Star Wars: Galaxy of Fear 08: The Swarm by John Whitman

Author:John Whitman
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Star Wars characters, Magic, Brothers and sisters, Beetles, Juvenile Fiction, Jedi knights(Fictitious character), Star Wars fiction, General, Science Fiction, American, Fantasy, Science fiction, Aliens (Non-humanoid)
ISBN: 9780553486384
Publisher: Bantam Books
Published: 1998-01-12T08:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 8

A beetle jumped onto his hand and started to scramble up his sleeve. Another one landed right on the end of his nose, its wings still outstretched.

"Help!" Zak screamed. He threw off his bedcovers, sending a shower of beetles scattering around his room. Zak could hear the hard shells of the beetles clacking against the floor, and he felt their scratching claws pluck at his skin. He slapped at his arms and chest beneath his shirt.

The door to Zak's room slid open. Tash and Hoole stood in the doorway. "Beetles!" Zak shouted. "They're everywhere!" He saw a beetle scuttle across the floor and stepped on it-forgetting he wasn't wearing shoes. There was a crack! as its shell was crushed, and then Zak felt squishy stuff spread across the bottom of his foot.

Tash didn't know whether to laugh or scream in horror. The wriggling bugs reminded her of the horrible image of the murdered Imperial, but the sight of Zak dancing around his cabin scratching at his clothes was hilarious. "Zak, I thought we weren't supposed to kill any drog beetles!"

"Tell them that!" he cried, plucking the last beetle from the inside of his shirt collar. He tossed it against the wall. The beetle thudded against the wall and fell to the cabin floor. Stunned, it turned first one way, then the other. By the time it started to scurry away, Zak had crushed it with the end of his skimboard.

When all the beetles were dead, Zak gave one enormous, disgusted shudder and sat down.

"That was not prime," he breathed.

"How did they get in here?" Tash wondered, carefully avoiding dead beetle bodies as she stepped into the room.

"More importantly," Hoole added, "why did they come in here? These creatures have no reason to crawl onboard the ship." He considered.

"Curious. First thing tomorrow morning, we will go see Vroon. Perhaps he can tell us something. In the meantime, as long as you are in no real danger, I suggest we all get some rest."

No real danger, Zak thought. Try telling yourself that when you've got little creepy-crawlies under your blanket.

Tash helped Zak sweep the remains of the drog beetles from his cabin and change his bed covers. But once he was back in bed again, Zak couldn't sleep.

"I should have told everyone that first day," he said out loud. "I should have told them I'd broken the law and killed a shreev. It was an accident. It's just like with the engines. I should have told them." He scratched his head furiously-it still felt like there were bugs crawling through it. "But how do I tell everyone now? I'd have to admit that I tried to cover it up!"

Zak finally fell asleep, his dreams alternating between images of the swarming beetles and the disappointed face of Uncle Hoole once he found out about the shreev. Zak didn't know which was worse.

Zak slept in late the next day. By the time he stumbled out of bed, rubbing his cheeks to wake up, Tash and Hoole were dressed and ready.

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