Whales on Stilts! (13 page)

Authors: M.T. Anderson

“Is that so, kid?” asked Larry. “Is that really so?”

“Yes, sir,” said Jasper. He raised his harpoon within his plastic bubble. “I will not hesitate to use myâ”

And then he felt the guns sticking into his back, pressing against the Oxysphere. The guards had woken up.

On the screens the whales were within sight of Decentville.

Meanwhile, on land, the whales were within sight of Decentville.

Already on the streets of that little town, there was panic. People running out of the five-and-dime could see whales tottering toward them on the horizon. Farmhouses were on fire. Laser-beam eyes flashed.

Explosions rocked Decentville.

Cars were stopped in the middle of roads so people could run into discount clothing stores. Smoke was pouring out of the gas station. A pop machine had ruptured; dogs licked up Dr Pepper from the pavement.

And somewhere in all of that chaos, Lily's grandmother lived.

Lily and Katie saw all this from the Aero-Bistro. The androids had turned on the propellers, and the airship was headed to meet the whales. Meanwhile, Katie and Lily were putting their plan into action. They ran around on the dining deck, setting up phonograph record players, aiming the huge sound bells toward the whales.

Clouds drifted under the Aero-Bistro. It puttered toward the evil pod.

The whales were readying for the kill.

The android waiters dolefully told customers, “This is not happy hour.”

Lily's grandmother was just coming out of the five-and-dime with some half-price ribbon candy. It was amazing how cheap you could get ribbon candy when it was smashed.

Lily's grandma figured it didn't matter if the ribbon candy was a little broken, because you chewed it, anyway, so it was always smashed by the time it reached your gullet. She didn't understand why people made such a fuss about things that were just going to get torn up by your teeth before they got to your gullet, anyhow. For example, a piece of chicken. What was the difference between a piece of chicken on your plate looking all nice and neat as a button, and a piece of chicken on your plate that had
already been chewed by your brother? Not a goll-blasted thing. And if people couldn't understand that, well thenâ

But her train of thought was broken. There, towering over her, was the first of the whales to stomp into Decentville. It was huge. It glared down at her.

Its eyes were sparkling. The lasers were warming up.

Lily's grandmother screamed.

But let's get back to the adventures of Jasper Dash, Boy Technonaut.

As you may recall, our plucky pal was standing in the control room on Larry's yacht, encased entirely in a bubble, while guards poked their guns into his back. Jasper was beginning to wish that his bubble wasn't quite so wobbly.

It was a dire moment for our boy hero.

Just the kind of opportunity that mad scientists take to explain to their victims their plots for world domination.

Larry, thankfully, did nothing of the kind, as his plan for world domination was really pretty straightforwardâhave whales invade everythingâand didn't exactly require a map, a lecture course, and a Boolean diagram to explain.
So the good news was that Jasper didn't have to listen to Larry drone on about how soonâ
soon!
âthe world would be hisâ
his, do you hear? hisâetc.
The bad news was that there really was nothing to delay Larry, or to convince him that he shouldn't just shoot Jasper immediately.

Jasper's eyes were full of bravery and defiance, but in his heart he didn't see any way out, and he was counting his blessings in this life, chief among them being that he had always done what his mother had asked. He was also proud of his friendship with two of the bravest and most resourceful girls alive, Katie Mulligan and Lily Gefelty. And he was proud, finally, .-that each and every morning he had started the day right, with Gargletine Brand Patented Breakfast Drink, the wonderfully effective, chocolaty-good cure for what ails you.

Jasper whispered silent good-byes to those he loved.

And Larry said, “The whales have just reached Decentville. Off the kid, and let's get moving.”

The whales were stepping over and on buildings, spreading themselves out through the town, preparing for mass destruction.

Lily's grandmother, on the ground, quivered with fear and dropped her bargain candy.

“That's my grandma!” said Lily, leaning over the railing of the Aero-Bistro.

“Concentrate, Lily!” said Katie. “We've got to put your plan into action.”

Lily raised herself up. The fate of the world was in her hands.

The Aero-Bistro hovered near the whales. Along the railing was the series of phonograph record playersâand by each one stood a robotic waiter.

The whales swiveled on their electronic stilt-legs and faced the airship. Their eyes glittered.

They were ready to shoot. They were ready to blast the Aero-Bistro out of the sky.

From below people screamed and tried to get out from under the restaurant's shadow.

The whale eyes burned.

Lily said, “Go!”

The waiters, in unison, dropped the needles onto the records.

“Take that!” said Katie.

The gramophone records played. In unison, with a few pops and cracks, the songs of the humpback whale filled the air. The whooping and creaking. The empty echoes through the ocean depths.

The whales hesitated. They listened.

“It's working!” said Katie. “They're distracted by their own whale song!”

But it wasn't enough.

Their eyes still sparkled.

Lily gasped. “Jasper must not have blocked the signal from Larry's radio tower yet!”

“Oh no!” cried Katie. “If music can't save us, what can?”

The answer, my friendsâand this isn't the answer Katie was expectingâwas a trussed-up man named Ray.

Ray, you may remember, was a friend of Mr. Gefelty's who was dragged away from work all tied up and gagged because He Knew Too Much. He had been thrown on board Larry's yacht until he could be fed to the narwhals.

Ray, however, was not one to be thrown overboard lightly. He didn't just sit there waiting to walk the plank. No, he hopped down the corridor, ready to pick a fight without even the use of his hands.

He saw his opportunity when he passed the control room door and glimpsed some kid in a stupid bubble being held at gunpoint by Larry's goons.