Nikolas and Company: The Merman and The Moon Forgotten (14 page)

Nick shook his head, as the dark
chocolate and caramel started to gum up his teeth.

“Christopher McCaffrey lived in
perimeter 415. He liked Haley a lot, and I mean a lot. Wrote her a
love ballad. Well, actually just played Guitar Champion for her,
and changed some of the words up. Think it was Metallica’s
“Wherever I May Roam.” His version was “My Love is like the
Colorado Superdome.” She wasn’t very kind to him at all. Or the
guitar. Or the pavement.”

“I think Tim is just trying to wait her
out. You know, wear her down,” Nick said, choking down a stray
peanut.

Caroline didn’t respond immediately.
She gingerly peeled off the wrapper of a white chocolate bar and
broke off a piece just big enough to fit between her fingers. “You
don’t know her very well. Do you, Nikolas?”

“Sure I do,” Nick said. “People aren’t
that hard to understand. Haley hates love. Brandy loves fashion.
Tim’s a wuss. Daniel: evil scientist. Xanthus: dragon nerd. And
you: good cook.”

Nick saw pain behind Caroline’s
horn-rimmed glasses.

“People aren’t cut-outs you know.” She
closed her purse.

Nick felt his own stomach bottom out.
“I know—I—just, sometimes, we make everything too complicated, you
know. Just keep it simple, keep life simple. Why do you think I
want to get off this planet so bad?”

“Anyway—” Caroline chose to abandon
that line of conversation. “—I just don’t want Tim to get hurt.
Haley doesn’t know how to let boys like her. I suspect that’s why
she’s into martial arts—to keep boys away. We’re from Seattle, you
know, and our lives weren’t much better before the refugee camp,
either. My father died in a boating accident when Mom was pregnant
with Brandy. I was two, Nikolas. I don’t even remember him. I do
remember all of Mom’s boyfriends, though. Lots and lots of
boyfriends. Coffee shop workers, restaurant managers, fishermen. I
didn’t mind them too much when they weren’t drinking, but Haley,
well, she hated them all, and hated Mom for having them. Always got
into arguments, accusing Mom of choosing her boyfriends over us.
Mom said she needed the help, couldn’t get through life alone. Mom
and Dad married straight out of high school. She won Miss Teen
Washington that year, and it was the last job she ever had. Mom was
very pretty, you know. They said I have her ears.” Caroline
paused.

“Um. Nice ears.” Nick guessed at the
non-verbal cue.

“Thank you very much, Nikolas. Anyway,
I made a mistake. I told Haley she looked just like Mom, that she
was really pretty and would have all the boyfriends she ever
needed. I was twelve then. She was thirteen. Haley was angry, and I
think it made Brandy a little jealous, too, which makes sense, if
you know Brandy. Anyway, Haley wouldn’t talk to me for a month. It
would have been longer Nikolas, except that’s when Mom died of the
virus . . .”

Caroline’s voice trailed
off.

“Hmm,” Caroline cleared her voice.
“Anyway. Just a hint to Tim. Don’t try to help her—”

Daniel waved, then pounded the floor.
Everyone froze.

Red lights swirled across the ceiling.
All heads turned to the counter, looking for the source. A metallic
antenna edged over the counter.

“Mmmmm,” Brandy whimpered.

They did their best to shrivel into the
plastic floor.

The antenna was followed by a flat
disc, bordered in flashing red lights. The antennas probed the sky,
tapped the counter, and stopped.

“MMMMMM,” Brandy’s whimper
upgraded.

“Nick Lyons?” the drone
said.

“Yeah . . .” Nick said
slowly.

“I am with the Colorado Spaceport’s
Medical Emergency unit. Due to a lack of concern for other life
forms and a propensity toward violent behavior, I am to administer
the neural inhibitor, R-5235—”

“Aw geez.” Nick pushed himself from the
counter.

Suddenly, the metal antennas egg-beated
the air and retreated.

“Where did it go?” said Brandy. “What’d
you do Nick?”

A warm drop plopped on Nick’s hand.
Everyone’s eyes moved back to the counter. The antennas returned,
but the rest of the ambudrone was trapped between a row of canine
teeth. The mouth unhinged and squeezed the ambudrone down. Flashing
red lights were the last to be seen.

Gunk. Gunk. Gunk.
A membrane crown unfolded behind its
ears.

“REEEIGGHH!!” The scuccas lifted to
their hind legs.

“They found us,” Grand yelled. “To the
shuttle!”

Grand had suddenly appeared with a
massive battle axe. Where from? Nick couldn’t tell, but there were
more pressing matters. Like how fast could he make it to the
shuttle while maintaining all bodily functions. Everyone flung
themselves through the door, down the steps, and onto the tarmac.
There, off in the distance was a lone shuttle with the title:
“Mason.” Nick charged ahead, reached the stairway first, and flew
up with his fist aimed for the access button.

Access denied.

Access denied.

Access denied.

Access denied.

“Keycard. Keycard. Grand has it!” Nick
turned to the spaceport. On cue, glass exploded followed by a mass
of trench coat and battle axe flying through the midnight air.
Grand tumbled inches from the shuttle. He groaned and fell
unconscious.

“Get the card! Grand’s keycard. It’s
green.” Nick pointed. Haley and Xanthus were already trolling
through pockets.

The scuccas fumbled through the new
opening.

“Here.” Haley pressed it into Nick’s
shaking hand.

Beep. Beep. Access granted.
Welcome, Mr. Lyons.

“Get inside. Now!” Nick
commanded.

Hands grabbed for Grand and the axe.
With much heaving and iron scraping, they rolled him through the
hatchway and tumbled in themselves. Nick punched the door closed
symbol.

BAAANGH!
Several bulges emerged from the other side of the door. The
scuccas had rammed the hull.

“We need to call the police, Nick.” Tim
tried to catch his breath.

Talons started to rake the hull,
looking for any sign of weakness.

“Nick?” said Haley, wiping Grand’s
blood off her cheek. “What are we gonna do?”

BAAANGH! BAAANGH!
They rammed again.

“Nick, the police?” said
Tim.

Nick scanned the shuttle.
Fear was on everyone’s face as they listened to three monstrous
freaks clawing at the hull. Nick looked down to Grand. He wasn’t
going to wake up any time soon.
Come on,
Grand. What are we supposed to do?

“Police, Nick?” Tim said.

Suddenly, Nick understood.

This was all on him.

Nick got to his feet and looked to the
front of the shuttle.

“Police, Nick?” Tim
repeated.

“Move.” Nick pressed Tim to one
side.

“Are you listening to me?”

Control panels lit at the
presence of a human.
Hello. Welcome to the
Mason.

BAAANGH!
The shuttle rocked.

The control board was a dizzying array
of gauges and lights. After a few scans, Nick found a
hexagon-shaped disc with a green light emanating from it. He
pressed his hand on it.

It blinked in red letters: Access
denied. Retinal verification required.

Nick stood straight, flicking a stray
bit of hair away. There was a small circle with one digital eye. He
looked back at Haley, and then Grand. She read his mind. They
picked up Grand by his massive shoulders and lifted him to the
retinal scanner. It was strange handling his grandfather’s head
like some bearded football, but he didn’t really have a choice.
Nick pried an eyelid open, revealing an unfixed pupil. The retinal
system began to scan.

Welcome, Mr. Lyons, to the
Mason Transworld Shuttle. Forgive me for asking, but you seem a bit
peakish. Are you feeling well this evening? Ibuprofen
perhaps?

Grand’s chin bobbled to his
chest.

BAAANGH! BAAANGH!
The scuccas continued to search for the hull’s
weakness.

“Nick!” Tim yelled. “Are you listening
to me? Grand’s unconscious or worse. We’re trapped. How’re we
getting out of here?”

Nick tried to subdue the small rise of
his cheek, but it was mutinous.

“Hey—Are you smiling? You’re thinking
something, Nick.”

“I have an idea.”

“Idea? What do you mean, idea?” Tim
took in the scene playing out in front of him. “No!”

“I’m gonna fly it.”

“No, you’re not. Seriously,
Nick, you can’t fly a
space
shuttle.”

“It’s easy. I’ve
played
Maverick Seven
like a hundred times. It’s an exact replica of this. Look,
Grand told me I was responsible for everyone. I have to do
something.”

“Responsible?” Tim smacked his head.
“Where does a fourteen-year-old flying a commercial shuttle fit
into responsible? Tell him, Daniel. This is insane.”

“Yes. It would be advisable that Nick
keeps a safe distance from all technological devices, but I am in
full support in the given situation. He has accrued many hours on
the holobox, suggesting that he has the skills to fly the shuttle.
But I’m not blindly optimistic. I’d say there’s a strong chance one
of us will die. I would wager that it would be you, Tim. Your
heightened fear in an emergency situation like this would lead you
to make irrational decisions. And your motor skills are below
average for a fourteen-year-old boy.”

“Hey. I’m a human being, not one of
your statistics, you freaky cyborg!” Tim snapped.

Nick yelled over the two, “Maverick
Seven? Anyone played? I need a co-pilot.”

“
I have!” Xanthus sprung
from his seat.

“Look. This is real!” Tim banged on the
cockpit ceiling. “This isn’t a video game or some crazy invention.
This is a real GPS! That’s a real ion fuel gauge to real ion fuel.
And we could all be blown to REAL blubbering, smoldering
pieces!”

“What’s your ranking?” Nick said to
Xanthus with both hands behind his back.

“Sir, Sergeant General. 5th Class,
sir!” Xanthus held a salute.

“Level?”

BAAANGH! BAAANGH!
BAAANGH!

Xanthus rocked to his knees, but held
his salute. “Sir, Andromeda Mission, sir!”

“You recognize the shuttle then,
Sergeant?” Nick nodded to the control panel.

“Sir. This is a Class C, twin ion
engine. Full interplanetary travel, but limited interstellar. Stick
is a little touchy, sir!”

“All right, co-pilot Kobayashi, take a
seat.”

Both boys sat down.

“Did you beat the Andromeda mission,
Sergeant General 5th Class?” Tim said.

“Pshh. Dude, not any harder than the
Belton level . . . The landing is always a little
interesting.”

“Again, I ask. Did you beat
it?”

“Security!” Xanthus called.

Haley put Tim in a choke hold. “Let’s
go.”

“No. No. No. No!” Tim’s feet grabbed
the door frame, chairs, shuttle wall, Daniel.

Caroline’s whispery voice cut through
the pandemonium. “Nikolas.”

“Yes, Caroline?” Nick looked
back.

“We’re here because we trust
you.”

“Thanks.”

“Yeah,” said Haley, throwing Tim into
the back row. “Mom made me promise to look after my kid sisters, so
no crashing and burning and screams of death. OK?”

“Right.” Nick nodded and tapped the
passenger door.

“We’re all going to di—” The door muted
Tim’s cry of death.

“I got this,” Nick nodded. “I’ve beaten
the Andromeda level. Twice.”

“Really? No way! No one
beats Andromeda! I got a T-shirt that says it. I am now submitting
your name to
Perlock’s Mythological
Bestiary, 30th edition.
Entry title:
Epicness.” Xanthus announced while punching several buttons. The
shuttle began to slowly rise, pointing its nose skyward.

BAAANGH! BAAANGH!
Nick looked to the perimeter cameras. The scuccas
clamored around the body, trying to slip their talons into any
available crack.

“
All right, co-pilot
Kobayashi. Systems check complete?”

“Complete. O’ Captain.”

“The clamps?”

Xanthus had one hand on the seat and
another reaching for a blue switch.

All right,” Nick announced. “Starting
initiation sequence now. Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven—”

BAAANGH! BAAANGH!
BAAANGH!

“Sixfivefourthreetwoone!” Nick punched
the blue launch button.

The boys nodded to each other as the
shuttle rumbled to life. A fiery orange skirted the windows,
setting off monstrous screams.