2015 Young Explorer's Adventure Guide Read online

  “Mikae—Kaela.” The anger left his face. “It’s just…the Vex, your mom—I can’t let it happen again.”

  He held out a hand, but Kaela backed away. Tears stung her eyes as she waved the door open and ran out into the hall. Her mom; everything was always about her mom. Kaela was still alive, still needed her father. All he could do was hang onto the past. Why couldn’t he understand?

  Something tightened in her chest as she ran down the hall. He didn’t really care about her. If he did, he wouldn’t be gone all the time. She blinked away the tears, anger rising within her. She’d cried the first time her father left, the first time he missed her birthday, and all the other first times he’d let her down. She wouldn’t cry now.

  Kaela wasn’t going to be left behind again.

  The door to her father’s shuttle was locked, but it opened with the same password he used on his desk display. Adults were sometimes stupid like that.

  Kaela closed and relocked the door and squeezed into one of the equipment lockers. After a little bit, Kaela heard the door open. There was a little rumble as the shuttle left the docking bay. Still not quite believing what she’d just done, Kaela settled down to wait.

  She had come to see aliens, after all.

  …………………………

  The inside of the Mantik ship looked like one of the crystal vases Kaela’s aunt Bongani used for lilies from her garden. The walls and ceiling seemed to be made of cut glass and glowed with rainbow light.

  Kaela hid in the shadow of the shuttle door. The Mantiks towered over her father like giant praying mantises with four insect legs and two long arms folded close to their chest. Their bodies looked like they were chipped from gemstones. At first Kaela thought the two aliens were statues, but they turned their heads as her father approached, watching him with eyes like polished rubies.

  “Greetings.” Her father bowed low. “I am—”

  “WE CANNOT SPEAK.” The aliens’ mouths didn’t move, but the voice was loud enough to make Kaela flinch. She edged forward to get a better view.

  Her father scratched his beard. “Well, may I talk with someone who—”

  “YOU CANNOT SPEAK.”

  “I—”

  “RETURN TO YOUR SHIP AND DEPART.”

  “But, my message—didn’t you come to talk?”

  “WE CANNOT SPEAK. RETURN TO YOUR SHIP AND DEPART.”

  “But—”

  “RETURN TO YOUR SHIP AND DEPART.”

  The look on her father’s face was the same as whenever he talked about Kaela’s mother. He turned and glanced up, straight at Kaela.

  Her father opened his mouth, but the aliens were quicker. The Mantiks blurred across the room, breezing by Kaela’s father to stand over her. She wanted to run back into the ship but couldn’t seem to move.

  “Leave her alone!” Her father ran toward the aliens.

  “SPEAK,” the voice said.

  Kaela swallowed, her throat suddenly dry.

  “SPEAK.”

  She tried to think of something, anything, but her mind was spinning. All she could think of was when Glenda Galaxy saved that baby Mantik, except the Mantiks on the show didn’t look like real Mantiks and Glenda had been so calm, and she always knew what to say, and—

  “SPEAK!”

  “Take me to your leader.” The words just popped out.

  Kaela didn’t have time to feel stupid. The aliens picked her up, surprisingly gentle despite their size, and carried her back across the room.

  “Kaela!” Her father tried to grab her as they sped past, but she was too high up.

  The far wall melted into the floor, and the Mantiks carried her down a long, twisting hall. Her father’s shouts grew distant then stopped altogether. The aliens brought her to a small room and set her down then stepped back into the hall. Kaela stood, but a wall rose up between them, trapping her.

  She beat at the door, yelling, but only succeeded in hurting her hands. Then it hit her—she was trapped. It was the sort of thing that happened to Glenda Galaxy all the time, but that was just a stupid show. In reality, it was cold, lonely, and terrifying.

  Glenda Galaxy never would’ve cried, but Kaela did.

  …………………………

  There was no warning when the aliens came back. Kaela was curled in the corner of the small room, trying to ignore her rumbling stomach and scratchy throat, then the wall disappeared and four Mantiks were in the room.

  “What do you want?” Kaela asked.

  The Mantiks said nothing as they carried her back down the hall. Her father and the shuttle were gone. The landing bay was open, but instead of stars and space beyond the doors, there was an alien landscape.

  Tall, twisted, trees with thin crystal leaves clinked and rattled in the breeze. There was no grass or undergrowth, only a thick carpet of light blue moss with occasional patches of red rocky earth showing below. Kaela caught a glimpse of mountains in the distance, rising from the forest floor to touch the thin, curling clouds up above. There seemed to be some sort of castle on the nearest mountain, but it was too far away for Kaela to make out any detail. The air was warm, but musty like the old papers on her father’s desk.

  The forest was quiet but for the soft thumps of the Mantiks’ feet on the mossy ground. Kaela tried to twist free, but they only held her tighter.

  “Put me down!” she said through gritted teeth.

  They stopped and put her down.

  The Mantiks stood still, but Kaela didn’t like the way they were watching her.

  “Go away! Leave me alone!” She rolled onto her stomach and started to push to her feet. By the time she stood, the Mantiks were gone.

  The clearing was empty. The surrounding leaves jingled in the breeze like a thousand distant wind chimes. Kaela went to the edge of the clearing to peer back at the way they’d come. There was no sign of the aliens. Even the ship was gone.

  When she’d yelled at the Mantiks, she hadn’t expected them to actually listen to her—after all, no one else did. Kaela tried to swallow but her throat had gone scratchy as sandpaper.

  Kaela looked around—nothing but moss and trees as far as she could see. She tasted a bit of the moss, but it was so bitter she had to spit it out. The trees didn’t have any fruit or nuts, only the strange, glassy leaves.

  She thought about what Glenda Galaxy would do then decided she didn’t care—Glenda Galaxy was stupid. Kaela began to wonder if she hadn’t made a big mistake, not just sneaking onto her father’s shuttle, but telling the Mantiks to leave. As much as she hated to admit it, the aliens hadn’t actually hurt her. The voice on the ship had said they couldn’t speak. Maybe they were taking her to someone who could?

  “Hello? Is anyone there?” Her questions echoed through the forest. “Come back!”

  No one answered. Kaela was alone.

  The castle—someone had to be there. Maybe if she climbed a tree, she could see it again. Kaela found a big tree with low branches. The bark felt like coiled rope, and the sharp, crystal leaves scratched her hands, but Kaela managed to climb enough to see. The forest stretched all around her, but she saw the castle beyond, the lights in its windows like stars against the darkening sky.

  She climbed down, and took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. At least she had a direction, but the castle was so far away.

  Just then, she heard a loud splash in the distance. Water.

  …………………………

  Kaela took a couple steps toward the noise before the snarling started—loud, angry roars and high-pitched whistling. It sounded dangerous, but Kaela was so thirsty she didn’t care. She gathered a few rocks from ground then padded across the moss, trying to move as quietly as possible.

  The ground sloped toward a large pond. Two creatures stalked around the edge. They looked like a cross between a hyena and a centipede; long and low-bodied with wide, fanged jaws, they scuttled on hundreds of clawed feet. The creatures snarled and snapped at a third, different creature that stood
in the middle of the pond.

  Unlike the hyenapedes, it only had six legs. Its body was big and round like a boulder. Two enormous arms ended in claws like a crab. Its head was small, with large, dark eyes and a small, oval mouth. It swung a claw at one of the hyenapedes, but the creature dodged back while the other circled around. The boulder crab whistled, but couldn’t turn fast enough to fight both hyenapedes.

  Kaela made a small noise in the back of her throat. The smart thing to do would be to climb a tree and wait. When the hyenapedes were finished, she could have all the water she wanted. It happened like this all the time on the savannah: hyenas would corner and kill a zebra or cape buffalo—it was just how things were. But Kaela wasn’t on the savannah, and she knew she couldn’t stand by and watch the boulder crab get eaten.

  Her first rock hit the bigger hyenapede on the nose.

  “Get out of here!” she shouted, throwing another stone at the creature as she ran toward the pond. The hyenapede twisted to snarl at her, but she kept throwing and shouting. Hyenas back home were cowards and would almost always run away rather than fight. Kaela just hoped hyenapedes were the same.

  The hyenapede backed off, growling, then turned to run. Kaela gave a small smile just before something slammed into her back. Although her jacket took the worst of the attack, Kaela could feel the thing’s claws scratch across her shoulders. She twisted and kicked, feeling stupid for not keeping the other hyenapede in sight. It pulled back, drool dripping from fangs the color of dry grass, then it was gone.

  The boulder crab lifted the hyenapede from the ground with one claw and threw it into the trees with a crash.

  Kaela grabbed a rock and came up to her knees, but the remaining hyenapede was already disappearing back into the forest. She dropped her rock, breathing hard. If that wasn’t the stupidest thing she had ever done, it was pretty close.

  There was a low whistle then a shadow fell over her. Slowly, Kaela turned to face the boulder crab.

  It regarded her for a moment, then cocked its head. The move reminded Kaela so much of her neighbor’s golden retriever, Milo, that she couldn’t help but giggle.

  The boulder crab whistled again.

  Kaela tried whistling back, but her lips were too dry.

  “Eat me if you want, but let me get a drink first.” She cupped her hand to scoop up some of the water. It tasted like metal but was cool and clear. Kaela drank until she felt ready to burst.

  Her stomach growled.

  “I don’t suppose you have any food?” She rubbed her stomach and made an eating motion.

  The boulder crab moved off a short distance and began digging with its claws. As Kaela watched, it stripped away the bitter moss and red gravel, revealing what looked like a patch of shiny, blue apples. It stooped to suck up a few, then stood, crunching happily.

  Kaela picked one up, dusted it off, and took a tentative bite. It tasted like banana—not her favorite flavor, but she wasn’t going to complain.

  Together, she and the boulder crab finished off the whole patch.

  “Thanks. Uh...I don’t suppose you have a name?” she asked.

  The boulder crab cocked its head, then whistled.

  “Whistler.” Kaela smiled. “Nice to meet you, I’m Kaela.”

  Whistler whistled.

  …………………………

  They spent the night by the pond—Kaela on a bed of soft moss, Whistler half-submerged in the water. Kaela woke and was strangely relieved to find the alien standing over her. They ate more of the ground fruit, then Kaela climbed a tree to see where the castle was.

  The big alien followed when Kaela left, moving at a slow but steady pace. The hyenapedes came back twice, once in the early afternoon and once just after nightfall, but with Kaela throwing stones to keep the creatures from getting behind Whistler, the big alien was easily able to scare them away.

  Kaela and Whistler walked all the next day and the next, occasionally stopping to dig up more groundfruit or drink from a pond. Each morning Kaela would climb a tree. The castle wasn’t getting much closer, but it was getting closer.

  Kaela found herself talking to Whistler—about home, her dad, everything. The alien never talked back, of course, but it would cock its head and whistle sometimes. It was nice to have someone listen to her, even if it couldn’t understand what she was saying.

  Once, a big storm swept down from the mountains, tearing the leaves from the trees and spinning them into a whirlwind of sharp glass. Kaela spent hours crouched beneath Whistler’s big, rocky body, listening to the leaves shatter and crackle all around. Afterwards, she noticed some cracks in Whistler’s shell, and did her best to pack them with moss so they would heal. She didn’t know if it would help, but the alien seemed to enjoy the attention.

  On the fourth day, they saw some other boulder crabs in the distance. They were chipping at a big piece of stone with their claws. Whistler didn’t seem to care, but Kaela stopped to watch for a minute. They opened a big crack in the rock, which split open like an egg to reveal another boulder crab inside. It surprised Kaela to see that the baby boulder crab was the same size as the others. The only way she could tell it apart was that there were no cracks in its shell.

  “So, you guys come from rocks?” Kaela asked when she caught up to Whistler. “That’s weird.”

  Whistler stopped, then stood perfectly still.

  “It’s okay. On Earth, we’ve got birds and lizards that lay eggs.”

  Whistler was quiet.

  “C’mon, don’t be like that. I’m sorry I called you weird. I only—” Just then, Kaela noticed what Whistler was staring at.

  They’d reached the mountains.

  …………………………

  Kaela kept climbing even though her hands hurt. She’d expected there to be some sort of path or stair up to the castle, but all they’d found were rocky cliffs. They’d been climbing for hours, and the castle was still just out of reach. She could see it clearly, though. It looked like something out of a fairy tale, with walls of white stone and tall towers that spiraled like unicorn horns.

  Whistler scrambled up beside her, wedging one huge claw into a crack in the stone. The alien didn’t have much trouble climbing, although it knocked loose all sorts of rocks and pebbles.

  “Just a little rest, then we keep going,” Kaela said.

  Whistler gave a soft hoot and closed its eyes. It made Kaela smile to see that she wasn’t the only one who was exhausted.

  A little rest turned into a long one. It was early afternoon before Kaela felt ready to climb again. It was harder going than before—the slope was steeper, and holds were harder to find, especially for Whistler, who had to start chipping holes in the stone just to keep climbing.

  Finally, they reached a ledge wide enough for even Whistler to stand. At first, Kaela was grateful, until she saw the cliff. The castle was just above, but between them and it was a sheer face of rock without even the smallest crack or handhold.

  Kaela’s throat tightened—they’d never be able to climb that, and they were so close. She felt the tears coming but squeezed her eyes shut until they went away. Crying wouldn’t help anything.

  She looked, and noticed that although the ledge got thinner, it continued around the mountain.

  “Stay here,” she said to Whistler. “I’ll look for another way up.”

  Kaela started to edge around the cliff when the stone trembled under her hands. She looked back to see Whistler chipping at the rock again. This time though, when the alien hit the stone, long cracks ran up the cliff face.

  “Whistler, stop!” Kaela yelled.

  There was a rumble from overhead, and boulders rained down on the ledge. One of them hit Whistler’s shell and the alien stumbled.

  Kaela ran over to Whistler, pulling at its claw as rocks fell around them. “C’mon, this way!”

  When Whistler stood Kaela could see one of its legs had broken off. She bit her lip and kept pulling. Together, they ran around the ledge only to f
ind a gap where a piece had fallen away from the mountain. There was no time to look for another way.

  Kaela took a deep breath then jumped. The breath whooshed from her as she hit the other side. She scrambled up, trying not to look down. Kaela shouted for Whistler to follow her.

  The big alien leapt just as a slab of rock slammed down behind. Whistler hit the ground next to Kaela, slipping and scratching with its remaining legs, barely balanced.

  Kaela jumped forward and took hold of Whistler’s claw, pulling as hard as she could. Her arms felt like they might pop out of her shoulders, but she kept hold. Slowly, Whistler tilted back. They scrambled along the edge, just barely avoiding the falling stones.

  Kaela almost shouted for joy as she saw the mouth of a cave up ahead. They stumbled forward to collapse just inside the cave entrance, panting as rocks tumbled down outside.

  It seemed to take forever for Kaela’s heartbeat to go back to normal. Whistler patted her on the back with one huge claw and gave two soft whistles.

  “You’re welcome.” Kaela’s smile slipped as she saw Whistler. In addition to the missing leg, parts of its shell had broken away entirely. There was no blood, but Kaela could see what looked like crystal underneath the wounds, which probably wasn’t good.

  “Can you walk?” She pushed herself up.

  Whistler stood, if a bit unsteadily.

  Kaela grimaced. The cave looked like it went back and up into the mountain. Kaela hoped it led up to the castle, and whoever was inside could help them.

  …………………………

  As they limped deeper into the cave, rock gave way to smooth, glassy walls that glowed like the inside of the Mantik ship. The floor sloped upward, and Kaela almost cheered when she saw the castle just beyond the cave exit.

  She stopped as she noticed about a dozen Mantiks outside the castle. “Maybe we should wait and see—”