‘Follow me!’
He set off at a run along the corridor. The others followed.
They came to a green-glowing, oval panel set into the wall. ‘Com-pad,’ Peri explained. ‘It’s where I talk to the ship.’
He moved his hands over the panel, pushing buttons and flipping switches. The green glow intensified. From somewhere deep in the ship, Peri heard crackling and popping. Then a noise like the twanging of a super-loud and out-of-tune guitar. The ceiling rushed away from them, rising higher and higher until it was far above them like a mauve-tinted sky.
‘ Phawwada ! ’ said Diesel. ‘ Ambahl’eevabaw ! ’
‘What is happening?’ the prince asked.
‘I’m expanding the ship,’ Peri explained. ‘Max dimensions – it grows to the size of a small planet. Otto will never find you now.’
Prince Onix smiled. ‘Impressive.’
‘It will also slow the ship so that it won’t reach Meigwor any time soon.’ Peri strapped the teleportation device to his wrist.
Prince Onix fiddled with a few tiny, nearly invisible dials where the orange button met the band. ‘You have to be touching,’ Prince Onix explained. ‘Then you can go together.’
Diesel took a step away. ‘It works on humans and Martians, doesn’t it?’ he asked.
‘I cannot say for certain,’ Prince Onix said.
‘Come on, Diesel – there’s only one way to find out,’ Peri said and pressed the button to make his helmet pop up again. Diesel did the same. Peri tapped a few more buttons on the com-pad and typed in a pass code he didn’t even know he knew. ‘Lowering shields.’
‘We want to go here,’ Peri showed Prince Onix the long string of letters and numbers that were the coordinates for Selene’s last location.
The prince fiddled with the teleportation device again. Peri couldn’t see exactly what he was doing. ‘I’ve done the best I can,’ the prince said. ‘I’ve also reprogrammed the Phoenix as the home base for the device.’
Peri took hold of Diesel’s arm.
‘Ready?’
‘I don’t know about this –’
Peri pressed the teleportation button.
Chapter 8
Peri felt a tingling in his guts, like he’d once felt when jumping off the twenty-metre board into the Maelstrom Gelpool at the IFA gymnasium. He seemed to be in a black sky full of stars. Then he realised he was the stars. He’d exploded into tiny fragments, but all the tiny fragments were him, somehow.
Then the stars rushed back together – Whoooomph! He was in one piece again. He couldn’t see or hear anything, but knew that he was falling, falling, falling from a great height . . .
No he wasn’t.
He was standing on firm ground. Somewhere very, very hot.
He opened his eyes.
He and Diesel were in the middle of a jungle. Steam rose from the trunks of the tangled, twisted trees with their purple-and-green leaves. Sweat poured down Peri’s face.
‘ Af-kyot ,’ Diesel said. ‘It’s boiling.’
On the Plexiglas visor of the Expedition Wear helmet was a tiny, blinking red dot. It indicated Selene’s whereabouts – she was directly ahead. They began to march towards the dot. Peri felt relief as cool air coursed around his Expedition Wear. The automatic aircon had kicked in.
The going was still difficult. The ground was soft and squelchy. Evil thorns spiked from the branches of the trees. If one of those ripped their suits, they’d be in trouble – the poisonous atmosphere would choke them, even before the heat cooked them.
The cries and shrieks and whistles of Meigwor wildlife rang through the forest. Peri hoped they wouldn’t meet anything a) big, b) carnivorous, and c) hungry.
There was a crash in the trees ahead and a nightmarish creature sprang into view. It was bright red, about the size of a chimpanzee, but without the fur. It had hard, shiny skin with huge muscles underneath. It had six arms, which it was using to swing from tree to tree. The most noticeable thing about it was the absence of a head. It had a long neck which
He set off at a run along the corridor. The others followed.
They came to a green-glowing, oval panel set into the wall. ‘Com-pad,’ Peri explained. ‘It’s where I talk to the ship.’
He moved his hands over the panel, pushing buttons and flipping switches. The green glow intensified. From somewhere deep in the ship, Peri heard crackling and popping. Then a noise like the twanging of a super-loud and out-of-tune guitar. The ceiling rushed away from them, rising higher and higher until it was far above them like a mauve-tinted sky.
‘ Phawwada ! ’ said Diesel. ‘ Ambahl’eevabaw ! ’
‘What is happening?’ the prince asked.
‘I’m expanding the ship,’ Peri explained. ‘Max dimensions – it grows to the size of a small planet. Otto will never find you now.’
Prince Onix smiled. ‘Impressive.’
‘It will also slow the ship so that it won’t reach Meigwor any time soon.’ Peri strapped the teleportation device to his wrist.
Prince Onix fiddled with a few tiny, nearly invisible dials where the orange button met the band. ‘You have to be touching,’ Prince Onix explained. ‘Then you can go together.’
Diesel took a step away. ‘It works on humans and Martians, doesn’t it?’ he asked.
‘I cannot say for certain,’ Prince Onix said.
‘Come on, Diesel – there’s only one way to find out,’ Peri said and pressed the button to make his helmet pop up again. Diesel did the same. Peri tapped a few more buttons on the com-pad and typed in a pass code he didn’t even know he knew. ‘Lowering shields.’
‘We want to go here,’ Peri showed Prince Onix the long string of letters and numbers that were the coordinates for Selene’s last location.
The prince fiddled with the teleportation device again. Peri couldn’t see exactly what he was doing. ‘I’ve done the best I can,’ the prince said. ‘I’ve also reprogrammed the Phoenix as the home base for the device.’
Peri took hold of Diesel’s arm.
‘Ready?’
‘I don’t know about this –’
Peri pressed the teleportation button.
Chapter 8
Peri felt a tingling in his guts, like he’d once felt when jumping off the twenty-metre board into the Maelstrom Gelpool at the IFA gymnasium. He seemed to be in a black sky full of stars. Then he realised he was the stars. He’d exploded into tiny fragments, but all the tiny fragments were him, somehow.
Then the stars rushed back together – Whoooomph! He was in one piece again. He couldn’t see or hear anything, but knew that he was falling, falling, falling from a great height . . .
No he wasn’t.
He was standing on firm ground. Somewhere very, very hot.
He opened his eyes.
He and Diesel were in the middle of a jungle. Steam rose from the trunks of the tangled, twisted trees with their purple-and-green leaves. Sweat poured down Peri’s face.
‘ Af-kyot ,’ Diesel said. ‘It’s boiling.’
On the Plexiglas visor of the Expedition Wear helmet was a tiny, blinking red dot. It indicated Selene’s whereabouts – she was directly ahead. They began to march towards the dot. Peri felt relief as cool air coursed around his Expedition Wear. The automatic aircon had kicked in.
The going was still difficult. The ground was soft and squelchy. Evil thorns spiked from the branches of the trees. If one of those ripped their suits, they’d be in trouble – the poisonous atmosphere would choke them, even before the heat cooked them.
The cries and shrieks and whistles of Meigwor wildlife rang through the forest. Peri hoped they wouldn’t meet anything a) big, b) carnivorous, and c) hungry.
There was a crash in the trees ahead and a nightmarish creature sprang into view. It was bright red, about the size of a chimpanzee, but without the fur. It had hard, shiny skin with huge muscles underneath. It had six arms, which it was using to swing from tree to tree. The most noticeable thing about it was the absence of a head. It had a long neck which
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