It was 2250. Warlord Shank and his wife's younger brother, Warlord Jeff, had accidentally crash landed on Earth. As if the situation weren't bad enough, the political climate included a war against the earthers, so they were kind of on bad ground.
"Maybe... we can ask them for fuel. Or steal some. Or blow up the city... I don't know. What do you think, Shank? We should definitely leave. My wife and my sister are probably very concerned right now... We've got to get out of here, huh, Shank?" Jeff sat on the ground, fiddling with the controls. This activity wasn't doing the ship any good; in fact, he was probably harming it.
"Why was I assigned war duty with you, Jeff? Why me? Because I married your older sister? Bea and Lizzie will be fine." Shank was only 29 then, or so. He was a whole lot happier and was still married to Elmira's mother, Bea Kerr, Jeff's older sister. Bea was staying with Lizzie, Jeff's wife, on Spungania, and the children. Lizzie and Jeff had twins: Audrey and William; Shank and Bea also had twins of the exact same age: Elmira and Caroline.
"We'll have to get out of here soon, though," Jeff said, looking out the window of the killcruiser, where the people of the town where they had crashed were gathering. "I think we may just run into trouble here."
"Guess what, mum!" yelled TJ Davenport, only about 16 at the time. "Guess what landed in the forest about half of a mile away! Come on, guess!"
"What? What, TJ? What has landed? Tell me! Mum doesn't care, but I do. Something important?" Kerry, TJ's twin sister jumped off of the couch and ran to her sister.
"The Spung landed in the forest! A huge killcruiser! Nobody came out, but I just KNOW that there are Spung inside, lots of 'em! We should get a closer look!"
TJ's mother jumped up. "Spung? What? What are they doing here? Did they crash? Or are they just going blow up the city? We should evacuate!"
"Mum!" Kerry yelled. "Calm yourself. This is the thrill of the century and we are not leaving. There is just no no way. This is too cool. We're staying right here! I want to see a real live Spung up close!"
"It'll be an educational experience, mum." TJ added, although she was not quite sure that she really wanted to see a Spung. She'd heard some awful stories.
"I say we stay here. Please. PLEASE. I'll bet none of my friends are going. Kristy is not going, her parents have war duty here. Please, let us stay. I really want to meet a Spung. Maybe there's one our age, TJ!!"
TJ grinned. "What I've always wanted. A Spung penpal."
"Maybe. I have to ask your father about staying, but really, I think that we should all go to another city."
The girls grinned at each other. Their father let them do whatever they wanted.
It was two days later and Kerry could not sleep. She kept turning over, and counting sheep, and all of the other good things that tired people who couldn't sleep did, but she could not sleep.
//I wonder what all the Spung are doing right now. When do they go to sleep? Do they even sleep? I wonder if there's one over there. I want to go, but my parents would kill me, even if I really really really want to meet a real live Spung. Maybe they wouldn't care if I just LOOKED. I wouldn't be gone long, they'd never know. And I can't sleep anyway... That's it. I'll give the Spung a visit.//
Kerry leaned over and grabbed her diary. "Going to check out Spung tell more later," she wrote. Then she bounced off of the bed, grabbed a snack, and crept out of the door. TJ heard her, but she was only half awake. //I wonder where she's going. Kerry. I wonder when she'll be back. Probably some sleepover or party to which she's not supposed to go. I won't rat on her.// She rolled over and fell asleep again without even giving it a second thought.
//This is the coolest - and sneakiest - thing I've ever done in my whole entire life!// Kerry thought, edging around the damaged killcruiser. There were no signs of life anywhere. Itching to get a peek inside, she walked to an airlock and glanced inside. She could see a brightly lit hallway.
Kerry crept into the killcruiser. Maybe they were trapped here because they were low on fuel or something. (She's right.) She never stopped to think about whether it may just have been a trap.
She looked around once she was inside. She was truly in awe. The halls were very big to her, and it shocked her how all of the walls were green. //Wow. This must have taken a long time to build.//
Back in the security room, Jeff and Shank were watching her every move, waiting until they were sure that, if they chased her, they would doubtless be able to catch her.
//Look at this. All of these really weird symbols all over the walls. I guess they're Spung. They look sort of like heirogliphics.// She continued walking down the hallway. She then crept down another one.
"All right, Shank, I think she's already in place. Let's get her."
"No, wait. Oh, yes, all right. Let's go... now!!"
The two of them took a few secret passageways until they reached the place where Kerry was.
//What was that? I thought I heard something. Oh, well, I guess I'm starting to lose it. What's that? I think it's --// She never got to finish her thought. She was knocked out by the two warlords.
It was the next day and TJ awoke to the sounds of her parents shouting and yelling and worrying.
She climbed up and went into the family room.
TJ's mother jumped up. "TJ, have you seen Kerry?"
TJ paused. //To lie or not to lie, that is the question.// She looked at her mother.
Mrs Davenport looked frazzled and tired and also looked like she had been crying.
Making her decision, she asked, "She didn't come home, did she, mother?"
"I have called all of her friends, and all of the nearby relatives, and the neighbors, and she's gone. I don't know what to do!"
TJ went pale. "Mother, she left last night, but I just went back to sleep. If she ran away, I'm sure she'll be back soon. She couldn't have gotten far."
"Let me out of here, you Spung jerks! Now! You will hear from my father, and my father's lawyer! My sister will come and tear you to shreds and she knows karate..." Kerry stopped because she was lying and also because she saw that the two Spung warlords, Jeff and Shank, were about to laugh.
"IT'S NOT FUNNY!"
"Maybe, if you're good, we'll ransom you off to your city or those lovely parents of yours. But I doubt it. You're a little too . .. whiny." Warlord Shank had an evil grin on his face. He knew it really bothered Kerry to be locked up.
//Where is Mum? Why couldn't I just have stayed in bed and slept like a normal person?//
The warlords left, leaving Kerry to pick at a lock that would never open.
TJ looked around Kerry's room. Her parents were looking around town for Kerry. TJ looked around with a purpose.
She had to find Kerry's diary. Kerry's diary had everything written in it. If Kerry had truly been planning to run away, she would have taken the diary, or, if she had left it, she would have made extensive plans about the trip.
TJ finally found it in the back of Kerry's sock drawer. She flipped to the latest page.
"Going to check out Spung tell more later" was written in very quick, uneven writing.
"Oh, no," TJ whispered. She grabbed her bag and ran out the door, towards the Spung killcruiser.
She was going to save her sister.