Deep Trouble II (5 page)

“Bite him back,” Mel muttered.

Adam bared his teeth at me. But he didn’t bite me. And he didn’t tighten my
ropes.

My plan worked. I was tied to the chair—but not as tightly as he thought.

Mel and Adam studied us. “Okay. We’ve taken care of them,” Mel said. “Let’s
go get some lunch.”

They left the cabin, shutting the door behind them. I could hear them in the
little galley, rattling plates and silverware.

I glanced out the porthole to my right. The boat was speeding away, far from
the
Cassandra.
Out to sea.

I jiggled my hands, trying to loosen the ropes. They were tied pretty well.
If I could just get the rope to stretch a little…

“What could this guy Ritter be up to?” Dr. D. wondered out loud. He wasn’t
really talking to me and Sheena. He was figuring things out for himself.

“This plankton he’s invented really does make fish grow bigger,” he said. “It
could help end hunger in the world.”

“Isn’t that good, Dr. D.?” Sheena asked.

I rubbed my wrists against the ropes. Come on, loosen, I thought.

“It might be good,” Dr. D. went on. “But it could be bad too. It could throw
the whole balance of nature off.”

Rub, rub, rub. I tested the ropes. Were they a little looser?

“I mean, what are these giant fish supposed to eat? More and more plankton?
They might eat up all the little fish. They might even start eating
people.
Who knows?”

I stretched my hands against the ropes. The knot had loosened! I tried to
pull one of my hands through.

No. Still too tight.

“And Dr. Ritter mentioned some kinks,” my uncle continued. “Some problems. I
wonder what he was talking about. It could be anything.”

I strained to hear what Mel and Adam were doing in the galley. It sounded as
if they had taken their lunch up on deck.

I yanked the ropes hard. I felt something give.

I squeezed one hand through the rope. The knot burned against my skin.

Pulling, pulling…

I got it out! One hand was free!

“Dr. D.!” I whispered. I held up my free hand.

“Good going, Billy!” he whispered back.

I untied my other hand and leaped up to untie my uncle.

“Billy, hurry!” Sheena urged me. “Maybe we can sneak off the boat!”

Then the door flew open.

“You interrupted my lunch,” Dr. Ritter said, shaking his head. “That’s not
very polite.”

He blocked the doorway. Mel and Adam planted themselves beside him.

“You want to get off the boat?” he asked. “That can be arranged. Mel, Adam.
Take them on deck!” he ordered.

Mel and Adam untied Sheena and Dr. D. and dragged us upstairs. Dr. Ritter’s
lunch—sandwiches, a salad—sat half eaten on a table.

The two men herded us to the side of the boat. I looked down.

The ocean churned beneath us. No other boats, not a patch of land in sight.

No one, nothing to save us.

Nothing but sea—endless, deep sea.

And gigantic, hungry, sea creatures.

“Which one of you will jump first?” Dr. Ritter asked. “Or do you all want to
go together?”

I gazed down at the thrashing waves. Then I took a deep breath—

And got ready to jump.

The waves crashed beneath me. My heart pounded so hard, it hurt.

I sucked in a lungful of air. This could be my last breath, I realized.

“Stop!” Dr. D. cried. “Let me jump, Ritter. Spare the kids. They can’t harm
you or your experiments.”

“I think a family should stick together,” Dr. Ritter said. “Especially a
family of snoops.”

“We’re not snoops!” Sheena protested. “We can’t help it if we accidentally
saw some of your big fish!”

“We won’t tell anyone about them! Really!” I cried.

Dr. Ritter leaned close to Sheena. “Perhaps
you
would like to go
first?”

Sheena glared at him, but I saw her shaking. I knew she was really scared.
And Sheena hardly ever gets scared.

“Leave her alone,” Dr. D. warned. “Take us to an island—any island. Whatever is nearest. Then we won’t be able to tell
anyone about your plankton experiments.”

Dr. Ritter scowled. “There are no islands nearby. And I can’t take the
chance. Sorry.”

Dr. D. refused to give up. He kept trying to stall, to talk his way out of
this.

But there was no way. I could see that.

Think! Think! I ordered myself desperately. There’s got to be some way to
escape. There’s got to be.

I glanced around, searching for something,
anything.
Maybe a life
jacket! Didn’t they have life jackets on the boat? Or a floating ring?

If I could grab some kind of float, at least we’d have a chance.

But I didn’t see anything on the deck. I craned my neck to look back at the
stern.

My heart beat faster. Yes! A rubber lifeboat.

“What are you looking at, kid?” Mel growled. “You looking for the coast guard
or something? Believe me, there’s no one around to rescue you so forget about
it.”

“I—I wasn’t looking at anything,” I stammered. I was so scared, I could
hardly breathe.

“Enough of this stalling around,” Dr. Ritter interrupted. “You’re wasting my
time. And you’re wasting your breath. And you’re going to need all the breath
you’ve got. It’s time for a swim.”

Sheena let out a scream.

“Let her go,” Dr. D. shouted.

Two strong hands gripped my shoulders.

“Help!” I shrieked. “Please—no!”

But screaming did no good.

They pushed me over the side.

I shut my eyes and prepared for the cold shock of the water.

But I didn’t fall.

The strong hands didn’t let go.

I felt myself pulled back into the boat—as a dark shadow swept overhead.

“Huh?” I blinked several times. Was it a shadow—or my eyes?

I heard a deafening noise. A clattering. A beating sound.

I turned to Dr. D. He and the others all had their eyes on the sky.

A helicopter? I thought. Is it a helicopter? Someone to rescue us?

No. That clapping, pounding sound couldn’t be a helicopter’s roar.

Another shadow swooped over the boat.

And then an ugly cry ripped through the air.

RRRAAAAAK! RRAAAAAAK!

“Oh, no!” Dr. D. cried. “Here they come!”

I shielded my eyes with one hand. And I saw them.

Swooping low. Two enormous birds. Seagulls. Seagulls as big as my golden Lab
back home!

RRRAAAAAK! RRAAAAAK!
Their sharp cries were so shrill, they hurt my ears.

“Here come two more victims of your great experiments, Ritter,” my uncle
shouted over the pounding of their wings.

“They must have eaten the plankton too!” Dr. Ritter exclaimed.

The birds circled the boat. They cast huge shadows over us, their wings
stretched out like sails.

As I squinted up at them, they stopped circling.

And lowered their talons.

Are they hunting for food? I wondered, staring up at the sharp bird claws,
gleaming in the sunlight.

Are
we
the food?

Before we could duck or try to hide, the two huge birds soared toward us.

Talons raised. Ready to clutch their prey.

Screeching all the way down.

I froze in panic.

The screeching rang in my ears. Filled my brain. Made me feel as if my head
would burst.

I stared up at the raised talons.

The shadows of the screeching birds washed over me.

And then I felt a strong hand pushing me down. Down to the deck. I turned
back and saw my uncle, his jaw set, his eyes on the sky.

He pushed Sheena and me down. Then moved over us. Protecting us.

I couldn’t see them. But I felt the heavy
thud
as the two heavy gulls
landed on the boat.

And then I heard the shouts of Dr. Ritter and his men. Angry shouts, over the
shrill squawks of the birds.

I twisted my head. Tried to see. But my uncle pushed my head down again.
Holding his arms over Sheena and me.

I heard a struggle behind us. More squawks. More frantic cries.

I heard the heavy pounding of wings.

A table fell over. Dishes crashed to the floor.

A cry of pain.

“Quick, kids—now’s our chance!” Dr. D. whispered. He pulled us to our feet.
Then, protecting us with his back, he shoved us across the deck to the lifeboat.

“Billy! Help me untie this thing!” Dr. D. ordered.

The three of us struggled with the knots that held the lifeboat to the deck.

“Hurry!” Dr. D. urged us. “Before they see what we’re up to!”

“
RRRAAAAK!
” I turned and saw that one of the birds had Adam pinned under
its sharp claws. Mel and Dr. Ritter were struggling to pull the powerful bird
off him.

“This knot’s undone!” Sheena announced. She worked on another knot.

I nervously tugged at the knot in my hands. I was so scared, I couldn’t
think. My fingers felt thick and clumsy.

Hurry! I ordered myself. Hurry—before they catch us!

Finally, I ripped open the last knot and pulled the lifeboat free. Dr. D.
tossed it into the water, holding it by a rope.

“Okay. Let’s go! Jump in! Now!”

I gripped the rail of the motorboat and braced myself to jump.

“Hey!” I heard a cry behind me. I turned back and saw Mel staring at us. “Hey—they’re getting away!”

He motioned to us. “Stop!” he shouted. He grabbed a spear gun. “Don’t move!”
he ordered.

I hesitated. The sharp point of the metal spear sparkled in the sunlight.

Would he really shoot us?

“Go, kids! Now!” Dr. D. cried.

Mel aimed the spear gun at my uncle—and fired.

WHOOSH!

I couldn’t see it. It moved so fast, I could only
hear
the spear fly
through the air.

To my horror, Dr. D. slumped to the deck.

“You—you
shot
him!” I shrieked.

“Dr. D.! Dr. D.!” Sheena cried. We both hurried to his side.

Our uncle sat up.

“It—it missed!” He seemed surprised. He leaped to his feet. “Into the
lifeboat, kids!” he cried.

A gull squawked. I heard Adam scream. Mel turned back to help him.

I took a running jump, shut my eyes, and threw myself overboard.

PLOP!
I landed in the soft rubber boat. Sheena jumped in after me. Then
Dr. D.

“Stop, or I’ll shoot!” Dr. Ritter called. He picked up Mel’s spear gun and
aimed it at us.

A gull’s wing bumped his arm, knocking the gun into the water.

We frantically scooped our hands through the water, paddling away from Dr.
Ritter’s boat.

“You can’t escape!” Dr. Ritter called after us, shaking his fist. “I’ll get
you!”

Dr. D. grabbed the lifeboat paddles. He started paddling with all his
strength. The ocean pulled us away.

The ocean turned rough and foamy. A wind kicked up and blasted us, churning
up huge waves. The waves carried us quickly out to sea.

Dr. Ritter’s boat faded into the distance.

“Well, we escaped,” Sheena sighed. “But where are we
going
?”

No sign of land anywhere. No sign of another boat. Nothing but water.
Churning water and crashing waves.

The rubber lifeboat smacked down hard on the water. “Hold on, kids,” Dr. D.
shouted. “Here comes a big one!”

I gripped the sides of the boat as a huge wave tossed us into the air.

THUMP!
We landed in a valley between waves. Then another wave smashed
over us.

I shivered, totally soaked.

“Is everybody okay?” Dr. D. asked. Sheena and I nodded.

Then a gigantic wave caught us from behind.

The lifeboat bounced high in the air. I clung to the side.

But Sheena’s hands slipped off. She flew up into the air—and disappeared
into the white foam.

“Sheena!” I screamed. “She fell overboard!”

Her head bobbed up. “H-h-help!” she sputtered. She sank below again, her arms
thrashing.

I waited for her to bob back up.

Waited.

Waited.

Please—I prayed.

And then there she was. I leaned over the side. Leaned forward. More. More…

And grabbed her arm and hauled her back into the boat.

“Are you all right, Sheena?” Dr. D. asked.

She coughed. Water ran down her face. “I think so.”

Dr. D. held on to her as another big wave drenched us.

We huddled in the lifeboat, wet, shivering, hungry, and tired. The lifeboat
puddled with water. It was like sitting in a wading pool.

The sky grew dark. It would be night soon.

We’ll have to spend the night out here, I realized. Out here in the middle of
the ocean.

We can’t even rest. The ocean is so rough. If we let go of the boat for a
second, we could be thrown into the sea.

We had no food, no water. Nothing.

“It can’t get any worse than this, can it?” I demanded. “Can it?” Sheena
sneezed. Dr. D. said nothing. It can’t get any worse, I repeated to myself.
And then it did.

The sky darkened to black. Then lightning crackled overhead.

KABOOM!

A roar of thunder shook our tiny lifeboat.

Rain poured down on us. Heavy sheets of cold rain.

“I don’t believe this!” Sheena wailed. She wiped strands of wet hair from her
face.

We sat glumly in the boat. The waves bounced us. The wind blew across our
drenched skin. The rain hammered down on us.

Lightning ripped across the sky.

Dr. D. gazed up at the heavy, low clouds and frowned. “It’s not going to let
up anytime soon,” he announced.

Great.

Meanwhile, the lifeboat filled up with water.

Dr. D. tried to scoop the water out with his hands. “Help me bail, kids!” he
ordered. “If the boat fills up too much, we’ll sink!”