by Peter Nelson
Behind Jordan, the others members of the team kept occupied. Mike and Lou were arm wrestling on the floor near the back. Kriss was looking straight ahead uncomfortably as Abbie animatedly showed him pictures of her iguana, Chunk, on her smartphone.
Eldon and Paco studied the map of the Popocatépetl volcano, until the real thing suddenly appeared on the horizon outside their window. A hush fell over the bus as everyone gazed at it.
Although Popocatépetl was an active volcano, it hadn’t erupted in over fifty years. Still, it never let anyone living within a hundred-mile radius forget it was there. Day and night, a steady stream of white, smoky ash rose from its central crater, like a Skunk Ape’s stripe running up the middle of the sky. As Abbie gawked at it with the others, Jordan borrowed her smartphone and quickly accessed the internet to read as much information as he could on the volcano.
He learned that over the last decade or so, the area around the foothills of Popocatépetl had been abandoned because of large, unpredictable blasts of ash, chunks of hot rock, and burps of lava that it would occasionally spit out. Reading about the volcano, Jordan was reminded a lot of the man who’d lured them to it—unpredictable, unstable, and very dangerous.
Because it was so isolated, there was no chance of being spotted. Lou and Mike made quick work of the barbed-wire fence marked ¡PELIGROSO! that surrounded the perimeter. Soon the bus was parked outside the cavernous entrance to the Popocatépetl volcano, which Grampa Grimsley had drawn on his map.
“This entrance is supposed to be blocked,” Eldon said, looking at the map. “Someone’s put out the welcome mat for us.”
KABOOM! An explosion suddenly sprayed ash into the sky. It was so loud it jerked Peggy out of her trance. She jumped straight up a hundred feet, landing beside the bus. Her fluffy head jerked this way and that as she frantically searched for the safest direction to flee. Before she could, Kriss swooped into action, flying up to her twitching face, staring into her eyes with his purple orbs, and whispering into her enormous floppy ears. He calmed her, then led her to the shade of the bus, where she dug a shallow hole and lay in the cool dirt.
Abbie smiled. Lou mumbled something about the bunny whisperer.
Alistair looked even more rattled than Peggy. He walked over to the hole where Kriss was petting Peggy, and climbed in beside her. The Mothman gently took the Scot’s hand and placed it on Peggy’s fuzzy nose. As Alistair gently began to pet the giant jackalope, Kriss got up and walked away, leaving them in peace.
Eldon and Jordan glanced at each other with a look of concern, then quietly approached the Scot. “Alistair,” Eldon said. “It’s time. Let’s go get your creature.”
“She’s scared,” Alistair said. “I can tell. I’ve grown pretty close to this critter. Nothing like my connection with Haggis-Breath, of course, but . . .” He trailed off. Jordan saw the worry on his friend’s face and glanced at Eldon.
“Hey, what’s the protocol for a cryptid’s stand-in Keeper in a case like this?” He asked so that Alistair could hear. “Wouldn’t he or she be the best one to comfort and protect a creature who might stay behind? Just wondering.”
Eldon smiled slightly. “Y’know, come to think of it, that is the rule. And we all know Badger Ranger rule number three twenty-six: A rule is a rule. Alistair, I’m afraid you’d better stay here.”
Alistair looked up at them with a grateful smile. “Sure, laddies. Wouldn’t want to endanger the mission by having a part of the team in there who’s all nervous and jumpy.”
Eldon gave him a quick Badger claw salute, then went to check on the others. “Thanks, mate,” Alistair said to Jordan.
Jordan crouched down beside him. “Alistair, I’m gonna promise you two things. First, if Nessie’s in there, we’re gonna get her out.”
“What’s the second?”
“She’s in there.”
Both Grampa Grimsley’s map and his diary were old, but fortunately Popocatépetl hadn’t changed since he’d written them. All the twists, turns, tunnels, caverns, and caves were just as he described.
It grew hotter the farther Jordan, Eldon, Abbie, Bernard, Lou, Mike, Paco, and Kriss ventured into the heart of the volcano. It also grew darker, until they got closer to Popocatépetl’s core. Soon an eerie orange light from deep within the volcano illuminated their path. They continued along the rocky terrain, carefully stepping over the crevices. Through the cracked rock they could feel the hot vapor and sometimes even see glowing orange magma oozing far below.
They came to a large, eerie cavern with open splits in the floor filled with boiling rock. The glow of the fiery lava against the misshapen rocks jutting from the ground cast weird shadows throughout. Bernard immediately stopped. “Does anyone hear that?” There was a deep, raspy breathing sound echoing faintly throughout the cavern. It was hard to pinpoint where it was coming from, until Eldon glanced up.
Directly overhead, clinging to the craggy ceiling high above them was the Chupacabra, staring down with its glowing red eyes.
It let out a horrible snarl and dropped to the floor. In an instant, Eldon grabbed Jordan and dived out of the way as Paco and Mike rolled behind a rock. Kriss scooped Abbie up in his arms and swooped to a nearby ledge. Bernard and Lou held their ground and faced the creature. SLAM! The Chupacabra crashed into them, immediately knocking Lou into a deep crevice. “No!” Mike cried out and tried to run toward the glowing fissure, but Paco somehow held him back.
Bernard and the Chupacabra wrestled across the cavern floor, clawing, punching, gnashing, and gnawing at each other. “Run!” Bernard managed to yell to the others. “I’ll hold this thing off! Go and find Nessie!”
No one moved. They stood frozen in their hiding places, watching the fierce battle between the two massive cryptids. Kriss left Abbie on the high rock ledge and swooped down, dive-bombing the Chupacabra, scratching at it with his long claws as he passed. The horrible cryptid cried out in pain, but its rage seemed to make it stronger. It kicked Bernard off with its powerfully lanky legs, then pounced. Eldon and Jordan gasped as the evil creature was suddenly holding the Skunk Ape’s head over the fiery crevice where Lou had disappeared.
“No!” Jordan cried out. “We have to do something! He’s going to die!”
FOOOM! Suddenly, a red blaze rose out of the deadly fissure like a phoenix, knocking the Chupacabra in the chin and sending it scrambling across the floor. Lou fluttered overhead, engulfed in dripping lava. “You leave my stinky bro alone!” He flicked some lava off his shoulder, then dived straight at the Chupacabra.
As they tumbled horn over tail into the back cavern wall, the others scrambled out of their hiding spots and helped Bernard up. His thick fur was singed, but otherwise he seemed all right.
Screeeeeeeecccchhh! They all looked up to see Lou holding the wiry Chupacabra over his head. It squirmed and writhed in his grip as he lumbered over to the furnace-like fissure in the cavern floor. “Let’s see how you like it, ya overgrown rat!” Lou threw the beast down into the fire pit with all his might. FOOOOM! A blast of fire shot straight up out of the crack, scorching the ceiling. Then it was quiet.
Lou shrugged to the others. “Fire, brimstone, it’s my thing.” They crowded the devil-cryptid, thanking and congratulating him. The celebration was quickly cut short as the cavern began to rumble and shake, and the floor beneath them started to crack and split, exposing more lava beneath their feet.
“Quick! Everyone, up here!” Abbie was still perched on the rock where Kriss had set her down. Bernard scrambled up the wall to join her, while Kriss lifted Jordan and Eldon and flew them to safety. Lou grabbed hold of his Keeper as well as Paco, and they all huddled together on Abbie’s perch, looking down as the cavern floor gave way, falling in chunks into the red-hot pool of lava below.
The wall behind them began to crack. As the lava rose, they pushed closer against it. Finally, Bernard pulled back and slammed his fists against it. The wall broke free, sending them tumbling down a dark, craggy decline, and into another
cavern. They stood up and looked around. There were strange markings scraped into the stone, and Jordan recognized one of them immediately. It was a crudely carved Creature Keeper shield. “My grandfather was here!” he shouted.
Eldon looked down at the map and found what he was looking for. “It’s a marker,” he said. “We’re near the center of the volcano. Chupacabra’s lair.”
“HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAA!”
Chillingly familiar laughter echoed from an archway on the other side of the cavern. “Grimsley!” Gusto’s voice boomed from inside the adjoining lair. “You’ve accepted my invitation! But I have a very good sense of smell, and I’m picking up a foul stench—you brought that horrid skunk creature, as well as others. Such a shame you didn’t have the courage or honor to come alone! Now your innocent friends will have to die with you!”
They all huddled together, unsure of what to do.
“I’M WAITING, GEORGE GRIMSLEY! And so is your miserable sea cow! You’d better hurry—this dry volcanic air really isn’t good for her.”
“That’s it.” Jordan stepped forward. “I’m going in. Alone. He wants my grandfather, and he thinks I’m him. If I can trick him into believing I’m George Grimsley, maybe he’ll let Nessie go—along with all of you.” He looked at Eldon. “It’s the ultimate hoax.”
“Jordan, no.” Abbie had tears in her eyes.
Eldon stepped forward. “I’m not going to let you. He’ll kill you.”
“It’s the only way to save her. And isn’t that the sworn duty of a Creature Keeper?”
Eldon thought for a moment. “Yes, it is.” The others gasped. “Except for one thing.” Eldon stepped between Jordan and the archway. “You’re not a Creature Keeper, Jordan. You never were.”
Jordan’s face dropped. He looked at the faces of the others. He pulled the Badger Badge Eldon had given him off his shirt. “Well, I suppose I’m not a Badger Ranger, either. And that means you don’t have any real authority over me.” He tossed the tiny heart badge to Eldon—a little to his right. Eldon moved to catch it, and Jordan rushed past him, diving through the archway.
38
Jordan tumbled into a large, circular room of volcanic rock. The walls here were smooth and glassy, as if they’d been glazed by extreme heat. Dead center, churning and bubbling, was a massive pool of hot lava. White steam rose from the boiling cauldron of flame and molten rock, drifting up to a cathedral-like ceiling that formed a more narrow cone leading to the peak of the volcano, thousands of feet above.
High above the pool of lava hung a net suspended by ropes bolted to the glassy sidewalls of this volcanic great room. And it was moving.
Jordan felt a cold chill despite the boiling heat in the room. Hanging there in the large net was Nessie. Small and soft, she appeared orange from the glow of the molten rock below. She let out a tiny, pain-filled squeeeeee. . . .
“Well, well, well . . . ,” an evil voice said. “Welcome back, Georgie. It’s been awhile, no?”
Jordan spun around. Gusto was sitting on a throne of solid rock, looking down at him from a stone stage above the chamber floor and its pit of bubbling lava. He wore the Hydro-Hide, and grinned at Jordan through the steam.
“You made the honorable decision to come in on your own, rather than jeopardize your friends’ lives by trying to ambush me.” He pointed a long finger at Nessie overhead. “A wise choice considering, as you can see, the life of your precious cryptid literally hangs in the balance.”
“Let her down, NOW! Who are you? Why would you do all of this?”
“Let’s just say I’m an international businessman, Georgie. I have all the treasure and riches I need—even my own submarine! But what I want is true power.” He stretched out his sleeves to admire the sparkling scales on his Hydro-Hide as they twinkled in the orange light. “And now, I have the power to control all the oceans and seas of the world! All it took was fooling your simple-minded bunnysitter into helping me. I merely offered Quisling something you never think to offer any of those Creature Keeping slaves of yours . . . an early retirement.”
“You don’t know anything,” Jordan said. “Not about me, not about the Creature Keepers.” Jordan was trying to think fast. It was sheer luck that Gusto didn’t know Chupacabra had been killed. If he did, or if he found out that Jordan wasn’t actually George Grimsley, this final, crucial hoax would fail. Jordan couldn’t let that happen. He took a deep breath. The hot air felt like fire in his lungs. “All right, if you’re a businessman, then let’s get down to business. Let my friends leave here with her, and you can do whatever you want with George Grimsley. Who is me. Because I’m him.”
“I told you, Grimsley, you’re no good to me while you’re hiding in the body of a child. Chupacabra has waited a long time for its revenge, and wants to kill the man who turned it into a hunted animal. Luckily, that’s an easy fix.” Gusto pulled out a glowing, green Puddle of Ripeness ball and tossed it playfully into the air. “I honestly don’t know how you managed to escape my Puddle of Ripeness bomb attack the other night. But I saved one, just for you.” He reared back, ready to throw. “Time for you to become the pathetic, old coward of a man you always were, George Grimsley.”
“WAIT!” A voice from the archway echoed through the chamber. Eldon entered.
“Eldon, what are you doing?” Jordan cried out. “Stay back!”
Eldon stood beside Jordan. “If that’s your only stink bomb, Gusto, you might want to think before you throw it at him. Because he’s not George Grimsley . . . I am.”
Gusto peered confusedly at the Badger Ranger, then back at Jordan. Then another voice caught his attention as it echoed through the chamber. “So am I,” Paco said. He entered and stepped up to join them.
“No, I am,” Mike said, joining the line.
“Actually, I’m George Grimsley,” Abbie said, stepping out and lining up with the boys.
“Enough of this,” Gusto said. “Now you’re REALLY ANNOYING ME!”
“Well, then you ain’t gonna like this,” Lou said. The Jersey Devil stood alongside the others. “’Cause it turns out I’m George Grimsley, too.”
WHOOSH! The Mothman zipped along the floor, landing softly beside Paco, startling Gusto so much he nearly dropped the Puddle of Ripeness ball in his hand. Kriss whispered in Paco’s ear. Paco nodded and looked up at Gusto. “He says he’s also George Grimsley.”
“You’re all mistaken,” a calm voice spoke out. Bernard entered last, defiantly taking his place on the other side of Jordan. “If anyone here is George Grimsley, it’s me.”
Señor Areck Gusto stared at this group of humans and cryptids, then looked down at the stink bomb in his hand. “This is all very endearing,” he said. “Of course, there’s enough gas in this ball to engulf you all with one shot, no matter who I throw it at.”
“Then throw it at all of us,” Jordan said, staring bravely at Gusto. “But before you do, you’d better understand something. No one of us is George Grimsley, because all of us are. Unfortunately for you, the man you promised you could deliver to that evil beast is dead and gone. He was my grandfather.”
“Mine, too,” Abbie added.
“I never got to know him when he was alive,” Jordan continued. “But I feel like I know him now—thanks to everyone I’ve met who carries out his life’s work. Helping, hiding, hoaxing—whatever it takes, wherever it takes them. They protect cryptids everywhere from men like you. That’s what they do.”
“That’s what we do,” Eldon said, putting a hand on Jordan’s shoulder. “We’re all Creature Keepers.”
Gusto studied them a moment, then slowly grinned directly at Jordan. “Ooh . . . nice try. But if you’re not George Grimsley, then how is it that you ended up in possession of this.” Gusto held up a long, thin finger. A clear, thick band twinkled in the light. It was George Grimsley’s ring.
“Give that back—it belongs to me!”
“Precisely my point, George. Thank you for making it so succinctly. I do sometimes tend to
go on a bit.”
Eldon’s eyes were wide. He turned to Jordan. “How did he get that?”
Gusto sneered. “Let’s just say a business acquaintance picked it up for me while out for an evening stroll in the swamp. A bonus to our transaction, for destroying his enemy’s life’s work. Really goes well with the outfit, don’t you think?”
Lou stepped forward. “Let me get it back. I’ll tear off his fingers, one by one.”
“STOP!” Gusto shouted. His voice boomed through the hall. “Now, this has all been quite the dramatic showing of camaraderie. I’ve always worked alone, you see, which does have its drawbacks. For example, I realize that when I throw this at you, George, your colleagues here will no doubt see that they have nothing to lose. Then they’ll attack, which may not work out too well for me.”
“You got that right,” the Jersey Devil said, inching closer.
“Easy, Lou,” Eldon cautioned. “He’s got something up his sleeve.”
“What I have, George Grimsley, is a strong sense that our paths will soon cross again. I also have other business transactions I need to attend to. Being pummeled by your cryptid henchmen would be quite inconvenient.”
“What are you saying?” Jordan said. “Are you letting us go?”
“What I’m saying, dear old Georgie, is that if the Chupacabra has waited this long, he can wait a bit longer. And I’m saying that unfortunately for you, I’ve got much bigger fish to fry.”
Gusto reared back . . . and lofted the last Puddle of Ripeness stink bomb straight at Nessie. POOM! The orb exploded in the net overhead, engulfing its prisoner in the thick, green gas. Squeeeeee! SqueeeeeEEEEE! SQUEEEEEEEE! Her screams grew louder. And deeper. They rumbled the walls of the cavern. Nessie was getting larger. Much larger.
SQUEEEEEEEOOOOOOOO! The smoke and vapor rising from the lava pit carried the green haze up the volcanic tube, revealing the net—and the incredible creature within it. Jordan stared wide-eyed as Nessie doubled in size, then doubled again, writhing and thrashing about, shredding the weak fabric that held her over the bubbling lava.