Lost in Space: An Up2U Action Adventure - Up2U Adventures Set 3 Read online

  a thin, clear liquid. Then Nick saw why.

  The robot unfolded a work arm. At the end,

  a round hole saw spun with a grinding whir.

  The robot smacked the saw against the tree. It

  cut into the trunk with a wet sound.

  As soon as the cutting began, a low moan

  rose among the trees. The trunks swayed even

  though no wind passed through the woods. The

  saw cut deeper, and the moaning grew louder

  and louder.

  Nick clamped his hands over his ears. “What’s

  making that noise?”

  “The only things here are us and them.” Bob

  pointed to the trees. “It is not us. It must be them.”

  22

  Before Nick could comment, one of the

  thinnest trees bent down suddenly. It smacked

  Nick hard with the fluff that topped the stalk.

  He thought he’d be knocked to the ground.

  Instead, he stuck to the fluff. The tree hauled

  him high into the air.

  23

  23

  Chapter

  4

  Guess Who Is for Supper

  The robot below continued to saw into the

  wounded tree. More and more trees bent and

  smacked at the ground. From his spot, Nick

  couldn’t see where the trees struck. He hoped

  they wouldn’t get Bob.

  The tree where Nick hung swayed in a wide

  arc. The sticky fluff held Nick tightly in place.

  But the rocking made him feel sick. As the

  swinging finally stopped, so did the moaning in

  the trees.

  Nick found that each small bit of fluff was

  easy to pull off. But whenever he did, he seemed

  24

  to find more stuck in other places. The fluff looked so soft and light from the ground. Now

  it felt like sticky glop. Nick squirmed and picked

  at the fluff until he could see through the strands

  to the ground below.

  The robot with the saw finished its job. Then

  it simply turned and stomped away on its four

  legs. None of the trees touched it. The little robot

  had no sense of the danger it had been in.

  Bob looked up at Nick. None of the trees had

  touched the tall robot either. Nick sighed in relief.

  Now Bob could get him free.

  “How did the trees miss you?” Nick asked.

  “I stood very close to one trunk,” Bob said.

  “The bending trees couldn’t reach me without

  getting stuck to the trunk.”

  “I wish I’d had time to think of that,” Nick

  grumbled.

  “I believe the trees targeted you,” Bob

  said. “These plants have some kind of defense

  25

  mechanism against attacks by organic life. They are good at finding organic life. They do not seem

  to be as good at finding robots.”

  “Lucky you,” Nick said.

  “Yes,” Bob agreed. “Your position looks

  awkward and potentially dangerous. I am far

  happier to be where I am.”

  “I’m glad you’re happy.”

  Suddenly angry, Nick struggled wildly to pull

  himself free. But he only got more fluff stuck

  to his clothes. So much fluff covered his arms

  that he looked like he was turning into a stuffed

  toy. Finally exhausted, Nick hung almost upside

  down and panted.

  Then Nick thought of the Earth plants in his

  drawing. He remembered the sundew’s sticky

  fibers that caught bugs. When the sundew caught

  them, it ate them.

  Nick looked down at his hand. Sticky ooze

  from the fluff touched his skin. It tingled and

  26

  stung. He yelled down to Bob, “Help! It’s going to eat me!”

  “What is eating you?”

  “The plant. It’s like a sundew. All this sticky

  stuff is going to digest me. Go get help.”

  Bob shook its head. “I cannot comply with

  that request.”

  “What?” Nick shrieked.

  “If I notify the colony, I will be blamed for

  bringing you outside. I will be blamed for using

  my security codes to open the door. I will be

  blamed for following the other robot. Your

  father will be angry. He will turn me off. He will reprogram me or take me apart.”

  “No, no, it’ll be all right,” Nick said. “I’ll tell

  them it’s all my fault. I promise. Dad won’t be

  mad at you. He’ll be glad you went for help.

  You’ll be a hero, Bob.”

  “You may be right,” the robot said.

  Nick sighed in relief. “Good. Go get help.”

  27

  “You may also be wrong. I find the risk to

  be too high. I cannot inform the adults in the

  colony.”

  Bob turned and headed back through the

  trees toward the colony, leaving Nick screaming

  for help.

  Chapter

  5

  With the Greatest of Ease

  “Help!” Nick screamed as he pulled against

  the fluff. He hoped a colony scientist would

  hear him before the tree was done eating him.

  As he grew tired, he realized the stinging

  had stopped. He scraped some fluff off with

  his fingernails. The skin underneath looked

  normal. Maybe it wasn’t going to eat him. Or

  maybe it was storing him to eat later. He started

  struggling again.

  Something rumbled below him. Nick wiggled

  until he could see the ground. Bob clumped along

  with a small robot trailing at its side.

  29

  “I have created a plan for getting you down,”

  Bob said. Nick sighed in relief. Bob tapped the

  rolling robot and a door opened. A long arm

  unfolded from inside the robot. At the end, a saw

  blade began spinning with a worrisome hum.

  “Wait a minute,” Nick called down. “I don’t

  think it’s a good idea to hurt the trees more.

  That’s what started all of this trouble in the first

  place.”

  “Trust me,” Bob said.

  “Maybe we can find a way to calm the trees

  down,” Nick said. “Maybe it would put me

  down.”

  “Fungus-based plant life cannot be reasoned

  with, Nick,” Bob said. It tapped the smaller robot

  again, which made it roll toward the thin tree. It’s

  saw blade began whirling.

  “Wait, wait!” Nick yelled. “What happens

  when you cut down the tree? I don’t want to fall

  to the ground.”

  30

  “I will catch you,” Bob said. “I am 76 percent certain I can do so without breaking any of your

  primary bones.”

  “That doesn’t make me feel good.”

  The slow robot finally reached a spot close to

  the tree. It extended the saw blade toward the

  smooth, silver trunk. The trees thrashed as if a

  high wind pushed them back and forth.

  “Stop, stop!” Nick yelled. The shaking made

  his teeth rattle.

  Then he realized something. As he was flung

  around, some of the fluff actually pulled away

  from his skin. He could move his arms more

  freely. He could even kick one leg.

  “Hey, I’m pulling free,�
�� he said. “Keep scaring

  the tree, but don’t cut it.”

  “I will follow that plan, Nick,” Bob shouted up

  at him.

  More and more of the fluff pulled away from

  Nick’s skin and clothes. But the wild ride was 31

  making him sick to his stomach. He pulled his arms and legs away from the fluff. He stretched

  down to grab the smooth trunk. “I think I can get

  free now,” he shouted.

  Before Bob could respond, the tree bent

  toward the ground. Nick let go of the trunk. He

  hoped to drop the short way to the ground. Too

  much fluff still hung to his shirt and pants. He

  only dangled above the ground. “Bob, grab me!”

  he yelled.

  The tree snapped back straight. The quick

  snap pulled the last of the fluff free. Nick sailed

  high into the air. He was free! But hitting the

  ground was going to be very, very bad.

  “Bob!” he screamed. But before he could fall,

  something snagged the back of Nick’s shirt. What

  could possibly grab him that was taller than a

  tree?

  Nick twisted to see. He could hear a buzzing

  like the saw on the small robot. Then he finally

  32

  caught sight of what grabbed him. He was looking

  into the biggest insect eyes he’d ever seen.

  3333

  Chapter

  6

  Don’t Help Me So Much

  The creature that held Nick looked a lot like

  the pictures of Earth bees from his computer

  tablet. But Earth didn’t grow bees this big. Earth

  grew horses this big. But not bees.

  The bee seemed to be having trouble carrying

  Nick’s weight. It was pulled toward the ground

  as it flew in a wide circle among the trees. Bits of

  tree fluff smacked at Nick’s pants. The movement

  slowed the bee still more.

  Below Nick, Bob ran around with its

  mechanical arms out. “Try to get free. When you

  fall, I will catch you!”

  34

  “That’s a terrible idea,” Nick screamed. But he squirmed in the bee’s grip. The bee held tight. “It

  won’t let go. Get Dad!”

  “No!” Bob yelled back. “I will make it drop

  you.” The robot scooped up a rock with one of

  its long arms, and threw it hard. The rock missed

  the bee. It smacked Nick in the seat of his pants.

  “Ow!” Nick yelled. “No more rocks!”

  Nick figured he better get free before Bob got

  any more ideas. He remembered how soft the

  ground felt. He hoped it felt that soft if he fell

  from so high up.

  He squirmed harder as a plan formed in his

  head. The bee was really only holding onto his

  clothes. If he could slip out of his shirt, the bee

  would probably drop him. He wiggled until he

  heard a ripping sound. Maybe his idea could

  work. He squirmed harder.

  Down below, Bob ignored Nick’s command

  not to throw rocks. A jagged shard of rock barely

  35

  missed Nick’s head. He yelped as the rock sailed by the bee’s head too.

  The insect’s buzzing grew louder, much

  louder. Clearly, it didn’t like the flying rocks.

  Nick could see the treetops again. They were

  flying higher than Nick wanted to fall. They

  were also flying too fast for Bob to keep up. Nick

  stopped squirming. The ground was soft. But he

  didn’t think it was that soft.

  “I will find you, Nick!” Bob shouted.

  “Get Dad!” Nick screamed.

  Bob shouted something else. The bee had

  flown too high for Nick to hear it clearly. He

  suspected the robot had refused again.

  Then Nick couldn’t see Bob anymore either.

  They had raced too far away.

  The bee’s giant, beating wings made a loud

  buzzing sound. Nick could feel the buzzing in

  his bones. It made his head ache. It didn’t help

  that hanging below the bee wasn’t the least bit

  36

  comfortable. His shirt nearly choked him, but he didn’t dare try to squirm into a more comfortable

  position.

  Below he saw miles of treetop fluff pass by.

  More and more he wondered if he’d ever see his

  dad again.

  Finally, the bee creature began to fly lower.

  Nick hoped it was getting tired of hauling him

  along. Maybe it would land to rest and Nick could

  get away. But the bee didn’t land. It whizzed along

  very fast. Its buzzing sounded excited somehow.

  Nick worried that anything that would excite a

  bee would be bad news for him.

  Peering ahead, he saw the fluff trees thinning

  out. They had come to the end of the fluff tree

  forest. Below, he didn’t see the soft, blue-green

  moss. Instead, the ground looked black and wet.

  He wasn’t sure he wanted the bee to land in that.

  Nick squirmed very gently to see ahead of

  him. He gasped at the sight. They were flying

  37

  toward a giant hive. The hive was bigger than the

  whole colony and much taller. The buzzing of

  the bee that carried him was echoed by the buzz

  of dozens of bees flying in and out of the giant

  hive.

  With horror, Nick wondered if this is what

  happened to his mom and the other explorers.

  Did the bees carry them away to this hive? Is that why she never came home?

  He squirmed to see the hive better. Would

  he find his mom when the bee got to the

  hive? Or would he just be breakfast

  for the buzzing creatures?

  Before he could find

  out, he heard another

  ripping sound

  from his

  sh i r t.

  38

  His squirming was too much for it. Nick gave a

  panicky glance downward. He was still far too

  high.

  Nick held as still as possible. He hoped the

  last seams held together.

  The fabric ripped loudly.

  Nick slipped out of the tatters and fell.

  Chapter

  7

  In the Deep Dark

  Nick plummeted toward the dark ground. For

  a quick moment, he wished for fluff trees below

  him. Sure, they might have wanted to eat him.

  But at least they were soft. That was his last

  thought before he hit.

  To his surprise, the darkness wasn’t hard

  ground. It was black water, or something like

  it and very cold. He flung his arms around and

  kicked his legs. He wished he’d learned to swim

  like Earth kids.

  Nick opened his eyes under the black water.

  No light cut through the darkness. He tried

  40

  waving his hand in front of his face. All he saw was black.

  Under the surface of the black water, something

  bumped his leg. He wasn’t alone in the water. He

  tried harder to imitate the swimming strokes he

  saw once in a movie. But was he swimming up or

  down? Everything was confusing in the dark.

  Something bumped him again. And again.

  Then it stayed under Nick. He felt hard shell


  under his hands. The creature was moving with

  him seated on it. But was it going up to the

  surface? Maybe it just wanted to drown him

  faster so it could eat him.

  Finally, Nick’s head popped above the black

  water. He took a big breath of air. Then he looked

  down at the shell.

  The creature he sat on looked like a bug he had

  seen in one of his Earth pictures. A shiny, black

  water bug. Huge round eyes rolled near Nick’s

  hands. Short antennae twitched and turned. Nick

  41

  jerked his hand back before one could touch his

  fingers. The bug had long legs that churned like

  paddles through the water. It also had glistening

  sharp jaws that snapped together with a loud

  clack. Was this bug saving his life or just saving

  him for supper?

  The creature raced across the top of the water.

  The breeze on Nick’s wet clothes made him

  shiver. He hunched down closer to the bug’s slick

  43

  back. He needed to get off before it dove back underwater. And before they reached wherever

  it was going. But how? He couldn’t jump back

  into the water. And the creature didn’t go close

  to shore.

  Ahead, Nick spotted soggy, pinkish fluff

  bobbing on top of the black. A fluff tree had

  fallen over into the water. The trunk was spotted

  with thick, black slime. The fluff was clumped

  and discolored. But the tree lay partly in the

  water and partly on land. Could it be the bridge

  Nick needed?

  The creature headed toward the fallen tree. It

  was slowly turning aside to avoid smacking into

  the trunk. Nick didn’t want to miss his chance to

  get to shore.

  Slowly, he stood on the back of the beetle. He

  wobbled and shook, but he stayed on his feet.

  He remembered pictures he’d seen of people on

  Earth riding surfboards on the water. Nick wasn’t

  44

  sure if he felt like cheering or puking. Is this how surfers feel? Then when they were as close to the

  fallen tree as he could hope, he jumped.

  For an instant, Nick didn’t think he’d jumped

  far enough. I really should have spent more time

  in the gym, he thought. Then he slammed into the side of the mushy trunk. The bug swam off

  without him.

  Nick hugged the squishy trunk until he