Cloudburst
Contents
Title Page
Dear Reader
THE JACK COURTNEY ADVENTURES
Epigraph
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Epilogue
About Wilbur Smith
The Wilbur & Niso Smith Foundation
Copyright
Dear Reader,
What would you do if you were a long way from home, in a place that felt unfamiliar and dangerous?
Would you be able to trust your instincts and survive? Well, this is the position Jack finds himself in.
But Jack's not just trying to stay alive. He has a bigger mission to save not only himself, his friends and his parents but also the WORLD.
Our planet is already under threat, without more bad guys trying to destroy it. But it only takes one hero to make a difference.
So get ready for the most explosive adventure of your life …
Yours sincerely,
Wilbur Smith and Chris Wakling
THE JACK COURTNEY ADVENTURES
Cloudburst
Thunderbolt
Look out for more …
‘How far that little candle throws the beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world.’
William Shakespeare
I dedicate this book to all my young readers whose hearts are in flame for the right to win.
Wilbur Smith
1.
I was asleep when the airliner hit turbulence. It must have dropped a hundred metres in half a second. The swooping up-rush launched my stomach into my chest and my head grazed the ceiling before my bum slammed back into the seat. I opened my eyes as an electronic warning bell started pinging above us. The ‘fasten seat belts’ light came on.
‘Bit late for that,’ I said to Amelia beside me.
‘I never unbuckle mine,’ she explained, showing me the snug clasp before returning to whatever she was doing on her phone. Reprogramming it, probably.
‘Of course you don’t,’ I said, just as the plane bounced hard again.
Mum craned round from the seat in front. ‘You OK, Jack? Amelia?’
‘Just fine … Why wouldn’t we be?’ we said over the top of one another.
The co-pilot’s voice oozed out of the speaker, full of reassurance: ‘Ladies and gentleman, we seem to have run into some unexpected weather. We’ll do our best to skirt it, but in the meantime, for your comfort and safety, we ask you to remain seated with your seat belt fastened.’
Beyond Amelia was the porthole window. I leaned across her to look out of it. The endless blue sky was dotted with occasional clouds, but it didn’t look particularly stormy. I could make out the lush green rainforest below us without difficulty.