Space Runners #4

by Jeramey Kraatz

  “You don’t really fit on this thing,” Benny said.

  “I’ll be fine.” Zee leaned in close, wrapping two of his tentacles around Benny’s arms, and two around the bottom of the seat.

  “This feels so weird,” Benny murmured.

  “Less talk, more fly,” Drue said. Benny could practically hear the grin in his voice as he turned the stealth drive back on. “Man, I’ve missed this baby.”

  The last thing Benny heard before they took off was Zee squealing. And then they were rocketing forward, Benny’s nervous groans completely drowned out by Drue’s whooping and hollering as they sped across the courtyard. Zee’s tentacles squeezed Benny’s arms so tightly he was afraid they might be pulled from their sockets as the alien let loose a steady stream of noise that sounded like music that might have been in the background of a horror movie.

  In seconds, they were at Vala’s ship, where a hole was opening in one side of the rocky exterior. Benny barely had time to blink before they were rushing through it, thankful they didn’t have to rely on his glove to get inside. Drue twisted the handlebars of the Galaxicle, and they came to an abrupt stop halfway into the hangar, so quickly that Benny was sure all three of them would have been thrown from the bike had they not been held in place by whatever gravity-defying tech Elijah had built into the seat.

  “This bike is mine now,” Drue said as he tried to catch his breath. “I don’t care what Elijah says.”

  Behind him, Zee was still wheezing his terrified alien sounds, and Benny had to reach up and pry the tentacles from his arms.

  “We’re here,” he said, crawling off the bike and helping Zee.

  “That was incredible,” Zee said. “And I never want to do it again.”

  Benny couldn’t really disagree with him, but it was the least of his concerns at the moment. They needed the Galaxicle’s speed almost as much as they needed . . .

  He spotted Griida rushing toward them, twin tentacles trailing behind the gruff Alpha Maraudi who’d taken control of the ship. His shiny red tunic flowed out around him, the fibers twisting and knitting themselves as if they were alive. He wore a rock mask similar to Zee’s and had one of their comm collars rigged to it. In his hands he carried a parcel wrapped in the same fabric of the clothes he wore.

  “Here,” he said. “I have the thorns. They won’t break through this cloth, but you must be careful. A crew member barely touched the tip of one of them and now she’ll be out for days.”

  Griida threw the top layer off the bundle, exposing two bone-white thorns as long as daggers. Benny could see the sheen of something wet on their tips—the sedative that was potent enough to put the beasts outside to sleep.

  “A scratch is all it takes,” Griida said, thrusting the package into Benny’s hands.

  “You know, we walked through that garden of yours,” Drue said. “We could have been killed! I was right to be worried!”

  Zee stepped forward. “I’ll hold them.”

  “We’re going on the Galaxicle you just said you didn’t want to be on,” Benny said, already marching back to the bike. “And they’re too dangerous.”

  “I’ll be careful!”

  “I have literal gloves on,” Benny said, taking the cloth and wrapping it back up, shoving the bundle under one arm.

  “We can take one of the Maraudi ships,” Zee said. “I’ll drive!”

  “I don’t wanna end up Bazer food,” Benny said over his shoulder.

  “Young Zee,” Griida said. “It’s Vala. You should stay here and—”

  “What?” Zee asked. “What’s wrong?”

  Before Griida could answer, Elijah was on Benny’s comm unit.

  “Do you have them?” he asked. “Ricardo’s SR got sprayed with that thing’s slime. He ejected, and I’ve already sent Ash out to get him, but the creature is ignoring Kira now and heading toward the Taj.”

  “We’re coming,” Benny said. “Trevone, any ideas how we get these things to fall over? We’re up against the clock here.”

  “Don’t you worry, Benny.” Hot Dog’s voice filled his helmet. “I’ve taken down plenty of giant monsters while piloting spaceships in my day.”

  Benny stood puzzled for a moment. Then he realized what she meant. “Video games don’t count!” he said.

  “She’s actually got a great idea,” Trevone said. “It’s also our only idea.”

  “Get on the ground and follow our lead,” Hot Dog said. “We’ll walk you through it. Just have one of those thorn things ready. I don’t know how much time you’ll have.”

  “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go,” Benny said, jumping on the back of the Galaxicle that Drue was already waiting on. He’d learned his lesson last time and hadn’t dared let go of the handlebars while the stealth drive was engaged.

  “You don’t have to tell me twice,” Drue said.

  “Wait!” Zee started, but they were already off, darting through the open hangar and diving down toward the courtyard.

  Drue pulled up at the last second, keeping them from nosediving straight into the rock.

  “You have to quit doing that,” Benny shouted.

  “Oh, come on,” Drue replied. “I’ve got this. Now, where are those two?”

  Benny spotted Trevone’s Space Runner and one of the few remaining prototype models, its silver frame dull and unpainted. They flew in tandem side by side, a thick metal rope spanning the expanse between them.

  “You can’t be serious,” Benny whispered.

  “Trip wire!” Drue shouted. “Brilliant!”

  “Thanks, Drue,” Hot Dog said.

  “We trip the monster and you get maybe a few seconds to take it down,” Trevone said. “Think you can manage?”

  “No,” Benny said. “But let’s try it.”

  “Then catch up,” Hot Dog said, her Space Runner zooming overhead. “You’re falling behind.”

  Drue gasped a little before he leaned forward and they shot ahead, trailing the two SRs.

  The Bazer ahead of them moved toward the Taj with astonishing speed, spindly legs sending it flying over the rocky landscape to the edge of the courtyard itself. Kira’s car looped around the creature’s neck, narrowly avoiding its lash of a tail, shooting the beast despite the futility of doing so—anything to slow it down—but it seemed to have grown tired of batting at the car. Still, Benny couldn’t believe what incredible control she had over the vehicle, how it seemed to move and turn on the edge of a knife. But, then, it was Kira and Kai who’d been the most impressive when the Pit Crew had done their first big display for the EW-SCABers inside the Grand Dome, back when it still existed.

  In the distance, Benny saw the wreckage of a Space Runner, and the blip of Ricardo’s red space suit as he hobbled toward the Taj. He got a few steps away from the car before collapsing on the ground.

  “On our mark, Kira, get out of the way,” Trevone said.

  “Hai,” she replied. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

  Me, too, Benny thought.

  Hot Dog, Trevone, and Drue had all lined up between the Taj and the Bazer, which continued its charge across the courtyard. It was now or never.

  “Ready?” Hot Dog said.

  “As I’ll ever be,” Benny said. “Drue, how are we doing this?”

  Benny felt his friend shrug a little. “I’ll know the opening when I see it.”

  “Then on three,” Trevone said. “One.”

  Benny pulled one of the thorns from the package under his arm.

  “Two,” Hot Dog continued.

  Benny was pretty certain all of them said “three” at the same time.

  Hot Dog and Trevone raced forward, gunning their hyperdrives, the wire as thick as Benny’s arm taut between them. Kira let one final series of blasts loose into the creature’s face before looping backward in a wide arc, clearing the approaching cars, as if she were pole-vaulting over the trip wire. As the smoke cleared around the Bazer’s face, Hot Dog and Trevone let their Space Runners dive down, givin
g one last push to their engines.

  The wire caught the middle of the giant’s first two legs, causing them to buckle. The next two were swept away as well. And then, just before the final pair were about to be knocked out, Hot Dog shouted.

  “Now!”

  The Space Runners suddenly changed directions, flying straight up. The wire caught the last of the Bazer’s legs where they met the creature’s body; and as the cars shot toward space, the beast was flipped above the courtyard, end over end, until it finally landed on its back.

  “Go, go, go!” Benny shouted, but Drue didn’t need the encouragement.

  The Galaxicle sped forward, straight toward the Bazer. Its legs clawed at the air as its body rocked, trying to right itself, like a beetle on its back.

  “Ugggghhh, so gross!” Drue said through gritted teeth as they sped forward. “Watch out for acid puke, Benny.”

  The closer they got, the better Benny could actually see the Bazer, the shifting of its bronze scales, the fire in its eyes, the slick tentacles that thrashed against the ground as it attempted to stand again.

  In seconds they were on top of it, and Benny finally caught sight of their target—a piece of white flesh, maybe two feet across. Drue must have seen it, too, because suddenly the Galaxicle shifted and they were flying horizontally, almost skidding across the Bazer’s scaled belly. Drue barely slowed as they approached, but it was enough for Benny to be able to hold out the white thorn and slash the exposed weak spot. Not enough to draw blood, or probably even hurt the creature. Just a scratch.

  “We did it, gu—” Benny started.

  Two of the Bazer’s legs sprang out, trying to grab Benny and Drue. It missed, but managed to grip the invisible Galaxicle, a spider clutching its prey. The bike jerked to a stop, both Benny and Drue held upside down.

  “We’re gonna die!” Drue shouted as he revved the engine. But another pincerlike leg shot forward, embedding itself where the wheel would have been on a normal motorcycle. The Bazer’s head thrashed, rows of teeth exposed, but the bike didn’t move.

  And then the alien beast stopped. The tentacles around its mouth curled in on themselves, and the creature’s head fell back, slamming against the ground.

  “We’re alive,” Drue said.

  “I think so,” Benny said.

  And then they both started laughing in their disbelief that they’d pulled it off.

  The giddiness was short-lived.

  “Benny, Drue,” Elijah shouted into their helmets. “Look out. I think the other one saw what happened.”

  “And it’s not happy,” Hot Dog yelled.

  Benny whipped his head around. The other, bigger Bazer was practically flying across the courtyard, faster than the other one had moved. Its tail whipped one of the New Apollo ships—Major Stokes’s—out of the air, sending it crashing into the ground on the other side of the garage.

  The monster was headed straight for them.

  “Please don’t tell me we’re stuck,” Benny said.

  “Okay,” Drue said. Half a second passed. “I’m trying to think of another way to say it.”

  “Guys, get out of there!” Hot Dog yelled as the creature edged ever closer. In half a minute it would be on top of them. Less than that.

  “Hold on to my legs, Benny,” Drue said.

  Benny wasn’t even sure how that was possible, given that they were both upside down and stuck to the seat.

  “Huh?” he asked.

  “Just do it. Now!”

  Drue turned off the stealth drive, and then hit the power on the Galaxicle while keeping his hands clenched on the handlebars. The tech keeping them on the bike disengaged, and Benny fell slowly toward the belly of the beast. He flailed, flapping his arms on instinct, as if that would help, but all it did was send the thorns and the alien cloth drifting away from him, toward the monster below. Drue, meanwhile, held on to the bike and twisted until he was right side up again. As Benny landed on the creature’s stomach, Drue let go, doing a somersault in the air before landing on his feet beside his friend.

  “I told you to grab my legs,” he said as he stretched out a hand.

  “You could have been more specific,” Benny said as he hurried to stand. The bronze scales under his boots were smooth, and when its belly shuddered, Benny had to put his arms out to his sides to maintain his balance. He looked around, searching for the dropped thorns, but couldn’t spot them.

  The other Bazer was almost to them when a weaponized SR shot by, blasting it in the face.

  “Take cover!” Kira yelled, obviously trying to distract the alien mammoth.

  Benny looked to the Taj. “We’ll never make it in time.”

  “We don’t have to,” Drue said, pointing.

  Benny followed his finger to the silver chrome tube that had once served as the entry point to the Grand Dome, the one all the visitors to the Taj had to go through.

  “We’re heading for the depressurization tunnel,” Drue said, pulling Benny along with him.

  Benny wrenched free from his grip. “Hold on.”

  “Are you crazy? We’re about to get melted by a vengeful monster from another planet. Or stabbed. Or eaten. Or all three!”

  “I just . . .” Benny said, his eyes scanning the scaled stomach of the beast. “There!”

  Nestled in the crook of one of the Bazer’s legs were the two thorns. In a flash he was hunched over them, wrapping them back in the alien cloth they’d landed on. He glanced up in time to see Hot Dog and Trevone make a pass at the approaching creature. It wasn’t far away—if they took it down, could he make it over to its belly before it figured out what was going on? Did he have a chance on his feet, climbing the thing’s scaled sides?

  He didn’t have to wonder for long. Right before the wire would have toppled the Bazer’s front legs, it leaped high above the Space Runners with such swiftness that Benny thought for a moment it might fly out of the Moon’s minimal gravity and into space. Its tail swiped at the cars, hitting Trevone’s and sending it careening toward the ground where it bounced twice before he regained control of it just in time to avoid slamming into the side of the Taj. Hot Dog’s car was pulled down, too, but she managed to correct her course before crashing into anything, swerving in the opposite direction.

  The wire between them snapped off the side of her car.

  “Not good, not good, not good,” Benny repeated as he turned back to Drue.

  They sprinted for cover, their breaths so fast and deep that the fronts of their force field helmets fogged up, even with the environment sensors and filters running at full capacity. Benny could feel the ground shaking as the Bazer chased after them, but he was so focused on reaching the tunnel—and so scared of seeing how close the monster was—that he refused to look back. Just keep going, he told himself. You’re not going to die here. You and your friends have to save the world. You have to protect your family.

  Somehow, they made it to the tunnel, but they didn’t stop there—they ran until Benny’s side ached, and even then, they went on until they were as close to the middle as they could get.

  Drue’s heaving breaths came through the comms as he looked at one end of the tube, then the other. “No sign of it,” he said. “Not that it could fit in here anyway.”

  “Maybe it didn’t see us?” Benny asked.

  Suddenly one of the Bazer’s pincer legs shot through the top of the tunnel, hitting the ground a few yards away.

  Both of them screamed.

  “No,” Drue said as they scrambled. “It definitely saw us.”

  Another leg sliced open the tunnel in front of them, blocking their path. And then another leg, and another. They weaved and dodged, but without being able to hear the monster thanks to the Moon’s thin atmosphere, they couldn’t tell where the Bazer was outside.

  That is, until a section of the tunnel began to melt away, black goo and liquid metal dripping to the ground below. Suddenly, the Bazer’s head was inside, tentacles whipping around in front of them, all
too close. Benny could see what looked like infinite amounts of jagged teeth in its mouth, all moving, gnashing, ready to tear them apart.

  “Do you think you can use your glove to trap it?” Drue asked as they backed away. “With some alien rock?”

  Benny shook his head. “No. I don’t have any of it on me, and I can’t just make nothing grow. Besides, I don’t know how I’d get close enough without getting skewered.”

  The beast howled. Benny couldn’t hear it, thanks to the lack of air, but the force of the Bazer’s cry shook every atom around them.

  Another pincer shot down behind them as the monster’s blazing blue eye zeroed in on Benny.

  All it had to do was spew one stream of its corrosive spit and they were done for. There was no way they’d outrun it.

  This was it.

  Benny clenched a fist, and with the other he took out one of the thorns. He wasn’t going down without a fight. They’d said the beast’s belly was the only weak point, but Benny had seen the thing’s mouth close up. If he could just get one prick on the inside before—

  A bolt of silver energy exploded against the Bazer’s flank, causing it to reel sideways. Several pincers pulled out of the tunnel as it scuttled to brace itself and keep from falling over. More shots slammed against the monster’s back, and it pulled its head from the metal tube, lashing out at the ships that flew by it, leaving a giant hole looking out onto the courtyard.

  Benny saw Alpha Maraudi ships dart by.

  Something else pelted the monster’s sides. At first Benny wasn’t sure what it was, but then it began to grow—the alien stone. The Alpha Maraudi had employed these weapons to take down their Space Runners before, but now they were using it to trap the Bazer. The rock wrapped around the beast and drilled into the ground.

  “Hurry!” Zee shouted over the comms. “The stone isn’t strong enough. It won’t stay down long!”

  Benny didn’t have time to ask questions. He charged forward, leaping through the newly opened hole in the side of the tunnel, careful not to get any of the black goop on his boots. The Bazer was on its back now, and he climbed its side without thinking, his feet finding footholds where the scales separated, his golden glove creating grooves to grasp onto in the alien rock.