The Incredible Space Raiders from Space! (6 page)

“ ‘The first batch of Space Raiders was recruited from across the solar system. Only the best and brightest were chosen. The commander had already been chosen ahead of time, and she welcomed the new recruits to the ship and informed them of their noble task. They received uniforms and bonkers, since normal weapons don't work in the energy void of the Dark Zone. And while some were afraid, they bravely accepted their mission, and they still fight on against the EETs. For no Space Raider will abandon their mission until the EETs are gone and the universe is safe from evil.' Any questions?”

“Who wrote that story?”

Willona paused. “The commander, I assume. I copied it off a sheet Lieutenant Gordon gave me.”

“Were they all orphans too?”

“Yes,” Willona said. “We cover that in the next section; The Makings of a Great Space Raider: Courage, Intelligence, Teamwork, and a Hard Life to Make You Strong.”

“Which I didn't have.”

“No,” she agreed. “But maybe you have other qualities. You'll just have to figure out what those are.”

As she read on about the second mission of the ISR, Jonah thought about what Willona had said. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't think of anything that would make him a great Space Raider. He should have known better.

Jonah Hillcrest could never be a hero.

•  •  •

An hour later, Alex the Adventurer stood facing Jonah with a bonker in his hand. They were standing in the side hallway that ran off of Squirrel Street, and the two guards were sneaking glances at them, though they quickly looked away whenever Jonah noticed.

Alex was treating Jonah a little more formally than before, though he still snuck him a little smile when he handed Jonah his own bonker.

“As you know, Sector Three has one main hallway,” Alex said. “Squirrel Street. All the bedrooms, the
bathroom facilities, and the cafeteria are there.” He gestured around them. “But there is another hallway that intersects Squirrel Street in our sector and leads to the Haunted Passage. Each sector has one of these hallways. We don't go down those. Well, you and I did, and you saw what happened. Each of those hallways is guarded. This one is called Death Alley.”

Jonah looked around in alarm.

“Don't worry,” Alex said. “The other three are called Last Chance Lane, Terror Drive, and No Escape Avenue. Kind of a theme.” He pointed at the two guards with his bonker. “So that's two guards on duty in Death Alley, and two at each double door. And one at the brig. Which is where you come in.”

“Yay,” Jonah said.

“Not the most exciting,” Alex agreed, “but at least you're not in Death Alley. No offense,” he said to the two guards, who nodded.

“So I just stand in front of a door with this bonker?” Jonah asked.

“Well, there's a bit more to it than that,” Alex said. “Sure, you're guarding the brig for the trip, but you have to be ready to fight when we get to the Dark Zone. There are no guards and adventurers and greeters when we get there. Just Space Raiders.”

Jonah looked at the bonker. “Don't I just hit things with it?”

Alex sighed. “No. There is an art to this. Watch.”

Alex stepped back and suddenly jabbed the bonker outward with a thrust. He quickly swiped an imaginary weapon aside, took a big swing with two hands, and then did a spin onto the floor, attacking someone's imaginary legs.

“Impressive,” Jonah said.

“I'm not the third most important adventurer for nothing,” Alex said proudly, getting to his feet. “I'm also a weapons master. I was going to put it in my name, but I thought it would be too long. I still could, I guess. I have to talk to Lieutenant Gordon.”

“Who was that other girl with the commander?” Jonah asked. “Samantha the Bravest and Most Daring Adventurer—”

“That would be my sister,” Alex said sourly. “She would be back here with us, but she made one little trip to the List and now—”

“What's the List?” Jonah asked.

Alex glanced at the guards and lowered his voice. “It's a manifest. It has the names of all the Space Raiders on this mission. My sister went adventuring the first day we were here and found it on the third level. It was just sitting on the floor in the middle of the hall—one of the crew members must have dropped it. The commander told her to leave it there in case the crew came back for it, but she was so impressed, she gave my sister a promotion
to first most important adventurer.” He made a face. “It was just luck. Anyway, let's get back to—”

Suddenly, he was interrupted by shouting. This time it wasn't coming from deep in the Wild Zones. It was coming from Sector Three.

“What the . . . ,” Alex said.

Space Raiders began running past Death Alley, heading farther up Squirrel Street. Willona suddenly burst around the corner, looking panicked.

“Jonah, get back to your quarters,” she said.

“What is—,” Jonah started.

“Now,” she said sharply. “Alex, they need you.”

Alex nodded, then hurried down the hallway. “Take him back,” he said to Willona.

She grabbed Jonah's arm and pulled him toward his bedroom. He looked back down Squirrel Street and saw a group of Space Raiders forming outside Lieutenant Gordon's quarters. The lieutenant was in the hallway, shouting orders.

“What's going on?” Jonah asked.

Willona didn't answer. She just pulled him all the way to his bedroom and pushed him inside. She grabbed the door, about to slam it shut, but Jonah stopped it.

“Tell me,” he said.

Willona glanced down the hallway and then leaned in. “Two guards are missing,” she said quietly. “From our sector. Gone without a trace.”

She tried to close it again, but Jonah stopped her.

“Is that what happened to the other kids?”

“No,” she said. “The other seven all disappeared in the Wild Zones. Never from the sectors.” She met his eyes. “Don't you understand? The boundaries are broken. It's war.”

Jonah stepped backward, and Willona slammed the door shut.

Dear Mom and Dad,

Things just keep getting worse. Now it turns out I might not even belong here, which is fine, except we're already in the middle of space, and I can't exactly leave. Of course, they also told me this right after I got my new name: Jonah the Now Incredible. I know it's a bit strange, but I kind of liked it. It sounds impressive.

I've never really done much that's impressive. I mean, I won three science fairs, but you only got to see one, and you kind of missed my demonstration. I know Dad wanted me to play sports like him and Mara. I just wasn't very good at it.

I wish I knew why everyone doesn't like me. I mean, I didn't want to come here. I want to do my math homework and go to school. I know that sounds weird,
but I liked doing my math homework. Homework here is all about things that are probably going to eat me in three weeks. It really makes you miss math.

People didn't like me much on Earth, either. They picked on me at school. . . . I know I told you about it sometimes, but it was pretty much every day. Peter was the worst. He called me Big Ears and pushed me around and told me I didn't belong at Pinewood. He might have been right. I never told you this, but I didn't really like Pinewood. It was all rich kids who were kind of stuck up and definitely mean.

Anyway, everyone is shouting again, and I think the monster really might come and eat me this time. I wish I'd had more bonker training. I never even learned how to do that spin. It looked really cool.

If this is my last letter, good-bye.

Sincerely,

Jonah

Jonah put the journal under his blanket and lay there for a while, listening to the shouting voices and running feet. He really wanted to see what was happening, but
he also didn't want to be eaten by the Shrieker, so he just stayed put.

After another twenty minutes or so of shouting, there was a knock at the door. Jonah quickly hurried over and opened it.

“Hey,” Willona said, glancing down the hallway. She looked a bit nervous.

“What's going on?” he asked quickly.

“The commander is here,” she said. “With Erna the Strong. They've collected everyone in front of Lieutenant Gordon's quarters. For a memorial service.”

Jonah frowned. “The guards have only been gone for an hour.”

“I know, but we like to remember the missing before we make plans,” she said. “It's the nice thing to do. And we have to make plans. Someone has violated the treaty.”

“We have a treaty?” Jonah asked.

“Not technically,” Willona said.

Jonah stepped into the hallway. “Well, shouldn't we get to the service—”

Willona stopped him. “A few of the others . . . don't think you should be there. But I argued and said you should. That everyone from Sector Three should be there. So just don't pay any attention to them. You're a Space Raider. You have a uniform and a bonker. What more can you ask?” She smiled. “Let's go.”

Jonah followed her down Squirrel Street and saw that
the entire sector was gathered in the hallway, minus two guards and Martin the Marvelous. Even from there, he could see the commander and Erna the Strong towering over the others. He made a mental note not to break any rules. He really didn't want to go back to the brig.

When Jonah and Willona reached the edge of the group, the commander's cold green eyes flicked to Jonah. He half expected her to tell him to leave, but she just turned back to the others.

“We meet here today in honor of Kyla the Courageous and Daniel the Ninja.” She glanced at Lieutenant Gordon. “Is that right?”

He nodded somberly.

“Today these two brave hall guards were taken from Death Alley. They were doing their duty to the ISR, and so we will remember them as heroes. We hope to find them one day with all our lost recruits, but if we don't, we won't forget them.”

The commander put her hand on her badge.

“May they raid in peace.”

“May they raid in peace,” the Space Raiders repeated.

Jonah watched as the kids all lowered their hands again and noticed that many of them shot him suspicious and unfriendly glares. One in particular—the tall, wiry boy with short black hair and dark eyes that he'd seen leading a bonker training session—was really staring, his lips curled in a sneer.

Jonah made a mental note to stay away from him.

“Now,” the commander said, “You all have questions. So do I. We don't know if this was Captain White Shark and his crew or the Shrieker. Until we know, we can't do anything rash. If we step over the wrong boundary, we'll have two enemies to fight.”

One young girl put up her hand, and the commander nodded at her.

“Kyla the Courageous was my friend,” the girl said. “We have to do something.”

There was a murmur of approval in the crowd. Erna the Strong watched them closely.

“I agree,” the commander said. “But we must act wisely. I will send out two adventurers to try to gather information. Alex the Adventurer and the second most important adventurer will go.”

Everyone looked at Alex, who smiled proudly.

“One will try to find out more about the Shrieker, and the other, Captain White Shark. When they have their information, we can make a decision.”

“What about Samantha the Bravest and Most Daring Adventurer?” one boy asked, before quickly putting up his hand, looking terrified that he'd broken a rule.

Erna the Strong looked at the commander, but she shook her head.

“I know these are difficult times,” the commander said, looking over the crowd. “I can forgive a mistake.
But in times like these, the rules are more important than ever. We have to stay calm.” She turned to the boy. “Samantha is on another mission right now. She is currently traveling to the List to learn more about our newest recruit.”

The entire gathering of Space Raiders looked at Jonah, who smiled uncomfortably. Willona took a quick step away from him.

“How convenient,” the mean-looking boy with black hair muttered.

A few more comments filtered through the group.

“Enough,” the commander said. “Jonah is a Space Raider until proven otherwise. Just on limited brig duty and with no right to any answers about anything.”

Jonah could tell by the looks on everyone's faces that nobody considered him a Space Raider. Maybe Jemma, Alex, and Willona, though Willona had already taken another step away from him. Jonah wanted to tell them that he didn't care if he was a Space Raider and that he just wanted to go home, but one threatening glance from Erna the Strong convinced him otherwise. He remembered those iron-strong hands.

So Jonah just looked down at the floor and pretended he didn't feel them staring.

“Our adventurers will set out in an hour,” the commander said, “once they've had a chance to prepare and say their good-byes.” She paused. “Just in case.”

Alex wasn't looking as proud anymore.

“When they return, we'll meet again. And until then, make sure you check on the guards every hour. We don't want to lose anyone else.”

With that, the commander nodded at Erna the Strong, and the two girls headed back down Squirrel Street toward Sector Two. Everyone watched them go, their footsteps echoing down the silent corridor.

Finally, Lieutenant Gordon turned to the group. “You heard the commander. Back to your stations.”

Reluctantly, the assembled Space Raider started breaking off. As they did, many gave parting glares to Jonah. Some even whispered a few last comments, including, “You're no Space Raider,” “Spy,” and probably the worst, since it was exactly what Jonah wanted to do, “Go home.”

But even if that's what he wanted, it still hurt. It hurt when Alex left without looking at him. It hurt when the girl with dimples looked at him like he was the Shrieker. And it hurt when Willona waited until everyone had left before she came over.