Connor grumbled something under his breath.
“Buckle up, everyone!” Alice called over her shoulder, starting the van.
I fastened my seat belt and patted the tub with Duke next to me. I crossed my fingers and took a deep breath. Operation Dog Rescue was underway!
The ride to the dock was a short and uneventful one, just like I hoped it would be. As the adults talked about the shots they had completed that day, I concentrated on making sure Duke didn’t bark loudly for attention. I was worried he was going to get lonely and make noise, but thankfully he stayed quiet. Phew! Once the van parked at the dock and everyone started loading up the plastic tubs into the boat that would take us back to the hotel, I began to worry all over again.
Mentally, I crossed my fingers and toes that he would stay quiet. I let out a big sigh of relief when I saw that the plastic tub labeled FRAGILE was still intact and safely loaded up. Then I joined Alice, Mark, and Connor at the front of the boat to collect a sandwich snack. We ate a lot of sandwiches during TV shoots.
I grabbed my food and sat down close to the boxes as the boat engine roared to life. I made sure everyone was busy eating before I sneaked over to see how Duke was doing.
“Duke?” I half whispered. Silence.
“Duke?” I asked, a little louder this time.
A small whining noise was my answer. I quickly lifted the lid and saw a pair of eager brown eyes right in my face. I laughed as he licked my chin.
“Hey! You can’t have cheese. But here, have some chicken,” I whispered, digging into my sandwich and taking out the meat.
He chowed down in silence, and I sat next to him, my fingers digging into his scruffy shoulders. His tail wagged in appreciation. When he finished his snack, he lay down and let me continue petting him.
Laughter from inside the front section of the boat startled Duke and me, causing him to bark.
“What was that?” I heard someone say from inside.
Uh-oh! “Come on, Duke, back in the tub. You gotta hide,” I said, pushing him toward the box. Reluctantly, he obeyed and climbed back in, eyes big and sad as I carefully placed the lid on top of the tub once more.
“Adrianna?” I heard just as I’d finished.
I whirled around to find Connor there, looking at me with an arched eyebrow.
“What are you doing out here with all of the stuff?” he asked.
Quick, Adrianna, think of something! “I … uh … thought I left my sunglasses out here. Mom wouldn’t be happy if I lost another pair—my second in a month!” I said, shrugging.
“Uh-huh.” He looked confused. “Well, we can look for them later. Being out here with all these heavy boxes on a moving boat is a bad idea.”
He stretched out his hand and I took it, allowing myself to be helped back to the front of the boat. “Hey, you’re getting pretty good with your animal noises, by the way,” Connor said.
“Huh?” I asked. Connor and I had a game where we would give each other an animal to try to mimic. I was especially proud of my elephant noises.
“Your dog barking just now. Perfect! I almost believed a stray had sneaked on,” he said.
I smiled sheepishly. “Ha. Wouldn’t that be something.”
I sat down with everyone at the front and tried to think of something to change the subject. It was then that I remembered the poachers I had seen.
“Hey, Mark? Alice? Connor? I have to tell you something,” I said, unsure of what they would even be able to do after I told them.
“What’s up, Adrianna?” asked Alice, sensing the seriousness in my voice.
“You know the ‘wanted’ posters we saw at the farm? Of all the poachers?” I asked.
They all nodded.
“I saw two of them—those poachers that Soriano said were super dangerous. They’re here! And I heard them saying if they didn’t get ‘this monster’ soon, they’d be in big trouble,” I continued. “We have to tell someone!”
“Are you sure it was the people from the poster?” Connor asked.
It was my turn to nod. “Yeah. They looked exactly like the photos on the poster. I’m sure of it.”
“We should tell Savage when we get back,” Mark muttered, almost to himself. He looked over at Alice. “He should be able to tell the authorities, no?”
Alice shrugged. “No clue of the protocol for this. But it wouldn’t hurt to ask.” She turned back to me. “You did really well letting us know. We’ll take care of it, okay?”
I flashed her a small smile. I had helped—twice in one day! Surely that would earn me some brownie points for getting back onto the show, right?
Before I knew it, we were pulling into the dock at the boat hotel. I watched uneasily as the crew unloaded the plastic tubs onto the shore. So far Duke had been a good boy and not made a peep.
But I realized I hadn’t thought this plan through. Would I be able to sneak him all the way up to my room? What was I going to do with him once I got him up there?
Step one: Sneak Duke up the stairs and to my room. Step two: Find the dog treats Connor had left over from our “Dogs of Cuba” segment.
It felt like an eternity passed until everyone left the loading dock area, but once the coast was clear, I rushed to the box and peered inside. Duke was lying on his side, and his ears perked up at the sight of me.
“Hi, boy. Oh, what a perfect boy you are!” I smiled, petting his sides and giving him kisses on his face.
“I’m gonna sneak you up to my room, okay?” I whispered into his fur. I lifted him out of the box and tiptoed over to the stairs to the second floor. I could hear some of the crew in the kitchen, and some of them in the dining room near the stairs. I closed my eyes and listened for anyone walking above us. Nothing. Now was my chance!
“Come on, Duke! Follow me,” I said, and waved for him to follow me. We took the stairs quickly and practically ran into my room. I slammed the door behind us.
Phew! I did it! Gratefully, I slid down the door and breathed a sigh of relief.
From over on my bed, Duke whined.
“You hungry, Duke?” I asked. He stuck out his tongue and his tail wagged in response. Hungry it was!
“Okay, I’ll see what I can find,” I said.
I stood up and exited my room, quietly closing the door behind me. Bounding down the stairs, I was so focused on not missing a step and thinking of step two of my plan—getting Duke food—that I didn’t see Connor and slammed right into him.
“Oh! I’m so sorry!” I said, holding on to the stair rail for balance. “Hey, Connor, what did you do with the bag of dog treats you had?”
“It’s in my room,” Connor said, then looked at me curiously. “Why?”
I shrugged. “Just wondering.”
“Just wondering what?” Feye asked from the bottom of the stairs. His face was sleepy, as if he had just woken up from a nap—he could sleep anywhere. Once I found him sleeping on top of an anchor!
“Wait—” Connor started, but he couldn’t finish his question. Duke had somehow escaped my room and came running over, excitedly wagging his tail.
Oops. I looked at the shocked expressions on Feye’s and Connor’s faces. There was a long silence.
“Surprise!” I grinned sheepishly. “I got us a pet! Well, a pet for you, Feye.” I looked at my brother. “I know we’ve always talked about wanting a dog and … well, his name is Duke.”
“I thought you said he ran off?” Connor mumbled. His tone was disapproving, but I could tell he was also a little happy to see Duke again.
“I didn’t want him going to la perrera! He doesn’t belong there,” I said. “I just couldn’t leave him.”
Feye reached down to pick Duke up. Duke gave his approval by giving him a big, slobbery kiss on the cheek.
“But we can’t keep him, Adrianna. Mom and Dad are going to be furious,” Feye said.
I sighed. When did Feye start sounding so responsible and adultlike?
Suddenly, we heard both my parents talking downstairs.
/> “I’m not telling them,” Feye said. He grinned for the first time since the crocodile incident.
“Well, until you two figure something out, I’m going to suggest keeping this pup in hiding,” said Connor. “I’ll grab that bag of dog treats. Just keep him quiet and safe in your room for now.”
Feye turned to me, still holding Duke. “Well, if we can’t find this ‘Mega Croc,’ maybe we can dress the little guy up as a ferocious beast.” We both broke out into laughter.
The next day, as I walked back out to the main area, I heard my parents and Mr. Savage speaking in hushed tones.
“I’m going to be honest with you, things aren’t looking good for the show,” Mr. Savage said. “We haven’t gotten a shot of the Mega Croc, Feye got his hand glued to a croc, Connor nearly gotten eaten by another croc … It’s a bit of a disaster. We’re running out of time, and if we don’t get the right shots, we don’t have a show.”
Dad muttered something, but I couldn’t make it out.
“This is how I pictured the show: We open up to dramatic mangrove scenery with you two whizzing out on a boat. An ominous voice talks about the Mega Croc legend in the background, and how you heard of a big injured croc that might be this legendary predator. You guys and the kids teach us about the unique wildlife of Cuba and how humans coexist with the animals here, like Adrianna’s bit with the working dogs. We tag some crocs, we continue looking for this monster. And then we find it and BAM. Legend confirmed!”
“Rick, it sounds like most of that has been filmed,” my mom said.
“But not the most dramatic scenes—we really need that Mega Croc to sell the show,” Mr. Savage continued.
“We’ve told you our thoughts about this ‘Mega Croc’ theory you have, Rick,” my dad said. “Are there some big crocs here? Yeah, definitely. But one as big as this legend? I highly doubt it. We thought this show was mainly about rescuing the injured croc.”
I scurried up to Feye’s room and banged on his door.
“Yes?” he asked, unamused.
“The show is in trouble and we still haven’t found the injured crocodile. We should help!”
“How?”
“Can you get the maps of the area we’re in that Mom and Dad are using? I only have mine and I don’t think it’s complete,” I said.
Feye disappeared for a moment, returning with a pile of maps that he spread out on his bedroom floor. I grabbed my version of the map and handed it to him.
His map included red X’s on most of the locations Mom and Dad had visited so far. Feye began drawing more red X’s on each mangrove channel that our parents had explored while I was filming the dog segment. He circled the channels they were still planning to visit. We gazed at the ones that were left.
“There aren’t that many to look through now, which is why Mr. Savage is worried,” Feye said. “If they haven’t found it yet, they think it might’ve died or been captured by those poachers you told Mark, Alice, and Connor about.” He shrugged, looking at the notes the local guides had given them on each channel. He began drawing another X on a mangrove channel.
“What are you doing?” I asked, pointing.
“According to these notes, there is no way the crocodile could be here. The map from the locals shows there was a channel there once, but their notes say it’s pretty much dried up,” Feye said, waving the papers in his hand.
His attention went back to the papers, and after a few silent minutes of me staring at him while he read, he wrote another X on a channel. “The maps from today and back in the 1980s are so different that they almost don’t look the same. The notes are helping me figure out what is still here and what isn’t,” Feye explained.
“Give me a page of notes and let me see if I can help,” I said. Feye handed me a page with handwriting that was hard to read. Hard, but not impossible. Feye definitely had worse handwriting, and I could make out what he wrote most of the time. We sat there in silence for who knows how long, but at the end, we were able to cross off a few more until there were only five options left.
“Can you hand me that map of this area from the 1980s?” I asked, startling Feye. He looked through the pile of papers he had given me earlier, which I had put aside, and finally found it.
“Here!” he said, passing me the map. “What are you looking for?”
I didn’t answer him, too busy scanning the map for any clues. Suddenly … could it be? YES! “Eureka!” I yelled, jumping up. Duke barked in protest, startling both of us. When did he get in here?!
“Look at this, Feye,” I said, ignoring Duke. I’d deal with his escapades later. I went to his open window and closed it, then held the map from the 1980s up to the window’s light and the current map on top of it. “This map on top is from today. The map behind is from the eighties. Do you see how there is a channel in the older map? They left one out!”
“Do you think it was done on purpose?” he asked, looking at his own copy of the map from today.
“Maybe. Before we left, I read in a book from the library about how sometimes secret channels could be used to hide from police or smuggle drugs. That might be why it got left off this map,” I said.
My brother smiled. “My sister is so cool sometimes. You cracked the mystery with your map-reading skills! We’ve got to tell Mom and Dad,” he said.
Feye and I ran downstairs.
“Mom! Dad!” I shouted. “Feye and I found a secret mangrove channel!” Reaching the two of them and Mr. Savage at the table, I unrolled the map of the mangroves. Feye stood behind me, quiet. I looked back at him and he nodded in encouragement. “Maybe the crocodile is hiding here because not as many boats enter,” I said, pointing.
Our parents looked it over and my dad smiled.
“So, what do you say? Mom? Dad?” I asked, looking at them both.
Our mom looked at the map once again and frowned. “I’m not sure. These old maps aren’t always reliable …”
Feye backed me up. “We haven’t found the injured croc anywhere else. We have to at least try.”
“We don’t have any evidence this channel hasn’t dried up or is even there still,” Dad said.
“One surefire way to check if it’s there is to go and look!” Feye suggested.
Dad didn’t look convinced.
“Or … it’s a long shot …” I said, mostly to myself, but apparently it was loud enough for my family to look at me. “Mom, do we have any information from that crocodile we tagged earlier?” I asked.
“Well, let’s take a look at the latest data.” Mom took her laptop out from the backpack slung on the chair behind her. With a few taps on her keyboard, she brought up the live animal-tracking software.
“It has definitely gotten around quite a bit,” Dad said, looking over Mom’s shoulder.
Mr. Savage nodded, his eyes scanning the map as well.
“Are there any of those dots by this hidden channel?” I asked. I gave Dad the hard copy maps so he and Mom could compare them to the screen.
“Maybe this crocodile was stressed after we captured it and went to the secret channel to rest,” I said.
None of the adults said anything for a little bit, until Mr. Savage suddenly pointed from the maps to the laptop and let out a gasp. “They’re right!”
“Let’s go! What are we waiting for?” Mr. Savage cried, waving his hands in the air.
“Julio and I can go check it out. The kids stay,” my mom said.
Mr. Savage bit his lip. “Well … the show is about the Villalobos family. It’s in the contract. They should really come. Plus, they are the ones who found this channel.”
Mom frowned again.
“Mom, Mark and Connor said Adrianna did really well with the dog segment. And she just figured out where the injured croc might be. I think she deserves to come. She’s an important part of this team,” Feye said.
“You’re right, mijo,” Mom said, and turned to me. “I think we just have trouble with letting our little girl grow up so quickly �
�”
I smiled. “I’ll be okay, Mom. Promise.”
A giant grin flashed across Feye’s face. “You hear that, crew?! We’re going to save an injured crocodile! Let’s go!” he yelled.
We didn’t waste any time launching into prep mode and loading up the boats.
I let one of the sound production crew members put a microphone down the back of my shirt. Mom decided to take this opportunity to slather reef-safe sunscreen on my face, even though I hated how sticky the stuff left me. “Mo-om! It smells!” I complained, trying to get away from her white-covered hands.
“Skin cancer is no joke, mija. Let me put it on and rub it in well,” she said.
“But why can’t I wear some of the good-smelling sunscreen like the other kids I see on the beach?” I asked, frowning.
Despite my protests, Mom went ahead and put sunscreen on the back of my neck, the back of my hands, and behind my ears. Yuck!
Dad walked past us and scooped me up, carrying me onto the boat and setting me down near the front. He knew I loved the front of the boat.
“All right, we all ready?” Mr. Savage asked both our boats as he peered at us from the dock where he stood. “¡Estamos listos!” we all said in unison.
Mr. Savage fist pumped the air. “Awesome! I’ll be with the film production crew in this second boat and follow you all.” Mr. Savage turned to one of the camera people as he walked away from our boat and said, “Let’s see if we can get a drone up to follow us for some cool aerial shots. Can we do that?” We didn’t get to hear the answer to that question.
With the roar of the engine, we were off! It felt so good to feel waves pounding beneath the boat as we sped up and out of our main channel. The air was spiced with sea salt and I breathed it in.
We slowed down to go around a bend and I spotted a snake slithering across the water and up the roots of a mangrove tree. It was a creamy brown color. I would have missed it had it not been moving so quickly up the tree. Was it looking for an egg to feast on? I looked high up the treetop to see if I could spot a bird’s nest and found none. The multiple greens of the leaves on the mangrove trees were a beautiful contrast against the now–deep purple sky. I hadn’t noticed that the sun had begun to dip down below the horizon—we were running out of time to find our injured croc! I glanced back down to see if I could spot the snake again, but its camouflage was just too good.
Crocodile Rescue! Page 5