the opposite direction, scattering like cockroaches. Yestin hurls himself straight at the corner where Rufus is cowering. It’s a narrow wedge of space between two silver cylinders, just wide enough to fit Noble, Rufus, and Yestin if they squeeze together very tightly.
With his view of the door blocked by a silver cylinder, Noble can’t see what’s heading their way. But he can hear it.
“Is that the man in the white coat?” he hisses, over the shuddering roar of an engine.
“Shhh!”
Rufus is so intent on the intruder that he doesn’t even glance at Noble or Yestin. Perhaps Rufus doesn’t realize that Yestin is actually with them. It’s easy to overlook someone so small and skinny.
“Get back! Back!” Rufus orders, flattening his whole body against the wall behind him. Noble does the same—less successfully than Rufus, because he’s so large. Cringing in the shadows, they watch a white van roll past: first its wheel hubs, then its wing mirror, then its window.
“Wait for it …,” Rufus whispers. “Wait for it.…”
Noble hasn’t the faintest idea what they’re waiting for. But as the van keeps moving, exposing more and more of its glossy white flank, Rufus abruptly seizes Noble’s arm.
“Now!”
yips Rufus.
He yanks Noble off the wall and drags him past the van’s rear wheels, through the newly opened escape route. It all happens so quickly that Noble can’t quite grasp what’s going on. He completely forgets that he’s still holding Yestin’s hand. When the van doesn’t stop, he concludes that its driver hasn’t seen them. But before he can say so, Rufus jerks him around a corner.
That’s when Noble registers that he’s not on the spaceship anymore. He can’t be. The ship is all drooling soft tissue and exposed cartilage. It doesn’t have woolly pink rugs on shiny wooden floors, or pretty plaster rosettes on the ceiling. It’s not a mazeof well-stocked clothes racks, stretching off into the distance beneath rows of crystal chandeliers.
Noble peers around in a daze. Where is he? He knows he’s not in Thanehaven. No one wears feathery blue scarves or canary-yellow hats where he comes from.
“What are you doing?” he asks Rufus, who’s pulling him away from the hatch. Noble now has his back against a gleaming expanse of pink wallpaper, so he can’t see the hatch very well from where he’s skulking. But he’s still able to identify the telltale
thud
of an escape route being blocked. “We gave the AV the slip. He doesn’t know where we are.”
“
Who
doesn’t?” Yestin squeals. “Who
was
that?” He’s yanking at Noble’s other arm, so that Noble feels like the rope in a tug-of-war. “We’ve got to help the others!” Yestin pleads. “We’ve got to go back!”
“Oh!” Rufus blinks at Yestin, looking surprised. “Are you here? Good.”
“We have to rescue them!” the younger boy wails.
“Shhh.”
Rufus puts a finger to his lips. “We will. But we can’t hang around. We have to keep moving.”
“Why?” says Noble. He’s abandoned a bunch of children trapped in a monsters’ lair, and he doesn’t like it. “The man in the white coat—the AV—won’t come after us. I told you—he didn’t see us. He kept driving straight through the airlock.”
“He’ll know I’ve been on board, though,” Rufus insists. “And when he works
that
out, this is the firstplace he’ll check after searching the ship. We can’t let him find us. Not yet.” Seeing Yestin’s crumpled face and welling eyes, Rufus adds, “We’ll figure it out. Trust me. I’m going to blow this whole place wide open.”
He darts off down a long aisle formed by two overburdened clothes racks. But when he realizes that no one’s following him, he stops and turns, beckoning furiously. “Do you want to be
replaced
?” he says. “Both of you?”
Noble admits that he doesn’t. Yestin mutely shakes his head.
“Then you’d better move fast,” Rufus advises them. “Because if you
With his view of the door blocked by a silver cylinder, Noble can’t see what’s heading their way. But he can hear it.
“Is that the man in the white coat?” he hisses, over the shuddering roar of an engine.
“Shhh!”
Rufus is so intent on the intruder that he doesn’t even glance at Noble or Yestin. Perhaps Rufus doesn’t realize that Yestin is actually with them. It’s easy to overlook someone so small and skinny.
“Get back! Back!” Rufus orders, flattening his whole body against the wall behind him. Noble does the same—less successfully than Rufus, because he’s so large. Cringing in the shadows, they watch a white van roll past: first its wheel hubs, then its wing mirror, then its window.
“Wait for it …,” Rufus whispers. “Wait for it.…”
Noble hasn’t the faintest idea what they’re waiting for. But as the van keeps moving, exposing more and more of its glossy white flank, Rufus abruptly seizes Noble’s arm.
“Now!”
yips Rufus.
He yanks Noble off the wall and drags him past the van’s rear wheels, through the newly opened escape route. It all happens so quickly that Noble can’t quite grasp what’s going on. He completely forgets that he’s still holding Yestin’s hand. When the van doesn’t stop, he concludes that its driver hasn’t seen them. But before he can say so, Rufus jerks him around a corner.
That’s when Noble registers that he’s not on the spaceship anymore. He can’t be. The ship is all drooling soft tissue and exposed cartilage. It doesn’t have woolly pink rugs on shiny wooden floors, or pretty plaster rosettes on the ceiling. It’s not a mazeof well-stocked clothes racks, stretching off into the distance beneath rows of crystal chandeliers.
Noble peers around in a daze. Where is he? He knows he’s not in Thanehaven. No one wears feathery blue scarves or canary-yellow hats where he comes from.
“What are you doing?” he asks Rufus, who’s pulling him away from the hatch. Noble now has his back against a gleaming expanse of pink wallpaper, so he can’t see the hatch very well from where he’s skulking. But he’s still able to identify the telltale
thud
of an escape route being blocked. “We gave the AV the slip. He doesn’t know where we are.”
“
Who
doesn’t?” Yestin squeals. “Who
was
that?” He’s yanking at Noble’s other arm, so that Noble feels like the rope in a tug-of-war. “We’ve got to help the others!” Yestin pleads. “We’ve got to go back!”
“Oh!” Rufus blinks at Yestin, looking surprised. “Are you here? Good.”
“We have to rescue them!” the younger boy wails.
“Shhh.”
Rufus puts a finger to his lips. “We will. But we can’t hang around. We have to keep moving.”
“Why?” says Noble. He’s abandoned a bunch of children trapped in a monsters’ lair, and he doesn’t like it. “The man in the white coat—the AV—won’t come after us. I told you—he didn’t see us. He kept driving straight through the airlock.”
“He’ll know I’ve been on board, though,” Rufus insists. “And when he works
that
out, this is the firstplace he’ll check after searching the ship. We can’t let him find us. Not yet.” Seeing Yestin’s crumpled face and welling eyes, Rufus adds, “We’ll figure it out. Trust me. I’m going to blow this whole place wide open.”
He darts off down a long aisle formed by two overburdened clothes racks. But when he realizes that no one’s following him, he stops and turns, beckoning furiously. “Do you want to be
replaced
?” he says. “Both of you?”
Noble admits that he doesn’t. Yestin mutely shakes his head.
“Then you’d better move fast,” Rufus advises them. “Because if you
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