Free Welcome to the Jungle by Matt London Page B

without much trouble, and soon the engine was humming. It lifted the sled into the air, buffeting it on an invisible cushion of energy three feet off the ground.
    The floating block of ice drew the attention of a half-dozen Winterpole agents, who were on their way to the burning depository. Their faces turned angry.
    â€œQuick, Rick, hop on!” Evie shoved him into the bed of the hoversled.
    â€œWait!” Rick shouted. “The controls are very delicate.”
    This revelation didn’t stop Evie. She punched the controls as hard as she could.
    Evie clung to the hoversled as it rocketed through the pack of agents, sending them all in different directions. The sled veered upward over the roof of one of the sheds and soared into the dark.
    From her high vantage point, Evie could see the agents at the north end of the compound shouting orders to each other and spraying the burning rubble of the depository with their icetinguishers. It then occurred to Evie that the hover engine on the sled did not have the power to keep them this high for very long, or even for any time at all.
    As if sensing Evie’s realization, the hoversled dropped. The kids screamed as it fell through the air. Then,
WHUMP!
The sled slammed into the mottled ground with a loud thud. But still the engine kept fighting. They bounced across the surface of the eighth continent until the hoversled regained enough altitude to carry the two kids and their 2-Tor-shaped cargo at a steady pace. Judging by the shouts behind them, it was clear the Winterpole agents were organizing a search party to go after the stolen hoversled, but it would not be easy to track them down in the darkness.
    Using Rick’s pocket tablet as a guide, they navigated their way back to the
Roost
, where Sprout was waiting for them. The little pyromaniac was carrying a blazing torch of rolled up paperwork, which cast jagged shadows against his face, illuminating his mischievous grin. His eyes went wide when he saw the size of the frozen 2-Tor up close.
    â€œThat there ice cube is gonna need a mighty big drink.”
    It wasn’t long before Sprout and the Lanes had built a fire around the base of 2-Tor’s frozen cell, using treated wood stored in the hull of the
Roost
for emergencies. Evie watched the coals spit with each drop of water that dripped off the block of ice, kicking embers up among the stars.
    They couldn’t leave the continent until 2-Tor defrosted. Sprout produced a bag of red beets from his satchel. They skewered the beets on sticks and roasted them over the fire like marshmallows. The beets actually tasted pretty good.
    Her stomach full of root vegetables, Evie leaned back and thought about all the wonderful evenings when her father had brought out his telescope and stargazed with her and Rick. But thinking about these happy memories only hurt Evie’s heart. Her mother was under arrest, her father was missing, and Rick hated her for losing the super root. Hard to believe that only a day ago she’d been enjoying her happy ending.
    While Evie reflected, Sprout and Rick huddled over Rick’s Game Zinger, their faces aglow in the red light of the fire and the blue light of the screen.
    â€œWhat are you two looking at?” Evie asked, trying to rub a beet juice stain off her finger. The boys were pointing at little blobs on the screen and whispering.
    Sprout looked up. “Rick’s showing me the plan for the eighth continent settlement.”
    â€œ
The
plan?” Evie scowled. “I didn’t realize we had agreed on a plan.”
    Rick smiled innocently. That look made Evie want to throw a roasted beet at him. “I showed him my rendering of the layout. I just added a hydroponic lab. That’ll help us grow fresh produce until we can conduct tests to determine how arable the land is. You see, with hydroponics, you grow plants using mineral nutrient solutions, so you don’t need to use soil.”
    â€œIt’s the