by H. Badger
Without another word, Kip leapt off the floating reed island. He took off his gloves and disappeared under the water.
Holding his breath, Kip dived down. He spotted a leech wriggling past. He scooped up the leech and shot back up to the surface.
Kip burst out of the water. The leech had attached itself to Kip’s hand and started sucking his blood. Kip held out his hand to the others.
‘See? Gross, but harmless.’
‘But…the Jellies told us they were deadly,’ Virgil stammered.
Of course they did, Kip thought grimly.
He plucked the leech from his hand. Rolling up the sleeves of his AirSuit and Sea Stocking, Kip put the leech on his tattoo.
The Girds watched in silence as the leech sucked Kip’s skin. The leech swelled up to three, then four times its size. But instead of sucking Kip’s blood, the leech was sucking out the Jelly fluid. In seconds, Kip’s tattoo was gone.
‘Let me try,’ said Virgil.
The other Girds watched as Virgil picked the bloated leech off Kip’s arm and put it on his own tattoo.
‘It’s working!’ Virgil said, as his tattoo disappeared.
Finbar and the rest of the Girds jumped into the water to grab their own leeches. Soon, everyone was erasing the hated Jelly tattoos.
They were all free!
Well, everyone except Duke.
CHAPTER 9
‘Now that we’re free, we need to go back down to Jelly City,’ Kip said to Finbar.
Finbar was a loyal 2iC, and he nodded.
They both knew it would be extremely dangerous. But Kip already had a plan in mind.
Jumping back into the water, he opened the valve on his AirSuit. Warm water gushed in. The suit swelled to twice its size and weight. Finbar filled his suit too.
Kip’s plan was to pretend they had fetched water like good Jelly slaves. That would be the easiest way back into the city.
It was time to say goodbye to Virgil and the other Girds.
‘What will you do now?’ Kip asked Virgil.
‘Thanks to you, we’re free to move around our planet again,’ said Virgil. ‘We’ll build our floating city far away from the Jellies. The Girds will become strong again.’
Waving goodbye, Kip and Finbar dived into the red sea. In their heavy AirSuits, the trip down to the sea floor was easy. With their arms and legs in the pin-drop position, they sank like stones.
Jelly City soon loomed up below them. Kip and Finbar swam through the entrance, past the eels with their glittering dagger teeth.
Nurdor was waiting for them. He didn’t look happy.
Beside Nurdor was a giant barrel with a hose attached. Nurdor fitted the hose to Kip’s AirSuit. He drained the warm water from Kip’s suit, then Finbar’s.
Luckily, Nurdor couldn’t see they had erased their tattoos because their arms were covered by their suits.
‘Too slow, slaves,’ Nurdor said. ‘You’ve made me angry.’ He flicked one of his poisoned tentacles towards them.
‘We’ll do better next time,’ Kip said, fingers crossed behind his back.
‘Next time will have to wait,’ Nurdor snapped. ‘Your pesky minisaur has escaped. He won’t obey anyone! The King wants minisaur chops for dinner. You must catch your bratty pet for him.’
Kip shot a glance at Finbar. This was their chance to save Duke!
‘Go to the King’s Palace immediately,’ Nurdor said. ‘And don’t even think of escaping. Remember, we can track you.’
That’s what you think, Kip answered silently.
Kip and Finbar set off, half-swimming, half-walking again through Jelly City. The King’s Palace was easy to spot. It was the biggest, shiniest tower in the whole city. A giant black pearl carved into the shape of a crown sat at the top of the tower.
Ignoring the stares of passing Jellies, Kip and Finbar swam quickly through the city. Outside the palace, Kip found a cage made of strange bones. Duke had chewed through it like a pair of spaceboots. He was nowhere to be seen.
‘How’s he breathing under water?’ Kip asked Finbar. Then it struck him. ‘Oh, of course! Duke’s amphibious.’
Some reptiles were, like crocodiles.
Kip still had Duke’s sonic leash in the pocket of his normal clothes. Frantically, he reached under the layers of his AirSuit and SeaStocking to dig it out. Luckily, the sonic leash was waterproof.
Kip seriously doubted the leash would work. Duke never obeyed it in Dino-Training classes! But Kip switched it to the Call Dino setting anyway.
The sonic leash sent out its ultra high-frequency sound, which only Duke could hear.
Kip and Finbar waited. Nothing. Duke was nowhere to be seen.
Then…
OOMPH!
Out of nowhere, a solid green shape leapt into Kip’s arms. Duke!
‘Stop it, boy!’ Kip laughed, as Duke tried to lick Kip’s face through his AirSuit. He was relieved to see Duke again, but he put his pet down. ‘We’ve got to leave right now!’
Ignoring him, Duke rolled over and played dead. This was worse than Dino-Training! They really had to get out of there.
‘Come with us now,’ said Finbar slowly, ‘and you’ll never have to go back to Dino-Training.’
At once, Duke jumped up and raced over to Kip’s side.
Who said minisaurs aren’t smart? Kip and Finbar smiled at each other.
Kip quickly hid Duke inside his AirSuit.
Now all they had to do was escape Jelly City!
CHAPTER 10
Kip and Finbar half-ran, half-swam back through the city. Nurdor was waiting for them at the entrance.
‘Did you find the minisaur?’ he growled.
Duke’s tail tickled Kip’s neck.
‘Um…no,’ Kip said.
‘That’s just great,’ said Nurdor sarcastically. ‘Now I’ll have to find the King something else for dinner. He’ll be furious.’
He stared at Kip with glowing blue eyes. ‘Wait! What’s that bulge in your AirSuit?’ Nurdor asked, tentacles on his hips.
‘Oh, it’s nothing,’ said Kip.
‘It’s shaped exactly like a minisaur!’ Nurdor hissed.
‘SWIM FOR IT!’ Kip yelled.
Kip and Finbar surged past Nurdor and out of the city. The other Jellies stared.
‘After them!’ Nurdor screeched at the Jellies nearby.
Kip was already exhausted. They’d been swimming for hours. But he gathered every shred of energy he had left. This time, they were swimming for their lives.
‘Remember, Earthlings,’ Nurdor yelled at Kip and Finbar. ‘There is no escape!’
Just watch us, Nurdor, Kip thought.
Kip and Finbar swam for the surface. Kip’s lungs burned. He couldn’t seem to get enough air in through his mask.
But that didn’t matter. They had to go on. The Jellies were still behind them!
At last, Kip and Finbar broke through to the surface of the water. Kip dialled MoNa on his SpaceCuff.
Nurdor will go crazy when he realises we’ve escaped, Kip thought. He smiled, imagining Nurdor’s furious expression.
‘Send two Scramblers ASAP!’ he said urgently, when MoNa answered.
‘And a Scrambler for your WaterWalker, too?’ MoNa asked.
The WaterWalker! Kip had totally forgotten about it. There was no way he was heading back to Jelly City to get it.
‘Er… we had a little technical problem with the WaterWalker,’ Kip said. ‘I’ll explain when we’re on board.’
Seconds ticked by. Then suddenly, two Scrambler Beams shot down from above.
Relieved, Kip and Finbar splashed into the beams, just as Kip caught sight of the Jellies gliding angrily through the water towards them. Kip had time to wave goodbye before the Scramblers hit.
Instantly, Kip had the feeling that something was taking his body apart, cell by cell, and shuffling bits all over the place. No matter how many times he travelled by Scrambler, he never got used to it.
So long, Aquaron! he
thought, dazed.
The next thing he knew, Kip was lying in a puddle in MoNa’s landing bay.
Finbar was next to him, his wet fur clinging to him. They pulled off their AirSuits, the last sign they’d ever been slaves to the Jellies. Kip was glad to get back into his comfy dry spacesuit.
Immediately, Kip and Finbar headed for the bridge. Kip had to file his mission report.
When they got there, Kip settled into his captain’s chair. His holographic consol appeared around him. Kip began typing on the mid-air keyboard.
CAPTAIN’S LOG Aquaron
Climate: Once icy but now covered in water.
Population: Very rich, very evil aliens called Jellies. They are giant, mean Jellyfish. Also Girds, a gentle race of four-eyed humanoids. Until recently, the Jellies had enslaved the Girds.
Recommendation: The Jellies are trading nutritious vegetables called Sea Sprouts. This has made the Jellies rich. The Jellies would definitely not be willing to share their vegetables with humans, let alone their whole planet. Aquaron is definitely not Earth 2.
Note: I must also report that the Jellies stole my WaterWalker. This proves yet again that they are not to be trusted.
KIP KIRBY, SPACE SCOUT #50
‘Phew,’ Kip sighed, hitting Send.
Work was over, for this mission at least. Kip was dying to check the Space Scout intranet. There’d be lots of gossip from other missions to catch up on. Plus, rankings on the Planetary Points Leader Board would have been updated.
With his report filed and the mission complete, Kip had earned one Planetary Point. He hadn’t found Earth 2 yet. He just hoped no other Space Scout had either. Otherwise, his chance at the Shield of Honour would be gone.
‘You’re not a slave to your job, Kip,’ Finbar said to him, as though he knew what Kip was thinking. ‘Maybe it’s time to relax?’
Kip grinned. ‘Let’s take Duke to the Virtu-Park,’ he said.
Duke’s ears pricked up.
Kip, Finbar and Duke headed for MoNa’s Virtu-Park, which was near the bridge.
The Virtu-Park was a bit like the Air-Parks on Earth, except that it was in a sealed chamber on MoNa. Inside, the air was climate-controlled so the temperature was always a perfect 27 degrees.
A UV-free artificial sun shone down from the ceiling. Grass made of shredded silk carpeted the floor. There was even a soundtrack of birds tweeting piped through hidden surround-sound speakers.
Kip dug around in his spacesuit pocket. He found a slightly mangled DinoTreat.
‘Jump, boy!’ called Kip. He threw the DinoTreat into the air. It spun in mid-air, never dropping to the ground. The Virtu-Park had a zero-gravity atmosphere. Duke rushed over. But he didn’t jump up and grab the DinoTreat. Instead, he jumped into Finbar’s arms and licked his face.
‘Don’t you ever do what you’re told?’ Finbar laughed.
Kip couldn’t help smiling. Duke was definitely the naughtiest minisaur in space.
But that was fine by Kip. It was better that Duke was free to do things his own way. It was exactly how Kip liked things, too.
THE END
