The Dark Planet

  with rows of dead plants and trees.

  She rolled down the long rows as she listened to the awful

  sound of beasts fighting in the distance. Being outside was

  terrifying, all the more so because she hadn't been outside in so

  long. She arrived at the roof's edge and couldn't see over the

  ledge. It was too high from where she sat, and she cursed her

  chair, hitting the wheels and the handles over and over with her

  clenched fists. Then she rolled away, toward the distant side of

  the roof, just to be sure the vessel wasn't hidden somewhere

  else.

  Could she have seen over the rail, Commander Judix would

  have caught site of Edgar and his friends emerging from the

  yards and standing in front of the Raven. If anything, the millionspiked object seemed even more frightening than when Edgar

  had left it in the forsaken wood. There was no person or beast

  he could imagine getting within ten feet of its pulsating, needlesharp tips. And yet Edgar knew he must find a way to open the

  door, get everyone inside, and set the powder block onto the

  black table.

  "Don't go anywhere near it," whispered Aggie through her

  mask, which she had put back on. She'd never seen anything

  quite so threatening.

  "It's okay," said Edgar. "I think the Raven is like Gossamer. It's

  on our side."

  "How do you know that?" It was Teagan in doubt this time.

  "What if it starts firing arrows at you?"

  Edgar had to admit he'd be cut right through if even one of the

  long black spikes fired in his direction. He wouldn't stand a

  chance. They heard a crashing sound from the yards and

  realized something very big and dangerous was practically on

  top of them.

  "It's a Spiker!" Vasher struggled to hold the powder block as his

  face twitched nervously.

  "Open!" Edgar yelled at the Raven, but it just sat there, the long

  spikes pulsing horrifically. He turned back to his friends with

  searching eyes. The masks were beginning to fail and

  everyone was starting to cough. Soon they'd be forced back

  inside or risk serious harm. The thought of Aggie and the others

  becoming any sicker bothered Edgar tremendously.

  "Edgar," said Landon. "What?"

  "The door," Landon continued as he pointed past Edgar. "It's

  opening."

  Edgar spun around and couldn't believe his eyes. "This is going

  to work! We're getting out of here," he cried, grinning ear to ear.

  But things weren't exactly as he'd hoped when the door slid all

  the way open.

  "What the devil!" said Red Eye.

  "You got me in a lot of trouble!" said Socket. Then, thinking a

  tiny bit more, he added: "How did you get all the way out here?"

  Socket and Red Eye both wore their usual thick goggles, and

  both had their benders out, swishing them from side to side in

  the pale light. Every single member of the green team felt a

  crushing sense of defeat. They had almost made it, only to find

  their tormentors standing in the very place they wanted to be.

  "You don't know how to operate it," said Edgar. He wasn't about

  to give up that easily.

  "Shut your mouth!" said Socket. "You're in enough trouble as it

  is."

  Red Eye rolled his eyes at his brother. They were so far beyond

  ever being able to go back to the Silo and life the way it had

  been. He was only interested in one thing: getting to Atherton.

  "You know how to run it?" asked Red Eye, who had been

  utterly confounded by the inner workings of the Raven and its

  vast black, blank surfaces. It had moved of its own will to arrive

  near the yards.

  "I know exactly how to operate that thing," said Edgar. "And

  what's more, I know how to take it to Atherton."

  "Atherton?" said Socket. "You're kidding?"

  Edgar shook his head. "If you don't know what you're doing

  you'll never make it. It's complicated."

  Red Eye weighed his options before answering with a growl.

  "You can come, but the rest stay."

  "No!" yelled Landon. He couldn't imagine being left behind on

  the Dark Planet.

  Socket moved forward and swung his bender with a swish!

  swish!

  "Shut up! You're staying here and that's the last of it."

  Above the Raven, Commander Judix had heard the voices

  growing in volume and had made her way back to the rail. She

  grabbed it and hauled herself out of her chair.

  And there it was. Outlined in the murky light of afternoon sat the

  jet-black vessel that had come to take her away. She was,

  unfortunately, incapable of climbing down to the ground to

  reach it.

  Commander Judix watched in disbelief as Red Eye and Socket

  stood in front of a group of children from the Silo. When she saw

  Edgar, even through the haze, she knew it was him. Her anger

  flared and she screamed.

  "Red Eye!"

  Red Eye, Socket, and all the children looked up and couldn't

  believe their eyes.

  "Commander?" said Red Eye. "Is that you?"

  "Of course it's me! Get up here and carry me down!"

  Socket wanted nothing at all to do with Commander Judix. He

  retreated into the Raven and stood in the shadows as his

  brother approached the Commander.

  "You don't really think I'm taking you with me?" said Red Eye.

  He had longed for a moment like this. Never in his wildest

  dreams did he think it would come true, and with such

  perfection! He was leaving the wretched Dark Planet for a

  waiting paradise and she--this monster of a woman who had

  treated him like dirt for far too long--she was trapped on the roof

  of Station Seven.

  "You will come here this instant," said Commander Judix in her

  most authoritative tone. But for once the voice failed her. Not

  only did Red Eye refuse to bring her to the Raven, he laughed

  at her. He snorted and wheezed until the dirty air burned so

  badly in his lungs he had to stop.

  And that was when he heard it, the presence of a Spiker. It was

  closer than anyone had thought, and just then, its enormous

  clawed foot came down next to the Raven. The Raven wasted

  no time in response. A series of at least thirty black spikes shot

  out at lightning speed and sliced right through the Spiker,

  piercing through the other side of its leg. The monster shrieked

  and hobbled a few paces off to lick its wounds.

  In all the commotion Edgar waved his friends through the door

  and into the Raven. Vasher clutched the powder block close to

  his chest.

  Socket stood in the corner, shivering with fright and staring at

  the black ceiling, which had begun to glow. Two cave eels

  stared him down as if they might jump out from behind the glass

  and chomp off his head with their sharp teeth at any second.

  "Don't move," said Edgar, tricking Socket into believing he

  might actually be in danger. "If you do, they'll tear your limbs

  off."

  Red Eye came briskly into the Raven and Edgar kept the ruse

  going.

  "He better stay still, and so should you," said Edgar, acting as if

 
the slightest movement might trigger an unexpected attack. "We

  all need to be slow and careful now. You won't like what

  happens if they get angry."

  Red Eye's breathing slowed and he stayed very still.

  "You better not be trying to trick me."

  From outside they heard Commander Judix screaming for them

  to come get her. Edgar felt a pang of guilt at leaving her behind,

  but if she returned to Station Seven, there was yet a chance she

  could be saved.

  Edgar slowly placed the disk on the black table in the middle of

  the Raven, and the door began to shut.

  "At least we won't have to listen to her howling any longer," said

  Red Eye.

  Aggie thought this was one of the meanest things she'd ever

  heard anyone say. With a Spiker so close by, she could

  imagine the poor woman's panic. She had known the feeling of

  being left behind to fend for herself on her long walk through the

  wood on her way to the Silo. She wouldn't wish it on anyone, no

  matter how cruel they'd been.

  The table burst to life and Edgar saw the images of everything

  he'd seen before.

  "When I do this, you're probably going to see a lot more

  creatures than you see right now," said Edgar. "After everyone

  is settled in I'll start things moving. You're going to feel as if the

  chair you're sitting in is trying to pull your pants off."

  "What?" said Red Eye.

  "Shhhhh!" whispered Edgar. "They hate loud noises."

  As if to prove his point an eel emerged behind the glass near

  Red Eye's head and stared down at him. Edgar turned and

  winked again at the green team and they took some

  reassurance that every thing would be fine. "Slowly now," said

  Edgar. Red Eye was wary of moving while the cave eel

  watched him, but he gathered his courage and slid down into

  one of the chairs.

  "Nice to see you brought something for me to eat," said Red

  Eye, seeing the powder block sitting on Vasher's lap. Vasher's

  twitching had calmed and he actually glared at Red Eye. There

  was no way he was giving up this treasure so it could be eaten

  for lunch.

  "I'm not moving," whined Socket from where he'd slumped

  down on the floor. A glowing cave eel was trained on Socket's

  head from behind the black glass.

  "I don't recommend that," said Edgar. "The Raven gets moving

  pretty fast. It will be nothing like what you experienced getting

  from the forsaken wood to here."

  But Socket wouldn't move.

  Edgar shrugged his shoulders, actually feeling a little bit guilty

  at what was about to happen.

  "Stay in your seats," he said, placing his hand over the twirling

  snowflake. He thought twice about it and looked at Vasher.

  "Why don't you set that down on the table here? You're not

  going to want to carry it all the way to Atherton."

  "Yeah," said Red Eye, leaning forward menacingly. "Set it

  down so we can al have some."

  Vasher held his arms out and gently set the heavy powder

  block on the table. The moment he did all the firebugs

  dispersed at once. They formed a column below the surface of

  the table and the powder block began to melt away, like it was

  sitting on a bed of acid. It hissed and smoked while the firebugs

  grew brighter and brighter until everyone but Edgar had to look

  away. He alone saw as they changed from blue to a brilliant

  shade of red.

  "You can look now," said Edgar, and everyone turned back to

  the table. All the images were back in place as before, but now

  every thing was a soft glowing shade of red. And there was one

  new item that hadn't been there before. It was the only thing

  Edgar had ever seen made of white firebugs: a shimmering

  snowflake pulsing from the bottom of the image of Atherton.

  Edgar tapped it, and the inside of the Raven came to life.

  Eels swam every where and firebugs multiplied until it looked

  like a star-filled night all around them. The two eels that had

  watched Socket darted off with the rest, gobbling up red

  firebugs by the hundreds as the Raven began to move. Edgar

  felt the seat hug him close, pulling him down and holding him

  steady. Everyone gasped at the feeling except Socket, who

  wasn't seated in a chair and seemed not to understand what

  was about to happen.

  The Raven shot into the air, spinning as it gained speed on its

  way to break out of the Dark Planet's at mo sphere. Socket

  tumbled end over end and found himself pinned to the glass.

  His goggles flew off and smashed into one of the chairs. He

  was a man in a tumbler, spinning circles at the back end of the

  vessel while everyone watched from the safety of their seats.

  "I tried to warn him," said Edgar.

  Red Eye scowled deeply at Edgar. He couldn't wait until his

  seat let him go so he could beat the boy senseless. The last

  thing he'd done was to slowly put his bender away, so at least

  his favorite weapon hadn't been lost. "When we get to Atherton,

  you better run," said Red Eye. "All of you better run!"

  "I don't think it will be us doing the running," said Landon. "Just

  you wait until you meet Gossamer. He doesn't like adults,

  especially mean ones like you."

  "I never met anyone as dumb as you, Lanny," said Red Eye.

  "Let me spell it out for you. There's no such thing as dragons.

  Got it?"

  Landon didn't say anything else. In fact, everyone seemed

  perfectly happy to stay quiet as the Raven started its journey

  across the sky. Even Socket had settled into a comfortable spot,

  curled up like a baby at the bottom of the ship.

  Commander Judix slumped down in her chair and watched the

  Raven leave the Dark Planet. It was, in her view, the final insult.

  She had long been a cold and calculating person, and yet she

  had never given in to the darkness entirely. She would

  remember her mother's touch or the voice of a lost friend, and

  the tiniest bit of hope would return. But in that moment of

  watching the Raven fly away, the Dark Planet had finally won.

  She felt nothing. When the Spiker leaned down and caught

  sight of her, she was unmoved at its arrival. There would be

  pain, but at least she would feel something in the end.

  She felt the Spiker's huge nose sniffing at her hair, and then, to

  her great surprise, she began to cry.

  CHAPTER 27THE CHILL OF

  WINTER

  "Wake up," said Samuel. "Isabel, wake up!"

  He prodded her shoulder and felt Gossamer's warm breath on

  his neck. The black dragon had awoken first, nudging Samuel

  where he lay curled up next to Isabel, nestled safely in one of

  Gossamer's warm wings.

  For two days they'd been stranded with the great dragon, the

  sound of falling crystals a constant reminder of how completely

  trapped they were. They feared being stuck inside Atherton until

  they starved to death, and tried without much success not to

  dwell on how worried their parents must be. One thing was for

  sure: If they ever did make it out alive, they were in big trouble.
r />   "He wants us to move," Samuel said as Isabel rubbed her eyes

  and woke up.

  "Do you hear that?" asked Samuel. Isabel was slower to wake

  than Samuel was and she wasn't sure what he was talking

  about. "It's quiet. "

  Isabel and Samuel carefully crept down the wing and stepped

  aside. They heard the faraway sound of two or three crystals

  falling from the ceiling.

  "He's stopped trying to keep us here," said Samuel. "Maybe

  he's thinking about taking us back the way we came. We might

  actually get out of here alive!"

  When they were clear of Gossamer's spiked head and neck he

  stood and lumbered heavily away from them. The space they

  were in was vast and brightly lit. On one end was the wide

  opening to the outside of Atherton, on the other was the vast

  wall of pulsing white light. Samuel and Isabel had watched it for

  hours and wondered what its purpose could be. The more they

  looked the more they were sure that Cleaners were swimming

  behind the white wall in the deepest part of the waters of

  Atherton. It was a thick, foggy sort of glass that hid them in

  shadow, a glass that was covered with billions of sharp spires.

  "What's he looking at?" asked Samuel. Gossamer wasn't one to

  leave their side, but something had caught his attention at the

  opening.

  "What is it, Gossamer? Do you hear something?" asked Isabel.

  Everything had turned unnervingly silent, and Samuel was left

  with the distinct feeling he and Isabel should hide. "I have a

  feeling something's about to happen," he said.

  "Maybe we should step back a little," said Isabel, fear rising in

  her voice. They looked in every direction. There was the

  towering wall of icy glass crystals, the small passageway to the

  side where they'd come in, and the vast opening to the outside.

  They had stayed well away from the opening for all of the two

  days they'd been there, because they knew the closer they got

  the harder gravity would try to pull them out into open air.

  Samuel and Isabel were both shuffling back slowly when

  Gossamer roared into the open space outside. It was hard to

  imagine anyone on the surface of Atherton not hearing the

  crushing volume of the black dragon's voice.

  "Why's he screaming so loud?" yelled Samuel, but Isabel

  couldn't hear him.

  Gossamer flapped his leathery wings and dove for the opening.

  "Where's he going?" yelled Isabel. She had been afraid before,

  but now she was terrified. "Don't leave! Please, Gossamer.