The Petpet Detectives: Case of the Stolen Sharky - Part Five by playmobil_is_my_life
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This was going to be a bit harder than I expected.
At night, the Kiko Lake dock was crowded with
Neopets who were eating dinner or just chatting near the water. It was going
to be hard to discreetly slip away from everyone to get the boat. Fortunately,
the boathouse door was facing away from the bouncing Kikos on the dock, so it
would be easy to open the doors without being noticed.
The four of us started to casually walk down
to the boathouse and we rounded the corner. The wooden building came into sight
a moment later. The only light was coming from the moon, Kreludor, and when
it went behind a cloud it was hard to see anything. Another thing: it was kind
of creepy out here. I stepped on a dead branch from a tree above,
"Marlo, shh!" Luna scolded. Her dark fur blended
so well with the night that all I could see were the whites of her eyes. "Come
on, there it is," the Yurble pointed. Our walk quicken to a jog.
When we arrived just a few paces before the
boathouse, Damien said,
"There's someone there."
I looked over at him to see his eyes squinted
in concentration. In front of us, near the corner of the building was a tall,
thin Neopet. A Techo?
No, it was a Kyrii, a skunk-colored Kyrii.
"Hi," he said, his voice pleasant. He adjusted
his silver glasses before saying, "Do you know where I can find Shannon?"
"Shannon?" I asked. "The owner of the Glass
Bottom Boat Tours?"
"Yes," the Kyrii said. "By the way, I'm Jay."
He shook my paw and we introduced ourselves. "Oh, you're the detectives? I'm
very pleased to meet you. Did Mindy tell you? I work at The Neopian Aquarium,
too."
"No, she didn't," I said, remembering the red
Zafara who told us about Scout's disappearance.
"Shannon's office is the farthest building on
the dock," Luna said, answering his question. You couldn't tell by her tone,
but I detected she wanted to get rid of him so we could snatch the boat.
"Great, thanks. I'll see you around," and the
skunk Kyrii turned on his heel to find Shannon.
"I wonder what he was doing snooping around
here," Luna commented. "Maybe he thought Shannon's office was near the boathouse?"
"Probably," I said. "Come on." We were so close
to the water now that we could see it-just hear the waves lapping the posts
of the dock. The dock curved around the boathouse and there was an opening towards
the side. Damien, who had the key, unlocked the door and we stepped inside.
"You think we would've been smart enough to
remember to bring a flashlight," I mumbled sarcastically.
"No worries," Charlie spoke up from atop my
head, "I saw a couple of them in the boat this morning."
Damien told us to stay where we were while he
felt around for the boat. There was a little bit of moonlight coming in from
the windows, and it illuminated the side. Damien swung his leg over the edge
and stepped inside. Charlie whispered that the flashlights were in the side
panel. We heard a bit of fumbling around and then a ray of light hit me in the
face.
"Hey, watch it," I said, shielding my eyes with
a white paw.
"I found them."
"Obviously…"
"Guys, shh," Luna shushed me again. She climbed
into the boat herself and I went to unlock to big door that we could float out
of with Damien's key. Luna started the boat and I opened the first door and
then flew to the other side to get the second one. Luna guided the tour boat
out the door and onto the lake and I flew after it.
I landed swiftly in the back and made my way
to where Luna was steering. "Do you know how to drive this thing?"
"Sure I do, it's not that hard," said Luna,
"now where did you say you saw Scout?"
"Uhh, he was by a large rock."
Luna looked at me with her 'how-could-you-be-more-stupid'
face. "Could that be any more vague?" She asked, " 'By a large rock?' Which
direction?"
"That way," I said, pointing. "And for your
information, the rock was not underwater, it was sticking out of the water."
"Oh, good," Luna sighed, "I think I know where
you mean."
There was something freaky about this situation.
Here we were, gliding over Kiko Lake in a stolen boat with Fyora-knows-what
kind of Maraquan Neopets that lived down here in the blackest time of night.
This was insane. It was almost like everyone was afraid to talk. We just whispered,
"It's that way, just a little further out."
"Why are we whispering?" Luna asked.
"Because we don't want to wake up the Jetsams
and Krawks and other ferocious things that live in the water," I snapped.
"Calm down," said Luna, who sounded tranquil,
but her paws on the steering wheel were shaking.
"Here, stop here," I said. "I know this is the
spot."
"Point the flashlight down," Luna said. I pointed
the light at an angle so it wouldn't make a glare and Luna and Damien crawled
on all fours to look through the glass. They tilted their heads to the side
as I pointed out the group of rocks and the iron cage.
"There is definitely something down there,"
Luna stated. "Look at the red eyes."
"It's a Sharky," said
Damien, "it has to be Scout."
"Okay." There was a pause. I asked, "Now what
do we do?"
"Maybe we should double check it's him," Damien
suggested.
"And how do you suppose we do that?"
Damien didn't say anything. Instead, he removed
his hat from his head and kicked off his boots. The three of us watched him
climb to the side of the boat and swing one leg over.
"Damien, please don't go down there!" Luna begged,
"We have no idea what that thing is… what if it's not Scout?"
"That's why I'm going to go check," Damien said
calmly, "Look, just hold the light steady, okay?" I was pretty sure there was
nothing we could do or say to change his mind, so Luna, Charlie and I watched
in horror as Damien swung his other leg over the edge of the boat.
He looked down at the water beneath him, took
a deep breath and slid off the edge. The water was as cold as ice. Damien opened
his eyes and saw the flashlight beam pointing to the cage. He swam a little
ways, and appeared under the boat. He waved to the trio through the glass.
"Show off," I muttered. I pointed to the rocks
and iron cage. Damien nodded and swam lower. His paws touched the rocks below
and he looked through the bars of the cage. He saw a blue back, with white spots
and a pair and glowing eyes. The petpet inside barred his teeth at Damien in
fear, and Damien noticed that the creature had no teeth.
Of course! Damien thought, Luna said
that Sharkies don't have any teeth. He was about find a way out of the cage
when he saw a very large shadow zip by. Damien froze.
The shadow zipped by again.
Damien felt his stomach drop and his lungs felt
as if they would burst. He just floated there a second, until the shadow came
more into view.
It was a Maraquan Krawk. A Maraquan Krawk with
a bluish-gray body, large yellow eyes and very sharp teeth.
"Damien, swim!" Luna yelled. Her eyes were filled
with terror. Charlie was standing on the glass, waving his little arms frantically.
The royal Aisha moved as fast as he could towards the boat. Thinking fast, I
swooped out over the water and when Damien's head surfaced, I grabbed him by
the shoulders and yanked him out of the water. We hovered in the air a second
before flying back to the boat. I dropped Damien on some of the plush green
seats and landed beside him.
He sat up and breathed hard for a few seconds.
"You okay?" I asked.
"Yeah," said Damien, "thanks. It was definitely
a Sharky. It has to be Scout. I know it's him." He shivered. His pants and shirt
were soaking wet.
"Let's just go, okay?" I asked.
"The Krawk was guarding Scout," Damien insisted,
as Luna retrieved a towel from near the driver's seat and wrapped it around
his shoulders. "That Krawk is working with someone."
"Maraquan Neopets can't leave the water," Luna
said. She glanced down into the water, but the Krawk was gone. "If he is guarding
Scout, someone must have hired him to do it. So we just have to find out who
he's working for."
"Exactly," Damien said. "Come on, it's late.
We should definitely get this boat back before anyone, especially Shannon, realizes
it's gone."
"That old Bori?" I laughed, "She's probably
fast asleep. There are more tours early tomorrow, you know."
The ride home was quiet. Everyone was thinking
about what we just discussed. It certainly was possible that the Sharky was
being guarded, but what were they planning to do with him? As we neared the
shore, the four of us looked out to make sure the coast was clear.
However, before we could get the boat within
a few feet of the house, a Neopet stepped out from the shadows wearing a scarf
and a frown.
"Fast asleep, huh?" Damien asked sarcastically.
It was Shannon.
To be Continued...
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