The Dark Planet

  Socket pushed Edgar onto the platform and held him against

  the rail as the platform began to rise. Just as Edgar was about

  to rise all the way out of the room he saw Red Eye standing

  against a far wall, turning some sort of dial.

  Red Eye had opened the door to the passageway of lies and

  gone to find Commander Judix.

  CHAPTER 16THE CENTURION

  "Keep running!" cried Samuel. "Whatever it is has caught our

  scent and it's following us!"

  Isabel had already loaded a sling and was ready to face the

  oncoming enemy when she felt something warm at her back.

  "It's getting hot in here!" yelled Samuel.

  "Run faster!"

  Glancing back, Isabel saw a growing tower of red fire shot

  through with spiraling black smoke.

  "This is worse than the Inferno!" said Isabel. "We're about to be

  set on fire!"

  The extra light from the flames gave Samuel a chance to see

  his surroundings a little better. Whatever was behind them

  would soon catch up. Their only hope was if the tunnel

  narrowed far enough so whatever it was could no longer

  advance, or if they could find -"There!" said Samuel, pointing to a small opening in one wall.

  Isabel saw it, too, and they both scrambled inside.

  The sound of crashing feet and a snapping tail was practically

  on top of them and a new bolt of flames came shooting through

  the tunnel. Isabel burrowed deeper into the hole and Samuel

  fol owed, crunching his shoulder into her side and knocking her

  flat on the ground.

  It was dark inside and they quickly discovered that the space

  they'd entered turned downward and opened up. When they

  stood, the opening was at eye level and they each looked out

  as flames drove past their line of sight.

  And then, as quickly as they had arrived, the flames and the

  sounds of pounding feet and a snapping tail were gone. All was

  dark. Samuel sat down and pulled Isabel to the ground next to

  him.

  "Should I take out the pen?" whispered Samuel. He'd put it in

  his pocket to hide the light, but now he wondered if it wouldn't

  be a good idea to look around.

  "No!" whispered Isabel. "Just be quiet and let this thing pass so

  we can get out of here."

  Outside the hole the tunnel glowed softly from seeping points of

  light hidden from their view. An enormous clawed foot stepped

  in front of the hole. The creature was tracking them, searching

  out the passageway.

  Isabel felt Samuel touch her shoulder and shrugged away his

  cold hand. She listened as the monster outside crept down the

  descending tunnel and sniffed the air.

  Samuel touched her again--his hands were so cold--and this

  time she brushed him away, but soon felt his hand on her other

  shoulder and then on her head.

  "Stop touching me, Isabel!" Samuel whispered. "You're scaring

  me."

  "I'm not touching you," Isabel replied, shivering as she realized

  something truly terrible: Something was in the hidden space

  with them.

  She could barely breathe. Isabel watched as Samuel took the

  pen from his pocket and blue light escaped. Like a nightmare

  growing in intensity, they began to understand what had

  happened. They were the intruders in someone else's quiet

  home.

  Along the walls they could now see dark spheres entangled

  with long tentacles, glowing slick in the light of the firebugs. The

  many twisting arms pulsating along the floor were moving

  toward Samuel and Isabel, surrounding them, touching them.

  What had they found?

  The long arms ensnared their legs and arms and wrapped

  around their necks, squeezing and pulling in every direction.

  There was no doubt--the creatures wanted to destroy them.

  Samuel could feel the tablet being pulled away by one of the

  tentacles and lunged toward it, striking a twisting arm with the

  burning tip of the firebug pen. It burned a deep wound in the

  tentacle and the creature's grip loosened. He kept stabbing at

  the arms even as they crushed him.

  "Samuel!" cried Isabel. She had forgotten about the larger

  monster outside as her neck and middle were squeezed tighter

  and tighter. Just about the time Isabel thought she was going to

  lose consciousness, she heard a terrible noise.

  Whatever was outside had heard her scream Samuel's name. It

  was coming back. And before either of them realized what was

  happening, a monstrous black claw wrapped around them both

  at once and jerked them out of the hole.

  Isabel and Samuel now saw the first creature that had been

  chasing them. It was covered in blue scales and had curved,

  piercing eyes. Black spikes ran all the way down the neck and

  over the powerful back, and the beast's crowning glory was a

  swordlike spike protruding from the bridge of its nose. Samuel

  and Isabel looked at each other, both of them sure it would be

  the last time.

  Samuel saw the roiling slick tentacles around Isabel and the

  bodies of the creatures hanging heavy at her side. They

  appeared to have no eyes or nose, only the round pulsing body

  and the arms squeezing tighter and tighter around the two

  intruders.

  Isabel screamed as the beast lunged forward, sure its great

  spike would punch right through her chest and out her back,

  splitting her in two. But Isabel felt nothing. She opened her eyes

  and saw the spike had gone right through the bodies of both

  creatures, slashing them into pieces until only a strong smell

  remained.

  The huge beast sniffed them both--first Isabel and then

  Samuel--then its tongue darted out and touched Isabel's hand.

  "He smells like burned figs," said Isabel, in a state of stupefied

  shock at the thought of being cooked and eaten. She was sure

  this thing was tasting her skin in order to decide whether or not

  to flame broil her.

  "It's the Centurion," said Samuel, quite suddenly aware of what

  he was looking at. "It didn't occur to me until I saw the black

  horn on its head. It's not going to eat us, Isabel!"

  "Of course it's going to eat us!"

  "No--no, it's really not, are you, Centurion?"

  The dragon pulled its head back ever so slightly. Its beautiful

  black teeth were slick and shiny, perfectly shaped and powerful

  beyond imagining.

  "Could you put us down?" Samuel requested gently.

  Amazingly, the Centurion set its bundle on the ground and

  released its claw. To Isabel's great plea sure the Centurion sat

  down and looked at them, tiny puffs of black smoke curling out

  of its nose.

  "It looks... I don't know... happy or something," remarked Isabel.

  She rubbed her arms, her neck, her stomach. "What is this

  thing, Samuel?"

  "Look here," he said, holding out the tablet and looking at the

  inside. He'd barely had a chance to start examining it before fire

  had started filling the tunnel behind them. "You see, it's a

  Centurion. Or maybe it's the Centurion. I don't know if there are

  any others
."

  The tablet had an etched figure of a spiked head encircled by

  words written in flames: Gossamer. The Centurion made by my

  hand to protect. A dragon of the most excellent kind.

  "Strange name for a creature like this," said Samuel.

  Isabel didn't understand the words "gossamer" or "dragon," but

  she liked the sound of Gossamer right away.

  "What does it mean?" she asked.

  "Well, I think it means delicate or soft, but this thing is anything

  but."

  "Dr. Harding never does anything without a purpose. Maybe

  he's softer than he looks."

  "He?" said Samuel.

  "Yes, he," said Isabel. She crept forward with an outstretched

  hand and Gossamer leaned in close to her. He would not let

  Isabel touch the black horn, but he did let her touch the scales

  of his long nose.

  "There's something magical about this beast," said Isabel,

  completely swept away by Gossamer's power and warmth.

  "He's much softer than he looks."

  "Well, there you have it," said Samuel. He wasn't as sure as

  Isabel about touching a dragon. One swipe of the tail or flick of

  the head and Samuel would be cut in half. He searched the

  tablet for more about Gossamer and found a block of small

  words in one corner.

  "Listen to this, Isabel," said Samuel. "'Imagined in my youth at

  the place called the Silo, where all grown persons but Hope

  were cruel. Forged by my hand in the secret realm of Atherton,

  this beast is made to love children but distrust all others. It is

  powerful and purposeful beyond all measure. A child must

  guide it homeward.'"

  Isabel was overwhelmed by the grandeur of this beautiful

  creature in their midst. "He's on our side," she said, her voice

  lyrical with wonder. "Who can be against us with a thing like

  this on our side?"

  Gossamer's stomach made a noise neither Isabel nor Samuel

  understood and Isabel stepped back, momentarily unsure of

  what was coming next. The dragon reached forward, gently

  nudging Isabel to the side, and put its claw inside the hole from

  which he'd rescued them. He did it in a familiar sort of way, like

  he'd done it many times before. When his claw came out he

  held one of the horrible things that had tried to kill Isabel and

  Samuel.

  "What's he doing?" said Isabel.

  "I don't have any idea, but I think I know what that is," said

  Samuel. He had found an image he'd originally thought was a

  sun on the tablet. It was round in the middle and it had wavy

  lines on every side. Drawn inside the circle was a word.

  "Pythid," said Samuel. "It's called a Pythid, I think."

  The Pythid squirmed in Gossamer's claw, wrapping its long

  tentacles around scaly fingers. Gossamer held the squirming

  glob away from Isabel and Samuel, dropped it, and proceeded

  to blow a stream of fire. The Pythid burst into flames and tried to

  scurry away, but Gossamer grabbed it by one arm and let it

  dangle in the air. He blew fire once more, toasting the skin on

  the Pythid until it was crispy black.

  "Wow," said Isabel. "We're real y lucky he likes us."

  Gossamer set the Pythid down and took one of the crusted

  tentacles between two of its claws, ripping it from the round

  body.

  "Yuck," said Isabel.

  The dragon held the dripping arm in front of Samuel and Isabel,

  again with an expression that could only be assumed was a

  smile of some sort.

  "I think he wants us to eat it," said Samuel. Gossamer turned

  back to the burned pile of Pythid and picked up the remains

  with his other front claw. He leaned his head back, dropped the

  whole thing into his mouth, and swallowed it without chewing.

  "Maybe it tastes like rabbit," said Isabel. "At least it's cooked."

  She reached out and took the crispy tentacle from Gossamer,

  and the dragon seemed to encourage her to take a bite. It was

  about the size of her own arm and appeared to be boneless.

  The end where it had been severed was steaming and bubbly.

  Isabel shrugged. Gossamer had saved her. If he wanted Isabel

  to eat, then Isabel would eat. It was crunchy on the outside, soft

  and squishy on the inside, and surprisingly tasty. After some

  persuading, Samuel grabbed the other end and soon the two of

  them were holding a cooked Pythid tentacle between them,

  munching away happily in the presence of the most powerful

  creature on Atherton.

  "I think we're going to be all right," said Isabel. "Let's take

  another look at that map."

  "Look here," said Samuel. He'd been scanning the inside of the

  tablet and pointed to a set of words and symbols and numbers.

  He read the words aloud.

  "'Lead Gossamer to the chill of winter, where all my work comes

  to an end.'"

  Gossamer cooked and ate nine more Pythids while Samuel and

  Isabel thought about what the tablet said. Now and then the

  dragon marched down one of the tunnels looking for danger,

  and each time he came back with a squirming Pythid between

  his claws. Apparently, there was plenty of dragon food along

  the way.

  "Are you ready to walk the yards?" Isabel asked at length.

  Samuel nodded. They had named the great and winding tunnel

  "the way of the yards" because of the combination that had

  gotten them through the yellow door.

  With a very impressive new companion leading the way, it

  would take trouble of an even bigger kind for the two children to

  worry any longer. Unfortunately, that was just the kind of trouble

  awaiting them at the end of the long and dreary path on which

  they traveled.

  CHAPTER 17L-I-F-T-B-5

  Red Eye waited in silence for two hours, wondering why he'd

  bothered to come in the first place. Two hours! The barracks

  would soon be shutting down for the night. He was hungry,

  thirsty, and tired of staring out the window into the gathering

  darkness of the forsaken wood. And they kept the lights so

  bright in Station Seven he had to keep his goggles on. Now the

  goggles itched his eyes and his head and he desperately

  wanted to take them off. Why had he requested a meeting with

  Commander Judix? If only he'd called instead.

  "What can I do for you?" asked Commander Judix. She had

  rolled silently into the room and Red Eye leaped back in fright,

  touching the window. His hand was greasy and it left a smear.

  "Don't touch the glass," snapped Commander Judix. "You know

  how I hate that."

  She watched in disgust as Red Eye tried hopelessly to remove

  the smudge on the glass and only made it worse with his dirty

  sleeve.

  "Leave it, you imbecile!" said Commander Judix, rolling toward

  Red Eye without a thought of slowing down so he could move

  out of the way. "I hope you run the Silo with a little more care."

  Smudged glass wasn't the only thing Commander Judix hated.

  She loathed having to deal with Red Eye or his snarly younger

  brother in person. In fact, she couldn't remember the last time

  she'd actually see
n either one of them up close.

  Red Eye embodied every thing she hated about the Dark

  Planet. The sick eyes set deep in their sockets, those revolting

  goggles, and skin so unnaturally pale. At least Red Eye didn't

  have that cackling laugh. How she hated it when Socket would

  screech in his unbearable way.

  "The new recruit, Commander, he'll be ready with the other

  one," said Red Eye, so nervous he could hardly spit the words

  out. But he had so wanted to play the hero just this once, and to

  do it in person. He had even allowed himself to imagine there

  might be a reward.

  "How old is he?" Commander Judix stared aimlessly at the

  forsaken wood through the giant window pane.

  "4311," said Red Eye. It was the second time he'd said the

  number and he couldn't for the life of him imagine why he'd

  come up with the random digits to begin with. Why hadn't he

  chosen something closer to 4200?

  "That's a little older than Grammel likes them. Is he edgy like

  you? Does he cackle?"

  "No, ma'am, there's none of that with this one. He's not in the

  least bit nervous. He's an odd one, healthier than we've seen in

  a long time. But he's been trouble-free and hardly says a word."

  "You could learn a thing or two from someone like that,"

  Commander Judix said.

  Red Eye thought of how Edgar was getting the beating of his

  life in the machine room, and this made him feel a little better in

  the presence of the commander's cruelty.

  Commander Judix had already heard how healthy this new

  recruit was once before, and something told her it was a

  meaningful piece of information. But her heart and her mind

  were so bitter and determined, she couldn't quite get at it.

  "Does he have a name?" asked Commander Judix, thinking it

  might jog something in her memory.

  "I don't know," said Red Eye. He thought he might make up a

  name but had some concern that he'd soon forget it and be

  caught in a lie. He was having enough trouble remembering

  4311 without adding more details to remember.

  "Find out and tell Shelton," said Commander Judix. "I'll ask him

  in the morning and I want an answer. Do you understand?"

  "I do," said Red Eye, nervously tapping the metal sole of his

  boot on the floor.

  "You're sure about the number? It won't do for Grammel to get a

  different reading when he arrives."

  "One boy of 4200 and one of 4311, both ready to work. That's