The Thing From Space Page 2

  Ben held Herb and waited. And waited.

  And waited some more.

  Nothing.

  ‘I don’t understand,’ said Ben’s dad, opening the door and stepping out.

  Ben was just thinking that Coo was the least likely person to fall for a trap when …

  ‘Dad?’ called out Ben, trotting over to the garage. ‘Coo?’

  ‘Well, it works!’ Mr Pole grinned. He was sitting on the floor and covered from top to toe in thick yellow gunge. Herb hopped onto his chest and licked his face, his rump wagging with pleasure.

  ‘The quick-setting custard is a magnificent touch, Mr P,’ said Coo, who was nonchalantly leaning against the garage wall nibbling a chocolate biscuit. ‘And the second decoy tripwire almost caught me out. A bit more work and it’ll be a cracker!’ She pulled a camera from her bag and snapped a picture. ‘One for the album, I reckon.’

  ‘Oh, love, look at the state of you, you big lump,’ chuckled Mrs Pole from the garage door. ‘I was wondering what all that racket was! I might have guessed. Ben, Coo, hose him down, will you? And then you can all come in for your tea. Oh, and Ben?’ she added, glancing at his feet. ‘Get your shoes back tomorrow, won’t you?’

  ‘Sure thing, Mum.’ Ben grinned.

  ‘And don’t worry, lad,’ said Mr Pole, wiping custard from his beard. ‘In the meantime, you can borrow a pair of mine. You’ll love ’em. They’re snazzy!’

  Coo looked at Ben and winked.

  Chapter Four

  Ben’s walk to school was a disaster! His dad’s PARTY SHOES were at least a million sizes too big and Ben couldn’t walk three steps without falling flat on his face in the snow.

  He paused at the school gates and rubbed his sore knees. Even wedging his sandwiches down the sides hadn’t helped. The shoes were still deadly and now his lunch was mushed to a sticky paste. Ben sighed. He HAD to get his shoes back.

  He walked gingerly up to the big school doors, took a deep breath, and went in.

  ‘WATCH OUT THERE! NO BRAKES!’ shrieked Miss Boon, the school librarian, as she whizzed past on a pair of roller skates.

  Ben looked up and down the hallway. He couldn’t believe it! Not a single person had escaped Tench’s decontamination. There wasn’t a school shoe in sight.

  He clomped into assembly, sat next to Mandy Figgis who squeaked gently in an enormous pair of green waders, and planned to raid Tench’s office the first chance he got. It was simple.

  But as it turned out, getting past Tench wasn’t as easy as he’d thought. Every time he tried to slip away, the barmy old fruit bat was always there! Either busily spraying things with powerful disinfectant, or putting up terrifying posters about the dangers of germs, or d o u s i n g passing kids with anti-nit powder.

  There was no way his plan would work with her around. Her beady black eyes were always on the lookout and she’d be sure to spot him.

  Ben needed a new plan, a Plan ‘B’. And there was no time to lose. It was already his last lesson of the day.

  He sat down and was furiously plotting what to do next, when he noticed a folded note on his desk.

  After class Ben grabbed his bag and hurried to the headmaster’s office. It was at the end of a long dim corridor and he was halfway there when – CLICK – everything went dark.

  Ben lost his balance and skidded. ‘WHOA!’ His feet shot out from under him. ‘AARGH!’ And he landed in a heap. ‘OOOF!’ His bag spilled open across the floor.

  ‘What the heck?’ Ben lay panting in the dark, trying to catch his breath, when – CLICK – the lights came back on.

  ‘Pole?’ Mr Gigglethwick looked down at Ben. ‘What on earth are you doing, boy?’

  ‘You – you – you sent for me, Mr Gigglethwick,’ said Ben breathlessly.

  The headmaster frowned, clearly unimpressed.

  ‘But—’ said Ben.

  ‘No buts, Pole!’ interrupted the headmaster impatiently. ‘I’ve told you before, stop mucking about! Now get along with you, it’s time you went home! And clear up that mess!’ he added, as he turned and tottered back into his office in a pair of Mrs Gigglethwick’s red high-heeled boots.

  Ben was just gathering up his things and stuffing them back into his bag, when the bell rang for home time.

  The day was over.

  It was time for Plan B.

  There was a flurry of chatter and stamping feet as everyone piled out of the school and set off home through the snow. The noise faded into the distance until the only sound to be heard was the gentle whoosh of the wind outside.

  Ben emerged from the lost property box at the far end of the main hall. He peeled an old football sock from his face and looked this way and that. It was all clear. Even Tench was nowhere to be seen!

  He kicked off his gigantic shoes, hung them by their laces around his neck, and tiptoed up to the top floor and Tench’s office.

  Ben reached for the handle when a noise made him freeze. Someone was coming! Ben sprang back. He looked desperately up and down the corridor but it was long and empty.

  There was nowhere to hide!

  Chapter Five

  Tench burst from her office. ‘Who’s that? Is someone there?’

  Ben didn’t dare move an inch. He held his breath and cocked an ear to listen.

  ‘No time for nonsense! Got to go!’ muttered Tench in a shrill, excited voice that sent a shiver up Ben’s spine. ‘Imagining it, was I? Crazy in the noggin, am I? Ha! I’ll show them! They’ll listen to me now!’ She locked her door and hurried away down the corridor, pausing just long enough to slam the window shut – WHAM!

  It was official. Ben was in a pickle.

  He looked around for a way back inside.

  Along the wall he could see the window to Tench’s office. That one was wide open, but it was too far to reach. He could shout for help but that would do no good. The place was deserted. And he couldn’t wait until the morning. He would be a frozen Ben-flavoured popsicle before midnight!

  He shivered. If only Coo was here, he thought, she’d know what to do.

  ‘Hold on! That’s it!’ he said, clicking his fingers.

  Hugging the wall as best he could, Ben inched his bag from his shoulders. He opened it carefully and rummaged inside until he found what he was looking for.

  He wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but Coo had given it to him.

  It was worth a try. Ben put the thing to his lips and blew.

  THHPLLURRRT!

  Nothing happened. Not a sausage. He blew it again. THHPLLURRRT!

  Still nothing. He tried once more, but apart from getting dribble down his scarf, absolutely nothing happened.

  ‘Oh, great,’ said Ben grimly, hugging his knees to keep warm. ‘Looks like it’s popsicle time!’

  He was just wondering if he could tie his clothes together to make a rope when—

  ‘POLE!’

  Ben jumped and almost fell off his ledge.

  ‘POLE!’ The voice was coming from above.

  ‘COO? Is that you?’

  ‘Of course it’s me! You blew Herbert’s Hooter, didn’t you?’

  Ben looked up and saw the Gasbag Glider anchored to the school roof, and Coo and Herb leaning out over the edge above him.

  ‘Herb’s Hooter?’

  ‘Yeah, it’s like a dog whistle, but for wombats,’ explained Coo, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. ‘He can hear it for miles. Sends him crackers! Doesn’t it, fella?’ She ruffled his chops affectionately.

  ‘So, what’s up? Isn’t it a bit chilly to be mucking about on a ledge?’

  ‘I’ll explain in a minute!’ said Ben, grinning like an idiot. He had never been happier to see his hairy friend. He pointed to the office window. ‘I need to get in there.’

  ‘Righto!’ said Coo, vanishing from sight. ‘Hold on!’

  A moment or two passed by and Ben was just starting to wonder what was going on when Herbert appeared at the edge of the roof and stepped over.

  Ben winced, expecting him to tumble down to the ground below, but he didn’t.

  SMUCK smuck.

  Herb took a step towards Ben.

  SMUCK smuck SMUCK smuck SMUCK smuck.

  Like a tubby hairy gecko, Herbert waddled down the sheer wall to Ben, a suction cup on each of his four paws and a saddle around his waist.

  ‘CLIMB ABOARD!’ yelled Coo from above.

  ‘WHAT?’

  ‘GET ON! It’ll be fine!’ said Coo. ‘Herb will carry you to the window.’

  ‘You make it sound so simple,’ said Ben, as he reached out with trembling hands and grabbed hold of Herb’s saddle.

  ‘So long as you don’t let go,’ added Coo quietly.

  ‘Oh, NOW YOU TELL ME!’ said Ben, swinging his legs around Herb’s belly and clinging on for dear life.

  Herb didn’t seem bothered by the height and casually smucked his way to the open window. Ben clambered through, landing in a heap on the office floor.

  ‘That’s the way, Pole! You’re a natural!’ Coo chuckled as she swung through the window on the end of a rope, somersaulted and landed perfectly beside Ben.

  Ben got to his feet and quickly explained what had happened.

  ‘All that for a pair of shoes!’ Coo shook her head and grinned as she and Ben began exploring the office. ‘Well, yeah,’ said Ben sheepishly. ‘I know. But there’s more to it, I’m sure of it. Tench has been especially odd lately!’

  Glass cabinets and medicine chests lined the walls, brimming with packets of tablets, bottles of foul-looking treatments and all manner of bandages, syringes and equipment. But there was no sign of his shoes.

  ‘Hold on, what’s this?’ said Coo, spotting a door behind Tench’s desk. She pushed it open and stepped through.

  ‘There’s d
efinitely something strange going on,’ said Ben, following Coo into the back room as she flicked on the light switch.

  Coo whistled. ‘You weren’t kidding when you said Tench was crackers!’

  Ben’s skin tingled with goose bumps as he looked around the room. In the middle of a little desk was a notebook with TOP SECRET written across it in big letters. Ben picked it up gingerly, flicked through the pages to the final entry and gasped.

  Chapter Six

  ‘Wow!’ said Coo, leaning in to look over Ben’s shoulder. ‘This is weird! Is it all like this? Go back a bit.’

  Ben’s hands trembled slightly as he flicked back to the beginning and started to read the pages out loud.

  ‘The first few pages look fairly normal to me,’ said Ben. ‘Well, normal for Tench, I mean.’

  He skipped a few pages forward.

  ‘Hold on!’ said Coo. ‘What was that? There!’

  ‘Whoa!’ Ben gasped. ‘Now this isn’t normal …’

  ‘The Men in Caps?’ said Ben. ‘Who are they?’

  ‘I’ll tell you later,’ said Coo. ‘Go on. What else does she say?’

  ‘Well, that explains why it was raining jelly in assembly!’ said Ben, turning the page. ‘Crumbs! Look! Here’s where I appear!’

  ‘So that’s why she pinched your shoes,’ said Coo. ‘I keep telling you to be more careful with the Glowshroom juice!’ she added. ‘It’s strong stuff.’

  ‘It was Herb’s fault,’ protested Ben. ‘You know how over-excited he gets.’

  Coo raised an eyebrow and read on. ‘Hey, look here! It looks like Tench has a knack for traps.’

  ‘Let’s see,’ said Ben.

  ‘Ha! Not bad. A bit crude, but not bad!’ said Coo.

  Ben nudged her in the ribs. ‘Oi! Whose side are you on? That hurt, that did! And now Mr Gigglethwick thinks I’m an idiot too! AND how dare she search my private stuff! Oh, hang on!’ said Ben, frowning. ‘This doesn’t look good …’

  Ben stopped reading. He had a bad feeling. He peered at the photo. ‘I don’t understand. It’s just that selfie of me and Herb I took in your woods with your COO-mera.’

  ‘Hold on!’ said Coo. ‘What’s that in the background?’

  ‘Dunno,’ said Ben, squinting. ‘I can’t make it out.’

  Coo rummaged through the desk drawer and found a large magnifying glass.

  ‘Here, try this,’ she said.

  Ben had a much closer look. There, blurred but definitely visible, was something strange. It was tall and hairy, with long arms and legs and in the middle of its round body was a single massive eye!

  Ben gasped.

  ‘Uh-oh!’ he said, turning to Coo.

  Chapter Seven

  The two agents looked up as urgent footsteps click-clacked across the polished stone floor of the lobby of the MIC headquarters.

  ‘Uh-oh, look out, Fumble!’ muttered the tall one under his breath, stiffening in his seat.

  ‘Ugh! She’s not back again, is she? How many times is that now?’

  ‘I tell you, if I ever get my hands on the goon who leaked our address on the internet, I’ll flippin’ well— Ah, Ms Tench! What can we do for you today? You’ll be wanting to see the Commander again, I suppose?’

  ‘That’s right, I do,’ said Nurse Tench. ‘And be quick about it!’

  ‘She won’t see you,’ said Burke. ‘Not after the last few times. All those aliens you spotted?’

  ‘What exactly do you mean by that?’ Tench glowered.

  ‘Well, let me see,’ said Burke, counting on his fingers. ‘First of all, there was the dreaded Terror of Titan at the farmers’ market.’

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘It wasn’t an alien after all, was it?’

  ‘It was an easy mistake to make.’

  ‘It was a turnip, wasn’t it?’ Fumble sniggered.

  ‘Well, yes.’ Tench clenched her jaw. ‘But it was a big one. And organic.’

  ‘Then there was the Blob Monster from Mars in the children’s library,’ continued Burke.

  ‘It looked alien,’ grumbled Tench.

  ‘All beanbags look like that, Ms Tench.’ Fumble chuckled, leaning back in his chair with a silly grin on his face.

  ‘And just the other day,’ said Burke. ‘The Mini-Menace of Mercury in the high street? It was a miniature poodle, wasn’t it? The Commander’s miniature poodle.’

  ‘Now, that did look weird!’ protested Tench.

  ‘Of course it did! It had just been groomed, Nurse Tench. The Commander was furious.’

  ‘If only you hadn’t Blitzed first and then asked questions afterwards, it might not have been so bad,’ said Fumble. ‘Perhaps you should just stick to your day job and leave the alien stuff to us, eh?’

  The two agents grinned at each other and rolled their eyes.

  ‘Don’t think I don’t remember you from your school days, Colin Fumble,’ said Tench, leaning forward menacingly. Her left eyelid flickered. ‘Still burp, do you, when you’re nervous?’

  The agents fell silent. Tench curled her lip. ‘Or you, Leslie Burke. Spuds still bring you out in spots, do they? You two might be MIC agents now, but watch it. You’re not too old for a spritzing.’

  Tench glared at the two agents unblinkingly for a long moment.

  Fumble burped.

  Tench grinned and grabbed something from her bag and slammed them onto the desk.

  ‘The Commander will see me THIS TIME!’ she said. ‘There IS an ALIEN! I have PROOF!’

  Burke looked down at the desk, and then back up at Tench. He turned to Fumble and jerked his head towards the doors behind them. Without a word, Fumble pressed some numbers on the code pad and disappeared inside.

  A moment later, the doors pinged and hissed open again.

  ‘So, you’re back, are you?’

  The Commander was about as wide as she was tall. She had curly hair, a small mouth and a steely gaze. She was dressed in the same black suit and cap as the other agents, but her cap was the biggest of all.

  ‘This had better be good, Ms Tench. I’m a busy woman,’ said the Commander through gritted teeth. ‘Where’s this proof, then?’

  ‘Right here,’ said Tench, holding out the photo she had nabbed from Ben’s bag. ‘There! An ALIEN – beside that boy, Ben Pole.’ Tench’s eyes glittered.

  ‘That’s not an alien, Ms Tench.’ The Commander sighed and rolled her eyes impatiently. ‘That’s a wombat!’ She turned to leave.

  ‘NO!’ yelled Tench triumphantly. ‘Behind the wombat!’

  The Commander leaned in close for a second look.

  ‘Well, well, well,’ said the Commander, slowly raising an eyebrow. She straightened. ‘OK, Ms Tench. Tell us everything.’

  Chapter Eight

  The flight from the school back to Coo’s woods hadn’t taken long, but there was a chilly wind and Ben was looking forward to curling up in front of a blazing fire.

  ‘They’ll be coming after you next,’ said Coo, snapping Ben out of his daydream.

  They climbed out of the Gasbag Glider onto a jetty built high up in the branches of a tree that creaked and swayed in the wind.

  ‘Who will?’