Max Brallier: The Last Kids on Earth and the Cosmic Beyond

First published in the United States of America by Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2015

This edition published in 2019

By Egmont UK Limited

The Yellow Building, 1 Nicholas Road, London W11 4AN

Text copyright © 2015 Max Brallier

Illustrations copyright © 2015 Douglas Holgate

The moral rights of the author and illustrator have been asserted.

First e-book edition 2019

ISBN 978 1 4052 9512 3

Ebook ISBN 978 1 4052 9513 0

www.egmont.co.uk

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Stay safe online. Any website addresses listed in this book are correct at the time of going to print. However, Egmont is not responsible for content hosted by third parties. Please be aware that online content can be subject to change and websites can contain content that is unsuitable for children. We advise that all children are supervised when using the internet.

For my Lila Bean.

– M. B.

For Turtle and Panda.

– D. H.

Cover

Title Page

Copyright First published in the United States of America by Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2015 This edition published in 2019 By Egmont UK Limited The Yellow Building, 1 Nicholas Road, London W11 4AN Text copyright © 2015 Max Brallier Illustrations copyright © 2015 Douglas Holgate The moral rights of the author and illustrator have been asserted. First e-book edition 2019 ISBN 978 1 4052 9512 3 Ebook ISBN 978 1 4052 9513 0 www.egmont.co.uk A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Stay safe online. Any website addresses listed in this book are correct at the time of going to print. However, Egmont is not responsible for content hosted by third parties. Please be aware that online content can be subject to change and websites can contain content that is unsuitable for children. We advise that all children are supervised when using the internet.

Dedication For my Lila Bean. – M. B. For Turtle and Panda. – D. H.

Map of Wakefield

chapter one

chapter two

chapter three

chapter four

chapter five

chapter six

chapter seven

chapter eight

chapter nine

chapter ten

chapter eleven

chapter twelve

chapter thirteen

chapter fourteen

chapter fifteen

chapter sixteen

chapter seventeen

chapter eighteen

chapter nineteen

chapter twenty

chapter twenty-one

chapter twenty-two

chapter twenty-three

Acknowledgments

About the Author

So, we are about to be astro-blasted. Catapulted and launched . Propelled off the roof of our tree house by something called the Sled-Shot.

Why? Why load ourselves into a massive slingshot and blast ourselves off the roof?

Why did some old guy climb Mount Everest? BECAUSE IT’S THERE!!!

Actually, that’s not the reason at all. The Sled-Shot was of course not just ‘there’. My best friend, Quint Baker, built it.

‘Quint, are you sure this is safe?’ I ask.

He thinks for a moment, then says, ‘No. But I’m not not sure.’

‘What’s the matter? A little nervous, Jack?’

That’s my buddy-crush, June Del Toro. I know she’s teasing me, but I actually do feel kind of queasy. Usually, I’m super gung-ho about all things action, no matter the danger. But not this.

I give the Sled-Shot a final look before I slide in. ‘Quint, this looks like a weapon for medieval siege warfare! Or for defending a castle against an army of orcs! Or for storming a castle with an army of orcs! This would be helpful if we were under siege, but we’re very much not under siege.’

June grins. ‘We are under snow .’

‘Not the same,’ I say. ‘Not even kind of sort of the same.’

‘But they think it is,’ June says.

They are the monsters who are our friends. The dozen or so monsters up here with us in the tree house, helping us prepare for blast-off. And the many other monsters down below, in Wakefield Town Square.

And it’s true. The monsters are probably more worried about the snow than they would be about an army of orcs. They are not inspiring confidence . . .

Hey! No one’s got dibs on my monster buddy Rover and definitely no one is sleeping in my bed! I glare at Skaelka. She’s the one with the big axe.

My big buddy Dirk Savage – the final member of our foursome of friends – says, ‘Enough talk! We’re going. Equip helmets.’

‘Helmets equipped!’ we respond.

‘Equip inflatable donut rafts!’ Quint shouts.

‘Equipped!’ my buddies say.

‘Equipped!’ I say. But that’s only partly true. See, Quint designed instant-inflate donut rafts. They’re basically airbags for your body. But I’m Jack Sullivan! I don’t need that! Quint’s a worrier, though, so I agreed to wear it.

What I didn’t tell him is that I filled mine with delicious snacks! I mean, honestly – what are the odds I’m going to need an instant-inflate raft? Not high. But the odds I’m gonna want delicious snacks? WAY HIGH. Plus, I get to walk around looking less lame than my buds – see?

‘You may fire when ready!’ Quint says to the monsters. There’s a big grin on his face. It is the grin of someone who has always wanted to say ‘you may fire when ready’ and just finally got his chance.

Skaelka cocks back the sled. The tree house rattles. I hear whirring, I hear clanking, I hear gears turning. This is happening and there’s no stopping it. And then . . .