The Slime Volcano (3 page)

‘Over there!' Finbar yelled. He'd spotted a rock ledge with his super wolf vision. The slime flowed over the ledge, leaving a space to shelter underneath.

Finbar dragged his feet towards the ledge, and Kip followed close behind.

Splashing through the slime waterfall, they collapsed in the large, shadowy cave beneath the ledge. Kip's legs ached.

Finbar's eyes adjusted to the gloom first. ‘I don't think they've seen us,' he whispered.

‘
Who
hasn't seen us?' Kip asked, following Finbar's gaze.

At the far end of the cave, near another entrance, a group of aliens was huddled together. They were grunting intensely at each other and gesturing wildly at the blue slime.

The aliens were bigger than Finbar.They walked on two legs and had dirty, matted fur. Their curved fingernails were caked with scum. They looked pretty primitive to Kip.

Suddenly, Kip felt nervous. The last thing he wanted was to be stuck on a planet with slime volcanoes – and a group of massive, dirty aliens!

CHAPTER 4

Keep calm, Kip,
he told himself.
Just because
the aliens are dirty doesn't mean they're vicious
beasts!

Kip and Finbar ducked behind a rock to watch the aliens until they figured out what to do.

If Kip listened closely, he could just make out the grunts of the two closest aliens. He switched his SpaceCuff to Translate mode.

Maybe I can understand what they're saying,
he thought hopefully.

Translate mode used known alien languages to guess the meanings of new ones. It wasn't always reliable. But these aliens were speaking a simple language, and Kip could pick up bits and pieces of what they were saying.

After a moment, Kip nudged Finbar. ‘I think they're complaining about the slime. But wouldn't they be used to it by now?'

‘I guess they're sheltering from the volcano too,' Finbar said softly. ‘The big one looks upset.'

‘I think her name's Zert,' Kip whispered to Finbar. ‘That smaller alien there is her husband, Zorg.'

As Zorg talked to Zert, Kip followed his SpaceCuff. He had it switched to silent, so the translations were displayed as text. He didn't want the aliens to know he and Finbar were there yet.

As Kip watched, Zorg suddenly knelt down and hugged his wife gently around the knees. It was weird, but it seemed to cheer Zert up.

Maybe they're not vicious after all,
Kip thought.
But they still seem a bit simple.

Translate mode:

‘I
think
they're planning on hunting something called Slime Crawlers when the eruption's over,' Kip whispered.

Finbar's snout wrinkled. ‘I bet they're the things we saw in the puddles before.'

‘The aliens must eat Slime Crawlers. I haven't seen any other food source,' Kip said.

Kip tried to keep an open mind about the aliens' strange customs. As a Space Scout, that's what he was trained to do. But he had to admit, Slime Crawlers didn't look delicious.

If Slime Crawlers were the only food source, Grimor wouldn't make a good Earth 2. And after doing a quick analysis on his SpaceCuff, Kip could tell the air wasn't safe to breathe either.

The reasons why humans couldn't live on Grimor were mounting fast. Kip explained his thinking to Finbar.

‘Let's call MoNa and get going,' Finbar suggested softly.

Somehow, Kip felt sad to leave without knowing more about the aliens. They did seem interesting – just very grubby. But it was time to go home.

He tried to call MoNa on his SpaceCuff.

Communicate mode:

‘My signal is blocked for some reason,' Kip said, annoyed. ‘We'll have to try moving to higher ground to call MoNa.'

By now, the waterfall of slime had slowed to a trickle. Kip and Finbar backed out of the cave without disturbing the aliens.

Zorg was talking to Zert in an urgent voice.

‘He's still going on about that slime pond,' Kip said, checking his SpaceCuff. ‘Maybe they're going swimming!'

Finbar looked grossed out.

Kip needed to find the best spot for reception so he could talk to MoNa. ‘I think we'll have to climb up there,' he said, after a minute. ‘Even though it's an –'

‘Active volcano!' Finbar cut in. ‘We're NOT climbing that. It just erupted!' The Suckerbot spun its wheels nervously.

Kip shrugged. ‘Unless you want to stay here, it's our only choice.'

In the high-gravity atmosphere, the climb would be tough and dangerous. And if the volcano erupted again, Kip and Finbar would be swept away in boiling-hot slime.

Luckily, they had their voice-activated Arachnalegs. These would give them vital support during the dangerous climb ahead.

Kip and Finbar started tramping heavily to the base of the volcano. When they got there, Kip engaged his Arachnalegs. All six suction caps stuck firmly on the ground.

WorldCorp Arachnalegs

Then Kip started climbing up the volcano, with the Arachnalegs supporting his weight. Finbar followed close behind, carrying the Suckerbot.

It was hard going up the volcano, especially with the high gravity dragging them backwards.

‘Are you having fun?' Kip asked Finbar, trying to joke.

Finbar didn't answer. He'd stopped, tail stuck straight out the back of his spacesuit.
Uh-oh, that's his distress signal!
Kip thought.

There was an angry rumble deep inside the volcano.

‘It's erupting again!' Finbar yelled. ‘JUMP!'

CHAPTER 5

Blazing blue slime spurted from the crater. Kip and Finbar had to move or they'd be drenched!

‘I'm falling!' Finbar yelled as slime loosened the suction caps on his Arachnalegs. He gripped the Suckerbot tightly. ‘Me too!' Kip yelled.

Kip was dragged down into the boiling slime. Luckily his spacesuit seemed to be able to withstand the heat.

‘Watch your head!' Finbar roared.

Too late. The slime picked Kip up and hurled him into a somersault!

He bashed his helmet against a rock. His head rattled hard inside it, and then the world went black…