Akiko and the Great Wall of Trudd by Mark Crilley Page A

was younger: rocket races he’d won, monsters he’d fought. Some of it sounded as if he was just making it all up, but it was very entertaining anyway.
    Mr. Beeba went back into the kitchen and made some tea for us. It was kind of orange and extremely sweet. I didn’t really like it, but I tried to drink it all anyway so he wouldn’t feel bad. Unfortunately, Mr. Beeba thought this meant I really liked it, so he refilled my cup! From then on I just took tiny little sips.
    I asked Yabby if he’d ever seen Alia Rellapor or the man called Throck.
    “No, no, I never have,” Yabby replied. “I saw a dark little spaceship fly overhead the other day. I wonder if
that
might have been this Throck fellow you’re talking about.
    “But no, I’ve never seen either of them,” he added with a wink, “and I hope I never do!”
    Yabby was very nearly done with my coat. He even managed to take some leftover scraps and make coats for Poog and Gax. We all complimented him on his craftsmanship as we tried our new clothes on.

    “You are a man of many talents, Mr. Yabby,” Mr. Beeba said respectfully, refilling Yabby’s cup with tea. “It’s a shame you can’t join us on our mission. We could use a man of your resourcefulness!”
    “Yeah, Yabby,” Spuckler agreed. “We’d love to have ya along. Ya gotta admit it’d be a whole lot more fun than hangin’ around this borin’ old restaurant.”
    “I wish I could,” Yabby replied, blushing at the praise. “I’m a cook, though. Not an adventurer.”
    Spuckler and Mr. Beeba tried pretty hard to convince him, but it was clear he was determined to stay. So we all stood up and prepared to say goodbye.
    Carrying our coats folded under our arms, we all went outside and stood in front of the restaurant for a few minutes. A cool wind swept across the bridge, making the little flags surrounding the building flutter wildly.
    “Do take care of yourselves, now,” Yabby said with a slightly worried look on his face. “The realm of Alia Rellapor is very inhospitable. You shouldn’t stay there any longer than you have to.”
    “Believe me, Mr. Yabby,” Mr. Beeba said, looking only slightly less worried himself, “we’re hoping to spend as little time there as we can!”
    “Oh dear, I almost forgot!” Yabby said, hurrying back into his restaurant. “Wait right here!”
    A moment later he came back holding a large brown paper bag with the Smudko’s logo on it.
    “I’ve packed a few sandwiches for you,” he explained, handing the bag to Spuckler, “for the road.”
    “Why, thank ya, Yabby!” said Spuckler. “I was sort of
hopin’
we might be able to get a little carryout. . . .”
    I gave Yabby a big hug and thanked him for the coat, the food, and everything else he’d done for us. Spuckler and Mr. Beeba each shook Yabby’s hand, and Gax said goodbye with a little nod of his helmet. Poog also thanked Yabby, which Mr. Beeba said was a pretty big deal since Poog usually remained silent in this kind of situation.
    Finally we all waved goodbye and continued along the bridge, turning back every so often to wave at Yabby one more time. A half hour or so later, Yabby and the restaurant were nothing more than little dots in the distance.

With our bellies full of Smud Burgers, we were all in a very good mood as we walked along the seemingly endless bridge. From the look of the sun in the sky, I figured it was early afternoon. Our goal was to make it to the end of the bridge by nightfall, but since we had no idea how long the bridge actually was, it was hard to tell how long it would take. We walked as fast as we could, though, just in case.
    The longer we walked, the cooler the wind seemed to get. After an hour or two it definitely started to get colder. The sky began to cloud over, and the wind had a damp, chilly sting to it that hadn’t been there before. Mr. Beeba and I put our coats on first, followed by Gax and Poog (actually, I had to help Poog put his coat on, since he