Devon Blake and the Starship Crash by Douglas Warren Page A

Link and Junior turned toward Terry, beginning to show signs of
     
anger.
     
Sensing that he had gone too far, Terry gulped. “Merrell…hurt? Of course I don’t want
     
that.” He smiled nervously. “He is my friend, why would I want him to get hurt…it’s just that I
     
don’t like the others. Like I said before Blake is a thief, Flim is a freak, and the urchin girl
     
doesn’t even belong with us. She is as poor as a spaceport mouse.”
     
Link and Junior relaxed, soothed by Terry’s fast-talk. Junior scratched his head and
     
paused for a moment.
     
“…Terry, I’ve been meaning to ask you something. You called Devon a thief. What did
     
he steal?”
     
Terry shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Well, he didn’t really steal anything, but his
     
whole family is a bunch of thieves.”
     
Junior shrugged. “I still don’t get it. Why?”
     
Terry leaned forward, putting his face close to Junior’s. “His grandfather nearly wrecked
     
mine. My grandpapa owned United Gyros back then. We owned it for generations before that.
     
When Devon’s grandfather invented his stupid hovercar nobody wanted gyrocopters anymore.
     
My grandpapa lost the company, and nearly everything else. Luckily, he still owned another,
     
smaller manufacturing company. He and my dad worked for a long time to make it successful,
and it is now.” Terry paused to make sure that Link and Junior understood. “So, you see, he and
     
his family stole almost everything we had. It just wasn’t fair.”
     
Link shrugged, “I guess your right, but you still got that other company. So you are still
     
rich.”
     
Terry crossed his arms angrily, “Rich, yes, but not as rich as we are supposed to
     
be…thanks to them.”
     
Junior nodded, seeming satisfied. “Okay, I guess you’re right. His family done you
     
wrong, so no need to be nice to Devon.” He paused for a moment, then continued. “By the way,
     
what does that other company your family owns make?”
Terry sat silently for a moment, jaws clenched, then growled. “Garbage Dumpsters.”

Chapter 14
Devon's eyes scanned the nearby trees carefully. The hair on the back of his neck stood
     
up, sending a shiver down his back.
     
"Does anyone else feel like they are being watched?" Devon whispered, trading glances
     
with Flim, Jacinda, and Merrell.
     
They all nodded in agreement.
     
Devon tapped the transmit button on his WristVid. "Mr. Jacobs? Are you there?" He
     
waited for a response for several moments. "Hello, Mr. Jacobs?" There was still no response.
     
Devon's mind began to race, filled with images of Deke lying unconscious in the aisle of
     
the drop ship, the children all around him screaming in panic.
     
Devon nearly jumped when Deke’s voice came out of his WristVid. “I’m here Devon.
     
You sound upset, is everything okay?”
Devon paused for a moment, trying to keep the fear out of his voice. “We are okay, but I
     
am getting a bad feeling…like we are being watched.”
     
“Don’t worry, I’m sure it is just your imagination. What we need to worry about right
     
now is getting you back inside. We have plenty of time before nightfall, but I want you in here a
     
lot sooner than that.”
     
“So what do we do?”
     
“I think we can open one of the emergency doors and lower a rope or something down to
     
you. We just have to find something like a rope. It should not take more than a few minutes.”
     
Devon sighed in relief and turned to the others. “I think that’ll make us all feel better.
     
Right guys?”
     
Jacinda and Merrell nodded in agreement, but there was no sign of Flim. Devon gave the
     
others a confused look.
     
“Where in the world did Flim go?”
     
Jacinda looked around, her eyes wide. “I’m not sure. He was just here.”
     
Merrell and Devon began looking as well, scanning the area for any sign of their friend.
     
Unfortunately, there was no sign.
     
“Flim! Where are you?”