It was eight o'clock the next morning, and I sat on the water's edge, my backpack
on my back, my khaki cowboy hat with the pull-string on my head, and my red
bandana around my neck. Soon I saw a little blue Chia come into view, Al, of
course, a huge backpack on his back that seemed far too big for him. Panting,
all sat by me.
"Al, I think you missed to concept of 'pack light'..." I said.
"Oh, be quiet. We've got a boat to catch." Al said. I nodded.
We only waited a few minutes until we saw a musty, rust-stained, torn-up what-used-to-be
white old tugboat came into view. I got up and shielded my eyes with a paw to
see it move into the harbour. "That can't be it..." I said, shaking my head.
Al sniggered. I lightly punched Al in the shoulder and he shut up.
As the boat hit the dock, a yellow male Zafara about as old and musty as his
ship was came out of the cabin and grinned as much as he could, seeing that
his two front teeth were gone and so were a few of his molars. "Mornin' folks!"
The Zafara said with a hillbilly-like accent.
I raised an eyebrow and looked at Al, then back at the Zafara. "Umm, sir, I
think you've made a mistake here..." I said.
"Nah, nah...I'm lookin' for a Greefin tirty-tree sefen, righ? Dat's you?" the
Zafara said. "Spelled G-R-I-F-F-I-N-3-3-7?"
I sighed and slapped my hand on my forehead. "Yeah, yeah...to Maraqua, sir..."
Man, talk about a hillbilly! I decided he lived up in the hills with his hillbilly
family. I just hoped he wasn't one of these crazy hillbillies that make you
be alone, and when nobody else is around, THWACK! You're down. I shuddered
at the fact. But most were just 'friendly folk' as they'd say. I decided not
to make a big deal out of it.
***
Al and I got on the boat, and set my backpack on the deck. "Uh...Al, it's probably
a good idea for you to do the same." I said, looking at Al struggle over the
mound of equipment he brought. He nodded and set his supplies down.
The Zafara hopped into the cabin and started up the motor. We slowly drifted
away from the dock at what seemed like a snail's pace. I just sincerely hoped
that it wouldn't always be as slow as this the entire ride to Maraqua. It would
almost be better off if I swam there!
When we got away from the dock, lucky for me, the boat started to gradually
speed up, bit by bit. I stood up on my hind legs and rested my forepaws on the
bars that protected you from falling off the boat. I looked out through the
ocean, one sight that I will never, in all my life, ever forget. The sun high
in the sky, its reflection dancing on the waves as the seagulls cawed and the
sharks danced and played beside our boat as the occasional spay of salty water
hit my face. The wind was high, and my bandana rippled in the wind. It was the
most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life.
Al was sitting on the deck, fooling with some things from his backpack, most
likely getting the equipment ready. The Zafara came out of the cabin and looked
down at Al. Al was stunned that he wasn't steering the boat!
"Aren't you supposed to be steering? You'll crash! Or worse, lost, lost on
a desolate island!" Al shouted.
The Zafara shook his head. "Nah, you kids read too muck of dose books. It's
on autopilot, silly!" Al and I shook our heads. I turned back around to look
at the sea, still keeping an ear open to hear the Zafara "Name's Cleevis. I
come from way down south of Neopia Central, until I bought this see-here boat
for a bargain of tree-hundred Neopoints. Dat wuz my life savings, ya know..."
man, this Cleevis guy sure could talk! He went on about his life story and such.
I guessed he didn't have a family, so I just smiled and laughed whenever he
laughed, really only watching the ocean.
We all laughed again after Cleevis told us how he accidentally got his brother's
head stuck in a utility pipe. I stopped laughing, though, when I heard a humming
noise. I cocked my head one way and closed my mouth. Yes...the humming got louder.
What the heck...?
"Do you hear that?" I said suspiciously. Al shook his head.
"Wut are yoo talkin' about, puppy doggy?" Cleevis said.
"I hear this humming noise... it's getting louder, can't you hear it? Something
just isn't right," I said quickly.
Cleevis laughed and got back to the cabin to get something. "Okay, okay, do
ya really want attention dat badly? Here you go..." Cleevis came out with a
box full of gingerbread Lupe treats.
"No! No, I'm serious! Listen. Be quiet and listen!" I growled, frustrated.
Everybody was silent.
"I hear it..." Al said. "I hear it quite clearly now! It sounds like a...motorboat!
But this boat is a tugboat...it can't be this old boat, can it?" Al grew a little
restless and took out a small metal box with a screen on it. I got off from
my post to see what Al was holding. "It's a radar system," Al said. "It detects
any other boat around us. See that big green boat in the center? That's us.
Now, this red one means somebody else. See how it's coming closer and closer
to us? And--uh-oh..." Al swallowed hard. "They're coming right towards us."
I was stunned. My mouth opened and I darted my head around. "Cleevis! Get us
OUTTA HERE!!" I shouted. Cleevis took to the cabin and swirled the boat around.
Maybe it would be confusing to the mysterious boat if we suddenly turned around.
But the motorboat was too fast. We heard a bump against the boat, and I looked
over at the side. A dark-blue Mynci with its ear pierced and a patch over its
eye with a torn red-and-white T-shirt on growled, a sword in its mouth. It was
climbing up the rope to get to the boat!
"Oh, no..." I said. I had to get these guys off our boat! They were armed...but
no time for thinking! I jumped down off the boat, my feet kicking the Mynci's
head. The stunned Mynci fell off the rope and splashed into the water. I fell
down with him. The Mynci held my head underwater until I swam down lower. The
Mynci thought I must've drowned, because it gave up and started swimming away.
I emerged from the water and screamed, jumping high in the air and landing on
the Mynci, my teeth sinking into its arm.
"JETSAM!!" the Mynci shouted. "JETSAM, JETSAM!!! ARRGH!!"
I grinned. It thought I was a shark! With all this commotion, the frightened
sharks swam off. I actually would be happier now if the sharks came, considering
the fact that I, in a black fur coat, would blend in, while the Mynci here would
show up like a prisoner's suit and would be an instant target for the sharks.
I decided the Mynci had had enough, and my boat was getting away. I let go
and kicked the Mynci and swam back away to my boat. I got to the edge of it,
grabbed the rope with my paws and climbed myself up onto the deck. Something
had gone terribly, terribly wrong. A red pirate Techo pointed a sword at Al.
Al backed up all the way until he was completely against the wall. "PLEASE DON'T
HURT ME!" Al gasped. The Techo grinned and was about the make the final move,
but was hit in the side by a headbutt from me.
I snarled at the Techo, but it just grumbled at me, its hands clenched. "Where
is it..." The Techo said to Griffin. "BLOB, WHERE IS IT?" The Techo screamed.
I new exactly what he was talking about: The Golden Eye.
"I DON'T HAVE IT WITH ME!" I growled at the Techo
"I thought YOU had it?" the Techo said, puzzled.
"No! We're on a quest to get it back. I suggest you and your gang get outta
our fur before we rip you all to shreds!" I shouted.
The Techo only laughed. "A Hillbilly, a wimpy scientist, and a Lupe that wants
to be a cowboy. What next?"
In complete anger, I growled and reared up in the air, stomping down on the
deck. I snorted and charged up to the Techo and bit its leg. I whipped it around
like a ragdoll and threw the Techo off the dock.
"That, little lizard, is your 'cowboy-wannabe'," I said, and grinned.
To be continued... |