by Obert Skye
As usual, Bunny Island had not disappointed.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
WHEN ALL THE SEA SALT SETTLES
It’s been three months since we were almost bunnied to death. Sheriff Rolly arrested Fuzzy. He was charged with a list of very serious things, not the least of which was trying to put an end to me and my friends. He would be locked up for a long while. His business went bankrupt, and his things were repossessed to pay for the damage his rabbits did.
I’m not sad about any of that.
Of course, my life is pretty different than it used to be. The biggest difference is that I no longer live in Ohio. Nope, my dad fell in love with the island and with Summer. So he moved the two of us out here a month ago. We bought a small lima bean farm near Bunny Cove. He and Zeke are going to make a living by being bean farmers.
Yep, Bunny Island is my home now. I have to say that I’m happy about that. I don’t miss much about Ohio. Sure, there was a great comic book shop back in my town. And yes, they have way more junk food, but the trade-off is worth it. I have my friends and all the adventure I could ever want.
To this day, nobody’s found the Lost Hutchman’s Booty. Rain continues to insist that it never existed, but that hasn’t stopped Juliet and me from spending time hiking around the island and trying to find it.
Of course, the new thing for people to search for around here is lifeless robot bunnies. There are still thousands hidden all over the island. They’re highly collectible souvenirs and have provided Bunny Island with another unusual layer.
I don’t think I’ve ever come to Bunny Island looking for trouble. The first time I came I was on a rescue mission, but my intention was just to find my uncle. I never wanted to do things like run and fight to stay alive. My dad had hoped I would find adventure, but my dad was just a single dad who wanted his son to get out of the house and have a childhood he would remember. Well, I’ll never forget the things that have happened here. At the very least, it’s taught me that there is just as much to get excited about above water as there is down below.
I don’t have to run everywhere these days. My dad bought Summer a golf cart, and she lets me drive it whenever I want. Which is why I was now driving down Rabbit Road and stopping in front of the Liquid Love Shack.
Juliet was standing out front with Rain. They were both wearing long pants and nice shirts. I had never seen them look so dressed up. I smiled as they climbed onto the cart. Rain sat in the backseat next to a box wrapped in red paper.
“You look just as funny,” Rain said to me.
He was right. I also had on long pants and a nice shirt, part of a whole outfit my dad had bought me.
“So, are you ready for this?” Juliet asked. “I mean, Summer’s going to be your stepmom.”
“What about me?” Rain asked as we drove down Rabbit Road toward the beach. “With Zeke marrying my mom, it’s almost like Perry and I are related.”
“It’s almost like you won something,” I said.
Yes, both my dad and my uncle were getting married today—a double wedding taking place down on the shore.
“I’ll be honest,” Rain admitted. “I never saw this happening.”
“I’ll be honester,” I added. “Me neither.”
“Well,” Juliet said, “it might not be what you expected, but I personally think things are just as they should be.”
I looked up at the sky as I drove. It was filled with white fluffy clouds. I saw some that looked like bunnies, one that looked like a carrot, and one that looked like a squid. I had changed a lot in the last while. Maybe Admiral Uli and all his world exist only in comics, but for me they will always be the very real thing that inspired me to make the trip to Bunny Island in the first place.
And just to be safe, I will always be on the lookout for newts.
Juliet saw the squid-shaped cloud and smiled at me. She was right: things were just as they should be.
“So, what’s this?” Rain asked, picking up the wrapped red box next to him.
“That’s my dad’s wedding present to Zeke,” I answered.
Juliet turned to look at the box. “What is it?”
“Shoes.”
Rain laughed. “Your dad is giving Zeke shoes for his wedding gift? That’s not normal.”
“They’re filled with Jell-O,” I added.
“That sounds about right,” Juliet said happily.
I pressed on the gas, and we raced to the beach going seven miles an hour. Above us the clouds broke apart and drifted away. But in front of us I saw nothing but ocean and endless possibilities.
Luckily, I didn’t need to be an admiral or a squid to realize that.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
People are great. However, some people are greater. One of those greater people is my editor, David Linker. Thanks for getting your hands dirty and molding these books into what they are—you are magical and kind. Thanks as well to my agent Laurie for making this possible. Thanks to Tiffany Liao and Abby Ranger—you were there at the start and hold a special place in my heart (rhyme intended). Thanks to HarperCollins and the amazing work they do. Thanks to Eduardo Vieira. Your art and talent have brought Uli to life in a spectacular way. And thanks to Krista. Sure, I’ve thanked you a million times, but it still seems insufficient.
BOOKS BY OBERT SKYE
Mutant Bunny Island
Mutant Bunny Island #2: Bad Hare Day
BACK ADS
COPYRIGHT
MUTANT BUNNY ISLAND #3: BUNS OF STEEL. Copyright © 2019 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
www.harpercollinschildrens.com
Cover illustration by Eduardo Vieira
Cover art © 2019 by HarperCollins Publishers
Cover design by Joe Merkel
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Skye, Obert, author. | Vieira, Eduardo (Illustrator), illustrator.
Title: Buns of steel / by Obert Skye ; illustrated by Eduardo Vieira.
Description: First edition. | New York, NY : Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, [2019] | Series: Mutant Bunny Island ; #3 | Summary: Shortly after he lands on Bunny Island for vacation, eleven-year-old Perry Owen discovers hostile robot rabbits, but will his friends and family believe him in time to save the island from destruction?
Identifiers: LCCN 2019000129 | ISBN 9780062399175 (hardcover)
Subjects: | CYAC: Rabbits--Fiction. | Islands--Fiction. | Mystery and detective stories. | Humorous stories.
Classification: LCC PZ7.S62877 Bu 2019 | DDC [Fic]--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019000129
* * *
Digital Edition NOVEMBER 2019 ISBN: 978-0-06-239918-2
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-239917-5
1920212223PC/LSCH10987654321
FIRST EDITION
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