by Jonny Zucker
The creature shook its head firmly. “I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to take you in.”
“No!” pleaded Max. “I’m on an urgent mission to help the Zockrans.”
The inspector’s expression suddenly softened. “The Zockrans?”
Max nodded.
“Well, that’s a different matter. What are you doing for them? I’ve heard that they’re in trouble. Are you here to help?”
Max heaved a sigh of relief. Maybe this alien could help him?
“I’m following a purple-and-silver ship that attacked planet Zockra,” Max explained, “but I don’t quite know where it’s heading.”
“Well, you’re in luck. I know exactly where it’s going. I pulled it over to check the paperwork earlier today. It’s heading for Feronda.”
“Feronda?” repeated Max.
The inspector nodded. “I stopped you just in time,” it said, “we’re very near the turnoff.”
A minute later, the inspector pointed to a circular Entry Point that was looming up on them. It waited until they were almost parallel with it. Then it threw a small grey pellet down onto Max’s Zing-Board. The pellet let off a shower of sparks before suddenly forcing the Board off the track. It shot it towards the Entry Point.
In a second, Max was through the Point. He flew straight down a ramp onto a paved walkway. He leaned back on the Board. It stopped abruptly with a ferocious squealing sound.
As he jumped off, the Board spluttered for a few seconds. Then it completely disintegrated.
Shame—everyone at school would have been impressed with that!
Max scanned his surroundings. The walkway was about one hundred and fifty feet wide. It stretched up a steep hill towards a huge ball of white light in the distance.
The light seemed to be coming out of a building up ahead.
Max was jostled by a group of rowdy green serpentlike creatures. After steadying himself he quickly checked the sky. There were lots of spacecraft up there, but absolutely no sign of the silver-and-purple one.
Where is it, who is on it, and what exactly am I going to do when I track them down? Time’s running out! I HAVE to recover that DFEA Unit soon or the Zockrans won’t survive!
Max turned to the closest creature. It was a female alien with an indigo body and a plump red head.
“Good evening,” he politely greeted her, thankful again for the SPT device in his ear. “Can you tell me where this walkway leads to?”
She smiled warmly at Max. Then she slapped him in the face.
Max jolted backward.
“What was that for?” he shouted. He rubbed his sore cheek.
She grinned toothily. She whacked him again.
He hopped out of her way. Max held up his arms for protection.
“It’s a traditional greeting when you meet an out-of-towner around here,” she explained.
A second later, all sorts of aliens were streaming over to Max. They were slapping, whacking, and flicking him.
“OK!” Max yelled. “You’ve all made this out-of-towner feel very welcome. Now will someone please tell me WHERE WE’RE ALL GOING?”
All of Max’s slapping well-wishers suddenly stood back.
“To the Stadium of Power, of course!” replied the female alien. “It’s the Feronda Festival!”
The alien looked surprised that Max hadn’t heard of it.
“The Feronda Festival is the biggest event of its kind,” she said. “People travel from all over the galaxy to watch it. There are hundreds of shows. There is magic, illusion, music, drama, and more. But most of us are going to see the Showcase Battles.”
“Sounds like fun,” replied Max. “But you haven’t seen a silver-and-purple spaceship, have you? I know it’s coming to Feronda. But I can’t see it anywhere.”
“Silver and purple?” she repeated.
Max nodded.
Her cheerful expression was replaced with a frown. “I have heard a strange rumor about a spaceship matching that description,” she declared.
“What is it?” asked Max intently.
She leaned in toward him. She lowered her voice. “People are saying the craft belongs to an alien race. They have only just thawed out after being trapped in ice for many, many years.”
“Why were they trapped? And who trapped them?” asked Max.
“That’s all I know,” she replied.
Did the Zockrans trap these creatures in ice? Is that what the kidnapping is all about—paying the Zockrans back by taking away their source of Aura Energy? And if it was the Zockrans, why didn’t Nineth mention it? Surely he would know about such an incident?
Max was so busy puzzling over this new information that at first he didn’t notice the crowd slowing down. Suddenly he realized he’d reached the stadium. He passed through a huge archway.
He looked up. He was standing at the bottom of a giant staircase that swooped upwards towards the sky. He turned around to thank the alien for her helpful information. But she’d been swept somewhere else by the crowd.
Max felt himself carried forward to the very top of the stairs. At the last step, he gasped. His eyes took in the most remarkable spectacle he’d ever seen.
There was a huge sports stadium. It had massive banks of spectators facing down toward the oval field. Dazzling lights lit up the stadium. In the crowd sat some of the weirdest aliens Max had ever seen.
There were spindly blue creatures with three bulging heads. There were square, metallic beasts. These had tiny red heads with twisting gold antennae. There were short green monsters with no heads. These had five eyes in the middle of their chests.
I need to track down the silver-and-purple ship. I need more info on the aliens flying it. Who are they? And why have they kidnapped the DFEA Unit?
A finger prodded his arm. “Do you want me to show you to your seat?” asked a yellow-spotted alien. The alien carried official programs. And it had a tray of disgusting-looking snacks.
“Er, no thanks,” Max replied, “I’m not planning to hang around. But I am on the lookout for a silver-and-purple spaceship. I think its owners might have just recovered from being frozen in ice. Does that ring any bells?”
A scaly purple tongue hung from the alien’s mouth. It stood thinking about the question for a few seconds.
“I haven’t seen the ship,” it eventually replied. “But I believe the species you talk of are called the Guzzlets. They have indeed woken up from a long ice sleep.”
“Do you know who froze them?” asked Max.
“Of course,” said the alien, “it was the Earthlings.”
“Really?” gasped Max nervously. He felt his cheeks go a deep shade of red. “Earthlings, you say?”
“Yes,” it answered. It suddenly arched its head forward. It was studying Max’s face very closely. “Why are you so interested?”
“Er, it’s a school project,” Max replied weakly. “I’m late handing it in.”
The creature moved even closer. Suddenly a spark of recognition came over its face.
“Surely not …” it muttered. Its eyes widened.
Max felt anxious. He was keen to get away from this alien. But it had grabbed him.
“YOU’RE an Earthling. Aren’t you?” it asked. “I remember seeing a picture of your race hundreds of years ago when I was just a young alien.”
“You’re making a mistake!” said Max. “Just let me go!”
Max tried to free himself. The creature roared, “WE HAVE AN EARTHLING HERE!”
Chaos exploded. Aliens were on their feet. They were staring and pointing at Max. Their mouths gaped open (in some cases seven per creature). They were shouting “EARTHLING!” at the tops of their voices.
Before Max could react, hundreds of hands, claws, and feelers pushed and pulled him down. He struggled to break free. But it was no good. He was dragged down the seemingly endless row of steps. Dragged toward the field.
“NO!” shouted Max desperately. He crashed downward. “Let me go! I’m on a special
mission. I mean you no harm!”
His words were lost in the rising hysteria of the crowd. A minute later he was pushed over the side and onto the field. He stumbled a few paces backward. He looked wildly up at the towering stands above him. Thousands of alien eyes were gaping at him. Thousands of alien voices were shrieking “EARTHLING!” It was terrifying.
Suddenly, a giant shadow spread over the stadium. Max looked up. The silver-and-purple spaceship hovered right above the field.
“Your cries have alerted us to the fact that you have an Earthling down there,” boomed a deep voice. “Can you confirm?”
“Confirmed,” answered a machine somewhere in the stadium.
Max was rooted to the spot. He stared up at the giant craft.
“Permission to land?” said the deep voice.
“Permission granted.”
So this is when I finally get to meet these Guzzlets. I can start trying to get the DFEA Unit released. I can’t believe Zavonne didn’t warn me about them!
The ship began its descent. It stopped about a hundred meters above the field.
“WELCOME TO THE TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIX THOUSANDTH FERONDA FESTIVAL!” screeched a tinny voice. “AND WHAT AN UNEXPECTED, LAST-MINUTE TREAT WE HAVE IN STORE FOR YOU. FOR THIS YEAR’S FIRST SHOWCASE BATTLE I GIVE YOU TWO OF HISTORY’S MOST BITTER RIVALS. IN THE LEFT CORNER, WE HAVE A REAL HUMAN EARTHLING. IN THE RIGHT CORNER ARE TWO VICIOUS ICE MEN—THE GUZZLETS. LET’S GET READY TO RUUUUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!”
The crowd erupted with excitement.
Max swallowed anxiously. He made a scary calculation.
Spaceship filled with human-hating Guzzlets + crowd roaring in excitement = extremely serious trouble.
Two holes appeared on the underside of the spaceship. Two steel ladders shot out. A second later, two huge creatures emerged. The creatures climbed down onto the field. They had silver-and-purple-striped bodies and powerful arms. Their heads were triangular. Each had three glaring eyes. Their mouths were full of metal teeth that snapped like shredders. They each had two thin, flamingo like legs. Max noticed that their bodies were covered in a thick layer of ice. Sub-zero wind stream surrounded them. Max caught the chilly air on his face. He shivered.
“FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!” chanted the crowd.
The massive Guzzlets took a few steps foward.
“Your people trapped us in ice for hundreds of years,” one boomed. “Now it’s time for our revenge!”
“Can’t we just talk this over?” Max suggested. He slowly backed away from the menacing aliens.
But a chat was the last thing on the Guzzlets’ minds. Without any warning, a purple tentacle shot out from the first one’s stomach. It flung Max backward. He crashed against one of the billboards. Another tentacle lashed out from the second Guzzlet. It curled around Max’s head. He suddenly felt the blood draining out of him. He used all of his strength to wrench the tentacle off him. He thwacked the tentacle to the ground. The Guzzlet snorted furiously. The crowd booed.
If I don’t get out of here soon, I’ll be smashed.
A third tentacle whipped out from the first alien. It was followed by a fourth tentacle from the second alien. They lifted Max thirty feet in the air. Then they hurled him backward again. He thudded onto the field. He struggled to his feet. The Guzzlets roared victoriously. They came stamping toward Max.
He gulped. He desperately wished he still had the Zing-Board.
Wait! The Net Can!
Max pulled the gadget out of his pocket. To his horror, the ice coming off the Guzzlets had made his fingers cold. He couldn’t activate the ring pull.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” yelled Max.
One of the Guzzlets reached out. It snatched the can. It turned it toward Max and pulled the ring.
Immediately, a huge net shot out. It circled Max’s body and tied itself very tightly around him. The crowd roared. The Guzzlets looked at each other with mouths wide open. They both roared with laughter.
Max stood there, feeling ridiculous. He’d been captured with one of his own gadgets. That wasn’t supposed to happen!
A few feet away, the Guzzlets were loving every moment. They waved at the crowd. They bowed. The roars got louder, and they puffed up their chests. They threw their arms in the air and set off on a lap of honor.
Max got to work. He knew this was his one chance. He only had a few seconds to get it right.
When the rope had shot over him, he had squeezed both of his hands into the space where the knot tied itself. This gave him a small circle of space to work in. He lost no time. He twisted and pushed out his wrists. His hands worked the gap. Slowly, the rope started to give. He took a quick glance at the Guzzlets. They were still bowing and waving.
The opening in the net was nearly big enough. He gave it one more twist. He compressed his body. He started to push out through the hole.
In ten seconds, he was out.
The crowd screamed in alarm. The two Guzzlets spun round.
“Sorry, boys. I can’t hang around!” shouted Max. He ran off at full speed toward the other side of the field.
The Guzzlets chased after him. As Max ran, he felt tentacles shooting out at his back. He sidestepped some. He whacked the others aside. But they were gaining on him. He fought out in every direction. He was desperate to stop them wrapping around his body and squeezing him to death.
And then something terrible happened.
The Guzzlets sprang forward. They flew over the top of Max. They came crashing down about sixty feet in front of him. They turned to face him. Their faces were filled with hate.
Max made a snap decision.
There’s only one way I’m going to get out of here alive.
Instead of running away from the Guzzlets, he raced straight toward them. He picked up speed. And he suddenly dove to the ground. He crashed forward on his knees. The Guzzlets leaned down to try and grab him. Their bodies were too big to react quickly. Max skidded over the turf. He careened right between one of the Guzzlets’ legs and out a door in the stadium wall.
Three tiny yellow aliens with star-shaped heads jumped in fright. Beyond them was some sort of space park. It had a single red ship parked against a large white wall.
Max blocked out the howls of rage from the stadium. He sped toward the red ship. Its walkway was open. A pink-colored alien with a long pointy head and six chunky arms stood outside. It paged through a newspaper.
Max ran straight up the walkway.
“Hey!” shouted the alien. But Max barged past it. He sped through a metal door at the far end of the walkway. He slammed the door shut. Max heard the pink creature pounding on the door.
Max bolted the door and turned around. He found himself on the ship’s flight deck. It was empty. He sprinted over to the huge control desk. He checked out the hundreds of buttons and switches.
I have to free that DFEA team before the Guzzlets get to me. They must be planning a revenge attack on Earth. We need the protection of the Zockrans!
A large black button on the desk declared ENGINE IGNITE.
Sounds good.
Max was about to press it when he felt something cold and steely against his cheek. He turned around. He found himself staring straight into the barrel of a giant silver gun.
A very tall, thin alien held the gun. Its dark green skin was stretched tight on its body. It had two heads, each with one massive eye.
“Who are you that dares break into a Thargon Commander’s ship?” demanded the angry creature.
“I’m SO sorry,” smiled Max weakly. He was not sure which head he should be speaking to. “I didn’t realize you were a Commander. I just thought you were an average Thargon.”
Max heard shouts and stampeding feet outside the ship.
It’s the Guzzlets, plus whoever else wants to see me pummeled!
Max felt sweat running down his forehead. Before the Thargon Commander could do anything, Max reached across and pressed the ENGINE IGNITE button. The roaring sound of engines exploded
. The ship leaped upward.
The Commander clicked off the safety on the gun.
“What’s going on, sir?” shouted a voice at the back of the flight deck.
Two more Thargons stood in the doorway. Their weapons were aimed at Max.
One gun facing me isn’t ideal, but three?
Then Max saw a circular yellow panel on the floor. He realized what he had to do. As the three Thargons closed in on him, Max retreated. He stepped back until he reached the circular panel on the deck. The Thargons didn’t take their eyes off him. A second later, they too had unknowingly stepped into the circle.
Max hurled himself into the air. He somersaulted over the aliens’ heads, kicking out and activating a wall button labeled EJECT.
A roof panel flipped open. The Thargons were shot straight out. A fierce blast of air tried to steer Max out too. But he clung tightly to a steel bar. A couple of seconds later, the roof panel closed.
Max let go of the bar. He dropped back down onto the deck.
On the viewing screen he watched as the shocked and furious Thargons fell back down to Feronda.
Max jumped down onto a high-backed chair. He took a closer look at the control desk. There were hundreds of buttons and levers on the desk. Only a few were marked with signs.
Luckily, Max recognized the symbol for throttle. He hit it. The Thargon spaceship started increasing its speed.
I need to get to the Guzzlets’ home planet. But how am I going to find it?
He pulled out the interstellar map. He studied the Hedra galaxy. He scanned the stars and moons. He spotted a tiny planet faintly marked with the word Guzzle.
Yes!
Max couldn’t help smiling to himself.
I know where I’m heading now. Full speed ahead!
But a second later, the smile was erased from his face. The Thargon spaceship took a direct hit from a thunderous missile.
Max shielded his face with his arms. His body thudded against a rack of equipment. He was thrown to the deck.
He staggered to his feet. Max ran to the control desk.
