Toby Smart and the Battle Of Urkan: Toby Smart, #2

By Aaron D Phillips

'ACTION-PACKED, EXCITING, AND RIOTOUSLY FUNNY'

Toby Smart and the Battle Of Urkan is the second book in the Toby Smart YA Sci-Fi trilogy.

After waking up on the alien planet Urkan, Toby, Luke and Sarah embark on a journey to find their lost friends. It won't be an easy task as the Dark One and his troopers unleash everything they have in an attempt to find them first. 

Relationships are once again tested as Toby and his friends find themselves caught in a conflict that could have devastating consequences for them and for those on Earth. Toby has to harness everything he has learned so far to do battle once again with deadly aliens and their chronic OCD. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Aaron D Phillips
• Release date: Jun 30, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386107019

Book preview

Chapter One

‘Sarah, come over here’ shouted Toby.

Sarah couldn’t see much in the darkness but ran towards where Toby’s voice was coming from.

A loud whooshing sound was followed by a crack as a laser shot hit the rock near her head, sending shards of stone on to the floor.

‘Here, grab my hand’.

Toby pulled Sarah in to the cave as another shot narrowly missed the entrance.

‘Thank god you’re ok’ said Toby as he kissed Sarah.

‘I’m fine, don’t worry. Is Luke with you?’.

‘No, I’ve tried looking for him, but he must have landed somewhere else’ replied Toby as he tried to get his pocket torch to work again.

‘I put new batteries in this last week, why won’t it bloody work’. Sarah grabbed it off him and switched it on.

‘There you go’ she said handing it back to him, ‘all you need is a woman’s touch and some patience’.

Toby rolled his eyes and moved the torch around the cave. It had a high ceiling of about twenty foot but narrowed towards the back. He shone the torch to the rear of the cave but saw nothing but darkness.

‘I wonder where that goes?’.

‘Who knows’ said Sarah.

‘I have no idea where we are. Do you remember anything about how we got here?’

Toby shone the torch at Sarah’s face. She still looked gorgeous.

‘Get that thing out of my eyes you idiot!’

‘Sorry. All I remember was being in the den with that alien thing then I woke up here’. Sarah’s face contorted.

‘Yes, he shot us! I remember now. Something about taking us and your dad back to Urkan. Oh god, are we on Urkan?’.

Toby put his head outside the cave and shone his torch around but all he could make out were clumps of rock. Sarah grabbed it out of his hand and pulled him back in to the cave.

‘Do you want to get your head blown off?’

Before Toby had a chance to reply a small drone hovered outside the cave entrance and pointed its gun at them both.

‘Run!’ shouted Sarah as she pulled Toby towards the back of the cave.

A laser just missed Toby’s foot causing him to jump up and bang his head.

‘Ow!’

He lent down and picked up a large stone and threw it at the drone, knocking it in to the side of the cave wall. Sarah looked impressed.

‘Wow, I never knew you could throw that well’ as she went to pick up the shattered drone.

‘Don’t pick it up, it may still be alive’ said Toby keeping a safe distance. Sarah picked it up and looked at the small camera in the front that was smashed.

‘Its electronic, how can it be alive?’ asked Sarah sarcastically.

‘Well, it just shot at us so it isn’t bloody dead’ replied Toby.

‘It won’t be shooting at us again’ said Sarah as she pulled the laser off the side and crushed it with her feet.

‘I wonder if it’s safe to go outside. We need to find Luke and your dad. Hey, that police lady was with us too, maybe she is here as well’.

Toby seemed cautious.

‘I think we should wait until there is some daylight’. Sarah grabbed his arm.

‘How do we even know if they have daylight here? Come on, let’s go’.

Luke opened his eyes and was greeted by the sight of a mud covered backside. He went to shove it off when it grunted back at him.

‘Hey, get off me’.

The front end of the backside turned around to reveal two sticky out ears.

‘If you touch me again I’m going to break your nose’ came the voice from between the ears.

‘Carl?’ replied Luke.

‘Yeah. God, my back hurts. Where are we anyway?’

Luke pushed himself up from the ground, which felt like a gravely beach. It was almost pitch black but he could just make out a handful of large rocks stretching out in to the distance. It felt cold too, but there was no wind.

‘Where is this place?’ asked Carl getting up from the floor and dusting his jeans down.

‘Last thing I remember was being in that underground den that you idiots hang around in. Is Toby here? I’m still going to kill him’.

Luke threw a stone at him, hitting him on the shoulder.

‘Screw you Carl’.

Carl turned and ran towards Luke, rugby tackling him to the ground.

‘Get off me you ape’ shouted Luke through a mouthful of gravel. ‘Maybe I’ll just kill you while I’m here’.

Luke jabbed his elbow in to Carl’s side knocking him off him. He got back on his feet and took a few steps back.

‘Maybe I should kill you for what you did to Toby in class the other day’ said Luke spitting out some gravel.

‘Toby killed my mum so I’m going to make sure he pays for it, slowly and painfully’ hissed Carl.

‘What are you on about? Why would Toby kill your mum? He’s a pussy; he wouldn’t even squash a spider!’

Carl straightened himself up and arched his back.

‘My mum was found dead in the garden of Mr Cooper’s house. Their neighbour saw Toby going in there the day she died. Everyone knows Toby killed Mr Cooper, so I know he killed my mum’.

Luke kept his eye on Carl, waiting for him to run at him again.

‘Bollocks. Mr Cooper died of a heart attack. Toby had nothing to do with it, your mum just died. Get over it’.

Carl raised his fist and ran towards Luke. He managed to duck just before impact and swung round landing a punch on the back of Carl’s head, knocking him clean out.

‘That’s for Toby you asshole’.

Sarah and Toby had been walking about twenty minutes through the rocks with only a speckle of daylight guiding their way. Toby hit his torch against the wall.

‘It’s broke again. Cheap rubbish’.

Sarah grabbed it back from him.

‘Do I have to do everything for you?’ as she turned the top and made it come on.

‘See? Try not to be a philistine’.

Toby tutted to himself as he shone the torch ahead of them.

‘I can’t see anything apart from rocks. Luke must be around here somewhere’.

Sarah pushed his hand down.

‘Keep it low, do you want to get shot at again?’.

‘I think I fancy you more when you’re angry’ said Toby looking at how Sarah’s dimples came out when she frowned. Sarah smiled at him whilst still managing a frown.

‘You’re very lucky that I find you cute as well Toby Smart otherwise you’d have got a slap’.

Before Toby had a chance to answer a laser shot hit the rock between them, sending small lumps of rock over their heads.

‘Get down!’ shouted Toby as he pulled Sarah to the floor.

Another shot hit the ground just in front of them, kicking up a load of dust and gravel.

‘Quick, follow me’ said Sarah as she got up and ran towards the outline of a large rock behind them. Toby didn’t think twice and ran towards the rock, hiding behind it as shot’s were being fired over their heads.

‘This is crazy, we’re going to get killed’ said Toby catching his breath. ‘Not if you do as I say’ said Sarah who seemed cool and collected. ‘What can we do? We’re getting shot at, in the dark and we have nothing to protect us!This has to be some dream, or maybe we did die in the den and this is the afterlife’.

Sarah slapped him around the face.

‘Stop it, you’re being irrational. This is clearly real, and we are definitely being shot at, so will you grow up and grow a pair’. Toby was stunned.

‘You can’t slap me!’

‘I just did. Now shush, I can see where the shots are coming from, just behind that rock over there. If we can create a distraction I reckon we can surprise them from behind’.

‘Since when did you become a member of the SAS?’

Sarah held his hands.

‘Look, I’m sorry for slapping you, but you’re behaving like a baby. You can help create a diversion, or stay here and get shot’.

Toby thought about it for a second. He definitely didn’t want to get shot. Sarah put a big rock in his hand and another in hers.

‘I want you to throw it to your left and once they shoot towards it I’ll run towards them and you follow me, ok?’

Toby looked scared.

‘I think so. How are you so calm?’

‘I’ll tell you later. Ready? Now!’

Toby threw the rock which then got shot at multiple times. Sarah ran towards where the shots were coming from with Toby following behind. He heard a crack followed by a scream, followed by another crack.

‘Sarah!’

He ran behind the rock to see an alien on the floor with a rock embedded in its head and Sarah stood over it.

‘Yeah, we’re definitely on Urkan’.

Chapter Two

Zanthros opened his eyes and saw the two suns rising on the horizon. The brightness made him look down towards his feet. A feeling of fear hit him as he realised he was thirty feet from the ground and his head was almost touching the glass roof of high command. He looked down and saw the planet council sat in their seats on either side of the building. Without warning his head was hit with a sharp pain that pinned him against the ceiling. Zanthros grabbed his head but the pain got worse.

‘Aaargh! Stop, please. I did my best dark one. Krynos escaped me but I did bring the boy’.

The pain then stopped as Zanthros was released and started to free fall towards the floor. He closed his eyes and waited for the impact. He was stopped just before the floor and was pulled back upright before the council. All the high command members were staring intently at him in complete silence.

From the corner of the room a thick black mist seeped in from under the large glass doors and rose up towards Zanthros. The mist took the shape of an Urkanite but was far larger and wider with sharp claws on the end of its limbs. Zanthros closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable. A huge guttural roar came from the figure that shook the whole room and caused a crack on the glass ceiling. Some water dripped down on to the floor as one of the council members ran over and mopped it up.

‘You’ve let me down far too many times Zanthros’ growled the voice from inside the mist.

‘You had a simple mission, yet where is Krynos? You return to high command without him and yet you want me to spare your life?’ Zanthros slowly opened his eyes and caught a glimpse of the terror that lay in the mist.

‘I’m sorry dark one. We had him close but the transportation from Earth had already started before I could get hold of him’.

The dark one plunged a claw in to Zanthros’ side making him wince in pain.

‘Pathetic excuse. I should slice you in two right here before the council members’.

‘Please, give me more time to find the boy and the other humans. They are here on Urkan. I’m sure Krynos will come for them soon’ replied Zanthros trying to poke some of his guts back inside.

The dark one released him sending him crashing in a heap on the floor.

‘You have two days Zanthros and if you still haven’t brought Krynos to me, I will personally vaporise you’ growled the dark one as he returned to mist form and slid back under the door.

‘What are you all staring at?’ shouted Zanthros at the council members who all looked away and started chatting amongst themselves. He grabbed his gun and headed out to find Toby.

On Earth things were getting heated.

‘I can’t find my hair straighteners, have you moved them?’

Sharon