4 Open Wide

Chapter Four Open Wide As Saphrite's eye rose over the horizon, the explorers began to panic. Vale ran toward the grass, Finn and Elias toward the mountains, and Abigail shouted instructions. "Don't split up!" she yelled. "That never works!" "A moment, please!" said Foggy. He held up a hand to slow down the group. "Abigail is right. We must stay together. I believe we should return to the explorer pod." Finn and Elias turned back to the group. "Foggy!" called Finn. "Can you please fetch Vale?" Foggy soared over to the grass and lifted Vale into the air. "I can see the explorer pod from here," said Foggy. "And I have good news! It is not far!"

"And I have bad news," said Vale. He paused. "Well, there's a lot of bad news, actually." Foggy flew up higher for a better view. "It's the antibodies, isn't it?" said the beetle. "Those jamokes." "Antibodies?" asked Abigail. The beetle explained that Saphrite, like any other living creature, often gets sick. And like anyone else, when she gets sick, her body produces antibodies. Antibodies are like medicine your body makes to stop an illness in its tracks. For humans, they're little invisible molecules that do battle where you can't see. "On a giant planet-sized alien like the head honcho here," said the beetle, "the antibodies are actual ants." A swarm of enormous, purple-armored ants was rushing out of the mountains to the west. They wore purple helmets and waved around thin, sparkling swords. They did not look friendly.

"Yep, we see the ants," said Vale. "And, oops, they're attacking our pod. And—oh no—they are definitely scratching the paint." "Vale, remember when you said this planet was boring?" Elias said as Foggy and Vale landed. "That was hilarious." The army of antibody ants spotted the explorers and began marching faster, swinging their swords. The explorers could see another battalion streaming over the opposite horizon, slashing through the armpit jungle. They were coming straight for the Marlowe kids. No matter

where the explorers turned, they would run into an army of ants. "The only way we Marlowe explorer friends can get out of this situation," said Foggy, "is by going that way." "Where?" asked Finn. "There," said Foggy. The robot pointed at two large hills that were clearly, horrifyingly Saphrite's lips. "Where now?" asked Abigail. "Right through there," said Foggy. "It's so weird," said Elias. "I swear it looks like you're pointing at Saphrite's mouth." "I am," said Foggy. "Oh, I get it," said Vale. "You think we should fake like we're running at the mouth. Then we cut back and run to the pod." "No," said Foggy. "I mean we should go into the mouth." The explorers were speechless. Foggy was usually so logical. But now he was suggesting they save themselves by being eaten by a giant planet. "The metal man's got a point," said the beetle. "You're not getting to your ship, and maybe those

ants won't follow you down there. Nobody likes to go down there." "Why not?" said Elias. "You'll see," said the beetle. "Okay, that sounds kinda terrifying," said Finn. "Foggy, what do we do once we get into the mouth?" "That's when you come up with a new plan and save the day," said Foggy. "It's that simple!" The antibody ants were now just a football field away from the explorers. The kids could hear them shouting taunts and insults as they got closer. "Look at those two-legged weirdos!" "They don't even have antennae!" "Yeah! And who has only two eyes anymore? That's so nineties." "Abigail!" said Finn. "It's your call. You're captain." "I say we stay and fight off the ants!" said Vale. He started swaying his hips. "Come on, it'll be epic! No one will believe us!" "Vale, what is your deal?" said Elias. "This is what it's all about!" shouted Vale. "Adventure!"

"Actually, not true," said Abigail. "Right now, it's all about whether we fight off hundreds of armed ants or we dive into a monster's mouth." "That settles it!" shouted Vale. "History awaits!" Vale did one of his famous somersault-flip-jump-kick-heel-taps and took off running. He glanced over his shoulder for a second to see how close the ants were, and then ran faster. Saphrite's eye was now higher in the sky, casting a bright light over the planet. The explorers ran after Vale. They could see two strange caverns ahead. Vale darted toward them. "No!" shouted Foggy. "Vale, those are Saphrite's nostrils!" "Gross!" gagged Vale. He stumbled, turned right, and saw two wide hills. Saphrite's lips. Elias caught up to Vale.