Sucked Under (8 page)

‘Great breakfast, Saffy.' Mac dropped his plate into the sink. ‘I will definitely be bringing you on a Hunt again.'

‘Don't expect pancakes every time,' she muttered.

Mac grinned. ‘Check this out,' he said, and opened the door.

Bright light flooded in through the doorway.

They were right on the shore of a lake.

‘Is that,' Felix asked incredulously, ‘the sun?'

Saffy jumped up from the table and ran outside. ‘Well, if we're going to die,' she called back, ‘it might as well be here. This is paradise.'

Jasper stepped through the doorway and right onto the banks of the most beautiful lake he had ever seen. The water sparkled invitingly, and the sun beat down on his back. ‘Even though I
know
what's in there, I
still
want to jump in.'

Saffy was already dipping her toes in the water that lapped at the bank.

‘I can't believe how good the sun feels!' Felix said, ripping off his hoodie.

‘And no stupid snow!' Jasper flicked off his shoes and wriggled his feet in the sand.

Jasper gazed out over the water. There were icy peaks in the distance, but the sun was warm.

The water looked
so
tempting. He just couldn't imagine anything horrible lurking in there.

‘So, that's the lake. Nice, huh? We're not due back for a couple of days, so if we catch the Glibberhowl tonight, then you'll have a whole day to enjoy yourselves,' Mac said.

Jasper smiled just thinking about it. He turned back to Mac, who was standing in the doorway to what looked like a run-down old cabin. The outside didn't match the insides at all. Jasper had to poke his head back inside to make sure the cabin really was where they were staying.

‘I thought we must be in some fancy hotel or something,' Jasper commented.

Mac shook his head. ‘Nah, Monstrum House has people who sort out accommodation before the Hunt crew arrives. We don't want to attract attention, and fancy places don't let kids stay by themselves, so we do up old shacks like this one. They don't look like much, but on the inside – pure luxury.'

Jasper wondered if his mum ever did that in her work for Monstrum. She had a lot of explaining to do when he got home. And he'd have a lot to tell her. It was a relief to know he could tell her what he'd been doing, and that she'd believe him. He knew she would be proud that he made it to a Hunt in his first year.

Now all he had to do was survive it.

13

Jasper and Felix were hunched over a mound of junk. Bits and pieces of wire and plastic stuck up all around them, along with broken toys, bottle tops and an old rubber hose.

Jasper was still annoyed that they weren't allowed to invent outside while taking in some sun and sand. But Mac had pointed out that a group of kids poring over rubbish didn't exactly look normal.

Felix slammed the manual closed. ‘Nothing,' he huffed.

‘I told you,' Jasper replied. He had already been through the
Functional Fixedness Helpful
Hints Handbook,
looking for something that might help them make the gadget they needed. But he couldn't see anything in there.

Saffy stomped through the door, carrying three giant milkshakes, her hunt belt clipped loosely around her waist.

‘Good one, although it took you long enough.' Felix grabbed his shake and slurped appreciatively.

Saffy had been gone for almost an hour, and Jasper suspected she may have sneaked off to soak up some sun.

‘Yeah, she was trying to impress the other kids by walking around with her hunt belt on,' Jasper teased. Mac had told them to wear their belts all the time, just in case, but they did look kind of stupid. ‘And why have you got your hoodie on? And a scarf? Have you forgotten how hot it is out there? We're not at Monstrum House, you know,' Jasper added as he grabbed his milkshake.

‘Say hello to Houdini,' Saffy smirked, glancing around the cabin before unwinding her scarf.

‘Houdini? Yeah, right. What about the tag?'

Jasper replied. ‘You know, the one injected into your neck? You escape and I'll kiss your feet.' Jasper shook his head.

Felix was chortling into his milkshake. ‘Nah, Saffy's too clever,' Felix joked, ‘She's worked out a way of removing her head.'

Jasper and Felix laughed. Saffy didn't.

‘Laugh if you will, but while you've been reading that, I've been reading this.'

She produced a book from her bag,
Tracking
Techniques and Technology
. ‘Our tags have got some chip in them that transmits a signal via satellite to a GPS receiver. I'll bet that's the computer in Stenka's office. So all we have to do is block the signal, and they can't track us.'

‘Good plan. But how can we block something that's inside our necks?' asked Felix.

‘With this.' Saffy took her scarf off completely.

Jasper burst out laughing, snorting milkshake out his nose. Saffy had tinfoil wrapped tightly around her neck.

She flipped down her hood, ignoring Jasper's snorts. ‘If a GPS device is covered in metal, a satellite can't read its signal. Foil should do the trick,' she explained.

Jasper wiped the milkshake from his nose and shook his head at Saffy. She couldn't be serious. But Jasper had never seen Saffy look so pleased with herself.

She's serious all right,
Jasper thought.
She's also
nuts.
Jasper didn't even want to think about what Stenka might do to Saffy if – no,
when
– she was caught.

‘And I have more foil for you guys.' She pointed at her backpack. ‘All we do is wrap you up, and we are home free.' Saffy chuckled like some sort of evil genius.

‘There's no way it'll work,' said Jasper.

Saffy shrugged.‘Suit yourself.'

‘Couldn't you have put your brain to something useful?' Jasper asked. ‘Like helping us find a way to shoot fire up a monster's nose while it's
under
water?' He pointed to the junk surrounding them.

‘You mean you still haven't figured anything out?' said Saffy.

Felix looked annoyed. ‘At least we've been trying,' he muttered.

Saffy shook her head and sighed. ‘Do I have to do everything myself? Try this.' She leant over and grabbed a rubber hose. ‘Add this,' she sifted through the rubbish until she found an old jack-in-the-box. She pulled the head off the bouncing clown and handed Jasper the spring. ‘Now, use this bit of rope as a fuse, then a firelighter as ammunition. Seal it so it's watertight, then stick it up the monster's nose and
kapow
.'

Jasper just stared.
Why didn't we think of
that?

‘I'm out of here,' Saffy said, heading towards the door.

‘What about the Hunt?' Felix asked.

Jasper looked at Saffy. ‘Yeah, he's right. What about catching the Glibberhowl? Protecting everyone from the monster? What about … us?'

Saffy stopped and glared at them. ‘You two are fine. You heard Stenka, what use am I if I can't even swim? And all Mac thinks I'm good at is holding a net and making pancakes! It's fine for you two. Jasper, your mum was a student, so they'll keep you. Felix, you're a Brown Brother, so you're set. But
I'm
the one who has to
prove
myself. You heard what Stenka said. I might not be
able
to come back. I
can't
swim. And there's no way I'm going back to being shunted around by my parents like a piece of luggage. I've gotta do my own thing. This is my chance.'

‘Holding a net is important,' Felix said. ‘I'd happily hold a net.'

‘And there's no way Stenka won't let you come back. You're one of the best students in our year,' Jasper added.

‘Yeah right,' said Saffy.

‘Come on, Saffy,' Jasper pleaded.

But Saffy was beyond reasoning. ‘I'll see ya.'

She waved, spun on her heel and left.

14

‘Come on, Felix! Hurry up!' yelled Jasper as he raced to the shore.

Felix was dragging his feet through the sand. He wasn't as excited as Jasper was about starting the Hunt.

When Jasper got to the shore he tore open his backpack. ‘The FlameShooter 6000,' he whispered. He was pretty pleased with himself.

Well, OK, Felix had a bit to do with making it,
Jasper thought.
And without Saffy, we probably
wouldn't have it at all. But still, I thought of the name.

‘And now to see if it works,' Jasper said out loud. ‘Felix, hurry up!'

Felix was glancing nervously at the lake. ‘It's late afternoon. Almost dusk,' he said uneasily.

‘And?' Jasper rolled his eyes. The sun was shining brightly and the banks were still crowded – not a thing to worry about.

‘But Mac said it likes attacking at dusk,' Felix argued.

Jasper shook his head and shoved Felix towards the lake. ‘Don't be soft. Monsters only attack in the dark. We're just going to test the FlameShooter 6000 in the shallows, then take it back to Mac. The poor guy needs something to cheer him up.'

Mac had spent the last three hours storming up and down the house, using Saffy's name in sentences which really weren't very nice. He swore she wouldn't actually be able to escape, no matter what her plan. But Jasper could tell he was worried. Apparently, no hunt captain in the history of Monstrum House had ever lost a crew member. Other than those who had died horrible deaths during a Hunt.

No-one had ever escaped from a Hunt before, either. No-one had even
tried
to escape.

Mac didn't know whether to tell Stenka or not. From what Jasper could make out from Mac's ramblings, Saffy would be safer if she never came back.

‘Come on,' grinned Jasper, trying to make Felix feel better. ‘We'll test out the FlameShooter 6000, cheer up Mac, and convince him to treat us to something special for dinner. Something to make Saffy jealous. Chances are she'll come back starving and miserable.'

Felix seemed slightly cheered up by this thought. But Jasper was trying not to think about the possibility that they might never see Saffy again. He was furious with her, and at the same time really worried.
Keep busy, and don't
think about it,
he told himself.

Jasper opened the box and took out their invention. It was perfect. It was a sealed rubber hose with a spring inside it. Using the waterproof matches from his hunt belt, Jasper would light the fuse at one end of the hose. The fuse took exactly thirty-one seconds to reach the ammunition – a firelighter weighed down with lead to help propel it. As soon as the firelighter caught on fire, Jasper just had to shove the tube up the monster's nose and release the spring to catapult it up the left nostril. He would have to get the timing just right. This was going to be tricky.

At the edge of the lake, Jasper put the FlameShooter 6000 on top of the water and smiled. ‘Test one. It floats!'