Query:

Fans of THE LAST KIDS ON EARTH and SPY SCHOOL will love this middle grade sci-fi adventure that brings the world of science to life. 

The town of Marshboro used to be a quiet town, but a supernatural Rhino turned everything to ice.

Let’s back up. Twins Beck and Timmy Lewis feel alone in the world as they embark on their first day of Middle School. Their only friend, the eccentric Dr. Z, has been busy with a mysterious experiment all summer. When a rainbow-tinted lightning storm interrupts their first day, they follow it to Z’s secret lab and find his greatest discovery: bioforce, the source of energy that breathes life into all living things.

Using a machine called The Divider, Z plans to extract the bioforce from all diseases and rid the world of sickness. However, when Timmy drops his fantasy book in the Divider, the bioforces of countless bugs and germs bring the pages to life, creating epic medical monsters. What was once a harmless rhinovirus (the common cold) has mutated into a raging ice rhino, harnessing enhanced viral powers to freeze his prey and encase Marshboro in ice. Luckily for Marshboro, the Divider’s accidental reaction enhanced the twins, too.

With their new bio-powers (such as immune force fields and cellular fire-blasts), and aided by their magical first aid kit, Beck and Timmy must hunt down the rhinovirus and save Marshboro before everyone falls untreatably ill. 

MED HUNTERS: RAGE OF THE RHINO (27,000 words) navigates the struggles of middle school while exploring the mystifying world of science. It stands alone but could be the first in a potential illustrated series, including titles such as SWARM OF THE STOMACH BUGS and ATTACK OF THE ASTHMANIAN DEVIL.

The full manuscript is available upon request, and I would be thrilled to provide anything more about the story or series as well! Thank you for taking the time to consider my work, and I look forward to hearing from you!

Sincerely,

Dr. Tyler Beauchamp

Author Bio: Born in Georgia, I graduated from The University of North Carolina pursuing medicine and creative writing. During medical school, I published my first novel, FREEZE FRAME, which became an Amazon #1 Bestseller in Coming-of-Age fiction and sparked a television adaptation currently being pitched to streaming services. As I train in pediatrics, I hope to combine art and science to support my patients' health and hearts.

Synopsis:

Twins Beck and Timmy Lewis embark on their first day of middle school unaware of the danger heading to their town. Beck’s love of science and Timmy’s obsession with fantasy stories has led to ruthless bullying in the past. The two typically find refuge in building wacky experiments with the eccentric Dr, their only friend. Z’s insane experiments have made him an outcast from most of the mild-mannered town. Bullying may have bonded the trio, however, Z has kept the twins at arm's length all summer working on a mysterious project. With their friend absent and their shelter unavailable, Beck urges Timmy to act normal in hopes of fitting in. It’s all for nothing when Aiden and his brotherhood of bullies immediately label the twins as “freaks” for befriending the town pariah. 

After a mystical lightning storm interrupts their first day of school, Beck and Timmy trace the storm back to Z’s secret lab. They break past Dana, Z’s AI assistant, and sneak into the lab for answers. There, they discover his secret project: a cure for all sickness. Months of testing led Z to the discovery of bioforce, the source of energy that powers and controls all living things. Constructing a machine called “The Divider,” Z plans to extract the bioforce from all diseases and rid the world of sickness. The twins also learn that Z pushed them away to keep them safe, as uncontrolled bioforce can be deadly. However, a sibling scuffle leads Timmy’s fantasy book to get caught in the Divider, causing an unpredictable reaction. The twins wake after and can’t shake the feeling that something in them has changed. 

They return to school and continually encounter unexplainable events: mysterious green sparks dancing around corners, their hands leaving scorch marks on walls, and dodgeballs somehow bouncing away midair before striking their faces. Then, their dodgeball game is interrupted by a thunderous explosion that crumbles one wall of the gym to rubble. When the dust settles, a white and blue rhino with frosty breath stands roaring in the wake. It begins blowing a frozen mist that instantly turns students into ice sculptures. Before Beck and Timmy become his next victims, Beck instinctively raises her arms and forms a glimmering red shield around them. Timmy raises his arms and blasts powerful yellow beams from his palms, knocking the rhino on his back. While hiding from the rhino’s blasts, Beck’s first aid kit comes to life. A sentient roll of gauze and a Thor-style reflex hammer begin healing and defending students, including Beck’s new friend, Maya. With their empowered tools and newfound abilities, the twins fight the rhino to a draw and send him fleeing. Sadly, the use of their powers only leads Aiden to strengthen their “freak” status. 

They return to Z’s lab and discover that they inadvertently infused Timmy’s book with the bioforce of hundreds of diseases, creating mutated disease monsters. The rhino, an enhanced version of the common cold, is only one of countless monsters wreaking havoc around Marshboro. Through a series of zany, dangerous tests, the trio learns that the twins were enhanced by bioforce themselves, gaining heightened abilities of their immune systems. Timmy is overjoyed to have gained fantastical abilities. He urges the trio to band together and hunt down the monsters. Beck refuses and suggests it’s too dangerous. She says they should instead focus on undoing what the Divider did to them and return to normal, fearing that these new powers will only make her more of an outcast. After fighting, she runs from the lab, leaving Timmy and Z to solve the crisis alone.

While sulking at Marshboro’s lake, Beck is greeted by Maya, who helps her realize their trio is the town’s only hope. Their heart-to-heart is interrupted when the lake turns to ice and the rhino attacks. A group of good Samaritans runs to the girls’ aid while Beck tries to defend them all, but she is no match alone. The rhino freezes Maya and the helpful citizens as Beck narrowly escapes with crucial knowledge that water causes the rhino to shrink.

Beck returns to the lab, where Z and Timmy are planning their grand attack on the rhino. Beck tries to apologize for abandoning them, but they quickly embrace her, thankful for her return. The trio discovers the rhino’s powers are enhanced versions of the common cold’s symptoms. They also piece together the rhino is susceptible to the common cold’s treatments: rest and hydration. With a plan of attack, their powers, and their brand-new dune buggy tricked out with monster-hunting toys, the Med Hunters set out to save the city. 

Beck and Timmy zip around town in the krebs-cycle defending citizens from the rhino’s attacks. With Z and Dana on the comms offering direction and strategy from afar, paired with quick thinking by the twins and their powers, they manage to tire the rhino and lead him to the frozen lake. Using the Devil’s Breath, an oversized flamethrower and one of the trio’s first inventions, the twins melt pockets in the lake to trap the rhino beneath the water. However, the rhino dodges every trap they set. Beck realizes there is only one way to sink the rhino. She leaps from the cycle and draws the rhino on foot toward the lake’s center. As she battles the rhino, Timmy drives and melts a cracked ring in the ice around them both. Beck begs Timmy to trust her as she instructs him to blast the ice below them. In a grand sacrifice, Timmy erupts the ring of ice, submerging the rhino and his sister underwater. Moments later, Beck rises from the water in a shielded orb, holding a tiny, defeated rhino.

Back at the lab, Z repurposes the Divider’s remains to extract the rhino’s bioforce and render it powerless. However, it only has enough power for one use, so he offers Beck a choice. She can use the Divider to remove her bioforce and bring her back to normal while Z and Timmy hunt down the other monsters and rebuild the Divider. Beck chooses to keep her powers and turn the rhino back to normal so that she can help her brother and Z protect Marshboro.

After the twins stand up to Aiden, embracing their “freak” status, Z calls them with urgent news. A mysterious letter somehow appears in the middle of Z’s lab with no one knowing who it’s from or how it got there. It carries an ominous warning that a greater threat than the monsters is coming to Marshboro. The trio decides to hunt down the monsters they’ve created, both to protect the town and hopefully uncover the mystery of the letter. To help their mission, they create “The Med Hunters Hotline” for anyone to call upon encountering a new monster. After receiving their first distress call, the Med Hunters race off on their next adventure.   

Med Hunters: Rage of the Rhino © 2024