Creature Keepers and the Burgled Blizzard-Bristles

by Peter Nelson

  “Whatever powers you steal, the Creature Keepers will stop you!”

  Chupacabra stood up straight and tall. “Well, you certainly have tried. And as you said yourself, Georgie, I should already be dead.” He spun around, showing off his upgrades again. “But it seems whatever you try that doesn’t kill me . . . only makes me stronger! Ha-haha-ha!”

  Chupacabra’s horrible laugh echoed throughout the chamber as he fluttered his Hydro-Hide. The scales flashed in the candlelight, shooting dots of light throughout the cavern. He lifted his Soil-Sole and stomped it on the ground. The entire cavern trembled, and great chunks of sand and dirt fell down all around Jordan.

  9

  The Heli-Jet zoomed westward across the Sea of Japan, toward the great desert plains of northwest China. Abbie stood beside Bernard, who glanced down at the built-in GCPS navigation system Jordan had installed in the cockpit. “Our mystery tracker bracelet has moved across the desert,” he said. “Not far, but it moved.”

  “Head for it,” Abbie said. “Wherever that tracker is, that’s where we’ll find them. I just hope we’re not too late. Any word from Creature Keeper central command?”

  “Still trying to get through to them. It’s important that we don’t panic.”

  “Good advice. Thanks, Bernard.” She turned to check on Morris and bumped into Zaya, who was standing right behind her in the cockpit doorway. “Sorry,” he said. “Anything I can do to help?”

  Abbie shook her head. “Not ’til we get there and see what we’re dealing with.”

  Zaya fidgeted. “Corky’s not a bad worm. I know she can seem intimidating, with her dagger-sharp teeth. And the glands in the back of her throat that spray hot spit mixed with whatever she ate last. Oh, and she does tend to shoot lightning out of her tail when she’s startled or awoken suddenly.” Zaya thought for a second. “Okay, when I say all that out loud, she sounds horrible. And dangerous. Especially on each of her ends. But trust me—her middle section is all squishy and warm. It’s really quite nice.”

  “She sounds like a real snuggle-muffin,” Abbie said. “Look, whatever Corky’s up to, I’m sure it’s because Chupacabra’s controlling her. As far as I’m concerned, this mission is to rescue three members of the Creature Keeper family: super-dork Eldon, my wimpy brother, Jordan, and that wonderful little pet of yours. Okay?”

  Zaya smiled. “Okay.”

  Off to the side, Morris was buckled up in one of the passenger seats, wearing his sippy-helmet and gazing out the window.

  Abbie sat down next to him. “Morris, how are you doing?”

  “I should be asking you that, master,” Morris said with a gentle smile.

  “Listen, I’m happy to help you, because that’s my job—as a Creature Keeper.”

  “Elite Creature Keeper,” Morris said. “Do not undersell yourself, master.”

  Abbie smiled. “But here’s the thing. You’ve gotta learn to think and be responsible for yourself. You’re your own master. Think about this. Okay?”

  “As you wish!” Morris shut his eyes tightly. It looked like he was in a deep state of concentration. Abbie rolled her eyes, then stood up.

  “Of all the cryptids I could have gotten as a devoted slave, I get a turtle-child who can’t spill his water bowl.”

  Bernard spoke from the cockpit. “I got the CKCC. Doris is on!”

  Abbie jumped in the copilot’s seat and grabbed the transmitter. “Doris! You there? Hello?”

  The radio crackled a bit, then Doris’s voice burst through the static. “Denmother Doris here! I read you loud and clear. How are you all doing?”

  “We’re fine. Heading back to find Eldon and Jordan now. Please tell Shika and Katsu that Morris is with us, and all’s fine and normal. Y’know, relatively speaking.”

  “Roger that, dearie. Listen, there’s been some movement on that tracker device you’re going after. It moved south about ten miles or so, then stopped again.”

  “We know. We’re following it. We’ll report in as soon as we can.”

  “All right, but there’s something else. We’re seeing even more tracking devices belonging to cryptids farther south of you wandering off again—places like Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Indonesia. Mac and Nessie are on damage control, but they’ve got their hands—and fins—full. There’s also another weird thing—the wandering cryptids all seem to be headed in the same direction, toward the collar device you’re tracking. Got any clue as to what in tarnation is going on?”

  “Not yet, Doris. But we’re on our way to pick up the two dorks who might. We’ll let you know as soon as we find out. Over and out.” Abbie hung up the transmitter and shared a nervous glance with Bernard.

  “You can panic a little now, if you want,” Bernard said.

  “Just keep following that signal,” Abbie said. “And find those two dorks.”

  10

  “If you think I’m going to help you, then you’re even crazier than you look.” Jordan was still backed against the wall, watching Chupacabra as he mashed up a grayish-green root with a stone mortar and pestle. It gave off a horrible, stinky-foot smell. Behind him, Corky the Mongolian Death Worm was still in a deep sleep.

  “Aw, don’t talk like that, Georgie,” Chupacabra said. “It hurts my feelings. Besides, you owe me this one.”

  “Now you’re really making no sense,” Jordan said. “I owe you nothing.”

  “Your recklessness made me more powerful, but you and the rest of your Creature Keepers still managed to derail my master plan not once but twice. First by saving the life of that overgrown guppy, allowing her to grow back her Hydro-Hide, and then by letting the Sasquatch steal back one of his Soil-Soles! Do you have any idea how annoying that was? With either of those elements exclusively in my possession, I could have pulled off my plan without the need for the next elemental power. But you ruined that, so you will now lead me to the next one. After all, you’re the only one who knows where it is, Georgie. Which is the only reason you’re still alive.”

  “Well, you make a good argument. There’s just one problem: I’M NOT GEORGE GRIMSLEY!”

  Chupacabra sniffed the air again. “The nose knows, Georgie boy. The nose knows.”

  As the cryptid continued mashing the smelly root, something at the other end of the chamber caught Jordan’s attention. He wasn’t sure if it was the shadows playing tricks on his eyes, but there seemed to be something moving near the tunnel entrance. As it disappeared behind Corky, Jordan glanced back at Chupacabra.

  “And should you refuse to help me,” the cryptid casually continued, “or if that feeble old brain of yours has forgotten where I can find it, I’ll just have to drag you along with me on my search until your memory kicks in. High altitudes can really clear the mind. And it doesn’t get any higher than in the Himalayas. We’ll start at the top of the world and work our way on down, one mountaintop at a time. Eventually you’ll lead me to what I need, and one step closer to controlling the power of the Perfect Storm.”

  Jordan pretended to listen to Chupacabra as he scanned the shadowy cave behind him. He could make out Corky’s body gently heaving up and down in a deep sleep, and as she exhaled, he spotted it—the tippy-top of a very distinctive hat. A First-Class Badger Ranger hat. Jordan tried to remain expressionless, even as he saw Eldon move to the face of the sleeping beast. Eldon had his first-aid kit out and was using tongue depressors to lift the creature’s rubbery eyelids so he could stare into its black eyeballs. I don’t believe this, Jordan thought. Eldon is giving a sleeping Mongolian Death Worm a physical examination.

  “Do you have nothing to say?” Chupacabra was suddenly glaring at Jordan.

  “I . . . erm . . . I guess I’m just dumbfounded by your impressive masterminding,” Jordan said. “It’s kind of stunning, to be perfectly honest with you.”

  “You’re lying, but not wrong. And you don’t even know the half of it. Once I have the power of the Perfect Storm, nothing will stop me from carrying out my final plan.”

  “Yes,
yes. Operation Pangaea, right? Please, tell me more about this awesome plan?” Jordan asked. He needed to keep Chupacabra distracted from whatever Eldon was up to, and talking about himself was one thing Jordan noticed the evil cryptid couldn’t resist.

  “It’s simple, Georgie.” Chupacabra chuckled. “I just want to bring the world closer together, that’s all.”

  As he continued to snicker at his evil genius, Jordan glanced back at Corky. Eldon had apparently completed his exam and had moved back to the tail. He was pushing against it as quietly as he could, gradually repositioning the rear tip of the Death Worm until it pointed directly at the back of Chupacabra. He caught Jordan’s eye and gestured for him to duck out of the way.

  “Oh, no,” Jordan said.

  “Oh, yes!” Chupacabra replied. “And it will usher in a cataclysmic event that will give birth to one all-powerful cryptid to rule over the entire planet! HAHAHA!”

  As Chupacabra threw his head back in laughter, Eldon’s head popped up again near Corky’s face. He opened his kit and pulled out what appeared to be a small twig. He glanced at Jordan, then at Corky’s tail. Then he held up three fingers. Then two. Then he snapped the stick in half, right under one of Corky’s nostrils.

  The worm’s eyes popped open. So did Chupacabra’s. Whatever the small twig was, breaking it had given off an immediate and pungent odor. Chupacabra spun around as Jordan leaped out of the way. Waking up so suddenly from the natural smelling salts, the giant worm sprayed the cave with her glandular sand-spit.

  Then her tail went off—the same tail that Eldon had aimed directly at Chupacabra.

  ZAPOW! The lightning blast slammed into the super-cryptid, sending him flying. As the worm writhed violently, Eldon ran to Jordan and grabbed his hand. The two of them were nearly crushed by Corky’s great, wobbling body. They dived, dodged, and rolled, finally sprinting out of the chamber and down the long, dark tunnel.

  They could hear a horrible thundering noise as dirt began showering down behind them from Corky’s thrashing. All they could do was keep sprinting through the darkness. Every few seconds or so the tunnel would flash brightly, as Corky’s lightning butt fired off another blast. Her echoing squeals suddenly dampened as the chamber finally caved in. A massive rush of compressed air forced from the chamber came from behind, blasting Jordan and Eldon off their feet. It shot them out of the tunnel like balls from a giant air rifle.

  Jordan and Eldon flew fifty feet through the air and hit the desert ground with a thud. They groaned as they slowly regained their wits.

  “Are you all right?” Jordan asked. His friend nodded wearily and gave an A-OK sign with his fingers. Jordan began to laugh. “You’re nuts! You just blasted Chupacabra with a fully loaded worm butt!”

  “What about you?” Eldon laughed back. “You rodeo-rode the Mongolian Death Worm—underground!” The soft rumbling of the cave and tunnel continuing to fall in on itself suddenly got their attention. Eldon looked back in the direction of the underground chamber. “I hope Corky survived. She’s clearly under some sort of spell. None of this is her fault.”

  “What about Chupacabra? He’s down there somewhere, too. Shouldn’t we go and complete the mission?”

  The low, distant rumble grew. The ground shook beneath them. They looked at each other. “I’m thinking it might be best to regroup with the rest of the crew before we investigate,” Eldon said.

  RRUUUMMMMBLLE! The two of them bolted across the Xinjiang desert plain.

  11

  Bernard had switched from the jet engines over to the silent rotors, and was flying the Heli-Jet low over the desert.

  “This is roughly where you shoved your brother out the door,” he said to Abbie, who was seated beside him in the cockpit.

  “Thanks for reminding me.” She glanced down at the GCPS screen on the console. “Looks like the bracelet is still a mile or so away from here. Let’s keep our eyes peeled but follow that tracking device. Hopefully they’re with it.”

  “There!” Morris exclaimed from the window in the passenger hull. “Master, I see two people down below! We just passed them!”

  “Good eye, Morris!” Abbie said.

  “Turning around,” Bernard said. “Prepare for a pickup!”

  He circled back over a large indentation in the desert floor.

  ZAPOW! The crater split open, and a blast of lightning shot up from the ground, just missing the Heli-Jet. The aircraft rocked as Bernard jerked the controls, tossing Zaya and Morris around in their seats.

  “What was that?” Abbie yelled.

  “Looked like lightning!” Bernard replied.

  “It’s Corky!” Zaya was up and out of his seat in seconds. He crowded in behind the pilots. “Did you guys see her? Big worm, about fifty feet long. Hard to miss.”

  “Just be thankful she missed us!” Bernard steadied the Heli-Jet. They were hovering when suddenly something erupted from the sand, opening the split crater further, rising from the ground.

  “There she is!” Zaya shouted. “She’s okay! Set me down! She needs me!”

  “That may not be a wise decision,” Morris said gently. He was looking down at the Mongolian Death Worm, who was awkwardly lifting her bulbous head high above the desert floor. “Your creature may have found a new master.”

  The huge worm steadied itself in a vertical position. Something scrambled up its blobby, segmented body, then stood atop its head. Chupacabra.

  Zaya’s eyes narrowed in anger. “That’s the mutant cryptid! LEAVE MY CORKY ALONE!”

  Abbie and Bernard peered at Chupacabra, standing atop Corky with his glimmering Hydro-Hide and oversized claw foot . . .

  “Forget them!” Abbie said. “Swing back and find Jordan and Eldon—quickly!”

  Bernard jerked the controls just as Corky opened her mouth. A thick, green spray of liquid shot from her gaping jaws, missing them by inches.

  “What’s that monster been feeding my Corky?” Zaya said as the greenish bile flew past the window.

  Bernard jerked the controls again, expertly moving them across the sky in retreat. The others were tossed around the cockpit. Morris fell backward into the main cabin, sliding across the floor on his shell.

  “Help him up!” Abbie screamed. Zaya rushed over and got him into a seat, inspecting his helmet to make sure it was still tightly attached to his head.

  ZAPOW! The tip of Corky’s tail shot another lightning bolt out of the sand, just missing them once more. Bernard banked the aircraft violently.

  Abbie turned and looked out the cockpit window. She spotted Eldon and Jordan jumping up and down, just below. “There they are!”

  “I’m going in,” Bernard said. “Open the sliding door!”

  Abbie rushed to the door and jerked it open as Bernard pointed the nose of the Heli-Jet downward. He swooped a few feet above the ground and slowed as the Heli-Jet approached Jordan and Eldon. Abbie and Zaya reached out and grabbed the two of them, pulling them in just as a green spray rained down across the sand. Bernard yanked on the controller. The Heli-Jet whooshed skyward again as Jordan and Eldon scrambled into seats and Abbie slammed the door shut.

  As Bernard pulled away from the desert floor and prepared to switch over to the rocket engines, the others looked back to the cracked crater in the distance. Corky was gone, and so was her rider. Zaya was in shock. The Skunk Ape pilot yelled back from the cockpit. “Strap in, everyone! I’m going to full thrust as soon as we get some altitude, but it’s going to get a bit bump—”

  SMASH! Directly in front of them, the Mongolian Death Worm suddenly exploded out of the desert floor, spraying her green, sandy spit into the sky. Bernard careened out of the way as her gaping mouth snapped at the air in front of them.

  Zaya rushed to the window as they narrowly missed her. “Corky, no! Stop this at once! Bad Death Worm!”

  The giant cryptid squealed as she writhed around, her tail charging the air with lightning, her mouth spraying poison across the sky and sand. Bernard maneuvered around Corky’
s massive head, passing her. Abbie rushed into the cockpit. “You did it, Bernard! Nice piloting!” She turned back to their new passengers. “Are you guys okay?”

  Jordan was standing next to Morris, staring at the creature’s grinning face beneath his sippy-cup helmet. “Hello,” the Kappa said. “My name is Morris.”

  “Uh, hi,” Jordan said.

  Zaya approached Jordan and shook his hand. “I’m Zaya,” he said. “Corky’s Keeper. Sorry about her behavior. This is really out of character for her.”

  Jordan shook Zaya’s hand but continued to stare at Morris. “Hi,” he said.

  “Preparing the jet engines,” Bernard yelled back to them. He was lifting the Heli-Jet higher. “We’ll have clearance in just a few more seconds.”

  Eldon joined Abbie at the cockpit door. “We’re not out of this yet.” He pointed out the windshield. Ahead in the distance, a small, solitary figure stood on the desert floor, facing them.

  “Chupacabra,” Abbie said. “Bernard, you’d better get us out of here pronto!”

  As the Skunk Ape went to hit the thruster button on the console, Chupacabra slammed his Soil-Sole down on the cracked sand. KA-THUD! The ground between him and the rising Heli-Jet buckled like a wave, blasting dirt and dust high into the air. Everything outside the cockpit window turned to a thick, brown fog. The engines made a whining sound as they choked on the thick debris. Then the Heli-Jet went into a tailspin.

  Everyone in the cockpit was slammed around as they careened out of control. “Hit the thrusters!” Jordan yelled. “It’s our only hope of getting out of here!”

  “Are you crazy?” Bernard yelled back. “We don’t know which direction we’re facing! We could crash!”

  “We’ll crash if we don’t!”

  Bernard was panicked. He looked at Eldon. Eldon turned and looked at Abbie. She glanced at everyone, then slammed her hand down on a big red button marked Boost Thrusters.

  FWOOOOSH! The Heli-Jet accelerated suddenly, sending everyone but Bernard tumbling backward, slamming into the seats in the main cabin.