Call of the Alphas by Ellis Byrd

Author:Ellis Byrd
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2017-05-17T16:58:40+00:00

CHAPTER FIVE

Cosmo sighed as a hot breeze ruffled the daisy on top of his hat. He and Graham had tracked the oily streaks across the sands of Kimbara Outback, which had led them to the source of the problem. Several thick dark spikes rose up out of the ground, like the tips of a giant’s pitchfork. The spaces between the spikes were tightly packed with hardened sludge.

“Those things are interfering with the reservoir,” Graham said, scratching his head. “The Phantoms’ doing, I’d guess, from all the muck and mud and yuck.”

“This reservoir supplied water to all of Kimbara Outback.” Cosmo pointed behind them, where the oily streaks spread out in different directions. “These used to be freshwater streams! Now they’re just spreading pollution.”

The two Alphas surveyed the brown, murky water in dismay. Even if they managed to get rid of the spikes, releasing such polluted water would only cause even worse contamination.

Graham stroked his beard. “A purifier, perhaps?” he mumbled, inspecting the dam. “A bigger spick-and-spanner? I can build one that will clean the water once we dismantle the spikes. In fact, I might be able to modify this . . .”

Still rambling to himself, Graham set to work with his tools, making adjustments to his smog vacuum.

Cosmo had other ideas. Or rather, the plants did. He could sense them trying to tell him something. The grass around the reservoir was dry and crunchy, the shrubs brown and stiff . . . but not all the plants were dying.

Each and every succulent plant was bright green and sturdy. Cosmo even noticed yellow flowers blooming on a few of them. He hurried over to the nearest one and placed his ear close to its thorns.

“Hello there,” he whispered. “You look perfectly healthy. What’s your secret?”

Cosmo listened intently. Nearby, several monkeys huddled together and watched him, pointing and snickering. But a few seconds later, it was Cosmo who was laughing in delight.

“That’s it! Of course!” he cried, hurrying over to Graham. “Graham, we don’t need a purifier—the water inside is clean! They store freshwater!”

“Hmm?” Graham didn’t look up from his work. “No thanks, I’m not thirsty.”

“Oh, you’re not listening. Aha—look!” Cosmo plucked a yellow flower from the plant behind Graham. “See? The succulents are drinking the water, and it’s still clean.”

Frowning, the monkey Alpha pushed his goggles up his nose. “But the water is right there,” he said, gesturing to the reservoir. Here and there, patches of grass stuck out from the murky water. “It’s clearly dirty.”

“Your eyes are playing tricks on you, my friend!” Leaning down, Cosmo picked up a rock and tossed it into the reservoir. It landed with a soft thump . . . and sat there on the surface.

Graham blinked several times. “The rock is floating! A floating rock, my goodness! Or . . . wait . . . ah. It’s not sinking.”

“Because there’s nowhere to sink!” Cosmo finished with a grin. “This is just a giant, muddy puddle, not the reservoir.”

“Then where is the reservoir?” Graham looked around.

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