‘That’s terrible!’ gasped Ed.
‘Those kids had no one to protect them from him,’ muttered Will, sadly.
‘But how can he be that old? It’s not possible,’ indicated Ed.
‘Lionel was never human. He would like to be, but he wasn’t,’ Peter informed them. ‘I used to work for an organisation known as the AAA, which stands for Alien Agents Alliance. It’s where I first met Scarlet and Ruby, a place where good star-spirits fight against crime in different galaxies where we have formed an alliance with the local inhabitants. My grandfather Sir Ivan Pondweed worked there for a short time.’
‘This is too strange,’ whispered Riley. ‘Aliens live among us? How is it possible that people don’t know this?’
‘It’s clouded in secrecy,’ said Peter. ‘People could never accept such an idea.’
‘I know. I’m finding trouble accepting it myself,’ frowned Riley. ‘You had better not be pulling our legs!’
‘How long ago was the AAA built?’ asked Ed.
‘It was established some 2000 years ago. The founder of the organisation is actually still alive. His name is Arbtu.’
‘You mean to say he’s 2000 years old?’ gasped Ed.
‘Well, no, he’s actually 9,000 years old. His race of people live for an awfully long time,’ said Peter.
‘I can’t believe this!’ gasped Riley. ‘This is way too weird!’
‘And here’s something else you didn’t know,’ said Will excitedly. ‘We’re all related to Peter. Lionel used the DNA from Ivan’s bones to create us, making us relations, of a kind.’
‘Used his bones? Ewe! That disgusting,’ groaned Ed.
‘So how come Lionel was so old?’ asked Riley. ‘Was he an alien too?’
‘Yes, he was. Where Lionel came from, his real name was Grempling. He arrived on Earth purely by accident. He was a prisoner on board the ship and escaped when it crash-landed. For hundreds of years he went undetected on this planet.’
‘I still don’t know why he killed Sally?’ said Will. ‘Her death didn’t achieve anything.’
‘It made him feel better, I bet,’ muttered Ed. ‘I can’t believe we’ve been living with a lying alien imposter for our entire lives.’
‘I wonder how long he’s been here on Earth,’ said Riley.
‘I recently asked Scarlet to take to the AAA the drawing of Lionel, that I had on the mantelpiece that showed Ivan as a youngster standing next to Lionel. They were able to probe into the records to discover he had been here for at least four hundred years.’
‘Do you know why the Professor was a prisoner?’ asked Will.
‘He was accused of experimenting on his people, causing mutations on them to transform them into a new species. He was a very sick individual,’ said Peter grimly.
‘I can’t believe we thought he was our father for so long. He totally deceived us!’ Ed was furious. ‘He ruined our lives! He lied to us about Will’s death. We cried for weeks and he knew Will was alive all along!’
‘If you knew of Lionel all this time why didn’t you do something?’ asked Will.
‘I wasn’t sure,’ confessed Peter. ‘Lionel disappeared for a long time and when he showed up again it was many years later. I thought it must be his grandson. I was only a child when I was sent away. So all I had to go on was the drawing and another sketch of Sally standing next to Lionel. I had to be sure. The sins of the father should not be visited upon his children.’
‘No, children should not have to pay for their parents mistakes,’ whispered Will. ‘But we did. Look at us. We were born freaks because of what the Professor did to us.’
‘No, William. We may be different but we are definitely not freaks,’ said Peter.
‘I had a horrible thought!’ gasped Will, thinking back to all that had been said so far. ‘So the Professor is related to you but not us?’
‘My grandfather Ivan was no relation to Lionel,’ clarified Peter.
‘Thank God for that!’ muttered Riley. ‘No insult to you, though.’
‘None taken,’ smiled Peter.
‘So why did the Professor sell Will to you?’ asked Riley.
‘He needed money for another experiment he was involved in,’ explained Peter.
‘Why didn’t he sell Riley and me too?’ asked Ed.
‘I wanted him to but my offer was denied.’ Peter sighed. ‘I’d planned to kidnap you both later on, but I think the Professor suspected that and moved so we had no idea where you were.’
‘He did it to spite us,’ mumbled Ed.
‘Was it terrible living with the Professor?’ Peter raised an eyebrow.
‘It was okay,’ said Riley, ‘but then again we haven’t got anything to compare it with. We’ve only ever lived with him. In some ways it was good that he was working abroad so much. We hardly got to see him.’
‘Do you know where he was working, or what he was doing with his time?’ queried Peter.
‘No,’ said Riley.
Peter pressed his lips together.
‘Why? Do you?’ asked Will. ‘You do, don’t you!’
Peter nodded. ‘He was working in the Amazon rainforest.’
‘What was he doing there?’ gasped Riley.
‘Experimenting on another human,’ Peter told them.
‘Who?’ Will’s face was a picture of shock.
‘A baby boy, by all accounts. We found the evidence in the attic room inside your home. We gathered together all the documents,’ explained Peter.
‘So we now have another brother somewhere, do we?’ asked Will, sighing impatiently.
‘No, he’s not related to you whatsoever,’ said Peter. ‘He wasn’t created with Ivan’s DNA. This time the Professor used something else.’
‘What?’ the three boys chorused.
‘The DNA of a monkey.’
‘No way!’ gasped Will.
‘That’s terrible!’ remarked Ed.
‘I could kill him, if he weren’t already dead. What will become of the boy?’ asked Riley.
Peter shrugged. ‘I was hoping to find him.’
‘We’ll come with you,’ said the boys together.
‘It’ll be our first family holiday.’ Will opened his eyes wide, pleading.
‘As if I could leave you all behind,’ laughed Peter. ‘I was hoping Scarlet and Ruby would come too. Who knows when we might need them.’
‘Hang on a minute,’ said Ed, puzzled. ‘Does that mean Riley and me are coming to live with you too?’
‘Of course it does, maggot brains!’ laughed Will. ‘We’re family. Families stick together, no matter what.’
‘But what about our mum?’ asked Ed.
‘We’ll find her as soon as we’ve found the boy whom Grempling experimented on,’ said Peter. ‘If that’s what you would like.’
At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Scarlet and Ruby entered the room with Elisha and her father.
‘I hope you’ve finished talking. Elisha’s father has something he wants to give to Riley and Ed before we leave,’ Scarlet informed them, winking at Peter, who frowned in puzzlement.
‘It’s a cheque for fifty thousand pounds,’ explained Bob.
‘Fifty thousand pounds!’ exclaimed Peter and Will together. ‘What for?’
‘For rescuing my daughter. Who knows what her kidnapper might have done with her had your boys not found her in time. Thankfully she is alive and well. The reward was fifty thousand pounds.’
‘I see you both have much to tell us!’ laughed Peter. ‘But we can keep it for later. Right now we must thank these wonderful people for their hospitality and make sure we invite them for dinner some time.’
‘That would be lovely,’ said Elisha, her face beaming. ‘I’d like to see you all again.’
Riley, Ed, Will and Peter wrinkled their faces. Was it their imagination or was Elisha glancing from one person to another and directly meeting their eyes?
‘Elisha?’ whispered Ed. ‘Can you see us?’
Riley and Ed stood excitedly and embraced Elisha. There was laughter and surprise.
‘I think it’s time we left before we over stay our welcome,’ smiled Peter.
‘I’m not sure who you people are,’ said Bob, ‘but you are always welcome here. And if you ever need anything in the future, then I’ll help you in any way I can. You have done an amazing thing for my daughter and you’ve changed our lives beyond belief. I can never repay you enough. I can’t believe I’m saying that I’m pleased my daughter was kidnapped, but so much good came out of it and she’s safe. Her sight is restored and it’s all because of meeting you all. I will never tell anyone of this. Rest assure. They wouldn’t believe me anyway,’ he laughed. ‘I still don’t believe it.’
‘If you ever need to talk, give me a call!’ Elisha told Ed, who appeared quite smitten with her.
There was an exchange of embraces and goodbyes as Peter said, ‘Come on, it’s time for us to all go home together.’ He was overjoyed to see the boys together at last and chatting excitedly.
‘Yes, that’s true and then I think it’s time they were introduced to the new way that we’ll be travelling from now on,’ smiled Scarlet, ‘thanks to the AAA, the Alien Agents Alliance. This is known as a bridge device. A person can travel to anywhere they want if they have the correct co-ordinates.’
Ruby giggled and jumped on the spot. ‘This is going to be sooo wild!’
Scarlet removed a small device and pressed a button. A few feet in front of them a beautiful white light appeared from thin air in the shape of a doorway. Holding hands, Scarlet, Ruby and Peter led the three speechless boys and Hugo into the light, and seconds later they would arrive safe at home as a family.
Acknowledgements
Without the love and support of my family: my husband, Tim; my son, Thomas; and daughters, Olivia and Jessica, this book would never have been written, so I thank them for their patience and understanding when my passion consumes me.
Thanks go to my editor, Delia Robinson, for her insightful ability to correct my blind errors. Without her patience and skills this book wouldn’t be complete.
I extend my thanks to my work colleagues at Catton Grove Primary School (aka The Madhouse) who have shared their support and excitement with me along the way especially Diane Barr, Agnes Pattison, Victoria Segger and Janice Breame.
Thank you also to Julie Rickards and Lorraine Thickett, my two school friends who are equally filled with bundles of enthusiasm and good spirit for my stories.
I wish to thank my readers for showing their support too. Without them, I’d have no one to share my stories with.
With Love
Helen Oghenegweke
xxx
Author’s Notes
First of all, I wish to say a massive thank you for purchasing this book. I am forever grateful and hope you enjoy reading this story as much as the time it took me to write and publish it on to Kindle.
Films such as X-men, Spiderman and Men in Black inspired the story of The Amphiblets. Creating exciting characters is one of the most enjoyable aspects of writing. This book was written 15 years ago after my third novel was published. However, it has only recently been edited, having remained forgotten on a floppy disk throughout this time.
There will be a second book connected to this one in the future, but it’s in still in its infancy stage and will be titled - Boy Monkey.
Other books by the same author include:
The Story of Pilly-Pod (Ages 6-9)
A wish for Marcus (Ages 7-11)
The Starstone Trilogy:
Connor Clover and the Lost Children (Ages 11+)
Connor Clover and the Slaves of Dramian (Ages 11+)
Connor Clover and the Starstone’s Quest (Ages 11+)
Coming Soon:
Second Chance (16 +)
All available from Amazon Kindle
The Amphiblets Page 18