from the third engine mounted on top. A U-shaped windscreen wrapped around the front and there were two windows at the back, on either side of the hatch.
‘The only technology we can use is the stuff that belongs to the Academy,’ Salt told them as he strapped them in. ‘I fly all over the place in this thing, so we don’t need to worry about being spotted. I have ways of disguising it too, if I have to.’
Rake shifted uncomfortably in his seat. The armour was like a second skin, but the seat wasn’t made for an armoured passenger. Oddball, in his yellow and black armour, was bigger than Rake and was having a similar problem. Snow looked quite content in her blue and grey suit. Salt sat down in the pilot’s seat and started the engines.
‘The trick will be to find Hoax and get you in close to him without the White Knights getting suspicious about the shuttle. I can’t go with you. If something goes wrong, I’ll have to fly in fast and pick you up.’ He looked back at them. ‘With my leg, I’d only slow you down anyway. Once you’re on the ground, you’re on your own. Do you understand?’
They all nodded. But the fear was finally beginning to set in. Things were about to get real. Dangerously real.
Salt hit the button on his control stick, setting off the thrusters and blasting the craft out of the bay and into the night sky.
The city lights stretched for kilometres in every direction. Some of the buildings were over a thousand metres high. Some were straight and tall, others were weirder, curving shapes. But they couldn’t see most of the buildings – it was just a maze of lights and streets, stretching off to the horizon. Below them, the crowds from the Arena were still spreading out through the streets, on their way home or hoping to make the night last a bit longer.
‘It’s enormous,’ Snow gasped, looking out of the window. ‘How are we going to find him down there?’
‘I told you before, I’ve been watching all of you for a while,’ Salt replied. ‘Hoax has broken out a few times before – but he always came back before they discovered he was missing. There’s one place he always goes. I think he’ll head for there first.’
Rake said nothing, but was shocked to hear his friend had been leaving the complex without telling him. Hoax must be a better liar than he thought. They flew out over the edge of the sea, where the lights stopped, except for a few scattered boats out on the dark water. Then they swooped back in over a beach and saw the bright coloured lights of a fairground, with roller coasters and other rides, as well as a huge Ferris wheel. The three cadets gaped in amazement.
‘I thought you said Nu-Topia was a prison!’ Snow cried. ‘What kind of dunking prison has a funfair? I’ve never been to a funfair in my whole life! No wonder Hoax kept breaking out!’
‘Don’t be fooled by appearances,’ Salt told them. ‘These rides are all still being tested. Some of them are downright dangerous. Hoax came here, all right. But all he could do was watch. He had no clearance to go inside. Hang on . . .’
He banked hard to the right, using the shuttle’s sensors to pick a figure out of the crowd on the ground. The sensors zoomed in on a boy running through the crowd.
‘There he is! Look!’
The boy was being chased by four tall white armoured figures. White Knights – Nu-Topia’s armoured enforcers.
‘They’ve found him!’ Rake shouted. ‘We have to help him!’
Salt was already flying back towards the beach. The thrusters kicked up sand as he came in low, stopping to hover over a grassy bank. Here, they were hidden from the funfair by some trees.
‘Listen to me,’ Salt called to them as the rear hatch lowered down, forming a ramp out of the back of the shuttle. ‘If they thought he was from the Academy, there’d be ten times as many Kettles here. He probably just tried to sneak in and got spotted.
But they must not get a good look at him
. Grab him and
‘The only technology we can use is the stuff that belongs to the Academy,’ Salt told them as he strapped them in. ‘I fly all over the place in this thing, so we don’t need to worry about being spotted. I have ways of disguising it too, if I have to.’
Rake shifted uncomfortably in his seat. The armour was like a second skin, but the seat wasn’t made for an armoured passenger. Oddball, in his yellow and black armour, was bigger than Rake and was having a similar problem. Snow looked quite content in her blue and grey suit. Salt sat down in the pilot’s seat and started the engines.
‘The trick will be to find Hoax and get you in close to him without the White Knights getting suspicious about the shuttle. I can’t go with you. If something goes wrong, I’ll have to fly in fast and pick you up.’ He looked back at them. ‘With my leg, I’d only slow you down anyway. Once you’re on the ground, you’re on your own. Do you understand?’
They all nodded. But the fear was finally beginning to set in. Things were about to get real. Dangerously real.
Salt hit the button on his control stick, setting off the thrusters and blasting the craft out of the bay and into the night sky.
The city lights stretched for kilometres in every direction. Some of the buildings were over a thousand metres high. Some were straight and tall, others were weirder, curving shapes. But they couldn’t see most of the buildings – it was just a maze of lights and streets, stretching off to the horizon. Below them, the crowds from the Arena were still spreading out through the streets, on their way home or hoping to make the night last a bit longer.
‘It’s enormous,’ Snow gasped, looking out of the window. ‘How are we going to find him down there?’
‘I told you before, I’ve been watching all of you for a while,’ Salt replied. ‘Hoax has broken out a few times before – but he always came back before they discovered he was missing. There’s one place he always goes. I think he’ll head for there first.’
Rake said nothing, but was shocked to hear his friend had been leaving the complex without telling him. Hoax must be a better liar than he thought. They flew out over the edge of the sea, where the lights stopped, except for a few scattered boats out on the dark water. Then they swooped back in over a beach and saw the bright coloured lights of a fairground, with roller coasters and other rides, as well as a huge Ferris wheel. The three cadets gaped in amazement.
‘I thought you said Nu-Topia was a prison!’ Snow cried. ‘What kind of dunking prison has a funfair? I’ve never been to a funfair in my whole life! No wonder Hoax kept breaking out!’
‘Don’t be fooled by appearances,’ Salt told them. ‘These rides are all still being tested. Some of them are downright dangerous. Hoax came here, all right. But all he could do was watch. He had no clearance to go inside. Hang on . . .’
He banked hard to the right, using the shuttle’s sensors to pick a figure out of the crowd on the ground. The sensors zoomed in on a boy running through the crowd.
‘There he is! Look!’
The boy was being chased by four tall white armoured figures. White Knights – Nu-Topia’s armoured enforcers.
‘They’ve found him!’ Rake shouted. ‘We have to help him!’
Salt was already flying back towards the beach. The thrusters kicked up sand as he came in low, stopping to hover over a grassy bank. Here, they were hidden from the funfair by some trees.
‘Listen to me,’ Salt called to them as the rear hatch lowered down, forming a ramp out of the back of the shuttle. ‘If they thought he was from the Academy, there’d be ten times as many Kettles here. He probably just tried to sneak in and got spotted.
But they must not get a good look at him
. Grab him and
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