Koh-do World: Rex and the Blue Planet

By Steven Wallach

Rex seems to be an ordinary teenager, living a rather mundane life growing up at the rundown Half Orphan Asylum for Destitute and Abandoned Children in New York. He doesn’t know anything about his past—or his future—but he does have two best friends. He also has a mysterious lump on his arm that has recently started to bother him. On a completely normal day, Rex’s lump begins to ache. He tries to ignore the pain, but suddenly, the beautiful day becomes ominous. The sky turns black, and a bright light flashes through the darkness. Next thing Rex knows, he and his friends have been abducted and are now being held prisoner on a spaceship! It’s a race against time to save Earth from an alien invasion, but what’s an ordinary teenager supposed to do? Well, as it turns out, Rex might not be so ordinary after all. He has a battle to fight, and along the way, he learns the truth of his birth and the power of his future. With his devoted friends by his side, Rex can do anything—even save the world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
• Release date: Feb 16, 2018
• ISBN: 9781483479323

Book preview

life.

CHAPTER 1

I t was a beautiful day in early September on the blue planet called Earth. The sun was shining, and a cool breeze, more like one that comes in midfall, was kicking up near the Central Park model boathouse in the middle of New York City. Rex’s wispy brown hair fell straight down as he bent over during morning calisthenics and looked at his favorite beat-up old boat shoes. As he worked out next to the Alice in Wonderland sculpture, he listened to the music playing through the earbuds attached to his phone. Motorized boats were racing just south in Conservatory Water. His two friends Zach and Sam approached him with their bikes in tow.

There you are. I can spot those green eyes a mile away. I thought we were meeting you at the courts by the Great Lawn? Sam said as she grabbed Rex’s left arm, accidentally touching the spot where Rex had a small lump.

Sam was dressed for hoops in a loose T-shirt, baggy pants, and Converse All-Star high tops. Her gym bag hung at her right side, the strap crossed over her left shoulder and around her neck. Rex pulled off his ‘buds and left them to dangle around his neck.

Hey, where were you guys? Rex asked as he continued stretching.

Well, we got a bit sidetracked. Zach looked at Sam, annoyed.

Hey, it wasn’t my fault, Sam answered.

"What do you mean it wasn’t your fault? Zach said. I mean, I can’t believe what you said to that cop!"

Well, if you didn’t take us down the wrong way on a one-way street, he wouldn’t have stopped us, Sam said.

Whaddaya mean? We always go that way to the park. It’s the fastest route, Zach said.

"Well then, stop complaining. It was your fault too," Sam replied.

So what happened? Rex asked.

"Let me tell him. Zach put his hand to Sam’s mouth to keep her from answering. We were riding our bikes on our usual route past the DAC on One Hundred and Fifth Street, heading east toward the park."

Yeah, well, that is the way we always go. It’s the shortest route from the orphanage, Rex said.

Sam pushed Zach’s hand away. Yes, but that is the wrong way down a one-way street.

Okay, so … Rex said.

Well, let me finish, Zach said. As I was saying, we were riding toward the park down One Hundred and Fifth Street when a cop car drove by on Central Park West. He saw us coming down the street, so he backed up his car. As we were just about to pass the car and head into the park, he waved us over to his car. He got out of the car and told us to get off our bikes and to park them. He then lectured us on the rules of the road and how bicyclists have to follow the same rules as people driving cars. He was about to let us go when Ms. Smarty Pants over here—Zach waved his arm and pointed to Sam, who politely smiled and bowed— said to the cop, Zach continued in a high-pitched voice imitating Sam, "‘Well, we always go this way, and we were never stopped before.’" He returned to his normal voice. And then, wham! He slapped each of us with a two hundred fifty–dollar ticket.

Ouch, Rex replied.

Yeah. Now how am I going to explain that one to my dad? Zach asked.

Sam raised her eyebrows and smirked in agreement.

Yo, now that sucks! Well, cheer up, dude. It’s not that bad. Let’s just file that one in the crap pile for today, and hopefully that will be the only bad thing to happen to you guys for a while. Rex gently patted Zach on the back. Anyway, I’m just about done with my stretching. Just give me a few more minutes to finish.

If I’d known you were going to be doing this, I would have taken out my sketchbook and pens to do some drawings while I was waiting, Sam said.

Anyway, I told you that we would find him here. You know how he likes those motorized boats. Zach looked over at Sam and then out at the boats on the water.

Well, I got caught up stretching, and I was just checking up on the boat competition down here. Then I saw Alice and her crew, and I thought this was a nice spot to set up shop and work out before all the little kids came running in to play. Besides, you certainly don’t look like you’re ready for one-on-one, Rex said as he eyed Zach’s military-style midshin boots.

Hey, I got my high tops in the bag. And you gotta check these kicks out. They light up when you walk, Zach said.

Isn’t that a bit childish? I see those all the time on the little kids, Sam answered.

You’re just not on the pulse. These are the latest rage. Zach, always stylish, was wearing a retro New York Nets T-shirt with a picture of Dr. J on the front and his number, thirty-two, on the back. He had his favorite baggy pants on as well and carried his gym bag over his left shoulder.

Gotta love the picture of the Doctor. It reminds me of the one in your dad’s office back at the DAC. I always loved that cool autographed jersey, Rex said.

You know it, bro, and I still have it. My dad used to tell me it was a heartbreaker when the Nets moved to the NBA and the Doctor went to the Sixers. The Nets could have won it all if they hadn’t lost him in the ABA merger with the NBA. Zach sighed. I wear this shirt in honor of my dad, he proclaimed.

What do you mean, ‘in honor’? It sounds like he’s dead or something, Sam said.

No, I just respect him. Hey, well, by the way, those don’t look like basketball sneakers, either. He pointed to Rex’s boat shoes. Oh, man, I can’t believe I forgot the ball.

It’s a good thing because you know I would have kicked your butt if we played, Sam said.

Oh, puhleeze, girl, Zach exclaimed.

I can match you point for point at hoops, and you know it. Are we forgetting last Sunday at the Village courts? Or all the time we spent on the court in the DAC’s basement as kids? Sam replied.

Hey, you two, do you have something going on that I don’t know about? Rex teased.

Oh, yeah, right! Zach and Sam replied in unison.

Well, I thought we’d get a good game going at the courts over by the Great Lawn. I’m going to soar over you guys like the Doctor used to do, Rex said.

Can you believe the ego on this guy? Or is this just part of the head game to mess with our confidence before the real game starts? Zach asked.

Anyway, Dr. J hasn’t played in years. He probably can’t even get out of his rocker, said Rex, laughing.

Don’t count on it. He probably could still take you one-on-one and leave sneaker tread marks on your forehead as he glided to the basket for a slam dunk, Zach replied as he looked over at Sam. And don’t forget who taught Michael Jordan all his moves. Have you ever seen his highlight reel online?

Totally, Sam said.

I’m just busting you guys. I certainly don’t have those giant hands of his to palm the ball. They were massive! Anyway, we’ll have to head over to the North Meadow courts and see if we can get a ball there, Rex said.

No big deal. It doesn’t hurt to get in some more exercise. And on a day like today, I could stay outside forever, Sam said.

That’s for sure! Rex looked up into the sky, admiring how clear and blue it was.

Well, on our way to the courts, I would just like to remind you about our first science test of the year this Monday, Zach said. You know it’s all about DNA and cloning.

Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I’ll have to get the notes from you because I think I missed that class. It’s so hard getting back into the groove of things this early in the year, Rex replied.

You didn’t miss the class. I saw you dozing off. Besides, how could you not have paid attention? I mean, that class was awesome! The thought of actually having a clone would be cool. Do you think it is possible? Zach asked.

Well, they tried with sheep. I think they called her Daisy or Dolly, Sam said.

I mean for humans. By the way, her name was Dolly, dingdong … the sheep, that is, Zach answered.

Whatever, Sam said, signaling her lack of interest.

She actually wasn’t the first, but she was the first from an adult cell. However, she didn’t live too long. She wasn’t a true clone because her donor cell had different mitochondria, Zach explained.

How do you know so much about this? Sam wondered.

I spend a lot of time online, researching all this stuff. It’s pretty cool, Zach said.

Rex turned toward Zach. Well, maybe one day they can regenerate body parts and reattach them. Imagine if your hand was cut off or your leg was gone, and you needed a new one. How awesome would that be? Maybe then I could have Dr. J’s hands!

Well, dude, I think we are a long way from that. But who knows? Zach shrugged. Besides, it wasn’t just in the hands. You would probably need his brain, too.

Well, I bet not as far away as you think, Rex said.

Yeah, who knows? Sam said. Now, let’s get on with basketball. This intellectual conversation can wait until we study for our exam tomorrow.

So just imagine a little clone, Zach said.

Yeah, like Mini-Me. Throw me a freakin’ bone, Rex said in his best Dr. Evil voice, placing his curled pinkie up to the side of his mouth.

Oh boy, spare me. I don’t think I can handle another one of you, Sam said, throwing Rex’s gym bag at his stomach.

Oooph, easy Batgirl. You almost knocked the wind out of me. Rex doubled over from the blow.

Rex picked up his gym bag, and the three walked toward the Great Lawn, as Sam and Zach pushed their bikes along. As usual, the park was packed with all kinds of people on the Great Lawn doing all kinds of things on such a perfect fall day. Rex felt a strange pulsation in his left forearm, something he had only felt before when something really bad was going to happen. It was never more than a slight twinge, but then again, he had never really noticed that lump until a few months ago when it started to grow. With the increase in size, the pain associated with it became more intense. He grabbed it with his right hand and tried to rub the pain away, but it wouldn’t go away as easily as in the past.

The winds began to pick up at a furious pace just as they made their way onto the Great Lawn, passing by people who were marking out their territory to enjoy the beautiful day. All of a sudden, the sky began to turn black, and only a few moments before there was not even a cloud in the sky. A strange eclipse of the sun began to appear, but unlike the typical solar eclipse phases that would take several hours, the sky went completely dark in just seconds. Shock and fear in their eyes appeared as they looked up, and what they figured was an unusual solar eclipse was actually a large spacecraft hovering over them. A quick burst of light came from the bottom of the spaceship—and then everything went black.

CHAPTER 2

FOURTEEN YEARS EARLIER

I t was a typical summer night in New York City. The three H’s applied: hazy, hot, and humid. Even as the day ended and the sun set, the temperature still hovered around eighty degrees Farenheit. Many of the city’s residents were outside enjoying the summer night in Central Park with a clear view of the stars and the amazing full moon as the city continued its request to dim unnecessary building lights at night. The weather forecast predicted another dry evening in a drought-ridden year.

Suddenly, the temperature dropped about twenty degrees, with the sky becoming ominously darker. Hail the size of golf balls came pounding down almost out of nowhere as the lightning and thunder quickly took over the park. People were running to take cover from the storm. Some were even shaking their fists into the sky and ranting about how the TV weathermen messed up another forecast. It appeared that no one noticed the other bright light that zoomed across the night sky as it entered the Earth’s outermost atmosphere, like a shooting star flying on an arc almost perpendicular to most of the lightning bolts. But it wasn’t a shooting star.

Something landed in the Great Hill section of the park, but thanks to the storm diversion, no one noticed it. Within seconds of the landing, the storm broke, but not before all the people in the area had left the park. For a spaceship, it looked rather unassuming, but that was its intention—to stay inconspicuous both as it flew in space and as it landed on Earth. The ship was rather dull in appearance and small, measuring no more than about eight feet in height and width. It had enough room to transport one person and some small packages and nothing more. The goal was to stay under the radar, and everything about this ship kept it that way. There even was a cloaking device to prevent it from actually being identified by complex intergalactic detection instrumentation or of course the more rudimentary local radar. The ship landed using special infrared sensors and without using its typical landing lights. It stayed invisible and kept closed for several hours until the visitor inside thought it was safe to come out. Just before dawn, the hatch opened. A rather short staircase extended out and led down to the ground. Exiting from the ship was a rather short man with his face hidden in the shadows of his hooded cloak. His hand reached up into the hood as he gently stroked his long, dark beard sprinkled with gray while he looked around once more for observers. He did not like to rely only on the ship’s sensors even if Vesalius created it; he trusted his own. Once he was assured that there was no one around, he quickly placed three satchels around his neck and hung them over his shoulder as he stepped away from the ship.

It had been a long journey up to this point, and he knew he had to be just as cautious during this final leg. He knew he must not lower his guard for a second until the packages were delivered. He waved his hand at the ship, and almost instantaneously, the ship seemed to