Read an Excerpt
The Atlantic Ocean. Somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle...
This is the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Viking.
It's over three football fields long.
It weighs 101,000 tons.
It's a big ship.
And right now it's in big trouble!
"The storm came out of nowhere! It wasn't on the radar!"
Meanwhile, belowdecks, a man is packing a cardboard box. He doesn't know about the storm and the danger outside. He is thinking about his kids.
They are very far away and he misses them.
Suddenly a siren sounds! WHOOOOT! WHOOOOT!
The man gasps, "A plane is in trouble!" Then he scrambles out the cabin door.
He leaves the package sitting open on his bunk.
He doesn't know that this box is about to change everything...
Chapter 1
What Stinks?
Today stinks! thought Zeke. Stinks in a big way, like...walrus burps!
Zeke sat at the back of the old school bus as it rumbled along. He watched the crazy houses in his neighborhood roll past the window. Most of the people that lived in his town loved the ocean, just like Zeke's dad. He was in the navy and worked on an aircraft carrier. Zeke sighed when the bus chugged by a house shaped like a submarine. It had been Jimbo's home until yesterday.
Jimbo was Zeke's best friend. And they had lots of awesome plans. First, they were going to build go-carts and race down Dead-Man's Ditch. But Jimbo, who always had wild and crazy ideas, decided they should build a rocket ship instead! They were going to be the first nine-year-olds in outer space. Jimbo already knew how to make real smoke bombs. How much tougher could it be to build a rocket? Zeke knew it would be super cool!
Then Jimbo's dad got a new job in a new town. And Jimbo moved away. Just like that. Zeke scowled. He couldn't build a rocket by himself. And Dad was gone for six months again—far away, somewhere at sea. When you worked on an aircraft carrier you were gone a lot. Zeke sighed again. He missed Jimbo. He missed Dad. With a screech of brakes, the bus jerked to a stop.
"Come on," called a high, squeaky voice.
"Last one off the bus is a rotten jelly bean." Zeke's little sister, Hannah, jumped up and ran for the door. Zeke followed slowly.
"Zeke's a smelly jelly bean!" shouted Hannah, bounding off the bus.
"Today stinks big time," Zeke muttered.