Read Online Akiko and the Great Wall of Trudd by Mark Crilley - Free Book Online Page A

and years.

    Suddenly a horrifying thought dawned on me: Throck! This was Throck’s spaceship, and he was coming out to confront us face to face.
    My knees started shaking and the hairs on my neck stood up like the quills of a porcupine. My heart began to pound furiously, and I found myself breathing in short, frightened gasps. I’d never been so scared in all my life.
    “Come on, Throck,” Spuckler whispered between clenched teeth. “Get out here and face us like a man.”
    Gax began to shudder uncontrollably, and Mr. Beeba inched his way behind me, poking his head out like a kid hiding behind a tree. Poog, however, rose high into the air and stayed right where he was, floating calmly and proudly as if he wasn’t the least bit scared.
    KA-CHAK!
    There was a loud clicking sound as a door on top of the spaceship was unlatched.
    FFSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSH!
    It was that sound! The horrible sound of Throck’s suit, pumping gas out into the air like an old steam engine.
    Slowly, menacingly, Throck’s head rose from the portal, his features lit from below with a greenish white light, allowing me to see his face clearly for the first time. His white hair stuck up from his head like the bristles of a scrub brush, cropped short on top, shaved to the scalp on the sides. His eyes were narrow and widely spaced, with tiny pale pupils, like the eyes of a snake. His cheeks were covered with tiny scars that looked like the stitching on a baseball. His nose and mouth were hidden by the same metallic cup we’d seen him wearing before. I guess he needed it to breathe, like a scuba diver on the depths of the ocean floor.

    He continued climbing out of the ship until he was standing on one of the wings. Then he leaped off and landed on the ground with a muffled thump, momentarily losing his balance, then regaining it with a strange, mechanical snapping motion. His arms and legs were a mass of tubes and canisters, his chest crisscrossed with dozens of creepy wires and pieces of armor. He stood there glaring at us for a minute or two, the hissing sound of his uniform piercing the air every few seconds.
    “How many warnings will it take,” his husky voice growled, “before you do as you are told?”

Throck’s cheeks rippled like the gills of a bloated fish as he waited for an answer.
    “We don’t need warnin’s from the likes of
you
, pal,” Spuckler said, stepping forward without hesitation. “We’re on our way to Alia Rellapor’s castle, and there ain’t nothin’ you can do t’ stop us.”
    “My, my, little man,” Throck said with a nasty chuckle, “you’re a
brave
one, aren’t you?” He leaned over to look Spuckler directly in the eyes. I felt a chill shoot straight down my spine.
    “I usually find bravery a very admirable characteristic,” Throck continued, his raspy voice just barely held above a whisper, “but your little show of bravado strikes me as rather sad. Have you any idea of the danger you’re in?”
    “Look, Throck—” Spuckler began.
    “Well, well!” Throck interrupted, his eyes open wide in surprise. “How is it that you know my name? Not that it is of any
importance
to me . . .”
    “We know
all
about you, Throck,” Spuckler lied. “Now I suggest you step out of our way before I—”
    “Before you
what
?” Throck interrupted again, this time barking the words like an angry dog. His face was now so close to Spuckler’s that they were nearly touching.
    Gax gave out a little high-pitched whine, followed by a series of agitated clicks.
    “Throck,” Spuckler said in his most patient voice, “I’m gonna give you till the count of three to get outta here an’ leave us alone.”
    There was nothing but silence.
    “One . . .”
    HISSSSSSSSSSSS!
    A cloud of steam rose eerily from behind Throck’s head.
    “Two . . .”
    “Time’s up!” Throck growled, clamping his hands around Spuckler’s waist. In one swift, graceful movement, he lifted Spuckler off the ground and threw him into