Three's a Crowd

by Louise Park

  “We aren’t in a black hole, are we?” Olivia asked, panicking.

  “No,” said Cosmic Cruiser. “We just entered Rednessis’s orbit. If it’s this dark here, it will be really dark down there.” Cosmic Cruiser hit the hyper-lights button on the dashboard. “That’s better.”

  The planet came into view.

  “It’s all red,” said Olivia.

  “Yes,” said Cosmic Cruiser. “Didn’t you learn that when you did your research?”

  Olivia blushed. “Oh, I just forgot for a minute,” she said.

  “When it’s covered in sunlight it’s the most awesome shades of red,” said Cosmic Cruiser. “I can’t even see Rednessis’s sun. Weird. Maybe the planet is between us and it, but I don’t think it should be.”

  Cosmic Cruiser landed the small twin craft on a flat area of the planet. “Gear up, cadets,” she said. “Your big moment has arrived. Good luck.”

  Addie and Miya adjusted their goggles and put their helmets on. As Olivia went to get her helmet, she dropped her night vision goggles. She stepped back to pick them up and stood on them.

  That should take care of them, she thought. “Oh no, I stepped on my goggles. They’re broken. I’ll have to stay here.”

  “No way,” said Miya. “You know the rules. We both have night vision, so you’ll be fine with us. Get your helmet on.”

  Olivia pulled on her helmet grudgingly and strapped on her mission pack.

  Addie and Miya stood on either side of Olivia and held her hands.

  Cosmic Cruiser hit the button and the door opened. The girls stood and looked out into total darkness. Addie and Miya switched on their goggles and the three of them stepped down onto Planet Rednessis.

  Chapter Four

  The first thing the girls noticed was the noise.

  “What’s going on?” Olivia asked, gripping the other girls’ hands tighter.

  “We don’t know,” said Miya. “All we can see is rocks, cliffs, and crevices, and a few straggly plants. It’s like being in the Grand Canyon. Why don’t you see if your flashlight will help you see?”

  Olivia’s stomach turned over. I wish I hadn’t taken the power chip out of my flashlight just to wreck this mission, she thought. Or stepped on my night vision goggles. She took her flashlight out and tried it. “It won’t work,” she said. “It must be broken.”

  Addie took her flashlight from her mission pack and gave it to Olivia. “Use mine,” she said. “It must be scary not being able to see.”

  “Thanks,” Olivia said as she took the flashlight and turned it on. The instant the light hit the ground all the noise stopped. Then a different rumbling noise started.

  “What is that?” asked Olivia.

  “Whatever it is, it’s getting louder and louder,” said Addie.

  “Because it’s heading for us!” yelled Miya. “Quick, turn the flashlight off.”

  Olivia did, and everything went still and quiet again. “I don’t like this,” she said. “I can’t see and I’m scared. I want to go back.”

  “Shh,” said Miya. “Listen. That other noise has started again, and it seems closer.”

  “We need to go and see what it is. Without using the flashlight. Come on.”

  “No,” said Olivia, shaking. “If I can’t use the flashlight I’m not going.”

  “Here, have my goggles,” said Addie, and she helped Olivia put them on. “Better?” she asked.

  “Better, thanks,” Olivia said with a small smile that Addie couldn’t see. “But now you can’t see.”

  “I’ve had a good look around, though,” said Addie. “I’ll be okay for now. We can share the goggles between us.”

  Suddenly there was a loud rumble and the ground shook underneath them. Olivia turned the flashlight on without thinking and pointed it in the direction of the noise. Creatures charged out of the darkness at them. Olivia quickly shut off the light, but it was too late. The girls were surrounded by reptaliens, reptaliens that were attacking each other.

  “What’s happening?” Addie asked nervously. “It sounds awful.”

  “It looks like they’re fighting each other, and they’ll fight us too if we don’t get out of here,” Miya yelled.

  Miya put Addie between herself and Olivia. The girls held hands and began to run back toward the Rigger.

  “Aaagh!” Miya suddenly screamed. Then Addie was pulled to the ground and Olivia was jerked to a stop.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Olivia, turning back toward the others. Then she saw Miya on the ground holding her leg. “Quick, can you get up?”

  “I can’t. I slipped on something slimy and now my foot’s stuck,” Miya said. She grimaced as she tried to pull her foot free from a small gap between two rocks.

  Olivia looked fearfully into the darkness, back the way they’d come. “I can still hear noises. We need to go,” she said. She crouched beside Miya and tried to roll the smaller of the rocks away. It wouldn’t budge.

  “What are you doing?” Addie asked.

  “Miya’s foot is caught in a hole,” Olivia said. “I can’t get her out.”

  “Take her space boot off,” Addie said.

  Olivia helped Miya undo the top of her boot and her foot slid free.

  With Olivia’s help, Miya stood up but then cried out in pain. “I can’t walk on my foot,” she said. “It’s my ankle. Here, take my goggles so you can see to help me back.”

  Addie put the goggles on. “Put your arms around our shoulders,” she said to Miya. “We’ll take most of your weight. We’re almost there.”

  The three cadets reached the Rigger and hit the button for its doors to open.

  “Quick,” yelled Addie. “We need to shut the doors and stop them from getting inside.”

  The doors shut, and all that could be heard was the girls’ breathing.

  “Okay, there is no way I’m going out there again,” Olivia said. “I was totally freaked out. I’ve never seen anything like that.”

  SA Cosmic Cruiser helped the girls get Miya into a seat.

  Addie and Olivia were both worried about Miya.

  “Do you think she’s broken something?” asked Olivia.

  “I’m not sure,” said Cosmic Cruiser. “But you girls check what’s going on out there. I’ll take care of Cadet Astron’s ankle. There are a couple of ice packs in the fridge. She needs them on her ankle to stop the swelling.”

  Cosmic Cruiser left the girls and went into the small storage bay to get the ice packs. Addie and Olivia looked out the Rigger’s window. All they could see were reptaliens fighting with each other.

  “Why are they turning on each other like that?” Olivia asked.

  “They need sunlight to keep them happy and healthy, remember?” Addie said. “Being in the dark must stress them out, so they do things they wouldn’t normally do. That’s why they were so drawn to the flashlight.”

  The girls watched a big reptalien lash out with its two tails, flinging smaller ones aside.

  “That one must be really stressed out,” Olivia commented.

  “Have you been stressed out?” Addie asked her friend quietly. “Is that why you turned on me?”

  “Oh, um, I’m sorry,” Olivia mumbled.

  “You know we’re not trying to leave you out,” said Miya.

  “I’ve said and done some really dumb things, haven’t I?” mumbled Olivia.

  “Yep,” answered Addie.

  “It’s just that you guys share a dorm room. You went on a mission together. You’re even study buddies. You’re always together.”

  Addie was quiet for a moment. Then she said, “What you did really hurt.”

  “I know. I’m sorry,” said Olivia. “I was just feeling so left out…”

  “I kind of know what you mean,” said Addie. “If you and Miya were sharing a room and ev
erything, I’d probably feel the same.”

  “We can talk on the way back to school,” Miya said. “Right now we have to do something about this planet. You need to go back out there.”

  “I’m not going out there again,” said Olivia.

  “I have an idea,” said Miya. “If we get the space blankets out and shine our flashlights on them using the mirror setting, we might be able to create a huge pool of light.”

  “And the reptaliens will all want to be in that light,” said Addie as she pulled the big silver blankets from the drawer. “I like it!”

  She laid one out over the plasma screen and selected the mirror setting on her flashlight. When the beam hit the space blanket, rays of light bounced off it and onto the floor.

  “The reptaliens will love it,” said Addie.

  “Can you have two settings on the flashlight at once?” Miya asked. “Try the kaleidoscope one with the mirror one.”

  Addie tried it. Suddenly the whole cabin was filled with rays and patterns of light.

  “Wow, it’s pretty,” said Olivia. “It’s like the disco ball in the celebration holopods. Only here, there’s so much more light.”

  “Come on, Olivia, let’s do it,” said Addie.

  “I can’t go out there again,” said Olivia, shuddering. She took off her goggles. “I don’t even want to watch anymore.”

  “I’ll go on my own then,” said Addie.

  “But that’s against the rules,” said Olivia.

  “I have to do something,” Addie said. “I might as well take everything we’ve been given, just in case.” She gathered up the Rapid Repair packs and stuffed them into her mission pack, even though she didn’t know how they could help. Then she picked up Miya’s flashlight and all the blankets and headed for the door.

  “Wait,” said Miya, and she took out her SpaceBerry and called Addie’s number.

  “Why are you calling me?” asked Addie.

  “Answer and put your phone on speaker mode,” said Miya. “If you’re going out there alone, at least we’ll be able to talk to you and help from in here.”

  “Good plan,” said Addie as she set her phone to speaker.

  “Hang on,” said Olivia, looking very guilty. She scrambled around in the trash can by her seat until she found her flashlight’s power chip. She put it back in the flashlight and handed it to Addie.

  Addie and Miya stared at her.

  “I’ll tell you about it later,” she said.

  Addie didn’t have time to ask any questions. She hit the button for the doors to open and out she went.

  Chapter Five

  Outside, Addie worked quickly and quietly in the dark. She hung the space blankets over the wing of the Rigger and let them hang down like a curtain of silver. Those reptaliens are so busy fighting that they haven’t even noticed me, thought Addie. It’s terrible what happens to them without sunlight. But they will love it when the flashlights turn on.

  Addie snuck over to a pile of rocks not far away. She checked that all three flashlights were set to mirror and kaleidoscope, then she balanced them on the rocks. Here goes, she thought and turned the three flashlights on.

  A blaze of patterned light reflected off the space blankets and lit up the area in front of the Rigger. The reptaliens stopped what they were doing and charged into the light.

  “What’s happening?” asked Miya through the SpaceBerry.

  “They’re all in the light,” said Addie. “They’ve gone quiet, as if they’re sunbathing.”

  “No more fighting?” Miya asked.

  “No. I think they’re going to sleep,” answered Addie. “Poor things. I’m going to take a look around.”

  “Keep talking so we know what’s going on,” said Miya.

  “I can see a lot of those plants we saw when we only had night vision. There must have been tons before the sunlight disappeared because there are dead ones everywhere,” said Addie. “That’s what the slime was that you slipped on, Miya.”

  Suddenly Addie heard Cosmic Cruiser’s voice through the SpaceBerry.

  “Here’s your ice pack, Astron. Hey, where’s Star Girl?”

  “Umm,” said Miya, “she’s outside.”

  “Outside?” came Cosmic Cruiser’s shocked voice. “I’ll have to contact Ms.—”

  “Oh no, more reptaliens are coming!” said Addie, cutting her off.

  “Can you hide anywhere?” asked Miya.

  “I don’t think I need to,” said Addie. “They’re heading for the light. They can see me better now, and I think they think I’m one of them.”

  “The reptalien spacesuits!” said Miya.

  “Yep,” said Addie. “But all these plants must have died from having no light. I’m going to use the Rapid Repair. Maybe it will help them grow when the planet gets its sunlight back.”

  Addie took out one of the packs. She crushed the seeds and blew the powder into the air. The effect was like magic. Wherever it landed the plants came back to life.

  I wish I had more of this stuff, Addie thought. She crushed the next two packs and blew the powder around as she walked.

  “I can’t see anything strange,” said Addie. “There’s nothing out here but rocks, plants, and reptaliens. I’m going to call Ms. Styles.”

  “Okay,” said Miya. “Be quick. We don’t know how long those flashlight power chips are going to last.”

  Addie flipped her watch cover up. Ms. Styles appeared right away.

  “SC Star Girl. What have you found?” asked Ms. Styles.

  “Nothing, that’s the problem,” answered Addie.

  “And you are out there alone. Cosmic Cruiser told me what’s gone on so far.”

  “Oh, yes, but anyway…” Addie continued, trying to skim over the fact that she was breaking the school rules.

  “No, Star Girl,” said Ms. Styles. “Return to the small Rigger immediately. It seems like the problem isn’t on the planet, anyway. I’ll contact Cosmic Cruiser on the Rigger’s communication screen and talk to her about this. Then I’ll talk with you girls.” And then she was gone.

  Back inside the small Rigger the girls were listening to Ms. Styles on the rocket’s screen.

  “Sorry to hear about your ankle, Astron Girl. Hopefully it’s only a sprain,” said Ms. Styles. “And I hear you had a severe case of the spooks, Orbital 2. Don’t feel bad. We’ve all felt like that at some time in our lives. I’ve instructed SA Cosmic Cruiser to orbit the planet. It seems strange that the sun can’t be seen. Buckle up and we’ll speak again later.”

  All three girls fastened their seat belts and the Rigger’s rockets fired up. In no time they were back up in Rednessis’s dark orbit.

  “I’ll be cruising slowly,” said Cosmic Cruiser. “Yell out to me if you see or hear anything strange out there.”

  As the small Rigger flew across Rednessis’s black sky, its light lit up a huge black shape.

  “Is that something up ahead?” asked Addie.

  “I’ll go in closer,” said Cosmic Cruiser.

  Slowly, a massive black rectangular object came into view.

  “What is that thing?” asked Addie.

  “I think I know,” said Cosmic Cruiser. “It reminds me of the energy filters used to collect and store sunlight. But this one is huge. I’ve never seen anything like it before. I bet if we fly in from behind it, we’ll see Rednessis’s sun. That thing is blocking the light from shining down onto Rednessis.”

  The Rigger flew around behind the massive screen and suddenly the rocket was bathed in brilliant sunlight.

  “I think it’s time to think about using the D-Max Mag,” said Cosmic Cruiser.

  “Of course,” said Miya. “It can magnify the sun’s rays, and if we focus the magnifying glass on the filter, the heat will cause it to combust and burn away to nothing.”

  “And t
hen the tiny planet will have its sunlight back,” said Olivia. “You and I can do this, Addie. We can use the safety cords and take the magnifying glass out into space.”

  “I’ll fly as close as I can to where you will need to hold the glass,” said Cosmic Cruiser. “Don’t look at the glass or the filter screen. I’ll tell you when the job is done through your helmet speakers.”

  The cadets attached themselves to the craft using the safety rope. Olivia took the little D-Max package and Addie made sure the Unpackit application was on her SpaceBerry’s front screen. Then they went out into space through the Rigger’s space hatch.

  “It’s just like when we play spaceball!” said Addie as they moved slowly through space.

  “In position now,” said Cosmic Cruiser’s voice. “Hold the package between the two of you, hit the Unpackit app, and close your eyes.”

  The cadets held the package and Addie hit the Unpackit app. Suddenly the girls were being pushed farther and farther apart.

  The D-Max unpacked and unfolded into a huge magnifying glass. The girls held tightly to the handles and waited. Finally, they heard Cosmic Cruiser’s voice again. “Open your eyes, space cadets, and look at your handiwork. Mission complete.”

  Addie and Olivia looked at where the screen had been. All they could see was beautiful sunlight, and it was shining all the way down onto Planet Rednessis.

  Chapter Six

  Back at the docking bay, the Twin Rigger’s engines were cooling down and the crew was offloading from the main craft.

  “Welcome home Space Cadets Star Girl, Astron, and Orbital 2,” said Ms. Styles. “Onto the stretcher, Astron Girl, and then it’s off to the infirmary for you,” she said. “We’ll all come up and visit you soon.”

  Two space station worker bots carried Miya away, and Addie and Olivia followed Ms. Styles into the FlyBy.

  “Not a terrible mission, but certainly not one of the best,” said Ms. Styles. “You deliberately broke your night vision goggles, Orbital 2. You wanted to get a bad score on this mission, I suspect. And you, Star Girl, went out on an alien planet alone.”