I took the pulsing token in my hand. “Show me a home for Doug. Somewhere we can be together!” And as soon as I spoke those words, Doug’s backpack began to glow red! Two pipes shot out from the bottom of the backpack and started spewing yellow and orange glitter, surrounding Doug in a colorful cloud.

“Arcade!” Doug shouted out from the orange and yellow mist. “I gotta get through security or I’ll miss my flight!”

“Uh-oh.” Zoe reached out and gripped my arm. “Where are we off to this time?”

Doug jumped out of the cloud, shaking glitter from his hair. “Security will never let me through with a flaming jet pack!”

I shook my head. “I don’t think you’re headed for Florida just yet. This little metal tester might show us your new home!”

“It’s going to show us my new home?”

“That’s what I said. Somewhere we can be together.”

“Arcade, what did you say to it?” Zoe moved in close and shoved us over to a corner, next to a monitor showing flight arrivals and departures. The writing blurred and then it also turned to glitter. The monitor enlarged and became elevator doors. Airport travelers scurried by us like none of this was happening.

The golden coin slot popped out, just as Doug’s jet pack began to lift him off the ground. He grabbed me and held on tight. “I have a bad feeling about this!”

I reached for my token, pulled it off the chain, and glanced over at Zoe. “We all go in, and we all return, with everything we brought with us. We’ll be as careful as anything and we won’t talk to a living soul.”

Zoe threw up her hands. “Throw it in.”

I grinned and deposited the coin in the slot. The doors opened. When we walked in, we were immediately covered in puffy suits. And helmets.

Wait . . . these aren’t helmets . . . they’re . . .

“Space suits!” Doug yelled. Well, he yelled as much as he could with a voice muffled by his . . .

SPACE SUIT?!?

The doors closed. Doug’s jet pack spewed out more glitter. A voice over the speaker began to count down . . .

“10 . . . 9 . . . 8 . . .”

“Arcade, where are we going?!?”

“I have no idea. But you hate heights. So at least we’re counting down instead of up, right?” Doug didn’t look the least bit relieved.

“7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . .”

Zoe, who was outfitted in a shrimpy-pink colored SPACE SUIT, jumped in between me and Doug and linked arms. “Oh, we’re counting down all right. But we’re going up. So you boys better brace yourselves.”

“AHHHHHHHH! I don’t wanna go! I’m a food dude, not an astronaut!”

“3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . we have ignition . . .”

“IGNITION!” we all shouted.

The elevator began to rumble and shake. The noise was deafening! I tried to cover my ears, but my head was in a SPACE SUIT.

“THIS . . . IS . . . DOOOOOOOOOOPE . . .  . . .”

Blastoff!

Chapter 19
Moon Walk