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

stopped shaking. He wrinkled his nose. The tree

  smelled worse than stinky socks. It smelled worse

  than the bean cheese his mom loved so much.

  Nick was ready to get away from that smell.

  He began working his way toward the shore. He

  dug his fingers into the squishy trunk to claw his

  way along. As he dug his fingers in, goo oozed

  from the trunk. The green ooze smelled even

  worse. It stuck to his fingers and his clothes, but

  he kept going. Hand by hand, he inched his way

  toward the shore.

  45

  His legs still dragged through the dark water.

  Nick tried not to imagine what might be below.

  Or how tasty his legs might look. He focused on

  moving along, one handhold at a time.

  Finally, he reached the banks of the black lake.

  Nick scrambled out. He had never imagined he’d

  love the feeling of land so much.

  Nick was cold and lost. He had no food. He

  had no drinkable water. He had no idea how to

  get back to the colony. He looked around. In the

  distance, he could see the hive, buzzing with

  workers. Could his mom have ended up there?

  On the other side of the lake, he could see

  the beginning of a forest of fluff trees. That

  might be the way home. Then he remembered

  Bob’s promise to find him. Was the robot really

  looking?

  He thought about his choices hard. He

  suspected that choosing wrong might mean never

  seeing another birthday.

  46

  The Ending Is Up2U!

  If you believe Nick should head into the hive

  to look for his mother, turn to page 48.

  If you believe Nick should head back for the

  colony and hope to meet Bob along the way, turn

  to page 59.

  If you believe Nick should look for a safe place

  to wait for Bob to find him, turn to page 70.

  47

  Ending

  1

  Into the Hive

  Nick stood up. He rubbed at the slime clinging

  to his arms and chest. He wished he had a hot

  shower and new clothes. But he shook off the

  idea. Wishing wouldn’t fix anything. He had to

  make a decision right now.

  He looked around, wondering where he could

  wait for Bob. Then he pictured the time he’d

  spent in the air. Bob couldn’t move as fast as the

  giant bee.

  Nick didn’t think it was a good idea to wait.

  He might die of thirst or freeze before the robot

  ever found him. He needed to do something.

  48

  His gaze turned again to the hive. His mom might be inside with the other scientists. His

  mom was smart. She might have found a way to

  hide from the bees.

  If Nick went to the hive, he had a chance

  to find his mom. He could help her get home,

  maybe. He certainly didn’t see any other good

  choices.

  He headed in the direction of the giant hive.

  The ground under his feet had none of the soft

  moss. Instead it was stained black by the water

  and strewn with huge rocks.

  He could hear fast running water nearby, but

  he couldn’t see it. And, he didn’t bother to look.

  Instead, he kept his gaze on the hive.

  The closer he got, the bigger the hive looked.

  Nick was sure all the colony buildings piled

  together would still be shorter than the mountain

  of beehive in front of him. The buzzing was so

  loud it made Nick’s ears and even his bones ache.

  49

  Still Nick kept walking.

  As he reached the hive wall, he worried he

  wouldn’t be able to find a way into the hive.

  All the bees were buzzing above his head.

  He assumed that would be where all the

  openings into the hive would be as well.

  Nick walked around the outside of the hive.

  He wondered if he would need to climb up the

  side of the hive to reach the openings overhead.

  He pressed his hands to the hive wall. The

  walls were smooth and warm against his skin

  when he touched them. The buzzing in the hive

  made the walls rumble softly. It was creepy but

  almost pleasant.

  The surface had some bulges. But they didn’t

  seem to offer real footholds. Nick wondered if he

  should try to find something to stick into the wall

  to help him climb. He decided to keep circling

  the hive. He could watch for a sharp rock he

  could use to help him climb.

  50

  Nick kept walking, feeling more and more discouraged. He saw plenty of rocks. None were

  sharp enough to cut into the thick wall.

  Then he gave a shout. Up ahead he saw a wide

  crack in the side of the hive. The crack bulged

  slightly outward.

  Nick peered into the crack. He couldn’t see

  how deep it went. It was too narrow for the giant

  bees. But it wasn’t too narrow for him. At least he

  hoped it wasn’t. He didn’t have any other choice.

  Nick crammed himself into the crack. He had

  to shuffle along sideways because it was so tight.

  Sometimes his chest felt almost squished. He

  worried constantly that he would get stuck. Or

  that he’d find the crack didn’t go all the way into

  the hive.

  Nick pushed harder into the crack. Finally, it

  squished him so tightly he couldn’t breathe. In a

  panic, he gave one last hard push. He popped out

  inside the hive.

  51

  He toppled to the floor of the hive. Like the walls, the floor was smooth and warm. He

  scrambled to his feet. He wondered how often

  the bees moved through these tunnels. The

  thought of running into one of the bees made

  him shiver.

  I have to find Mom, he reminded himself.

  He picked a direction and started off. He

  found tunnel after tunnel in the hive. The walls

  bulged inward in the middle, making a kind of

  crack along the bottom.

  Off and on, he heard one of the bees rustling

  as it trooped through the tunnels. Nick would

  drop to the floor and roll into the bottom crack.

  Each time, the bees didn’t seem to notice him as

  they passed by. Moving through the dark tunnels

  was making Nick tired. He began to hope for a

  safe place to stop and rest.

  Sometimes he found rooms. He peeked inside,

  but each time he saw only bees. Bees filling holes

  52

  in the walls. Bees carrying giant eggs. Bees moving

  around, buzzing at one another.

  He was beginning to think he’d made the

  wrong choice. His mother wasn’t here. And now

  he didn’t know how to get out of the confusing

  maze of tunnels. All he could do was keep going.

  Then he peeked into a room filled with baby

  bees. Some were pale pink. Some were almost

  brown. They had stumpy legs and no wings.

  5353

  Some were only about Nick’s size, while others were bigger.

  A few grown bees bustled around the babies.

  The adults crammed bits
of food into their mouths.

  This must be the bee nursery, Nick thought.

  To Nick’s surprise, he spotted a colony scientist

  in the corner of the nursery. The scientist had

  grown plump since Nick saw him last. As Nick

  watched, a bee waddled over. It stuffed a scrap

  of food into the scientist’s mouth. The bees must

  think he is a baby!

  Nick quickly scooted across the room. He

  hid behind baby bees whenever an adult came

  by. Finally, he reached the scientist. “Doctor,” he

  whispered. “Where’s my mom?”

  The scientist blinked at him. “What?” He

  seemed to be half asleep. And he was drooling.

  “Come on,” Nick said. “We have to get you

  out of here.” He grabbed the scientist’s arm and

  began pulling.

  54

  Nick had to get the man to his feet. He pulled and tugged. He even tried smacking the

  scientist to wake him up. Nothing worked.

  Nick felt something sharp poke him in

  the back. A bee creature stood behind him,

  holding some food. It started to shove it toward

  Nick’s mouth. Nick ducked down behind the

  scientist. The food went into the man’s drooling

  mouth.

  The bee wandered off. Nick grabbed the back

  of the scientist’s jacket. He slowly dragged him

  out of the nursery. Just before he reached the

  hallway, one of the adults spotted him.

  It buzzed loudly and marched toward

  Nick, waving a scrap of food. Nick pulled harder

  and got the man into the hall. He could see

  the nursery bee following them. He couldn’t

  outrun a giant bee!

  A tiny bee began squeaking near the nursery

  worker. The adult turned and shoved the food

  55

  into the baby’s mouth. When it wasn’t looking, Nick hauled the scientist away. To his relief, the

  bee didn’t follow.

  The hallway floor was slicker than the soft

  nursery floor. Nick was able to drag the man

  faster on the smooth floor. He stumbled along

  the dark tunnels, pulling the scientist along with

  him. Nick knew he should have found the crack

  already. Somehow he’d gotten lost.

  Still, he had no choice. He kept going. The

  halls grew quiet and dark.

  Then, the floor under Nick fell away. Nick

  sucked in his breath as he and the scientist fell

  through the darkness. They smacked into racing

  water. It must be the water that eventually fed the lake, Nick thought.

  The shock of the chilly water snapped the

  scientist out of his sleepy daze. Unlike Nick,

  he could swim. He grabbed Nick and kept him

  above the water as they raced along.

  56

  Soon they were outside in the daylight. The scientist slowly towed them to shore until they

  were able to scramble out.

  As soon as he could talk, Nick gasped out,

  “Where is my mother?”

  The scientist shook his head. “I don’t know.

  We were swarmed by the giant bee creatures.

  I guess they thought we were lost bee larvae. I

  didn’t see anyone else grabbed. I thought they got

  away.”

  Nick slumped. “They didn’t make it back to

  the colony.”

  The scientist looked up at the sky. “I don’t

  know where your mom is. Or the rest of the

  team. But I can find our way back to the colony

  from here. As long as I can see the sun.”

  “It’ll be dark soon,” Nick said.

  The scientist hauled Nick to his feet. “Then

  I’ll use the stars. You saved me, kid. The least I

  can do is save you right back.”

  57

  Nick followed the scientist toward the forest of fluff trees. He looked back at the giant hive.

  What if his mom were in a different nursery

  room? Under his breath he whispered, “I’ll be

  back, Mom. I won’t give up. I promise.”

  58

  Ending

  2

  A Battle of Giants

  Nick slumped to the ground near the black

  lake. He had to make a choice. The longer he

  looked at the huge hive, the less he wanted to be

  inside it. His mom might be in there. But what

  could he do about that? He wouldn’t be much

  help if a bee ate him.

  He needed adults. If he could get back to the

  colony, he could tell his dad about the hive. Then

  a team could come and look for his mom. They

  would know what to do about the giant bees.

  Maybe Dad would send some of his new robots

  in to save her.

  59

  Nick stood and turned to the hive. He brushed muck from his clothes. “If you’re in there, Mom,”

  he shouted, “I’ll be back.”

  Then he turned and started around the outer

  bank of the lake, toward the fluff forest in the

  distance. He knew it had to be a long way back to

  the colony. He turned to look at the hive again.

  He hoped he was making the right choice.

  “I’ll hurry,” he called back, even though he

  knew his mom couldn’t hear. He trotted across

  the bare ground. His feet felt heavy. I have to save Mom, he thought. He made himself hurry even

  faster.

  By the time he reached the trees, Nick was

  cold and hungry. He was so tired he could barely

  pick up his feet. “I wish I had some birthday cake,”

  he grumbled. “Or a birthday cookie.” Then he

  sighed. He’d settle for some birthday lima beans.

  He knew part of the reason his mom left was

  to find local plants they could safely eat. The 60

  colony scientists learned they couldn’t eat fluff trees. They couldn’t eat the moss near the colony

  buildings either. If they were going to find food,

  they had to look far from the colony.

  Nick looked at a bunch of bushes nearby. The

  leaves were a pale purple, and round white balls

  hung from each branch. Nick leaned down to

  sniff one. It smelled good and made his stomach

  growl. He wondered if it would be safe to eat.

  Nick rubbed his stomach and kept walking. It

  wouldn’t be a good idea to eat any strange plants

  he found. After all, just being in the same clearing

  where the little robot poked the fluff trees had

  already gotten him in enough trouble.

  As he imagined different things he’d like to

  eat, Nick didn’t notice the distant clanging sounds

  at first. But the sounds were getting louder as he

  walked. Somewhere ahead, someone was banging.

  Could it be his mom and the scientists? He picked

  up his pace until he was almost running.

  61

  The banging grew louder and louder. Nick slowed up slightly. Did the scientists have

  anything that could make that much noise?

  Maybe rushing toward the noises wasn’t his

  best idea. What if there was something dangerous

  ahead? Nick slowed until he was barely shuffling

  forward.

  He thought about the surprises he’d found.

  The fluff trees could move fast. They might

  whump loudly against the ground. But they we
re

  too soft to make the kind of noises he heard.

  Then there were the bees. But they buzzed and

  rustled. They didn’t clang.

  The banging and clanging rang through the

  woods. They sounded close.

  Nick thought of the water bug. The shell was

  hard. If someone banged on a bug’s shell, it might

  make that sound. His mom and the scientists

  were smart enough do something like that to

  signal for help. Maybe it was them after all!

  62

  Nick ran through the trees as fast as he dared on the uneven ground. He burst into a large

  clearing. He saw the clanging did not come from

  his people at all. He backed up as fast as he could,

  tripping over a rock and landing on his rear. He

  stared upward, whimpering softly.

  Two giant creatures were fighting. They looked

  like the ants from Nick’s Earth studies program.

  But ants on Earth had never been so large. These

  creatures were far bigger than the bees.

  The ant creatures clashed and wrestled. Their

  hard skin made a clanging sound like blades

  striking armor. Luckily, neither creature spotted

  Nick.

  He scooted the rest of the way to the nearest

  tree. Though he was scared, he didn’t want to go

  back the way he’d come. He was pretty sure he’d

  need to get by the ants to find his way home.

  Nick looked around the clearing for the best

  route to avoid the battle. That’s when he spotted

  63

  them. A cluster of five colony scientists stood wedged in the shadow of a huge boulder, half

  hidden by fluff trees growing close by. Nick

  squinted, peering at each face. That’s when he

  spotted his mom.

  The boulder hid the scientists from the ant

  creatures. But it also trapped them. Unlike Nick,

  they couldn’t back into the trees without stepping

  out into the clearing. They were almost under

  the feet of the battling ants.

  Nick couldn’t be so close to his mom and not

  save her. Using the trunk of the fluff tree behind

  him for support, he slid to his feet. The soft

  surface of the trunk gave him an idea.

  Nick thought about the violent way the trees

  had reacted when one of them was hurt. He

  remembered what Bob had said. Stay close to the

  tree trunks so they can’t grab you.

  Nick reached down and picked up the sharpest

  rock he could find. He patted the trunk of the

  64

  tree. “I really am sorry about this.” He rammed the sharp edge into the trunk. Then he slammed