The Prehistoric Planet

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1 Run for Your Life!

  Chapter 2 Pterosaur Troubles

  Chapter 3 Inside Nebulonics

  Chapter 4 Ultra Grape!

  Chapter 5 An Unexpected Trip

  Chapter 6 Zack Nelson, Daydreamer

  Chapter 7 Ready to Fly!

  Chapter 8 A Stowaway

  Chapter 9 The Prehistoric Planet

  Chapter 10 Home—to Nebulon

  ‘Adventure!’ Excerpt

  About Ray O’Ryan and Colin Jack

  Chapter 1

  Run for Your Life!

  Zack Nelson ran through a jungle. Every tree he saw looked different. They were nothing like the trees that he knew on Earth. They were also not like any tree he had seen so far on his new home planet, Nebulon.

  In the distance Zack saw a huge waterfall. It rose hundreds of feet into the air. The water crashed into a lake below, making a sound like thunder.

  Zack felt confused as he ran along a path.

  Omph!

  Zack tripped over a large white rock and landed on his stomach. As he picked himself back up he heard a ka-raaaaack!!!

  This noise was followed by a high-pitched screech behind him.

  Screeeeeeeee!!!

  Turning back toward the white rock, Zack discovered that it was not a rock at all. It was a huge egg. A tiny creature stepped out of the egg. It let out another ear-splitting yell.

  Screeeeeeeee!!!

  “I’ve seen pictures of that animal,” Zack said to himself. “It’s a baby Tyrannosaurus rex! They’re cute when they’re small.”

  Suddenly, the ground began to shake. An earth-shaking roar split the air.

  ROOOAAAARRRRR!

  Zack looked up and saw a huge Tyrannosaurus rex rumbling toward him.

  “YAAAAA!” he shouted, running in terror. “They’re not so cute when they’re big!”

  Zack ran through the jungle, crashing through branches and leaves. He looked back over his shoulder and saw the giant dinosaur catching up to him.

  That’s when he began to hear familiar music.

  “Wait a minute,” he said. “I know that song. It’s ‘Rockin’ Round the Stars’ by Retro Rocket. But how can it be playing here in this jungle?”

  The music grew louder and louder. The dinosaur got closer and closer.

  “Master Just Zack,” said a very familiar voice. “It is time to get ready for school.”

  “Ira?” Zack asked.

  Zack’s eyes popped open. He saw that he was not in a jungle. He was in his bed, sweating from his nightmare.

  Ira, the Nelson family’s Indoor Robotic Assistant, was waking Zack up. He did this every morning by playing Zack’s favorite song. Zack bolted from his bed, rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and thought, I’ve GOT to explore the Prehistoric Planet!

  Chapter 2

  Pterosaur Troubles

  At breakfast the next morning Zack couldn’t stop thinking about the real-life dinosaur that was right there on Nebulon. The week before, Zack had seen something streaking through the sky. He looked through his überzoom telescope and was amazed to see a creature flying through the air above Nebulon.

  When the creature landed, it turned out to be a baby pterosaur—a dinosaur that had been extinct on Earth for hundreds of millions of years! News of the pterosaur spread through z-mail blasts and sonic cell news reports. Soon everyone on Nebulon and even throughout the entire galaxy knew about the creature.

  Zack’s dad, Otto Nelson, sat at the breakfast table reading the Nebulon News. This was the planet’s online holographic newspaper. Lifelike 3-D images of the dinosaur flapping its wings in a cage jumped from the screen of his tablet reader.

  “I studied pterosaurs on Earth,” explained Zack. “I learned how to pronounce their name! You say it like ‘TER-oh-sore.’ And I learned that they look like giant birds. They have long pointy beaks. And the backs of their heads come to a point. Their wings are bigger than their skinny bodies. And they have long narrow tails.”

  “You do know a lot about pterosaurs, Zack,” said Dad. “At least this one is safe, and the top scientists on Nebulon are taking good care of him. They’re trying to build him a bigger cage for him to fly in.”

  “The poor thing,” said Zack’s mom, Shelly Nelson. “How long do you think it’ll take them to find its home planet?”

  “No one knows for sure, honey,” Dad said. “The scientists are looking as hard as they can for the Prehistoric Planet, where the pterosaur came from. It could be days, weeks, even years before they find the planet.”

  “Years?” asked Zack. “I hope it doesn’t take that long.”

  “Poor little guy . . . ”

  “. . . he must be . . . ”

  “. . . so scared,” said Charlotte and Cathy, Zack’s twin sisters.

  “Everyone at Nebulonics is working very hard to find his home,” said Dad.

  Nebulonics was where Zack’s dad worked. It was the best electronics research company on the planet. Nebulonics was always inventing new things to help make life easier.

  “We’re building an ultra-shuttle that can safely and quickly make the trip to the Prehistoric Planet. We’re going to take the poor fella home.”

  “That’s pretty grape,” said Zack. In the few months he had lived on Nebulon, Zack had gotten comfortable using the word “grape” instead of “cool.”

  “You bet, Captain,” Dad said, getting up from the table. “Well, time for work. I’ll see you all tonight.”

  Captain! Zack thought. “Captain” was what Zack’s dad liked to call him. But this time it made Zack imagine himself at the controls of the ultra-shuttle. He was piloting the space ship, taking the pterosaur back home.

  “Hey, that reminds me,” said Dad just before he reached the front door. “Tomorrow is Bring Your Child to Work Day on Earth. I asked my boss, Fred Stevens, if I could bring you to work, Zack. And even though Nebulites have never heard of that tradition, Fred said yes.”

  Zack’s eyes opened wide.

  “So, do you want to come to work with me tomorrow?” Dad asked. “You’ll get to see the ultra-shuttle up close!”

  “You bet!” exclaimed Zack. “Thanks!”

  Once again, Zack found himself dreaming about piloting the ultra-shuttle. He could think of nothing else for the rest of the day.

  Chapter 3

  Inside Nebulonics

  The next morning Zack was the first one up. He was dressed and ready to go even before his dad.

  “All set, Zack?” asked Dad.

  “Yup! I’m taking my new camtram so I can take pictures of all the grape stuff at Nebulonics,” Zack replied, holding up his handheld device.

  Zack and his dad slipped into the shiny red Nebulonics car. They sped through the sky above Creston City.

  A few minutes later they landed in the conveyor lot at Nebulonics.

  “This is it!” Dad said excitedly.

  Zack could tell that his dad was really happy to have him there.

  As soon as they stepped out of the car, a large robotic arm sprung out from a conveyor belt. It lifted the car onto the moving belt. Then the car disappeared into a storage slot where it would stay until Dad needed it at the end of the day.

  Zack stepped into the Nebulonics building. He couldn’t believe his eyes!

  Everywhere he looked, people were busy putting things together. Some were building machines that moved on their own. Others wired up complex computer circuits.

  This place is cool! Dad is lucky to have a job like this, Zack thought as he looked around.

  Dad’s boss, Fred Stevens, came over to welcome them.

  “Glad you are here, Zack,” said Fred. “Feel free to look around.”

  “Thank you, Mr
. Stevens!” Zack replied.

  “Hey there, Zack. Would you like to see some of the newest inventions we’re working on?” asked Dad.

  “Sure!” exclaimed Zack. “That’s why I’m here!”

  Zack stepped up next to a large robot that stood well over eight feet tall.

  “What does this guy do?” asked Zack.

  “It’s the latest model of galactic blast robot,” explained Dad. “They’ll be on the field next season. They’re twice as fast as the current players.”

  “Wow!” Zack cried. “I can’t wait to go to a galactic blast game next season!”

  Zack couldn’t be happier. He used his camtram to take photos and movies of all the amazing gadgets.

  They came around a corner and Zack stopped in his tracks. There stood the coolest bicycle ever made.

  “It’s the Torkus Magnus!” Zack exclaimed. “I saw Seth Stevens riding one!”

  Seth was Fred’s son. He was also the school bully, and the only kid who had a Torkus Magnus bike.

  “Why don’t I take a picture of you on the bike?” asked Dad.

  “Yeah!” Zack cried, handing his dad the camtram. He climbed onto the bike, which was mounted on a stand.

  “Here I am riding the Torkus Magnus!” Zack said into the camtram. He pressed the buttons and turned the handlebars.

  Zack didn’t want to get off. Even though the bike wasn’t going anywhere, he loved the idea of riding it.

  “Okay, c’mon, Zack,” Dad said after a couple of minutes. “There’s a lot more to see.”

  Chapter 4

  Ultra Grape!

  The tour continued. In each room Zack saw another cool gadget.

  “I think you’ll really like this,” Dad said. He pointed to a telescope that looked a lot like the überzoom galactic telescope Zack had in his room.

  “We call this the Galactic Uplink,” explained Dad. “It’s based on the überzoom telescope, of course. But this version records what you see as a video and automatically uploads it to your computer.”

  “This is all so cool!” Zack said.

  “And now, the best part,” Dad said, smiling.

  They reached a large metal door. Dad took out and swiped his ID card. Then he placed his hand on a screen. The screen flashed green.

  “Your turn,” said Dad.

  Zack put his hand up on the screen. It flashed again.

  “Otto Nelson and one guest,” a voice from the screen said. “You are cleared to enter.”

  The door slid open and they walked into a large room with a high ceiling. In the center of the room sat the ultra-shuttle.

  “WHOA!” Zack exclaimed. “That’s what you’re building to take the pterosaur home!”

  “Exactly,” replied Dad. “Everyone here at Nebulonics has been working on it ever since the pterosaur landed on Nebulon. It’s almost ready.”

  Zack turned on his camtram and took video of the shuttle from all angles.

  Just then the door to the shuttle room slid open. In rushed Fred Stevens.

  “Otto, have you heard the news?” Mr. Stevens asked excitedly.

  “What news?” asked Dad.

  “It just came across the sonic cell monitor,” explained Mr. Stevens. “It looks like the Nebulon Navigators have found the Prehistoric Planet!”

  Chapter 5

  An Unexpected Trip

  That night at dinner all Zack could talk about was the Prehistoric Planet. He had had a great day at Nebulonics, but this amazing discovery was the biggest news of the year.

  “A team of scientists used a test model of the new Galactic Uplink telescope,” explained Dad. “And the Nebulon Navigators used star charts they had created during their missions exploring the galaxy.”

  “Like the mission I went on with them to Juno!” Zack said excitedly.

  “Exactly,” replied Dad. “And their timing couldn’t have been better. We’ll have the ultra-shuttle ready soon. Then we can bring the pterosaur home.”

  At that moment Dad’s hyperphone began to buzz.

  “Excuse me,” he said, pulling it from his pocket. “It’s from Fred.”

  “He doesn’t usually z-mail you at home,” Zack’s mom pointed out.

  “It must . . . ”

  “. . . be very . . . ”

  “. . . important,” Charlotte and Cathy added.

  “You said it, girls!” Dad exclaimed after he read the z-mail. “Nebulonics wants me to go on the mission to the Prehistoric Planet!”

  “That is so grape, Dad!” said Zack.

  “It sure is! They want an engineer on board to make sure that everything on the ultra-shuttle runs smoothly. I’m going with the scientists and the Nebulon Navigators to take the lost pterosaur home!”

  “Wow!” cried Zack. “Can I go with you? Please, Dad? Please, please, please? You know how much I love planet hopping. And I’ve already been on one mission with the Nebulon Navigators. And I think that dinosaurs are super-cool!”

  “Uh . . . I don’t know, Captain,” said Dad. “I’ll talk with Fred tomorrow.”

  After dinner, Zack took his dog, Luna, for a walk. He did this every evening. He loved talking to Luna even though she couldn’t talk back. She was a good listener.

  “Dad is going to take that dinosaur home, Luna,” Zack said as Luna trotted along beside him. “And guess what?”

  Luna looked up at him and tilted her head. She looked as if she were waiting for the answer.

  “I may get to go too!”

  Yip! Yip! Luna barked.

  “Isn’t that great?!” said Zack.

  That night Zack could hardly sleep. His mind was filled with nothing but dinosaurs. He imagined the homepage of the Nebulon News with the headline: EARTH BOY AND NAVIGATORS SAVE BABY DINOSAUR! Next to the headline there would be a photo of Zack with the pterosaur and a group of Nebulon Navigators.

  When Zack finally fell asleep, he again dreamed about running through a jungle filled with dinosaurs.

  Chapter 6

  Zack Nelson, Daydreamer

  The next day at school Zack sat in Ms. Rudolph’s class. He was still daydreaming about the Prehistoric Planet. He could see himself with the Nebulon Navigators, watching as the baby pterosaur was reunited with its mother.

  A distant voice sounded in the jungle.

  “Zack?” the voice seemed to be saying.

  Then it got a bit louder. “Zack!”

  Then it was really loud. “ZACK NELSON! Please pay attention!”

  Zack snapped out of his daydream to find Ms. Rudolph standing over him.

  “I asked you a question about the second age of Nebulon history,” said Ms. Rudolph.

  “I’m sorry, Ms. Rudolph. I’ll pay attention. I promise.”

  During lunch Zack told his friend Drake Taylor all about the pterosaur, Nebulonics, and how he might be able to go on the trip.

  “How can I think about school when I may be rocketing to the Prehistoric Planet?” asked Zack. “I can’t think about anything else—not even this super-yummy galactic patty.”

  Drake was excited for his friend. “That would be so grape!” said Drake. He took a sip of his cosmic cooler. “What do you think that planet is like?”

  “Who knows?” said Zack. “I dream about it though, and in my dreams it’s really cool. . . . There are all kinds of dinosaurs there, and the planet is filled with waterfalls and strange trees.”

  “Do you know when you would leave?” Drake asked.

  “No,” said Zack, thinking. “The ultra-shuttle isn’t ready yet.”

  Just then Seth Stevens walked by. He was telling his friends about the baby pterosaur. “Yeah, I saw him up close. He is kind of wimpy. They are taking him home in two weeks.”

  Two weeks? wondered Zack. How will I be able to wait two weeks?

  After what seemed like the longest day ever, school finally ended. Zack rushed home. He paced back and forth in his room, hoping his hyperphone would ring.

  Zack stared at his hyperphone as if that might force i
t to ring. Then he paced some more.

  What could be keeping him? Zack wondered.

  Suddenly his hyperphone rang. This is it! Zack answered it.

  “Hey, Dad,” he said nervously.

  “Hi, Captain,” Dad replied. “So, what are you doing the day after tomorrow?”

  Zack thought for a second. Two days from now was Sunday.

  “Do you think you can come with me to the Prehistoric Planet?” Dad asked.

  Zack almost jumped out of his skin. “Mr. Stevens said yes?” cried Zack.

  “He sure did!” Dad replied.

  “But I didn’t think the ultra-shuttle would be ready so fast,” Zack explained.

  “We’re putting the finishing touches on it tomorrow. Then the day after it’ll blast off to the Prehistoric Planet!

  “And I’m coming with you!” Zack exclaimed. “YIPPEE WAH-WAH!”

  Chapter 7

  Ready to Fly!

  Zack got up early on Sunday. He was so excited—he was ready to go two hours before his dad was even awake! As Luna watched, Zack charged up his camtram. He made sure all the settings were correct. He didn’t want to miss this once-in-a-lifetime chance to get pictures of a real live dinosaur on its home planet.

  “Dinosaurs lived even before there were dogs,” Zack said to Luna.

  Yip! Yip! barked Luna.

  “I wish I could take you with me on this trip,” said Zack. “But it’s a people-only journey. Except, of course, for the pterosaur we’re taking home.”

  Urrr—urrr, Luna whined, as if she knew she couldn’t go.