'Nic! They're cutting the cake!' It was Sean calling from the house.
Nicola gave the stars a secret wave and went running back into the house.
*
'Mum? Dad? Squid?'
Shimlara walked around her deserted house for the tenth time.
The Space Brigade had dropped her off on Globagaskar ages ago and she was still waiting for her family to come home from wherever they were. She was starting to feel a bit flat. She didn't really like being on her own and she was looking forward to telling her parents about everything that had happened and teasing her mum about dating somebody as awful as Enrico.
It wasn't like them to be gone for so long without calling.
She remembered how her dad had taken that mysterious phone call before the Space Brigade had left for Shobble. He'd looked quite serious. Had something bad happened? Something really bad? Shimlara kneaded her stomach. The silence in the house seemed to roar in her ears. She was going to be very cranky with her family when they returned. She was too young to feel worried like this. Worry was something that old people did.
She looked out the window at the swimming pool. Her dad had obviously arranged for it to be refilled with fizzy pink water since Tyler had landed the spaceship in the pool. The floating table was bobbing about, set with two mugs and a plate.
That was strange. Her parents never left crockery floating about in the swimming pool. She walked out the back to take a closer look. The mugs on the tray were full of blueberry tea. The plate had two biscuits on it. One of them had a single bite taken out of it.
Shimlara turned away from the pool and looked around the backyard. There was something lying in her little brother's sandpit. Shimlara's hand went to her mouth. It was Squid's blue security blanket. He never went anywhere without his blanket. She ran over, grabbed it and hugged it tightly to her chest.
Then something else caught her eye. There was a piece of torn notepaper lying on the ground next to the sandpit. She recognised her father's big loopy handwriting. She picked it up.
Help, Shiml
The last letter was wobbly, as if he'd been interrupted.
As Shimlara ran back inside the house, there was just one thought in her mind.
I need the Space Brigade.