The Slime Volcano (5 page)

Soon, Kip found something poking up from the roof. There was a hatch on top. He guessed it was some kind of airlock into the transporter. He forced open the hatch a little way and squeezed through.

Using the CatsEyes, Kip made out a ladder fixed to the wall. He climbed down nimbly into an airlock, and then inside the transporter itself. Finbar followed nervously.

This must be the bridge
, Kip thought.

The small room was half-filled with slime. Six corridors led in all directions. A can floated by, as though the aliens had been mid-snack when the transporter crashed.

Looking around, Kip could see through that the floor of the transporter wasn't quite flat. In fact, it seemed to ripple a little. He gulped uncertainly.

Finbar didn't seem to have noticed the floor. He pointed to the transporter's console.

Even coated in slime, Kip could see it was packed with dials, screens and navigation instruments. They weren't as high-tech as MoNa's. But it was extra evidence that the aliens were more advanced than they first seemed.

Suddenly, Finbar stopped. Standing completely still, his wolf ears twitched inside his helmet.

Kip's skin prickled.
I knew something
wasn't right,
he thought.

Something made Kip trip up onto the floor. His breath was knocked out of him.

Gasping for air, he tried to pull himself up. But he couldn't!

Kip's ankles were tied together with some kind of thick rope.

Finbar stooped to help Kip up. But the second Finbar's gloved paws touched Kip's shoulders, the rope coiled around him too!

Desperately, Kip tried to tear his feet free. But then he realised the rope had hundreds of moving legs attached.

It wasn't a rope – it was
alive
! The bridge was teeming with massive slimy creatures.

Hundreds of them slithered around Kip's neck, trying to pierce his suit with glistening fangs. And Finbar's arms were pinned to his side by even more of them.

Kip tried to keep his breathing steady, even though he wanted to scream. He'd seen these creatures before. It was in the slime puddles when they'd first landed on Grimor.

Slime Crawlers!

Back in the pond, they'd been tiny. But the slime pond was clearly the perfect environment for Slime Crawlers. They'd shot up to hundreds of times bigger than their normal size!

Slime Crawler tails lashed at Kip's helmet.

There's no way these mega-crawlers will give
up their home easily
, Kip thought.

His mind whirred. There had to be a way to escape…

Suddenly, it came to him.

My UltraSonic Grenade!
he thought.
It's in my spacesuit pocket.

The UltraSonic Grenade was a cruelty-free way to stop alien animal attacks. Pull the pin and the grenade released a squeal too high-pitched for human ears. But most animals found it unbearable.

To grab the grenade, Kip had to reach under his SecondSkin and inside his spacesuit pocket. And he had to do it covered in Slime Crawlers!

Gotta surprise them
, Kip thought. He stopped struggling, and for a moment sat completely still. The Slime Crawlers seemed to slow down.

They must think they've got me,
thought Kip.

Then, with a roar tearing from his throat, Kip ripped off as many Slime Crawlers as possible. He plunged his hand under his SecondSkin. His fingers closed around the grenade in his pocket.

Kip yanked the pin, and there was a puff of smoke.

Immediately, the transporter began to rock violently. In a seething mass, the Slime Crawlers slithered away at top speed. They disappeared through the escape hatch and into the pond.

Kip couldn't hear a thing. But Finbar howled, burying his head in his lap. He was half-animal, so the grenade irritated his ears. Luckily, he had his helmet for extra protection.

Now to see if we can get the transporter
out of here and flying again,
Kip thought.
And then we can all go home!

CHAPTER 8

Kip and Finbar swam speedily back up to the bank of the Slime Pond. Zorg and Zert were waiting there with the other aliens and Finbar's Suckerbot, which spun its wheels excitedly.

The aliens stuck their tongues out at Kip and Finbar, and wiggled them around, going cross-eyed at the same time. Then they blew gigantic spit bubbles.

Kip was a bit taken aback. But then he remembered that these aliens had different customs. Although it was freaky, this must be their way of saying they were glad he and Finbar were back!

‘We found your transporter!' Kip said.

All the aliens tapped their hands to the side of their heads over and over again.

Hmm, is that their way of clapping?
Kip thought, frowning. He didn't want anyone getting too excited until he'd actually got the transporter back from the bottom of the pond.

Luckily, Finbar had a plan.

He picked up the Suckerbot and gave it a little pat. ‘This new model has an excellent atomic compactor,' Finbar said proudly, and Kip's SpaceCuff translated aloud for the aliens. ‘It sucks up dirt and grime, and then shrinks down each particle to a fraction of its normal size.'

Kip looked doubtful. ‘Can it shrink an entire pond's worth of slime?'

Finbar's expression was serious. ‘It's our best shot.'

Kip nodded. ‘I just hope those massive Slime Crawlers don't come back!'

Finbar led the Suckerbot to the edge of the pond. Eagerly, it plunged its massive nozzle-lips into the slime.

The Suckerbot slurped up the slime even faster than Kip could gulp a PlutoBlast Chill sports drink after a ParticleBall game.

Although it was only as tall as Finbar's knees, the Suckerbot seemed to find room for a limitless amount of slime.

The Suckerbot actually seemed to enjoy drinking slime! It made happy little purring sounds. Kip couldn't help gagging a little.

The minutes ticked by tensely. The Suckerbot was good, but could it really suck up the entire pond?

‘Look!' Kip yelled suddenly. ‘I can see the top of the transporter!'

The transporter's hatch soon poked through the surface of the pond.

Let's hope the atomic compactor holds out!

As he watched, Kip gave a nervous cough. The aliens stared at him, amazed.

‘What does that barking sound mean in your language?' Zert asked.

‘Mean?' said Kip slowly. ‘Er…nothing.

It's called a cough. It's…well…it's…' Kip trailed off. How was he meant to explain a cough to an alien? Coughs
were
pretty weird, when he thought about it.

Suddenly, there one last loud sucking sound.
Awesome!
The Suckerbot had slurped up every trace of slime in the pond. The transporter now sat in a dry pond-bed.

Kip, Finbar and the aliens hurried down to the transporter. The sooner they could get it going, the quicker the aliens could go back to their families, and Kip and Finbar could get home, too.

As Kip got closer to the transporter, a staircase unfolded with a loud groan.

That must be the main entrance!
thought Kip.
It's a good sign the stairs are still working.