Beetle Power! (2 page)

 
 

Zap and his friends spread the news about Gonzo's meeting. They visited every friendly bug in the wood, from the earwigs on Rotten Row to the dragonflies over at Soggy Bog.

Zap felt the sun beam down on his wings – it was already high in the sky.

“We should head back,” he said, “or we'll be the only ones not at the meeting!”

Zap couldn't believe his eyes as he flew into the clearing by Gonzo's Rock. It was packed! Insects who were usually sworn enemies stood side by side, waiting to hear what Gonzo had to say.

“I never thought I'd see Mac the caterpillar standing next to Stig the wasp,” said Lurch.

“Me neither,” said Buzz. “They hate each other!”

Zap found the last clear patch of ground for them to land on. Buzz, Crunch and Lurch crawled to the front. Zap flew upwards, hovering
above the crowd, as Gonzo hopped on to his rock. All eyes were on the grasshopper.

“Friends,” said Gonzo. “I have bad news. Spinner has returned.”

Zap watched rows of wings shudder with fright.

“But,” continued Gonzo, “Spinner is now on his last chance. He must be challenged to a showdown. If he wins … then I will leave the wood forever …”

“No!” shouted Zap.

“… and let him rule,” finished the grasshopper.

“Don't do it, Gonzo!”

“This can't be happening!”

Cries filled the clearing and Gonzo lifted his front legs in a plea for quiet.

“If Spinner loses,” said the grasshopper, “then he must agree to be ruled by me and live peacefully among us. I wish I could be the one to fight this last battle, but I'm too old. So, one of you must step up to the challenge as my champion.”

Zap's antennae prickled with nerves as he looked around the crowd, waiting for some big
courageous bug to raise his or her wing. But most of them looked at the ground, shuffling their legs.

Zap sensed he was being watched. He turned to see the grasshopper gazing at him. Out of all the bugs here,
he
was the one Gonzo was looking at. Zap might be the smallest bug in the wood, but Gonzo often told him that he was the bravest.

This is it
, thought Zap.
This is what he's been training me for
.

Zap took a deep breath and flew up next to the grasshopper.
“I'll do it,”
he said. “Even if I have to face Spinner alone.”

The crowd gasped.

“Thank you,” said Gonzo.

Lurch scrambled up the rock, quickly followed by Buzz and Crunch.

“You daft weevil,” said Lurch. “As if we're going to let you do this by yourself!”

“No chance,” said Crunch.

The crowd began to cheer.

“Bug Buddies are the best,”
cried Willy the wasp beetle.

“Spinner doesn't stand a chance!” shouted Mazie the millipede.

Zap felt proud to have such loyal
friends. But he wondered whether the Bug Buddies had taken on too much this time.

“What have I got us into?” he said to himself, as a group of ants crawled over to wish them good luck.

After all, Spinner would do
anything
to become leader of the wood. Could they really stop him?

 
 

When everyone had finished wishing them good luck, Zap turned to the other Bug Buddies.

“We need to work out how we're going to find Spinner,” he said. “We've flown all over the wood today and didn't see him once.”

“I'll try my best to find his trail,” said Lurch. “But he and his spider friends have pooped everywhere!”

Gonzo pointed towards the space in front of the crowd.

“Say hello to my relatives,” he said, “the speckled bush crickets.”

Zap watched as a group of bugs suddenly appeared and crawled up on to the rock. They had plump, grass-green bodies with a brown stripe down their backs. Their long, wispy antennae swayed in the breeze.

“Pleased to meet you, sir,” said a cricket, lifting his front leg to salute Zap. “I'm Sergeant Stealth.”

“The crickets can camouflage themselves, so they're perfect detectives,” said Gonzo. “And detective skills are just what you need to find that spider.”

“Great,” said Zap, smiling at the crickets. “The more help, the better.”

Captain Drone, leader of the bees, flew forward. “My bees can safeguard the bugs from attack while you're gone,” he said.

Snap, the leader of the green tiger beetles, waved his legs from the back of the crowd. “And the tiger beetles will help too,” he called.

“Thanks,” said Zap, pleased to know everyone was in safe hands.
“OK, Bug Buddies, let's go!”

With cheers from the crowd, the Bug Buddies and the crickets headed off. Lurch led the way, hurriedly following the black spots through the grass. The bush crickets moved silently alongside the Bug Buddies.

“I never thought I'd be following poo through the wood,” said Buzz, disgusted.

“We're honorary dung beetles for the day!” joked Zap.

They were about to enter a patch of shrubs when Lurch stopped.

“The trail has run dry,” he said. Then his antennae pricked up. “What's that squeaking sound?”

The crickets rushed into the shrubs to investigate, their camouflage making them instantly disappear.

Zap and his friends glanced at each other, then waited patiently by the shrubs.

It wasn't long before Sergeant Stealth and the crickets returned,
along with a group of baby mice. Their tiny, pink ears were almost hidden beneath their fluffy, white fur.

“Tell them what you saw,” said Sergeant Stealth.

“He was so b-b-big,” squeaked a tiny mouse.

“Eyes as black as n-n-night,” squeaked another.

“Sounds like Spinner!”
exclaimed Crunch.

“Perhaps it's not such a good idea to find him,” said the smallest cricket, his antennae shaking.

“We can't turn back,” said Zap. “The future of the wood is at stake!”

“He's right,” said Sergeant Stealth. “Crickets never abandon a mission.”

Sergeant Stealth and the other crickets pointed the baby mice back in the direction of their nest.

“Er, where have they gone?” said Crunch, after a moment.

Zap looked round, but the crickets were nowhere to be seen. Their camouflage was working
too
well. The Bug Buddies had lost the rest of their team.

“Quick,” Zap said. “Spread out! Find which way they went.”

Zap flew to the far end of the shrubs. He searched behind every plant and leaf. Suddenly, he felt a sharp tap on his shoulder. It wasn't one of the Bug Buddies, because he
could see them up ahead, searching in another patch of grass.

Zap gulped.
Had a nasty spider crept up behind him?