“At least we’re not being attacked now,” Jasmine said. “That’s a nice change.”
“I thought we said no more jinxing statements,” Drue said.
Benny looked back at Tull, who was crouched on the ground, growling as he stared up at the many cars watching his every move.
Elijah smiled, looking as though he’d just discovered how to double hyperdrive speeds. He walked back to his car and reached inside, pulling out a satchel of cloth made of alien fabric—the bag that held the somu thorns they’d used to put the Bazers to sleep.
“I didn’t get this far in life without being prepared,” he said. “I figured Tull would be easier to transport if we had him take a little nap.” He pulled out one of the thorns. “If you all don’t mind, I’ll do the honors.”
Benny laughed as he watched Elijah, and suddenly it hit him.
Calam’s sun was stabilized. The asteroids were taken out. Tull was captured.
Earth was saved.
He let himself fall back into the soft desert sand. His hands grabbed fistfuls of it as he sank in, its warmth enveloping him. The heat beat down on his face. He felt as though he could scream and laugh and cry all at the same time, like the only thing keeping any of those things from happening was his inability to physically do all three at once.
He was home. Or, he would be soon. The caravan, wherever it was, would only be a short Space Runner flight away now.
A shadow fell across his face as Drue leaned over him, blocking the sun.
“You know,” he said, “when I was talking about visiting the Drylands earlier, this is not what I meant.”
Epilogue
Two Weeks Later
The sun beat down on the Drylands so brightly that Benny had to squint when he looked at the rolling dunes on the horizon.
It made him even more thankful that he was sitting in the shade of a sprawling tree on a porch he’d made himself in front of his RV using Maraudi rock. He took a deep breath, thinking that he might just have a quick nap before seeing if he could help Bo and Ash McGuyver, who’d shown up at his caravan unannounced a few days earlier and had been steadily fixing—or outright replacing—cars, trucks, and RVs.
That’s when a spider the size of his palm began to crawl over his leg.
“Justin . . .” he groaned, batting at the creature, though of course his hand went right through it.
“Hey!” his brother said, stepping from around the metallic bronze trunk of the tree. His dark hair was tousled and sprang out in every direction “How did you know it was me? It could’ve been Alejandro!”
Benny glanced up into the long, sturdy limbs of the alien tree, which was thick with teal-blue fronds and heavy yellow fruits full of sticky purple juice. “Because Alejandro climbed that tree while he thought I was asleep earlier. Guys, you really gotta work on your sneaking. You’d never survive a space adventure.”
“Not fair!” Alejandro said, poking his head through the thick foliage. “I was going to sneak attack you!”
“We are so gonna get that alien glove,” Justin said with a sly grin. “Just you wait.” And then he ran off, a holographic spider trailing behind him.
“Hey, hold up!” Alejandro yelled. “I have to get down first!”
Vala herself had planted the tree—along with several other specimens from her garden—after it had been analyzed and several people much smarter than Benny said it wasn’t a danger to humans. Their campsite was now spotted with impossibly colored bushes, flowers, and trees, all sustained thanks to the well Vala and Benny dug after boring into the ground with glowing green minerals. They’d made a camp with the water source in the center, parking and putting up shelters in concentric circles around it. The members of his caravan had been hesitant at first, keeping their distance from the tentacled commander. But when water began to flow, they quickly set aside at least enough of their shock and fear to thank her for her help.
For the first time he could remember, Benny’s caravan had no plans of going anywhere else.
Of course, the one million dollars in scholarship money that was being set up in an account in his name would help with that. Along with the promise from Elijah that any time Benny or the caravan needed anything, all he had to do was ask.
The well was just a first step, though. The revitalization of the Drylands would take more than a couple of underground springs, but already the scholars of Calam were investigating the best ways to heal the wounds that had been inflicted on the planet, to help turn it into a paradise not for themselves but for humanity. It would take time and energy not just from the aliens but the people of Earth as well. But there was hope that, in the end, the planet would be rejuvenated.
Vala had left soon after she was done with the well, taking Zee with her but promising to return as Calam’s ambassador to Earth.
Ramona Robinson had gone with her, the only member of the Moon Platoon who’d accepted Vala’s invitation to join her in space. “Future’s in ET tech,” she’d said and grinned. “And I’m becoming leet at squid speak.” Then she had growled something Benny couldn’t hope to understand.
He’d asked her if her family was okay with that, realizing that he didn’t know much about her life back in Wales. But Ramona had just made an explosion noise, which Benny took to be her answer.
Tull was aboard Vala’s ship when she left, along with the rest of his crew. On his home planet, he would face the elders for disobeying their commands. Benny wasn’t sure what would happen to him, but Vala assured him that this would be the last he would ever have to worry about the Maraudi commander.
As far as the rest of the world was concerned, however, Tull never existed. Earth had never been in danger. There were whispers, of course, of alien life and a thwarted attempt to destroy humanity. Of space battles on distant moons that had decided the fate of the planet. But they were mostly dismissed as rumors. It had taken a while to convince most of the EW-SCABers—especially Drue—that this was what was best for the people of Earth, that knowing how close life had come to extinction would in no way help anyone but instead cause chaos and fear to settle like a blanket over cities around the world. Instead, the stories that were officially reported spoke of a series of natural—if unexpected—asteroid storms that had destroyed satellites and damaged the Lunar Taj. Eventually, the government planned to admit contact with a peaceful race called the Alpha Maraudi, who were happy to share their technologies with humans, but in due time, in a way that wouldn’t cause mass panic.
Benny told his family what actually happened, of course. His bedtime stories to Alejandro and Justin recounted the formation of the Moon Platoon and his many battles against aliens and humans alike across their solar system. Of a round trip to another galaxy and how, at the end of the day, he and his new friends from the Taj had saved two worlds. His brothers lapped up each story, always wanting more, and seemed happy to fall asleep dreaming of Jupiter’s moons and asteroid storms. They told him he’d gotten better at making stuff up while he was in space. It was only Benny’s grandmother who believed him. She never said this outright, but he could tell from the way she looked at him when he spoke, one hand clasped over her mouth, head shaking back and forth.
One night, when he’d finally gotten to the end and his brothers were asleep, she pulled him into a tight embrace. Her clothes smelled like cinnamon and dust.
“I’m so proud of you,” she whispered. “Your father is, too. I know it. Wherever he is, he’s looking down on you right now and smiling, and saying to everyone else, ‘Do you see him? That’s my boy.’”
Benny stretched as he stood on the porch, his eyes wandering across the caravan, watching people come to and from the well or pick alien fruits. The door to his RV opened and slammed shut behind him, and he turned to find Dr. Parsi, her white coat practically glowing under the sunlight.
“That woman is a picture of health,” the doctor said. “I would consider myself lucky to have that sort of resilience when I’m her age.”
&nbs
p; “Did she make you eat something?” Benny asked.
“Cake.”
Benny nodded. “She says sweets are the secret. Thanks for checking on her, too.”
Dr. Parsi nodded, already moving on to the next RV. “I’ve still got time for at least a few more families today,” she said. “I’ll have the whole camp done in no time. Who needs an AI’s assistance?”
Benny stepped into the RV, where the air was sweet and smelled like baked goods. His grandmother was pulling a foot-long pastry from the oven, a glistening loaf covered in sliced alien fruit.
“Yessss,” Benny said, rushing for the pan.
She slapped his hand. “It’s still hot.” Then she grinned, the dark papery skin around her eyes crinkling. “We still need a name for this. Justin was calling it Bazer bread and I won’t have a recipe this delicious associated with those horrible creatures you described.”
Benny shrugged. “I kind of like Bazer bread.”
His grandmother rolled her eyes a little. “Your fancy datapad was making a noise earlier,” she said, nodding to the threadbare couch in the corner. “Sit. They brought milk yesterday. I’ll make you a plate.”
He did as he was told, pulling his HoloTek from between two cushions, expecting to find some kind of junk notification.
Instead, he had a message from Elijah West.
“What has you smiling so wide?” she asked, setting a steaming slice of pastry down in front of him.
Benny looked up at her. “I’ve got some friends coming to visit tomorrow.”
His grandmother sighed, sweeping her graying black hair off her shoulders. “I’ll keep the oven going, then.”
The Space Runners landed two hundred yards from the edge of the caravan, well enough away that Benny could have some privacy—if his grandmother could manage to keep his brothers in check and they behaved like they promised they would—and, hopefully, for no one to notice that the most famous man in the galaxy was on their doorstep. Enough Space Runners were coming and going from the caravan these days that it was becoming normal. Most of them were convoys of food or resources or, once, the Alpha Maraudi battery Jasmine created at the Taj, which Elijah had rigged so that it could light the entire camp. But the man himself had never stopped by.
He landed in a shining gold Space Runner Benny had never seen before. Three others parked behind him. Drue and Jasmine got out of black cars. Hot Dog’s was Mustang red.
“Benny!” she shouted as the three ran up to him.
“Heyo,” Drue said.
Jasmine smiled. “It’s good to see you. It’s kind of weird not having you around every second.”
“Tell me about it,” Benny said. “Can you believe my life hasn’t been in danger at all in the last two weeks? I don’t think.”
Behind them, Elijah got out of his car. And then the passenger door opened and a woman stepped out, a pale pink sundress rippling in the light breeze, her blond hair falling over her face for a moment before she tucked it behind her ears.
“Oh, yeah,” Drue said. “Get ready for this to be so weird.”
“Benny Love!” Elijah shouted in a singsong voice as he approached, his arms spread wide. “You know, there’s something about this desert air. It’s so refreshingly hot.”
The woman was at his side, and Benny recognized her immediately. Not that she looked exactly like he was used to seeing her, but that probably had something to do with the fact that she was flesh and blood and not a hologram.
“Pinky Weyve,” she said, reaching out a hand. “It’s a pleasure. Elijah has gone on and on about you. I don’t know where to even begin to thank you and your friends for everything you’ve done for Earth.” She glanced at Elijah. “And to him.”
Benny put his palm in hers—half expecting it to pass through—and shook. “It’s great to . . . meet you? Again?”
“That’s what I said!” Drue laughed.
“I’ll get straight to the point, Benny,” Elijah said, his eyes growing serious. “The Lunar Taj was once a place for the rich and famous, but I’ve got such bigger plans for it now. Imagine—the Milky Way galaxy’s first universal resort for alien species.” He stared up at the sky, as if looking at the building now. “A destination for intelligent life from across the universe. A place where we can share ideas and inventions.” Then he grinned and looked back down at Benny. “And not just the Lunar Taj. The Martian Taj and Plutonian Taj. And more. I think it’s time we go intergalactic, don’t you?”
Benny shook his head, not because he disagreed but because it seemed like such an Elijah idea. “It sounds perfect,” Benny said.
“Then you’ll join us?” Hot Dog asked.
Benny’s eyes narrowed in confusion. “What?”
Elijah smiled warmly. “I can’t do this alone. If the last months have taught me anything, it’s that.”
“You’re looking at the Taj’s new board of . . .” Drue looked at Jasmine. “What did we decide to call it, Jazz?”
“We stopped brainstorming when you wouldn’t let go of ‘Board of Heroes.’”
“Oh, right. I stand by that choice.”
“Come to the Taj, Benny,” Elijah said. “I could use someone like you by my side. Working with these three and the Pit Crew. Ambassadors from Earth. What do you say?”
Benny’s head whirled with the idea of living at the Taj, the adventures he could have and the people—and aliens—he could meet. The uncharted planets he could find along with the Moon Platoon, all working together to discover the mysteries of the universe.
He took a deep breath.
“I can’t,” he said finally, surprised by how easily the words came out, and how quickly the idea of racing back to the Moon was replaced by thoughts of helping the caravan and spending long nights on top of his RV pointing out constellations to his brothers. “At least, not right now. Later, though. And I’ll visit, obviously, if that’s cool.”
His friends looked crestfallen, but they didn’t say anything.
Elijah sighed. “I figured that would be your answer. It’s why I recruited these three first. I was hoping they might sway you.”
“I really appreciate it,” Benny said. “But I can’t leave. Not today. Or, like, this month. Probably longer. I just got back.”
“We get it,” Hot Dog said. Then she narrowed her eyes. “But don’t think that we like it.”
Elijah nodded. “The Taj will be there waiting for you. You don’t even need a reservation. Just tell me you want to come.” His face lit up. “Or better yet, show up unannounced! We’ll take care of you.”
“Maybe I’ll let you get front doors put on first,” Benny said with a grin.
“Hey, now, it looks better than the last time you saw it,” Elijah replied. “Though we’re still finding Bazer scales every now and then.”
Benny’s eyes widened.
“The Bazers!” he said. “What if they get out of their cages? What if—”
“Vala’s people have already collected them,” Jasmine said. “They’re on a transport back to Calam as we speak.”
“You didn’t really think Drue would go back to the Taj if giant spider monsters were in our backyard, did you?” Hot Dog asked.
“Hey, I fought those things,” he said. “Give me some credit.” Then he shuddered. “I’m definitely glad they’re gone, though.”
They were quiet for a few seconds, just looking at one another. Eventually Elijah stretched. “We’ll give you four a moment,” Elijah said. “It was good to see you, Benny. I hope you’ll consider my offer.” He held out a hand to Pinky.
“It was so good to meet you,” she said, ignoring it. She turned on her heel. “I’m driving this time. Just because there isn’t technically a speed limit in space doesn’t mean you have to pilot like a madman.”
Elijah laughed a little, and followed her to the car.
“So,” Drue said when he was gone. “This is the caravan, huh? You, uh . . . sure you want to stay here? I don’t want to say your home sucks, but . . .�
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“Drue.” Hot Dog groaned. Then she smiled at Benny. “I get it. It’s beautiful in its own way. But that’s not why you’re staying.”
“No,” Benny said. “It’s not.”
Jasmine nodded, looking over Benny’s shoulder, to his family and the caravan beyond that. “I don’t blame you. If I had someone to stay on Earth for, this would have been a much harder decision.” She paused. “Meaning, it would have had to have been a decision instead of a relief.”
“What about your dad?” Benny asked Drue. “I’m kind of surprised he’s letting you go.”
Drue smiled, not the painted-on grin he usually wore, but something smaller. “He took some convincing, sure,” he said. “But in the end, he said he saw why it was a good idea. He actually agreed that the Taj could use me.” His eyes fell to the sand. “He said he was proud of me.”
Hot Dog smirked. “I mean, I’d want him on another planet, too.”
“Hey!” Drue said. But he was still smiling.
All of them were.
“I’ll be in touch,” Benny said. “I promise.”
“Oh, if you think you’re not holo-calling us all the time, you’re so wrong,” Hot Dog said.
“We’ll try not to be eating some of Pinky’s food in front of you.” Drue paused. “Hey, we’re still going to get AI feasts now that the real Pinky is back, right?”
“I don’t think that’ll be a problem,” Jasmine assured him.
“I’ll let you know when we go to Calam,” Hot Dog said. “You have to come with us.”
“The sooner the better,” Drue agreed. “I left my Galaxicle on Vala’s ship like an idiot, and I have nightmares of Zee stealing it and crashing it into some man-eating monster living on a purple mountain.”
“That’s why you want to go back?” Jasmine asked.
“It’s one reason.”
Hot Dog glanced over her shoulder at Elijah, leaning against his SR. Pinky was already inside. “I think we’re supposed to go now.”
Benny nodded. “Yeah. Probably.”
They hugged, quickly but tightly. And then Jasmine, Drue, and Hot Dog walked toward their Space Runners.
Space Runners #4 Page 21