2017 Young Explorer's Adventure Guide

by Maggie Allen

  They’d gone too far this time. In the past they’d confined him to his quarters, where he could take comfort in familiar things in spite of his lack of freedom. This time, they'd imprisoned him in an escape pod, a smooth blister on the side of the ship, with a computer lockdown to keep him in place. He shook his head. “Computer, open the escape-pod door.”

  The synthesized voice responded promptly. “I am unable to comply.”

  “Computer, I want to make a call.”

  “Your comm access has been suspended.”

  The computer's calm tones made him look around for something to throw at the speaker. There was nothing. Even the thin pillow was tethered to the bunk.

  His next idea was desperate, but the thought of the shame waiting on the table hardened his resolve. They would rue the day they’d locked him away. “Computer, launch this escape pod.”

  “I am unable to comply.”

  They’d thought of everything it seemed. Captain Photonic limped to the small kitchenette on the other side of the pod, his cape slapping against his legs, and slumped onto a bench. He slid his hand across the table to the pen at its center and began to write. The pen made a scratching sound, and each letter eroded some of his pride. He read the words aloud through gritted teeth as they appeared. “I will not —”

  He hurled the pen away and leaped to his feet, shaking his fist at the sensors he knew were recording his every move, logging his every breath. “I won't do it! You can't make me do it!”

  He threw himself on the bunk again. “Computer, turn off the lights. I want to sleep.”

  “I am unable to comply.”

  Captain Photonic threw an arm over his face to block the glare. Seconds ticked by. He sighed heavily and turned to lie on his side. He growled and kicked his feet like a drowning swimmer, then twisted to his other side.

  A scream leaked through his tight-set lips as he rose and stalked across the room to retrieve the pen. He carried it at his side in one fist as he went back to the table, and he stabbed it at the paper, writing eight more words. He flung the pen away.

  “I did it!” he shouted. “I did what you wanted!”

  The pod door slid open and his jailer walked in. “Let me see it,” she said.

  Captain Photonic’s expression was blacker than the empty space outside the pod's walls as he handed her the paper. She read it aloud and handed it back to him. “Good start. Now do it forty-nine more times.”

  He gaped at her, jaw dropping. “That's not fair!”

  She pointed at him with a long finger tipped with a chrome nail. “Do it in the next twenty minutes, or you'll be eating recyclables for dinner.” She blinked. “And change out of that costume. Halloween’s been over for two months.”

  She turned and walked out the door, leaving him to his humiliation. He stalked back to the table and sat down with the pen. He wrote the next line.

  “I will not try to throw my sister out the airlock.”

  He snarled and started the next. Forty-eight more to freedom.

  The Traveler’s Companion

  by Scott Toonder

  Scott Toonder is a literacy specialist in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where he works exclusively with at-risk readers. He is the author of a number of short stories and adapted folktales, as well as Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's READ 180 Stage A Blog. Scott serves as the president and chief instructor of Lehigh Valley Aikikai (a nonprofit martial arts group), and is working toward his doctorate degree at Lehigh University. Scott lives in Macungie, Pennsylvania with his wife Rachael and their very vocal cat, Kia.

  Sophia floated across the cabin to one of the portholes dotting the ship. She stared through the thick glass and sighed as stars flashed by in blurs of light.

  “It is kind of pretty.” Sophia turned back to her younger brother, but Maleek was so intent on the dumb game on his wrist-pad that he probably hadn’t heard. She sighed again and pressed her forehead against the glass. “Mom would have loved it.”

  “Mom’s not here,” he snapped. “And I wish I wasn’t.”

  The venom in his voice made her flinch, but she couldn’t blame him. She was just as angry. It wasn’t fair that Mom had been taken from them, and it wasn’t fair they had to leave everything on Earth behind to go live with someone they barely knew.

  “How much longer are we going to be trapped in here?” Maleek asked.

  Sophia forced a smile. “I can check.”

  She glided back to her seat, activated her wrist-pad, and clicked on the icon of a blue spaceship superimposed over the open pages of a book.

  “According to this,” she scrolled to the book’s positioning feature and studied the green dot as it streaked through a field of stars, “we’re a little more than halfway.”

  Maleek groaned.

  “Look.” She forced another smile. “I know you don’t remember Dad.” She shrugged. “I barely do, either. But what I do remember is good, and his videos were always nice.” She nudged his arm. “He’s kind, Maleek. And he’s crazy smart.” She waved her wrist-pad at him. “Want to see the weird planet he’s studying?”

  He batted her arm away. “Get that stupid thing away from me.”

  “The Traveler’s Companion is not stupid,” she hissed back. “It’s the most advanced and interactive eBook ever written.” She shoved his shoulder. “It’s the last thing Momma ever gave me.” She shoved him again. “And you know it.”

  “Just leave me alone.”

  “Why do you have to be like this?” she demanded. “Why do you have to make it worse?”

  “You don’t get it.” His voice came out soft and cold. “We lost everything. It can’t get any worse.”

  Sophia wished there was somewhere to run—a dark corner to hide in or a door she could slam. But while the ship was big, most of it was engines, fuel cells, and life support. There were beds lining one back corner, a kitchen and bathroom tucked into the other, and not much else other than empty seats. The ship was built for speed. It had no pilot and, since this was an unscheduled flight, there were no other passengers. There was nowhere to run and no one else to talk to.

  So they sat and stewed in silence. They sat like that for hours.

  The alarm smacked her awake, and Sophia bolted upright.

  “Maleek?” The world was a chaos of flashing lights and shaking metal. “Maleek, what happened?”

  Maleek clutched his armrests. “I don’t know.” His face was drained of color. “We hit something… something big.”

  “In hyperspace?” she scoffed. “That’s impossible.”

  “Emergency protocol activated.” The computer cut out the alarm. “Running diagnostics.”

  Sofia darted to the nearest window. They were falling out of hyperspace. The blurring lights were coming into focus and the universe outside was taking shape.

  “I think we’re in a solar system,” she told Maleek.

  Two stars filled one side of the window and a never-ending stream of rocks and ice curved into the blackness on the other. She craned her neck, hoping to catch a glimpse of the engines. But she could only see the edge of one, and there wasn’t any damage.

  “System diagnostics successful,” the computer announced. “Engines one and two offline. Engines three and four online. Cabin structural integrity maintained. Shields twenty-four percent functional. Life-support thirty-eight percent functional. Fuel loss fifty percent. Distress signal sent. Guidance systems rebooting.”

  Sophia looked at the speaker above her. “Computer, can we make it to…” She couldn’t remember the space station’s name. “…where we were going?”

  “Negative. Hyperspace drive unavailable. Fuel insufficient. Life support insufficient. Navigation partially compromised. Emergency landing advised. Alternative destination required. Human input requested.”

  “We can’t make it to Dad?” Maleek asked.

  “No.” She pushed off the wall and grabbed onto her chair. “And we can’t stay here long enough for them to get to us.” She stared do
wn at her wrist-pad. “We need somewhere to land.”

  “Computer,” she said, “search for nearby planets.”

  “Unable. Navigation partially compromised. Human input requested.”

  She opened The Traveler’s Companion and searched for their current location. “There are only three planets in this system,” she said, searching the map. “And two are gas giants.”

  “What about the third?” Maleek asked. “Can we go there?”

  “Life support diminishing,” the computer warned. “Emergency landing advised.”

  She double-clicked on the planet. “It’s got a breathable atmosphere,” she said, reading as fast as she could. “It’s our only choice.”

  She called out the coordinates and told the computer to take them there.

  “Be advised,” the computer replied, “requested destination is at maximum distance of fuel and life-support levels. Chance of success fifty-seven percent.”

  “Just get us there,” she ordered.

  “Fifty-seven percent?” Maleek swallowed. “What if we don’t make it?”

  “We will,” Sophia told him.

  I hope.

  They hit the atmosphere with such force that Sophia was surprised their chairs didn’t snap off the floor.

  “Hang on!” she screamed, her brother’s hand a vise in her own.

  The roar of the air around them was deafening. The cabin shook and bucked in violent fits. It felt like the ship was being ripped apart.

  It is. Sophia knew it as the awful screech of tearing metal drowned out everything and the ship lurched sideways. It is being ripped apart.

  “Structural integrity compromised.” Alarms blared, oxygen masks fell from the ceiling, and frigid air flooded the cabin. “Life support limited.”

  “Put it on!” Sophia tugged at the mask bouncing in front of her. “Put it on!”

  “Engine four offline. Maneuverability thirteen percent.”

  A blur of movement swept past the windows—clouds at first, then things bigger and darker.

  Mountains? Sophia wondered.

  “We’re landing!” Her voice muffled by the oxygen mask. “It’ll be over soon!”

  Bad word choice! Sophia thought.

  The ship slammed into the ground and the floor just a few paces in front of their feet was wrenched upward.

  Sophia wasn’t sure how many impacts she felt, how many explosions she heard. It seemed to go on forever. And it seemed to have only lasted an instant. All she knew was that when they finally floundered to a halt, they were still alive.

  The ship leaned forward. When Sophia unbuckled herself, she nearly tumbled out of the chair.

  “Are you okay?” She clung to her armrest to keep from sliding. “Are you hurt?”

  Maleek didn’t answer. His hands were balled into fists, and he was breathing so fast Sophia was afraid he’d pass out.

  “Maleek?”

  He flinched when she touched him.

  “Hey,” she soothed. She slid her hand down and squeezed his shoulder. “It’s over.”

  He stared at her, like he couldn’t process what she said, but after a second he closed his eyes and gave her a nod.

  “I’m going to unstrap you,” she told him. She gestured at the tangled heap of metal, glass, and wires below. “Just hang onto me.”

  He was barely out of the straps when the ship swayed and rocked forward.

  “What’s that?” Maleek asked.

  “I don’t know,” Sophia said. “But I think we should get out of here.” She eyed the emergency supply cabinet near the front, but the ship lurched and started to slide. “Now!”

  Sophia pushed Maleek up the aisle. “Go!” She stared at the emergency exit and tried to ignore the sensation that they were running up a down escalator. “Hurry!”

  The red-latched door was in the middle of the cabin—only a few quick steps away—but she had no idea how much time they had. They could crash or fall at any second.

  “I can’t open it!” Maleek cried.

  She grabbed the latch and pulled. It didn’t budge.

  “Hurry!” Maleek urged. Shadows whizzed past the window. “I think this could get really bad!”

  Sophia heaved. “It won’t!” she groaned. “It’s locked!”

  She forced herself to breathe. She forced herself to think. She forced herself to read the bold words painted across the door.

  Press safety release before lifting, she read.

  Despite the fear and adrenalin, she could have stopped and smacked herself. There was a large black button at the base of the latch, and there was a big yellow arrow pointing to it.

  She hit it, yanked the door in, and shoved her brother out. She followed a split-second later, crashing through wet leaves and tumbling across mud and rocks and roots.

  She smacked gut-first into a tree trunk. “Maleek?” she wheezed, looking up just in time to see the ship topple over a rocky ledge. “Where are you?”

  “Over here.”

  She couldn’t see him. The jungle was impossibly thick. Vines formed a curtain to one side and blooms of purple flowers formed a wall to the other. The ship had smashed down a wide path from the slope high above to the lip of the canyon, but everywhere else the underbrush was too dense to penetrate.

  “Maleek?” She climbed to her feet and tried to force air into her lungs. “Maleek?”

  “Sophia?”

  She found him a few paces from the edge of the canyon, clinging to the base of a thin sapling like he was afraid he’d fall if he let go.

  “Hey.” She stumbled over and sat down. “That was fun, huh?”

  He shook his head. “Definitely. Not. Fun.”

  “So,” she said, noting every scratch and bruise. He was as beat up as she felt. His lip was busted, there was a bruise forming on the side of his face, and his arms were covered in tiny cuts and brush-burns. But nothing looked broken. “You want to do it again?”

  “You’re not funny,” he said, hugging the tree harder.

  The ledge in front of them opened on a wide canyon, nestled between the slopes of three mountains. Every shelf cut into the walls was covered in vegetation, and waterfalls sprouted from several clefts in the rock. Two stars hung above, one yellow and the other red and so big it swallowed half the horizon.

  “Sophia?” Maleek asked, relaxing his grip a little. “Where are we?”

  “Good question.” She reopened The Traveler’s Companion icon, clicked on the name of the planet, and turned on the wrist-pads’ audio.

  “Gangalon 13c,” the book reported, displaying an aerial shot of the planet, “is an Earth-like planet in the Orion-Cygnus arm of the Milky Way galaxy. It was originally thought to be a prime candidate for colonization, but the planet’s extremely hostile wildlife makes permanent settlement impractical.”

  “Great,” Maleek said, looking at the trees and plants around them with renewed terror.

  Sophia tapped the link labeled “Flora and Fauna.”

  “Since all attempted landing expeditions failed, little is known about Gangalon’s wildlife, but high numbers of poisonous and carnivorous plants and animals are believed to be present.”

  “Wonderful,” Maleek groaned. He backed away from the tree he’d been hugging like he thought the trunk might split open and bite him. “So this place was too dangerous for robots and scientists.” He looked around frantically. “We’re dead.”

  “We’re not,” she told him. “But we need to figure out what to do.”

  She scrolled back to The Traveler’s Companion’s homepage and breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Momma,” she whispered.

  Maleek tried to lean over her shoulder. “What?”

  “There’s a survival guide.” She kissed the screen. “An interplanetary survival guide!”

  “In any survival emergency,” she read when she opened it, “safety is the first priority. Given your current location, it is recommended you stay onboard your ship and await extraction. Estimated extraction, base
d on signal travel time and search radius, is seventy-nine Earth hours.”

  “Stay with the ship, huh?” Maleek walked over and peered over the edge. “Not likely. I’m not going down there.”

  Not having the ship wasn’t what troubled Sophia.

  Seventy-nine hours, she thought with a shudder. That’s more than three days.

  “If you are forced to leave the ship…”

  The pad’s speakers suddenly seemed incredibly loud. Sophia could picture it pulling in predators like moths to a flame.

  “Hey,” Maleek whined when she muted it. “I was listening to that.”

  Sophia shushed him and read down the page.

  “What’s it say?” Maleek asked. “What are we supposed to do?”

  “We need something we can use as a weapon,” she told him, “and we need shelter.”

  A blue bug whizzed down from the canopy. It was the size of Sophia’s fist and it had at least a dozen wings. Maleek tensed as he eyed it. “I couldn’t agree more.”

  “It also says we should get to higher ground if we can,” she said. “It says the homing chips in our wrist-pads have weak signals. The higher we get, the farther the signal will travel.”

  “And that will help them find us?” Maleek asked.

  “I guess,” Sophia said. She walked out into the matted lane and stared up the slope. “I think there are cliffs up there.” She pointed at the gray and white lining of the summit. “It’s not that far to the top, probably a mile or two.”

  “Weapons and shelter,” Maleek repeated. “And what if we don’t find them?”

  Sophia pressed a button and showed him pictures of lean-tos and huts. “Then we make them.”

  “Okay,” Maleek said. “But I don’t know how much I like depending on a book to stay alive.”

  The blue bug zoomed down and hovered in Maleek’s face.

  “You could stay here with him,” Sophia laughed.

  “Oh, I think I’ll come,” Maleek said, ducking as the bug zipped by his ear. “I wouldn’t want you getting lonely.”