My Friend is an Alien - Edlund Niklas - Страница 46

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"Oh, crap." snarled Keith. "I knew this was all going too well."

Keith looked around. Niklas and Davy looked like they wanted to do something, but they weren't sure what. Martin looked stunned. So did the four aliens. The rest of the people — the reaction was mixed. Most of the kids anywhere near the aliens had backed off. Some parents were hauling their kids away as fast as they could. Other people were coming closer to see what the commotion was about. Keith spotted two park employees nearby, and they both looked like they hadn't the slightest idea what to do, as if they weren't sure if this was some sort of staged event they hadn't been told about, or something a whole lot weirder.

Keith recalled when they had left Star Screamer, there had been restrooms near the exit. It wasn't much, and it was likely to be crowded, but it was semi-secluded and in shadows. And frankly, it was all he could think of.

He raced over to Niklas and Davy. "Round these four up and head for the bathrooms off Star Screamer. Now!" he whispered to both of them. Niklas and Davy ran for the aliens and hauled them out of the area. Keith grabbed Martin and Arion, who had been furthest from the other three.

The crowd easily parted for the strange group, and as they entered the bathrooms near Star Screamer, that was pretty much more than enough to suggest to anyone in there that they would be better off seeking relief elsewhere.

"I'll chew you out about your track record on inventions later." said Keith. "We need to get out of here. Now!"

Jahv withdrew his teleportation device. "That may be a problem."

Keith just lowered his head. "Lemme guess. They're REALLY not waterproof."

"I had thought that they were." said Jahv. "But apparently not against such a soaking. They'll work — eventually — but they'll need time to dry off."

"How long?" asked Niklas.

"I can't imagine it would take more than an hour." replied Jahv.

"An hour?!" exclaimed Keith. "We can't stay in here for an hour! And somebody is going to get his wits about him and report what he saw."

"And this place is reaaaally good on security, from what I hear." added Davy.

Keith was thinking, not really looking at any of the others. "Jahv, you brought your backpack with you, right?"

"Of course."

"You still got that gizmo that made you, me, Davy, and Martin invisible that day in the Mall last summer?"

"Yes, but there's no way it can handle all eight of us." answered Jahv.

"Can it handle the four of you?" asked Keith. "Then the four of us can cover for you, and hopefully no one will pester us — too much, anyway."

"That's — possible. But there is a problem."

"Which is?" asked Keith, turning and suddenly noticing that Kahv was not wearing the backpack.

"I left the pack out by the fountains."

Keith bit his lip, realizing that letting loose a scream the likes of which he would have wished to right then would have only complicated matters. He sighed, and said, "Okay. Everybody wait here. I'll get the backpack and whatever else we left out there."

"What if you get caught?" said Martin.

"Then getting to the backpack won't make much difference, because they'll be on to all of us. But it's our best shot."

Keith stuck his head out of the restroom. It looked more or less safe. People had gotten off Star Screamer who clearly didn't know what was in the bathroom. Keith figured they'd probably gotten lucky that no one else had had to use it since they'd dashed into it. He saw no immediate sign of security. A few people milling around had looked a little unnerved, but no one seemed to be paying too much attention to the bathroom.

Maybe they figure it was some sort of park stunt, thought Keith. Good. Let 'em.

There was an arcade next to Star Screamer, attached to a souvenir shop. Keith decided to cut through these on his way to the Galactic Waves instead of plow right through the open area. The arcade and certainly the souvenir shop were busier, and Keith figured he was more likely to go undetected.

No one's going to figure a kid is smart enough to take a detour, thought Keith.

When he peeked out of the souvenir shop in the direction of the fountains, he spotted Jahv's backpack. It was off to the side, and no one was paying any attention to it. Unfortunately, no one was in the fountains, either. The cast members who'd been around before had shut down the fountains. Given the sparks Jahv and the others had thrown off when their holo-disguises had malfunctioned, they were probably making sure no one was getting electrocuted around there.

This had an advantage and a disadvantage as far as Keith was concerned. There were a lot less people milling around — but it was also obvious that something in the area wasn't quite right, and that was making people suspicious.

Still, they couldn't hide in that restroom forever. Keith hoped he could get to the backpack, conceal the four aliens, and maybe find someplace to hide until the discs dried off enough to use to get them out of the area. He hoped Davy knew of someplace they could do that. Big as Keisner Park was, there had to be someplace.

He walked over as nonchalantly as possible in the direction of Jahv's backpack. One of the straps was facing up, and Keith hoped he could loop it over his foot as he walked by and keep going. He'd pick it up and carry it as soon as possible.

He'd just gotten to the pack when two Keisner Park security guards in blue uniforms and a Keisner Park Lord-knows-what in a dark suit and sunglasses seemed to pop out of nowhere. "We'd like to have a few words with you, son — and with your friends. Where are they?"

Busted at Keisner Park. Now just how bad could a day get?

Davy was recalling everything he could think about Keisner Park. He'd read up on the place, hoping one day he'd be able to visit. He'd never figured that he'd be using that information to keep from getting caught. "Okay, if we can get out of here, there's a few places we can hide until the discs work again. There's a remote restaurant with a big lower level at the far corner of Western Realm. No one'll be there at this time of day, and it's dark and secluded."

"I am so sorry about this." said Jahv, sounding miserable. "I thought I had insulated these well enough."

"Regrets later." barked Arion. "Concern yourself with the present."

"Indeed." came a new voice. The boys turned to see the two guards and the man in the suit, standing with a miserable-looking Keith. The man in the suit continued. "You boys need to all come with us. Now."

Niklas thought of one desperate ploy. "Our parents are expecting us to meet them on Gateway Avenue in a few minutes."

"Your parents aren't here, boy." said one of the guards. "We know that as much as you know it."

The boys were taken out of the restroom and through a nearby "Security Only" door. Martin looked like he was ready to either throw up or wet himself. Keith put an arm around his shoulder. Niklas and Davy looked frightened, and so did Jahv and Keyro. Morik looked downright petrified, and Arion frankly looked like he was spoiling for a fight. If he thought the odds would have allowed it, Keith might have joined him. But both he and Arion seemed to realize that would accomplish nothing.

They eventually reached an outdoor behind-the-scenes area, and were led into a van. The back area had no windows, and no way for the boys to ascertain where they were being taken. When the van finally stopped, not long after, they were near the entrance of an office building. They were taken inside, and led to one of the larger offices. All eight were taken inside, and left alone with whoever was seated at the desk.

The large chair at the desk turned around, and a smiling man perhaps somewhere in his late 40's was seated in the chair. From the pictures Davy had seen in some books he had read, this was Paul Keisner himself. "Well, this is interesting. Two Botarans in the park."

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