The Cryptid Keeper

by Lija Fisher

  Jerry stomped his foot. “Gaw! You guys are always up in my business! Can’t a guy fill his house with strangers and not be hassled about it all the time?”

  Clivo put his hand on Jerry’s arm to calm him down. “It’s okay, Coops. I think it’s time to tell Aunt Pearl and your folks what’s been going on.” He gathered the Blasters in a circle and spoke softly. “You’re right, things are getting too dangerous. I think we need to tell them everything in case the evil resistance shows up, so they can at least protect themselves.”

  The Blasters all glanced at each other, and Amelia finally nodded. “Who knows how long we’ll be searching for the immortal. It would be easier if we didn’t have to sneak around to do it.”

  Stephanie put her arm around Dayea. “Having a few more people around to protect the cryptids wouldn’t hurt, either. Besides, maybe Mr. Cooper will give me more access to the SETL satellites.”

  “We had agreed to trust no one,” Adam pointed out. “If we’re going to make an exception for these parental units, can you guys vouch for them?”

  Clivo nodded. “I can vouch for Aunt Pearl. She’s definitely one of the good guys.”

  Jerry agreed. “My dad’s pretty dorky, but he and my mom are solid and will probably be pretty proud of me for trying to save the world.”

  “But we need to talk about this somewhere else,” Clivo reminded them. “Unless you want the evil resistance running up these steps soon.”

  Jerry scratched his head. “Actually, my dad could take us to SETL. There’s a basement there with solid steel walls. That way nobody can use radar or heat-sensing cameras to see inside. I doubt even your tracking chip will be able to get a signal through those walls.”

  “What do you keep down there that’s so secret?” Adam asked.

  “Duh! The aliens!” Jerry replied in a hushed whisper. “What else would the Search for Extraterrestrial Life Institute keep in their basement except extraterrestrial life?”

  Charles started breathing heavily and pounded his chest with a fist. “I’m so excited about seeing an alien, I think I just developed asthma.”

  “Calm down, guys, there’s no aliens down there right now. If there were, my dad would never take us. But it’s empty, so we should be good,” Jerry said.

  Stephanie pointed at Dayea, who was swaying back and forth, her eyes slowly closing. “She’s about to fall asleep. Can we leave her here so she can rest?”

  Clivo approached Dayea, dragging Adam with him since they were still chained together. “Dayea?”

  Dayea snapped her eyes open and smiled. “Yes, honey?”

  “Is it okay if I leave you here for a bit? I promise you’ll be safe, and I’ll be back really soon,” Clivo asked quietly.

  “Fine by me, honey. Could use a rest. Dayea is always really tired after her full-moon fun.”

  Clivo lowered his voice even more so nobody but Dayea could hear him. “You sure there’s no chance you’ll … you know … change while I’m gone? I don’t think Jerry would like it very much if you ate his dog.”

  Dayea put her hand to her mouth and giggled. “No need to worry, honey. The full moon is long gone. I will not change again for another 29.53 days.”

  Clivo turned to Mrs. Cooper and Aunt Pearl, Adam swinging around with him. “Aunt Pearl, is it okay if I leave Dayea here with you and Mrs. Cooper? We’ll tell Mr. Cooper everything, but we need to go to the safety of SETL’s basement to do so.”

  “SETL’s basement? Why?” Mr. Cooper asked, his eyebrows lifting high over his glasses.

  Clivo wasn’t really sure how to break the news. Fortunately, Adam stepped in and said, “Dude here was implanted with a tracking device, and unless we block the signal there’s going to be a whole bunch of malicious malcontents storming your house with nothing less than murderous murder on their agenda.”

  Pearl gasped. “Clivo! What are malicious malcontents and why on earth are you involved with them? All my fears of teenagers doing bad things are coming true!”

  “It’s okay, Aunt Pearl, I’ll explain everything later. But I promise you that we’re the good guys!” Clivo said, trying to calm Aunt Pearl down.

  “But you’ve been handcuffed!” Aunt Pearl exclaimed.

  Mrs. Cooper stepped forward and took Dayea by the arm. “Come along, dear. Let’s get you all set up for some rest.” She shot Jerry a look. “And I expect a full report on what is going on around here when you return.”

  Aunt Pearl nervously followed them into the house. “I suppose I can teach Dayea some dance moves while we wait for everyone to return and explain this murderous murder!”

  * * *

  Half an hour later, Clivo, the Blasters, and Mr. Cooper were standing in the basement of the SETL Institute. Well, Mr. Cooper was standing; the Blasters were all running around the room like a herd of cats on catnip.

  The basement looked like a nicer, less ominous place to hold creatures than Douglas’s dungeon of horrors. It was a brightly lit laboratory, with examining tables lined up in the middle and small Plexiglas-fronted rooms filled with pillows and comforters. It held all the things necessary to examine aliens, like cameras and microscopes, but felt welcoming and nonthreatening. There was even a cozy kitchen in the corner with a plate of brownies sitting on the counter.

  “This place is amazing!” Charles said, trying to open a locked filing cabinet. “So alien feet have really walked on these floors?”

  Mr. Cooper waved a finger at him. “Please don’t touch that! There’s top secret stuff in there!”

  Adam guffawed. “Cooperdude, top secret only works for military stuff!” Adam peered closely at a framed photo on a desk that showed Mr. Cooper with his arm wrapped around a small, smiling green creature with one eye who was eating what appeared to be some amber cup squash. “OHMYGOSHISTHATANALIEN?”

  Mr. Cooper ran over and clutched the photo to his chest. “I have taken you to a very sacred space within the SETL Institute because you need my help. But I am not telling you anything about the aliens we have found. Drat! I mean the aliens we are looking for! We have not found any aliens! Got it? No aliens!”

  Hernando pointed at the photo. “But that sure looked like—”

  “Nothing! You’ve seen NOTHING!” Mr. Cooper exclaimed.

  Stephanie smiled at Mr. Cooper. “It’s okay, sir. Once we tell you what we’ve been doing and why we’re in so much danger, I think you’ll see that we’re super good at keeping secrets.”

  Amelia pulled up a rolling chair. “Why don’t you sit down, Mr. Cooper? We’re about to share some things that might be rather shocking.”

  Mr. Cooper stood up straighter, the picture frame still clasped to his chest. “I will have you know that I have a Ph.D. in space microbiology with an emphasis on alien organisms. The things I have seen floating through our universe make me immune to shock.”

  Jerry patted his dad on the shoulder. “Clivo was recently drugged by a demon chicken, and the old lady he brought to our house turns into a bat every full moon.”

  Mr. Cooper blinked at his son a few times, then slowly lowered himself onto the chair. “You’re right. I’m shocked. I believe I’ll take a seat for this.”

  They all pulled up chairs and sat in a circle.

  Clivo gathered his thoughts, trying to decide where to begin. He glanced at the beaded bracelet around his wrist, which his father had given him. “Well, Mr. Cooper, I guess I should start by telling you about what my dad really did for a living.”

  Clivo talked for the better part of an hour. He started at the beginning, when Douglas Chancery had first knocked on his door and told him that Russell was a cryptid catcher. He talked about finding the Blasters and how they had become a team. He talked about his catches, with occasional blurt-ins from Adam and Charles, who insisted upon mentioning their roles in everything. He mentioned Dayea and why it had been so important to him to bring her with him from the Philippines so he could protect her from the evil resistance, who probably thought she was the immortal.

/>   Finally, Clivo talked about discovering that Douglas had killed his father and was now holding a bunch of cryptids captive to be used for organic warfare. His voice caught as he said this last bit, feelings of anger, sadness, and betrayal flooding him.

  Mr. Cooper sat silently as he listened to Clivo’s story, his face rapt. The only sound he made was an angry grunt when Clivo mentioned the imprisoned cryptids.

  Clivo finished his story and took a deep breath. “So, that’s where we’re at, Mr. Cooper. We have no idea who the immortal is, Douglas has the cryptids, and now every evil person out there can find me thanks to this chip in my body. I guess you could say I’ve run out of places to hide.”

  Mr. Cooper stood up from his chair and wandered around the room in thought, one hand scratching his chin. He looked at the photograph that he had had clutched to his chest the whole time and let out a sigh. “I always thought your father was a good man, Clivo. I just didn’t realize how good he was.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Clivo said, his throat getting tight.

  Mr. Cooper wandered around the room in silence for a few more minutes, occasionally letting out a grunt or nodding to himself. Finally, he approached Jerry and laid his hand on his shoulder. “I’m proud of you, son. Honestly, there have been a few times when I’ve thought you might have ended up on the side of evil, and it’s wonderful to hear you’ve chosen to walk on the side of good.”

  “Thanks, Pops,” Jerry replied. “You taught me well.”

  Mr. Cooper looked at the photo in his hand again, and with a nod he handed it to Adam, who grabbed it with a gasp. “Pass the photo around, Adam. We’ve had four aliens of three different species crash-land here on Earth. We patched them up and got them on their way again.”

  “Why are you telling us this, sir?” Amelia asked.

  Mr. Cooper nodded. “You trusted me with your secrets, so I’m trusting you with mine.”

  He wandered over to a cupboard and pulled out something that looked like a metal gun. “Now, let’s deal with one thing at a time, shall we? Clivo, we implant tracking chips in our little green friends so we know where their homes are. Those chips are much more powerful than what you’ve probably got, as they’re designed to reach deep into the galaxy. If you let me put this chip in you, its stronger signal will scramble the other one and make it impossible for people to locate you.”

  “Will it hurt?” Clivo asked, not liking the look of the gun in Mr. Cooper’s hand.

  Mr. Cooper shook his head. “It’s smaller than a sewing needle. You’ll barely feel a prick.” Clivo held out his arm and Mr. Cooper pressed the gun against his skin and fired. There was barely any pain, and only a tiny drop of blood came up from where the chip had been implanted. Mr. Cooper gave him a wink. “I forgot to mention that now I’ll know where you are at all times. None of this disappearing to wander around the world alone again, okay, son?”

  Clivo rubbed his arm. “After everything I’ve been through, it will actually be a relief to know that someone will be able to keep track of me.”

  Adam passed the photo he had been fawning over to Charles and raised his hand. “Okay, now that we know the evil resistance won’t be up in our grille anytime soon, can we move on to the next crisis?”

  “I’m not really sure how to help you figure out who the immortal is. That’s territory for you smart kids,” Mr. Cooper said, pushing his glasses higher up on his nose. “But what I can help with is getting those cryptids out of that dungeon.”

  Stephanie looked at him. “So you agree that it’s wrong they’re imprisoned?”

  Mr. Cooper sputtered, “Wrong? It’s terrible! The first directive of SETL is to make contact and build relationships with alien species, which are also considered cryptids, by the way. Not to throw them in cages and use them for war! It’s absurd!”

  Jerry stood up. “But, Pops, how are we going to rescue them? Douglas has guns—like, a lot of them!”

  “Guns?” Mr. Cooper said, looking up with worry. “That makes a rescue mission a little more problematic. I’ll have to call George in, that’s for sure. He’s trained in tai chi, so maybe he can help. And Sandra does yoga, so maybe she’s a good fighter. Jeffrey is useless, as he’s been dealing with gout.”

  Mr. Cooper again began wandering aimlessly around the room, muttering to himself. The Blasters gathered together, and Adam talked quickly in a hushed voice. “Is Cooperdude seriously calling in other nerds for this rescue operation?”

  “No offense to your dad, Jerry, but I don’t think a bunch of astrophysicists with no muscle tone are the guys for this,” Charles added. “Besides, we agreed to tell your dad about the cryptids, not the whole SETL world.”

  “Yeah! Let them stick to finding their own aliens!” Adam exclaimed.

  “Their own ones,” Hernando agreed.

  Adam narrowed his eyes. “Sorry, dude, but we need to blow off your dad and go it alone on this one.”

  “Well, hang on, let’s give my dad the benefit of the doubt here.” Jerry looked at his dad. “Hey, Pops, any chance you’ll keep your guys out of the rescue mission and let us handle it?”

  Mr. Cooper shook his head. “Absolutely not. You kids need to let the adults take over from here. I’m taking you home while George, Sandra, and I sort out this hullabaloo.”

  Jerry turned back to the Blasters and shrugged. “I tried. Okay, guys, let me grab some telephone cord and then I’ll ambush him, okay?”

  “You’re going to tie up your dad?” Clivo asked incredulously.

  Jerry shrugged again. “I’ve done a lot of things to torture my pops over the years. Tying him up at work is probably the least obnoxious thing I’ve done.”

  “Do you need our help?” Amelia asked, nervously chewing her lip.

  “Nah, I’ll take the heat. I always do,” Jerry replied.

  Mr. Cooper continued to wander aimlessly as Jerry snuck around the room, removing the cords from the telephones. When he had a handful of them, he turned to his dad. “Hey, Pops, we just need to discuss one other thing. Do you mind sitting down for a second?”

  “Huh?” Mr. Cooper asked, stopping his wandering.

  “Just have a seat, Pops. I have an idea for how we can rescue the cryptids,” Jerry said, kicking a chair forward, his hands fiddling with the telephone cords hidden behind his back.

  Mr. Cooper absentmindedly took a seat and continued his rambling. “I don’t need your help, Jer. I think me and the other astrophysicists should be able to face our fears of confrontation and take down whatever ne’er-do-well is messing with our delicate relationship with the magnificent cryptids, and— Hang on now! What’s this?”

  Jerry had swung the joined telephone cords over his father like a lasso and pulled them tight. He was now busy tying Mr. Cooper’s hands behind his back. “Sorry, Pops. It’s actually we who don’t need your help. And trust me, I’m doing this for your safety. It’s best that we take it from here.”

  Mr. Cooper craned his neck to bellow at Jerry behind him, “Jerry! I want you to consider your next actions very, very carefully!”

  Jerry came around to face his father and sighed. “You’re right, Pops. I should definitely gag you, too, in case someone comes in to check the equipment. Clivo? Hand me that duct tape.”

  “Clivo! Don’t you dare help him with this!” Mr. Cooper said.

  Clivo winced as he handed Jerry the duct tape. “I’m super sorry, Mr. Cooper. But Jerry’s right, we’re doing this to protect you.”

  Mr. Cooper shot Jerry a warning glare. “Jerry Cooper, if you even think about leaving me here and racing off—bumplingargh!”

  Jerry finished securing a piece of duct tape over Mr. Cooper’s mouth. “I know you’re probably going to send me off to that military academy for doing this, Pops. But please know that everything I’m doing right now is for all the right reasons. And someday, maybe years from now, you’ll get over your anger at me and be able to see that.”

  “Harumphgurplunk!” Mr. Cooper loudly mumbled through the ta
pe.

  “Thanks, Pops, I knew you’d understand.” Jerry faced the rest of the group. “Well, guys, if Douglas doesn’t kill me, my dad sure will, so let’s make this count!”

  XIX

  A short time later, the group was huddled in bushes next to Douglas’s castle of horrors.

  “Okay, boss, what’s the plan?” Charles whispered to Clivo.

  Clivo stared at the brick building, his mind whirling. What he wanted to do was storm the building and take down Douglas himself, but he knew there was no way the Blasters would let him go it alone. But he wasn’t sure how to bring everyone inside and keep them safe and confront Douglas. They didn’t even have any weapons to fight Douglas with—as if anything they could get would hold up against Douglas and his cane of death.

  “Jerry, any chance you have something in your bag of tricks that can be used for storming the castle?” Clivo asked hopefully.

  “I’m so glad you asked,” Jerry said, his white teeth flashing in the moonlight as he smiled.

  He unzipped his fanny pack and pulled out a bottle of dish soap, holding it forth triumphantly.

  Adam scoffed, “We want to defeat Douglas, not give him a bath.”

  “I think it’s genius,” Amelia said.

  “Me, too,” Stephanie agreed.

  “I’m lost,” Charles said. “What’s so exciting about dish soap?”

  Jerry pocketed the soap. “We don’t need to go after Douglas, Douglas just has to come after us. And once he does, he’ll slip on the soap and we can pounce.”

  “Very simple and elegant,” Hernando said.

  Adam reached out and gave Jerry a fist bump. “I didn’t think it was possible, dude, but you have become an indispensable part of our team.”

  “Thanks, guys,” Jerry said excitedly. “I’ve actually been meaning to talk to you all about how I’d like to electrify your whole basement in case of intruders.”

  Clivo patted Jerry on the shoulder. “Let’s tackle one challenge at a time, okay?” He looked again at the castle, doing his best to form a plan. “Jerry, do you think the rope we used to climb up to the roof is still there?”