The Hollywood Mission Read Online Free Page B

hair.
    â€˜How does it work?’ Max was keen to get to the part where she could use it.
    Francis took the Transporter Mark II out of the cabinet as if it was a rare gem.
    â€˜Much the same as when you transport through space. You write the destination on the LCD screen using the rod at the side, but add the extra dimension of time. Say or write transport and, provided the address exists, you will be transported directly.’
    It sounded too simple. ‘Is that it?’ Max’s face creased into a frown.
    â€˜Yep. Now that it has the power of the Aurora Stone.’ Ben hitched up his trousers. ‘And when you want to return to the place you transported from, simply write return in the screen.’
    â€˜Can we try it now?’ Max asked.
    â€˜Do you feel up to it?’ Ben looked at her sternly.
    Max straightened up, her chin tucked in, her eyes firm, her mind buzzing with the fact that she was facing one of the most important moments of her life. One to be taken seriously. One to be faced with bravery, dignity and courage.
    â€˜What, are you crazy?’ she blustered as her hands flew to her hips. ‘I’ve waited for this moment ever since I heard about the Time and Space Machine. I’ve lived for this moment for a whole year. It’s amazing I stayed even half sane just thinking about it!’
    â€˜I’d take that as a yes,’ Linden translated.
    â€˜Where would you like to go?’ Ben asked her as if he was driving a tour bus.
    Max went to open her mouth but Linden cut her off. ‘Prehistory,’ he blurted. ‘With dinosaurs. Maybe Late Jurassic.’
    â€˜Prehistory it is.’ The air tingled with night-before-Christmas jitters.
    Francis gently handed Max the Transporter Mark II and a leather belt with a pouch and gold clasp in the middle. ‘We’ve had this special belt made that’s lined with titanium. It will keep the machine safe. Time travel can be a rough ride.’
    Max put on the belt and nestled the transporter snugly inside.
    Ben started to get this funny look on his face, kind of scrunched up like he was about to cry. ‘You may feel a bit funny when you land. Make sure you give yourselves a few minutes to adjust.’
    â€˜Right.’ Max entered the destination on the LCD screen.
    â€˜It’s like you’re bending time, making it different from how we know it.’
    â€˜Excellent.’ Linden imagined it before him.
    â€˜And make sure your visit lasts no longer than five minutes,’ he sniffed.
    â€˜Okay.’ Max took Linden’s hand before Ben could say any more.
    â€˜And be careful …’
    Max said, ‘Transport’ and left her uncle’s sentence floating in midair as she and Linden were flung through space and time back to somewhere in prehistory.

Max and Linden appeared in a flash of fluorescent light with tiny sparks of colour falling around them like fireworks. They hung suspended in the air for a few seconds before floating gently onto the thick grass of a vast escarpment.
    â€˜Now that’s what I call a ride.’ Linden’s unruly hair had become even more unruly and his shirt and pants were twisted round his body.
    â€˜Yeah.’ Max’s dazed brain nestled beneath her hair which was standing on end, swaying from side to side in the breeze.
    In the past, when they’d transported through space, it had felt like being picked up by a giant hand and placed somewhere else. Travelling through time felt more like being flung into a long twisting tunnel at a million kilometres an hour by a giant as big as Jupiter.
    Until they stopped.
    Small bubbles of images floated in front of them, re-forming bit by bit, until a picture of where they were formed around them. A lush rainforest spread out below them with a clear blue sky above. There were vivid green trees, huge ferns and large pools of clear rippling water. And there was something else.
    â€˜Can you smell