Zoid Page 13
‘I am.’
It is Belle. She has a distant look in her eyes, the look she gets when she’s accessing data from her memory banks.
‘When I hacked into the encryption code for the perimeter force field back at Sector 17, I also downloaded schematics showing locations of portals to the mid-deck. There is one in the tube-forest below us.’ She looks at me. ‘I can take you there, York.’
I reach out and touch the cool smooth surface of the mind-tomb.
‘I’m so glad you’re still here, Bronx. I know you’ll take good care of these people,’ I tell the glowing face of my friend. ‘But I must go with Belle.’
‘Go with her?’ Lina is in the doorway. She’s obviously come back to make up with me, only to find that I’m about to head off with Belle.
‘How can you choose her over me?’ Lina asks me. ‘She’s synth-skin and circuitry, York. She’s not real . . .’
‘The dangers Belle and I have faced together were real,’ I say. ‘The suckerworms we fought were real. The killer zoids we zilched were real . . .’ I look at Belle. ‘Our friendship is real.’
My expression softens, and I take Lina by the hand and squeeze it gently.
‘Please understand, Lina,’ I say. ‘I have to find out why our world has gone so wrong. And I need Belle to help me.’
I let go of her hand and leave the refectory pod. Belle follows me.
‘Stay safe,’ I hear Lina call. ‘Both of you.’
Where would you find a perfumed bog filled with pink stinky hogs and exploding gas frogs, a wizard with only one spell, an ogre who cries a lot and a VERY sarcastic budgie?
Joe Jefferson was just an ordinary schoolboy. But something strange happened when he was walking his dog and now he’s Joe the Barbarian – summoned to Muddle Earth to wrestle dragons and be very, very brave. Joe doesn’t feel much like a warrior hero (he doesn’t look much like one either). But evil is stirring – and someone has to save Muddle Earth from the sinister Dr Cuddles . . .
Once upon a time a spell went very wrong – and Joe Jefferson found himself transported to Muddle Earth, where the wizards are mad, the pink stinky hogs are stinky and the jokes are truly terrible. Now, two years later, Muddle
Earth needs him back. But even with his Wellies of Power, Woolly Gloves of Determination and a saucepan on his head, can Joe really defeat the terrifying spectre of evil that threatens to destroy Muddle Earth?
Get prepared for another epic battle between the forces of good, evil and everything in between!
Paul Stewart is a highly regarded and award-winning author of books for young readers – everything from picture books to football stories, fantasy, sci-fi and horror. His first book was published in 1988 and he has since had over fifty titles published.
Chris Riddell is an accomplished artist and political cartoonist for the Observer. His books have won many awards, including the Kate Greenaway Medal, the Nestlé Children’s Book Prize and the Red House Children’s Book Award. Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse won the Costa Children’s Book Award in 2013.
Paul and Chris first met at their sons’ nursery school and decided to work together (they can’t remember why!). Since then their books have included the Blobheads series, The Edge Chronicles, the Muddle Earth books and the Far-Flung Adventures, which include Fergus Crane, Gold Smarties Prize Winner, Corby Flood and Hugo Pepper, both Silver Nestlé Prize Winners.
Also by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell
MUDDLE EARTH
MUDDLE EARTH TOO
THE EDGE CHRONICLES
THE FAR-FLUNG ADVENTURES
BARNABY GRIMES SERIES
BUMPER BLOBHEADS
And by Chris Riddell
GOTH GIRL AND THE GHOST OF A MOUSE
The Ottoline books:
OTTOLINE AND THE YELLOW CAT
OTTOLINE GOES TO SCHOOL
OTTOLINE AT SEA
First published 2014 by Macmillan Children’s Books
This electronic edition published 2014 by Macmillan Children’s Books
a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR
Basingstoke and Oxford
Associated companies throughout the world
www.panmacmillan.com
ISBN 978-1-4472-3441-8
Text and illustrations copyright © Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell 2014
The right of Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
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