D. J MacHale

It was just your typical, run-of-the-mill scout field trip-that is, until Kit spotted an object from space plummeting to Earth. A short story from Guys Read: Other Worlds, edited by Jon Scieszka.

When everyone is quarantined on a once-peaceful island off the coast of Maine, Tucker questions a secret branch of the military claiming that residents have been infected by a deadly virus.

Fourteen-year-old Bobby Pendragon, apprentice to his Uncle Press, a Traveler responsible for solving interdimensional conflict, tries to locate the legendary lost land of Faar which may hold the key to the survival of the water-covered territory of Cloral, which stands on the brink of war.

With more questions than answers about Saint Dane, Bobby travels to the territory of Quillan and is forced to play games where only the winner survives.

Fourteen-year-old Bobby Pendragon, having learned he is a Traveler--someone who can ride "flumes" through time and space, is soon off to the alternative dimension of Denduron where he teams up with Loor, a girl his age from the warrior-territory of Zadaa, in an attempt to save the gentle Milago people from slavery.

Taking advantage of a severe drought and the long-standing distrust between two tribes, the demonic Saint Dane attempts to take over Loor's home planet of Zadaa, opposed once again by the teenaged Pendragon and other Travelers.

While Pendragon is trapped on Ibara, Alder returns to Denduron and reluctantly goes into battle again, and other Travelers face obstacles of various sorts, Saint Dane gains the power he seeks on Second Earth and makes his push to destroy and rebuild Halla.

An anthology of original science fiction and fantasy stories. Reading level: Ages: 8-12 ; Elementary and junior high school.