As the smoke and dust subsided, Melissa, Rosemary and Officer Howler crawled out of their mangled wreck of a spaceship.

“Oh my God!” shrieked Melissa, seeing that their ship had completely flattened a pretty sizeable building. “Is everyone alright?” There was a crowd of green, flabby Crawklings gathering, most of them laughing uncontrollably.

“No,” one of them answered. “Everyone’s dead.” This sparked a new wave of hysterics.

Melissa looked at Officer Howler, dumbfounded. She didn’t know what to make of it.

“Are you joking? Why are you laughing?”

“Well this is one of the funniest things that has happened in a long time,” answered another, smartly dressed in a pin striped suit. “Your ship crashed right into the hotel, it wobbled a little bit and then fell on the school! My little Archie splattered over at least 20 feet!”

“But that’s not funny!”

“Strangely,” interjected Officer Howler, “it is in Crawk. They think all disasters are hilarious. It’s one of the main reasons why they have started so many wars, it’s like a comedy show to them.”

“No wonder they think it’s so clever to frame my Jakey,” muttered Rosemary.

“But them laughing over their children dying…” said Melissa. “This can’t be right.”

“Most Crawklings have hundreds of kids. They don’t have any proper bonds with other Crawklings, not like we would. It’s a strange society.”

“You’re telling me…” Melissa agreed.

The three comrades pushed their way through the tittering crowds, to try and get some space so they could form a plan. It was literally seconds however, before a heavily armoured laughing Crawkling appeared with a giant lazer gun. There was no running or hiding, they all knew he wouldn’t hesitate to use it.

“What’s going on here then?!” he asked, spittle flying all around.

“We crashed…” began Officer Howler.

“Take me to your leader!” interrupted Rosemary. “I am Rosemary Spencer, and I want to see my Jakey right now!”

They all saw the Crawkling’s massive bulging eyes light up, and he lifted his radio to his mouth.

“Agent Splarg here. I have some prisoners you would love to meet.”

You could almost see the daggers in the stares that Melissa and Officer Howler gave Rosemary, as Agent Splarg raised the strange spindly contraption in his hand and teleported them away from the city.