Chapter 41: Another day in the bush.

Chapter 41: Another day in the bush.

NIGEL DIDN’T HAVE to help this royal dingo, but his mum’s voice, sharp as a freshly honed blade, echoed in his head.

Help the silly bastard out, Nigel.

Fine, Mum. He gritted his teeth, the sound a faint scrape inside his own skull, and took a deep, shuddering breath. Pete would need water—and soon—to clean off that slick oil and the still-burning toxic muck. Nigel had no intention of instructing the bloke on fighting skills, but he could, at the very least, get the chap clean and then figure out how to get the spaceship running.

There had to be a way to send the silly sod home.

“Does this open?” Nigel hissed, a quick gesture toward the top escape hatch. Four sturdy metal pipes encircled the door’s seam.

“It pops up and then slides to the side.”

“Time to go, cobber.”

“But—” Pete’s eyes stretched wide, filling with pure terror. “There are angry delinters out there, and I can scarcely move my legs!”