The Cosmic Ark Read online

  On the way down, Liam jumped as a dazzling beam of light shot past him. It must have hit something below because a flash illuminated the dense fog. Another fugitive apprehended?

  63/65

  “Two more to go,” he said aloud, grateful to find his voice again.

  He felt a little pressure in and behind his ears, and he yawned wide, stretching his lower jaw and wiggling it about. One ear opened up with a rushing sound. Before he could work on the other side, he landed with a jolt on the grass. It knocked all the wind out of him, and he lay there on his back for a while, struggling to breathe. Then he gasped and wheezed and eventually sat up, shaking his head.

  The fog was definitely thicker, still pumping out of the wormhole above. In a matter of moments, the last two prisoners would be beamed up. Then the robots would allow the wormhole to collapse and it would be over. The fog would continue falling a little longer and slowly dissipate.

  Liam climbed unsteadily to his feet and looked about fearfully, trying to get his bearings. Where were those beams of light? He saw nothing except the grass at his feet. Feeling like a giant hand was about to snatch him back up into the sky, he stumbled a few paces one way, then another until he bumped into something that stood nearly his height. “Oh,” he said, surprised. It was the mailbox. Relief flooded him, and he laughed out loud. “Now I know where I am.”

  And so might the robots.

  His laughter died. He had to get out of this fog. Somehow he knew he’d be safe if he escaped the yellow cloud and made it back to Madison’s brightly lit lawn.

  He turned, took aim, and marched toward the hedge between his house and next door’s. The gate was there somewhere, and if he could—

  Two shadows lurched toward him.

  “Ant?” he called. “Maddy? Is that you?”

  It wasn’t. The shadows materialized out of the fog and revealed themselves as something entirely inhuman. One was a hulking bipedal figure wearing dull armor and leathery clothes, its face oddly doglike with its long muzzle and huge pointed ears.

  The other was smaller, a creature Liam had seen before—about his height, rather plump, wearing what appeared to be a spacesuit and helmet. Its head was round, its eyes huge. A permanent grimace revealed teeth sticking upward.

  “Oh,” Liam said. He licked his lips and glanced around, expecting a beam of light to shoot out of nowhere. “Look, I don’t want any trouble—”

  The plump figure grappled with him, throwing in a surprising amount of solid weight and pinning Liam to the grass. “I’m not going back,” the toothy spaceman growled. “You’re going back in my place. You stick with me.”

  Liam was too astonished to answer. While this alien held him down, the dog-face creature stood impassively, towering at six feet or more. It looked like some kind of Egyptian god.

  Math wasn’t Liam’s strongest subject, but even if the spacesuited alien found someone to replace him in jail, there would still be one missing. Only one out of three would get to stay on terra firma.

  The dreaded beam of light appeared. The dog-creature flinched and dodged sideways, its eyes widening. The beam flickered and repositioned, playing across the pointed ears for a split-second before a blinding flash caused Liam to squeeze his eyes shut.

  When he looked again, the dog-creature was gone. Only Liam and the spacesuited alien remained.

  “I’m not going back,” the thing snarled. “Get up.”

  Liam happily climbed to his feet. He was about to brush himself down when the alien lurched behind him and snapped a sturdy arm around his throat. Liam’s feet left the grass, and he clutched at the immovable arm, gasping.

  “Keep still,” his captor said softly.

  Liam squirmed in vain. “L-let me g-go!” He imagined the robots high above in their spaceship, studying the control panel, trying to get a lock on the remaining fugitive.

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  If Liam had been counted as one of the prisoners earlier, it was all too possible he’d be counted again. That beam of light, when it appeared, would take one of them no matter what. He doubted the robots would care which. Maybe they wouldn’t notice the difference.

  “W-what is that place?” he gasped, feeling utterly helpless. Perhaps conversation would distract the alien somehow.

  “An Ark. Stop moving or I’ll hurt you. The droids won’t care if your arm is broken as long as you’re alive.”

  “But why do they—”

  The dreaded beam of light shone down, blinding him for a second, playing across his face and chest. He jerked back and forth, fearing it was already too late, lashing out with the heels of his feet, jabbing backward, connecting several times. The alien held still, immovable, until something barreled out of the fog and launched itself at the two of them, knocking them both sideways.

  Off balance, Liam and his captor toppled over and crumpled on the grass. The arm-lock loosened. Liam wriggled free, then found his hair snatched in a painful grip. He yelled and squirmed.

  Standing over him, Ant looked terrified. Worse, the beam of light flickered toward him.

  “Watch out!” Liam shouted.

  The meaning of his warning may have been lost on his friend, but it had the desired effect. Ant leapt toward him, unknowingly ducking out from under the beam of light as he tackled the alien, trying to pry the gloved fingers from Liam’s hair.

  His scalp ached. He pushed his body upward, trying to relieve the pressure. It helped, but now he was closer to the alien, partially shielding him.

  The beam flickered over them all. Liam sucked in a breath. Ant froze, looking puzzled.

  The brightest point of the light was on Liam’s midsection. With a desperate cry, he rolled up and over, throwing his legs high, not caring if he ended up with half his hair missing. A flash of white, then momentum carried him all the way over and he ended up face down in the grass, gasping.

  When he looked up, only he and Ant remained.

  65/65

  ****

  The two of them sat up, too breathless to talk. After a while, a shadow emerged from the gloom. Liam jerked upright—then let out a shuddering sigh when he realized who it was. “Maddy.”

  “Are you guys okay?” she said, edging forward and shooting glances over her shoulder.

  “We’re fine,” Ant said. “Had a bit of trouble here for a second, but . . . the problem went away.” He raised an eyebrow at Liam. “Want to explain what happened?”

  “I will. But let’s get out of this fog first.”

  Madison snorted. “Yeah, good luck with that. It’s spread all down the lane now, even out across the lake—and out the other direction to the highway. Police and fire department have blocked the route. Mom’s all upset because of the noises she heard coming from here.”

  Liam could imagine her wringing her hands with worry. “But she let you come back just now?”

  “Ant and I heard you yelling. He came running straight away, and I would have too, but I had to keep Mom away.”

  They trudged across the grass and found the fuzzy, looming outline of the hedge. The yellow fog was clearer here, and the gate revealed itself to them. Outside, Madison’s mom was calling.

  Ant grabbed Liam’s arm. “You need to tell us what happened up there.” He jerked his thumb skyward. “Last time we saw you, you were attached to a gas monster. Did you make it to the wormhole? How did you get back down here? What was that beam of light? That flash? Why did the spacesuit guy vanish?”

  Liam held up his hands. “Enough. I’ll tell you everything, I promise. And Maddy, you need to make some more notes. Let’s get this down while it’s fresh.”

  She immediately reached into her pocket for her notebook, then swung around as her mom called out yet again. “Mom, I’ll be right there!” Lowering her voice, she added, “I think she’s having a nervous breakdown.”

  “She’s not the only one,” Ant said, squinting. The fog was clearing fast now, and through it Liam’s house began to reveal itself. “Have you seen the state of your
roof, buddy? You know my dad’ll cover it if the insurance doesn’t, but how are we going to explain this?”

  “There’s not a single branch on the ground,” Madison said with a sigh. “I can easily say I was mistaken about that, but then what?”

  Liam led the way through the gate. He glimpsed flashing blue lights through the haze, heard the shouted voices of firemen as they jumped down from the rumbling truck. He stopped his friends and glared at them. “It’s simple. We say nothing. We’re as mystified as everyone else. We were watching a movie, heard lots of noise, assumed a tree was falling, and got out. That’s all. Later, I came back to look around and got lost in the fog, and that’s what all the shouting was about just now. Got it?”

  Ant and Madison stared back at him, then nodded.

  “Good,” Liam said. “See? The aliens and unicorns are long gone. So unless you want to look crazy, just play dumb and everything will be fine.”

  Until next time, he thought.

  Chapter 7

  When Liam called his parents and told them they needed to come home, they said they were already on their way because Madison’s mom had called them. They showed up a few minutes later as Liam and his friends wandered aimlessly around the lawn, checking out the damage to the roof.

  Even the fireman said it looked like a monster had clawed it to bits. Of course, they were joking. The fire chief kept frowning and scratching his head as he tramped about on the roof, peering down through at least five jagged gashes that revealed rafters below. As well as those gashes and some serious dents, the tile shingles were torn up in multiple places. There was no doubt the entire roof would have to be replaced.

  “My roof!” Liam’s dad exclaimed as he came running up the drive. The police car and two fire engines had blocked the lane. “What happened?”

  Liam went to intercept him, Ant and Madison in tow. “It was weird. A big yellow storm cloud. The firemen think it was a tornado of some kind.”

  His dad look aghast. “A tornado! Are you okay?” He looked around at them and reached out to clutch at their shoulders as if checking they were actually there.

  This reminded Liam again of his short trip to the future. There were too many fireman here at the moment; he recalled seeing maybe five or six, but right now there were nine, maybe ten. And his mom was still at the bottom of the drive, her hands to her face as she took in the damage.

  “So you’re all okay?” his dad asked again. “I can’t believe this. You were really lucky. The roof’s ruined, but it could have been much worse.”

  “My dad’ll pay for it,” Ant offered. “I mean, if your insurance doesn’t. Just saying.”

  Liam’s dad patted him on the shoulder. “You’re a good kid, Ant. I appreciate the offer.”

  But you won’t accept charity, Liam thought. Just for once, accept a helping hand and install a high-grade steel roof in case this happens again.

  By this time, his mom had made her way up the drive, still clasping her face. “I knew I shouldn’t have left you three alone. I would never forgive myself if something happened to you while I wasn’t there.”

  “It wouldn’t have made a difference if you were,” Liam told her, though the idea flashed through his mind that she might have become a target of the Ark robots. The idea of her being taken off in that giant space zoo filled him with horror.

  Soon after, the fire chief wanted a word with the parents. Liam felt a chill. The moment was here. He backed away across the lawn, suddenly wary of seeing a ghostly version of himself.

  “What’s wrong?” Madison asked, trailing after him as he edged across to the far side of the lawn, well away from the house and the firemen. “You look like you’ve seen a—”

  “Don’t say it!” Liam barked.

  He watched as his parents listened to whatever the fire chief was saying. Fading patches of yellow fog drifted across the lawn. Liam was certain this was the exact scene he’d witnessed with the time wand. The question was, where was his ghostly self right now? Probably standing over there somewhere, too intent on the house to look back at where Liam was huddled with his friends.

  He saw no sign of his time-traveling ghost. That made sense. If he’d been visible in any form, the doctors and nurses would have freaked out at the sight of an apparition in the corner of the delivery room during his birth.

  Still, the confirmation that his time wand actually worked played on his mind. That meant the other things he’d seen would happen too—staying the night on the floor of Madison’s room as well as flying through a wormhole dressed in armor and crashing down on a muddy riverbank. It made him want to try the wand again, to see what else was in store for him throughout his life.

  To see how long he would live.

  ****

  An inspection of the house revealed that Liam’s parents wouldn’t be staying in their room for a while. Apart from a gaping hole that showed the sky above, ceiling debris littered the place.

  Liam’s room had fared better, but dust coated his bed from a crack right above. The kitchen was a dusty mess, and the living room ceiling, which looked undamaged at first glance, was in danger of collapsing due to the damaged rafters that pressed down like broken ribs on the flimsy sheetrock.

  His dad tried to make light of it. “Evacuate!” he shouted with a grin as they all bustled outside. “Seriously, nobody goes back in there until I say, okay? We’re staying somewhere else tonight.”

  At Madison’s house, Liam thought, his heart leaping.

  “We’ll get a hotel,” his dad went on. “Insurance will pay for it. I think.”

  “Aw, c’mon,” Ant complained. “Just for once, Mr. Mackenzie, let me help out. Stay at our house. We have about twenty spare guest rooms.”

  “That’s nice of you, Ant, but the truth is I need to be close to oversee the construction work. There’s a hotel in town, much closer than your place. Liam can stay with you though, if you like.”

  “Stay in our guest room,” Madison offered. “It’s right next door. You can look out the window and watch the building work. Much more convenient.”

  And I’ll sleep on your floor, Liam thought.

  “And Liam can sleep on the sofa in the living room.”

  Liam’s dad paused to think about that offer, and it was just a matter of time before the arrangement was all ironed out. Madison’s parents, Dr. and Mrs. Parker, were all too pleased to let them stay, which wasn’t bad considering they’d all met just a week ago. Sometimes, neighbors just clicked. Of course, a disaster often helped bring people together too.

  The police and fire department had long gone, but a local news van turned up that evening. A reporter wanted to do a piece for the late-night broadcast, and Liam’s dad obliged, standing out on the lawn with the house filling the background while the reporter interviewed him.

  “It’ll be on at eleven,” he said when the van eventually left and he returned to the Parkers’ kitchen.

  And so the two families—Ant included—joined forces for the evening. Cody wore himself out showing Ant and Liam all his toys, and after he was finally tucked up in bed, everybody breathed a sigh of relief. Since it was getting late, Liam’s mom insisted on calling Ant’s house to make absolutely sure his parents knew where their son was and that it was okay for him to stay out so late. She put the phone down a minute later.

  “Well, they’re pretty relaxed about everything,” she said. “They said you can spend the night too, if you like. I have a sleeping bag you can use, but I don’t have any boys’ pajamas that’ll fit you …”

  “Not a problem, Mrs. P,” Ant said, grinning. “I’ll have Barton run over here with some things.”

  Liam felt a surge of excitement. Pieces of the jigsaw puzzle were falling into place. He was certain he and Ant would end up on the floor of Madison’s room, and it had to be tonight because Ant’s sleepover was most likely a one-off event. The question wasn’t if it would happen but how it would play out.

  Despite everything that had happened, the ev
ening was a success in terms of the two neighboring families forming a bond. The Parkers and Mackenzies talked nonstop, often with the two moms pairing off against the two dads. Liam, Madison and Ant spent much of the time rolling their eyes at the grown-ups and huddling together for their own private—and far more interesting—discussion.

  When 11:00 PM rolled around, they turned on the news with excitement, though Liam’s dad was already cringing. They had to wait a full twenty minutes for their slot because a damaged roof wasn’t big news even in this small town, but the segment was interesting nonetheless. Liam half expected the reporter to comment on “strange happenings in the Brockridge area” including “sightings of strange figures digging up bushes” and so on, but there was no mention of anything except the odd yellow storm cloud that had formed over one particular house and ripped its roof to shreds.

  Nobody reported strange noises, wails, growls, roars, flashing white lights, or anything else. If anyone had experienced such weirdness, they’d kept quiet about it.

  “Well, I’m done,” Madison said. “See you all in the morning.”

  “Night, sweetie,” her dad said.

  Her mom stood up. “I guess we’d all better turn in so these boys can get some sleep. One of you will be comfortable on the sofa, but I’ll have to find a sleeping bag for the other.”

  “Liam can have the sofa,” Ant said, yawning. He’d always been a lightweight when it came to staying up late.

  The moms bustled around arranging bedding while the dads retired to the garage to talk about lawn mowers, their current very boring topic.

  “Hey, guys,” Madison said, pulling Liam and Ant together at the foot of the stairs. “I know this might sound weird, but I had an idea. Since you’re in the house, this might be a rare opportunity to capture some sleep writing on film. If I sleep write, that is.”