Free Danger Guys by Tony Abbott Page A

other.
    â€œNot!”
    â€œWelcome to Paragon Studio,” the driver said as we drove between some huge buildings. “These buildings are called sound stages. Hundreds of movies have been made on these stages. From the first silent films to modern special effects movies, Paragon is the leader!”
    â€œEffects, Noodle,” Zeek said. “Like in Metalhead , when the cyborg turns into a mailbox right in front of us and the guy goes to open it and—”
    â€œYes, son, Paragon is known for its special effects,” the driver went on. “In fact, many of the monsters and other creatures you see in movies are actually computerized robots. And all of them are run by a central computer here at the Studio. We call it the Big Brain.”
    Zeek nudged me. “Yeah, like some kind of super Noodle.”
    I couldn’t believe it. “You mean everything is run by this Big Brain?”
    â€œEverything,” the tour guide said. “Now here is the castle where they filmed …”
    Suddenly, the sky turned black above us. I looked up.
    Crack! A jagged flash of white light shot down from the clouds. Then— Boom! Ba-boom!
    â€œCool,” I said. “Now, that’s what I call special effects!”
    â€œExcellent!” said Zeek. “Great opening shot!”
    But the driver seemed upset. “These are not effects, boys. That’s real lightning. And it’s going to rain any second.”
    He was right. A second later the rain did come down. Real rain. In buckets.
    â€œThis way!” the driver shouted. “To the castle!” Everyone jumped off the bus and followed him.
    Well, everyone but Zeek and me.
    We were too busy trying to get all the rain and lightning on tape. When we stopped looking through the camera, everyone was gone.
    â€œThe castle, quick!” I said. “Let’s run for it.” Kraaakkk! A huge bolt of lightning crashed down right in front of us.
    Ka-boom! Another blast zapped the street.
    â€œNoodle! This lightning’s got a bad attitude!”
    Ka-blam!
    I whirled around. I saw a door. “Run!” I screamed.
    We tore across the street.
    We leaped in the air.
    We shot through the door as another jagged bolt of lightning blasted our heels.

TWO
    Kaaa-blam!
    We hit the floor, slid into something hard, and stopped dead inside a room. A dark room.
    I looked out the door.
    There was a big black hole in the street where we had just been. It was smoking like a volcano.
    â€œHoly cow,” I said. “Did you see that? That could have been us.”
    Zeek didn’t answer.
    His mouth was hanging open.
    Just like it does when Mr. Strunk calls on him in class and he’s not ready.
    I reached over and pushed his mouth closed.
    â€œBut … but … Noodle!” he mumbled. “This is a movie studio. Nothing really dangerous happens here. I mean, does it?”
    â€œNaah,” I said. “It’s just a storm. When it stops we’ll just walk right out, and—”
    Bam! A sudden bolt of lightning blasted the street again. Wham! A gust of wind slammed the door shut.
    â€œWell, okay, so maybe we don’t just walk out.”
    We looked at the lightning outside the window. It was crashing all over the studio.
    â€œI don’t like this, Nood. It’s too much like …”
    â€œA movie?” I said.
    â€œYeah, and not a very funny one.” Zeek started tripping over things in the dark. “Oww! Where are we, anyway?”
    â€œIt’s a movie set, I think.” I felt the wall near the door, found the light switch, and flicked it. The room suddenly blazed with silver light.
    â€œWhoa! Noodle!” Zeek cried. “I think we just stepped into—the future!”
    Zeek was right.
    We were standing on the control bridge of the 25th-eentury galactic star cruiser Centauri Vulcan. Well, the movie set of it, anyway. Big cameras, ladders, electrical cables, spotlights, and tools