by Wesley King
“The Wild Zones. No one has a claim there. Only the bravest ever enter those areas. Except this one,” he said, pointing at a hallway that ran alongside Squirrel Street. “The Haunted Passage. I go there all the time.”
“Why?”
He shrugged. “Because I’m an adventurer. Actually, I’m due for a scouting mission again. Might be good training. Want to check it out?”
“Not really,” Jonah said.
“Don’t worry—it’s safe. I’ve gone there four times and never seen the Shrieker.” He stood up and handed Jonah a metal pipe. “Here, take a bonker. You’ll get your own when you’re trained, but you can borrow this one for now.”
“A bonker?” Jonah asked, taking the pipe.
He pretended to hit something. “You know, like, bonk. It’s the sound it makes when it hits someone. We think. Never actually hit anyone yet. Now let’s get going. It’ll be good for you. Get used to the ship a little.”
“I guess,” Jonah said. He really didn’t like the sound of that Shrieker.
“That’s the spirit,” Alex said, starting for the door. “You’ll fit in just fine.”
• • •
Five minutes later, Jonah and Alex were walking down a very dark corridor. Jonah could see why it was called the Haunted Passage. Only a few light panels worked here, and even those flickered like candles. Every footstep sounded incredibly loud in the still, heavy silence. The only thing Jonah heard was the ship’s engine, which sounded like a moaning ghost in the darkness. He was already trembling.
“Cool, right?” Alex whispered.
“Supercool,” Jonah said.
He didn’t want to seem like a wimp. But he’d seen the way the hall guards looked at him when he walked by. Like Jonah was a goner.
“Where does it go?” he asked quietly.
“It leads to the Unknown Zone.” He glanced at Jonah. “You ever go on any adventures at home?”
“Not really,” Jonah said. “I went into a forest once.”
“I forgot you used to be from Earth! You’re the last recruit. The special one.”
“I guess,” Jonah said. “Where are you from?”
Alex looked away. “I used to be from a colony on Pluto. But that’s in the past. Ancient history. Not to be spoken of. Now I’m from space. So are you, by the way.”
“Right,” Jonah said. “Do you know where this ship is going—”
He was cut off by a chilling, cackling laugh echoing down the hallway. It bounced around in the silence, growing louder and louder as it ran past Jonah’s ears.
He looked at Alex, who had gone completely white.
“It’s here,” Alex whispered.
CHAPTER FOUR
* * *
* * *
THE LAUGHTER GREW LOUDER, ACCOMPANIED by bone-chilling shrieks.
“We’re stuck out in the open!” Alex said, looking panicked.
“There!” Jonah said, pointing at a small air grate. “Get in!”
The two boys hurried to the air grate, and Alex pulled it open. They crawled inside the duct, and Alex quickly pulled the grate shut behind them. They just made it.
Before Alex could even let go of the grate, the Shrieker arrived. It ran by in a flash, its feet slapping off the cold metal. Jonah tried to get a look, but he could only see the silhouettes of legs through the grate. He heard it, though: growls and howls and loud, inhuman laughter. His skin went cold as it ran by, and only when the voice was small in the distance did Alex finally turn to Jonah, his face mostly hidden by the deep shadows in the air duct.
“That was a close one,” Alex whispered.
Jonah could barely bring himself to speak. His hands were trembling.
“What do we do now?” he whispered.
Alex turned back to the grate. “We wait. If we don’t hear anything for ten minutes, we’ll head back to Squirrel Street.”
“The seven who were eaten . . . were they all adventurers?”
Alex looked at him. “How do you think I got promoted?”
After waiting for what seemed like a very long ten minutes, Jonah and Alex climbed out of the grate. Jonah looked down at his uniform. It was covered in dust.
“Did you know that dust is mostly made out of dead human skin cells?” Alex said brightly, though he was still peering down the hallway.
Jonah grimaced. “No.”
“Yep,” Alex said, starting back down the Haunted Passage. “There’s also dead dust mites in there.” He brushed some dust off his arms. “Pretty neat, right?”
“I guess,” Jonah replied. He was listening intently for the shouting voice. Whatever that thing was, he really didn’t want to run into it again.
“You know, you really saved my keister back there,” Alex said.
“Your what?” Jonah asked.
“Keister,” Alex said. “It’s part of the ship code. No swearing.”
Jonah frowned and glanced at him. “What is a keister?”
Alex looked behind them and then pointed at his rear. “You know: tush. Heinie. Bumper rumper.”
“You mean your—”
“Yes,” Alex said quickly. “Don’t say it. You could end up in the brig.”
“You have a brig?”
Alex nodded. “Yep. Martin the Marvelous is in there right now. He took a food bar without asking. Not good. He got a three-day sentence from the lieutenant.” He smiled. “But enough of that unpleasant stuff. The fact of the matter is, you just saved my caboose. That was some quick thinking. You need a name. A good one.”
They walked past a metallic blue door covered in rust spots. Jonah had been too busy staring down the hallway to notice the door last time, but now he took a good look at it. There was no handle. A smashed control panel was mounted next to it on the wall, and red and green wires still dangled below it. But of greater concern to Jonah were the deep scratches running all across the door. They looked like they had been made by something with very powerful claws.
“What is—”
“Classified,” Alex said. “Now, your name. It has to be something impressive.”
“I don’t know,” Jonah said, still looking back nervously at the door.
“It’s easy! Just add a cool word to make a title.”
“Why do we do that again?” Jonah asked.
“Because if we had normal names, people wouldn’t know how incredible we are,” Alex said.
“Oh,” Jonah said. The more questions he asked, the more confused he was.
They finally made it back to Squirrel Street and passed by the two grim-faced hall guards. They gave Alex a curt nod and looked at Jonah like they were surprised he had returned.
Alex leaned in close to one. “We ran into the Shrieker. Keep an eye out.”
They both straightened immediately.
“How about Jonah the Incredible?” Alex suggested as they continued walking. “Surprisingly, that’s not used very much. Too obvious, maybe.”
Jonah frowned. “I don’t think I’ve ever been called incredible.”
Alex smiled. “Well, you have now.” He paused. “Jonah the Now Incredible.”
Jonah just glanced at him and shook his head. He didn’t want a name. Even an impressive one like that. He wanted to get off this ship of strange soldier children and shrieking monsters that may or may not have razor-sharp claws. He wanted to go home.
He was about to tell Alex just that when Willona turned the corner, flung her hands out in exasperation, and hurried toward them.
“Where have you two been?” she asked sharply. “I had an orientation session planned for twenty minutes ago.”
“We went adventuring,” Alex said sheepishly.
“Shocking,” Willona replied, glaring at him. “Come on, Jonah.”
“We saw the Shrieker,” Alex said.
Willona looked at him in disbelief. “You saw it?”
“Well, not really,” he said. “But it was real close.”
“You better go file a report. The lieutenant wil
l want to hear all about it.”
She grabbed Jonah’s arm and carted him down the hallway.
“I mean, really,” she said, shaking her head. “You’re disrupting my schedule, Jonah.”
“Jonah the Now Incredible,” Alex corrected, hurrying along behind them.
Willona glanced at him, then at Jonah. “That’s pretty good.”
She continued to pull Jonah along, and he looked back at Alex for support. Alex just grinned and flipped him a thumbs-up.
“Told you,” he mouthed.
• • •
Jonah collapsed onto his cot. After another hour-long lesson with Willona covering everything from food schedules to emergency drills—including Shrieker attacks, hull breaches, and how to deal with a crying Space Raider—he was exhausted. There was a lot to cover. Of course, the response to most emergencies was to run away, other than the crying Space Raider one. For that you were to remind the individual that crying was against the rules and then report the kid to the lieutenant.
There was also a test on the rules, which he’d failed. Willona had just shaken her head and ordered him to take a nap before dinner.
In his room, Jonah looked at his pillow. The white pillowcase was yellowed with age, and he didn’t even want to guess at the last time it was washed. He felt something sticking into his back and remembered that he’d put the journal under his blanket. He pulled it out and rolled onto his stomach. Taking out the pen, he turned to the second page.
Dear Mom and Dad,
I know I already wrote you a letter, but I figured I might as well write another one. It does seem to help with the loneliness.
I know I said I love you already, but I forgot to mention Grandma and Grandpa. Can you tell them I love them, too? Also, sorry that I broke Grandma’s vase two years ago. By the way, that was me, not the cat. I guess also say sorry to Charles too. Is he still alive? He was pretty old.
I feel like things are just happening all around me, and I can’t seem to keep up. I miss you guys. I miss my own room and my own bed. I miss ham sandwiches. These bean bars are disgusting. I keep wondering if I’ll ever get home.
Anyway, I’m pretty tired. I think I have bonker training when I wake up, so I should have a nap. Bonkers are weapons, by the way. I love you. And Mara. Still not her boyfriend. Have they broken up yet? I guess it doesn’t matter. But I hope so.
If this is my last letter, good-bye.
Sincerely,
Jonah
Jonah read it over and decided it was another excellent letter. Closing the journal, he rolled onto his back again, said a silent good night to his parents, and fell asleep.
• • •
He woke to knocking. Blinking sleepily, Jonah rubbed his eyes and went to get the door.
“Have a nice nap?” Willona asked.
He rubbed his eyes again. “Time to train again already?”
Willona shook her head. “Not quite. It’s dinnertime.”
She led him down the hallway, and Jonah just kept blinking sleepily. He really could have used a few more hours of sleep. Willona took him to the cafeteria, then turned to him and smiled.
“Welcome to the ISR.”
She slid the door open, and Jonah’s eyes widened. The cafeteria was packed with Space Raiders, and they all cheered and clapped as soon as Willona and Jonah stepped through the door. He saw Jemma and Alex and even the girl with the tangled black hair and dimples.
“What’s this all about?” Jonah asked, looking around in amazement.
The cafeteria didn’t look like the one at Pinewood Academy. It was about five times the size of Jonah’s room, and it was made of the same rusted gray metal as the rest of the ship. There were some old stained white cupboards and a sink pressed against one of the walls, as well as four big metal tables to sit at, but Jonah wasn’t sure that made it a cafeteria. Large boxes stacked in the corner were labeled RATIONS.
“Alex told the lieutenant about your run-in with the Shrieker and how your quick thinking saved his life,” Willona said, grinning from ear to ear. “He’s decided to give you a Badge of Bravery. On your first day! It’s unheard of. So we’re having a little celebration. Go on.”
Jonah rubbed his eyes again and walked into the cafeteria, where Alex greeted him with a big smile and a salute. The other Space Raiders slapped him on the back and shook his hand, including the girl with dimples. Jonah felt himself blushing. No one outside of his parents had ever congratulated him before. Once, one of his teachers said “good work” when he won a school science fair, but that wasn’t really the same thing.
A tall boy with dark skin and a shaved head walked up to Jonah and saluted. He looked about fourteen, but he walked and saluted like a real soldier.
“This is Lieutenant Gordon,” Willona said. “Leader of Sector Three.”
The lieutenant shook Jonah’s hand. “Congratulations, Jonah the Now Incredible. You’re clearly going to make a great Space Raider. Jemma will sew your Badge of Bravery on first thing tomorrow. You should be very proud. How about another cheer?”
The assembled Space Raiders cheered, and Jonah just smiled stupidly and let himself be led to a seat at one of the tables. They ate disgusting bean bars and drank stale water from the tap, but it was one of the best dinners of Jonah’s life.
The Space Raiders smiled and talked to him and treated him like he was part of the family. Alex told the story of their trip to the Haunted Passage over and over again, and each time it got more and more dangerous and exciting. No one seemed to mind.
By the end, Jonah was basically staring the Shrieker in the eye and fending off its terrible claws as he pushed Alex into the grate and dove in headfirst after him.
The dimpled girl kept glancing over, causing Jonah’s cheeks to burn red hot every single time. No girl had ever looked at him on Earth. Well, his sister looked at him all the time, but usually just to tell him to comb his hair.
When everyone was done eating, a boy shouted, “Speech! Speech!”
The shout was taken up by everyone in the room, until Jonah was forced to stand up. He felt his cheeks burning extra hot now. He hated public speaking.
“Uhh . . . ,” he started awkwardly. He tried to think back to things his parents had taught him. Ah. Always start by thanking someone. “Thank you, everyone, for the party.”
The Spaced Raiders clapped and cheered. So far so good, he thought.
“And, uhh . . . thanks to Alex and Willona for training me so far.”
They both beamed. Jonah tried to think of something else to say. He couldn’t remember what he was supposed to do after thanking everyone. Should he thank someone else? No. He decided to just go with a little honesty.
“I’m still getting used to all this, I guess. It’s kind of weird waking up on an old ship in space with Willona staring down at you. But I’m honored that I was chosen to be a Space Raider. Surprised, maybe, but definitely honored. I guess the only thing I wish is that I could call my parents and tell them I’m all right.”
The entire room instantly fell silent. Alex looked like he was about to fall off the bench. Willona put her hand over her mouth. For a few seconds, no one said a word.
“Is something wrong?” Jonah asked.
“Alex, send word to the commander,” Lieutenant Gordon said, his dark eyes fixed on Jonah. “Tell her we have a problem.”
CHAPTER FIVE
* * *
* * *
THINGS REALLY CHANGED QUICKLY ON the Fantastic Flying Squirrel, Jonah decided. One second he was the hero of Sector Three, and the next he was being escorted down Squirrel Street like a prisoner. Lieutenant Gordon was walking ahead, while Willona and Alex—who had returned with the summons for a meeting—hurried along behind him.
Twice, an armed guard pulled the big double doors with the black-and-yellow stripes aside to let them pass through each sector. It turned out the other sectors looked the exact same as Sector Three, with flickering light panels and identical gray doors and kids with bonke
rs marching around in overlarge brown uniforms. The only difference was that there were even more of them. Sector One was packed with Space Raiders.
The lieutenant finally led Jonah to a faded red door in Sector One that was guarded by a tall, very strong-looking girl with vibrant frizzy orange hair tied back in a poof. She stared at Jonah as he approached, her eyes narrowed and probing.
“Erna the Strong,” Willona whispered behind him. “Most Important Guard.”
Jonah could see why. She was scary.
Erna the Strong pulled the door open, and Jonah nervously walked inside. The room was the biggest one he’d seen so far, and it contained three black metal tables. They were arranged in a U shape, with the open end toward the door. Four Space Raiders were sitting there.
Lieutenant Gordon immediately sat down at one of the side tables, making five. And while two Space Raiders sat at each side table, only one sat at the head table, farthest from the doorway.
Without even asking, Jonah knew it was the commander.
She looked to be about sixteen years old, but her eyes made her seem older. She wore the same plain brown uniform as everyone else, but hers was impeccable. No loose threads. No frayed edges. Her belt looked to be of some fine brown leather. And there was more.
Her long hair was as black as space, but it was streaked with flashes of blue, like bizarre lightning. Her skin was extremely pale, as if it had never seen the sun, and was marked only by a thin white scar that ran from her right cheek to her chin, bridging over her lips. She was pretty, Jonah noted, but not in the nice way. It was the kind of pretty that made him want to run away and hide.
He felt his skin prickling as they all stared at him, and her worst of all. Even Willona and Alex seemed to shrink away behind him.
“Be super-very polite,” Willona whispered.
Erna the Strong closed the door and turned to the front of the room. “Presenting Sara the Splendidly Wise and Brave,” she said loudly. Her voice was husky and strong. “Commander of the Incredible Space Raiders from Space.”