Crane Fly Crash (7 page)

Danny went first. He was the closest. He suddenly found his wings were being dragged upward by the sucking vortex of air that was funneling up into the nozzle. The end of the nozzle was flattened and narrow. But it was still wide enough to suck him right through.

“HEEELP!” he yelled as he tried to hang on to one of the fixings that held the radiator to the wall. First, his back legs flew up behind him … then the middle ones … then … “AAARGH!” he screamed as he lost his grip and shot up through the air, spinning and twisting.

“DANEEEE!” shouted Josh, trying vainly to catch him as he was flung past.

“DANEEEE!” cried Jenny. And she lost her grip too and was whipped away up after her little brother.

“NO! JENNY! DANNY! COME BACK!” wailed Josh, even as his own back legs were pulled off the wall. He was tugged up, up, to the swirling black funnel of death. He could just imagine spinning and flailing all the way up the metal nozzle. Along the wobbly plastic tube into the big chamber full of dust and fluff and old chips and dried-up peas and toenails and dead flies and dead spiders and dead … he gulped … crane flies. It was a vacuum tomb. And he was going into it…

THWIP!
Up he shot, and he had only time to notice the black rim of the nozzle whacking his legs together when all of a sudden there was a
CLUNK.
And the
VROOOOOO
noise went
VROOo-oo-ossssssssssssss
. And stopped.

Josh clung on to the rim of the narrow nozzle, staring around in amazement. Someone had switched the vacuum off! It was OFF.

Then, in the silence, he heard a whimper. He turned, peering up into the dusty gloom of the nozzle tube. He could just make out a tangle of skinny brown limbs and wings and four eyes a little way above him.

“Danny? Jenny?! Are you OK?” he squeaked. They squeaked back. And then they wriggled, and a second later, they were tumbling down to him. All three of them fell out of the nozzle in a leggy knot and hurtled down to the floor. They didn't have much time to get any of their wings going, but fortunately it was a soft landing. They fell on one of Jenny's slippers.

For a moment they just stared at one another. Then they began the job of untangling and counting limbs. Jenny was sniffing a bit. “You tried to save me,” she murmured. “You know, even though it's just a dream, that was quite sweet of you both … ”

Danny and Josh stared at her for a few astonished moments. Then they shook their heads and carried on with the leg sorting.

“How many legs have you lost?” said Danny.

“Two,” said Josh. “You?”

“One. And a half,” said Danny, inspecting the one that was snapped off at the knee. “It does sting a bit, doesn't it?”

“How about you, Jenny?” asked Josh.

“I feel funny,” said Jenny. She had only three legs left. Her wings were all scrunched up. There was something about the look on her face that warned Josh and Danny to back away. Fast.

“Here she goes!” yelled Josh. “Fly for it! N OOOW! ”

Mom unplugged the vacuum and then wound up the cord. There was a thud. She turned around. She stared in astonishment at her daughter, who was lying down next to the radiator, waving her legs in the air and going, “One—two! One—two! I've got two legs! Two legs! Not three! Phew!”

“How did you get down there?” Mom asked, mystified. She didn't notice two crane flies that flapped past her left ear and out onto the landing.

“I don't know,” said Jenny, scratching her head. “I think I've been working too hard at school. I just had the freakiest dream …”

Mom looked into Danny and Josh's room. “Oh! So you're back now, Josh. Where's Danny?”

Josh turned around, with his hands cupped together. “Oh—he's around,” he smiled, brightly. He seemed quite out of breath.

“What have you got there?” asked Mom, warily. She knew how much Josh loved creepy-crawlies.

“Oh—just a little friend,” said Josh. He opened his fingers to reveal a crane fly with only four and a half limbs.

“He's been through the wars!” said Mom, squinting at Danny.

“Mmmm,” said Josh, giving her a rather hard stare.

As Mom went outside again, she heard another thud and grinned, shaking her head. Danny must have been hiding! The boys were playing one of their games.

Danny and Josh ran into Jenny's room.

“Get OUT of my—” began Jenny, but they ignored her. They dug under the bed and retrieved the S.W.I.T.C.H. spray.

“This is our bottle,” said Josh. “We put water and … and …”

“… Piddle's piddle in it!” added Danny.

“Oooh—you disgusting little …” Jenny trailed off. She was staring at her bedside lamp in a dreamy way. Josh ran to put the S.W.I.T.C.H. spray up at the farthest corner of the top shelf of their highest cupboard.

DING-DONG!
chimed the front door. “Jenny!” called up Mom. “It's Chelsea and Louise!”

Danny and Josh sat at the top of the stairs and watched Jenny walk down. Chelsea and Louise stood by the door. “Hi!” they both called. “You want to come out?”

Jenny stared at them through narrow eyes, her arms folded.

“Come on,” laughed Chelsea. “What are you looking all funny about? You wait till you hear what we've heard about Kelly Smith! You'll just
die
! ”

“Yes. I might just do that,” snapped Jenny. “You know … I don't think I do want to come out with you tonight. The pair of you—you just
kill
me!”

Chelsea and Louise stared at Jenny and then at each other, as she propelled them back outside.

“OK—don't get in a flap, Jen,” giggled Chelsea. “Come on out! Just as you are. You look great in that short skirt. All leggy!”

Jenny stared at her legs and then glared at Chelsea. “Just don't feel like going out tonight,” she growled.

“So—what—you're just going to sit at home all evening?” gasped Louise, astonished.

“Yes,” said Jenny. “I'll see you tomorrow. But tonight, for some reason, I just want to look at my bedside lamp.”

She didn't even notice Josh and Danny rolling about laughing on the landing as she stomped back upstairs.

“Here! Take it back!” said Danny, as soon as Petty opened her front door. He thrust the spray bottle into her hand. She scowled and pulled them quickly into her hallway, slamming the door shut behind them.

“Have you forgotten
everything
I've told you?” she demanded. “Remember—we may be being watched! At any time! I told you, there are government spies always keeping me under surveillance.”

Josh folded his arms. “But if this Victor Crouch guy
really
burnt out your memory and got you kicked out of the government's secret science labs, why would they bother with you again? They must think you don't know anything.”

“You really don't pay attention, do you?” snapped Petty. “Victor Crouch realized—too late—that the research he stole from me was fake! He will not have been able to make S.W.I.T.C.H. spray himself. The code for making it is here, with me! And all
he
got was the
fake
code.

“So he will be having me watched, just in case I look like I might be able to remember again. He's hoping I'll still be active.”