Star League 3 Read online

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity, including internet search engines or retailers, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, photocopying (except under the statutory exceptions provisions of the Australian Copyright Act 1968), recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of Random House Australia. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

  Star League Book 03: Raising the Dead

  ePub ISBN 9781742744346

  A Random House book

  Published by Random House Australia Pty Ltd

  Level 3, 100 Pacific Highway, North Sydney NSW 2060

  www.randomhouse.com.au

  First published by Random House Australia in 2011

  Copyright © H.J. Harper 2011

  Illustration copyright © Nahum Ziersch 2011

  The moral right of the author has been asserted.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity, including internet search engines or retailers, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying (except under the statutory exceptions provisions of the Australian Copyright Act 1968), recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of Random House Australia.

  Addresses for companies within the Random House Group can be found at www.randomhouse.com.au/offices.

  National Library of Australia

  Cataloguing-in-Publication Entry

  Author: Harper, H.J.

  Title: Raising the dead / H.J. Harper; Nahum Ziersch

  ISBN: 978 1 86471 868 3 (pbk.)

  Series: Harper, H.J. Star league; 3

  Target Audience: For children

  Other Authors/Contributors: Ziersch, Nahum

  Dewey Number: A823.4

  Cover illustration and design by Nahum Ziersch

  CONTENTS

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Imprint Page

  Dedication

  Meet The Star League

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Collect them all

  About the author

  About the illustrator

  To Nick. – H.J.H.

  To my big brother, Jerome. – N.Z.

  An eerie fog whispers through the streets, making it impossible to see where I’m going. As I walk along, tall shadows loom out at me like monsters, but mostly they just turn out to be overturned cars or toppled buildings. At one point I almost walk straight into someone, but when he sees me he screams and runs off.

  ‘Arghhh! Zombie!’

  ‘What, is it my breath?’ I yell into the fog. I try to breathe into my hand to check, but it just smells like chewing gum. I pop another piece of Braynes Gum in my mouth just to be on the safe side.

  I wander around the foggy streets searching for something. Well, someone to be exact. But with all this stupid fog around it’s impossible to know whether I’m coming or going. I’ve probably just been walking around in circles.

  That’s when I realise there’s something growling right behind me. I spin around to find an enormous brown wolf eyeing me off like I’m dinner.

  ‘Nice doggy!’ I say brightly. The wolf snarls at me, revealing razor-sharp teeth. ‘Whoa, doggy has an attitude problem!’

  ‘I’m not a doggy!’ snaps the wolf in a human voice. ‘I’m a werewolf.’

  ‘Well, if you’re a werewolf, maybe you can tell me where I am. This fog’s pretty confusing.’

  The werewolf snarls even louder. ‘This is no time for jokes! Prepare to meet your doom.’

  I look around. ‘Doom? I don’t see any doom here, just you.’

  A murderous rage flares in the werewolf’s yellow eyes, and before I can say ‘fetch’ he leaps forward and knocks me over.

  I reach out for something to break my fall and my hand grabs onto a street sign. Then my hand pops off my wrist and I end up sprawled on the ground.

  I stare down at the stump where my hand used to be, then back at my hand wrapped around the street sign. It flops to the ground and rolls between the werewolf’s front legs. His mouth drops open in surprise.

  His expression is so priceless I can’t help but laugh. The werewolf squints in confusion, but before he can figure out what’s going on my hand has crawled underneath him and yanked his tail. He yelps in shock.

  ‘Why don’t you check out some of the tricks I’ve got up my sleeve?’ I stand up and dust myself off with my remaining hand.

  ‘Quit messing around!’ He spins around and tries to bite my disembodied hand, but I’m too quick for him – my hand scurries away on its fingers, climbs up my leg and reattaches to my wrist. In the meantime I make my foot detach from my ankle. It hops along towards the werewolf, who is keeping such a close eye on my hands that he hasn’t noticed my missing foot.

  ‘Hey,’ I say, holding up my hands. ‘There’s no need for fighting. I think we both got off on the wrong foot.’

  As I say that, my foot leaps up and kicks the werewolf right in his shaggy butt. He howls ferociously and looks at me like he’s going to tear me apart. I reach into a leather pouch I keep around my waist and pull out one of my magic concoctions. Paralysis Potion – perfect! I take my nose off and put it in my pocket so I don’t breathe in any fumes, then I raise my hand to throw the vial.

  It smashes on the ground in front of him. Yellow fumes curl up around the werewolf and he starts to cough, then he freezes up like a statue. A loud voice booms out of the fog.

  ‘… Aaaaand cut!’

  The film director Ben Beaumont walks towards me with a frown on his face. ‘You know, Roger, I don’t remember reading any of what just happened in the script, and I should know, I wrote it!’

  ‘I was improvising!’

  ‘Well, every time you improvise it puts us further behind in our schedule. This is only the first scene of Zombie vs. Werewolf. We’ve still got to film the rest of the thing!’

  ‘I don’t want to keep filming this with him,’ says Connor. As soon as the Paralysis Potion wears off completely he transforms back into his human form and rubs the spot where my foot kicked him. ‘He doesn’t stick to the script. I was supposed to win that fight!’

  ‘You’re right, Connor, that did get out of hand,’ I say, sniggering.

  ‘Enough with the stupid jokes!’ he shouts.

  ‘Hey, guys, break it up,’ says Ben. ‘You’ve got to start sticking to the script, Roger, or we’ll never get the filming finished on time.’

  ‘But …’

  ‘No buts. Next time learn your lines!’

  I shrug. ‘Sure, whatever.’ I reach into my pocket for some gum but come up empty. ‘I’ve gotta go, I’m all out of Braynes.’

  I head towards the studio kitchen with Ben’s words ringing in my ears. I don’t know why those guys are so serious all the time. Somebody needs to teach them how to lighten up. I mean, it’s just a movie, right? It wasn’t like we were really fighting bad guys.

  I search in the massive pantry, pulling out my enormous recipe book from its hiding place. This book is ancient – you won’t find any instructions on how t
o make chocolate cake in here. It’s the recipe book for all my magic potions, handed down to me by my father, who’s a witchdoctor.

  He was the one who saved me when I fell into a pit of quicksand in the Amazon rainforest. Let’s just say it didn’t end well, but thanks to Dad’s Zombification Potion he brought me back to life as a zombie, new and improved!

  Now I can make all my limbs drop off like a crash-test dummy. But there’s definitely a downside to being undead. Eventually my body starts to freeze up and go as stiff as, well, a corpse. Then parts of me begin to crumble off without me controlling them. That’s why I have to take my Loosifying Juice, so my body stays nice and loose and I can pop my parts back on.

  Of course, too much Loosifying Juice and I get too loose. It’s the same deal as when I don’t get enough – arms and legs falling off all over the place, so I have to get the dose just right to stay nice and limber. It’s tough being a zombie!

  I check the recipe for the Loosifying Juice. ‘One dash of swamp juice, a teaspoon of rubber essence …’ I rummage around in the pantry for my stash of ingredients, then I double check the recipe. ‘Uh, wait, was that a teaspoon of swamp juice or rubber essence?’

  Even though I’ve made the potion a million times before, I can never remember how to make it. Dad says I have a bad memory because I don’t listen, but I think it’s because I’m a zombie and my brains have turned to mush.

  Either way, I’d be done for if I didn’t have my recipe book. Ben Beaumont keeps telling me to make a copy, just in case, but between fighting crime with the Star League and playing practical jokes on Connor, who’s got the time?

  I make sure I have the exact dosage and squirt it into the middle of my favourite Braynes Gum. That way whenever I chew Braynes I get my dose of Loosifying Juice and the taste of swamp juice isn’t so bad!

  I’m about to put my recipe book back when I start to get the feeling I’m not alone. I turn and notice a lady standing in the shadows. When she steps forward I can see her eyes are outlined in dark eyeliner and she’s wearing a golden crown in the shape of a snake. She reminds me of an Egyptian princess from a movie.

  ‘Are you Roger Romero?’ she asks.

  ‘Why, are you a fan or something? Because autographs are ten dollars a pop.’

  ‘A fan? You could say that. My name is Nefertina.’

  ‘Well, uh, you’re not really supposed to be in here, Nefertina. Can I help you with anything?’

  She nods. ‘You can help me by staying put and keeping your mouth shut while I help myself to your recipe book!’

  ‘Huh?’ I’ve barely got time to blink, let alone yell for help. She leaps forward and knocks me to the ground. Then she starts to wind a long white bandage around my body, including my mouth. In a few seconds I’m bound up as tightly as a bug in a spider’s web.

  ‘Thanks for making this so easy!’ she says with an evil grin. She reaches over and grabs my recipe book. I struggle against the bandages but I’m not going anywhere any time soon.

  Nefertina throws back her head and laughs. ‘You seem a bit tied up at the moment, so I’ll bid you farewell.’

  Cackling, she leaves the kitchen, carrying my recipe book under one arm.

  What do you do when you’ve just been tied up and your ancient potion recipe book has been stolen? I try shouting for help, but because of the bandages over my mouth it just comes out like, ‘Mmmmmmppphhh!’

  Plan B … that would be fine if I had one! I start to panic. Okay, Roger, I tell myself, don’t fall apart. Then I freeze. That’s it! How could I not have thought of it before? I take a deep breath, close my eyes, and …

  DONK! The world spins as my head falls off and hits the floor, followed shortly by my hands, arms, shoulders, legs and feet. The bandages unravel until finally I’m free. But now comes the hard part – putting myself back together again.

  I’ve just reattached my foot to my leg and I’m working on connecting my leg to my body when I hear the kitchen door swing open. I freeze. What if Nefertina has come back to finish off the job?

  ‘We leave you alone for two minutes and you completely go to pieces!’

  I relax at the sound of the voice. I’d know it anywhere since I’ve heard it in so many movies. It’s Jay Casey: film star, stunt genius and leader of the Star League.

  ‘Ha ha,’ I say, rolling my eyes. ‘Can you give me a hand here?’

  ‘Sure!’ says Leigh Faunus, a red-headed girl who can talk to animals. She picks up one of my hands and her monkey, Chu, waddles over with the other one. ‘Have two!’

  ‘What happened here?’ asks Connor.

  ‘I was minding my own business when this lady calling herself Nefertina stole my recipe book!’

  ‘Your recipe book?’ asks Asuka Kuro. Her face is covered by her ninja hood, but I can tell she’s frowning. ‘So what’s the big deal? Now you can’t bake cupcakes or something?’

  ‘I believe Roger is referring to his magical potion recipe book,’ hums Sam in his robotic voice. ‘Is that correct?’

  ‘Spot on, Bot-boy!’ I say. ‘We need to find her and get it back or I’m going to drop off – literally! If I can’t make more Loosifying Juice, my body parts will start to fall off for good.’

  ‘Okay, any idea where she was heading?’ asks Jay. I shake my head sadly. I’ve got enough Braynes Gum to last me for a couple of hours, but what am I supposed to do when I run out? I’ve got to find Nefertina and get my book back, but how?

  Suddenly I hear a sound from around the corner. Someone is pawing through the kitchen! I bet it’s Nefertina back to steal my ingredients! I whip out one of my Itching Fit Mixtures and get ready to throw it at the shadowy shape scrounging around in the fridge. The vial flies through the air and smashes right next to the intruder.

  ‘Gotcha!’ I shout as the orange liquid splashes onto the figure.

  ‘AAARRRRGGGHHH!’ shrieks a voice that sounds very unladylike.

  Uh-oh!

  ‘Ben!’ I say, recognising the director at last. ‘I’m sorry, I thought you were Nefertina!’

  ‘Nefer-who?’ he asks, scratching all over furiously.

  ‘Nefertina, the woman who stole my recipe book!’ I quickly explain it all to Ben, who keeps on scratching. When I finish talking Ben looks worried, and I think it’s to do with more than just the itching potion.

  ‘Actually, I was just on my way to tell you that a report came in from GALACTIC.’ We all gather around to hear Ben’s news. ‘The museum has reported a theft. They’re missing six mummies from their collection and have no leads. I thought it sounded like a case for the Star League, but now I wonder if this Nefertina is somehow involved.’

  ‘It sounds like it,’ says Jay. ‘We’ll get right on it!’

  ‘Great, just one more question,’ asks Ben, scratching his leg. ‘Is there a cure for this itching potion?’

  ‘Yep, sure is!’ I say. ‘But the recipe is in the book.’

  Ben goes a bit green in the face. ‘Get that book back. Quickly.’

  ‘How much damage can Nefertina do with your recipe book?’ asks Jay.

  I stare out the window of the studio car we’re taking to the museum. ‘Depends on what she’s using it for. There’s a recipe in there for bringing things back to life in the form of zombies, but there’s one for a good cough syrup too.’

  ‘Did she have a cough?’ asks Leigh.

  ‘Uh, no.’

  ‘Then I think it’s a pretty good bet she’s going to use it for that whole raising the dead thing,’ says Asuka.

  The car pulls to a stop. ‘My global positioning system indicates that we have arrived at our destination,’ says Sam.

  I roll my eyes. ‘So does that sign over there that says “Museum”.’

  We get out of the car and head towards the front door. As we’re about to go inside, the doors burst open and a terrifying figure covered from head to toe in bandages lurches out.

  ‘Mmmmuuuurrrrgggh!’ moans the mummy. I scream, then glance around sheepishly when
I realise nobody else looks scared.

  ‘What are you worried about?’ asks Connor. ‘A mummy is practically a zombie with bandages!’

  ‘I wasn’t screaming, it was a … a battle cry! This guy’s dead meat!’

  As I run towards the mummy I reach into my satchel and pull out a potion. Glancing at the label I see it’s a bright pink Stink Concoction. I throw the potion at him and the glass vial shatters, releasing a terrible smell.

  ‘Awww, gross, man!’ says the mummy, who suddenly sounds a lot different to the moaning monster he was a moment ago. ‘What’s the deal? I’m just trying to eat my lunch out here!’ He holds up a brown paper bag.

  ‘Oh yeah? And what’s on the menu, brains?’

  ‘Actually, Roger, my databases indicate that it is zombies who eat brains, not mummies,’ says Sam.

  ‘Well, I’m on a brains-free diet, and I’m not going to stand around and let this guy chow down on the organs of innocent bystanders!’ I snatch his brown paper bag out of his hands and open it up. Inside is some kind of disgusting red mush. ‘Just as I suspected, brains!’

  ‘What are you talking about?’ asks the mummy. ‘That’s lentil pudding in there!’

  ‘Who’s going to believe that a mummy eats lentils?’ I pull out a bottle of Paralysis Potion and take aim. ‘Time to say goodnight, you mummy menace!’

  ‘Wait, wait!’ He covers his face with his hands. ‘You don’t actually think I’m a real mummy, do you? I’m just an employee here! They pay me to wear this costume and walk around.’

  I lower the potion and look at him. Come to think of it, the bandages do look a little new to be thousands of years old. And I’m pretty sure I can see a price tag sticking out the back. I look at the others and they shrug.

  ‘Can I have my lunch now?’