The Galactic B.U.R.P. Read online

  “Stay calm, Archie,” Pockets says in my ear. “If you can, switch on the glasses so I can see what you’re seeing.”

  As soon as I make a move to lift my arm, the guy spins me around to face him. He is dressed in tight-fitting black clothes with a badge sewn onto the sleeve that says B.U.R.P. When he sees my face, his overly large green eyes (with no eyelids that I can spot!) widen in surprise. He quickly lets go of me and backs away. “Forgive me,” he says. “I thought you were back at the spaceship napping after working so late last night. If you don’t mind my asking, why are you wearing those strange clothes?”

  “Er… um… huh?” I am not proud of them, but these are the only words I can come up with. I take this moment of confusion to turn on the glasses, though. The lenses flicker, and I know Pockets can see what I’m seeing now.

  “He’s a high-ranking B.U.R.P. agent!” Pockets says into my earpiece. “A big shot in the organization. He must think you are one of the other leaders’ kids! Don’t correct him.”

  “We should get you back up there,” the man says. “We have the big meeting soon.” He looks around. “How about I grab the plant now and be done with it? We don’t really need to wait for the scientists to come down here.”

  He steps toward the trees. Uh-oh!

  “Tell him to wait!” Pockets shouts in my ear. “Tell him the plant is very fragile and you need an expert to handle it correctly! He can’t find out that you have it already!”

  I try to sound very commanding as I relay Pockets’s commands. The B.U.R.P. agent grumbles a bit but steps back.

  “Okay, then,” I say. “Gotta go. See ya.” I turn away, but he reaches out to stop me.

  “I know you like your fresh air,” he says, “but we must stay on schedule.” He taps his watch. “Plus, you know it isn’t safe out here with all the wild dogs.”

  It’s weird that he doesn’t blink.

  “Archie, it’s Dad,” my father’s voice says in my ear. “Pockets gave me an earpiece, too. He says this could be our only chance to get on a B.U.R.P. spaceship and learn their plans. You can use the force field, and of course we can be on board in less than a minute if you need us. Pockets already sprayed Camo-It-Now on the taxi and jammed B.U.R.P.’s radar so they won’t know we’re here.” He lowers his voice and says, “Archie, this is a big deal, and if you’re not ready for it, just say so. Honestly, I’m not ready for it, but I’m trying to be brave for the both of us.”

  I sort of want to cry, but I also really want to see inside a spaceship. I take a deep breath. “I’m ready.”

  The agent nods, assuming I’m speaking to him. He leads me toward a circle of white chalk a few feet away from us. The pouch with the plant in it bounces against my leg. I hope the Camo-It-Now doesn’t wear off!

  “After you,” he says, motioning for me to step inside the circle. This seems like a very odd thing to do. Is a net going to spring up from the ground and trap me? I risk a quick glance up at the sky. I don’t see the B.U.R.P. ship. Just a few puffy clouds. Maybe it’s invisible, like the taxi.

  “Go on,” Pockets urges in my ear. Then, as though he knew what I’d been thinking, he adds, “It will be fine. I promise. Their ship is cloaked, too. No doubt for a quick mission like this, they only brought a small one. You’ll look around for a few minutes, and then we’ll come get you.”

  The agent gives me a gentle nudge toward the circle. The nudge, combined with the fact that I can now see a large pack of enormous black-and-gray dogs circling the base of the mountain, is enough to land me in the circle. The second both feet are inside, I feel a tingling that spreads up my body. For a moment I’m worried that whatever they’re doing to me, it’s going to cause my feet to stick to the ground, and those dogs seem like good climbers! They look more like wolves than dogs—not that a city kid like me has ever seen a real wolf. Still, they definitely don’t look like they want to play fetch.

  But it turns out that they are NOT trying to stick my feet to the ground. In fact, it’s more like the exact opposite. With a whoosh, my feet lift off the ground, and I’m zooming up into the sky, right toward the largest, puffiest cloud! My hair whips around my head, and I quickly grab for my space map so it doesn’t fly away. I hope that pouch is clipped on tight! I look down. The agent is zooming up below me. He looks bored, as though he does this every day.

  I’m about to tell Pockets to rescue me RIGHT NOW and forget about the plan, when I suddenly shoot into the cloud. I’M IN A CLOUD! It is pretty much what you’d expect a cloud to be like—cold and wet and white. I tilt my head back and look up, which may have been a mistake, because now I know I’m heading right toward a huge metal object with GALACTIC painted across the bottom. All I can think to do is fling my arms over my head.

  A few seconds later, a round hole appears in the bottom of the ship and I’m sucked inside. The floor instantly seals beneath me. Going from zooming to standing throws me off balance, and I stumble backward, trying to catch my breath.

  It’s a good thing I moved, because the hole in the floor is back! The agent appears beside me—or, I should say, his head appears. The rest of him follows quickly behind. The floor closes up beneath him. He pats down his hair and adjusts his shirt.

  “Well, that was something!” Dad’s awed voice comes through my earpiece. “Pockets lent me the glasses. I felt like I was right there with you in that cloud! Gotta get me a pair of those!”

  Now that I’m not terrified anymore, I realize it really WAS pretty cool!

  “Come,” the agent says. “You need to get back to your rooms. You can’t very well show up to the meeting wearing that.”

  I’m a little insulted on behalf of my clothes, but I let his comment go.

  The agent leads me through a series of long, narrow hallways lined with doors on one side and windows on the other. The windows show mostly a view of the cloud that hides the ship, but every once in a while I catch a glimpse of the sky and the mountainside. Pockets must have been wrong—this isn’t a small ship. It’s huge!

  I don’t see the taxi anywhere, which I know is how it’s supposed to be. Then I remember I CAN see it. Well, the inside of it, at least! I can use the glasses! The agent has begun talking into a communication device on his wrist, so I slow down to widen the gap between us, then flick the switch.

  And suddenly it’s like I’m right there! Pockets must have taken the glasses back, because I can see Dad in the driver’s seat, tapping his fingers anxiously on the steering wheel. I want to shout, but I force myself to whisper. “Dad! I can see you!”

  Dad jolts upright, his hand reaching for his earpiece. “Hey, Archie!” He reaches over to Pockets, and I can tell he’s ruffling the fur on top of his head. I try not to laugh. Dad always used to ruffle my hair when I was little. Okay, sometimes he still does.

  “Hey,” Pockets grumbles. “Ask next time!”

  Dad ignores him. “Son, I’m very proud of you. You’re being very brave.”

  “Thanks, Dad,” I whisper.

  “We’ll be right here with you,” he says.

  Then Pockets chimes in with, “Try to explore as much of the ship as you can. I’m recording what you’re seeing through your lenses.”

  I’m about to suggest hiding instead of exploring, when Pockets adds, “You’d better switch back now.”

  Dad gives a wave and I reluctantly turn the view back to the ship. It’s a good thing I didn’t wait much longer, because the agent has just stopped in front of a large wooden door and is waiting for me to catch up.

  The door is much fancier than any we’ve passed so far. I don’t see a doorknob or keyhole anywhere, though. The agent presses a nearly invisible button beside the door, and a keypad appears. He steps aside and gestures for me to use it. I look back at him blankly. He shakes his head. “Forgive me, but you’d forget your own birthday if it wasn’t written down on one of those lists of yours,” he says, punching in a series of numbers. The door slides into the wall with a nearly silent swoosh. “I will see you dow