Astrosaurs 2 (10 page)

“It's the thing that made that terrible wailing noise!” cried Sog. “I know it is!”

He hopped onto Gipsy's tail and scampered up to her shoulder in fright.

The footsteps shuffled closer and closer . . .

“Halt!” squawked Professor Sog bravely. He peered out from behind the crest on Gipsy's head. “Who goes there?”

A familiar figure came out of the shadows. “Hello, Gipsy! Professor!”

“Arx!” squealed Gipsy in delight.

“And me!” called Coo from somewhere behind him.

“Thank goodness!” gasped Sog. “So, you hid in the crack too!”

“There was nowhere else to go,” said Arx. He seemed a little out of breath.

“I'm glad we've found you. There's something I think you should see.”

“What is it?” asked Gipsy.

But Arx was already retracing his footsteps. “The path gets very steep down here. Don't slip!”

Gipsy and Sog followed them along the ledge. Arx was right – the path dipped down sharply. Gipsy trod carefully, while Sog slithered down on his bottom.

The air grew warmer. The ledge grew wider. A soft, thudding noise seemed to echo up from the chasm beside them.

To Gipsy, it sounded like a huge,
heavy heartbeat. Her tracker bleeped so loudly she had to turn it off.

They crept on for what felt like ages. Then, suddenly, the steep path levelled out. Arx came to a sudden stop.

“Here we are,” he said. “A hole. I think it stretches down to the very centre of the planet!”

Gipsy stared down into the hole. This was the source of the heartbeat sound:
Ba-DUMP
. . .
Ba-DUMP
. . .
Ba-DUMP
. . .

It was like looking into a deep well. Far below, thick yellowy-white liquid sloshed about like runny custard.

“Keep watching,” Arx murmured.

Then, just below the slimy surface of the goo . . . something massive moved!

“What was that?” Gipsy gasped.

“I think I know,” said Arx. “But if I'm right, we're in worse trouble than we thought!”

Even as he spoke, the wall behind them exploded with a mighty crash!

Coo yelped as bits of the strange, smooth rock flew through the air. Sog hid behind Arx's head for safety.

Gipsy whirled around in surprise. “Look!” she cried. A huge hole had
appeared in the smooth wall. “Something's coming out!”

A familiar orange head poked out of the darkness.

“Only me!”

“Captain Teggs!” beamed Gipsy. She quickly saluted. “And Dippa! You gave us a fright!”

“Sorry about that,” said Teggs. “We were walking through one of the cracks, but it came to a dead end.”

“So he smashed through the rock with his tail!” added Dippa.

“Rock, eh?” said Arx. He nudged a fragment of the smooth rock with his horn. “I'm not so sure . . . See how easily this stuff breaks?”

Teggs looked hurt. “Well, I did give it quite a whack, you know!”

“I'm sure you did, Captain,” said Arx
quickly. “But look at it! So smooth, so brittle. It's not really like rock at all, is it?”

Everyone stared at the broken pieces on the ground.

“You're right,” said Teggs slowly. “In fact, it looks a lot like . . .
eggshell!”

“Eggshell?” twittered Sog. “But this material covers the whole planet!”

“I don't get it,” said Coo. “How can a planet be made from eggshell?”

“Easy,” said Arx. “Because Platus Two
isn't
a planet after all! It's an
egg
! A SPECIAL, GIGANTIC, PLANET-SIZED EGG!”

Everyone stared at him in amazement.

“Of course!” breathed Teggs. “It makes perfect sense!”

“Seems crazy to me,” said Dippa.

“Ah, but things aren't always as they seem,” said Teggs. “Remember the way the oviraptor ship was hidden inside the meteor? This is the same idea – only there's something a lot bigger hidden inside this planet!”

Arx turned to Professor Sog. “I
told
you Platus Two had grown!” he cried. “It's probably been getting bigger and bigger for hundreds of years – because the creature
inside it
has been growing in size too!”

“But – but eggs don't grow!” protested Sog.

“This is no ordinary egg,” said Arx. “Besides, can
you
imagine laying an egg the size of a planet?”

“Ouch!” Teggs winced. “That would
bring tears to your eyes!

“So let me get this straight,” said Gipsy excitedly. “The explorers mistook Platus Two for a planet, just like we did. But deep inside it is the biggest baby in the universe – and it's starting to hatch!”

“That's why there are cracks all over the place!” said Teggs. “The thick shell is breaking open!”

“What about those geysers?” asked Coo. “How can an egg spray molten lava everywhere?”

“But it's
not
molten lava,” Gipsy told him. “It's just egg white bursting out as the egg starts to hatch!”

“Well, what about that scary noise?” asked Dippa.

“Come on,” said Arx, like a stern
schoolteacher. “What's the first thing a baby does when it hatches?”

“It cries!” Dippa realized. “That's what we've been hearing!”

They all stared down into the deep, dark hole, where the baby was slowly stirring in its runny yolk.

“Think how big it must be,” whispered Sog. “Simply enormous! That movement we saw was probably just an eyelash! Or the tip of a whisker!”

“Uh-oh,” said Gipsy. “I just had an awful thought. If this creature really
is
ready to hatch, then Platus Two must be close to completely cracking up!”

“I know how it feels,” sighed Coo.

“Guys,” said Teggs gravely, “if we can't get off this egg-world – we're doomed!”

“You're right!” Sog squealed. “We'll all be flung off into space!”

“Flung off into space?” said someone behind them. “Ha! That will seem like fun compared to what
I'm
going to do to you all!”

Teggs turned to find King Albu creeping along the ledge towards them, his red eyes agleam. The oviraptors had tracked them down!

“Quick!” Teggs shouted. “Run for it!”

But then Prince Goopo led his brothers out of the shadows, blocking their way.

King Albu giggled with glee. “This time, there will be no escape!”