Zero 'g' by Srujanjoshi4 Read Free Book Online Page B

She took a deep breath. But what if help
never came?
    “ We should probably get going. We still have a ways to
go ,” Henry called
out.
    “ Thank you for saving me,”
she said to Linus.
    He blushed deeply. “It was
nothing.”
    Henry got them all hooked back on to the parachute, and they made their way to Linus’s
house. After some time, they came across an old motorcycle floating
near them.
    “ Do you think we can use
it?” Linus asked.
    They all surrounded the bike and examined it. It ran on
what was once called petrol ,
and surprisingly, the engine roared to life.
    “ This is awesome. We should be able to get there in no time.
But I hope we won’t lose all
air from Earth’s atmosphere, as this motorcycle requires an
air-fuel mixture,” said Henry.
    They all climbed on the motorcycle and headed off down the
street. They didn’t seem to be gaining much
steam , due to the lack of
gravity. In fact, the motorcycle was painfully slow.
    “ Hey , guys, I have an
idea,” Carly said. Henry turned the bike off, and she jumped off.
Carly tied the parachute to the exhaust of the
motorcycle.
    “ This is going to work ,
but we are going to have to drive the motorcycle backward. Do you
think that you can handle that, Henry?”
    He chuckled . “Well, I
guess there is only one way to find out.”
    They all got back on the bike , and Henry proceeded to turn the bike on and gun it
backward. They needed to be going at a fast clip in order for it to
be effective. Henry managed to drive the motorcycle by looking at
the rearview mirror.
    “ Linus , can you help me
with navigation here?”
    “ Sure thing ,
buddy.”
    Linus bark ed out
directions. “OK, Henry, turn right.”
    Henry rotate d the
handlebars of the motorcycle to the right, thinking the motorcycle
would go in the right direction, but instead, it went in the same
direction it was going before.
    “ No! No! What are you doing? I said right , not straight.”
    “ I turned right ! We
have to find out some other way to change the direction of the
motorcycle,” said Henry.
    Carly c ouldn’t help
but laugh as Henry slowed down the motorcycle once
again.
    Linus shook his head as Henry joined
in the laughter.
    They started moving again , and Henry backed up so that he could make the right turn
that time. Without gravity, it was practically impossible to turn
the vehicle by using the handlebars and their body
weight.
    “ Stop , Henry, I have an
idea. We can use the rocket principle of moving in zero gravity,”
Carly said.
    He stopped and watched as she started to kick at the
exhaust pipe. It was beginning to rust , so it was easier to get off than she’d thought it would
be. She heard a crunch and ripped it the rest of the way off. She
handed it over to Linus and asked, “Just turn the exhaust pipe in
the direction you want it to go, and it will turn so much
easier.”
    “ Yikes ! This thing is
too hot.”
    “ Oh , gosh, sorry. I
hadn’t noticed .”
    “ I’m not sure I’m going to be able to turn
it , it’s so hot.”
    She turn ed to David,
who was smiling. He was still young enough to be in a diaper, which
gave her a brilliant idea. Carly removed the wet diaper from the
child and handed it to Linus.
    “ What am I supposed to do
with that?”
    She laughed .
“Improvise. Hold the exhaust pipe in it, and it won’t burn you. At
least till its gets evaporated and the diaper gets burned
completely.”
    “ That’s so gross , but I
guess we don’t have another choice.”
    Smiling , she said,
“Don’t worry, Linus. He didn’t go for a number two.”
    Henry started laughing , and Linus rolled his eyes.
    “ Cool . Great idea,
Carly. Thanks.”
    “ Hey, Toto, I
am not going to leave you like this ‘ Nangu-Pongu ’ . We will use this
handkerchief as a diaper for now.”
    She smiled . “No
problem, Toto. Let’s get going.”
    Linus used the exhaust pipe to try to change direction, but instead of turning right,
the motorcycle kept revolving.
    Linus, Henry, and