SpaceCuff. He hoped it could translate from English to Flowerspeak.
Translate mode :
English to Flowerspeak
What job do you want us to do? Is there another solution? Zara is needed on Earth.
ERROR: Translation failed
The SpaceCuff hadnât totally finished learning Flowerspeak. Kip couldnât make the flowers understand him!
The flowers continued their eerie song. Kip struggled as hard as he could, but his eyes were slowly closing. Iâve...got...to... stay...awake! he thought desperately. But how?
CHAPTER 7
âThe Beautiful Ones are hypnotising you again,â Zara said dreamily. âAnd if youâre hypnotised long enough, youâll be brainwashed forever.â
At once, every cell in Kipâs body snapped awake. âBrainwashed forever?â he yelled. âHow long do we have to be hypnotised before that happens?â
âA while for highly trained people like Space Scouts,â Zara replied. âWith others, wellâ¦you just never know.â
She looked at Finbar. His eyelids were lowering.
Finbarâs wolf hearing is extra-sensitive! Kip realised. He fell asleep before me last time. And he hasnât had all the special Space Scout anti-hypnosis training Iâve had.
Still, Kip knew even he couldnât resist the flowers forever. He had to stay awake â and make sure Finbar did too.
When did I last feel super-awake? he asked himself.
It was during Space Scout training. Those vertical wall sprints and rocketboot- assisted high jumps had been tough.
I couldnât have done it without EarTunes!
EarTunes were songs played directly into the eardrum. All Space Scouts had EarTunes chips implanted in their earlobes on the first day of training.
Kip gave his earlobe three firm squeezes. At once,âSpace Ramblerâ by the Screeching UFOs flooded his brain. Since it was played inside Kipâs head, only he could hear it.
It totally blocked out the flowersâ eerie song, waking him up faster than a cold slime shower.
Now the only problem was Finbar. He didnât have EarTunes because he was 2iC, not a Space Scout.
âJustâ¦gonnaâ¦restâ¦for aâ¦whileâ¦â Finbar muttered, sinking to the ground.
âNo!â yelled Kip, shaking Finbarâs arm to keep him awake.
But Finbar didnât answer.
Waving his arms, Kip rushed toward Finbar. The flowers shrank back in surprise.
âWake up!â Kip yelled desperately.
There was a snuffling sound from Finbarâs wet black nose. Thenâ¦
Finbar opened his eyes. They were normally a piercing pale blue. They looked different to Kip now. Softer somehow.
âI want to serve the Beautiful Ones,â Finbar said slowly. âWhere do I begin?â
Finbar had only been asleep for a second. Was he brainwashed already?
Iâve got to test him! Kip thought. Finbar said earlier that brainwashed people are easy to order around.
âFinbar, I want you to purr like a cat,â Kip said, trying to keep his voice steady. Finbar really hated cats.
But instantly, Finbar started purring loudly. He even rubbed his paws on his head, like a cat cleaning its ears!
He really is hypnotised , Kip thought miserably. Althoughâ¦
For a second, Kip thought Finbar had winked at him. But when he looked closer, all he saw were Finbarâs glazed eyes.
I guess I saw what I wanted to see , Kip thought.
He needed a plan. With his EarTunes playing, he was safe from the flowersâ hypnotic powers. But he had to work out how to save Finbar and Zara!
Zara linked arms with Finbar. The flowers swayed apart. Zara led Finbar away through the field.
Kip raced after them. He didnât want to lose Zara and Finbar in the huge field.With a brainwashed 2iC and no way to contact MoNa, Kip was on his own.
Maybe if the flowers think Iâm already under their spell, he thought suddenly, theyâll stop trying to hypnotise me .
âI want to serve the Beautiful Ones too!â Kip