Free Akiko on the Planet Smoo by Mark Crilley Page B

ground nearby. I think the cage actually broke his fall a little. But he was still in pretty bad shape. He lay flat on his back and showed no sign of moving. The crowd cheered wildly.
    â€œSpuckler!” I called out to him. “Are you okay?”
    â€œThat you, Gax?” he asked, squinting at the air. “C’mon, boy, take them Bropka steaks off the grill. . . .” His eyes had this weird dizzy look, like he was half-asleep or something.
    â€œBropka steaks?” I asked, turning to Mr. Beeba. “What’s he talking about? He’s not making any sense!”
    â€œWell,
that’s
nothing new, Akiko,” he replied. “The problem is he’s no longer in any condition to fight!”

    â€œFight?” Spuckler asked, slowly coming out of his grogginess. Suddenly he blinked and seemed very alert.
    â€œFight!” he repeated, jumping to his feet.
    The Jaggasaur, annoyed to find that his opponent was not dead, turned to face Spuckler and growled menacingly. The crowd was buzzing with excitement. I think they knew that this next round was going to be the last and that whoever walked away from it would be the winner. Maybe Spuckler knew this too, because he leaned forward and braced himself with both legs, as if he were prepared to give his all.
    â€œOkay, Jaggs,” he muttered, already having come up with a nickname for the creature. “Let’s see what you got.”
    The Jaggasaur opened his mouth as if to roar loudly, but instead a blast of fire shot out of his mouth and hit the ground a foot or two from where Spuckler stood. Spuckler leaped out of the way just in time and landed flat on his back. For the first time a look of fear came over his face.
    â€œA
fire-breathin’
Jaggasaur?” he said in disbelief. “This ain’t my
day
.”
    The Jaggasaur must have had a pretty good supply of fire in him, because he kept shooting flames out all over the place. Spuckler ran from one place to the next, but everywhere he fled the Jaggasaur followed with another burst of flames. Finally he had Spuckler surrounded by a ring of fire. The roar of the crowd grew louder.
    I felt sure that Spuckler was in very real trouble.
    â€œHe’s . . . He’s going to be burned alive!” I cried.
    â€œPoor man. It’s a shame to see this happen to him after such a valiant effort,” Mr. Beeba said, as if Spuckler were already dead and gone. I couldn’t believe he was taking the whole thing so calmly.
    â€œAren’t you going to
do
anything?” I shouted at him.
    â€œNow, d-don’t get me wrong, Akiko,” he stammered, a bit startled by the tone of my voice. “I hate to see Spuckler go. He’s a very dear friend of mine, you see. But we must take full account of the
risks
involved before we do anything too . . . er . . .
risky
.”
    I could see that Mr. Beeba wasn’t going to be any help.
    Meanwhile the flames were getting closer and closer to Spuckler. Sweat was pouring down his face, and it looked as if he’d completely run out of strength. It was a terrible thing to see, and I found myself wishing yet again that I’d never agreed to come on this adventure. If I’d known things were going to get this bad I’d have definitely stayed home, safely tucked under the covers of my bed!

Suddenly I noticed Poog staring at me. He had this funny look in his eyes, and he’d moved up really close to my face so that I could hardly see anything but him. Then something really weird happened. Poog never opened his mouth, but I swear he
said
something to me. I know it sounds pretty crazy, but I think he said the word
yes
.
    And that’s when I knew what I had to do.
    When Spuckler had fallen on top of the cage, its bars had bent a little, leaving a much bigger gap between some of the bars than there had been before. And there was just enough space for me to squeeze