Ailynn Collins - Haunted Planet

Michael Dahl has written about werewolves, magicians, and superheroes. He loves funny books, scary books, and mysterious books. Every Michael Dahl Presents book is chosen by Michael himself and written by an author he loves. The books are about favorite subjects like monster aliens, haunted houses, farting pigs, or magical powers that go haywire.

On his way back to the botany lab, Emery stopped at their home quarters. Just as he walked into his bedroom, the all-ship announcement bell sounded. He stood in place and listened, as did everyone else on the ship.

It was the captain. Crew of the Wanderer, this is an important day. After three generations of searching for a suitable planet, we have finally reached the end of our journey. I have contacted the other two shipsthe Explorer and the Hopeful. They will meet us in three weeks.

He paused, and the whole ship heard him let out a relieved sigh. Emery smiled.

When our ancestors fled a dying Earth, they dreamed of this day, the captain continued. As one of the three starships carrying the last humans in the universe, we can be proud that we have finally found a planet where we can live. So, Wanderer crew, welcome to your new home.

The bell sounded again. The announcement was over.

Emery headed to his bed and pulled a box out from underneath. At the very bottom of the box was a pouch, and in the pouch was a memory chip.

He stuck the chip into his TAB. Emery touched the screen and a video played. He watched Evie being surrounded by the ghostly aliens, then by the bugs. Her Spaceskin had recorded her experiences.

Emery smiled to himself. Hed managed to grab the chip before the medics had reached her.

Emery watched his twin being carried away on the bugs. The see-through aliens gazed at Evie with curiosity. They were talking all at once.

With a swipe over the screen, Emery slowed the video down. Now he could clearly hear each alien.

Delicious.

Good source of food.

So many of them.

Well grow and grow.

Emery swiped his hand over the screen again. A question appeared.

Delete or Save?

He put his finger on the Delete option.

Are you sure?

He pressed Yes.

The video fizzled out slowly. Emerys eyes glowed a bright green. A grin curled his lips, a curl like the tendril of a plant.

No one would ever know that Evie had been right. Not even Evie herself. Emerys alien masters would keep themselves hidden... until it was time to feed.

The ghosts that Evie sees on planet AX-351 turn out to be living beings, not dead ones. They are transparent, or see-through. In her life-form research, Evie might have learned that several creatures on Earth also have the same weird feature.

One of the most dramatic examples is the glasswing butterfly of Central and South America. The main part of each wing is clear as glass! This helps the butterfly escape predatorsbecause hungry animals can look right at the insect and not even know its there.

The eerie glass squid lives near the oceans surface around the world. The squid appears as clear as the water surrounding it. Squids dont have sharp fangs or hard shells to defend themselves, so being almost invisible is a good way to avoid toothy sharks!

In the future special barriers might make buildings, spacecraft, and even people invisible too. Scientists have created mirrors and lenses that can bend light around an object. And if light doesnt hit you, then you cant be seen! Cloaking the Wanderer or its crew would come in handy when exploring dangerous new worlds. But remember... aliens could still smell you!

(AN-uh-lize) to study something carefully in order to understand it (AT-muh-sfeer) the layer of gases that surrounds a planet (BARJ) a large ship used to move objects (BAH-tuh-nist) a scientist whose main focus is studying plants; botany is the study of plants (CAT-uh-log) to describe and put into an organized list (dih-STURB) to move or change something from its normal place (EV-uh-duhnss) information, items, and facts that help prove something is true or false (huh-loo-suh-NAY-shuhn) something that is seen and heard but is not real (HOL-uh-gram) a special type of image that looks solid and real, and is created with laser light (SPEE-sheez) a group of plants or animals that share common features

Ailynn Collins was born in England and has lived all over the world. Her love of learning has earned her a law degree, Montessori teaching credentials, and an MFA in writing for children from Hamline University. She authored the Redworld series and enjoys creating new worlds and all kinds of aliens. When not writing, Collins likes to work with her four furry kids in dog shows and competitions, or she stays home to read, often reading several books at once. She lives near Seattle, Washington.

Juan Calle is a former biologist turned science illustrator, trained at the Science Illustration program at California State University, Monterey Bay. Early on in his illustration career, he worked on field guides of plants and animals native to his country of origin, Colombia. Now he owns and works in his art studio, LIBERUM DONUM, creating concept art, storyboards, and his passion: comic books.

Emery, theres life down there! Evie Linn said. She waved her twin brother over to her side. Tell me these arent animal tracks.

Evie was squinting at a floating above the computer panel. The 3-D image showed the surface of the new planet below them.

The crew of their ship, the Wanderer, had been studying this strange, new world named AX-351. Scientists had been gathering info on it for the last twenty star-days. Now, they were ready to go to the surface in small groups called away teams.

Theyre not animal tracks, Emery said robotically. He kept his eyes glued to his computer station.

You didnt even look, Evie said with a huff.

Emery glanced up long enough to scowl at his sister. Stop bugging me, he said. You know Im preparing to be on that first away team. I need to be the first crew member to . I have to win the internship.

Evie rolled her eyes. Of course she knew. Winning the year-long internship with the ships chief had been Emerys dream since he was six.