The Kiko Lake Vacation

      "Finally," he said, wiping a rivulet of sweat from his brow. The blue Lupe hurried down the hallway, clutching his room key tightly.

      The door to room 312 was wooden and painted pale yellow. Phillie smiled; it was his favorite color. He unlocked the door and stepped in.

      The room was cramped and smelled like cottage cheese and Neocola. Phillie scrunched his nose. He set his suitcase on the bed and walked to the window. He threw open the floral-print curtains and gasped.

      He had a perfect view of Kiko Lake - the small, round houses with windows shaped like portholes, the dark edges of the forest, and the glass bottom boats skimming across the surface of the water. Thrilled, he remembered why he had vacationed here in the first place. But he knew he needed to hurry if he wanted to explore Kiko Lake before the day was over.

      He dashed out of his room and bounded down the stairs. The Kiko concierge gave him a concerned look as Phillie practically sprinted through the lobby.

      Outside, he felt the warm breeze ruffle his fur. He heard the gleeful shouts of Neopians sticking their toes in the water's edge. From the nearby carpentry came the sounds of sawing and hammering. A glass bottom boat was pulling into the dock, and he trotted to meet it.

      A half-dozen tourists unloaded from the small, shaded boat. Most wore smiles and chatted pleasantly with one another.

      "Wasn't that just charming!" said a red Wocky to a checkered Yurble. The Yurble nodded in agreement as he finished a bag of Flaming BBQ Crisps. He threw the empty bag into the water.

      "Now, now, don't be a litterbug," said the red Wocky. The Yurble shrugged.

      Phillie padded to the dock's edge, noticing a fine film of garbage floating at the water's surface. He frowned. "Is there another tour?" he asked to the red Kiko at the steering wheel.

      "Why, this is your lucky day!" chuckled the captain. "You're just on time for the last tour of the day!"

      Phillie smiled and hopped onto the boat. He sat down in one of the green, plush seats.

      The captain cleared his throat.

      "Oh, yeah," said Phillie, and handed him 50 neopoints.

      The boat rocked gently as they waited. The captain looked towards the horizon. "Well, it looks like you'll be the only passenger on this tour. We've got to get going before the sun sets, you know."

      Phillie nodded. The propeller roared into action. He leaned closer the the glass bottom as the boat passed over coral gardens and candy-colored neohomes. Kikos below him played catch or carried their groceries home, perhaps too used to the constant observation to pay him any attention. But he would have liked to see the underwater village closer; for a moment he wished he was a Peophin or Flotsam instead of a Lupe.

      "And here we have the kelp forest," explained the captain over the intercom. "Many petpets choose to live here."

      The enormous green kelp swiped the underside of the boat, and Phillie could have sworn he saw several pepitos darting among the plants.

      "This habitat is naturally-"

      Phillie gasped as an enormous tentacle swept past the boat.

      "Is something wrong?" said the captain, turning towards him.

      "D-did you see that?" said Phillie, eyes wide.

      "See what?" The captain raised his eyebrows.

      "That gigantic... monster!"

      The captain shook his head and stared at Phillie. "Your imagination playing tricks with you. You know, it's getting pretty dark; we should probably head back." The captain turned the steering wheel rapidly. The boat approached the shore.

      Phillie furrowed his brow. He was sure of what he saw, and he was even more sure that he needed to find out what it was.

      They reached the dock and Phillie jumped out all too willingly. The captain pulled the boat away with one last backwards glance towards Phillie. The sun was beginning to set over Kiko Lake. When it was dark, he would strike.

     ***

      He pushed the hotel's paddle boat across the sand. The hotel had lent it to him free of charge, and Phillie could tell by the chipped paint and dented bottom that he definitely got what he paid for. Nonetheless, he pushed the boat into the water and hopped in.

      He paddled quickly but quietly. The lake was empty and silent, and he couldn't see the Kiko village through the dark waters. What if he wasn't able to find the kelp forest again? And what was he going to do if he found the monster?

      The boat stopped unexpectedly and Phillie lurched forward. He looked over the edge and saw bits of kelp floating near the surface. "Hello?" he called hesitantly.

      Silence. Phillie's heart sank. "Maybe this wasn't a good plan," he said to himself.

      He turned the boat around and began paddling. Suddenly, a shadow fell over him. He looked over his shoulder to see a massive tentacle rising behind him. He opened his mouth to scream, but it was too late.

     ***

      He woke up feeling dazed. Sunlight filtered through the stalks of kelp. Was he underwater? And how was he still breathing?

      "Relax," commanding an echoing voice.

      "Wh-who are you?" said Phillie, swilling his head around wildly.

      "Look around."

      "Wh-what is this?"

      "Just tell me what you see."

      "I see... water. And Kelp." A baby blu swam past his paws. "And petpets."

      "What else do you see?" hissed the voice.

      He looked down. A pile of old shoes, broken fishing poles, Neocola cans, and other debris covered the seabed. "There's garbage - a lot of it."

      "The kelp is being poisoned by garbage. We need you to stop it before it's too late."

      "What?" Phillie said.

      "Before it's too late," the voice repeated.

      Suddenly, Phillie was surrounded by hundreds of small air bubbles rushing towards the surface. He saw a humongous yellow tentacle before everything went dark.

      ***

      The sun warmed his face. Phillie woke up and placed his palm to his aching head. He was on the shore of Kiko Lake, his fur damp and the paddle boat to his left. Had it all been a dream?

      A crisp bag was floating on the edge of the lake. He stood up and grabbed it. Dream or not, Kiko Lake had a serious litter problem, and maybe he could solve it.

      He saw the glass bottom boat tied to the dock. He saw the captain at the wheel and ran to meet him.

      The captain didn't meet Phillie's eyes. "I'm very sorry, there are no tours right now."

      "No, that's not what I want," said Phillie. "Just, when people go on your tours... Do you think you could maybe, not tell them to throw trash over the side of your boat?"

      The captain glanced towards him.

      "It's just - the lake is getting polluted, you know?" Phillie shifted weight on his paws.

      "Maybe you're right," said the captain, smiling slightly. "You know, just between you and me, I'm tired of all these tourists trashing this place. It's about time something changed."

      Phillie grinned. "Thanks a ton." He waved goodbye and walked back to his hotel.

      ***

      The room was as he had left it. He smirked as he realized he hadn't even unpacked his suitcase. He peered out the window towards the sparkling blue lake. A massive, dark shape shifted in the center of the lake. Phillie smiled - he couldn't wait to take a boat tour the next time he visited.

The End