Thea Stilton and the Legend of the Fire Flowers (Thea Stilton Graphic Novels Book 15)

Home > Other > Thea Stilton and the Legend of the Fire Flowers (Thea Stilton Graphic Novels Book 15) > Page 6
Thea Stilton and the Legend of the Fire Flowers (Thea Stilton Graphic Novels Book 15) Page 6

by Thea Stilton

Once Ekana and Nahele had untied all

  their friends, the little group climbed

  the stairs and peeked into the observatory’s

  office.

  An unpleasant surprise was

  waiting for them: The lights of the

  seismographs were all flashing at once, and

  the instruments were going off crazily.

  This could only mean one thing.

  Seismic

  activity was occurring.

  Mauna Loa was about to erupt!

  The Thea Sisters looked at one another in

  dismay. Something had to be done

  immediately, but what?

  After a moment’s confusion, Paulina

  snapped into action. She grabbed her phone

  and called Professor Van Kraken.

  “Professor, you were right about

  everything!” she exclaimed. “We’re at

  the observatory, and the instruments are

  going crazy. Mauna Loa is going to erupt any

  minute now!”

  The professor stayed calm. “It’s okay,

  Paulina. Listen to me carefully. Based on my

  calculations

  , the lava will flow in

  the direction of the resort. You need to get

  over there right away and evacuate

  LAVA ALERT!

  the building. Bring everyone

  to safety, do you hear me?”

  “Loud and clear!” Pam

  chimed in.

  The mouselets, Renani, Ekana,

  and Nahele ran to warn the

  researchers in charge of the

  night watch. Then

  they darted outside.

  At that moment, there

  was an extremely

  violent

  rumble, followed by a sharp shake

  beneath their paws. Mauna Loa was about

  to explode!

  There wasn’t a minute to lose. Everyone

  jumped into Renani’s SUV. They sped over

  to the resort faster than a mouse can smell

  melting cheese.

  The guests and the hotel staff were all

  H

  e

  l

  p

  !

  I

  n

  t

  o

  t

  h

  e

  c

  a

  r

  !

  sleeping, so no one had noticed that there

  was lava flowingtoward the building.

  The mouselets, Renani, Ekana, and Nahele

  dashed inside and began knocking on

  all the doors.

  “Wake up! Mauna Loa is

  erupting

  !”

  “Everyone outside at once! You can’t stay

  here, it’s too dangerous!”

  "Run away

  Get to safety!”

  “Quickly, there’s no time to lose!”

  The guests began to spill out of their rooms

  in fear.

  Ruby opened the door to her room and

  began adding to the chaos. “Danger?

  What danger?! You’re just being

  drama queens as usual!”

  pop

  Ruby was determined to make the Thea

  Sisters look bad. . . even at a time like

  this! She stalked out of her room, shouting,

  “One little rumble, and you all start

  yelling

  ! Don’t make a mountain out of a

  mousehill. Just shut your snouts and — HEY!”

  Colette had grabbed her by the paw and

  pulled her toward the window. Fiery sparks

  were

  shooting out

  of the

  mouth of the volcano, and a flood of lava

  was sliding steadily toward the resort. It was

  growing bigger and faster the closer it came.

  Ruby’s eyes opened so wide they looked

  like they were about to

  out of her snout.

  She burst into tears and hugged Colette

  THE USUAL DRAMA

  QUEENS

  hurried

  tighter than a mousetrap

  spring. “Help! I’m begging

  you, don’t leave me alone!”

  Colette disentangled

  herself and tried to

  calm Ruby down.

  “Don’t worry, if we

  can get everyone

  out of the hotel, no

  one will get hurt!”

  Ruby dried her

  tears and began

  to knock on every door she saw. “Everyone

  out! The volcano has erupted,

  your lives are in danger!”

  She shouted

  so loudly that the guests who were still

  uncertain immediately

  out.

  Meanwhile, Ekana, Renani, and Nahele

  escorted the hotel’s staff outside. Then

  they did a quick snout count to make sure no

  one was left in the building.

  “Hurry, come this way!” ordered Ekana.

  “Everyone, get in your cars and drive toward

  the bay!”

  It was a

  race

  against time: The

  lava

  was picking up speed. It threatened

  to catch up with them any moment now.

  As their SUV sped down the road,

  away from danger, Pam noticed a ray of

  light coming from a room high up in the

  resort. She could see the

  shadows

  of

  rodents moving around up there.

  “Wait just a sec. look!” she shouted.

  “There’s still someone in there!”

  Ekana followed her gaze. “That’s the

  window of Sammy’s office!”

  jumped

  The SUV quickly retraced its route to the

  resort. The Thea Sisters ran up to the

  office and burst in to find Sammy Sharkfur

  crouched in front of an open

  safe

  . Next

  to him were George Crusterson, who was

  shining a flashlight inside the safe,

  and the two fake officers, who were putting

  piles of money inside a backpack.

  Pam turned on the overhead light, which

  startled the four dirty rats so much they

  practically

  out of their fur.

  “Surprise!”

  “You again?!” said Sammy with a start.

  “But . . . how did you get free?”

  “Pretty incredible, huh?” teased Nicky.

  “We’re great detectives, plus we have more

  YOU AGAIN?!

  lives

  than a whole pack of street cats!”

  “Okay, that’s it for the witty wisecracks,”

  said Paulina, stepping forward. “Come on,

  we need to get out of here. The resort is

  about to be flooded with

  lava

  ! If you

  stay here, you could be KILLED!”

  “Nonsense!” replied George Crusterson.

  “According to my calculations, the lava will

  exchanged a surprised

  never reach the resort. It’s just a false alarm.”

  As if in response, a strong rumble shook

  the building, and a burst of light illuminated

  the room.

  One of the fake officers ran to peer out the

  window. The lava had reached the wall

  surrounding the resort and was pressing

  closer and closer. The whole resort was

  surrounded by an eerie, glowing light.

  “They’re right!” the officer cried in

  surprise.
“On your paws, everyone.

  We gotta get out of here!” He and his partner

  immediately raced out of the room.

  Sammy shot George a withering look.

  “You and your calculations!” he thundered.

  “You’re a dunce, that’s what you are! Expert

  seismologist, my paw! You’re nothing but a

  quack!”

  The Thea Sisters

  glance. “Takes one to know one, I guess,”

  muttered Pam.

  At that moment, a dense

  wave

  of lava

  began to envelop the resort. The mouselets

  didn’t waste another second. They pushed

  Sammy and George out of the room and out

  into the resort’s circular driveway.

  In the rush to escape, Sammy dropped

  his backpack full of money. Just as he realized

  he had lost it . . . it was engulfed in lava!

  WHOOSH!

  The Thea Sisters and the two thugs

  reached safety in the nick of time. An instant

  later, the resort was swept away by lava. The

  glowing red tide devoured everything in its

  path: buildings, rocks, trees — it was all

  swallowed up.

  “M-my . . . my money . . .” Sammy Sharkfur

  moaned in dismay. But it was too late.

  Sammy Sharkfur and George Crusterson

  had barely escaped with their fur. But a bitter

  surprise awaited them. The two good-

  for-nothings quickly realized that rescue

  teams of firefighters weren’t the only

  ones greeting them — the real police were

  there, too. In fact, their two fake–police

  officer friends were already sitting inside a

  real police car — in

  pawcuffs

  !

  “What is going on here?!” yelled Sammy.

  The police commissioner took two more

  pairs of pawcuffs off his belt. “Sammy

  Sharkfur, we’ve had our eye on you and your

  accomplices for a while now! We have

  YOU GET WHAT’S

  COMING TO YOU

  evidence that proves you corrupted dozens

  of officials to get the permits for your resort’s

  construction.”

  Sammy Sharkfur was sweating more than

  a shiny slice of Swiss.

  “That’s not all!” the commissioner

  continued, getting angry. “You tricked your

  business partner into pawing over his

  land

  .

  You and George Crusterson hid information

  about Mauna Loa, risking the

  safety

  of

  the entire Hilo population. You and your

  accomplices are under arrest!”

  After a moment, Sammy regained his usual

  confidence. “Under arrest?! With what

  proof?” he said scornfully. “You don’t have

  any! My office has been swept away by

  lava

  ! There are no documents; it’s all

  lost! So there is nothing you can

  prove about me or my business.”

  “Oh, there’s proof, all right!” interjected

  Paulina suddenly. She pulled out her

  MousePhone

  .

  Sammy looked at her quizzically. Professor

  Crusterson turned

  paler

  than a ball

  of mozzarella.

  “You forgot about today’s technology, Mr.

  Sharkfur,” Paulina said sharply. “My

  MousePhone is an excellent recording

  device!”

  Paulina pressed a button, and suddenly

  Sammy’s squeak rang out loud and clear:

  “Why should I care about the population?”

  Luckily, Paulina had thought to hit

  record on her phone in her pocket when

  Sammy and his friends discovered the Thea

  Sisters at the observatory!

  Paulina pressed the STOP button, and

  everyone turned toward Sammy Sharkfur.

  Sammy’s arrogance had

  slipped away like cheese off a cracker, and he

  was left angrily squeezing his paws into

  fists. “I would’ve gotten away with it, too, if

  it weren’t for you meddling mouselets!” he

  cried.

  At dawn the next day, the volcano finally

  stopped erupting. The last of the lava slid

  into the ocean without causing any further

  damage. Fortunately, the only building that

  was damaged was the Fire Flowers Resort.

  That wasn’t too big a surprise: It was the

  only building in the path of the

  volcano

  !

  “It had to end this way,” sighed Ekana,

  resigned.

  The Thea Sisters, Renani, Ekana, and

  Nahele were at the shore, watching the

  red-hot lava slowly fade on the volcano.

  What an incredible spectacle of nature!

  Nahele put a paw around his grandson.

  “You will soon find your way, grandson. And

  this time, no shortcuts!”

  A NEW DAY

  W

  h

  a

  t

  a

  s

  i

  g

  h

  t

  !

  Look!

  I

  n

  e

  v

  e

  r

  t

  h

  o

  u

  g

  h

  t

  I

  ’

  d

  s

  e

  e

  W

  o

  w

  !

  U

  n

  b

  e

  l

  i

  e

  v

  a

  b

  l

  e

  !

  a

  n

  y

  t

  h

  i

  n

  g

  l

  i

  k

  e

  t

  h

  i

  s

  !

  Ekana smiled at him. “I learned my

  lesson! I’m just glad no one was hurt.” He

  turned to the thea sisters and bowed.

  “I have you to thank for that.”

  Colette, Nicky, Pam, Paulina, and Violet

  blushed from the tips of their snouts to the

  tips of their tails.

  The little group began to walk toward the

  city stadium, where the hula competition

  had been held. That’s where everyone had

  agreed to meet after the eruption. Because of

  the state of emergency, the competition

  was suspended, and no winners were

  announced. It would be postponed until the

  following year.

  Instead of being upset about

  the competition, Ruby thanked Colette and

  the other Thea Sisters. “I have to admit, if it

  weren’t for you mouselets, I’d be a

  roasted rat right now!” But she

  couldn’t resist adding,

  “Obviously, the Ruby

  Crew already has next year’s

  competition all sewn up!”

  cosmetics

  It was time to go home. All the hula

  competitors headed over to Hilo airpo
rt to

  catch their planes and say good-bye. Everyone

  had managed to save a bit of luggage

  from the volcano. Even the Thea Sisters each

  had a small backpack. In fact, Colette had

  somehow managed to save her pink purse,

  her rolling suitcase, and her

  bag.

  “Colette, I can’t believe it! How were you

  able to take all of that stuff during the chaos

  of the eruption?”

  exclaimed

  Nicky.

  “This was the bare minimum for me!”

  Colette explained, shrugging.

  Renani offered to drive his new friends

  to the airport. When it was time to say good-

  bye, he and Nicky hugged warmly.

  ALOHA OE!

  remember

  “Here, I got something for you,” said

  Renani shyly, pulling a small package from

  his pocket.

  The mouselet unwrapped it eagerly. It

  was a CD of Hawaiian songs! “Just a little

  something to

  me by,” Renani said.

  Nicky smiled and blushed. “Thank you! I

  plane

  interrupt,

  can’t wait to listen to it.”

  “Nicky? I don’t want to

  but our plane is taking off any minute now,”

  said Pam.

  So the mouselets said their good-byes. As

  soon as the

  took off, Nicky started

  listening to the CD. It was

  filled with beautiful

  Hawaiian songs about

  friendship. She curled up

  in her chair and let herself

  be swept away by the music. She sighed

  happily. Soon, she’d dozed off with the

  headphones still in her

  ears, and the music

  warmed her heart

  all the way back to

  Whale Island.

  When the Thea Sisters got to the end of their

  TALE, I was spilling over

  with questions. “So, what happened to

  Sammy Sharkfur, Professor Crusterson, and

  their accomplices?” I asked, curious.

  ANOTHER GREAT

  SCOOP

  “They’re in the slammer, where

 

‹ Prev