Astrosaurs 14

by Steve Cole

  “So there it is.” Teggs gulped. “The monster!”

  Chapter Six

  SOMETHING IN THE SEWER

  The creature ignored Griffen and the guards and lunged for Teggs! Thinking fast, he grabbed a large lump of stone and shoved it into the monster’s mouth. Spluttering with anger, the monster lashed out with its tail and smashed Teggs backwards into the wall opposite. He landed in a dazed heap as the towering beast lurched towards him.

  “Leave him alone!” cried Iggy. He tried to shoulder-charge the carnivore but it shrugged him off, spat out the stone and clamped its jaws around Iggy’s tail instead. “Ow! Leave me alone too!” Struggling fiercely, Iggy felt the creature’s teeth began to sink into his tough scaly hide . . .

  “NOOOOOO!” hooted Gipsy loudly, still sprawled on the floor.

  The monster stopped. It looked hard at Gipsy.

  Suddenly, it spat out Iggy with a defiant roar. Then it turned and stamped away along the corridor, knocking Arx, Griffen and the baryonyx guards aside.

  Teggs staggered over to Iggy. “Are you OK?”

  “Just some scratches.” Iggy smiled weakly. “I guess I was too tough and chewy for Big-Jaws there to bother with!”

  Arx smiled at Gipsy as he helped her up. “Or else Gipsy’s super-hoot shocked him into dropping you!”

  Teggs looked at Griffen. “Now do you believe me about the monster?”

  Griffen cuffed his two guards round the ears. “Don’t just sit there,” he shouted. “Get reinforcements and catch that creature!” They scuttled away dizzily.

  “I’ve never seen anything like that before,” said Iggy.

  “It must be a specially trained pet of Prince Poota’s,” Griffen snarled.

  Gipsy shuddered. “He should keep it on a lead!”

  “I suppose the monster doesn’t know that Doctor Herdlip has already given King Jeck the cure, and it’s still trying to stop him,” Arx reasoned.

  “Captain!” said Gipsy urgently, peering through the hole in the wall. “Where’s Herdlip gone?”

  Teggs clambered into the doctor’s room and peered round. Just like before, the experiments had been smashed and overturned as if a terrible struggle had taken place. “Perhaps he jumped out through the window?” Teggs said. “It’s broken like everything else.”

  “It’s a long way down,” Arx observed. “But the monster certainly must have got in that way. After all, the door’s still locked!”

  “There is one other place it might have come from,” said Iggy, pointing to the shattered toilet. “From down there – maybe it crawled up the pipes!” Gipsy gasped. “Perhaps its lair is in the sewers!”

  Teggs nodded gravely. “That would explain why we couldn’t find the monster before.”

  “It might have stashed Doctor Herdlip down there too!” said Iggy.

  Teggs turned to Griffen. “I think we should split up and make two searches for Herdlip and the monster. Gipsy and I will join your guards searching the palace and the gardens, while Arx and Iggy check out the sewers.”

  Iggy looked at Arx. “Lucky us.”

  “Mucky us,” Arx corrected him.

  “We must move quickly,” hissed Griffen. “Like Prince Poota, this monster must be stopped!”

  Iggy pulled a torch from his belt. “Geroni-looooooooooooo!” He jumped down the toilet. Holding his nose, Arx hopped down behind him.

  Teggs, Gipsy and Griffen jogged along the gloomy stone corridors in anxious silence. They soon passed the kitchens. Teggs found the fridge upside down again and the chef hiding back in his cupboard. Only this time, even the dead fish on the walls had been scraped off.

  “It ate everything!” wailed the quailing chef. “Even the mouldy rat that was holding open the window!”

  “The monster’s still hungry,” Teggs realized. “So why didn’t it eat Iggy when it had the chance?”

  Suddenly, Donkle came scuttling up to Griffen. “We’ve found that monster, sir. It’s rampaging about on Level Three.”

  Griffen’s eyes lit up. “That’s near the dungeons. Perhaps we can lock it inside.” Donkle gulped. “Um . . . Is that wise, sir?”

  Teggs nodded. “The last prisoner you locked in there escaped straight away!”

  “This time there will be no mistakes,” vowed Griffen, pushing Donkle on ahead. And as Teggs and Gipsy followed, they hoped fervently that the captain was right . . .

  Far below, Arx and Iggy were sloshing through the stinky sewers.

  Iggy pointed his torch round with keen interest. “There’s enough dung down here to run the Sauropod’s engines for a month!”

  “I’m not carrying any of it back,” Arx warned him. Then he sighed. “I hope we find Doctor Herdlip soon. He was up to something with those extra chemicals, I’m sure of it.”

  “Perhaps the monster thought so too,” said Iggy. “That’s why it smashed those experiments . . .” Suddenly, he stopped. “Hey. I think I heard something.”

  Arx froze, straining to hear. A low, quiet moan echoed eerily from the shadows up ahead.

  “Help . . . Please . . .”

  “Perhaps it’s Doctor Herdlip!” Arx whispered. “Come on!”

  The two astrosaurs bravely waded through the slimy muck towards the sound of the voice. Iggy’s torch beam picked out something lying on a narrow ledge above the muck, bundled up in a heavy red blanket.

  The bundle wriggled. “Help,” the hoarse croak came again. “Let me out!”

  “That doesn’t sound like Herdlip.” Iggy swallowed hard. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

  Slowly, holding his breath, Arx reached out one hand and yanked back the blanket . . .

  Chapter Seven

  THE TERRIBLE TRUTH

  Teggs could hear the distant shrieks of the monster getting closer as he and Gipsy followed Griffen and Donkle to the dungeons. The sound made him shiver.

  Finally, the group reached a large, grim, forbidding metal door, which Griffen unlocked with a spiky red key. The dungeons beyond were damp, cold and smelly. Dim lights in the ceiling flickered on as they entered to reveal rusty manacles hanging from the blood-stained walls. Wet straw and bleached bones were scattered about the floor.

  “How did your prisoner escape from this place?” Teggs wondered, looking inside.

  “Dunno,” Donkle snarled. “I clobbered the guard on duty. He hasn’t woken up yet.”

  “Very good, Sergeant Donkle,” said Griffen approvingly.

  “It’s not good, it’s dumb!” Teggs banged his tail against the wall in frustration. “If you lot would only ask questions instead of hitting things—”

  “Captain!” Gipsy interrupted, rushing over. “Look, where you hit something – the wall . . .”

  Teggs swung round to find a couple of stones had fallen out. “The bricks are all loose!” He pulled out several more to reveal a dark space that smelled of dung. “You know, I might have just found a secret way out.”

  Griffen frowned. “What?”

  “Shhhh,” hissed Gipsy. “I can hear something moving on the other side!”

  They all jumped as the loose stones in the wall were suddenly smashed away and a sturdy, slightly smelly triceratops stepped into the dungeons.

  “It’s Arx!” Teggs stared in amazement. “But that means this secret way out leads to the sewer!”

  “Correct, Captain.” Arx nodded grimly. “And look who we found down there . . .”

  Iggy stepped through the wall behind Arx, carrying a frail figure in his arms. It was an elderly baryonyx wrapped up in a blanket. His grey, wrinkled skin was covered in nasty lumps and bumps. He looked very unwell, but there was still a look of defiance in his watery eyes.

  “What? No!” Griffen spluttered like he’d swallowed an electric bee. “It’s really you . . . Your Majesty!”

  “The real King Jeck,” Arx agreed.

  Teggs gasped. “Then . . . the one Herdlip treated in the royal bedroom was an imposter?”

  “Not just any old imposter,” croake
d King Jeck furiously. “That baryonyx you thought was me was my nasty nephew – Prince Poota himself!”

  Griffen looked as though he might explode. “POOTA? Here in the palace? Pretending to be king?”

  “His agents fired the giant laser-cannon at the plant-eaters’ ship to create a distraction,” King Jeck explained. “While you and your guards dealt with that danger, Poota sneaked into the palace, hid me down here, turned my royal bedchamber into his secret base – and impersonated me.”

  “So Doctor Herdlip would give his cure to the wrong baryonyx!” Teggs realized. “Poota kept the lights down low, didn’t speak and hid under blankets and hot-water bottles.”

  Griffen sighed. “I said the king seemed a changed dinosaur!”

  “But why go to such trouble?” asked Gipsy. “I don’t mean to be rude, Your Majesty, but why didn’t he just squish you?”

  “Poota is unpopular with the baryonyx people,” Jeck went on. “If they thought he had squished me, they would never accept him as their king. But if he could blame my death on you plant-eaters . . . pretend that your cure was a deadly poison . . .”

  “Of course,” said Arx glumly. “We came here in secret because you asked us to. But he could tell the people we came to attack your world.”

  “He even has proof,” Iggy realized. “We blew up that laser-cannon – our dung torpedoes are plastered all over it!”

  “Your Majesty, forgive me for my blindness.” Griffen bowed so low that he almost did a headstand. “But how could Poota and his agents get past my guards and move freely inside the palace?”

  “Because of him!” Jeck pointed a long claw at Donkle. “That miserable worm is secretly working for my nasty nephew.”

  Donkle had been edging nervously towards the dungeon door. But now Arx quickly charged across and blocked his escape. “That’s far enough, traitor,” the triceratops growled.

  “Last night I managed to escape from Poota’s clutches,” Jeck whispered – every word seemed an effort. “I tried to warn you all, but Donkle found me first. He hid me in this blanket, thumped me on the head to stop me talking and made out that I was one of Poota’s agents.”

  Teggs understood. “Then he hid you behind the dungeon wall and told everyone you’d escaped.”

  King Jeck nodded weakly but his eyes had flickered shut. He was barely breathing now. “He’s in the very last stage of the Mump-Bumps,” said Arx sadly. “The king needs Doctor Herdlip’s special tablets to cure him.”

  “And the special herbal drink,” Teggs reminded him. “Herdlip said it was vital.”

  Arx shook his head. “According to his secret notes, there’s no drink needed. Just two tablets.”

  “It hardly matters now, does it?” Griffen stormed up to the trembling Donkle. “And it’s all your fault! You dung-swallowing drudge-dog!” In a fury, he bashed the big guard on the head with his tail. Donkle went cross-eyed and flopped to the floor.

  “Griffen,” groaned Teggs. “I told you, hitting people is never the answer when you need answers! Such as, what does Donkle know about that monster? How does it figure in Poota’s plans? What’s it after?”

  But even as he spoke, the monster’s ear-splitting roar sounded from just outside. “I think it’s after us!” said Arx, backing away from the door.

  Gipsy’s head-crest flushed neon blue in alarm as the monster came crashing into the dungeons. Its green spiky head swung this way and that, and its crimson eyes blazed. It released a triumphant, bellowing howl . . .

  “Griffen, get Jeck to safety,” Teggs commanded. The blue baryonyx nodded and took the king from Iggy. “Arx, lead them back through the sewers to Herdlip’s room in case he’s gone back there – he might be able to help. The rest of us will try to hold off the monster.”

  Griffen stared at Teggs. “You would risk your lives for a carnivore king?”

  Teggs gave him a crooked smile. “That’s why we came in the first place.”

  Arx saluted his captain, then ducked back into the hole in the wall. Clutching Jeck close, Griffen followed him.

  The monster howled again. “All right, guys,” said Teggs. “It’s time to show this thing some plant-eater power!”

  “Wait,” cried Gipsy. “Something’s happening!”

  She was right. The carnivore froze for a moment. Then its claws flew to its neck. It started to cough, as if it had a Triassic frog in its throat. With every cough the creature seemed to grow a little smaller. Teggs and his friends stared in astounded silence as the monster screeched and steamed and spluttered. Its spiky head grew smoother and sleeker. The fangs vanished and the fierce claws melted away – the once-mighty monster became a small, purple and very familiar dinosaur . . .

  “I don’t believe it!” squeaked Iggy. “The monster we’ve all been after – it’s Doctor Herdlip!”

  Chapter Eight

  THE MONSTER’S MISSION

  Teggs stared in shock at Dr Herdlip. “The monster didn’t kidnap you at all . . . it was you!”

  “I hope I didn’t hurt any of you.” Herdlip looked sad, scared and sorry all at once. “When I changed, I felt so hungry . . . I could hardly control myself. I ate raw meat and rotten fish – urgh!” His legs wobbled, and he flopped to the grimy dungeon floor.

  Gipsy crouched beside him. “What happened? What made you change like that?”

  “An unlucky accident,” said Herdlip miserably. “I tried to cure myself with the chemicals you brought from the ship, but it’s no good. I have changed twice now. When I change again it will be for the last time, and I’ll stay a meat-eating monster for ever.” He closed his eyes. “You see, I didn’t just come here to cure King Jeck of Ribchomper’s Mump-Bumps. I came here to cure him of being a carnivore!”

  Teggs stared. “What do you mean?”

  Herdlip lifted his chin proudly. “I have created a potion called Herbicarnus-X,” he explained. “This miracle of medicine turns any meat-eater who drinks it into a plant-eater! It doesn’t work straight away – the body can fight off the transformation at first. But after three changes, that’s it. The carnivore becomes a herbivore and stays that way!” He shrugged. “When I was asked to cure King Jeck, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to test my potion.”

  “You wanted to turn King Jeck into a plant-eater?” Teggs looked baffled. “But why? His subjects would turn against him on the spot!”

  Herdlip looked excited. “No, they wouldn’t. Because once the change is complete, the new plant-eater is left full of special Herbicarnus-X germs – harmless to him, but very, very infectious. Every carnivore he meets will catch them!”

  “So then they will turn into plant-eaters too,” Gipsy realized, “and go on spreading the infection . . .”

  “The change will spread like wildfire,” Herdlip agreed. “It will even spread through space to other meat-eater worlds.” His eyes gleamed. “Imagine it, my friends! No more ravenous-raptor invasions. No more T. rex terror raids . . . Plant-eaters need never fear carnivores again – for soon they will cease to exist and we shall have everlasting peace!”

  Teggs shook his head sadly. “We all want peace, Herdlip, but not like this. Different dinosaurs have different natures. We have to learn to live together – not wipe each other out!”

  “But don’t you see?” Herdlip looked puzzled. “I’m not hurting anyone, only changing them.”

  Iggy glared at him. “But carnivore worlds are pretty much plant-free – meat-eaters don’t need them. So what are all your instant herbivores going to feed on?”

  Herdlip frowned. “Er, I hadn’t thought of that.”

  “Most of them will starve!” Teggs realized with horror. “Even if we give them food from our planets, there’s not nearly enough for everyone.”

  “Captain!” Gipsy clapped her hoofs together with relief. “It’s OK. Herdlip didn’t give his potion to the real King Jeck, remember? It was Prince Poota in disguise!”

  Herdlip’s face fell. “It was?”

  Gipsy nodded “And since Po
ota isn’t really sick, why would he bother to drink that potion?”

  “Of course!” said Teggs with relief. “So it looks like the only dino changing around here is you, Herdlip. But how come? You said it was an accident . . .”

  Herdlip shrugged helplessly. “I was just mixing an extra-strong batch of Herbicarnus-X potion in the Sauropod lab, when we were attacked. The ship lurched sideways, and the potion splashed all over me. And though I perfected it to turn meat-eaters into harmless herbivores, it seems it does the opposite too – it turns plant-eaters into savage, crazy carnivores!”

  Gipsy gasped in horror. “Does that mean that when you change for the third time, you will spread the germs and turn all of us into carnivores too?” Herdlip nodded.

  Iggy gulped. “We could infect the whole Vegetarian Sector.”

  “And turn every peaceful plant-eater into a raging monster!” Teggs groaned. “Your insane plan has backfired, Herdlip. Never mind the Mump-Bumps – this is the true Carnivore Curse!”

  “I-I didn’t mean for things to turn out this way,” wailed Herdlip. “You must lock me up all alone somewhere for ever, so no one else will catch my germs.”

  “We will find doctors who might be able to make you well again,” Teggs told him. “But first you must cure the real King Jeck. There’s not a moment to lose!”

  Gipsy frowned. “Wait a sec. What happened to Donkle?”

  “Griffen conked him on the head and he fell over . . .” Iggy scratched his chin. “Hey! He’s gone!”

  “He must have woken up and sneaked off when we weren’t looking,” Teggs realized. “And that means he’s on his way to warn Prince Poota!”

  “No, my dear Captain!” A new voice echoed out commandingly. “It means he has already warned me! I’ve been listening to Herdlip’s explanations with great interest . . .”

  A hunched figure, wrapped up in blankets and clutching hot-water bottles, swept in through the dungeon doorway, followed by eight baryonyx guards.