I thought they got
away.”
Nick slumped. “They didn’t make it back to
the colony.”
The scientist looked up at the sky. “I don’t
know where your mom is. Or the rest of the
team. But I can find our way back to the colony
from here. As long as I can see the sun.”
“It’ll be dark soon,” Nick said.
The scientist hauled Nick to his feet. “Then
I’ll use the stars. You saved me, kid. The least I
can do is save you right back.”
57
Nick followed the scientist toward the forest of fluff trees. He looked back at the giant hive.
What if his mom were in a different nursery
room? Under his breath he whispered, “I’ll be
back, Mom. I won’t give up. I promise.”
58
Ending
2
A Battle of Giants
Nick slumped to the ground near the black
lake. He had to make a choice. The longer he
looked at the huge hive, the less he wanted to be
inside it. His mom might be in there. But what
could he do about that? He wouldn’t be much
help if a bee ate him.
He needed adults. If he could get back to the
colony, he could tell his dad about the hive. Then
a team could come and look for his mom. They
would know what to do about the giant bees.
Maybe Dad would send some of his new robots
in to save her.
59
Nick stood and turned to the hive. He brushed muck from his clothes. “If you’re in there, Mom,”
he shouted, “I’ll be back.”
Then he turned and started around the outer
bank of the lake, toward the fluff forest in the
distance. He knew it had to be a long way back to
the colony. He turned to look at the hive again.
He hoped he was making the right choice.
“I’ll hurry,” he called back, even though he
knew his mom couldn’t hear. He trotted across
the bare ground. His feet felt heavy. I have to save Mom, he thought. He made himself hurry even
faster.
By the time he reached the trees, Nick was
cold and hungry. He was so tired he could barely
pick up his feet. “I wish I had some birthday cake,”
he grumbled. “Or a birthday cookie.” Then he
sighed. He’d settle for some birthday lima beans.
He knew part of the reason his mom left was
to find local plants they could safely eat. The 60
colony scientists learned they couldn’t eat fluff trees. They couldn’t eat the moss near the colony
buildings either. If they were going to find food,
they had to look far from the colony.
Nick looked at a bunch of bushes nearby. The
leaves were a pale purple, and round white balls
hung from each branch. Nick leaned down to
sniff one. It smelled good and made his stomach
growl. He wondered if it would be safe to eat.
Nick rubbed his stomach and kept walking. It
wouldn’t be a good idea to eat any strange plants
he found. After all, just being in the same clearing
where the little robot poked the fluff trees had
already gotten him in enough trouble.
As he imagined different things he’d like to
eat, Nick didn’t notice the distant clanging sounds
at first. But the sounds were getting louder as he
walked. Somewhere ahead, someone was banging.
Could it be his mom and the scientists? He picked
up his pace until he was almost running.
61
The banging grew louder and louder. Nick slowed up slightly. Did the scientists have
anything that could make that much noise?
Maybe rushing toward the noises wasn’t his
best idea. What if there was something dangerous
ahead? Nick slowed until he was barely shuffling
forward.
He thought about the surprises he’d found.
The fluff trees could move fast. They might
whump loudly against the ground. But they we
re
too soft to make the kind of noises he heard.
Then there were the bees. But they buzzed and
rustled. They didn’t clang.
The banging and clanging rang through the
woods. They sounded close.
Nick thought of the water bug. The shell was
hard. If someone banged on a bug’s shell, it might
make that sound. His mom and the scientists
were smart enough do something like that to
signal for help. Maybe it was them after all!
62
Nick ran through the trees as fast as he dared on the uneven ground. He burst into a large
clearing. He saw the clanging did not come from
his people at all. He backed up as fast as he could,
tripping over a rock and landing on his rear. He
stared upward, whimpering softly.
Two giant creatures were fighting. They looked
like the ants from Nick’s Earth studies program.
But ants on Earth had never been so large. These
creatures were far bigger than the bees.
The ant creatures clashed and wrestled. Their
hard skin made a clanging sound like blades
striking armor. Luckily, neither creature spotted
Nick.
He scooted the rest of the way to the nearest
tree. Though he was scared, he didn’t want to go
back the way he’d come. He was pretty sure he’d
need to get by the ants to find his way home.
Nick looked around the clearing for the best
route to avoid the battle. That’s when he spotted
63
them. A cluster of five colony scientists stood wedged in the shadow of a huge boulder, half
hidden by fluff trees growing close by. Nick
squinted, peering at each face. That’s when he
spotted his mom.
The boulder hid the scientists from the ant
creatures. But it also trapped them. Unlike Nick,
they couldn’t back into the trees without stepping
out into the clearing. They were almost under
the feet of the battling ants.
Nick couldn’t be so close to his mom and not
save her. Using the trunk of the fluff tree behind
him for support, he slid to his feet. The soft
surface of the trunk gave him an idea.
Nick thought about the violent way the trees
had reacted when one of them was hurt. He
remembered what Bob had said. Stay close to the
tree trunks so they can’t grab you.
Nick reached down and picked up the sharpest
rock he could find. He patted the trunk of the
64
tree. “I really am sorry about this.” He rammed the sharp edge into the trunk. Then he slammed
