Chapter One

It was another perfect morning for solar surfing on the planet Montressor.The sky was a pinkish-gold;the sun not being fully risen.Every now and then a cool breeze would rush by,brushin the long chestnut bangs out of fifteen-year-old Jim Hawkins bright blue eyes.
Jim sat on the fine wooden roof of the brand-new Benbow Inn,wanting so much to rush into his room and grab his also brand-new solar surfer.He sighed deeply and stretched his legs across the wooden planks,then lyed back to relax his aching musclesafter a long night of washing,scrubbing,sweeping,serving and mopping.
But Jim knew as he gazed into the pinkish-gold sky,his moment of peace and quiet would soon be interrupted by either his mother Sarah or B.E.N. telling him to come and begin another full day's worth of chores.
And sure enough,just as Jim closed his eyes and began to enjoy the peaceful sounds of the morning;a shrill voice from behind-or more likely above him-caused him to snap out of his thoughts.
''MORNIN' JIMMY!'' B.E.N. the robot greeted in his annoyingly cheerful voice. Jim let out a cry of surprise and bolted upright.Realizing it was just B.E.N.,he Merely rolled his eyes and sighed irritably.
''What do you want,B.E.N.?'' Jim asked while scowling at the robot,who was now embracing Jim,something he did every morning.Jim pried B.E.N.'s metallic arms from around his neck.
''Just came up to tell you that Sarah needed you to set the tables for the waking customers!'' B.E.N. exclaimed eagerly,his mechanical eyes glowing a bright green color.
Jim sighed and rolled his eyes again,then glumly followed B.E.N. through his bedroom vwindow,his heart sinking at the thought of putting up with grouchy customers.
After shooing B.E.N. out of his room,Jim began to change out of his pajamas and into a navy-blue shirt which he tucked inside of a pair of black breeches,followed by a pair of brown work boots.
As Jim clasped the brass buckle on his left boot,Morph-a mischevious shape-shifting pink blob-floated out from his corner of the room toward Jim.Morph chirruped and nuzzled against Jim's cheek affectionately.
''Mornin' Morph.Have a good night's sleep?'' Jim greeted,while tickling Morph on its blubbery belly.Morph laughed and wiggled excitedly around Jim's palm.
For a few moments,Jim was lost in his thoughts while he absentmindly stroked Morphed that he had completely forgotten about helping downstairs,that is,until there was a sudden harsh knock on his bedroom door.
''James Pleiades Hawkins!Come out of there this instant!'' called the stern voice of Sarah Hawkins.Jim immediately came back to life on hearing his mother. He sighed heavily and let go of Morph.
Alright,I'm coming,'' he grumbled back.He then left his berom with a heavy heart,Morph floating beside him.

* * * * * *

The day had finally ended.Customers who had rented a room had gone upstairs leaving Jim and Sarah alone to clean the main restaurant.
Jim stood in the middle of the room,mopping the wooden floor once again. He moved the mop back and forth in front of him;his hands sore and blistered from the rough wooden handle.He stopped to wipe beads of sweat that trickled down his forehead.
Morph had been accompanying him the entire day,trying to amuse him by morphing into the customers and imitating every move they made.Right at that moment,Morph had taken the form of Jim and was mimicking his every move as he finished up the mopping.
Behind him,Jim could hear his mother sigh heavily and sit into a chair.He turned around to see her wipe her face with her apron.
''What a day..'' Sarah muttered with a hint of tire in her voice.
''Yeah,then tomorrow we're gonna hafta start it all over again,'' Jim stated as he propped himself up onto the table next to his mother's chair.Sarah nodded in agreement.
That's when Jim thought of his solution.
''Unless..'' He began,while tapping his chin thoughtfully.
''Unless what?'' Sarah asked,searching her son's face for an answer.There was a sudden michevious glint in Jim's eyes that told her everything.
''Oh no! There is absolutely no way we are taking the day off Jim! What about the customers upstairs?'' Sarah exclaimed firmly.Jim stared at her wide-eyed,unable to believe that his mother knew exactly what he wanted to say.
''But we need it! You need it!'' Jim argued.
''No Jim,I'm sorry.You just want a break just so you can go solar surfing all day!You need to get your head out of thinking that life's only about fun ancd adventures Jim! You're starting school in two months!'' Sarah explained.
Jim scowled and sighed heavily while wringing the handle of the mop in his hands.He turned his gaze ahead to avoid his mother's eyes.
Ever since Jim returned from the once-existing Treasure Planet,he hadn't had any time to himself.First there was rebuilding the Benbow-which took months-then there was beginning all of the old work all over again,but only doubled,since the new Benbow Inn is three times bigger.
Sarah had used the money she earned to purchase her son a new solar surfer to show her gratitude.But Jim hasn't had a chance to try it out due to Working at the Inn of course.
Jim wanted freedom.No,he needed freedom.But how to earn it he did not know..
The silence was suddenly broken by the sound of breaking glass coming from the kitchen,startling Jim and Sarah.They rushed into the kitchen,thinking it was only B.E.N. breaking another expensive dish.
The two burst into the kitchen only to find it empty.But it was the shattered window at the far end of the kitchen that explained the noise.
''Wha-what happened here?'' Sarah managed to choke out.Little Morph floated over to the broken window.Upon seeing something unusual,it began to squeak cautiously while pointing out the window.
''What is it,Morph?'' Jim asked as he made his way over to the window to see what the little blob was gesturing at.Jim looked out the window and darted his eyes around the dark and silent courtyard.
There was a sudden soft pittta-pat sound in the distance,like the sound of pounding feet of soft dirt.
Jim squinted his eyes to make out whom-or what- was out there.Moonlight peeked through clouds in the black sky, Making it a bit easier for Jim to see.
Then he finally saw it,two pairs of dark solid figures scurriying across the courtyard in the opposite direction of the Inn.