It was the kid we had been investigating all year.
The one who was there on orientation day and then disappeared. It was the kid who skipped forward through time, playing hide-and-seek with the older version of himself.
It was Elvis.
It was Fifteen.
It was the eleven-year-old Donald Kepler.
He had just dropped in from the Outside, wrestling an invisible creature on his head – the same one I wrestled with when I was Outside.
It was the villain who ended our world in an alternate timeline.
It was the Reaper.
And now he was back in our timeline.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thank you to the entire team at Allen & Unwin for supporting Ben and his big adventures!
To my agent, Dan Lazar, for all the round-the-clock communication to get me to the place I am today. To Torie Doherty-Munro, Cecilia de la Campa, and everyone at Writers House for all your very hard work.
To Camye, for your incredible patience and for being the sounding board to all my dumb ideas. To Evie, Elijah, Parker, Finn and Adler for hanging out with me while I work.
And last but not least – Bastian Bux, Elliott Thomas, Dr Henry Walton (Indiana) Jones Jr, Gizmo and Captain Jean-Luc Picard.
MARCUS EMERSON is the author of the hit Diary of a 6th Grade Ninja series, the Secret Agent 6th Grader series, and the Recess Warriors series. His career started in second grade, when he discovered Garfield. He grew up playing Super Mario Bros. watching Thundercats, and reading comics like X-Men Superman and Wildcats. He lives in Eldridge, Iowa with his wife and children.
marcusemerson.com