The Incredible Space Raiders from Space! (9 page)

“Okay,” Jonah said. He wanted to leave now. He could wait until lunch to eat.

Lyana smiled, but there was nothing happy or comforting about it. Jonah never knew a smile could be a sad thing. “And I feel bad for you,” she said, letting go of the food bar. “Because when we get to the Dark Zone, you're going to be very, very afraid.”

She turned and went back to her seat. Jonah stood there for a second, frowning, and then headed back to his room. He ate his food bar alone while the stars rolled past his window, wondering what Lyana had meant. Whatever she meant, she was wrong.

He was afraid.

He picked up his journal and wrote a very short letter.

Dear Mom and Dad and Mara,

I want to go home now.

Sincerely,

Jonah

Then he climbed beneath his thin, fraying blanket, put his head on that old, yellowing pillow, and fell asleep. He dreamed of a family dinner in the yard.

•  •  •

Jonah woke to a knock. He rolled over, still sleepy, but four more sharp raps later he groaned, crawled out of bed, and opened the door. As usual, it was Willona.

“Our lesson is canceled,” she said quietly.

“Why?” Jonah asked.

She hesitated. “Alex didn't come back. Neither did the second most important adventurer. They were supposed to only go for a few hours. It's been nine.”

She looked like she was on the verge of tears.

“Lieutenant Gordon has called a memorial service. Come on.”

Jonah followed her down Squirrel Street. He kept thinking about Alex the Adventurer. How he might have been caught in the open with no grate to save him.

The Space Raiders had gathered in front of the lieutenant's office again, and Lieutenant Gordon stood at the front of them. This time the commander and Erna the Strong weren't there. Lieutenant Gordon gazed out at the assembled Space Raiders, looking grave.

“We meet here today in honor of Alex the Adventurer. The commander would have liked to join us, but the second most important adventurer didn't return
either, so she's leading the service in Sector Two.”

There was a concerned murmur through the crowd.

“She sent Samantha the Bravest and Most Daring Adventurer to find them, but she has also disappeared.”

The murmurs grew louder. Jonah spotted Lyana the Forgotten watching from the edge of the crowd. She met eyes with Jonah, and he looked away.

The lieutenant held up his hands. “We have to remain calm. And before we can make plans, we need to honor our own adventurer. Alex was a hero, and we remember him as one.” He put his hand on his badge. “May he raid in peace.”

The rest of the Space Raiders did the same.

“Now,” Lieutenant Gordon said, “we are currently working on plans—”

“Are we going to go look for them?” Eric the Excellent asked.

Lieutenant Gordon hesitated. “We don't know.”

This caused an even larger stir.

“Why not?” Willona the Awesome asked.

Lieutenant Gordon looked at her. “Our adventurers are gone. Who wants to go into the Wild Zones to look for them?”

The Space Raiders fell silent. Jonah saw them glance at each other, and then at the floor. They all wanted to look for Alex the Adventurer. But no one wanted to go out there. They all knew the adventurers probably weren't coming back. Jonah glanced at Lyana.

He was afraid. No doubt about it. But everyone kept telling him he wasn't a real Space Raider, so he might as well be the one to leave. Besides, he liked Alex.

“I'll do it,” Jonah said. His voice sounded very squeaky, even to his own ears.

Everyone turned to look at him in shock.

“What did you say?” Lieutenant Gordon asked, frowning at him.

“I said I'll do it,” Jonah repeated. “I'll go look for Alex.”

Lieutenant Gordon stared at him for a moment longer and then nodded.

“Get him a map.”

T
HE SPACE RAIDERS GATHERED IN
Death Alley to see Jonah off, though it wasn't quite as celebratory as when Alex left. Many were still scowling at him, while the rest just looked like they were already at his memorial service. He half expected them to put their hands on their badges and tell him to raid in peace. Jonah was definitely trembling now.

Jemma smiled at him from the crowd, but it wasn't as comforting as usual. Jonah suspected that she was saying a silent good-bye as well.

Jonah was terrified. No other way to put it. But it was too late to go back now. He was leaving with just a few items: a copy of Alex's map—which he somehow doubted was going to help—a bonker, and his notepad, which Willona said he should take in case he got trapped somewhere and wanted to record his thoughts. That was comforting.

Lieutenant Gordon appeared beside Jonah at the front of the gathering.

“We have gathered to see off Jonah the Now
Incredible, who has bravely volunteered to search for our missing adventurers,” he said. “Now, I know some of you think we are just exiling him—”

Jonah glanced at the lieutenant, who ignored him.

“But that is not the case,” Lieutenant Gordon continued. “He is on a top-level mission. And even if you think he's a spy, it would still be nice to wish him luck.”

A hand in the crowd went up.

“Yes?” Lieutenant Gordon asked.

“If he's a spy,” the boy said, “won't he just be returning to the crew to give them our secrets and doom us all?”

Everyone looked at Lieutenant Gordon, who seemed to think about that.

“Yes, probably,” he said. “But we have already decided he's not a spy.”

Another hand raised. Lieutenant Gordon nodded at her.

“If he comes back, shouldn't we assume he is a spy?” the girl asked.

Everyone looked at Lieutenant Gordon again.

“The commander said Jonah is not a spy,” he said firmly. “And so if he comes back, he's just a heroic Space Raider who somehow managed to do what all our best adventurers could not. And hopefully he'll be able to explain how he did that.”

Victoria the Avenger—the girl with the dimples—suddenly stepped out of the crowd and walked toward
Jonah. He looked at the lieutenant, who seemed equally confused. Victoria reached him and shyly met his eyes. Jonah felt himself flush.

“Can I ask you for a favor?” she murmured.

“Uh . . . yeah, sure.”

“If you see my brother out there . . . will you bring him back? He has messy brown hair and dimples like me. His name is Matt the Amazing.”

Her dark eyes were watering now, and she roughly wiped them.

Jonah knew he shouldn't promise anything. But he really, really wanted to.

“If I see him, I'll rescue him,” Jonah said firmly. “I promise.”

She smiled and squeezed his hand. “Thank you, Jonah the Now Incredible.”

Lieutenant Gordon shifted uncomfortably. “Okay, that's enough . . . distractions. Jonah needs to get started.” He turned to Jonah. “Are you ready?”

Jonah looked at the Space Raiders and then nodded. “I guess.”

“Good,” Lieutenant Gordon said. “Then let's—”

“Wait!”

The Space Raiders suddenly pulled apart, all looking back in surprise. There, standing with a bonker and a food bar, was Martin the Marvelous.

“I'm going with him,” Martin said, walking through the group.

Lieutenant Gordon frowned. “This is a very dangerous mission—”

“We've done hard time together,” Martin said. “And he freed me from the brig. He needs my help. I've been a criminal long enough. It's time to be a true Space Raider.”

He stepped beside Jonah and nodded at him.

The Space Raiders were all talking among themselves now. Lieutenant Gordon looked skeptical, but he obviously decided that two adventurers were better than one.

“Then good luck to both of you,” he said.

Jonah and Martin started down Death Alley, and the two guards parted to let them through. Jonah heard the whispers growing behind them as they reached the shadowy end of Death Alley, where it ran into the Haunted Passage. They both took a last look behind them and turned toward the Unknown Zone.

The ceiling lights flickered eerily as the empty hallway ran off into the darkness, and the groaning sounds of the
Squirrel
's engine filled the air.

Martin looked at Jonah. “I should have stayed in the brig.”

•  •  •

Jonah and Martin slowly walked down the Haunted Passage. Between the flickering light panels and the distant
groaning of the
Squirrel's
engine, it felt like they were walking through a haunted castle like the ones Jonah had seen in films.

Martin ran his fingers along the metal as they went, looking around with wide brown eyes. His black hair was unkempt, like many of the Space Raiders, but he did have those sparkling white teeth that flashed when he spoke. Jonah had seen very few Space Raiders with good teeth. He assumed there weren't many toothbrushes in space.

They soon reached the blue door with the claw marks, and the two boys came to an abrupt halt. Martin just stood there, staring at it.

“It's true,” he whispered.

The small, slender boy traced his fingers over the claw marks. Jonah did the same. The marks were about an inch deep into the metal and got even deeper as they ran along the door, as if the creature had kept pressing harder. More disturbingly, they were grouped together in threes. Whatever had made these marks didn't have five fingers.

“Do you know anything else about the Entirely Evil Things?” Jonah asked.

Martin shook his head. “Just that they got on board once. The story came from Sector One. Some say it was the commander who told it.”

Jonah glanced up. Some of the scratches were near the top of the seven-foot door.

“So you're sure it wasn't the Shrieker?” he asked quietly.

Martin paused. “No, I'm not sure.”

As Jonah continued to stare at the scratch-covered blue door, Martin inspected the control panel. Jonah tried to imagine what sort of creature could make these marks. He decided it was probably better that he didn't know. Particularly since he might have to fight it with a bonker in less than a month.

He glanced at Martin and saw that he was fiddling with the wires.

“What are you doing?”

“Trying something,” Martin replied. He was carefully reattaching the wires by tying copper ends to one another. His thin little fingers were very deft and clever.

“Are you sure we want to go inside?” Jonah asked.

“Probably not,” Martin said. “But I'm curious. It probably won't—”

He attached the last two wires, and the blue door slid open with a whoosh.

“Work,” Martin murmured.

Jonah peered into the room. A few dusty old light panels had flickered on with the opening of the door, though they did little to pierce the shadows.

“Should we investigate?” Martin asked.

Jonah looked down the Haunted Passage, where the Unknown Zone was waiting.

“Why not?” he said resignedly.

The two boys walked into the shadowy room. It was as big as the cafeteria, but it contained no tables or counters or sink. The walls were covered in empty racks that looked like they might once have held guns. A few empty black crates were also pushed into the corners. But that wasn't all. There were cardboard boxes labeled
RATIONS
sitting on the floor, as well as various odds and ends. Martin picked up a faded gray shirt.

“I don't get it,” Martin said.

Jonah walked around the room, lightly kicking a few other scattered pieces of clothing. He found old food-bar wrappers and even a bloodied bandage that he decided not to touch.

“Check this out,” Martin said from across the room.

He was holding a stuffed pink monkey. It looked to be in relatively good condition, though Martin brushed some dust off its pink fabric. The monkey was wearing a big smile, which Jonah found a bit ironic, since it had been stuck in this eerie room.

“I was going to say it looked like Space Raiders were stuck in here,” Martin said thoughtfully. “But they're not very tough Space Raiders if one had a pink monkey.” He paused. “It is pretty soft, though. Think they would make fun of me if I brought it back?”

“Probably,” Jonah said.

Martin sighed. “Yeah, you're right.” He reluctantly put the monkey down again.

“Well, we should probably keep moving,” Jonah said. “We have to—”

He stopped midsentence.

“What?” Martin asked.

Jonah had spotted something tucked behind one of the empty crates. He quickly crossed the room and bent down to retrieve it. It was a small black notebook.

He glanced at Martin and opened it. There were only two entries, both written by an unsteady hand. Jonah stood up and started reading.

Dear Diary,

I didn't have a chance to get you before they came. Maybe I can glue these pages in if we get out. I don't know if we will. We're trapped in here. Father tells me we're going to be okay, but he looks scared. We heard the scratching. It sounded like they would get in. I screamed and cried, and the other men told me to be quiet.

Then the scratching stopped. We heard breathing and footsteps and something like voices. I keep Mr. Monkey close, but he's the only one who smiles now.

I don't know what they are. But they're on the ship, and we're stuck in this room. I wish Mother was here.

Signed,

the space princess

Jonah glanced at Martin. “Do you know who the space princess is?”

He shook his head. Jonah read the second entry.

Dear Diary,

It's been two days. I didn't write because the scratching started again. We heard it from the ceiling this time.

Jonah immediately looked up, then continued reading.

We haven't heard anything all day. No footsteps or scratching or anything at all. The men are talking about leaving. We don't have any water. Father keeps looking at me while they talk. They say the outside door panel is broken. Once it closes, they won't be able to get back in for a while. That means I have to go with them. I don't know if I'll be coming back.