Page 116 - English_Spark_5

When Aarav’s mind cleared, he saw that Ramanujan had thrown himself over in

front of Harsh and him to protect them. But in doing this, his helmet had thumped
against the windshield. He was now slumped over and not moving.

Just then, they felt the shock of the explosion. It tilted the sled at an angle and
dropped it down again with a hard jolt. The air was filled with flying chunks of ice.
The ice fell against the windshield like stones. Aarav and Harsh were relieved, when

it finally stopped. But the explosion had left the ice canal in front of them broken and
choked with lumps of ice.

The children tried to revive their friend, but could not. ‘‘We’ve got to get the sled to
the ship ourselves, Harsh,’’ his brother said. ‘‘Ramanujan may need a doctor!’’

At first, it seemed like an impossible thing for a pair of twelve-year-olds to run the
big sled. But Aarav remembered how Ramanujan had worked to control and he

believed, he too, could do it. He changed seat with the unconscious spaceman and
tried the levers and buttons.

The sled’s rockets began to pour fire out of the rear. But Aarav couldn’t get the sled
to move. Then, Harsh showed him a lever to push, which he remembered seeing
Ramanujan do. As Aarav moved it gently, the sled started off slowly.

Aarav carefully guided the sled across the canal and through the unbroken part. As

he drove, Harsh tried to wake up Ramanujan.
At last, Aarav saw the round top of the spaceship just over the horizon. It was at that

moment that Harsh called out the good news—

‘‘Ramanujan’s awakening, Aarav!’’
The boy saw their friend slowly rise up, then shake his head to clear it. When he

smiled at them in his pleasant way, they were sure that he was going to be all right.
By the time, they had told him what had happened, he was his old self again. He

took the control and looked at his watch.
‘‘Time’s running out,’’ he said. ‘‘We have got to hit top speed again. Hold onto your

helmets! Here we go!’’

And off they went at lightning speed once more. As the sled came to a stop beneath
the giant spaceship, Ramanujan said, ‘‘It looks like we are just in time, isn’t it, kids?’’

Aarav and Harsh both nodded. It was a holiday none of them would ever forget.

slumped over — collapsed and fell in a forward direction; jolt — sudden and violent
movement; choked — blocked; revive — wake (him) up.

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