17

As the morning sun slowly rose over Loch Ness, Jordan, Eldon, and Alistair stood watch over the steadily rising water. They’d managed to push the seaplane up to the mouth of the lookout cave, and were waiting to shove it over the edge at just the right moment.

“Okay, this is it,” Alistair said to Eldon. “Remember, you only have a few seconds to climb into the cockpit and grab that stick, then yank it, hard as you can.”

Jordan glanced at Alistair. “Are you sure about this?”

“That rogue wave got your plane in here. Now it’s gonna get us out.”

“I won’t have time to start the engine,” Eldon said. “But the momentum from the fall should give me time to position us so the pontoons hit the wave like a ramp.”

“Bet there isn’t a Badger Badge for that,” Jordan said.

Gurgle! The pool behind them had filled again during the night, when the loch tide came rushing in. Now it was heading back out, and the water began to swirl and flush.

“All right, lads, that’s our mark. Five . . . four . . .”

Jordan looked out at the loch below. The water pulled back like a scorpion getting ready to strike. “Three . . . two . . .” It began to form a watery hill beneath them as it rose up. “ONE!” As the hump of water swelled, the three of them shoved the plane over the edge and quickly scampered inside. It plummeted like a stone toward the receding water as Eldon dived into the pilot’s seat, grabbed the control stick, and yanked back as hard as he could, pulling the plane out of its nosedive.

SPLASH! The seaplane leveled just in time for its pontoons to meet the growing hump of water. Like a car caught on a rising drawbridge, it began gliding backward down the wave. Keeping his hand on the stick, Eldon hit the ignition and gunned the engine. The propellers whirred and the tiny plane began to climb back up the rising water, gaining speed as its ramp grew steeper. Eldon pushed the little plane for everything she had. Her engines roared, and she zoomed forward, shooting off the cresting edge of the watery ramp, straight into the sky.

“Yeeehaaaaaw!” Eldon shouted.

Jordan looked out the window at Loch Ness far beneath him. He could just make out the sparkle of the poor little stickleback fish as they flopped in the mud. Eldon pointed the little plane westward, toward the Atlantic Ocean, and Jordan shut his eyes. He smiled as he listened to Alistair chuckling and cheering Eldon on for a job well done.

“See? Nuthin’ to it, just like I said!”

“And we’ve got just enough fuel to make it to our next stop,” he heard Eldon say. “The Chihuahuan Desert in West Texas—jackalope country!”

Something about this announcement didn’t sit quite right with Jordan, but he was too tired to put his finger on it. He laid his head on his backpack and drifted off into a deep sleep.

“There she is, boys! Dead ahead!”

Alistair’s voice jolted Jordan awake. The Scottish Creature Keeper was sitting in the copilot’s seat with the big map book in his lap. Jordan peered out the window. They were over the desert, with nothing but sand for miles and miles.

“There’s the little town,” Eldon said excitedly. “And not a moment too soon—we’re nearly out of fuel.” Jordan saw in the distance a town with what looked like a single road and just a few small buildings. The road dead-ended at a fenced-off clearing.

“And look,” Alistair said to Jordan. “Some o’ them high-tech military helio-choppers you were talking about!”

Bobbing in the desert air, parked in the clearing, were five hot-air balloons anchored to the sandy ground. “Very funny,” Jordan said.

“The giant jackalope’s burrow should be just outside of town, due east,” Eldon said. “I say we set her down on Main Street and investigate on foot.”

Jordan’s feeling that something wasn’t quite right returned. He looked out at the desert, and suddenly realized what it was. “Hey, guys,” he said. “I dozed off for a while, there. What’s the plan for landing a seaplane in the desert?”

Eldon and Alistair stared straight out the window in silence for a moment. Jordan got up and joined them in the cockpit. “Guys? I think you just passed the town.” The plane suddenly shuddered, and died. A red light lit up on the panel. They all looked at the fuel gauge: EMPTY.

“Aaaaaauuuuuugggggghhh!” Eldon jumped out of his seat. “Jordan, take the controls! Keep her steady, and keep her in the air!”

Jordan did as he was told. Eldon ran to the back of the plane and began rummaging around the cargo hold.

“What are you doing?” Alistair yelled. “This is no time for a snack!”

“Parachutes!” Eldon hollered back. “I’m looking for parachutes!”

Jordan’s hands felt sweaty as he gripped the wheel. The plane was eerily silent as it drifted above the desert. It was steadily losing altitude. Jordan circled it back toward the little town, hoping to catch a breeze to glide on. He kept his eye on the five hot-air balloons in the distance.

Eldon returned to the cockpit with a single parachute and a strange look on his face. “Found one,” he said. “Just the one. Jordan—you take it.”

“What?” Alistair squealed. “Why him? He’s not even a Creature Keeper!”

“Because I got him into this, and he’s not going to die on my account,” Eldon said. He pushed it toward Jordan, who shook his head and pushed it back.

“No. I’m not taking it. I’m not leaving this plane without you.”

“Well, there you have it! Very noble!” Alistair blurted out, grabbing the chute. “That’s friendship for ya! You two really have something special—I could sense it right away!” He began yanking at the parachute, trying to stretch it over his big, round back. “I don’t wanna be a third wheel, so I’ll just step outside, let you two have some privacy, and—” RRRIIIIP! The parachute suddenly split open, its silky insides spilling out like guts. “Oops.”

Jordan couldn’t keep the seaplane in the air for much longer. He stared out at the parked hot-air balloons in the distance. “I’ve got an idea,” he said. “Strap in. This is gonna make our takeoff feel like a roll in Nessie’s water bed.” Eldon and Alistair buckled up as Jordan aimed the descending plane straight for the hot-air balloons.

The seaplane came in low and fast, slamming into the first balloon—KA-BLOOM! It burst as they hit it, and its thick material got jammed up in the plane’s pontoons, flaring out behind them, catching the wind. This slowed them down as they careened into a second balloon, which didn’t pop, but got stuck under the plane’s wings. The thick material covered the windshield as Jordan tried to aim them into a third balloon. BLOOOMPH! This one didn’t pop, either, but stretched and spread beneath the plane like a cushion.

BA-BOING! The balloon-padded seaplane hit the ground, and bounced over the fence. BA-BOING! BA-BOING! It continued bouncing away from the little town, into the open desert. Jordan, Eldon, and Alistair bounced around inside like rag dolls.

The rollicking ride ended as the seaplane finally slid to a stop behind a large, red rock—one of many jutting out of the desert. Balanced on the last balloon, it slowly tipped, leaning ever so slightly against a single, pointy cactus standing alone.

POP! Ssssssssssss . . . Their giant air bag deflated, lowering the seaplane and its passengers gently to the desert floor.

Jordan turned to face his passengers in the back. Eldon was pale and Alistair was green. Neither of them looked hurt. “Thanks for flying Totally Insane Airlines.” Jordan smiled. “Take ’er easy!”

Eldon unlatched the door, swung it open, and stepped outside first, followed by Alistair, who fell to his knees and kissed the sandy ground. Jordan stepped out last and looked around. Alistair stood and slowly approached Jordan. The overgrown Scot raised his arms and grabbed Jordan off the ground, giving him the second-biggest hug he’d felt in as many days. “Ooof!”

Alistair set him back down. “What a ride!” He grinned. “You are a Grimsley!” He chuckled as he pulled something out of his kilt pocket. “Here. I want you to have this. Whittled it myself. In case you need it.” He slapped a knobby, wooden slingshot into Jordan’s hand, then stepped back onboard the plane.

“Thanks,” Jordan said, admiring the handiwork.

“Great job, Jordan,” Eldon said. “I probably should’ve said this before you saved our skins—but I’m really glad you came.”

Jordan smiled. “Thanks. Me too.”

Eldon peered around the large rock, back at the town in the distance. “Now let’s just hope nobody in that little town spotted us.”

“We crash-landed a seaplane into a bunch of hot-air balloons, popping them as we dragged their brightly colored pieces across the empty desert floor. Astronauts orbiting the Earth probably spotted us.”

“I dunno.” Alistair stepped back out, reading the old map book. “Last log says here the town is pretty much deserted.”

“We’ll find out soon enough,” Eldon said. “Peggy’s burrow is out here somewhere. The book should provide the whereabouts. Let’s just hope she’s in it. If Jordan’s theory is correct, her Keeper may have abandoned her.”

Alistair scanned the pages, his lips moving slightly as he read. “Okay. Says here her burrow lies under a sort of bunny-shaped marker. Now how are we supposed to find that?” He and Eldon scanned the desert horizon. Jordan, however, looked up.

“You mean, like this one?”

The giant rock towering over them was shaped like a chocolate Easter bunny. Suddenly, the sand beneath them began to vibrate. A scratching sound came from beneath the base of the rock, and sand kicked out from under the rock bunny’s rear end. Then two small tree branches seemed to be emerging from beneath the rock, until Jordan saw the massive, fluffy head they were attached to. The Giant Desert Jackalope squirmed the rest of its enormous body out of its burrow and sat up. It was nearly half the size of the massive rock it crawled out from, and towering at least twenty feet above them.

“Whoa,” Jordan said.

“Great Scott,” Alistair added.

“No.” Eldon smiled. “Great Peggy.”

Peggy tilted her antlered head and shook her floppy, silky-white ears, sandblasting the three of them below.

“We must’ve woken her up,” Eldon said. “Don’t make any sudden noises or moves. We’ve got to very carefully get her to go back into her burrow, or she’ll run.”

“Got any giant carrots?” Jordan muttered.

The Giant Desert Jackalope sat with a dazed, empty look in her eyes. She sniffed the air, then lifted a leg to scratch herself. She sniffed again, then yawned.

“Just move very slowly, and remember—no sudden noises,” Eldon repeated.

Peggy lifted her giant leg and scratched again, this time right below her neck. A flurry of fur floated down over the three of them. Jordan and Eldon looked over at Alistair. He was holding his nose. Which was about to explode.

Huhph . . . huhph . . . HWAHHH-TCHOOO! A violent sneeze blasted from his face. Peggy shot straight up into the air. They all looked up but lost her in the sun.

“Gesundheit,” Jordan said.

“Thanks,” Alistair said.

BOOM! The ground shook again, this time from the other side of the rock. The three of them ran around it and stopped dead when they saw what Jordan imagined to be a Creature Keeper’s worst nightmare: Peggy the Giant Desert Jackalope was hopping full speed across an open desert in broad daylight, straight for an unsuspecting little desert town.

“Gentlemen,” Eldon said. “The bunny has landed.”