Diggers: The Sharp Edge of the Universe

by Shannon Heather

  Diggers

  The Sharp Edge of the Universe

  Jerrett James and Shannon Heather

  Copyright 2012 © Jerrett James and Shannon Heather

  Kindle Edition

  Kindle Edition License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to the Amazon site and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to an actual person, living or dead, business, companies, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  ISBN: 978-1-939153-02-9

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  This book wouldn't have been possible without the help for these fantastic people:

  *Paula Silici, Pro-edits—thank you for never getting tired of reading our manuscripts.

  *Robin Ludwig, Robin Ludwig Design—thank you for your patience with us while we muddled through ideas for the cover.

  *Amanda Lewis—thank you for the final edit and book formatting. The words wouldn't see paper without your formatting skills.

  Jerrett

  Big thanks to Kris M. and Margie C. for the suggestions and editing help. Thank you to all the people along the way that helped me to form my creativity by just being you. Thanks Shannon, for pushing me along, and all the wonderful ideas that you brought to the story.

  Shannon

  Thank you, Jerrett, for sharing your story idea with me, and for trusting me to partner with you to write this story.

  Jerrett

  For my Mom. Thank you for always believing in me and helping me navigate life.

  For Shannon Heather. We went back and forth on a book idea and the next thing I knew we were a chapter into the writing. You are a fantastic writer and creative genius. Thank you for all you have done!

  Shannon

  For my Mom. I miss you every single day. I am so lucky to call you Mom, and I feel your love.

  For Jerrett James. I remember the day you told me about this idea you had for a book. We ended up going back and forth for hours coming up with ideas. I can't think of a better person to share this writing journey with than you. Thanks for being a great friend.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1: Sneaky Noodle

  Chapter 2: Slide Show

  Chapter 3: Roller Coasters and Bullies

  Chapter 4: Lectures

  Chapter 5: The Science Lab Invader

  Chapter 6: Field Trip of Death

  Chapter 7: Death Drop

  Chapter 8: Busted

  Chapter 9: Busted—Galaxy Sized

  Chapter 10: The Galactic Quake

  Chapter 11: Technically Speaking—Totally Illegal

  Chapter 12: Tight Situation

  Chapter 13: Lost Cause

  Chapter 14: Tank

  Chapter 15: Bubble Jumping

  Chapter 16: Attack of the Blobs

  Chapter 17: Microscopic Problem

  Chapter 18: Bearings

  Chapter 19: Lost in Translation

  Chapter 20: First Contact

  Chapter 21: Freaked Out Alien

  Chapter 22: Greetings and Salutations

  Chapter 23: Waiting Game

  Chapter 24: Mikayla Day

  Chapter 25: The Scout

  Chapter 26: A Blast of a Family Reunion

  Chapter 27: Leader Pains

  Chapter 1: Sneaky Noodle

  Finn wiped away the fog his breath formed on the gigantic glass window. Peering in, he searched the room.

  There it was.

  The new vial sat under the only light in the massive room, like a glorious trophy honoring a hero.

  Finn dragged his gaze off the vial and glanced down both sides of the hallway. He inched along the wall to the door, and waved the security card in front of the sensor.

  The door slid open, and ELAINA—the Electronic Linguistic and Interface Navigation Assistant—said, “Hello, Mrs. Margaret O’Reilly.”

  Finn crouched down and made his way through the rows of lab stools and tall desks over to the new vial. He really didn't need the glow from the spotlight on the new discovery to help him find his way. He’d crawled through this maze so many times he could have done it with his eyes closed.

  Finn had made a copy of his mom’s security key years ago when he’d first started sneaking into the Science Laboratory. As far as he was concerned, being able to go anywhere on the entire Space Station seemed like the only perk to his mom’s job as head of Janitorial Services. He’d been to nearly every corner of the fourteen square miles of the Space Station Vortex, but this one room remained his first love—his only real love.

  Finn reached the table holding the vial. He checked the large window one last time to make sure no one looked in as they passed by, and snapping up the vial, he almost sent it crashing to the floor.

  “Whoa!” He juggled the vial, finally grasping it inches from the floor.

  He hadn’t been ready for the flakes of metal inside the small, transparent tube to be so incredibly heavy, and his heart pounded against his ribs as he gripped it tighter.

  All he wanted to do tonight was find out what the famous lead Scientist, Lee Fishborne, had decided to name the new discovery. Scientists named every new discovery, and, by Finn’s estimation, Mr. Fishborne had named half the Milky Way.

  Finn closed his eyes and rotated the vial. When the paper label slid under his fingers, he popped open his eyes.

  “Mikaylimide,” Finn whispered, reading the name. “Ah, geez.”

  He punched the air, and the tiny vessel almost fell from his grip once again. He drew it close and cradled it in his lap.

  Of course. It shouldn’t have been a surprise. Mr. Fishborne had named half the items he’d discovered after his daughter, Mikayla, the blonde girl almost every boy on the Space Station liked. Finn had never even spoken two words to her, but he knew he’d hate her if he ever got the chance to know her—which he hoped would never happen.

  He’d watched her in action on the entertainment deck a few times. She always touched her hair and told her friends what to do, and they all listened, just like everyone always listened to Mr. Fishborne. The only difference between Mikayla and her father was that Mikayla annoyed Finn and her father didn't, because Lee Fishborne happened to be amazing. Mikayla studied in the Science Journeyman program, but Finn wondered if she even liked science. When she stood next to her father, his newest discovery, and Captain Windblown, she always seemed so bored in the holopictures Finn had seen.

  He could think of at least a dozen discoveries named after her without even cracking open a science journal. For instance, the Mikanimarus, on a moon circling the planet Dadma, were strange amphibious animals the size of whales. Then there was the tribe of humanoids named the Mikaylahaylas on Orr. They reminded Finn of Mikayla the most because they ran around beating trees with wooden spatulas and yelling at the other tribe members. Mount Mikayla on the water-covered planet of Calipsodrammida erupted sour, fart-smelling gas. Princess Mikayla was a nine-mile-wide moon orbiting the asteroid Oma.

  Finn caught himself wondering what it would be like to have half the universe named after him and felt embarrassment burn his checks.

  “Noodligamus,” he whispered.

  His brother Quinn would’ve loved to have yet
another reason to make fun of him. Finn had received the nickname Noodle the day he was born, because Quinn thought he looked just like a scrawny, wiggly noodle. The nickname only drew in snickers and jabs among the Space Diggers. Quinn’s nickname, Bear, proved to be a much more respectable name for an eleventh-generation Digger.

  Finn had long ago decided he would name the first thing he discovered after his fish, Quigley. Always the perfect friend, Quigley remained quiet, and he listened to everything Finn told him. Quigley never tattled on Finn when he’d ditched Digger classes. Quigley never interrupted when Finn told him about all the neat stuff he’d seen on the Space Station during his explorations.

  Finn would name his second discovery after his ginger cat, Jasper, the only other living creature to see more of the Space Station than Finn. His mom had to stop in the middle of her shift at least once a week to bring Jasper home from some dark corner of the Space Station, and they’d lost count how many times they’d posted “Lost Cat” alerts.

  Knock. Knock.

  Finn and the new vial of Mikaylimide went flying into the air. He grabbed the vial seconds before it smashed to the ground. Shaking from head to toe, he wiped away the sudden burst of sweat forming on his forehead.

  Slowly, Finn looked up to see who had caught him.

  Chapter 2: Slide Show

  An auburn mop of hair atop a face so thick with freckles they reminded Finn of his brother’s zit-infested one, peered through the window at him. Reggie Waddington waved, then wiped his drippy nose with the back of each hand. Finn’s best human friend, Reggie, stood at least a foot taller than Finn.

  Ignoring the surge of adrenaline, Finn carefully laid the vial back in its spotlight, then headed out the door.

  “Goodbye, Mrs. Margaret O’Reilly.” ELAINA voiced as the door whooshed shut behind him.

  “Heya, Reg. That stuff’s the new metal Mr. Fishborne discovered on that moon.” Finn pointed toward the glorious new discovery beyond the window. The metal sat under the light, a shining beacon letting everyone who passed by the window know that Lee Fishborne had made yet another great new discovery.

  “Scientists didn’t find it,” Reggie said. “Diggers did.”

  Reggie loved being a Digger. He’d been in the Digger Journeyman Program for two years and was slated to graduate as the youngest Certified Digger ever, at almost fourteen years old. This wasn’t good news for Finn. Since Finn’s last failed attempt at getting into the program, all his dad would talk about was “Reggie this” and “Reggie that.” At the rate Reggie progressed, he might even beat Quinn in all things Digger-related.

  “Diggers dug the hole. The Scientists discovered the metal.” Finn mashed his hand in his pocket and kept the rest of what he wanted to say to himself.

  “Not how it happened,” Reggie disagreed, shaking his head.

  Reggie hardly ever talked, and when he did it was only about digging. His version of who made a discovery always leaned toward Diggers. The way Reggie made Diggers sound, a stranger would think being a Digger held the best job on the Vortex.

  Finn had seen far too many parents on the social deck herd their kids to another part of the pool or play area, away from the Diggers, to even consider defending their intelligence and integrity. Everyone knew it didn’t take brains to push a button or maneuver a VirtualBot Arm to dig a hole.

  “How do you know?” Finn asked.

  “Training that day.” Reggie traced his finger along the wall as they slowly walked toward the hover.

  “Wait. You were there? You actually saw Mr. Fishborne pull the metal out of the hole? Holy space junk, Reg.” Finn clasped Reggie’s arms with both hands. “Tell me everything.”

  “Just did.” Reggie moved around Finn and continued to follow a neon blue line along the carpet floor.

  “Okay, okay. The Diggers found it first.” It was a waste of time to try to argue with Reggie.

  “Yup,” Reggie said.

  The boys headed along several corridors to the only hover descending down to the Dock Level.

  “Oh…dang. I uh…forgot my…” Finn said, backing away from the hover doors as they whooshed open.

  “’Kay,” Reggie shrugged. “I’ll cover for yuh.”

  Finn slapped Reggie on the shoulder. “Thanks. I promise this will be the last night.”

  Reggie shrugged again and squeezed into the loaded hover. He was easily the tallest person there, and no one seemed to want to accidentally brush up against him. They seemed to think the brown in his uniform might be actual dirt, like he’d been digging holes by hand like some ancient cave dweller.

  A few minutes later, panting from the run, Finn slid his fake security card over the access card scanner and the doors whooshed open. “Hello, Mrs. Margaret O’Reilly,” ELAINA cooed.

  This second entry into the Science Lab was a recovery mission. After another longing look at the new discovery, Finn slumped down and made his way on all fours over to the two boxes of slides marked KEEP and TRASH. The person updating the microscope slides had only made it to the M’s since the previous day. Finn gathered all of the slides and stuffed them into his pockets, careful not to catch his fingers on the sharp glass edges.

  He couldn't understand how so many people could walk past the best place on the entire space station without even glancing through the window. He’d never been seen by a single person, even when he spent hours poring over science books and journals.

  Finn dreamed of the day when he’d be a Scientist. In his mind’s eye he could see people craning their necks to get a peek at him as he walked past with Captain Windblown, both of them whispering about some new discovery.

  “AAAAAAEEEEE!”

  Jasper jumped into Finn’s lap and nudged Finn’s chin.

  “Geez, Jasper. You almost gave me a heart attack,” he gasped, clutching his chest. “How the heck did you get in here?”

  Jasper kneaded Finn’s pant leg, curled up, and closed his eyes. Finn scooped up the cat and slung him over his shoulder, then made sure the cat hadn’t crushed any of the slides in his pocket. Crouching down, he slid underneath the huge window, glancing in every direction, even though he knew no one else was there.

  “Goodbye, Mrs. Margaret O’Reilly,” ELAINA called in her pearly voice.

  Dull classes and droning teachers a distant memory, Finn headed for his bedroom with Jasper in his arms. The moment he walked through the door, he grabbed his science gear from a hole in the back of his dresser, shoved the wad of clothes and blankets off his bed, and set up the microscope he’d saved from the trash destroyer. It had a hairline crack in the lens, but other than that, the instrument worked perfectly.

  The M’s were by far the coolest discoveries, but also the most infuriating. Ninety percent of the M’s had some form of Mikayla’s name in them. Of all the people and places Mr. Fishborne could have chosen to name his discoveries after, he had to choose the lamest person in the entire Milky Way.

  Finn pulled the first slide out of his pocket and shoved it under the microscope. Mikalandnium. Finn already knew from experience that this soft metal would blow all over the room if he so much as breathed. Removing the slide, he placed it carefully in the slide box he’d also rescued from the trash.

  He pulled the next slide out of his pocket. Mikandobacterium. Except for the name, this had proved to be one of his favorites. When airborne, the bacteria caused people to bloat and pass wind for days and days. Finn laughed at the memory of the first time one of the lab assistants had made the discovery. Finn was seven, and school had to be closed due to dangerous amounts of methane gas in the area. Everyone had thanked Mikayla for closing all the schools because of her hot air.

  Finn pushed the next slide under the microscope's light. Mikandomegamorgamus—a flake from the wing of the gigantic fossilized butterfly Mr. Fishborne had found on Gamus Three. The Science Lab had discovered that the fossils littering the area just below the planet’s crust burned ten times longer than the manmade fuels used by Earth’s different civiliz
ations. Though these fossils didn’t give off any dangerous polluting gases, which made them boring in Finn’s mind, Mr. Fishborne had been written up in every Newspad on every colony in the entire Milky Way for that one discovery alone.

  Finn worked his way carefully through the slides he’d saved from destruction. Hours later, he looked up at his time reader and jumped off his bed. Jasper flicked his eyes open and shut a few times while Finn hurried to clean up the new additions to his collection before his mom came through the door.

  Finn had just placed the microscope in its hiding spot when he heard ELAINA greet his mom. He threw on his pajamas, flipped his covers in the air, and landed in his bed.

  “Hi, sweetheart,” Maggie O’Reilly said from Finn’s door.

  “Huh? Oh, hi, Mom.” Finn faked rubbing his eyes and exaggerated a long yawn.

  “So, we’ll need to talk to you about missing another day of classes,” she said.

  “Uh…no. I….” He fumbled over the lie.

  “Save it, Finn. I got a call from Quinn saying you weren’t in class.” Maggie fixed him with a lie-crushing glare.

  “Sorry, Mom. I just…” Finn couldn’t finish.

  “I know. I know.” The sadness is Maggie’s voice made Finn look down at his blankets.

  “We’ll talk on Sunday, after your birthday party tomorrow,” Maggie said. “Night, Finn. I love you.”

  Finn lay back in bed and wondered if he’d be able to tell his mom and dad the truth this time.

  The guilt from the past thirty seconds quickly faded, and his brain easily switched to a much better vision.

  His birthday party.

  He was going to turn twelve tomorrow.

  Chapter 3: Roller Coasters and Bullies