Creature Keepers and the Perilous Pyro-Paws

by Peter Nelson

  “Something out there, son?” Mr. Grimsley said as he approached. Jordan took one last look. Eldon tossed the carrots to Hap, who sprinted off toward the swamp like a football player, with Peggy in hot pursuit. Doris and the Keepers came around the corner and had to dive out of the way as Peggy nearly trampled them. Eldon looked up at Jordan. He gave a grin and a thumbs-up, then collapsed into the hedge.

  Jordan’s father joined him at the window. “What is it?”

  Jordan let out a sigh of relief. “Just a pesky badger flopping around in the hedges.”

  “Well, come sit down,” Mrs. Grimsley said. “We’ve got another surprise!”

  “We’re going on a vacation!” Mr. Grimsley blurted out, stealing his wife’s news. “Just us! Gonna grab some Grimsley Family Fun Time! How great is that?”

  Abbie stepped forward. “What? When?”

  “Right away!” Mrs. Grimsley said. “Before the two of you start at your new school. “You’ve worked so hard and done so much for us, and we feel awful that we took away your vacations this past year to work on this old house.”

  “Uh, that’s very nice and all,” Jordan said, “but we really don’t need a vacation. We’re happy to stay here and make sure everything’s running smoothly—”

  “Ranger Master Bernie said you’d say that!” Mr. Grimsley held up four colorful tickets. “That’s why he sent us these!”

  “It would be rude not to use them,” Mrs. Grimsley said. “He’s very nice.”

  “Ranger Master Bernie?” Jordan said.

  Abbie snatched the tickets from her dad and quickly read them. “He’s booked the four of us on a cruise across the Gulf of Mexico?”

  “Specifically, the Yucatan Peninsula!” Mr. Grimsley said.

  Ranger Master Bernie was not an actual Ranger, or a Master, or even a person. He was actually Bernard the Skunk Ape, with his fur shaved off, stuffed into one of Eldon’s old Badger Ranger uniforms. Disguised as a Ranger Master, he’d fooled Jordan and Abbie’s parents in the past, convincing them to send their children off on secret Creature Keeper missions. It was still slightly amazing to both Jordan and Abbie that their parents fell for it the first time, never mind the two or three times since. But he’d never sent all four of them anywhere together.

  “Well?” their dad said. “Who’s ready for some Grimsley Family Fun Time?”

  “Uh, we are,” Abbie said. “I guess.”

  An idea struck Jordan. “But we’d like to bring our friend Eldon along if that’s okay.” He and Abbie shared a look, and she understood immediately.

  “That’s your friend you told us so much about,” Mrs. Grimsley said. “We’d love to have him join us.”

  “I don’t know,” Mr. Grimsley said. “Inviting a non-Grimsley kind of dilutes Grimsley Family Fun Time, don’t you think?”

  “We’re kind of his only friends,” Jordan said. “It’d really mean a lot to him to come.”

  “Please, Roger,” Mrs. Grimsley said.

  They all looked at Mr. Grimsley, who wasn’t thrilled. “All right,” he finally said. “Give him one of our tickets, and I’ll order an extra one. I just hope he can muster some of the Grimsley spirit.”

  “Don’t worry, he’ll fit right in,” Abbie said. “He’s a total dorkface.”

  Jordan and Abbie ran through the swamp toward the boathouse, searching for Eldon. Before they reached his pup tent, they tripped over the exhausted Badger Ranger, who was lying against a tree, sipping from his canteen, drenched in sweat.

  “What are you doing down there?” Abbie asked.

  “Where’s Peggy?” Jordan said.

  “She’s back down below,” Eldon said. “Hap and I were able to wrestle her through the greenhouse entrance.”

  “You look awful,” Abbie said.

  “Golly, thanks. Next time I’ll let you wrangle a giant Jackalope into submission. I’m getting too old for this stuff.” He took another swig from his canteen.

  “Eldon, listen to us. Our parents are taking us on a trip. A family vacation. And you have to come with us.”

  “Family vacation? Me? No, no. I couldn’t possibly. I’d be a fifth wheel.”

  Abbie held up the tickets. “Forget fifth wheels—this might be about the fourth special.”

  “Look at the tickets,” Jordan said. “The trip is to the Yucatan Peninsula, just across the Gulf of Mexico. And Bernard is the one who sent these to our parents.”

  Eldon suddenly looked taken aback. He snatched the tickets and read them.

  “Don’t you remember?” Abbie said. “Wilford told us how the three special cryptids were born from huge world-changing extinction events that happened over the millennia! The Yeti himself came from a massive ice age. An explosion of new tree and plant life created Syd the Sasquatch from the soil. And it was a shift in the seas that flooded the earth and was responsible for Nessie!”

  Eldon looked up at them.

  “He also told us about a fourth extinction event,” Jordan said. “An asteroid that struck the earth with such impact it left a crater a hundred and ten miles wide.”

  “And probably wiped out the dinosaurs,” Abbie said.

  “The Yucatan Peninsula’s Chicxulub crater,” Eldon said. “But this can’t be right. There are no documented cryptids from that area.”

  “Not documented,” Abbie said.

  “Not yet,” Jordan added.

  Eldon was catching on. “If this cataclysmic event yielded a fourth special cryptid with a fourth elemental power, how’d it go undetected for millions of years?”

  Abbie shrugged. “All I know is every time that Skunk Ape of yours shaves off his fur, squeezes his burly butt into your old Badger Ranger shorts, and tricks our parents into letting us go somewhere, I end up meeting some weird creature.”

  “It can’t be a coincidence,” Jordan said. “None of this can.”

  “You don’t think Bernard’s in some kind of trouble, do you?” Eldon said.

  “I don’t think he would’ve found the time to purchase cruise tickets for the four of us if he were in any kind of danger,” Jordan said.

  “You’re right,” Eldon said. “Maybe he found some clue and wanted us to check it out right away!” His smile suddenly turned to a concentrated scowl. “But why invite your parents?”

  “Maybe he got another distress call, like Doris said,” Abbie suggested.

  “I bet he’s on his way here with a new Keeper he’s rescued, and knew he’d need our folks out of here for a few days,” Jordan added. “Pretty smart of him, if you ask me.”

  Eldon wiped away a tear.

  “What’s with you?” Abbie said.

  “I’m just so proud of that darned Skunk Ape.”

  “So you’ll come with us, then?” Jordan said.

  Eldon let out a sniffle, then gave them a Badger Ranger salute. “First-Class Badger Ranger Eldon Pecone reporting for duty.”

  9

  The Mayan Princess wasn’t exactly a cruise ship—it was more like a giant yacht. It only held a few hundred passengers, but it had many of the same fancy trappings as one of those floating hotel-like ships, including a swimming pool, sauna, multiple decks, and an entire floor of cozy, ocean-view cabins.

  Jordan and Abbie made their way onboard and through the various levels, finally exiting onto the top outer deck. A crowd of passengers pushed against the railing, waving good-bye to people on the dock below.

  “Where’s Eldon?” Abbie asked, pushing through the crowd with her brother.

  “He said he had to pack some things, and he’d meet us here on the ship,” Jordan said. “But I don’t know how we’re going to find him with all these people!”

  Abbie scanned the sea of tourists. Among the bright blue Bermuda shorts, blindingly orange flowery Hawaiian shirts, and neon-green tank tops, she spotted a drab brown hat floating above the crowd. “I see him,” she said.

  They found him standing alone near a bathroom door, looking pale and jittery. “Eldon, are you okay?” Jordan said. />
  Eldon took a sip from his canteen. “I’m just a little seasick.”

  “We haven’t even left the dock yet,” Abbie said.

  “Our parents are around here somewhere,” Jordan said. “They’re eager to meet you.” Jordan looked back at the crowd. “I think I see them.” He yelled toward the front of the ship. “Mom! Dad! Over here!”

  Eldon suddenly seemed to turn paler. He put his hand over his mouth like he was going to be sick. He rushed into the bathroom, slammed the door, and locked it behind him, just as Mr. and Mrs. Grimsley approached.

  “Hey, kids!” Mr. Grimsley said loudly. He was wearing a Hawaiian shirt with a bright goldfish and teal kelp pattern. “Isn’t this great?”

  “Where’s your friend?” Mrs. Grimsley said. “Did Eldon get onboard all right? We’re shoving off any minute.”

  Jordan gestured toward the closed bathroom door. “He’s not feeling well.”

  Eldon’s muffled voice came through the door. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Grimsley. Thank you for including me in your family vacation.”

  “Oh! Our pleasure!” Mr. Grimsley shouted at the door. “Jordan and Abbie speak very highly of you. Nice to, er, meet you. Sort of.” He glanced at Jordan and Abbie, then leaned closer to them. “I thought you said he was a First-Class Badger Ranger,” he said in a softer voice.

  “He is,” Abbie said. “I also told you he was a first-class dorkface.”

  “Well, he doesn’t seem to be cut from the heartiest Badger Ranger material.”

  “Be nice,” Mrs. Grimsley admonished them. “Although I must say, he’s not at all like that rugged Master Ranger Bernie, is he?”

  “Sorry to interrupt you, Mr. and Mrs. Grimsley,” Eldon said through the door. “But you should know that I can hear everything you’re saying.”

  “Well, you just take your time and feel better!” Mr. Grimsley yelled into the door. “And when you’re ready, come and join us on the Lido deck by the pool! We’ll have plenty of time to talk and get to know one another once we’re on the open sea. It’s a twelve-hour trip, after all!”

  Eldon answered with a horrible retching sound.

  Mr. and Mrs. Grimsley made their way off through the crowd. Jordan and Abbie leaned an ear to the door. “Hey, Eldon,” Abbie said. “Hang in there, okay?” She was answered with a gagging sound. She shrugged at Jordan and walked to join her parents.

  Jordan leaned in next. “Hey, buddy. Listen, before we left the house I told Doris to let us know when Bernard returns to the swamp. She’ll have him radio us with whatever info he has on the fourth special creature. Then we can spoor for this mystery cryptid together, just like old times, okay?” What he heard back was more retching. “Don’t worry about making it to dinner if you don’t feel up to it. You’re in cabin B-14, just down the hall from us. If we don’t see you tonight, we’ll find you in the morning. Rest up and you’ll feel good as new for our adventure tomorrow!”

  The door unlocked. It opened a bit. Jordan stepped back as Eldon’s hand slowly emerged, with a very tenuous thumbs-up. Jordan slipped the key to Eldon’s cabin into his hand, and it disappeared again, the bathroom door locking once more.

  That night, after an Eldon-less dinner with his parents and sister, Jordan lay in the bottom bunk of the cabin he was sharing with Abbie. He could hardly sleep. Here they were, on their way to do the one thing Jordan had fantasized about ever since he’d read Grampa Grimsley’s journal. He always wondered what it must have been like for his grandfather to go on an expedition and track and discover a never-before-seen cryptid. And this was not any cryptid. What they were looking for was quite possibly the fourth special cryptid, one in possession of the last elemental power. He only wished his grandfather could be with them.

  “Hey, Abbie,” Jordan whispered to the top bunk. “Do you think when we find the fourth special creature we get to name it? Or do you think it picks its own name?”

  “I don’t know,” her voice came back through the darkness. “Depends on how smart it is, I guess.”

  “If we do get to name it, is it okay if I pick the name?”

  “It depends.”

  “On what?”

  “On whether or not you pick a dumb name.”

  Jordan thought for a moment. “Well, if it’s a girl cryptid, I think I’d like to name her Ellerie Rose. Whaddya think?”

  There was a silence. Jordan suddenly hoped his sister had fallen asleep and hadn’t heard him. Then suddenly Abbie’s voice replied in the darkness.

  “Yeah. Ellerie Rose is actually a very cool name.”

  The next morning, Jordan opened his eyes to see a horribly familiar face staring at him. He shrieked and tossed Abbie’s overweight pet iguana off his chest. Chunk hit the floor like a sack of wet ham. “What is that thing doing here?”

  Abbie leaned her head upside down over the edge of the top bunk, still half asleep. She looked at Jordan, then at Chunk, then back at Jordan. “He was trying to sleep. We both were. Till you woke us up.”

  Chunk was safely hidden in Abbie’s backpack as the two of them made their way down the hall to cabin B-14. The door was ajar, so they pushed it open and looked inside. There was no sign of Eldon, but his bed had been slept in.

  They began searching the ship for him, keeping an eye on the approaching horizon. They came across their parents happily sitting in the breakfast rotunda behind a mountainous stack of all-you-can-eat waffles.

  “Pull up a plate!” Mr. Grimsley exclaimed through a mouthful of fried batter, butter, and syrup. “Gotta fill up for Grimsley Family Fun Time!”

  “No thanks, Dad,” Jordan said. “Have you seen Eldon anywhere?”

  Mr. Grimsley shook his head. “We literally have never seen him. Wouldn’t know him if he served me these waffles!”

  “Is he feeling better?” Mrs. Grimsley asked. “I feel so badly for him.”

  Before they could answer, a voice came over the ship intercom: “Good morning, passengers. We are now approaching the port city of Progreso, Mexico, and will be docking at el Terminal Remota, the longest pier in the world. Please feel free to disembark and explore this wonderful seaside village on the Yucatan Peninsula. You may contact our lovely and helpful cruise director at the information kiosk for things to do and see on your visit. Buenos dias!”

  “I’m sure Eldon’s all right,” Jordan said. “But we should probably find him before we reach the port. We’ll check in with you guys later.”

  They didn’t want to worry their parents, but as soon as they were out of their sight, Jordan and Abbie ran to the bathroom where Eldon had last been spotted. Finding it empty, they continued searching as the ship docked. He was nowhere to be found. They stood against a railing, scanning the lower decks.

  “Hey, you guys! Down here!” Eldon’s voice called to them from farther below. Eldon was waving from the pier. He had his backpack on, looking eager to explore. “Let’s go!” he yelled up. “That undiscovered creature isn’t gonna spoor itself!”

  10

  El Terminal Remota was indeed the longest pier in the world. Basically a straight, double-laned road that ran five miles out from the coast, it connected the beachy mainland of Progreso, Mexico, to the deep water dock where the yachts and cruise ships came in. At the deep end, a large gathering area served as a parking lot for taxis, buses, and tour guides waiting to shuttle tourists into town as they stepped off their ships. It also served as a vibrant marketplace and boardwalk, with booths and shops filled with locals selling T-shirts, gifts, and adventurous excursions—from the ancient Mayan pyramid tours in the nearby jungles, to deep sea fishing trips, to cave spelunking, whale watching, and more.

  Abbie, Jordan, and Eldon walked past all the touristy wonders, determined to begin an adventure that wasn’t likely to be offered by any guide or local vendor.

  “I’m glad you’re feeling better,” Jordan said to Eldon.

  Eldon sipped from his canteen. “I just needed to get off that ship. Any news from Doris?”
>
  “I contacted her this morning,” Jordan said. “Bernard still hasn’t shown up.”

  “I’m sure he’s okay,” Abbie said quickly. “I mean, he sent us here, so that probably means he was too busy helping other Keepers or he would have picked us up and brought us here himself.”

  Eldon nodded. “I know. I just miss him. And I’m worried he took a dangerous risk to discover what he’s sent us here to find. What if he got too close to these Face Chompers?”

  “Even if he did, we know he’s okay,” Jordan said. “He wouldn’t have booked us on that leisurely cruise if he were in some sort of danger. I bet he’s on his way back to Okeeyuckachokee right now with another Keeper he’s rescued. When he lands, Doris will tell him we got his secret message, and he’ll help us find whatever it is we’re supposed to be looking for.”

  “What are we supposed to be looking for?” Abbie said.

  “I don’t know,” Eldon said, looking past them. “But that might be a good place to start.”

  A small booth set up along the boardwalk sported a sign that read: Behold the Chicxulub Crater. Beneath it an artist’s painting depicted an asteroid slamming into the earth, with some very surprised-looking dinosaurs standing around in the foreground.

  “That’s the extinction event Wilford told us about,” Abbie said, stepping toward the booth.

  A young girl smiled at them as she offered Abbie a map. “Welcome to Paradiso. Are you interested in learning about the crater?”

  “We’d like a guide to take us on a tour,” Abbie said. “Is it far from here?”

  The girl began to giggle.

  “Sorry,” Abbie said. “But I wasn’t really going for funny.”

  “You are standing over the crater right now,” the girl said. “You are in it.” She turned and gestured across the Gulf of Mexico behind her. The others gazed out at the turquoise water. “This area is roughly half the Chicxulub crater,” she said. She turned and pointed inland, toward a low mountain ridge curving beyond the sandy beach and green jungle. “The other half is on land, extending along those hills.”