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.

Kriss and Lou leaped into the air, flying straight toward her. The two flying cryptids grabbed her front dorsal fins. In her panic, she flicked Kriss away. Abbie screamed as the Mothman was tossed against the wall. He bounced off it and flew right back in to grab Nessie again.

SNAP! The shards of net gave way. Nessie dropped, but not far. She was now awkwardly hovering over the bubbling lava as Kriss and Lou strained to hold her. Her great girth began to win out, and she slipped from their grip, falling fast toward the pit.

SLAM! Bernard leaped from a running start, side tackling her and knocking her off course. Nessie belly flopped onto the smooth rock floor along with Bernard, Kriss, and Lou, and slid on her slick, scaleless skin, banging into the far wall.

Eldon, Abbie, Mike, and Paco rushed to them. Jordan scanned the cavern. He spotted what he was looking for—Gusto was sneaking away along the inside wall of the volcano, trying to escape unnoticed in all the chaos.

CRACK! “Oweeeeeooo!” Gusto was struck by something in the back of the head. He howled and spun around to see Jordan standing with his slingshot.

Jordan ran toward him and hurled himself at Gusto, tackling him to the floor. The two of them rolled, but Gusto was much bigger. He threw Jordan off and stood ominously before him, his clawlike fingers reaching for Jordan’s neck.

“I tried to let you go, Grimsley. But now you will feel Chupacabra’s revenge!”

“Jordan!” Eldon’s voice called out to him. He looked over and caught the small hunk of metal flying at him. Jordan unfolded the blade and jumped to his feet just as Gusto moved in to strike. Jordan pointed Eldon’s Badger Ranger buck knife at Gusto’s throat.

The dazed Latino blinked at Jordan and grinned. “You are certainly a Grimsley.”

“Yeah. I get that a lot.” Jordan could feel the anger in him start to take over. He gripped the knife in his hand and took a step closer. “Any last words?”

Gusto backed up to the rocky overhang. He looked behind him at the bubbling cauldron of melting magma. When he turned back, there was a horrible grin on his face.

“Just one.” He whispered, “Cannonball.”

Gusto leaped into a backflip, tucked into a tight ball, and plunged into the boiling magma. A sickening, sizzling splash echoed throughout the cavern. Jordan ran to the edge and looked down in disbelief. He glanced through the superheated air at the others, who were staring up at him.

RRRRUUUUMMMMMBLLLLLE . . . The lava pool began to churn and thrash around, spilling like a kettle boiling over. The liquid sank into the pit, retracting as if it were being drained from its center. Jordan had seen this before. “I hate his cannonballs.”

“RUN! GET NESSIE UP! THIS PLACE IS GONNA BLOW!” Jordan leaped to help them get Nessie out the archway. RUMBLE! The lava was being drawn deeper into the depths of Popocatépetl, and was causing the entire cavern to tremble. CRASH! Huge sheaths of rock broke loose from the walls, and stalactites dropped down like massive daggers.

They got Nessie close to the archway entrance just as another rumbling shook the hall. Rock rained down in front of them, sealing the door and trapping them inside. The pool of lava was now churning violently. The volcano was about to erupt for the first time in fifty years, and they all had front row seats.

Suddenly, another lower rumble shook from behind them. Panicking, they moved away as rock came loose from the wall. Abbie grabbed Jordan’s hand, and they prepared for the worst.

CRASH! The wall suddenly crumbled. Peggy came leaping through, with Alistair on her back. “You lot look like ya need a lift home again!” The Scot spurred Peggy, who quickly hopped over to Nessie, lowered her head, and gently scooped the limp water creature in her antlers.

“Well? You comin’ or aren’t ya?” Everyone climbed on Peggy’s back and she pounced out through the same tunnel she’d burrowed to get in.

KABLOOOOSSSSSHHHH! The magma pool blasted molten rock in every direction. Lava shot through the cone, leading up, up, up to the top of the volcano.

Outside, Peggy bounded to a safe distance from the erupting Popocatépetl volcano and let everyone off. As MacAlister rushed to Nessie, a burst of orange blasted high into the sky. In the blaze that shot out of the top of the volcano, Jordan and Eldon spotted a tiny, sparkling object launch away from the eruption. The two boys watched it arc across the sky like a shooting star, until it disappeared somewhere in the jungle hills of central Mexico.