King Coo: The Thing From Space E-Book

Adam Stower

• Herausgeber: David Fickling Books
• Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
• Serie: King Coo
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 62

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

Something REALLY WEIRD is happening at Ben's school. There's slime on the ceiling, a mysterious cheesy smell and the headmaster isn't wearing any shoes! Ben and his best friend, King Coo, are on a mission to uncover the truth! But things aren't what they seem . . . and what exactly is the THING from space?

Leseprobe

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For my Mum and Dad who are amazing, ~with love.

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The tall thin figure stood pressed against the window and strained to see clearly through the dark wintry night.

9There it was again! High up in the sky! A green light, glowing brightly and then dropping slowly, straight down, getting lower and lower until it vanished from sight.

The figure dashed to a desk, snatched up the telephone and dialled quickly.

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Contents

DedicationTitle Page Chapter OneChapter TwoChapter ThreeChapter FourChapter FiveChapter SixChapter SevenChapter EightChapter NineChapter TenChapter ElevenChapter TwelveChapter ThirteenChapter Fourteen AcknowledgementsAbout Adam StowerAlso by Adam StowerCopyright

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Chapter One

Ben pressed the button.

With a soft FWUMP, a flare shot up high over their heads, burning bright pink against the winter sky.14

‘Not bad, eh?’ said Coo. ‘Now try that lever.’

Ben grabbed it and pulled. He felt the deck shudder as beneath him pulleys whirred and switches clicked.15

‘BOMBS AWAY!’ yelled Coo over the roar of the wind. She and Ben leaned over the side to watch several bundles drop through the swirling snow and burst apart, showering the ground far below with hundreds of acorns, seeds and conkers.

‘Ha! Brilliant!’ said Ben. ‘What else can it do?’

‘Oh, loads.’ Coo grinned, her long beard whip-cracking in the breeze.1617

18Ben took the wheel and steered the Gasbag Glider into the wind. As he cast an eye over the many knobs and levers that cluttered the control panel he let out a squeak of excitement. It was just SO brilliant! This was without doubt Coo’s best Coo-traption ever!

Ben looked at her and smiled. Not everyone had a best friend like Coo. True, she might stand out in a crowd, what with her crown, spear, pet wombat and her long flowing beard. And yes, she had a nasty habit of testing out her genius inventions on him when he least expected it, but Ben wouldn’t have it any other way. He grinned. Who else got to fly to school in a home-made Zeppelin?

Ben tipped the wheel forward and whooped as the glider dipped and swooped between the clouds.

He had just skimmed a particularly huge fluffy grey one when a foul pong suddenly filled his nostrils. 19

Ben winced. It smelled horrible and it was so strong it made his eyes water.

He turned to Coo and caught her wrinkling her nose and casting a sidelong glance in his direction.

‘It’s not ME!’ protested Ben, pinching his nostrils shut. The smell thickened.

They both turned to look at Herbert.

‘No, hang on!’ Coo frowned, tapping a dial with her knuckle. ‘It’s not Herb. We’re losing altitude.’ 20She peered over the side and squinted at the gasbag. ‘I thought so. We’ve sprung a leak.’

‘Wait! What?’

‘That’s what that whiff is. It’s the Hot Pong Bubble gas. It’s a tad explosive.’

‘Don’t PANIC? This is the perfect time to panic!’ Ben gripped the side and peered at the ground. It was definitely getting closer. ‘Either we’re going to crash and then explode, or explode and THEN crash!’ 21

‘You don’t half fuss, Ben,’ said Coo as she slipped some straps around him. ‘We’ll probably be fine.’

‘Probably? PROBABLY? That’s really not helping, Coo, if I’m honest.’ Coo handed Ben his school bag. ‘Wait, w-what are you doing?’ he asked, tugging at the harness Coo had strapped to him. ‘What’s this?’

‘We need to lose some weight to gain height,’ said Coo, who was infuriatingly calm, ‘and there’s no time like the present.’

‘For what?’ said Ben, backing away.

‘For testing the emergency escape system.’ Coo winked, and then she shoved him overboard.

22‘HIT THE RED BUTTON AS YOU GET TO THE GROUND,’ she shouted after Ben as he tumbled through the freezing air.

He had just enough time to scream and madly flap his arms about before the ground rushed up to meet him. He fumbled for the button but missed it altogether and shut his eyes tight, expecting to end his short life as a jammy splotch.23

Then, just centimetres from the ground, he slowed to a stop before being yanked back up into the sky.

It appeared that the harness Coo had strapped him into was attached to the end of a long rubber rope. Before Ben knew what was happening he burst through some thick cloud and there was Coo, at the wheel of the Gasbag Glider with Herb beside her, his tongue flapping in the breeze.

‘Stop mucking about, Pole!’ she yelled. ‘Hit the RED BUTTON!’

‘Wha—?’ was all Ben could manage before he dropped back down through the cloud.

He plummeted towards a line of orange lights that twinkled below him. He was all set to hit the release button as the rope reached its full stretch when— 24

Ben touched down in the middle of the street. Lights flashed, engines roared and brakes squealed as cars swerved, missing him by a whisker before he shot back up into the clouds, his heart thumping against his ribs.

25‘It’s the round RED thing!’ shouted Coo as Ben rose momentarily into view from the thick clouds. ‘On your harness! Just bash it!’

Ben managed to give Coo a wobbly thumbs up as he reached his peak, rather elegantly turned a full slow somersault, and dropped away again.

Every time he touched the ground he hammered at the red button, only nothing happened – it was frozen solid!26

And each bounce dragged the Gasbag Glider lower and lower until soon it was skimming the chimney pots. Coo gripped the wheel and expertly steered the glider as it dipped and swooped between the rooftops with Ben dangling all the while on the end of the rubber rope.

With giant leaps he hopped and skipped through back yards and over buildings until all of a sudden he saw his school ahead.27

‘We’re coming in fast, Ben! You’ve only got one shot at this now!’ shouted Coo from above.

Coo lined up the glider perfectly, and with one last bounce Ben leaped over the school railings, only narrowly missing the iron spikes. He rubbed the button furiously to try to warm it up, and the instant his feet touched the ground, whacked it as hard as he could.28

With a loud ping the harness sprung open and whizzed back up to the glider, leaving Ben safely in the middle of the snowy playground.

He watched as the Gasbag Glider rose gracefully into the sky.

‘It works, then!’ shouted Coo, grinning. ‘The ELASTIC BOUNCE-TASTIC! Worked like a dream!’

‘Like a nightmare more like.’ Ben chuckled weakly, panting to catch his breath. ‘See you later then, at mine?’

‘We’ll be there.’ Coo waved, and as the airship vanished from sight in the white clouds, Ben turned and trotted through the snow to assembly.

He was late.

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Chapter Two

Ben managed to slip in at the back of assembly unnoticed.