by Obert Skye
“I told you, no dumb questions.”
“I think maybe you’re losing your mind.”
“No dumb statements either.”
“Okay, so why are we here?” Juliet asked.
“Because sometimes cabinets can hold secrets.”
“I thought you said, ‘No dumb statements,’” Rain said, turning my own words against me.
Ignoring him, I walked across the empty warehouse and up to the large metal cabinet against the back wall. It was at least six feet high, five feet wide, and four feet deep. It was made of green-painted metal and looked to be just as old as the rest of the building.
“There’s no way they could have hidden a warehouse full of rabbits in there,” Juliet pointed out.
Rain laughed. “Are you thinking it’s some sort of magical wardrobe?”
“So, you have read issue number four,” I said. “Remember when Uli stepped into Davey Jones’s wardrobe and went to Narwhaleia?”
“No,” Rain insisted.
The cabinet was locked, but once again my dad’s trusty foot file came in handy. I was able to twist it into the small key slot, and it unlocked. When I opened the doors, my friends were perfectly surprised.
“What is that?” Rain asked in awe.
After seeing the map in the museum, I thought there might be the entrance to a tunnel or some hatch where they had put the cabinet. I was partly right. With the doors open we could see the end of a conveyor belt that was as wide as the opening. It looked like it led down through a small brick corridor. There was a switch with back and forward arrows painted on it, and two big buttons on the side—one button was red, and one was green.
“It’s a conveyor belt,” Juliet whispered in amazement.
“Cool,” Rain whispered for all of us.
It’s probably best not to go through life just pressing strange buttons, but most of what I do in life involves pushing people’s buttons. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to hit a literal one. So I reached out as Juliet shouted—
“No, Perry!!!”
It was too late. I hit the green button, and the conveyor belt began to whir as lights hanging on the brick walls of the tunnel lit up.
“Wow,” I said seriously.
“It’s a good find,” Rain agreed. “But I bet most of the warehouses around here have something like this. It’s just a way to move things in and out of the building.”
“Right,” I said confidently. “Like robot bunnies.”
Rain touched the end of the moving belt as it hummed and whirred. “Where do you think it ends?”
“I know a way we can find out,” Juliet said.
“We can’t just hop on a strange conveyor belt,” Rain argued.
“Yes, we can,” I argued back. “We have to. Fuzzy is up to something. If you had heard him in his office, you would have been creeped out. We’ve got to find out what’s up before he uses those robots for evil. And it’s not like anyone will listen to us without proof. Sheriff Rolly would lock us up for just being here. We can’t get my dad or Zeke. Love has made them nuts. So let’s ride this down to where it stops, see what’s up, reverse it, and then ride it back.”
“It does sound like something we would do,” Juliet admitted.
“Great,” Rain complained. “And when we get in trouble, I’ll get the blame.”
“You can blame it on us all being young and bored,” I said. “Now, who’s first?”
We glanced down into the brick-lined corridor and listened to the belt whir.
“What the herring,” I said. “I guess it’ll be me.”
I jumped up onto the conveyor belt, and it pulled me down into the unknown.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CONVEYING FEAR
The belt was moving fast! I rode it down a slight angle to where it leveled out and then kept going. I sat on the wide black belt and crossed my tentacles while holding myself steady. The lights hanging on the walls of the long corridor flashed by me. I thought the conveyor belt would end after twenty feet, but it appeared to go on forever.
I heard Rain hollering. He was about ten feet behind me and lying with his belly against the belt.
“Are you okay?” I yelled.
“Nothing about this is okay,” he yelled back.
Juliet was now down and not far behind Rain on the belt.
“Crawl forward,” I hollered.
Rain and Juliet carefully crawled toward me on the moving conveyor belt until we were all close together. We weren’t traveling at breakneck speed, but it was fast enough to make the three of us uncomfortable.
“Where is this going?” Juliet said. “I don’t see an ending.”
“Neither do I,” I answered her.
The brick corridor was tight. There was very little space on each side of us, and only about four feet of room above our heads. We were all nervous, but the truth is that the ride began to drag on for so long that we all began to get bored.
“Are we there yet?” Rain complained.
“For the tenth time, I don’t know.”
“We can’t be going to another warehouse.” Juliet was upset. “We’ve moved so far we’re probably under the—”
“End!” Rain screamed.
We had stopped paying attention to what was in front of us and failed to notice that the conveyor belt had come to an end. I flew off the belt and onto the tunnel floor. Rain fell on top of me, and Juliet crashed down on both of us.
The three of us moaned as we stood up slowly, testing to see if anything hurt. I had two scratches on my arms, Rain had one on his left leg, and Juliet was fine. Standing there, we could see a metal door. It looked industrial and had a large iron wheel on the front of it.
“Okay,” Juliet said seriously as we all looked at the door. “Before we were thrown off the belt I was going to say that we’re probably under Volcanto. But I don’t know why there would be a door down here, or a conveyor belt, or us for that matter.”
The belt was still running, and when I looked back I saw that, just like on the other end, there was a green and red button and a reverse switch.
“We could just change the direction and ride it back,” I suggested.
“Okay,” Rain agreed.
“Wait,” Juliet said. “Let’s at least see if the door is unlocked. It could be a way out.”
Juliet stepped up to the metal door and turned the wheel. It spun slowly and then clicked. Rain and I helped her pull the door open. Behind the door was a massive cavern with a high stone ceiling. It was poorly lit by a string of naked lightbulbs hanging from a wire that stretched across the space and created as much shadow as light.
We walked through the door cautiously.
As our eyes focused and adjusted, we could see that all over the cavern walls there were thousands and thousands of holes. It appeared that we had stumbled upon the hub and origin of every bunny tunnel on the island.
“Unbelievable,” Juliet said reverently.
Each hole looked to have a bunny butt sticking out of it.
“It’s like Grand Central Station for rabbits,” Juliet added.
On the other side of the cavern, there was another metal door identical to the one we had just come through.
The whole scene was amazing, but what wasn’t amazing was the sight of Captain Fuzzy stepping out of the shadows not more than twenty feet away from us. He had sweat stains under his armpits, and even in the weak light I could see the perspiration dripping down his face. There was string around his neck with a thick cell phone–sized piece of red plastic hanging from it. I could see a single button on the strange red necklace.
“Fuzzy!” I swore.
Next to Captain Blob Fish, there were two men in green shirts and black pants. They each were holding long sticks.
Fuzzy’s mushy eyes widened.
“Well, well, well,” he said. “What have we here?”
The men in green pointed their sticks in our direction, and the tips sparked and crackled, filling the space with an
uncomfortable light, sound, and odor. It smelled like the cavern had eaten something that didn’t agree with it. We turned to run, but we hadn’t seen a third man in a green shirt who had slipped up behind us. He too was waving a sparking stick.
“What are those?” I shouted.
“Let’s just say they help us control things,” Fuzzy said.
“Like robot rabbits?” Juliet yelled angrily.
“You three are unbelievable,” Fuzzy growled as he stepped closer. “You have been a thorn in my side since the day Perry returned.”
“Thank you?” I said humbly.
“What is this place, anyway?” Rain demanded. “Are those the robot bunnies in all these holes?”
“First things first,” Fuzzy insisted.
The green man closest to us waved his stick and forced us to back up against the now-closed door we had come through. Together with the other green-shirted men, he tied us to the metal wheel. Rain, Juliet, and I were bound tightly, like three stalks of sea asparagus.
“You are so foolish,” Fuzzy said. “Why couldn’t you just have a normal Bunny Break? You know, play in the sand and ride bikes?”
“We did ride bikes,” I told him. “That’s how we got here.”
“And how can we have a normal anything when you’ve tied us up?” Juliet argued. “Let us go!”
“That’s not going to happen,” Fuzzy insisted. “Do you know what’s about to happen?”
“I’m going to wet my pants?” I guessed. “Not because I’m scared; I just really need to use the bathroom.”
“Please untie us,” Juliet pleaded.
“Yes,” Rain said. “Please.”
“A little accident is the least of your problems,” Fuzzy said. “You see all these holes? Well, they are filled with X487s—or as you call them, robot bunnies. They are all quite lifeless at the moment, but this little remote will change that.” Captain Fuzzy held the red piece of plastic hanging around his neck. “One push of this button, and all the thousands and thousands of rabbits my men have filled these holes with will be activated. Instantly they will begin to dig and tear through every rabbit hole on this island until they find the Lost Hutchman’s Booty!”
Fuzzy shouted the last few words like a madman. He then took a few seconds to cough and wipe his wet, jiggly lips.
“The treasure’s not even real,” Rain said.
“Be quiet!” Fuzzy screeched. “Of course it’s real. My father spent his life trying to find it.”
“I know,” I said. “He also lied about finding it.”
“Enough. You could never understand how much the booty means,” Fuzzy said. “There is nothing more important to me. My father discovered this cavern. It’s a hub, a place where almost every bunny hole on the island runs through. My dad always wished that we could control the rabbits; certainly with all the holes they dig they must know where the treasure is. But we couldn’t communicate with all those dumb bunnies. So I created a better version.”
“Those aren’t better bunnies,” Juliet said angrily.
“That’s true—they’re way better than real bunnies,” Captain Fuzzy insisted. “I’ve been testing some around town the last few days. That’s how we’ve been able to keep an eye on things. I had thousands manufactured off island. They came in last week. Of course, you probably knew that because you were snooping around the warehouse.”
“So, the place was loaded with rabbits just like Perry said,” Rain yelled.
“See,” I said defensively. “I don’t make things up.”
“Yes, you do,” Juliet insisted.
“Quiet!” Fuzzy screamed. “You three will not ruin my triumphant day.”
He stopped talking and looked at us. It felt like he wanted us to clap about his triumph, but not only were we unimpressed, our arms were also tied to our sides.
“This is really a dumb idea,” I said. “It’s probably the third dumbest idea I’ve ever heard.”
I was tempted to list the first and second dumbest ideas I knew, but now didn’t feel like the right time to tell them about my squid-scented clothing line or my squid-ink-based toothpaste.
“So what if the bunnies tear up holes?” I argued. “How are they going to find any gold?”
Fuzzy smiled a blobbaliciously evil grin.
“Perhaps you’d like an example.”
The way Fuzzy was talking, I didn’t think I did. But he clapped his hands, and one of his green-shirted buffoons walked over to the cavern wall and pulled a robot bunny out of one of the holes. He then carried the rabbit over to Captain Fuzzy, who took the bunny and flipped it over. He opened its belly and clicked a switch inside. Instantly, the bunny began to thrash and kick. Fuzzy set the thing down, and it shot like a hairy rocket directly toward us. Leaping from the ground, it bound up and onto Juliet. It tore at the necklace around her neck, biting the little gold moon with its teeth and yanking the whole thing off her.
Juliet barely had time to scream before the crazed rabbit leaped back to Fuzzy. He held the rabbit gently and turned off the switch. When it was lifeless again, Fuzzy took the necklace from its teeth.
“Hey, that’s mine!” Juliet yelled angrily.
“You know the old saying,” Fuzzy said with a sniff. “‘Finders keepers, everyone besides me is a losing weeper.’ These robots were made to find gold. Why do you think they chased you on the beach? Of course, those rabbits were set to the lowest setting. All these are now set to the highest. There won’t be a bit of this island they don’t tear through. All of them angry and wild until they find that gold.”
“You’re mad,” Juliet yelled. “What about the real bunnies? The fake ones will destroy their homes and tear them apart.”
Captain Fuzzy smiled a blobby smile. “Good riddance! They’re annoying rodents anyway. And their pain is such a small price to pay for my immeasurable riches and immortal fame. I will have found the gold and avenged my daddy!”
My friends and I all ewwed.
“You still call him Daddy?” I asked. “I don’t want to be rude, but you might want to work through that with the help of a professional.”
“Quiet!” he yelled. “Or be loud. Who cares? Nobody can hear you. In fact, I’m tired of hearing you. So I think we’ll go back into town. Maybe enjoy the bun-fire. And when the rabbit is burning and everyone is having a fine time, I will press the button and send the signal to start the rabbits.”
“What about us?” Rain asked. “My mom’s going to kill me if I get Perry and Juliet hurt.”
“Well, that’s your problem. I’m afraid I’m too busy to untie you.”
“You can’t leave us here,” Rain shouted. “Those rabbits will tear this place apart!”
“That’s true, they will. But I have to tell you, I can do whatever I want,” Captain Fuzzy said. “I’m a grown-up, with money, means, influence, and a hunger for booty.”
Captain Fuzzy and the three green-shirted men walked across the cavern toward the door on the far side.
“Good luck,” Fuzzy said loudly. “And remember, sometimes sacrifice is necessary to make things better. Or should I say, to make things better for me? Farewell.”
Fuzzy and his three men exited the other door and shut off the lights behind them.
Rain did some swearing.
I don’t blame him. Things felt desperate. The three of us were stuck there in the pitch black, surrounded by thousands of bunny butts we could no longer see. We wiggled and struggled to get free, but the ropes were too tight.
“This isn’t good,” Juliet moaned.
“This is the opposite of good,” Rain said.
“It’s doog?” I asked.
“That’s the reverse,” Rain argued. “We’re going to die and you’re still saying things like that?”
“Sorry,” I said honestly. “I really am, but if Fuzzy is going to set these things off during the bun-fire, we still have a few hours before this place is torn apart. Which gives me a lot of time to still say a lot of stupid things between t
hen and now. Also, not to be super annoying, but I still need to use the bathroom.”
“Can you hold it until we die?” Rain asked.
I clenched my bladder. It was the least I could do for my friends. In fact, it was the only thing I could do at the moment. We were in trouble, and for the ocean life of me I couldn’t think of a single thing that would save us.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
WAITING TO BURST
It’s not easy knowing that you’re going to die soon, but it’s even worse when you need to use the bathroom.
“I shouldn’t have had those three sodas at the hotel,” I admitted for the hundredth time.
“We agree,” Juliet said.
For the last couple of hours, we had struggled and tried every way possible to get out of the ropes. But it was no use—Fuzzy’s men had done a quality job of tying us up.
“I really wanted to see the bun-fire this year,” Juliet lamented.
“I really wanted to live,” Rain said.
“I really wish I could see anything,” I complained. “I never thought death would be so dark. I figured there would be schools of glow fish leading me to some shiny giant pearl that I had earned because of all my great deeds.”
“I figured I’d die near someone who didn’t believe things like that,” Rain said sincerely.
“Maybe we’ll be rescued,” I offered.
“No one’s going to find us,” Juliet said dejectedly. “How could they?”
“No one knows where we are,” Rain added.
“What about your dad?” Juliet asked.
“Really? He’s probably lying on his bed and staring at the very volcanto his son is going to die under,” I complained. “What about your parents?”
“My parents are always at work,” Juliet answered. “They don’t worry about me being home until much later than this.”
“My mom won’t worry about me either,” Rain said. “She knows I’m always trying to rent my bikes. Now I’m not only trapped, but I’m not making any money. The sign at my rental stand says I’d be back two hours ago. It’s like I’m lying to everyone who walks by.”
Juliet sighed. “Maybe Sheriff Rolly will come.”