[Galaxy Of Fear] - 04(10)

Zak didn’t hesitate. He turned and ran as fast as his feet would carry him. He burst out of The Nightmare Machine, past the bustling maintenance droid, and into the brightly lit air of Fun World, where Tash, Deevee, and Lando were waiting.

“Zak, we were just looking for you-” Tash said.

“We’ve got to get out of here!” Zak interrupted. “He’s here! He’s here!”

“Who’s here?” Deevee asked.

Zak pulled on Tash’s arm. “The scientist! Gog! The one behind Project Starscream!”

“That’s impossible!” Tash said. “Why would he be here?”

Zak looked back toward The Nightmare Machine. He was surprised to see that no one had followed him, but that didn’t ease his fears. “I don’t know. Maybe he followed us. But he’s here. And he’s got some kind of… of creature with him!”

Lando was confused. “Project Starscream? Gog? What’s going on?”

“We’ve got to get out of here!” Zak insisted.

“How?” Deevee asked calmly. “We have no starship. Master Hoole will not return for several days.”

“Will someone please tell me what’s going on?” Lando insisted.

Tash, remembering her uncle’s warning to tell no one, said carefully, “It looks like Zak saw someone in The Nightmare Machine that we think may be a-a criminal.”

Lando considered. “Maybe I can help. I know the baron administrator of Hologram Fun World. He can help you with this criminal, and I know he’ll ensure your safety.”

A few minutes later, Lando brought Zak, Tash, and Deevee to the doors of the administrative building at the center of Fun World. Zak could see his own reflection in the gleaming durasteel walls as they entered the automatic doors.

Lando took them to the top floor, ten levels above ground. The entire top floor of the administrative building was taken up by a single circular office, with windows facing in all directions. Star Dragons swooped around the top of the building, and hoverjet racers hurtled passed the windows of the baron administrator’s office. From that office, they could look out over the entire Fun World.

“Not bad,” Lando whistled appreciatively. “I could get used to this.”

The baron administrator was a man named Danna Fajji. He was short and chubby, with jovial red cheeks and a scruffy red beard at the end of his chin.

Leaving out all references to Project Starscream, Zak told Fajji of the horror he’d seen in The Nightmare Machine-of the Shi’ido scientist and the kidnapped teens. Even Lando shuddered as Zak described the horrible, double-jointed brain creature, its tentacled mouth, and its enormous head. “It was huge, and covered in wriggling veins!”

Danna Fajji only chuckled. “I assure you that everything is under control,” he replied.

“But there are two kids being tortured back there!” Zak insisted. “And there’s a monster!”

Again Fajji smiled. “Please, believe me. I’ll even take you back there myself.”

“Come on. We might as well check it out,” Lando told Zak.

“Well… okay,” Zak agreed, deciding that not much could happen with Lando there. The chubby red-haired man led them all back through the eye-dazzling attractions of Fun World until they reached The Nightmare Machine.

“We shouldn’t go in,” Zak warned. “We should have security people here, or something.”

Fajji shook his head. “It’s unnecessary. Watch.”

Fajji stepped boldly into the domed building. Tash followed him, with Deevee and Lando bringing up the rear.

Zak hesitated. Maybe he had been fooled by a hologram. That’s what this place was all about, after all. He looked around Fun World. Sounds of laughter and chords of happy music floated toward him from all directions. He looked to his left, toward the sunny lagoon with its sparkling water. This was definitely not a place to be afraid of. Shaking his head at his own silliness, he hurried after the others.

The minute he stepped inside, Zak could tell that something was different. The door at the end of the hall was wide open now, and he could see into the room beyond. There were no examination tables, no henchmen, no black transport cube, and certainly no mad Shi’ido scientist.

The room was empty.

“You see,” Danna Fajji said. “I told you everything was under control.”

“I… I don’t get it,” Zak said. “I saw him. I saw that… that creature as clearly as I see you standing there.”

“Zak, are you sure?” Tash asked.

“I thought I was sure,” Zak said, stepping into the room to look around. “But how could they have packed everything up so quickly? I don’t get it.” He looked at Danna Fajji. “I guess you’re right. There’s nothing to be afraid of. “