Edward and Anthony held their noses shut. It seemed that the pirates never washed. They stank like a hundred year old toilet that hadn’t been washed a single time. Even with their noses shut it made them sick to breathe through their mouths.
“Lucky we had no breakfast today or I’d be throwing it all up,” Anthony wined.
Edward was about to say something when the men dropped them on the ground. It was hard. The boys fell on their backs. They were stunned for a few seconds then Anthony began to cry as he’d banged his head on a stone, and who wouldn’t cry if a stinky pirate threw you on the ground and your head fell on a stone?
“Stop it at once,” Edward said angrily. “You don’t know who we are!”
The pirates laughed.
“Oh, look at these fierce boys,” one of them laughed. “My knees are shaking in fear already.”
They all laughed even louder.
“Well you should be afraid,” Anthony shouted and forgot about his tears. “We killed that nasty dragon on Lantau Island.”
The pirates roared with laughter.
“Dragon killers,” they laughed. “These two boys killed the dragon and to prove it they’ll ask us to go to the dragon’s cave and have a look.”
They laughed again.
“And while we’re looking in the dragon’s cave and getting eaten by the dragon you two clever boys just run away. How stupid do you think we are?” another pirate yelled.
Now the pirates weren’t laughing anymore. The thought of two boys trying to lie to them and to trick them had made them angry.
“But it’s true,” Edward protested.
“Quiet!” a big fat pirate shouted. “You’ll do as you’re told.”
“I’ll fight you,” Edward said.
“Fight me? Ha! You do as you’re told or I’ll hit your bottom with this stick.” He held a large stick in front of Edward’s nose.
If the pirate hit them with a stick it wouldn’t count as a fight, but it would be very painful. For the moment the boys had no choice but to obey. They looked sadly at the ground and asked “What do you want us to do?”
The fat pirate grinned. “That’s better. See how fast you can learn. Now go and wash the dishes, then clear the dirt out of our cave and clean the toilet.”
The boys spent several very unpleasant hours working for the pirates. At noon one of the pirates came and gave the boys some dry bread and water.
“Eat and drink,” he said. “There’s more work waiting for you, so be quick about it.”
“Excuse me, Mister Pirate,” Edward said cunningly. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Well, what is it you want to know?”
“There’s something I don’t understand. If you don’t believe that we killed the dragon, then why are you afraid to fight me?”
“Afraid?” the pirate yelled. “Who is afraid? How dare you say such a thing. You’ll pay for this!”
The pirate ran off to get two swords. He threw one on the sandy ground at Edward’s feet.
There, pick it up and I’ll teach you to insult a pirate. I’ll cut your head off and then there’ll be an end to your insolence.”
Edward bent down and picked up the sword with one hand. In the other he took some sand. He looked up and quickly jumped back because the pirate attacked him with a big grin.
“So who’s afraid now, you little worm. Come here and I’ll put an end to your miserable life!”
The pirate kept swinging his sword at Edward. There were a few clangs of metal on metal when their swords met. The sword was heavy, too heavy for Edward to hold a long time. He waited for the right moment. When the pirate’s sword swung to one side, Edward quickly jumped forward and threw the sand in the pirate’s face. His eyes were full of sand and he couldn’t see anything.
The pirate started yelling furiously. Edward seized his chance. He leapt forward and stabbed the pirate who cried out in pain. At that moment stars appeared and whirled around the two boys. The pirates vanished from sight and everything became dark. Moments later they were back in the living room of their home. As after every adventure there were no traces left. All the dirt and sand had gone and they were exactly the same as before their adventure.
“Phew!” Edward said. “That was close. I was beginning to get worried the pirate would defeat me.”
“Defeat you?” Anthony said. “Never! No pirate or bandit or dragon could ever defeat you. You’re much too clever and brave for them all.”
The two brothers grinned at each other.
Here’s a sneak preview of Edward and
Anthony’s next exciting adventure!
Fly to
The Red Planet
When their spaceship crashes on Mars and Anthony vanishes only Edward can save him…
…suddenly an alarm rang through the spaceship.
“This is the captain speaking. The ship’s engines are malfunctioning and we will crash into Mars. This is the order to abandon ship immediately. Take your positions at the escape pods and wait for the automated launch. The pods will carry you to a safe location on Mars. You must leave at once. The spaceship will enter the Martian atmosphere in about ten minutes and will burn up soon after that.”
The boys looked at each other in panic. They ran back to the door and frantically tried to get it open.
“It’s no use,” Edward said two minutes later. He sank down on the floor and buried his face in his hands.
Anthony looked horrified. “But if we can’t even get to Mars then I can’t fulfil the dare and we’ll die here.”
Edward said nothing and Anthony started to cry. The he hammered at the door with both his fists and yelled for help.
“Let us out,” he shouted. “We don’t want to die, help!”
Suddenly the door opened and four people came in.
“Hello,” a man said to the boys. “What are you doing here?”
The boys looked at him not knowing what to say.
“This isn’t your escape pod,” he said. “You should go…”
“Oh Henry,” a woman said. “This is not the time. We’ve got to take our places and there’s enough space left.”
The man was taken aback. “Yes, of course, how silly of me.”
He opened a small panel in the wall. There was a red handle. He pulled it all the way down.
A bell rang and automated voice announced “Alert! Escape pod activated. Take seats immediately. 60, 59, 58, 57,…”
Eight small doors opened and behind each was a narrow seat. They all quickly sat down and strapped themselves in. The little doors closed airtight and an independent source of oxygen supplied each person. Then there was a clang sound and the pod was set free from the spaceship. Small rocket engines fired up and the autopilot directed the escape pod on a safe course for re-entry into the Martian atmosphere. They drifted in the weightlessness of space for a few minutes, then the pod reached the atmosphere and a bumpy ride towards the surface of Mars began. Somewhere ahead of them the doomed spaceship was already burning up in the atmosphere…
A disaster,
aliens,
a desperate quest…
Follow this quest to the end in
THE RED PLANET
ISBN-13: 978-1503141803
ISBN-13: 978-1503141803
The Tiger
ISBN-10: 1503170608
Anthony and Edward face a terrifying evil when a dare to ride a tiger hurls them into 19th century India. What ghastly peril must they face and what allies will they find?
Can YOU survive the Dare Quest challenge?
Queen Cleopatra
ISBN-10: 1503170837
When Princess Geetu dares Anthony and Edward to go on a boat journey with none other than Queen Cleopatra and Julius Caesar the three children are flung through space and time. They emerge near ancient Rome. Yet can they overcome the perils that face them and, most of all, can they overcome Death itself?
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