In the blink of an eye, the small ship was gone, sucked down into the gooey Cos-Moat.
Buuuurrrrppppp!
A giant bubble erupted from the moat and popped, spraying the outside of the
Phoenix
. The goo hissed and smoked as it ate through the shipâs outer shell.
A frenzy of warning lights lit up the control panel.
âThe moatâs shorted the cloaking device,â Peri shouted.
âGet out of here!â boomed Otto, his scarlet skin paling to pink. âTh-th-that moat just ate a ship.â
Peri lunged for the controls. He tried to pull the levers to maximum thrust, but it was as though they were covered in caramel. He hit the emergency boosters. The
Phoenix
still struggled to pull away. The moat was tugging harder, dragging the ship back.
âPeri â¦â Ottoâs voice was nervous.
âNot now, Otto!â Peri cried, still struggling with the levers.
Eee-ra, eee-ra!
Sirens erupted around the bridge.
â
Peri!
â
Something in Ottoâs voice made Peri tear his eyes away from the controls. The alien bounty hunter was pointing at the only part of the monitor that was not covered in goop.
Fear filled Periâs chest like liquid fire.
âSpace-sharks!â
Chapter 2
Eight huge space-sharks surged toward the spaceship. They had giant red heads and beady black eyes. Instead of tails, pulsing masses of tentacles powered them, flicking Cos-Moat slime as they moved. The sharks opened their hideous mouths, showing rows of jagged purple teeth. Bits of the smugglersâ ship were caught between them.
Thuuuddd. Sccrrraatcch.
The sharksâ teeth gnashed at the
Phoenix
âs hull.
âI told you they were real!â Diesel shouted as Otto hid behind his chair.
Crrraaack!
Huge cracks were appearing across the 360-monitor. The
Phoenix
âs shell had been damaged. Periâs Expedition Wear flamed red, as a cold sweat made him shiver.
If the monitor shatters
, thought Peri,
weâre shark bait!
âWhatâs that smell?â Diesel cried.
Peri sniffed, looking around. âOh no â¦â The Cos-Moat had pulled the
Phoenix
to its electrified surface, and its blue goo was oozing through the cracks onto the bridge. It stank worse than uranium-toe jam and cosmic-liver ice cream combined. As the goo mixed with the shipâs atmosphere, it erupted into sparks as bright as stars.
âWe need shields,â Peri shouted, but before he could reach the control panel a hood sprang from his collar and encased his head in a transparent armored bubble.
Click.
It sealed him from the air in the ship.
Whoorrrl.
The protective helmetâs filtration system started.
Peri and Diesel were both sealed in their Expedition Wear, but Otto had dropped to his knees and was gasping for air. Despite the countless blaster holsters, grenades, and survival packs strapped to his body, he had nothing to protect him against the smoke and gas filling the bridge. The Meigworâs eyes bulged out of the black patches on his crimson face.
âHang on,â Peri shouted over another
twaaack-craaack
. A space-shark was trying to gnaw its way through the 360-monitor. Every gnash of its teeth was showering the bridge with white-hot sparks. Periâs hands danced across the control panel. âNow the shields arenât working.â
âWeâve got to blast the sharks, or weâll get sucked into the moat,â Diesel yelled.
âWeâve got to use the
Phoenix
âs pulsar-cannon belt.â
âIsnât it dangerous?â Peri asked.
âYou know what they say,â Diesel said, a twinkle in his yellow eyes. ââYou canât hunt Venusian crabs without losing a toe.ââ
Thwack
. Two space-sharks hammered against the craft. Peri knew they had to do something.
âGo for it,â he yelled.
As Diesel pulled a lever on the gunnery station, massive spikelike cannons shot out from the side of the ship. The sharks peeled away from the
Katie Oliver
Phillip Reeve
Debra Kayn
Kim Knox
Sandy Sullivan
Kristine Grayson
C.M. Steele
J. R. Karlsson
Mickey J. Corrigan
Lorie O'Clare