Usul Tales: The Rubber Ducky Of Doom

"Mo-om!" Sally cried, covering her ears as the horrible, wailing cry echoed through the house. "Can you get her to be quiet already?" The usuki Usul's tired-looking mother emerged from the hall and into her daughter's room. She was holding the source of the cries - a small, baby Usul.

     "I can't stop her, Sally!" Jane cried in frustration, rocking the baby in a way far from smooth. The girl moaned in frustration and dropped the whining baby into Sally's paws. She had snapped, and no longer attempted to tame her newborn baby.

     "I'm going out. Give Gabby a bath, give her some omelette and smoothie, and put her in the cradle. I'll be back in a few hours," she said in a hardy tone. She slammed the door. Sally could hear her annoyed mother's steps hurrying out the door. She let out a tired sigh.

     "You know, ever since you've come here, you've been nothing but trouble," she said. Gabby stopped crying for a moment, looking up at her older sister with teary eyes, then burst into cries once again. Sally groaned and walked into the bathroom. She turned the knobs of the bathtub and hot water rushed out of the metal tubes.

     Once the water rose high enough, Gabby turned the knobs so the water would stop rushing, and settled the baby Usul onto the water. Soothed, she stopped crying and floated for a moment. Amused, she splashed around with happy squeals. Water splashed out of the tub and onto Sally's fur.

     "Uggh!" Sally yelled. She attempted to pick Gabby up, but she kicked and cried. Sally put her back down and she settled. Sally picked up Gabby's rubber ducky and dropped it into the bath tub. Awed, Gabby squeezed the ducky and an annoying squeaking noise filled the room. Sally let out one more "Uggh!" and then, angry, she stomped out of the room and slammed the door shut.

     Gabby ignored her sister and continued squeezing the rubber ducky, amused at the squeaking sensation.

     "Quit it, I have feelings too, you know!"

     Gabby froze. She looked left and right.

     "Whosh thwat?" she asked in a squeaky tone.

     "Down here!" the voice cried.

     Gabby looked down to see her rubber ducky squirming in her paws. It was sleek, rubbery, and yellow with ebony black eyes and a carrot orange bill. There was only one thing out of the ordinary - the duck was talking. It finally broke loose of Gabby's grip and fell with a splash on the soothing tub water. It flapped its rubbery yellow wings and swam gracefully on the surface of the water.

     "Hello, little Usul," the rubber ducky said in a polite tone. "My name is Jeremy Quack. You will address me as Dr. Jeremy; I wasn't always a duck, you know."

     "Ya wus nit?" Gabby asked with interest.

     "Nope," Jeremy answered. "I was a clever Kacheek scientist who worked on bringing rubber duckies to life. Unfortunately, I spilled some into my drink and I drank it; and the effect turned me into a duck! I was taken to a shop where your owner bought me," he said. "I can show you something special, little Usul..."

     "Yeah!" Gabby said, in the clearest voice a baby could process. The rubber ducky smiled.

     "Gullible girl...." the ducky muttered. He started to grow bigger, and bigger, and bigger till he was too big to fit in the tub. The tub broke into pieces and Gabby was sent flying and hit the wall. The rubber ducky was now as big as the room, with only small spaces where Gabby could manuever. The duck roared, making the room shake and showed its sharp white rubber teeth.

     "Hwelp!" Gabby cried, as an outstretched feather reached out and grabbed the Usul. "Hwelp!" She repeated, even louder. The rubber ducky was going to eat her! As a last resort, Gabby started to whine and cry and squeal. Steps echoed in the halls. The door burst open and Sally stomped in.

     "What are you crying about-" She looked up at the giant. "...now?" she asked, her voice becoming very tiny as she was being consumed by the ducky's giant shadow. After another second, she snapped back to reality. "Let my sister go, you evil ducky!" she yelled. The rubber toy laughed.

     "Why should I? I haven't eaten in days! After my last meal, I was sent back to shop... and even though this Usul isn't much, I still have you and your mother to eat!" he said with another laugh.

     "Grr..." Sally jumped onto the feather and tried to pull open the grasp. The rubber ducky shook his feather but she refused to fall off. She pulled open the grasp and Gabby fell with a thud on the ground. "Come on!" Sally yelled. She grabbed her sister and bolted out the room. The giant rubber ducky crashed through the doorway and slid down the hall toward them. Sally dove into her room and slammed the door. She slid her sister under the bed and grabbed her knitting kit off her nightstand.

     "Hwow will thwat hwelp wus?" Gabby asked, poking her head out from under the bed. At that moment, the rubber ducky crashed through the door, waving his feathers and baring his teeth in anger.

     "You can't escape from me!" he howled.

     "You're right, I can't," Sally said with a sly smile, "But I can stop you!" She pulled out from her knitting kit a long metal needle. Fear appeared in the black eyes of the rubber ducky.

     "No, wait, i-it was all the joke! Think before you use that thing - girly -" he stuttered.

     "I don't think so," Sally said with a mischievious grin. She walked forward, and before the rubber duck could even move, Sally stuck the needle into his rubbery surface, and air started to burst out from his hollow body.

     "NO!" the bath toy howled as he started to deflate. In a few seconds, he was nothing but a deflated pile of rubber on the floor. Overwhelmed with joy, Gabby hopped out from under the bed and grasp onto Sally so tightly that it would be impossible to shake her off.

     "I wuv you! Thwank you!" she yelled, hugging her. Sally grinned.

     "Yeah, yeah." She pried the baby off her shoulder and placed her on her bed. "Now... how am I going to explain this mess to Mom?"

     The colour spills from the pages and returns to its plain and blank state. The familiar golden letters forming the words "The End" scribble across the page in fine script. Then the book closes and the darkness engulfs you. In a second, you realize you're underwater, the icy cold liquid pulling you down. You pull yourself up and break the surface. Gasping for breath, you wash onto the beach and take long, deep breaths. You sit up, soaked and cold. Then a smile appears on your face. It was worth it!

     Stay tuned for more stories in the "Usul Tales" Trilogy!