The Jelly People (4 page)

‘It's a tracking tattoo,' Nurdor said. ‘Once you are above the surface, you're not allowed to go further than three kilometres from Jelly City.'

Those poles with rotating dishes
, Kip guessed.
They're electrical trackers!

‘Go further and we'll send the eels after you. And if you spend too long above the water, the tattoo will
shock
you.'

We've got to get rid of these tattoos
, Kip thought desperately.
Then get out of here!

But Nurdor continued, as if reading Kip's mind. ‘The tattoos can't be erased,' he said, cackling.‘You and your fluffy friend are slaves to the Jellies now!'

CHAPTER 6

Nurdor took two black waterproof suits from the golden chest. He shook them out.

At once, the suits puffed up to the size of a chubby human body. Instead of zips there were watertight seals. The suits had helmets with clear panels to see through.

Aquaron AirSuit

‘These are AirSuits,' Nurdor said briskly. ‘Climb in, swim to the surface and fill the suit with warm water.'

‘Why?' Kip scowled.

‘A SLAVE DOESN'T ASK QUESTIONS!' Nurdor thundered.

But the Jelly seemed to want to prove to Kip how successful his alien race was. ‘Sea Sprouts have made the Jellies fabulously rich,' Nurdor explained haughtily. ‘We grow them all over our city.'

Those grey plants everywhere, with the square
leaves
, remembered Kip.
What's so special
about them?

‘They're the most nutritious plant in any known galaxy,' Nurdor said. ‘We trade them with other planets for millions.'

WorldCorp was right!
Kip thought.
There
is a valuable resource on Aquaron
.

That resource could probably feed humans…provided they didn't mind eating grey vegetables.

‘The water down here is too cold to grow the Sea Sprouts?' Kip guessed. ‘You need warm water from the surface.'

Nurdor muttered something. Kip's training had taught him to miss nothing. It sounded like Nurdor said, ‘You're as smart as the King said you'd be.'

Why would the King have been talking about
us?
Kip wondered.
He had no way of knowing
we were coming…did he?

‘Enough chat,' snapped Nurdor. He tossed the AirSuits to Kip and Finbar.

Kip's eyes narrowed. Putting on the AirSuit went against every instinct in Kip's body. He'd been trained for action, to defend himself and help his people. Going along with Nurdor felt like giving up.

Still, Kip hadn't forgotten the pain of Nurdor's tentacle. One wrong step and Nurdor would sting him again. Or worse!

Kip pulled the AirSuit on over his SeaStocking. The AirSuit was heavy, and Kip's whole body felt clunky and useless.

‘Hurry up,' Nurdor snapped at Finbar, whose furry paws were struggling with the seal on his suit.

Kip glared at Nurdor, and pulled the suit closed for Finbar.

Tentacles rippling, Nurdor led Kip and Finbar out of the pearl chamber. They made their way back through the city.

They reached the entrance to the dome. Then Kip noticed something. The WaterWalker was gone! And Duke was still inside.

‘Worried about your little friend?' Nurdor asked, seeing Kip stiffen.

‘Where's Duke?' Kip asked, glaring at Nurdor.

‘His Majesty might like Duke as a plaything,' Nurdor said. ‘Or perhaps for
dinner
.'

Kip's knees wobbled. His head throbbed. He thought being a slave to the Jellies was the absolute low point of his Space Scout career. But things had just gotten worse.

‘Don't you
dare
hurt him,' Kip growled.

‘Ah, little human,' Nurdor smiled. ‘Soon you will learn that the Jellies are superior. We do exactly what we want, when we want. Because we can.'

He pushed Kip and Finbar through the entrance and out into the open sea. ‘Get to work,' Nurdor ordered. ‘You have one hour to return with warm water. Your tattoo will pulse with electricity to remind you.'

The monster eels swam aside to let them pass. Kip and Finbar were on their own. But they were far from free.

CHAPTER 7

Since the Jellies could track them, there was no point plotting an escape yet. And there were too many Jellies for Kip and Finbar to take on alone.

Kip felt powerless, and he hated it. As far as he could see, their only option was to swim to the surface.

Teeth gritted, Kip launched himself upwards. His AirSuit was uncomfortably hot with the SeaStocking on underneath. Plus he couldn't stop thinking about Duke. A million rescue plans popped into his head. None of them seemed possible, at least not with a Jelly tattoo on his arm.

Finbar followed Kip. Being a wolf, he hated water and wasn't used to swimming long distances. Back in Jelly City, Finbar had been using the only stroke he knew - doggy paddle. But it tired him out. He soon lagged behind Kip.

Kip paused, treading water until Finbar caught up. Then he noticed a long shape wriggling towards him. A giant leech!

Gross!
Kip had completely forgotten that the sea was infested with leeches.

Hurry up, Finbar!
he thought desperately.

The leech wriggled towards Kip. Slowly, it wrapped itself around Kip's neck. It was looking for a way through his AirSuit to suck his blood!

Shuddering, Kip tried to pull it off. But the leech stuck fast. Working from the tail, Kip tried again. It took all of Kip's strength to rip the giant leech off his suit. But another was heading in his direction.

At last, Finbar paddled out from behind a transparent seaweed forest. Leeches crawled all over him.

Kip helped Finbar to rip them off. Then he grabbed Finbar under the arms and frog-kicked them both all the way to the surface. Luckily, fitness was one of Kip's strong points.

Finally, they burst through to the surface. They bobbed on the red water easily.

Above sea-level, Kip's SpaceCuff had reception again. He switched it on at once.

‘Are you calling MoNa?' Finbar asked.

Kip thought for a moment. If MoNa sent two Scrambler Beams, he and Finbar could escape right then.

His mission was complete, because he knew what the Jellies were trading. And he was sure Aquaron wasn't Earth 2, not with the evil Jellies in control.

But if they escaped now, they'd have to leave without Duke.

‘I can't go. Not without my minisaur,' Kip said quietly.

He switched his SpaceCuff to Map Mode. An instant satellite image popped up on the screen.

‘What's that?' Kip wondered out loud, studying the map.

Aquaron was covered by sea. But the SpaceCuff had picked up what seemed to be a group of tiny islands! Kip zoomed in. He saw the islands weren't rock, but woven reeds – and they were floating in the sea.

‘Those islands are exactly three kilometres from Jelly City,' Finbar said, looking over Kip's shoulder.

‘Maybe there are other slaves there!' Kip said. ‘They can't go any further than that.'

Kip wasn't sure the other slaves would be friendly. And they had less than an hour above the water to find out.

But hope soared inside Kip anyway. Other slaves would know more about the Jellies. They might be able to help rescue Duke!

Bobbing in their AirSuits, Kip and Finbar swam towards the islands. They soon came into view. Kip was right! There were figures on top, all wearing AirSuits. More slaves. Finbar's superior wolf vision saw every detail.

The aliens were shaped like humans, but each had four eyes instead of two.

Swimming a final stroke, Kip grabbed onto the reed island. One of the aliens reached down to help Kip up.

‘Hello, I'm Virgil,' said the alien. ‘I am a Gird.' Just like the Jellies, Virgil spoke Kip's language perfectly.

‘These are some of my people,' Virgil said, waving a hand around the small island. Kip counted twenty more Girds.

‘The others are collecting water for the Jellies,' Virgil said. ‘Like you, we're slaves.'

Kip introduced himself. He explained to Virgil what he and Finbar were doing on Aquaron.

Then Virgil told Kip the story of Aquaron. ‘Once, Girds and Jellies shared this planet peacefully,' said Virgil. ‘Aquaron was icy. Girds lived on the land and Jellies in the sea.'

Virgil explained how a meteorite had knocked Aquaron out of orbit, pushing it closer to the sun. The ice had melted, covering Aquaron in an ocean.

‘Then the Jellies took over?' guessed Kip, suddenly understanding.

Virgil nodded. ‘My people have been their slaves ever since,' he said.

Kip imagined life as a Gird. No freedom. Nothing but endless work and misery.

It would be his and Finbar's life too,
if Kip didn't do something to stop it.

CHAPTER 8

Questions flooded Kip's brain. The Jellies didn't
need
slaves. They were obviously smart enough to work out how to pump warm water from the surface.

Virgil put a hand on Kip's shoulder. He seemed to know what Kip was struggling to understand. ‘They keep us as slaves to show us that they're more powerful.'